Why Was the Tabernacle So Intricate? (Exodus 25–31)

This article is part of the Tough Passages series.

Listen to the Passages

Read the Passages

⁸And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst. ⁹ Exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it. —Exodus 25:8-9

³¹ “And you shall make a veil of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. It shall be made with cherubim skillfully worked into it. ³² And you shall hang it on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold, with hooks of gold, on four bases of silver. ³³ And you shall hang the veil from the clasps, and bring the ark of the testimony in there within the veil. And the veil shall separate for you the Holy Place from the Most Holy. ³⁴ You shall put the mercy seat on the ark of the testimony in the Most Holy Place. ³⁵ And you shall set the table outside the veil, and the lampstand on the south side of the tabernacle opposite the table, and you shall put the table on the north side. —Exodus 26:31–35

ESV Expository Commentary

Four biblical scholars offer passage-by-passage commentary through the narratives of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers, explaining difficult doctrines, shedding light on overlooked sections, and making applications to life and ministry today. Part of the ESV Expository Commentary.

What Does the Tabernacle Teach Us About the Kind of God He Is?

Many Bible readers may be tempted to skip six chapters of detail about tabernacle construction. But careful attention to these chapters rewards us with a rich theology of who God is. At least three aspects of God’s character are displayed here.

First, he is the Israelites’ King, as evidenced by the tabernacle’s function as a palace-tent in their midst. Exodus and Leviticus together give several indications that the tent functions in this way:

(1) The Israelites bring their tribute here (Ex. 25:1–9), just as a people would bring tribute to a king’s palace.

(2) They comes here to “stand before” the Lord (Lev. 9:5), just as one “stands before” a ruler or person in authority (1 Kings 1:28; 3:16; Est. 8:4).

(3) Its ornate furniture and tapestries are unlike those of any other tent in Israel (Ex. 25:10–26:37; Ex. 30:1–10; cf. also at Ex. 25:4). This is clearly a tent fit for a king.

(4) Just as a king’s servants wears special uniforms and minister before him in the palace (1 Kings 10:5), so the Lord’s servants (the priests) wear special uniforms (Ex. 28) and minister before him here (Ex. 28:43).

(5) It has a throne room—the Most Holy Place—where the Lord’s glory sits enthroned over the ark among the cherubim (1 Sam. 4:4; Ps. 99:1), who serve as the attendants at his royal throne (cf. the seraphim in Isa. 6:1–2).

(6) The curtain before the Most Holy Place is woven with cherubim (Ex. 26:31–33), who not only symbolically guard the entrance into this throne room (cf. Gen. 3:24) but are heavenly beings, thus making clear it is the throne room of the heavenly King.¹

Second, this king is holy. Generally speaking the tabernacle complex is called the Lord’s “sanctuary,” the Hebrew of which is built on the root for “holiness,” pointing to the holiness of the place and the one who dwells within it (Ex. 25:8). More specifically the tabernacle complex has different grades or zones of holiness, and the holiest is reserved for the Lord. These grades of holiness are seen in three different ways:

(1) The titles of the different rooms. The first room a priest enters when going into the tent is known as the “Holy Place”; the second, where the Lord manifests his presence, is the “Most Holy Place” (Ex. 26:33; cf. Ex. 25:21–22). The Lord’s supreme holiness requires the holiest of places for his dwelling.

(2) The materials used to construct it. In the outer court the altar is covered with bronze (Ex. 27:1–2), but, the closer one gets to the Most Holy Place, the more precious and costly the materials become, so that within the Most Holy Place one finds only silver and gold (Ex. 25:10–11; Ex. 26:6, 15–30). This gradation in materials reflects the gradation in holiness that occurs as one draws near to the Lord’s presence.

(3) The personnel. Laymen and priests are allowed into the courtyard (Lev. 1:3; 12:6).²Priests—who, unlike laymen, are ritually holy (Lev. 8:30)—are allowed into the Holy Place (Ex. 28:43). But only the high priest—the holiest of the priests (Lev. 8:12)³—is allowed into the Most Holy Place, and then only once a year (Lev. 16:2, 32–34). The gradation in holiness with regard to access underscores the Lord’s supreme holiness.⁴

Finally, the tabernacle texts show the Lord is not only a king who is holy but also a king who desires to be with his people. This is the very reason he gives for the building of the tabernacle: “Let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst ” (Ex. 25:8). As noted at verse 8, we want to be near the ones we love. The Israelites are in their tents; the Lord will be in their midst in his (cf. Ex. 25:8). His is not a “tent of seclusion” but a “tent of meeting,” where the Israelites can come before him in repentance and praise to experience his forgiveness, mercy, glory, and love (cf. Ex. 25:9). This has been God’s desire from the beginning. In the account of creation the Bible uses a relatively rare form of a verb to describe the Lord’s “walking in the garden” of Eden (Gen. 3:8).⁵ The same verb is used again in Leviticus, when the Lord promises the Israelites, “I will make my dwelling among you . . . and I will walk among you” (Lev. 26:11–12). Eden is revisited in the tabernacle. God again comes to walk with his people.⁶

The tabernacle texts show the Lord is not only a king who is holy but also a king who desires to be with his people.

This finds its ultimate expression in Jesus. Speaking of him as the Word of God, John writes, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). The Greek words for “dwelt” and “tabernacle” are built on the same root,⁷ making John’s point clear: in Jesus God has again come to dwell in our midst. To ensure we do not miss it John adds, “And we have seen his glory” (John 1:14). Just as the glory of the Lord came to the tabernacle after it was built (Ex. 40:34–35), so it came in Jesus’ life and ministry. God had drawn nearer than ever before. He brushed shoulders with us, shared a cup with us, touched us to heal us, placed his hands upon us to bless us. All of this points to where the world’s story is headed for those who have faith in Jesus:

I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place⁸ 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. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Rev. 21:3–4)

Notes:

Adapted slightly from Sklar, Leviticus, ZECOT, 11.
“The entrance of the tent of meeting” refers to a space within the courtyard of the tabernacle complex. Cf. Leviticus 1:5, which places the altar of burnt offering, which is clearly in the tabernacle courtyard, “at the entrance of the tent of meeting.”
Only Aaron has the holy anointing oil placed on his head; cf. Leviticus 8:12 with 8:30.
For further discussion cf. Philip P. Jenson, Graded Holiness: A Key to the Priestly Conception of the World, JSOT (Sheffield, UK: JSOT Press, 1992), 89–209.
The Hebrew verb is hithallek; it occurs only eleven times in the Pentateuch and only four times in the phrase “to walk in/among,” the phrase found in Genesis 3:8 and Leviticus 26:12. Cf. further above.
For further parallels between Eden and the tabernacle cf. Gordon J. Wenham, “Sanctuary Symbolism in the Garden of Eden Story,” in Proceedings from the Ninth Congress of Jewish Studies, Division A: The Period of the Bible (Jerusalem: World Union of Jewish Studies, 1986), 19–25, esp. 20–22.
The Greek verb is skēnoō; the LXX regularly translates the Hebrew word “tabernacle” with skēnēs.
The Greek for “dwelling place” is the same word used in the LXX for the tabernacle; cf. note 623.

This article is by Jay Sklar and is adapted from ESV Expository Commentary: Genesis–Numbers edited by Iain M. Duguid, James M. Hamilton Jr., and Jay Sklar.

Jay Sklar (PhD, University of Gloucestershire) is professor of Old Testament and vice president of academics at Covenant Theological Seminary.

View All

What Is the Mark of the Beast? (Revelation 13)

Thomas R. Schreiner

October 08, 2018

We must be willing to suffer, to give our all for Christ, to persevere until the end in order to obtain the final reward.

What Did John Mean When He Called Jesus the “Word”? (John 1)

James M. Hamilton Jr.

December 01, 2021

John proclaims the Word as God, through whom the world was made, in whom is life, and who is unquenchable light.

What Does It Mean That Women Should “Remain Quiet” in Church? (1 Timothy 2)

Denny Burk

January 12, 2019

“Quietly” does not mean that women are never to utter a word when the church gathers for worship.

What Was Paul's Thorn in the Flesh? (2 Corinthians 12)

Dane Ortlund

December 29, 2021

This passage gives every indication that the thorn in Paul's flesh is still a present reality and thus represents a prolonged, sustained pain. But what was the thorn?