Exodus 36

The building of The Tabernacle did not originate in the heart of man. The Tabernacle was God's idea. From beginning to end, the Lord was the author of every good gift that He chose to use in its construction including all the people involved. The Lord was the Source, and He remains the appropriate reason for all our praise.

Bezalel was a gifted and spirit-filled man. Oholiab was a skillful and intelligent assistant. But it was the Lord who commanded everything concerning this important work. He put skill in their minds and in their hands to work out what was in the memory of Moses and in the voice of the Lord.

The One who created the world out of nothing was certainly able to build this little tent house without anyone's help. But it was the Lord's glory to use people in this endeavor. He gave them skill, and their hearts were stirred up to do His work. That was more impressive than just doing it all Himself. This pattern was for our benefit, for the Lord has always been determined to use people to build His kingdom in every era of our salvation.

Some gave contributions of necessary materials. Others received the contributions and turned them into glorious and beautiful objects as God had commanded. No one brought anything of their own for which thanks could not most rightly be offered up to God. The compulsion to give was from within, so the people of the Lord gave more than was necessary for the task at hand. Eventually they had to be told to stop giving, since there was too much!

The craftsman set about their work. They made the tents, with the heavenly vision of cherubim woven into the material. They made them according to the command of the Lord. They were the same size, pleasing to the eye and to the mind, an ordered work befitting the worship of the God of Israel who does all things with decency and order.

There was a unity displayed in their work. The Tabernacle was one, because God, in all His complexity, is now and always will be One. This unity needed to be expressed in the Old Testament worship house. We were being prepared through this example for the church. Though we are comprised of great diversity, we have the unity of one Lord over one holy temple. The Tabernacle was made by the workmen to be a single whole.

The craftsmen made frames to give the structure necessary for this holy tent. It was one thing to have a design for a holy place. It was another to build it. The structure needed integrity. It needed to make a distinction between what was outside and what was inside. Without a suitable frame under the various coverings, this would have been impossible.

It was made with reference to the world all around it. It had a south side, for example. The sun outside the tabernacle rose in the east every morning. This one orientation defined the meaning of north, south, west, and east in the world of creation. This tabernacle was to be placed in this creation as a picture of another world, another creation. It was a mysterious and even dangerous link to a place that would enliven the hope of the faithful living in this present world who were eager for the promises of God to be fulfilled.

The overlay of gold on the frames and the bars that provided necessary support were a part of the great work of building the tabernacle. Those with skill in working with gold accomplished this task. The very frame of the Lord's house would speak of glory and holiness, like a door to heaven, where even the bells on the horses might be inscribed with the phrase “holy to the Lord,” and where even the streets would be paved with gold.

We are called to believe in the glory of the life to come. This structure was one of the ways that the Lord provided an aid to faith, not only to those who walked through this movable house of glory back in those days, but to the church in every era who would read about these details and consider the greater glory that was yet to be revealed.

A veil was made that would separate the Most Holy Place from the Holy Place. It must have been beautiful, with blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen and cherubim skillfully worked into it. But that veil and its supporting structure, its golden hooks, and its silver bases told a story not only of the glory of a Paradise beyond the veil. It also warned the worshiper about the consequences of getting too close to the glory of God without the protection of a perfect sacrifice. What must it have been like to make that veil when the heart of the true worshiper longed for it to be torn apart? As long as that veil stood, the people of God were kept out, except in the presence of a high priest, who had his own sin. Even the entrance to the tabernacle spoke a similar message to the nations of the world. They were on the outside. They could not come in.

But now the perfect Sacrifice has been offered. When He died, the veil was torn in two from top to bottom. The entrance to the presence of God has come to us through Christ, our Gate, and we are engaged in the building of a world-wide temple of the Holy Spirit. Jesus is our most skilled Artisan, our perfect Lamb, our Passage to heaven, and our sympathetic Priest. He is leading us in a glorious endeavor, and is Himself our greatest delight. To us, He has become more beautiful than any building that men can build. We are pleased to serve with Him. He is our Lord.