Think about the last time you saw the sun. You may have smiled as you felt its emanating warmth or squinted as it nearly blinded you. Perhaps, you took the time to pause and recall that in the new Earth we won’t even need the sun because God will dwell with us.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.
And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there.
Revelation 21:1-3, 23 ESV
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The tabernacle of Moses
The tabernacle of Moses offers a similar picture for us to see a tiny glimpse of things to come.
Reading through the details of the tabernacle can feel a bit cumbersome. But if you take with it a sense of something greater and the beauty of it all comes alive. God uses symbolism in both subtle and grand ways for us to comprehend, grasp, and draw near to Him.
Have you ever read a book to a child only to realize there is one image, like a tiny little caterpillar, on every single page? It causes you to think a little harder, look for that caterpillar, seek it out on each page, go back to prior pages to ensure the author didn’t miss a page. Reading these types of passages in the same way will encourage us to make sense of it as we read it.
The tabernacle of Moses was a portable setup until the temple could be built on solid ground. The temple serves as a temporary structure until the new earth. Sometimes our caterpillar may morph into a butterfly on the pages.
The Finite Details…
Incredible details were given to Moses to follow. Precise details were given to David to prepare Solomon to build the temple. Incredible details are involved in the new earth that is to come. The details so finite came down to how many and the specific locations of almond flowers on a lampstand, that the rings on the ark were to be pure gold, or how many loops were to be on each curtain.
His Presence was Among Them…
It is incredible to think that God would represent to the Israelites that their king dwelt among them. In Numbers, we will see the tabernacle of Moses was at the center of their camps and was the key component determining their marching order. It represented a physical dwelling place at the epicenter of their camps.
There He manifested His presence among them, and it was intended for a sign or token of His presence, that, while they had that in the midst of them, they might never again ask, Is the Lord among us or not? And, because in the wilderness they dwelt in tents, even this royal palace was ordered to be a tabernacle too, that it might move with them, and might be an instance of the condescension of the divine favour.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Symbols to Look For…
While we have seen some of the ties pointing to the future for these Israelites, we also need to look back at where they came from. The ESV Study Bible also relates the tabernacle of Moses to the Garden of Eden.
The other symbolic dimension is Eden. The tabernacle, like the garden of Eden, is where God dwells, and various details of the tabernacle suggest it is a mini-Eden. These parallels include the east-facing entrance guarded by cherubim, the gold, the tree of life (lampstand), and the tree of knowledge (the law). Thus God’s dwelling in the tabernacle was a step toward the restoration of paradise, which is to be completed in the new heaven and earth (Revelation 21-22).
The Gospel Coalition
When we consider that correlation, and we can look at the Bible as a whole, we can see the progression. Sin changed our entire world, Eden was no longer an option. “Once a place of joy and fellowship with God”, now was a forbidden place. Yet, we see God provides for the Israelites in a way that is said no other nation had done before. A place for God to be among them.
Take a look at the development in contact we see. The tabernacle of Moses provided a home, of sorts, for God. It served as a visual for them to look and see, be reminded of His guidance, and come to serve Him. Next, we see God made way for a permanent structure to be built to represent the same thing: the temple. Reading the Old Testament, points us to Jesus, and reading the Bible points us to living a life with full anticipation of Heaven, residing with God.
We see here, that the Old Testament, once again, gives another picture pointing us to Jesus. The temple had gone through a process of destruction and rebuilding, much the same as Jesus while He was on earth.
The tabernacle which was pitched by man, according to the appointment of God. There was an outer part, in which was the altar where they were to offer their sacrifices, which typified Christ dying; and there was an interior part within the veil, which typified Christ interceding for the people in heaven. Now this tabernacle Christ never entered into; but, having finished the work of satisfaction in the true tabernacle of his own body, he is now a minister of the sanctuary, the holy of holies, the true tabernacle in heaven, there taking care of his people’s affairs, interceding with God for them, that their sins may be pardoned and their persons and services accepted, through the merit of his sacrifice.
Matthew Henry Commentary
NOT ONLY this, but we see how Jesus points us to Heaven, the New Earth, where God will dwell among us. Revelation, while a book of symbolism, also offers similarities in the descriptions of Heaven. Think of these correlations as you read through the details about the tabernacle (and temple) and why they were chosen to be a part of the earthly representation.
- LAMPSTANDS: seven golden lampstands (Rev. 1:12)
- ALTAR: eyes like blazing fire (Rev. 1:14)
- BRONZE ALTAR: feet were like bronze (Rev. 1:15)
- DOORS/GATES: door standing open (Rev. 4:1)
- ROYAL COLORS/PRECIOUS STONES: appearance of jasper and carnelian; a rainbow, resembling an emerald (Rev. 4:3)
- SIDE ROOMS: surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders (Rev. 4:4)
- BRONZE BASIN: a sea of glass, clear as crystal (Rev. 4:6)
- CHERUBIM: each of the four living creatures had six wings (Rev. 4:8)
- TEN COMMANDMENTS: in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing (Rev. 5:1)
- POLES/ARK: no one in Heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it (Rev. 5:3)
- INCENSE ALTAR: they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints (Rev. 5:8)
WOW! Seriously, go take the time to read through Revelation 4 and 5 right now! It shows the majesty of Heaven in such a spectacular light it gives me chills.
The Bible serves as a guiding light for us through the examples of God’s guidance through the people that came before us. The progression leads us from a portable shelter to a built structure–from the living temple, Jesus, to a New Earth where the temple lives among us.
We would be remiss to not take into account the imagery He gifts us by showing us how glorious it was when we could be with Him on earth (Eden), how it is in Heaven, and how it will be in the New Earth. Let that be in the background of your mind as you read through the details of the tabernacle of Moses. Let it also guide your day.
P.S. May the next time you glance at the sun, let it remind you of Him! 😉
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The Old Testament is so rich with imagery–and I was especially impacted by your reference to the sun. God will be our light. He will be our ALL!
How wonderful that God himself indwells the believer!