|
|
|
The Exodus
16. The Tabernacle
A series to help younger readers discover the Bible
The six months following the making of the Law Covenant was spent very quietly. A small band of artificers and weavers were engaged in the construction of the Tabernacle whilst Israel in general were busy with the care of their flocks and herds grazing in the extensive plain which lay at the foot of the Mount.
Chapters 25-31 record the Divine instructions given to Moses in the Mount for the construction of this Sanctuary and the appointment of its Priesthood. Chapters 35
- 39 describe the execution of the project and consist very largely of an almost word-for-word repetition of the instructions. With the completion and erection of the Tabernacle the Book of Exodus comes to its close.The purpose of the Tabernacle was to provide a meeting place between God and man, where God could symbolically dwell and be approached through the avenue of an appropriate ritual by a suitably ordained priesthood. It was also a place where offerings could be made to express contrition for sin and in a symbolic sense where cleansing from sin could be effected. The Tabernacle, with its different apartments and varied furniture, its ritual and ceremony, was really an elaborate piece of symbolism in which every element possessed a meaning illustrative of the fundamental principle governing the Divine relationship to man. This makes the Tabernacle and its ceremonies important to the Christian. Every aspect of the building and ceremony is a type or 'shadow', as the Book of Hebrews has it, connected with God's redemptive purpose. A tent protected this sanctuary or Tabernacle from the weather, and it stood in an enclosed space known as the Court. The Tabernacle comprised a portable building forty-five feet long by fifteen feet wide and fifteen high, constructed of acacia wood boards covered with gold leaf and roofed in by a richly embroidered tapestry. This building was divided into two rooms. The inner one called the Holy of Holies or Most Holy, contained the sacred "Ark of the Covenant" where a mysterious light, the 'Shekinah' represented the Divine presence. The outer room, called the Holy Place, contained the Incense Altar, the Golden Table and the seven-branched Lampstand. This outer apartment was the place where the High Priest stood before God to offer incense before entering the Holy of Holies, for the ritual of cleansing away the sins of Israel. A heavy tapestry 'Veil', adorned with figures of Cherubim, divided the two apartments and another tapestry door hung across the entrance to the Holy Place from outside.
Above this building was erected the Tent, carried down from a central ridge pole about
L twenty-two feet high at a slope sufficient to conduct away all rain water. The Tent consisted of woven goats-hair cloth covered with dyed rams' skins sewn together and then a waterproof top covering of the tanned skins of dolphins, dugong and possibly sharks. These were tanned to form a thick leather like covering which gave efficient weather protection. In the A.V. these skins are incorrectly translated "badger-skinsThe Court towards the rear of which the Tent stood, was seventy-five feet wide by one hundred and fifty long, surrounded by a white linen curtain some six or seven feet high carried on silver rods stretched between acacia wood pillars standing in cast sockets of copper or possibly bronze.
At the eastern end an opening shielded by an embroidered curtain gave access. Within the Court stood the Altar of Sacrifice and the Layer, a basin of water for ceremonial cleansing, both of copper. This Court was the place where the High Priest offered burnt offerings and sin offerings to God on behalf of the people as an essential preliminary to his entering the Divine presence in the Holy of Holies. None but Levites, members of the priestly tribe, were permitted to enter the Court. The remainder of Israel must remain outside, in the Camp.
On the annual Day of Atonement, the hosts of
Israel gathered around the outside of the Court to await the ceremony of cleansing from sin. The High Priest, senior living descendant of Levi the son of Jacob, and titular head of the sacred tribe of Levi, took his place inside the Court arrayed in white sacrificial robes. Following his ritual cleansing with water at the Layer and attended by his subordinate Levites, he offered in sacrifice on the Altar, first a bullock and then a goat, in symbolic expiation of the sins of Israel. The flesh of the sacrifice was burned with fire on the altar but its blood was carried by the High Priest into the Holy Place, where he offered incense before proceeding into the Holy of Holies where he sprinkled it upon the Ark of the Covenant. He then returned to the Holy Place, he exchanged his white robes for the splendidly adorned "robes of glory" in which he emerged into the Court, lifted up his hands and invoked the blessing of God upon the people in token that God had removed their sin. The details of this ritual are contained in Leviticus and form no part of Exodus but the initial inauguration of the priesthood does come within the scope of Exodus and is found in chapters 28-29. The splendid vestments of the High Priest comprised, principally, a blue robe adorned with blue, purple and scarlet embroidery in the shape of pomegranates interspersed with golden bells, above which was worn a richly ornamented breastplate seven inches square displaying twelve varied precious stones symbolic of the twelve tribes. A ceremonial white mitre on his head bore a gold plate frontlet inscribed with the words "Holiness to the Lord" and in a little pouch carried on the breastplate were placed the "Urim and Thummim". The words can be made to mean "Light" and "Truth", expressed in the plural, and in some manner they established the authority of the wearer to act as High Priest of Israel in the presence of God. These were not magical objects but something appropriate to a nobler conception of God. They lay next to the High Priest's heart and may have been a piece of writing material containing a summary of the Divine Law or other ascription of reverence such as that which appeared on his golden mitre plate. They were something that indicated his Divinely appointed office and authority but no one really knows even Jewish theological circles are uncertain.Thus splendidly attired, the High Priest and his sons, the deputy priests, were anointed with the holy anointing oil, compounded according to a formula set out in chapter 30. It contained four sweet-smelling herbs, myrrh, cinnamon, cane and cassia. in all fifteen pounds weight, powdered and mixed with an hin (twelve pints) of olive oil. This produced the necessary quantity that was used, not only on the priests, but on the Tabernacle furniture, formally making sacred all that was thus anointed.
The successive steps in the believer's progress toward full communion with God as displayed in the New Testament may suggest the general manner in which the symbolism of the Tabernacle should be understood. Thus the Camp of Israel surrounding the sanctuary reflects the position of the unbelieving world which has less interest in the mystic glories of its interior and yet is deeply affected by what the ritual represents because it provides their ultimate salvation. The court, an enclosure of curtains, pictures the place of all believers who by reason of faith in Christ are 'justified' (Rom.
5.1). The Layer symbolizes their cleansing (the "washing of Water by the Word" Eph. 5.26) and the Brazen Altar, the central fact of the Christian faith, that Jesus Christ offered Himself to be put to death on behalf of the people He came to save. In the Court the copper furnishings contrast with the gold of the Holy rooms within the Tabernacle. Here closer union with God is indicated. Christians who have been made right with God are invited to approach closer to the Divine Presence. Like righteous Isaiah of old, they glimpse something of the heavenly vision. They hear the Divine call "whom shall we send, and who will go for us" and cry out impulsively "Here am I; send me". Such are not content with the initial stage of conversion and reconciliation with God; they are ready in unreserved surrender and dedication of life and all that means to the service of God for whatever sphere He may direct. These are like the priests who alone have access to the Tabernacle itself. Enlightened by the Holy Spirit; they feed upon the Word of God and present themselves at the Altar of Incense. Beyond the veil, in light that no man may behold, dwells the Most High, the Father of All. This ancient building with all its elaborate ceremonial was devised not only for Israel at Sinai but it enshrines, in wonderful imagery, every aspect of the Christian faith and the progress of man from the state of alienation from God to that of reconciliation and freedom from sin.Two men of Israel, Bezaleel of the tribe of Judah and Aholiab of the tribe of Dan, both craftsmen, were selected to have the oversight of this project (ch.31). Under their supervision and instruction the people were encouraged to bring their offerings, of gold, silver, copper, woven fabrics, jewels, and to work according to their abilities in the manufacture and erection. Something like one ton of gold, three tons of silver, two tons of copper and one ton of timber, were employed in the fabrication. (The "talent" of this account was a unit of weight equal to 67lb, the sacred shekel or "shekel of the sanctuary", of which 3000 went to the talent, being about one-third of an ounce). Some skilled metallurgy was involved. The statement in ch.37.3 that they beat some of the gold into thin plates and cut it into wires means literally that they manufactured gold leaf to cover the wallboards of the Tabernacle and gold wires as fine as threads to be used in the embroidery. Articles discovered in Crete and dating from practically the same time as the Exodus include stone vases and an ivory gaming table covered with gold leaf with a skill that cannot be matched today. Bronze wire plated with gold and as fine as human hair was found doing duty on ivory human figures. Casting, welding, and soldering were all well-known skills to the ancients at that time and it seems that the Israelites had some among their number who were experts in these arts. It is not surprising therefore to read in this account that the sockets for the posts and the carrying "rings" for the altars and other articles of furniture were castings, made by pouring molten metal into sand or clay or even stone moulds. There is no doubt that Bezaleel and Aholiab were craftsmen of the first order.
There are quite a few words in the account the meaning of which is not clear in the Authorised Version because they have dropped out of the language or because the A.V. translators' inability to understand the original Hebrew technical terms. In the first category there are words such as knop (ch.25.31) meaning a knob; tache, (ch.26.6) meaning a clasp or means of attachment, ouchos (ch.28.11) meaning the setting or mount for precious stones. Words which have changed their meaning since the A.V. was translated are curious (ch.28.8) meaning that which is artistic or unique, and cunning (ch.26.31) which had the sense of ingenious, intricate or clever. So a modern translation would be that he was a 'clever' craftsman. In the second category there are such words as crown (ch.25.11) an ornamental moulding or cornice surrounding the top of the Ark and corners (ch.25.12) properly shaped feet supporting the Ark and Table, similar perhaps to animals' feet like the legs of some Victorian furniture. Then there is shewbread (ch.25.30) literally "bread of the presence" or bread exhibited in the presence of God, as it was when placed upon the Table in the Holy Place. Network (ch.27.4) is another word referring to the fire grate upon which
-burned the sacrificial fire of the Brazen Altar, fillets (ch.27.10) or connecting rods of acacia wood covered with gold or silver, stretched between the pillars, and from which the curtains were suspended, and pins (ch.27.18) tent pegs to take the guy-ropes which held the Tent in position.The precise dimensions of the Tabernacle and its furniture have always been a subject of dispute owing to considerable uncertainty as to the length of measure translated 'cubit'. It is not always realised that the cubit changed its length more than once through the ages and that in fact the ancients employed a variety of cubits. It seems to be established that Hebrew length measures are derived from the Sumerian system. Ur of the Chaldees was a Sumerian city. The Sumerian system was based on a primary unit, the palm (Hebrew tophach) which was the width of the palm of an average man's hand and was equivalent, so far as can be ascertained, to 3.6 inches. This occurs in Exodus along with the zereth of 7.2 inches, the 4-palm cubit (ammah) of 14.4 inches, to which the furniture was probably made and the 5-palm cubit (ammah) for the structure and surrounding enclosure. This system of multiple "palms" of 3.6 inches each is the
-key that yields the most satisfactory explanation of the physical construction of the Tabernacle.So, on the first day of the first month in the second year of their departure from Egypt, the erection of the Sanctuary was completed and the solemn initiation ceremony of the priesthood conducted. They had been nearly ten months at Sinai. The memorable Passover that marked the night of their escape from slavery in Egypt was nearly a year in the past and in another fortnight they would be celebrating Israel's first commemoration of that Passover. Hearts must have beat fast and hopes run high as the people gazed upon the white curtains of the Court and the upper part of the Tent rising above those curtains. They knew that within that Sanctuary was the place where God had set His Name and manifested His presence with His people, ever ready at all times to send out His power for their sustenance in the time of want and their defence in time of danger.
The Book of Exodus ends at this point. Six weeks later they were to leave Sinai and resume their journey, embarking on the forty years, wanderings in the Wilderness, but that epic is the subject of the Book of Numbers. Exodus closes with the erection of the Tabernacle and Israel's rapturous acceptance of this visible symbol of their covenant relationship to God. The tragedy was that their faith did not hold and that even with God's presence in their midst and His ministers waiting to cleanse them of all defilement and maintain them at least ceremonially clean and acceptable in His sight they still came short of that which could have been. Once again the burning words of Dr. Becher Webb come upon the mind;
Just to have known themselves to be but men;
Just to have let Him lead them by His hand;
Just to have had a little faith, and then
All had come safely to the Promised Land
And yet they failed! 0, by their failure teach
Those that come after, in the same distress,
More faithfully to follow till they reach
The land that lies beyond the wilderness.
THE END OF EXODUS.
