The Man Moses #15

The Lord said to me,.."I will test my people with a plumbline. Amos 7:8 (TLB)

The Plumbline is a blog to encourage the Body of Christ.

The Man Moses #15

Tabernacle Floor Plan

A lot of space is given in the scriptures to the detailed instructions for Moses to begin the gathering of materials for the construction of the wilderness Tabernacle. I have been overwhelmed by the all the precise specifications given to Moses regarding the Tabernacle furniture, such as the Ark of the Covenant, the Table of Showbread, and the Lamp Stand.

Exodus 40:1–16 (NKJV) Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 “On the first day of the first month you shall set up the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. 3 You shall put in it the ark of the Testimony, and partition off the ark with the veil. 4 You shall bring in the table and arrange the things that are to be set in order on it; and you shall bring in the lampstand and light its lamps. 5 You shall also set the altar of gold for the incense before the ark of the Testimony, and put up the screen for the door of the tabernacle. 6 Then you shall set the altar of the burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. 7 And you shall set the laver between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. 8 You shall set up the court all around, and hang up the screen at the court gate. 9 “And you shall take the anointing oil, and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it; and you shall hallow it and all its utensils, and it shall be holy. 10 You shall anoint the altar of the burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar. The altar shall be most holy. 11 And you shall anoint the laver and its base, and consecrate it.

12 “Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the tabernacle of meeting and wash them with water. 13 You shall put the holy garments on Aaron, and anoint him and consecrate him, that he may minister to Me as priest. 14 And you shall bring his sons and clothe them with tunics. 15 You shall anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may minister to Me as priests; for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations.” 16 Thus Moses did; according to all that the Lord had commanded him, so he did.

The Tabernacle Erected and Arranged.These instructions deal with three matters: (a) the physical arrangement of the sanctuary from the interior to the exterior parts and the courtyard curtains (vv. 1-8); (b) the consecration of the tabernacle and everything in it (vv. 9-11), and (c) the washing, dressing, and anointing of the priesthood (Aaron and his sons) to serve God and the people in the sanctuary (vv. 12-16).

The tabernacle was erected about a year after the Exodus from Egypt: on the first day of the first month, “in the second year”. The Exodus occurred on the 14th day of the first month (12:2, 6, 33-34). Since the people arrived at Sinai three months after the Exodus, they were at Sinai eight and one-half months. Part of that time Moses was on the mountain (40 days, 24:18; and another 40 days for the covenant renewal, 34:28). So perhaps about six and one-half months were involved in gathering the materials and constructing the tabernacle. Those months were from about mid-September to late March.

Moses did as God commanded. Seven times in this chapter Moses is said to have done exactly as the Lord commanded him (vv. 19, 21, 23, 25-26, 29, 32). The Testimony  placed in the ark refers to the two tablets of stone. Of particular interest in this passage is the fact that Moses appears to have ministered as a priest until Aaron was installed: Moses … burned … incense (40:27) on the golden altar of incense and he offered … burnt offerings and grain offerings on the altar of burnt offering.

God’s promise “I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God,” 29:45 was fulfilled as the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. The cloud, symbolic of the Lord’s presence, had filled the temporary tent outside the camp only on occasions. Now, however, it came to fill the tabernacle. In fact even Moses, who had seen something of God’s glory (33:18-23), was now unable to enter the tabernacle.

Encampment with Tabernacle

The cloud that had guided the Israelites when they set out from Succoth (13:20-22) now dwelt among them to lead them to the land of promise (40:36-39). As the cloud lifted the people would travel. If it stayed over the tabernacle but was not lifted from above it, the nation did not travel. The sovereign God of heaven had taken a people in slavery, delivered them in power, made a covenant with them, and established them into a theocracy, a nation under God on earth. The sign of the covenant was the Sabbath, and its regulations (stipulations) were the Law which included the Ten Commandments and various civil and ceremonial ordinances. The book ends on a strong positive note: God was with the nation, and He was guiding them on to the Promised Land.