Tabernacle of Moses Pt.1

We sing a song called “Take Me In” in our worship services, but I don’t think we really understand what we are singing about. This song says this:

Take me past the outer courts
Into the Holy Place
Past the brazen altar
Lord I want to see your face
Pass me by the crowds of people
And the Priests who sing your praise
I hunger and thirst for your righteousness
But it's only found in one place
[Chorus:]
Take me into the holy of holies
Take me in by the blood of the lamb
Take me into the holy of holies
Take the coal, touch my lips, here I am

This song is talking about the Tabernacle where God dwelt among His people. There is significant meaning behind this song and this Tabernacle of Moses. You see it is an order that God had specifically set up in order for His people to come close to Him. The Israelites (God’s people) could not just go into the Holy of Holies (where God was) whenever they felt like, however they felt like, there was a order in how they were to go before God. Even then they themselves could not go, a priest, the high priest, was allowed to go in, and that was only one day a year during a time called the “Day of Atonement” or as we know it today as “Yom Kippur”.


This was a day of fasting and atonement for the collective sins of the nation. This was not necessarily a joyous festival, but a time of prayer and spiritual dedication. On this day in the Old Testament, the high priest entered the Holy of Holies to sprinkle blood on the mercy seat as atonement for the sins of the people. On this same day, the priest would take a living sacrifice, a goat, anoint it and send it out into the wilderness, symbolically placing on this scapegoat the sins of all people.
We know that since the beginning God has always wanted a relationship with His people. He has always wanted to dwell among His people. He still does.

Tabernacle was a Place of Visual Dwelling

Tabernacle means “tent,” “place of dwelling” or “sanctuary.” It was a sacred place where God chose to meet His people, the Israelites, during the 40 years they wandered in the desert under Moses’ leadership. It was the place where the leaders and people came together to worship and offer sacrifices.

The tabernacle was first erected in the wilderness exactly one year after the Passover when the Israelites were freed from their Egyptian slavery (circa 1450 B.C.). It was a mobile tent with portable furniture that the people traveled with and set up wherever they pitched camp. The tabernacle would be in the center of the camp, and the 12 tribes of Israel would set up their tents around it according to tribe. The instruction on how to build the tabernacle was first given to Moses in the wilderness, who then gave the orders to the Israelites.

Exodus 25:8
“…make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them.” - NIV

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

And so God dwelled among His people in the tabernacle in the wilderness. He appeared as a pillar of cloud over the tabernacle by day and a pillar of fire by night in the sight of all Israel. The people would not set out on their journey unless the cloud lifted. It was an unmistakably powerful visual statement indicating God’s presence among them.

God knew that the Israelites needed visual evidence of His presence. When Moses went up to Mount Sinai for 40 days and the people did not see or hear from him, they grew impatient and gathered their gold to form a golden calf that they worshipped in place of God. After ten generations of living in Egypt, it was not surprising that the Israelites mimicked the Egyptians in fashioning a visual idol of their own. This act of disobedience demonstrated their need to follow and worship a God who was visually tangible. God’s provision of a tabernacle — itself a splendor to behold — not only allowed the people to sense His presence, but also to see their leader go in to meet with God in a concrete place and not disappear up a mountain.

The Tabernacle of Moses is a Lesson of Unquestionable Authority

The tabernacle was more than just a dwelling place. All the components of the tabernacle were part of an intricate visual aid to illustrate God's relationship with His people. One aspect of this relationship was God’s requirement for complete obedience. God told Moses to create the tabernacle exactly the way He commanded. It was not to stray from God’s blueprint.

Exodus 25:9
“Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.” - NIV

To this end, God gave very specific instructions about the size of each component and the materials the Israelites were to use, as we will see in the following weeks. These seemingly cumbersome rules were not intended to burden the people, but to show God’s unquestionable authority and holiness, and emphasize that people could only come to God on God’s terms, not on their own. They had to obey reverently not only in the construction of the tabernacle, but also in the way they worshipped. Any irreverence or ritual uncleanness could result from an individual being cut off from his people or in death.

For example, the anointing oil for the tabernacle and the incense for the altar of incense (made from God’s own prescribed formulas of spices) were both declared holy by God and could only be used for the purpose of the tabernacle; anyone else using the same formula for their own consumption would be cut off from Israel .

Exodus 30:34-38
“³⁴ Then the LORD said to Moses, "Take fragrant spices—gum resin, onycha and galbanum—and pure frankincense, all in equal amounts, ³⁵ and make a fragrant blend of incense, the work of a perfumer. It is to be salted and pure and sacred. ³⁶ Grind some of it to powder and place it in front of the Testimony in the Tent of Meeting, where I will meet with you. It shall be most holy to you. ³⁷ Do not make any incense with this formula for yourselves; consider it holy to the LORD. ³⁸ Whoever makes any like it to enjoy its fragrance must be cut off from his people." - NIV

The special garments for the priests were holy; if they did not wear the right clothing in serving the Lord, they could die.

Exodus 28:2, 43
“² Make sacred garments for your brother Aaron, to give him dignity and honor. “⁴³ Aaron and his sons must wear them whenever they enter the Tent of Meeting or approach the altar to minister in the Holy Place, so that they will not incur guilt and die.” - NIV

The wilderness tabernacle is a projection of God’s redemptive plan

In the New Testament, John writes: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” (John 1:14) This word “dwelling” is the same word for “tabernacle” in the Old Testament. In other words, God came in living flesh to dwell or to tabernacle among His people.

Revelation 21:3
“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.’” - NIV

As He walked upon the earth and lived among the Jews, Jesus Christ Himself fulfilled the picture of the Old Testament tabernacle. In that and many other ways, as we will see, the tabernacle really was a prophetic projection of the Lord’s redemptive plan for His people. As we go through the Tabernacle you will notice things unfold…and I pray that you get an “aha” moment.

Basic Layout of the Tabernacle

The tabernacle consisted of a tent-like structure (the tabernacle proper) covered by rug-like coverings for a roof, and an external courtyard (150 feet by 75 feet). The whole compound was surrounded by a high fence about 7 feet in height. The fence was made of linen hangings held by pillars.
The tent (tabernacle proper) was divided into the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. The tent was made of acacia wood boards overlaid with gold and fitted together to form the walls, measuring 45 by 15 feet. On top, four layers of curtains acted as a roof to shield the tabernacle from sun and rain: The innermost layer was woven with fine linen and embroidered with figures of cherubim (angels), the second layer was made of goat’s hair, the third layer was made of rams’ skins dyed red, and the outermost layer was made of porpoise skins. The curtains were pinned to the ground with loops and clasps.

Hide of Sea Cows – Outer Layer

The outer layer of the Tabernacle was made from the hide of sea cows.

Exodus 26:14
“¹⁴ Make for the tent a covering of ram skins dyed red, and over that a covering of hides of sea cows.” - NIV

Sea Cows? They are in the desert right? Where in the world are they going to get the hide of a sea cow? Now some translations say “badger skins” which the original Hebrew word for “badger” is “Tahas” meaning sea cow.

Back to the desert thing…where did they get this material from?
Back in the beginning of this whole construction and instructions that God had given to Moses was this:

Exodus 25:1-7
“¹ The LORD said to Moses, ² "Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for me from each man whose heart prompts him to give. ³ These are the offerings you are to receive from them: gold, silver and bronze; ⁴ blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair; ⁵ram skins dyed red and hides of sea cows ^[a] ; acacia wood; ⁶ olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; ⁷ and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breast piece.” - NIV

All the material that was to be used in the construction was to come from the people. They were to give an offering to God their gold, silver, bronze, scarlet, blue, purple yarn and fine linens, and even their sea cows. I could just hear Moses saying, “Does anyone have any more sea cow…I am fresh out and God wants me to make this roof.”

I know I know you are still wondering where the sea cow came from…right? Turn to:

Ezekiel 16:10
“¹⁰ I clothed you in embroidered cloth and gave you sandals of badger skin; I clothed you with fine linen and covered you with silk.” – NKJ

Ezekiel 16:10
“¹⁰"I also clothed you with embroidered cloth and put sandals of porpoise skin on your feet; and I wrapped you with fine linen and covered you with silk.” – NAS

Where did they get the sea cow material from? From the very feet of the Children of Israel. You see they gave of the things that they had from their jewelry to their own shoes. Why did God ask for their shoes? I think back to the beginning of Moses’ encounter with God.

Exodus 3:1-5
“¹Now Moses was pasturing the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. ²The angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed. ³So Moses said, "I must turn aside now and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up." ⁴When the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am."  ⁵Then He said, "Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." - NAS

I believe God was preparing them for an encounter…when God shows up…when God comes in and we invite Him in the ground that we stand on then becomes Holy…it is Holy because He is Holy! God was preparing them because the very ground they were standing on was going to be changed from regular dirt to a Holy place! Anytime God shows up…anyplace God shows up that place is automatically Holy…set aside for the use of God.

You took off your shoes or sandals because the ground is Holy and you cannot track in the garbage and junk from the outside world into the place where God dwells. Even today you cannot track in the things of this world and be close to God…you need to leave that stuff at the cross…only by the blood can you be washed!

Speaking of the cross…this too is related. This outer covering was put together from the very shoes of the people whom had worn them across the desert which were made from the hide of sea cows and they were not very pretty to look at. Now a days we wear shoes for style…they wore shoes to keep from stepping into things with bare feet. Even though this outer layer wasn’t very pretty, it did offer something that was of importance.

The reason God used this type of material was even though it wasn’t pretty on the outside…it protected was on the inside. It acted a type of weather protection, a heavy duty tarp if you will, that kept out the elements of the weather; sun, rain, and whatever else they encountered. This is much like the Cross of Christ. Now a days we wear the cross around our necks and use it as jewelry or an accent piece to show people we have faith in Christ, but this Cross that we bear is not at all pretty. It is not at all adorable or cute. The Cross is where the most violent type of punishment occurred.

When the Romans introduced this type of punishment it wasn’t a pretty site. It was ugly, brutal, they would pierce the prisoner with nails through their hands and feet, they would hoist the cross up and the weight of the body would press down on their lungs and the person on the cross would literally suffocate to death. The only way they were able to catch a breath is if they would lift themselves up to take a breath of air before letting down again because the pain was unbearable. To speed up the process the guards would break their legs so they would suffocate faster.

This Cross is not pleasing to the eye…it is not a beautiful decoration…but it does offer protection! Protection from the storms of life…if we take the cross and we bear it there isn’t a demon in hell who can stand in our way!
Romans 8:28-31
“²⁸ And we know that God causes everything to work together^[a] for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. ²⁹ For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. ³⁰ And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory. ³¹ What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?” - NLT