The Tabernacle

Back in June, I began teaching a women's Bible study. This is something I felt called to do and also something I've wanted to do for a long time. We began by studying the book of John, then went through Joyce Meyer's video series "Battlefield of the Mind," and afterwards spent a couple of months studying the book of James. Most recently, we are working our way through a book called Life Principles for Worship from the Tabernacle.

This study focuses on the Old Testament passages involving how the Israelites' worshiped using the design God gave them for the tabernacle. It also thoroughly discusses the sacrifices that were to be made there and the role of the Levitical priests. Not only does it walk us through this old system of worshiping God, it clarifies what each of the items in the tabernacle, the sacrifices, and the priestly duties symbolized and explains how they all pointed to Christ's coming.

While we no longer are supposed to follow these rules for worship since Christ has come and fulfilled what they were merely a shadow of, studying these things teaches us a lot about how we are to worship God now. For example, there was only one way to enter into the tent which was through the gate; today we also can access to God through one way - Christ. Secondly, in the outer court there is the Bronze Altar for dealing with sin and the Bronze Laver for cleansing; today we still must deal with our sin through Christ and be cleansed before having a relationship with God. In the inner court, we see the Golden Lampstand as a picture of God's light, the Table of Showbread as a representation of God's provision and our need to fellowship with Him, and the Altar of Incense which symbolizes the prayers of the saints rising to heaven. In the Holy of Holies, we see Ark of the Covenant with the Mercy Seat showing us God's mercy as well as the contents of the ark (Aaron's rod that budded, the jar of manna, and the Law) - all reminders of God's faithfulness to His people. There is so much more I'd love to share about what we've gleaned from this study but I don't think I would ever get finished blogging!

About the time we began the study, I found out about a reproduction of the tabernacle built in Lancaster, PA housed at the Mennonite Information Center. Seeing and experiencing things first hand often makes them stick in our memories longer and helps us understand better, so I thought this would be an interesting place for my group to tour. About three weeks ago, we made the trip to check it out. Here are a few pics of the outer court:

You can see the multicolored woven gate and the white linen
outer fence in the background. The outer court consisted of the
Bronze Altar and Laver.

These figures show people preparing to slaughter the animals
they planned to sacrifice on the altar. The one in the back in placing his
hands on the head of the lamb to symbolize transferring his sin to the
animal before he kills it.

Right in front of the colorful woven gate was the bronze
altar which was built to scale based on the biblical description.
I didn't realize the size until I saw it in person.

In front of the altar was the Bronze Laver where cleansing
took place after the sacrifice to cover the sin had been completed
before the priest could enter the inner court (aka Holy Place)
of the tabernacle.

We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the Holy Place or the Holy of Holies but went in to watch a presentation. This website gives a picture of the inner court with the curtains, lampstand, Table of Showbread, and Altar of Incense built as described in Scripture. The high priest is also pictured dressed in garments and accessories similar to in the biblical account.

There was a mural painted by some Korean students that showed how the tabernacle would have looked with all the children of Israel camped around it. I think looking at this painting and hearing the speaker explain that there were 2-3 million Israelites at this time helped me understand just how many people were involved for the first time. The tabernacle must have been a very busy place as the sins of all these people had to be covered with sacrifices until Jesus came to pay the debt of sin for all people once and for all.

The trip was a great time of fellowship and it helped us gain a better understanding of the tabernacle both visually and spiritually. If anyone is interested in checking it out, I think it is definitely worth visiting, especially if you're studying the history of the Israelites. All those confusing passages about building the tabernacle items with such lengthy descriptions finally comes into focus as you see the reproductions and hear the lecture explanation.

On another note, I want to conclude this post with two other not so spiritual things we learned on our trip that you should keep in mind:
1. If you have asthma, in order to avoid a bunch of coughing and the need for an inhaler, it is a good idea to speak up when the lady doing the presentation asks everyone if they have asthma or allergies before she burns incense on the altar! (We love you, Brandy!)
2. If you are seven and a half months pregnant, be careful hitting the outlets after the presentation and shopping 'til the baby drops. :)