| THE TABERNACLE |

I hope that today you didn’t get too lost in the details, especially since the details are actually part of the point. God is extremely specific about the making of the tabernacle (tent), the furnishings and the clothing that will be used for the worship of his name. Part of the purpose of the details is to remind us that God has the right to dictate how he is to be worshiped.

As we read through the Bible and eventually come to the New Testament, we will realize that so many of the Old Testament details are written so that we can understand who Jesus is when he appears in the New Testament. So much of the Old Testament points to a fulfillment in Jesus in the New Testament.

The tabernacle and the priestly garments are just two examples.

The description of this majestic tabernacle and the ornate priestly garments begs the question, “Who in the world has the right to wear such a garment? It is not like the high priest is God himself or anything!”

Ah, but that’s it!

Why was the high priest decked out? Because the true and greater High Priest actually IS God himself. Consider what Hebrews 8:1–2 says about Jesus:

Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man.

Jesus is majestic because of who he is. It is not his clothing but his glory that shines such splendor and majesty. In fact, this entire description of the tabernacle and its furniture begs the question of what kind of God is worthy of such splendor. When God is revealed in the person of Jesus Christ, who is the perfect fulfillment of the entire law, with its religious rituals and furnishings, we see that this God is worthy of so much more. There is a greater temple and a greater glory that is far beyond even the majesty that is described here, of which the tabernacle and the priestly garments are but a shadow.

As you read Exodus 40, realize that every description of every ornate piece of furniture, of every gold overlay, of every fine curtain should call to mind the glory of Jesus and his salvation.