What a joy and refreshment to read,

So all the work on the Tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, was completed. The Israelites did everything just as the Lord commanded Moses…The Israelites had done all the work just as the Lord had commanded Moses. Moses inspected the work and saw that they had done it just as the Lord had commanded. So Moses blessed them. (Ex 39:32, 42-43).

There can't be many times that we find an account of the obedience of God's people repeated three times within 11 verses!

The Tabernacle was God's Tent - His gift to His people, that He may dwell among them. Yet it was also an offering back to Him of the fruits of their labours, gifts, skills and talents. As King David later said when the people brought their offerings for building the Temple, “Everything comes from You and we have given You only what comes from Your hand” (1 Chron 29:14).

God’s Tent

God's Tent had to be just as He wanted it. Intensely practical details were given for the design and creation of the sanctuary articles. A ton of gold and 3¾ tons of silver were given by the people and invested in God's Tent. The bases for the entrance curtains of the courtyard, the altar of sacrifice and the tent pegs were made from 2½ tons of bronze. Each precious, precision-made article was meticulously set in its place in relation to the others.

If God should make such specific directions in His care for His earthly home, how much more may we have confidence that He truly thinks of and takes care of every detail of our eternal home with Him! As David said, “…has He not made with me an everlasting covenant, arranged and secured in every part?” (2 Sam 23:5).

And as Yeshua later said, “In My Father’s house are many rooms…I am going there to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2).

Shadows of Yeshua

In this week’s Torah portion, we read about how Moses finished the work of God’s Tent, in complete obedience to God’s command. There was nothing more that could be added - at that point.

However, taking a step back into the wider perspective of the whole of Scripture, we find shadows of our Lord Yeshua in these same articles in God's Tent:

• The laver for the washing of the priests' hands and feet, speak of His cleansing from sin,
• The lampstand speaks of Yeshua the Light of the World,
• The bread of the table, of Yeshua the Bread of Life,
• The High Priest, of Yeshua our one and only great High Priest who stands before God,
• The golden altar of incense, of His intercession on our behalf,
• The bronze altar of sacrifice and daily sacrifice of the lamb, of Yeshua, the Lamb of God,
• The travelling or abiding pillar of fire in the night or of cloud in the day, of Yeshua the Way,
• The curtain at the entrance of the courtyard, of Yeshua the Door to the Father,
• And the inner curtain or veil, of the Body of our Lord Yeshua.

Some of these things are stated directly in the Book of Hebrews,

“We have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, His body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.” (Heb 10:19-23)

“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” (Heb 6:19-20)

Our Faithful Service

Moses was faithful as a servant in all God's house, carrying out all the Lord's directions, as we have considered. Christ is continually faithful as a son over God's house.

May we, too, run with faithful, patient obedience the race set before us in these momentous days, keeping our eyes fixed on Yeshua, the author and perfecter of our faith.

Author: Sally Bolton