The following post was put together by my dear friend Krista who spent a significant amount of time studying several sources and compiling words from the Bible as well as Beth Moore’s study – A Woman’s Heart. One of the wonderful things about talking to Krista as we read through Exodus is that as she began trying to put this post together, she kept finding out more and more details that fueled the fire in her heart. Of course, as you are aware with my posts, that can sometimes lead to excessively long paragraphs. She has tried to condense some of this information and provide you with a great overview of these sections. My understanding is that she is working on the other segments of the Tabernacle for a later post.

So the first thing I thought about was in Exodus 15: 25 (but the story starts in vs. 22) when Moses threw a log or wood into the bitter water to make it sweet. In 1 Peter 2:24 it states about Jesus: “He himself bore our sins in his body on a tree…” On a tree at Calvary were cast the bitter waters of all times. The tree in Exodus 13:25 was baptized by the bitter water, soaking up the bitterness and leaving the water sweet. Likewise, our savior instantly purified the bitter waters by His perfect sacrifice on a tree when all of humanity’s sins were heaped on him. (From Beth Moore’s study- A Woman’s Heart)

That’s just another example of God revealing to the Israelites and us about the coming Messiah… I think it’s pretty cool.

Manna:
To me, the glory of God truly speaks to me when God begins to send manna to feed the Israelites. If you think about it… he only sent it first thing in the morning. So that means you actually had to get up and collect it. God was providing, but the Israelites had to make the effort to get out of bed and receive it. Then, no matter how much they gathered, no one had too much or too little. You could not save it for the next day, it was only for the present (unless it was the Sabbath). Our time with God is still a lot like Manna. God provides what we need to get through every day… but we have to be willing to get up and ask for it, in the morning. Asking for our manna at the end of the day does not do us any good for the day is almost over. And when we do receive
our daily manna (aka: daily bread) He gives us exactly what we need… not too much, not too little.

So the Tabernacle:
The building of the tabernacle begins when the Israelites flee from Egypt. God gives them favor in the eyes of the Egyptians, so they send them away with (Ex. 12: 35-36) Gold, silver, clothing, and basically whatever they asked for. The actual directions of the tabernacle to be built begins in Exodus 26. They are required to use blue and purple and scarlet yarn. The blue represented sapphire so that it would constantly remind the Israelites of the tabernacles’ heavenly decent (Ezekiel 1:26, Isa. 54:11). The purple represents royalty, kingship, and elegance (Judges 8:26, Luke 16:19, Mark 15:17-18). The scarlet denotes bloodshed, pain, and sacrifice (Isa. 1:18). Seems pretty significant to me. As you read through the chapter, pay attention to those colors and remembering what they stand for will help you understand why God is so detailed in his instructions.

You will also see that they were to use acacia wood. This wood was known for it’s incorruptibility, it resisted decay. Some think that this wood represents Christ’s humanity. In Isa. 53:2 he is called “a root out of dry ground.” He is also called a “true vine” in John. Like the acacia wood, although He was “cut off out of the land of the living” (Isa. 53:8), His body never decayed. One of the most remarkable similarities between the acacia wood and Jesus was that it bore heavy, sharp thorns.

The Bronze Alter:
Bronze was chosen because it represents strength and judgment (Job 40:18, Num. 21: 5-9, Rev. 1:12-15). A horn at each corner served as the means by which the innocent sacrifice was tied down. Also see Gen. 22:13 for another animal caught by the horns to be a sacrifice. Christ is known as the horn of our salvation (Psa. 18:2), he is the one who was secured on a cross so that we could be secured in the book of life. Then in Lev. 6:12-13 you see that God lights the fire on the altar himself…however, it is up to the priests to fuel the fire and keep it going…another place that the tabernacle is connected to us and our hearts.

The Bronze Basin:
Also made out of bronze… remember what that represents? The basin is used for the priests to bathe before entering the Holy Place. If you look at a diagram of how the tabernacle is laid out, the basin is the last thing before the priests enter into the Holy Place. Ex. 38:8 states that the basin was made from mirrors, bronze and
mirrors. So as the priests are cleansing themselves, they are seeing their reflection, causing them to “reflect” on themselves before they are allowed into the presence of God.

So before you could enter into God’s presence, you had to go through the blood (the altar) and the water (the basin)… just as in John 19:34- “But one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear bringing a sudden
flow of blood and water”

How amazing God is!!