Tag Archives: Tabernacle of Moses

Biblically, being straight (as a board) is a compliment

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Exodus 26:15–30, Boards.The boards of the tabernacle or easily overlooked for the more important furnishings of the tabernacle such as the alter, menorah and ark of the covenant. Yet upon closer analysis, the very boards that form the tabernacle’s walls are full of rich symbolic significance that speak of the redemption, salvation, righteousness that defines who the saint through Yeshua truly is. Let’s explore the neglected subject.

The walls of the tabernacle were constructed of vertical boards (20 on a side and 6 on the back) and were made of acacia wood covered in gold held sitting in silver bases. The boards were held upright by five horizontal acacia wood bars also overlaid in gold that ran the length of the walls.

The boards standing tall speak of YHVH’s upright saints (Jeshurun—another name for Israel, see Deut 32:15; 33:5; 33:26; Isa 44:2) who are called to be the temple of YHVH (1 Cor 3:16; 6:19; 2 Cor 6:16) and who will also be pillars in YHVH’s eternal New Jerusalem temple (Rev 3:12). Wood overlaid with gold in silver bases speaks of redeemed humanity with the divine nature of Yeshua. It also speaks of the two-fold nature of Yeshua who was both human and divine. The five wooden bars speak of the five-fold ministry of apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers for the edifying or building up and perfecting of the saints—the body of Yeshua (Eph 4:11–13). Five can also speak of the five books of YHVH’s Torah—his instructions in righteousness, which shows believers how to walk uprightly before YHVH.

The Tabernacle Boards in More Detail.

Boards of acacia wood overlaid in gold formed the walls of the sanctuary. The boards stood vertically and were held upright by five long rods running the length of the sanctuary through rings on the outside of the boards. Each board was set in a silver base weighing approximately 125 pounds. Silver speaks of redemption. Wood represents humanity while gold coupled with silver speaks of redeemed humanity covered in righteousness reflecting the divine nature of YHVH.

Man stands firmly on the foundation of Yeshua’s redemptive work at the cross. Such men are not their own, but were bought with the price of the precious blood of Yeshua (1 Pet 1:18–19). The upright boards represent the saints who are the temple of the Spirit of Elohim (1 Cor 6:19). The saints are also likened to pillars in YHVH’s temple (Rev 3:12).

The five bars that hold the boards from falling over can refer to the five books of the Torah which are YHVH’s instructions that keeps one on the path of righteousness. Five can also refer to the fivefold ministry which builds up and governs the body of Yeshua (Eph 4:11–13).

 

The Blue of the Tabernacle—Connecting the Finite to the Infinite

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Exodus 26:1, Blue [tekelet] yarn. The blue used in the construction of the tabernacle was a special type of blue called tekelet or tekhelet blue color, which was the same color as the tzitzits or fringes that YHVH commanded the Israelites to wear on the fringes of their garments to remind them of their covenantal agreement with Elohim to obey his commands (Num 15:37–41).

We see here another purpose of the tekelet blue tzitzits. It was to remind the Israelites of the tabernacle, which contained the seven steps of the YHVH plan of salvation for man and in all ways pointed to Yeshua, who was man’s Redeemer and Savior.

Additionally, the veil separating the holy place and holy of holies and the main door of the tabernacle itself contained tekelet blue (vv. 31, 36). Wearing the tekelet blue fringes also reminded them of their special relationship with Elohim, since they were wearing his colors, and through their spiritual relationship with him, through the Messiah, they would not only be permitted to wear the colors of YHVH’s earthly abode, but could actually become his earthly abode as human temples of his Set-Apart Spirit (1 Cor 3:16; 2 Cor 6:16).

The word tekelet is used nearly 50 times in the Tanakh and almost always refers to the colors used in the tabernacle and later the temple, as well as to the special blue used in the priestly garments. It was also the royal blue of kings (1 Chron 2:7; Est 1:6; 8:15). 

This blue, according to Jewish tradition came from a sea animal in the Mediterranean called the chillazon. The problem is that no one now knows the identity of this animal. To this day, some rabbinic experts think this blue derives from a marine mollusk, while others thing it was from a squid. Whatever the case, this special blue was highly prized by ancient royalty. It is therefore fitting that this should be the color of heaven and of the King of kings, and that his children should wear it as a badge of honor identifying themselves as the children of the Almighty King, YHVH Elohim. 

Although, tekelet is the only word for blue found in the Tanakh, in the modern Hebrew dictionary, which is based largely on ancient Hebrew, tekelet is a specific shade of blue—azure, turquoise or even a purplish or violet blue. This is in contradistinction to kachol, which is the more generic word for dark blue or b’hiyl, which is the word for light blue.

Every place in the Scriptures were blue is used, it is this special shade of sky, turquoise or azure or tekelet blue. For example,

  • YHVH asked the Israelites to donate tekelet blue cloth for the tabernacle’s construction (Exod 25:4).
  • The curtains of the tabernacle contained tekelet blue (Exod 26:1, 4).
  • The veil separating the holy place and the holy of holies contained tekelet blue (Exod 26:31).
  • The veil separating the holy place and the holy of holies contained tekelet blue (Exod 26:31).
  • The outer door of the tabernacle contained tekelet blue (Exod 26:36).
  • The priestly garments (Exod 28:5, etc.).
  • The coverings for the tabernacle implements when being transported (Num 4:6, etc.).
 

The Menorah—The Tree of Life and Yeshua

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Exodus 25:31–39, Menorah of pure gold. The menorah was beaten out of a solid ingot of pure gold and stood on the left side of the holy place inside the tabernacle. It was the only light in the holy place. The menorah had seven branches with three on either side of a central stem. Each branch had three decorative cups, a knob and a flower resembling that of an almond flower. The cups were called lamps and each was filled with the purest olive oil and contained a wick that was lit. The menorah was lit each day, and each of the six outer lamps were designed so that when lit its flame pointed toward the central stem. The menorah had tools—tongs and spoons—to tend the wick. These implements were used to clean and to prepare the lamps and to remove the previous day’s ashes.

The menorah is a picture of Yeshua, the Tree of Life, who likened himself to a vine and his followers to branches” (John 15:1–7). It also pictures the idea that the saints are members of the body of Yeshua (1 Cor 12:12) and are established in him (2 Cor 1:21). His followers are connected to him, draw sustenance from him, and the spiritual light of their lives point toward him in all that they do. Believers are to be “on fire” for doing the work of Yeshua. The Spirit of Elohim directed by the Torah—both pictured by the olive oil—fuels that fire. On the Day of Pentecost, the believers in the upper room received fire of YHVH’s Spirit and had his Torah-law written in their hearts. Through the empowerment of the Spirit—both the fruits and the gifts—the saints were able take the light of the gospel out to the world. The Continue reading →

 

The Table of Showbread—The 12 Tribes in Unity Before Elohim

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Exodus 25:23, Table. On the right side of the tabernacle opposite the menorah was the table of showbread. It was constructed of acacia wood overlaid in gold, which speaks of the two-fold nature of Messiah—both human and divine, with a crown of gold, which pictures Yeshua’s being the head of the body of believers. On the table were placed twelve loaves of bread representing the twelve tribes of Israel in communion with each other and YHVH. These loaves were replaced with fresh loaves every Sabbath (Lev 25:5–9). These loaves represent the whole house of Israel fellowshipping around Yeshua, the Bread of Life. The showbread is also called the bread of presence, for the term showbread in the Hebrew literally means the bread that is “in front of, before or in the face of” Elohim.

The Table of Showbread in More Detail

A golden table with 12 loaves of unleavened bread in two-stacks baked fresh weekly and replaced on the Sabbath represents the whole house of Israel in fellowship or communion with one another and their Creator. Yeshua is the bread of life that all must eat to have relationship with him (John 6:32–35, 53–58). This is a prophetic picture of Yom Teruah (the Continue reading →

 

The Ark of the Covenant—Heaven on Earth and Elohim’s Throne Room

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Exodus 25:10–22, Ark. The ark of the covenant was a small box of acacia wood overlaid in gold, which contained the golden pot of manna, Aaron’s rod that budded and the two tablets of stone containing the ten statements of Elohim—commonly called the Ten Commandments. Against the ark was leaned a scroll of the complete Torah (Deut 31:26).

Covering the ark was a golden cap called the mercy seat or kapporet and is related to the word kippur as in Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Both share a common Hebrew root, which is the word kapar, which according to The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (TWOT) means “to make an atonement, make reconciliation, purge”) and the mercy seat—the golden “lid” covering the ark of the covenant located in the D’veer (i.e. the inner shrine of the Tabernacle of Moses)­—which in Hebrew is the word kapporet was “the place of atonement or the place where atonement was made.” The TWOT defines what happened at the kapporet as follows:

“It was from the … mercy seat that [YHVH] promised to meet with the men [of Israel] (Num 7:89). The word, however, is not related to mercy and of course was not a seat. The word is derived from the root ‘to atone.’ The Greek equivalent in the LXX is usually hilasterion, “place or object of propitiation,” a word which is applied to [Messiah] in Rom 3:25. The translation ‘mercy seat’ does not sufficiently express the fact that the lid of the ark was the place where the blood was sprinkled on the day of atonement. ‘Place of atonement’ would perhaps be more expressive.”

The mercy seat covering the ark that contained the Torah is a vivid symbolic picture of YHVH’s mercy triumphing over his judgment (Jas 2:13). We all deserve death for violating Continue reading →

 

The Tabernacle of Moses—An Overview

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Exodus 25:8–9, A sanctuary … tabernacle. 

If you were the Creator of the universe, what means would you use to communicate with those that you had created through love in your likeness and image? In a remote way, it’s like a human standing over an anthill trying to communicate with the ants. How do you do it? Similarly, how does an all powerful, Spirit Being, loving Father in heaven relate to his mortal children who are but mere specks of dust without vaporizing them with his raw power? The difficulty is compounded when fearful humans don’t want to hear the voice of Elohim, which is what happened when YHVH Elohim’s voice thundered from Mount Sinai. The children of Israel begged him not to talk to them, lest they die. They asked the Almighty One to speak to them instead through Moses (Exod 20:19). 

When man sinned at the tree of knowledge, and YHVH kicked them out of the Garden of Eden, direct communications between man and his Maker were hampered, if not all but cut off. However, Elohim had a plan to restore the loving relationship he had with man before the rebellion. But if men refuse to hear you when you speak, what are you do?

For certain, the Almighty doesn’t lack for ways to communicate with men. Man is without excuse when it comes to hearing Elohim, for even the heaven’s declare the glory of the Creator and the plans he has for mankind. The visible things of this creation shout loudly about the spiritual mysteries heaven desires to reveal to its earthly subjects. Furthermore, from time to time over the millennia, Elohim has chosen to speak directly to some select servants through dreams, visions, signs, wonders, angels, and even once through a donkey! But how does he speak to a whole nation, if that nation is plugging its ears and refusing to hear its Master’s voice?

Enter into the picture the Tabernacle of Moses, which was literally a three-dimensional gospel message tract. It is the visual demonstration of the whole salvation message of the Bible in a building—the blueprint of the plan of redemption of wayward, sinful man. It was a functioning masterpiece of artwork demonstrating the Father’s love for his people, and of his desire to commune and to communicate with Israel—his treasured possession, those he had hand picked and called out from the 70 nations of the world. Not only did the tabernacle involve the sense of sight, but the other four senses as well: sound, smell, touch, and taste. It also engaged and even challenged the heart, emotions, mind and spirit of man to focus on his need to be spiritually reconciled to his Creator. The Tabernacle of Moses was a vehicle for the Creator of the universe to communicate with man using a panoply of communication devices all of which pointed to the coming Messiah, the Redeemer of mankind who would die for the sins of the world to restore man into a loving relationship with his ever-loving, gracious, and longsuffering Father in heaven.

This is the story of the tabernacle, which, in every way, resembles a theatrical play, even a pageant, containing costumed actors each performing his carefully choreographed role on cue. Even a child can comprehend the message of this play, yet it contains mysteries and truths so deep that only in eternity itself will they be revealed to those who have been initiated into higher spiritual levels through the tabernacle’s spiritual paradigms of which its rites and ceremonies were mere prophetic shadows of things to come. To understand it, is to understand the message of the whole Bible from Genesis to Revelation.

Let’s now enter into the world of the Tabernacle of Moses. Welcome! (Please note, over the next several parshiot, we will be discussing the tabernacle in great detail. Later, when we get into Leviticus, we will explore the sacrificial system as well as the other tabernacle rites and ceremonies, and we will learn how they all pointed to Yeshua and how it relates to us.)

Why Study the Tabernacle (or Temple)?

Elohim commanded his people to study it. In Ezekiel 43:10–11, YHVH tells Ezekiel to explain to his people the layout of the temple “that they may be ashamed of their iniquities [Torahlessness]” and presumably repent or return to a spiritual relationship with him.

Elohim commanded his people to build the tabernacle (and latter the temples, see Exod 25:8; 29:43; 1 Chron 17:11–15); therefore, it must be important, and we should study it to understand its significance. After all, one-half of the Torah and one-third of the 613 Torah commandments deal with the temple, so it behooves us to understand it’s spiritual significance.

Elohim’s name resided in the tabernacle (and temple, Deut 12:5–6), and it’s where he chose to abide with man on the earth (Exod 25:8).

Both the tabernacle and first and second temples in Jerusalem were the spiritual centers for the nation of Israel. Elohim’s manifest presence was found within the Tabernacle of Moses and Solomon’s Temple, and this phenomenon powerfully unified the 12 tribes of Israel making them feel as though they were one nation under YHVH’s divine protection Continue reading →

 

What does badger skin have to do with love and Torah?

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Numbers 4:6, Badger skin [Heb. tachash]. When being transported, the ark of the covenant was covered with a tachash skin, which, according to rabbinic tradition was an unusually beautiful color of turquoise blue made from the hide of a now extinct animal. According to The ArtScroll Stone Edition Chumash, this striking color of blue invited one to keep YHVH’s Torah-commandments by clothing them in physical beauty thus showing that obedience to them would be enjoyable (p. 745). Is obeying YHVH, keeping his commands, inviting and enjoyable, or is it a burden? In 1 John 5:1–3 we read:

Whosoever believes that Yeshua is the Messiah is born of Elohim, and every one that loves him that begot loves him also that is begotten of him. By this we know that we love the children of Elohim, when we love Elohim, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of Elohim, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous [burdensome, severe, cruel, heavy].

John the apostle clearly states that obedience to Torah is centered on love—a love relationship between man and his Creator. John, in his Gospel, records Yeshua, the Living Torah-Word of Elohim, saying,

If you love me, keep my Torah-commandments (John 14:15).

Other scriptures that say the same thing in a different way include,

Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.…Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. (Rom 13:8, 10)

And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another.

And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. (1 John 3:23)

By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.

For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. (1 John 5:2–3)

And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it. (2 John 5–6)