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16 The Tabernacle which God gave to Moses upon Mount Sinai, together with His instructions concerning the priests who were to min- ister in the tabernacle, and how they were to be clothed and consecrated for their sacred office. Then we read the story of the broken law; Moses' confession of Israel's sin; his intercession for his people; and God's giving to him a second time the ten commandments written upon two tables of stone with "the finger of God." The last six chap- ters of the book tell of the building of the tabernacle "according to the pattern" given by the Lord to Moses. And Exodus closes with the tabernacle finished, the Sheki- nah Glory filling the tabernacle and overshadowing it in the pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night. God was dwelling in the midst of His redeemed people! It is the story of redemption, and a picture of salvation in Christ Jesus, who dwells "in the midst" of His blood-bought chil- dren. Christ Himself is the Passover Lamb. His cross is the altar. He is the Priest. The Tabernacle--A Shadow of the Cross Before we begin the detailed study of the tabernacle, let us take a bird's-eye-view of this sanctuary in the midst of encamped Israel. The very pieces of furniture were arranged in the form of a cross; and each article of furni- ture spoke of Christ, the Lord. The tents of three tribes of Israel were pitched on each side, the tabernacle literally "in the midst." The second chapter of the book of Numbers tells the location of each tribe. Judah was on the east, directly in front of the gate of the court; for Christ was to come from the tribe of Judah, and the gate speaks to us of Him who is "the way" to God. On the east also were the tribes of Issachar and Zebulun; on the south, Reuben, Simeon,
The Tabernacle and Gad; on the west, Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benja- min; and on the north, Dan, Asher, and Naphtali. Between the tents of the twelve tribes and the taber- nacle, there were the tents of Moses and Aaron and the priests on the east; those of the three families of the Levites on the other three sides. The third chapter of Numbers gives us the location of the Levites. We remember that Levi, one of the sons of Jacob, had three sons: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. These three became the fathers of the three families of Levites, each of which had certain duties to perform in connection with the service. in the tabernacle. The Gershonites lived on the west of this sanc- tuary; the Kohathites, on the south; the Merarites, on t~e north. They were to minister before God on behalf of His people. Only the priests could go into the Hol~ Place; only the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies once a year. But the Levites helped in taking down the taber- nacle for the march, in erecting it again when God meant for His people to rest, and in carrying the parts that went toward making this beautiful and costly "tent of the con- gregation." The court of the tabernacle was made of fine, white linen fastened on pillars of brass, set up in the sand in sock:ts of brass. There was only one entrance to this court, only one way of access to God. As we said a mo- ment ago, the gate speaks to us of Christ, the only Way to God and heaven. Directly in front of the gate was the brazen altar of burnt offering, where the animal sacrifices were offered up to God. And directly west of that was the brazen laver, where the priests had to wash their hands and feet before they could enter into the Holy Place to minister before God. The altar of burnt offering is another picture of Christ, the Lamb of God; the laver,
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