Exodus 25.1-27.19

I often talk to people who have a real attachment to the place they grew up. I love that idea, but I don’t totally understand it, because I never had a real home. We moved to a new state in the U.S. ever four or five years when I was a kid. I was born in North Dakota, then we moved to Michigan, then Oklahoma, then Washington, then Tennessee, and then Florida.

I say I’m from Florida because it’s easier, my family is still there and I like it there, but I have no real attachment to any particular place.

For me, home is where my people are. Growing up, home was wherever Mom, Dad, Jeremy and Jared were. And now, it’s wherever Loanne, Jack and Zadie are.

When we meet God’s people in the book of Exodus, it was the same thing. They’ve never really had a home. Abraham started off one place, then went to another, and within a couple generations they ended up in Egypt. They were in Egypt for several centuries, but it wasn’t their place—they were guests at first, and then slaves.

So in the first half of this book, in Exodus 1-24 (which we saw over the spring), God came and rescued them from slavery, took them out of Egypt, made a covenant with them, and promised them a land which would truly be theirs. It was a promise that would have meant so much for them: a place where they could finally put down roots.

But before that, God wants them to understand that even this Promised Land is not the home they’re looking for. Just like my home is wherever my family is, the home of God’s people is wherever he is.

That is what we see in the tabernacle.

Just to give us a bit of context: at the very end of chapter 24, we read:

Moses entered the cloud and went up on the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

That’s where we are now. God’s given Moses a number of laws already, but now Moses is on the mountain, in the cloud of the presence of God. From here on out, all these questions of the Covenant and how the Israelites are meant to keep it are front and center. It is, so to speak, the “fine print” of the Covenant.

And that is why it’s significant that, when God gets into the “fine print”, he starts with the tabernacle.And the question we want to ask while looking at these instructions for how to build this tabernacle: What is the main idea? What is the story these instructions are telling?

I’ll go ahead and spoil it for you—here’s the story the tabernacle is telling: God dwells with his people. God makes a home for himself amongst his people. And consequently, his people find their home in him.

He tells Moses, in 25.8:

“And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.”

If you write in your Bible (which is totally fine), you should underline the second half of that verse: that I may dwell in their midst. Exodus 25.8 is the entire story of the Bible, in miniature.

The Tabernacle: Layout

So as quickly as we can, let’s just look at the layout of this “sanctuary”, this tabernacle that God is commanding the people to build.

First of all, we see in 25.1-9 that Moses is to take up a collection—of gold, silver, bronze, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, goats’ hair, rams’ skins, acacia wood, oil and spices, onyx stones and stones for setting. As Joe said last week, this is the most expensive tent in history.

Now, how did the people of Israel—who were, after all, slaves in Egypt—have all of these things to contribute to the building of the tabernacle? Remember, we saw this in chapter 12. Before the people left Egypt, they did as God asked and went around asking the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and fine clothing. And we read in 12.36:

And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.

God made it so that the people would have all these riches when they left Egypt. But the riches weren’t for the Israelites personally. They were for the building of the tabernacle.

Now, after this, he starts to describe the tabernacle itself. He starts in the center, and works his way outward.

First, we see the Ark of the Covenant. It was basically a box made of wood that they would cover in gold and ornate carvings. (If you want to know what it looks like, watch Raiders of the Lost Ark, the first Indiana Jones movie; their rendering of the Ark of the Covenant is actually extremely faithful to what we see in the Bible. Plus, the movie’s fantastic.)

The Ark of the Covenant will act as a kind of throne for God; this is where his presence would sit and from which he would speak. It would be kept in a kind of room called the Most Holy Place, separated from the rest of the tabernacle by a very thick curtain. It’s the only object in this room.

In the next room out, we find a number of items, everything either made of gold or overlaid with gold. (We see them described in the rest of chapter 25.) We have a table for bread, a golden lampstand and an altar for incense.

Then, in chapter 26 we see a description of the tent itself—the wooden frame overlaid in gold, and the various coverings that will cover it (and there are several).

Then, chapter 27 describes the outer court—a fenced-in courtyard outside the tabernacle. In the courtyard you no longer have things made of gold, but rather made of bronze, a much more ordinary material. You have a basin for washing, and a bronze altar for offering sacrifices to God.

Now it’s easy to think that all this is a bit much. The Israelites are a desert people now, and yet they have this incredibly lavish center of worship. It seems like a lot of senseless spending.

But it’s not. The lavishness of the sanctuary is not for reasons of vanity, but for reasons of storytelling.

This has always been one of my favorite things about God as he’s described in the Bible: God is always telling stories. In his public ministry, Jesus is constantly telling stories. God tells stories by giving us the Bible itself, by inspiring these men to keep a record of Israel’s history; but God also tells stories by the way he chooses to do things.

These very detailed instructions for this very ornate tent are not for nothing. The tabernacle is telling a story.

The question is, what story is the tabernacle telling?

What Story is the Tabernacle Telling?

To put it very simply, the tabernacle is telling the story of home.

First, it tells the story of the home humanity has lost. There are echoes of Eden all over this place. I’ll mention just a couple.

If you look back at the list of materials gathered for the tabernacle, the list begins with gold and ends with onyx. Now if we look at Genesis 2.12, part of a description of the garden of Eden:

And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there.

It’s also no accident that the lampstand, with its buds and flowers, looks like a tree that gives light, reminiscent of the tree of life in the garden of Eden.

Before sin entered the world, God gave Adam the task of “working and keeping” the creation (Genesis 2.15). Adam in the garden is described in similar ways to the priests in the tabernacle.

The most important thing, of course, is that God is present. The garden was a place where God walked with man, where he dwelt with man. In the tabernacle, God’s presence would return amongst his people.

The elements we see in the tabernacle are a kind of visual callback to the garden of Eden, the home that humanity had lost. (We’ll come back to this in a minute.)

But the tabernacle isn’t only a look back at the home the people had lost. It is also pointing forward to the home they will gain. It is telling the story, not only of where the people have been, but where they are going.

Look again at the furnishings in the tabernacle.

First, the Ark. The Ark of the Covenant is the place where God will reign over his people. Exodus 25.22:

There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel.

Tim Chester writes: “In Eden humanity rejected the authority of our heavenly Father. The result has been chaos, conflict and condemnation. But in God’s new home he will restore his life-giving rule of love.”

It’s wonderful, but it’s only the beginning—it’s an anticipation of what is to come.

In Revelation 22.3, in John’s glorious vision of the new heavens and the new earth, he says that in that place, in that perfect garden,

3 No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him.

After the Ark, we have the Table for bread.

Nothing symbolizes home like a dinner table. This table for bread shouldn’t be surprising if you’ve been following Exodus, because the first big challenge the people faced after leaving Egypt was their need for food. And what did God provide for them? Bread, meat and water.

It was a commandment of God that every time the tabernacle is set up, bread must always be on the table. It is a reminder to the people that their God is a God who provides: as he has in the past, giving them manna in the desert, he will in the future, when he brings them into the blessings of the Promised Land of Canaan.

And it is also a promise of his eternal provision, far beyond the Promised Land. Again, Revelation 22, this time in v. 1:

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

In the new heavens and the new earth, there will be perfect provision, for all of God’s people, for all eternity—food not only for nourishment, but for eternal health.

Likewise, the lampstand. The tent was covered with so many layers of such thick material that it would have been pitch black inside. The lamp gives light in the darkness. The God of Israel is the God who gives light where there is no light—he exposes to his people who they are, who he is, what is right, what is wrong.

This, too, looks forward to what is to come. Revelation 21.23-25:

23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, 25 and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there.

You see, the tabernacle is telling the story of home—the home that humanity has lost, and the home that God promises for his people for all eternity.

However, there is something we haven’t talked about yet, that is absolutely part of the story. The architecture of the tabernacle itself adds a layer of complexity.

When you look at the design of the tabernacle, you can see several barriers between the people and God. The Most Holy Place, where we have the Ark of the Covenant, is separated from the rest of the tabernacle by a thick curtain. Only the High Priest could go in there, and he could only enter once a year.

Inside the Most Holy Place, above the Ark, were two golden cherubim—a reminder of the cherubim guarding the way back into the Garden of Eden, once God had banished the man and the woman. The cherubim were there to keep man out of the garden.

Then there is the outer room of the tabernacle, cut off from the outside world by its thick coverings. And then there’s the outer court, outside the tabernacle, which was again cut off from access by the hangings all around.

I said before that the tabernacle told the story of the home humanity had lost. Why did we lose it? We lost it because we rebelled against our Creator, and wanted to be our own masters. Our good and gracious King made humanity and placed us in paradise, and we wanted to build a kingdom of our own.

That desire is what we mean when we talk about sin, and sin is a cancer that has corrupted all of humanity. It has made it impossible for us to be united with God, because God is a holy God, and cannot be united to sin.

The point here is that although God desires to dwell with his people, his people cannot dwell with him, because they are sinful people, and God is a holy God.

So in order for this to work, their sin had to be removed.

That’s what the bronze altar was for. Sacrifices had to be offered in the court of the tabernacle, on the altar. And even before we see all the details of how and when these sacrifices are made, we see one important detail. There was a grating on the altar, so the ashes could fall underneath and be removed. The altar was built to be cleaned and reused. These sacrifices would have to be repeated, over and over. It was not a perfect or a permanent solution to the problem of sin.

And that’s kind of the point. The tabernacle was never meant to be God’s ultimate solution for sin, or his ultimate dwelling place, or the ultimate home for God’s people. The tabernacle was telling a story, of the home we lost, the home we’ve gained, and the home we will have one day, for all eternity.

We see this most clearly in the fact that the tabernacle itself is not a building made of bricks or wood. It is a tent—designed to be taken down, carried to another place, and put back up again.

And if you know the story of the people of Israel over the rest of the Bible, you know that this is what the people kept forgetting. Their “home”—the place where they found their identity, to which they were profoundly attached—became their rituals, their rites, their history, their habits. It became their temple, in Jerusalem. These things were good things…but they were never meant to be the main thing. They were pointers, signposts, storytelling devices, to get the people ready for their real home.

Home for God’s people was never meant to be a static place, or a fixed set of rituals. Home for God’s people is wherever God is.

Our True Home

That is the message of the tabernacle. That is the point.

And several thousand years later, the true home that the tabernacle pointed toward began to take shape. We read in John 1.14:

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John says that this “Word” was Jesus Christ, God himself, made flesh. And when he says that Jesus “dwelt among us”, the word he uses there has the same root as the word for tabernacle. Literally, he’s saying that Jesus “pitched his tent” among us. Right from the beginning, when we think of Jesus, John wants us to remember the tabernacle.

And every element of the tabernacle is reflected in Jesus. The sacrifice on the altar; the priest who serves as intermediary between God and the people; the lampstand, giving light in the tabernacle; the bread of the presence; the Ark of the Covenant—all of these point to Jesus.

Jesus is the true High Priest. God himself stands as intermediary now, the Son of God bringing us into the presence of the Father, presenting us as God’s perfect, spotless children.

And not only is he the true High Priest, Jesus is the true sacrifice. The Son of God, given up for us, a perfect sacrifice for our sin—past, present and future. All of the sin of God’s people is removed by the sacrifice of Christ.

Hebrews 9.11-12 says:

11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.

Jesus is the true High Priest, and the true sacrifice for our sins.

In addition, Jesus is the true Ark—he is where we live under God’s reign, because he is not only our Savior and our Brother, he is our King.

Hebrews 1.3:

3 [Jesus Christ] is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high…

Jesus is the true Holy of Holies—through him, we have ultimate access to God, the Holy of Holies now accessible to all of God’s people.

Ephesians 2.17-18:

17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

Jesus is the true bread. He said in John 6.35:

“I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”

He is our ultimate provision, our ultimate satisfaction.

And Jesus is the true light. John 8.12:

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

You see, the tabernacle, for all of its ornate beauty—the gold and the precious stones and the carefully woven linen—is just a shadow. If the tabernacle is designed so ornately, how much greater are the blessings we find in Christ? If the tabernacle is in itself so beautiful, how much more beautiful is Christ himself?

This is one reason why Christ’s coming to earth was so incredible. Thousands of years after the tabernacle, Jesus came and, in totally ordinary places far from the temple in Jerusalem, declared that the kingdom of God is here. He said, “I am your temple”. I am your home.

And when he promised heaven, the defining characteristic of heaven was that he would be there. He said in John 14.2-3:

2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

What is it that characterizes and defines heaven, the “place” that Christ is preparing for us? It is that where he is, there we will be also.

Even in heaven, heaven itself isn’t our home. He is our home.

Application

Now I know that’s a lot of information to take in, so let me bring us back down to earth, so to speak.

All of us are looking for home. This is why people want to get married and have kids. This is why we look for careers and leisure activities we love. We’re all looking for a place where we can truly belong and find out why we’re here.

The problem: it never quite works the way we think it will.

Finding a community, one where we really feel at home, is difficult. Marriage is difficult. Raising children is really hard. Relating to your parents is often a challenge. Our careers may be wonderful, but they never quite produce the results we were hoping. (And sometimes we can’t even find a career!) Even our leisure activities aren’t perfect—we often come back from vacation more exhausted than we were before.

We’re all looking for home, and we can never quite find it on our own. Which is why this quote from C. S. Lewis has become so well-known: “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.”

If you feel like you’ve been looking for home all your life but you’ve never found it, it’s because you were never meant to find it here. You were created to find your home in Christ. If you thought you had found a home for yourself, but it’s not everything you hoped it would be, that’s normal: what you thought was your home is only a pale reflection of the home you were made for.

And if you’ve found your home in Christ, but you’re still struggling with doubt because living for him is difficult, that’s normal too. Our home isn’t perfect—not yet. We are still here in this fallen world, with weak bodies that are still accustomed to sinning.

But home is coming, and we already have a foretaste of what it will be like, because even today, we have him.

So let me leave you with this simple challenge.

Even in heaven, home is not a place. It’s where he is. All of the glorious promises of heaven would be worthless if he wasn’t there. And the beautiful reality is that if we are in Christ, and if home is wherever he is, we are home. Now. It’s not all it will be, but it is real, and glorious, even now.

As tempting as it may be to see our friends or our families as our home—for me to see Loanne, Jack and Zadie as my true home—they’re not, at least not because they’re my wife and kids. They are my home because if they belong to Christ, they’ll be there celebrating him with me for all eternity. And that’s true of every person in this room who has placed their faith in Christ. If you want to have a foretaste of heaven, look at the faces of those around you. They are the faces you’ll be seeing for all eternity.

So dig in to your home. Learn to love Christ together. Worship Christ together. Glorify Christ together. The tabernacle was adorned with gold and precious stones and fine linen. Our home—the church—is adorned with love of God, love for one another, and the good works that flow out of it. Live with God in the home he has given you.

And if you don’t know Christ today, let me just say this. I know that you are looking for a home, and no matter how satisfied you feel, it’s never going to be quite right, because you were created to find your home in him.

The good news for you is that Christ has taken away all of the barriers between God and ourselves. All we have to do in order to be forgiven of our sin and united to God is to repent of our sin and place our faith in him. We’ll give you an opportunity to do that in a minute, and when that time comes, I plead with you to do it.

Find your home in him.