Building God’s House

Building God’s House

Have the people of Israel build me a holy sanctuary so I can live among them. You must build this Tabernacle and its furnishings exactly according to the pattern I will show you.

Exodus 25:8-9

In the first room were a lampstand, a table, and sacred loaves of bread on the table. This room was called the Holy Place. Then there was a curtain, and behind the curtain was the second room called the Most Holy Place. In that room were a gold incense altar and a wooden chest called the Ark of the Covenant, which was covered with gold on all sides. . . . Above the Ark were the cherubim of divine glory, whose wings stretched out over the Ark’s cover, the place of atonement.

Hebrews 9:2-5

When you’re putting something together, like a bike or a game or a piece of furniture, do you carefully follow the directions step by step? Or do you use the directions as a last resort?

God gave instructions to Moses for building a Tabernacle, where he would meet with his people and live among them. These were very specific instructions about its size, materials, layout, and furniture. The people were to follow the directions exactly. Why did God do that? Is he just picky? God gave such specific instructions because this Tabernacle was much more than a meeting place. Every aspect of it said something about our need for God and the way those needs are provided for in Jesus.

The Tabernacle was a vivid illustration of the work of Jesus to bring people to God. The curtain showed the separation between us and God, a separation that was overcome when Jesus died and the curtain was torn in two. The priests sprinkled the blood of sacrifices on the cover of the Ark that held the tablets of the Ten Commandments. This was a symbol of Christ’s blood coming between the presence of God and our sin so we can receive mercy. The container with manna God had provided in the wilderness was a picture of Jesus as the Bread that came from heaven, and the lampstand revealed him as the true Light that came into the world. The real point of the Tabernacle was who it pointed to: Jesus.

DISCUSSION STARTERS

What is the most significant item you’ve built or put together? Did you follow the directions?

Why was it important for the Tabernacle to be built exactly right?

How did the three items inside the Ark—the stone tablets with the Ten Commandments, the jar of manna, and Aaron’s staff—remind the people of their need and God’s provision (see Deuteronomy 10:1-2; Exodus 16:32-34; Numbers 17:10-11)?