The Old Testament Isn't Irrelevant | 5 Important Lessons in the Design of the Tabernacle

Photo credits to TheTorah.com

At the time I'm writing this post, I'm wrapping up reading Exodus, and WOW, I have loved it! (Surprising?!) The last section of Exodus is all about the design of the tabernacle, and I learned so much. I have never enjoyed reading about the tabernacle design before, but I went into this study really inviting the Lord to reveal somthing new to me, more of His heart, more of the truth. And when I say God answered, He ANSWERED, and I am genuinely so excited to share what I've learned with you guys!

I would like to preface that not all Scripture is meant to translate directly to our lives. There may be underlying lessons under the stories, but it isn't meant to be all about us. The point of reading Scripture isn't to learn what it necessarily says about US, but what it says about GOD. It can be so easy to read the Bible and trying to make it all about us, but with that perspective, we will miss out so much of the richness that the Lord has for us to discover.

So, with all of that being said, let's jump into some really interesting details hidden in the description of the tabernacle and priesthood!

1. God is a God of DETAILS.

There are so many explicit details as God lays out the instructions of the tabernacle and priesthood, and it really shows how much God cares about the "little" things. No aspect of the tabernacle or priesthood was not laid out for the Israelites, because God had a purpose and a plan for all of it.

That may seem boring to us, since we don't have a tabernacle to build, but the New Testament says that we are a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). A temple is more permanent than the tabernacle, and it is secure building rather than a traveling tent. So, if God has such a plan for the tabernacle, how much more does He have a plan for us, a temple? We can find so much excitement and confidence in reading about the tabernacle because it points to God's heart of being a God of order and purposeful details.

2. We are a royal priesthood.

When God isn't giving directions for the tabernacle, He's giving instructions about anointing the priests and specifics about their clothing - another topic that can seem irrelevant and boring to us. But as I was studying, I found so many parallels to the New Testament. 1 Peter 2:9 tells us that we are the royal priesthood, and that means that so much of the symbolism in the Old Testament priest's anointing and roles now applies to us. Here are a few key things that stood out to me:

• Priests were to be set apart, reliant on the Holy Spirit, and made clean (Exodus 28:41). As believers, we too are set apart, called to live step in step with the Holy Spirit, and made clean and holy through the blood of Christ.

• Priests were stained by the blood of the sacrifice that they were offering, and it reminded them that they were to operate differently, and complete their job with a holy reverence (Exodus 29:20). Because of Jesus' final sacrifice, we are covered in His blood, and it changes the way we live our lives.

3. God is relational.

So many times throughout God's instruction for the tabernacle and the priests, God reminds us of the whole point: to know that He is God, and for Him to dwell among them. God specifically designed the tabernacle and the role of the priests for Him to be able to draw near to His people. He led them in tangible ways, through fire and a cloud, thunder and earthquakes, and He spoke directly to Moses for the people to hear His heart many times.

God didn't establish the tabernacle to take up space in the Bible or just give the Israelites something to do. He established it because He desired to meet and speak to His people - and that shows us so much of the Father's heart. God meets with us now, too, through countless ways, all because He desires to walk intimately with us and for us to be able to experience His character.

"Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be there God. They will know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God." - Exodus 29:45-46

4. Exodus isn't repetitive, it's intentional.

In chapter 36, we read all about the tabernacle, all its elements, and the priesthood all over again. Almost word for word. When I came across this, I became incredibly curious, because there HAS to be a purpose for everything that the Lord includes in Scripture. And when I dove deeper, God really blew me away and reminded me why it's so important that we ask questions about what we're reading - especially in the parts we tend to skim over or skip altogether.

You see, while it seems like repetition, it's actually a switch from instruction to construction. The first time we read about the tabernacle and priesthood (Exodus 25-31), God is giving specific directions to Moses on Mount Sinai as to how all of this is to work and come together. God is laying out the design and materials for His dwelling place among the Israelites. Then, when we read about all of it again in Exodus 36-40, the Israelites are putting all of the instructions into practice. They're building everything that God commanded them to, just as He said. The apparent repetition is actually demonstrating that they obeyed completely, down to the smallest detail.

What about the chapters in between the instruction and construction? This is my favorite part, because it really clicked how gracious the Father is.

Right after God gives Moses all the instructions, Moses comes down the mountain and found that the Israelites have broken this new covenant with the Lord. They've built and began worshipping the golden calf, allowing their impatience to cloud their judgement and faith in God.

However, God in His kindness didn't abandon His people. He didn't give up on them because they gave up on Him. He acted justly, punishing many who initiated this rebellion, but relented from abandoning them all together. God repaired the covenant and still allowed them to complete the task of building the tabernacle, the place where He would dwell among them.

Sin didn't disqualify the Israelites from doing the work God called them to, because our Father lavished mercy and grace upon them. In the same way, despite our failures and rebellion, God still invites us to work with Him so that He can draw near to us.

5. The materials are purposeful, not random.

The nerd in me became increasingly interested about the materials in the tabernacle the more that I read through Exodus. There are a few materials that are emphasized over and over again, and I knew that there had to be some reason that God wanted them included.

The two materials I noticed repeated the most throughout building the tabernacle were pure gold and acacia wood. Pure gold communicates to us that God desired this meeting place to be precious, valuable, and pure. It was clearly set apart and holy. Pure gold is also virtually indestructible; the temperatures that it takes to melt pure gold are tremendous and not easily reached. Similarly, acacia wood is resistant to decay; it was incredibly dense and strong. This subtle symbolism reminds us that God's dwelling place cannot be destroyed. His presence cannot be demolished. Our God is eternal, permanent, and unchanging, and He wanted those pieces of His character to be etched into the very bones of the tabernacle.

The priestly garments also include beautiful symbolism in the specific colors and fabrics used to make the items of clothing the priests were instructed to wear.

• Blue yarn symbolizes heaven, reminding them to constantly look up and remember God's covenant faithfulness to them.

• Purple yarn symbolizes royalty and kingship, calling them to prepare for the coming Messiah.

• Scarlet yarn links to atoning sacrifice - initially of the animal sacrifices, but even more importantly, the final sacrifice they awaited of the Savior who would once and for all redeem them.

• Last but not least: the finely twisted linen incorporated throughout the design of the tabernacle and priestly garments indicated spiritual purity for service. This meeting place was to be pure, but even deeper than that, this linen connects to important New Testament events. Jesus was wrapped in finely twisted linen at His burial, and in Revelation, the bride of Christ is described wearing it.

You see, no detail in Exodus (or the entire Bible) is insignificant. No detail is without purpose or meaning. I am in awe every time I open the Word and truly invite the Lord to reveal Himself to me, because He never fails to answer. There is richness in every line, in every section we deem irrelevant, and there's so much for us to learn. I really pray that this post inspires you to approach Scripture, especially the Old Testament, with fresh eyes and a renewed curiosity, because when we skip it, we miss out on uncovering even deeper who the God we serve is. And I don't want to miss a single thing about my Father.