The Tabernacle

I finished Exodus today. Yeah I dragged my feet. At first I was so bored with the descriptions given for the building of the tabernacle. The first description as Moses was shown what it would look like and the second description as it was being built were a bit much.

But can I just say the symbolism used in every aspect was amazing? And I mean every aspect, right down to the clothing. A person could study this for months I think.

So my tune was changed. Here are somethings I found value in the massive amounts of detail.

The materials used were donated. The people had to willingly sacrifice for their temple. The materials were of the best quality. The people gave so much and so freely that Moses had to tell them to stop. The directions for the construction were revealed. Might I also point out how wonderful it was that God loved his people so much that he wanted them to construct a house full of symbolism to remind the people of God but also so that He might come to them and instruct then further?

No where in the Bible does it actually describe the ordinances performed in the temple. This is because they were sacred. Think of it this way, God had a veil put before the Ark or the Covenant and Aaron was instructed in how to dress and prepare to enter that sacred dwelling lest he die. Ordinances are sacred and won't be understood unless the person puts in the time and work and prepares themselves.

So I appreciate the detail given where it can be. We are able to learn a lot.

Now we learn that the Israelites  were denied admittance into the tabernacle itself because of their pride and rebellion (Exodus 20:18-20; 32:1) but I want to share what I learned... A glimpse of what they missed...see just like now the ordinances performed in the temples are designed to be cement between us and God. It binds us to God. Israel had to rely on the orient to act as proxy...

Let's begin.

The layout of the tabernacle is a symbol itself of our progress through life towards perfection. Now I have been in a modern day temple, I have even toured a couple before before they were consecrated to the Lord. There were similarities to what I read (and no I'm not talking about blood sacrifices). There are three levels of life symbolized by three rooms in temples and three sections in Moses' tabernacle.

The outer courtyard (the world or telestial room) was the only place the Israelites could enter. Where the first thing they saw was the alter of sacrifice. What we learn here is that strict obedience and sacrifice are required as the first step the being worth to enter the house of the Lord. (today we are to have faith in Christ and repentance). The fires of the alter were symbolic of being born of the spirit. The second thing in the courtyard was the Later or basin of water. It was used for washing and cleansing. This is related to baptism today and is in similitude of the grave where the sin is blurred and we are born again of water.

So once the natural man is sacrificed and he is cleaned by the waters of baptism and the fires of the Holy Ghost he is clean and prepared to leave the world.

The Holy Place (terrestrial room) had three items in it. I'll describe them below.

The table of shewbread. This was very similar to the sacramental emblems of today. Shrewbread means "the bread of faces" or "the bread of presence" signifying that it was placed before the face of the Lord or in His presence. Most scholars agree that wine was also placed on the table as spoons actually refer to vessels or cups not the spoons as we think of them today. So this table typified the body and blood of the Son of God. the spiritual person needs to partake of this consitantly so he can have a spiritual life in Christ.

A candlestick. This candlestick had seven bowels that were filled with pure olive oil and light by a wick. Seven signifies wholeness or perfection. Olive oil represents the Holy Spirit (D&C 45:56-57). So this represents as a while the perfect light through which all truth is seen or revealed.

The incense which symbolizes prayer. Now this item was placed right outside the veil to the next room. Significance? That one can only approach the presence of God through prayer. We need to be constant in seeking the Lord's power and revelation. Also note that the incense was consumed on coals of fire which would suggest that even our prayers need to be directed and influenced by the Holy Ghost.

If you've made it this far, thanks for sticking with me. I'm about to talk about one of my favorite things from today's reading. The Holy or Holies (the celestial room). This signifies the kingdom where God dwells. There is only one item in this room

(please note that the rooms in modern temples do have differences. I would highly recommend taking the opportunity to tour one. Right after they are built, before they are consecrated to the Lord, they are open to the public. There are also missionaries on hand to answer questions and they are more knowledgeable than I am. I only marked "rooms" for those of my family who have gone to the temple and would be able to see the similarities and differences).

So back to the final room. The Ark had a lid and it was called "the mercy seat" or "seat of atonement." The blood of the Lamb of Jehovah was sprinkled there.

Now the Greek used the word "hilaterion" to translate the Hebrew "kapporeth" (which means seat of atonement or mercy seat). In Greek any word ending in "erion" means a place of the action. Like a place where laws are made. In Hebrews 9:5 the Greek translation uses the hilaterion also when talking of Christ....saying Christ is our hulasterion. Using this as the reference we can then infer the mercy seat as hilasterion. Meaning the last room is symbolic of Jesus being the place where man and God meet and He is the place where man's sin meets with the atoning love of God. (Barclay, The mind of St. Paul pg 87-88). And that thought wrapped everything up so nicely for me.

As I said at the beginning there is so much symbolism in everything dealing with the tabernacle even in the clothing. My post is already long enough. I could go into the materials used and how the evolved from room to room in value and intricacies or I could talk about the symbolism of the materials, but then we'd be here all day....

So I am going over the high priest's robe. I will try to be quick and then I'll be done for the day promise.

It was woven in one piece  = wholeness or spiritual integrity.
Dark blue in color = heavenly origin
Fringe = to remind them of the commandments of God and to remind them to live those commandments
Pomegranates = word and testimony of God (idea taken from Proverbs 25:11 where it compares the word to an apple) bells = sound of the word or revelation and proclamationor the word.

Now Aaron wore the same clothing as the other priests but wore the robe detailed above over it. He also wore the urim and thumin with a pendant that was surrounded by gold settings with the 12 tribes names inscribed. Thus symbolized that he kept them near his heart as well as carrying them on his shoulders.

And all of this symbolized that Aaron was the recipient and medium of the word and testimony with came down from heaven. And that is pretty awesome. I just love all the symbolism found in the Bible.