The
Tabernacle and what it represents
Part 1
It is sometimes
difficult to understand the meaning and the descriptions of the different parts
of the tabernacle and its furniture, which God asked Moses to make. More often
you could find yourself leaving the subject or reading it superficially without
trying to understand it really, or you could find yourself jumping to another
section or chapter of the Bible that is easier to understand. That is why I
will try in this series of articles to simplify the subject as much as I can,
because I know that there are so many believers who would like to gain an in
depth insight to the meaning and purpose of the things which God asked for.
In the wilderness of
Sinai and on top of the mountain God gave his people the Law and the Ten
Commandments, and asked Moses to make the Ark of Covenant similar to that that
Moses saw up the mountain. As seen in:
Exodus (25 – 8): And let them make me
a sanctuary that I may dwell among them. 9 According to all that I show you
concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you
shall make it. 10 "and they shall make an ark of
acacia wood; two cubit and a half shall be its length, a cubit and a
half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height. 11 And you shall cover it
with a pure layer of gold from inside and outside, and you shall make upon it a crown of gold round about. 12….23 And you shall make
a table of acacia wood; …24 And you shall cover it with a layer of pure gold, and make a crown of gold around it. ….. 31 And you shall make a candle-stick of pure gold. The base and the shaft of
it shall be of hammered gold,….. .32 and there shall be six branches going out
of its sides, three branches of the candlestick out of the one side, and three
branches of the candlestick out of the other side. …..37 and you shall make the seven lamps for it; and the lamps shall be set up
so as to give light upon the space in front of it. …40 And look that you make them according to their pattern, which
was showed to you on the mountain.
The layers of
tabernacle from top downwards towards the inside of the Holy of the Holly's,
and horizontally from outside towards the inside of the Holy of the
Holly's, represent the different
sequential stages of the real exodus of mankind from the beginning of the
creation, beginning by Adam's fall going through the stage of the Law and the
salvation by the animal symbolic sacrifices and finally through the stage of
salvation by the redemption of the Son of God to grant all mankind God's forgiveness and
acceptance, in order to purify them so that they can enter heaven and meet
their creator once again after the full fulfilment of the requirements of his
Godly imperial justice. The tent of the tabernacle was a replica to the temple
of God and the real ark of his covenant in heaven, it was made as a replica to
what Moses had seen up on the mountain.
In this series we
shall begin with the explanation of symbolic meaning of the tent of tabernacle,
the materials and colours that were used to make its different parts and its
furniture as ordered by God:
Cupper: it indicates and
represents the Judgement that came upon men as a consequence for the
fall in sin.
Silver: it indicates and represents the salvation through
redemption. As in: Exodus (30 -13): Each who is
numbered ….. shall give a half a shekel according to shekel of the sanctuary as
an offering to the Lord. .... 15 The rich shall not give more, and the
poor shall not give less, than half the shekel, when you give the Lord's
offering to make atonement for yourselves.
Gold : it indicates and
represents the perfection of the theological goodness of God.
Wood: it was once alive,
and now is dead because it was cut away from the means that provided it with
life, so it is now subject to decay and disintegration. Same as mankind who
were cut away from the means that provided them with the eternal life, because
of the sin which brought upon them eternal death, that of their bodies and
souls. And here we would remind you of Christ words: John
(6 - 53): " Truly, truly I say
to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you
have no life in yourselves.
Goats' hair: it is normally of
black color to indicate that the one who wears it, is sad and is in mourning
for losing something that is very dear to himself. Goats' hair is the hair of
the sin sacrifices which were offered in accordance with the Law. It indicates
and represents the salvation period through the offering of animal
sacrifices, which were offered in accordance to the Law.
Tanned rams' skins: it
indicates and represents the sacrificial animal offerings, which were
offered by people before the Law was given to men, such as that offered
by Abel and till the time the commandments and the Law were given to Moses.
That is the animal offerings, which indicate and point to the redeeming sacrifice of the cross.
The tachas' skins:
Their color is dark blue, it is the skin of the dolphins, they indicate
and represent the early periods of the creation before man himself was
created or fell in sin.
Fine twined linen material: its color is white, and it is the material from
which the cloths of the priests were made such as those of Aaron. It
indicates and points to priesthood.
The Cherubim of gold: they
indicate and represent the angels whom God the Almighty has made responsible to
protect the heavenly throne and the way that leads to the tree of life, as in: Genesis (3
- 24): He drove out Adam;
and at the east of the Garden of Eden he placed the cherubim, and
a flaming sword, which turned in every way, to guard the way which leads to the
tree of Life.
Blood: it points to and
represents the soul as in Leviticus (17 - 11): For the life of a body is in its
blood; and I have given it for you upon the altar to make atonement for your
souls; for it is the blood that makes an atonement for the soul.
Salt: it represents and
points to the believers. As Christ said in: Matthew (5
- 13): "You are the salt of
the earth; but if the salt gets spoiled and contaminated, what would you
salt with?
Olive oil: it is the oil that
is used to anoint God's prophets and the kings of Israel. It represents and points to
the anointment by the Holy Ghost.
The
incense: it points to and
represents the prayers of the saints and
believers, as in: The Revelation (8 - 3): And
another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and he was
given much incense, to offer the prayers of all the saints upon the
golden altar, which was before the throne. 4 and the smoke of the
incense rose from the prayers of the saints from
the angel's hand before God.
The Light: it radiates in the
darkness and it represents and points to the believers whom Christ spoke
to and said: Matthew (5 -14):"You are
the light of the world. A city built on the top of a hill cannot be hid. 15
Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, to
give light to all in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men,
that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in
heaven.
The bread
: the bread that is
without yeast represents and points to Christ body and flesh, as in: John (6 - 48): I am the bread of life. 49 Your
fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.
50 this is the bread that comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and
not die. 51 I am the living bread, which came down from heaven; 52 if
any one eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread, which I shall
give, is my flesh that gives life to the world.
The colours:
Blue: is the colour of
the clear sky, it means, "From heaven".
Purple: it is the colour
of the cloths of kings, here it means Christ the king.
Scarlet: It is a dark red
colour and it represents and means blood.
Now we shall try to
explain the meaning of the furniture which God asked Moses to make, and we will
try to explain why God asked to place the furniture in the different locations
of the tent of the tabernacle, and what is the meaning thereof.
In
the next article in this series we will talk about the Ark of Covenant, its meaning and what it
represents.
Nori Karim Daoud
25 / 02/ 2009
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