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Tabernacle

Do You Have A House Or A Tabernacle?

by Rabbi Eric Tokajer March 20, 2023

written by Rabbi Eric Tokajer

Ever since I was a small child in Hebrew School classes, I was fascinated by the Tabernacle. I was amazed that when the Creator of the Universe, the One who was all-knowing, all-powerful, and all places wanted His people to build a home for Him, He asked them to build Him a tent. Not a palace of stone, but a tent.

Years later when I became a believer in Yeshua (Jesus), I found Exodus 25:8, 40 and Hebrews 8:5; these verses caused me to begin studying the Tabernacle in more detail.

Exodus 25:8 “Have them make a Sanctuary for Me, so that I may dwell among them. 9You are to make it all precisely according to everything that I show you—the pattern of the Tabernacle and the pattern of all the furnishings within—just so you must make it.

Exodus 25:40 See that you make them according to their pattern being shown to you on the mountain.

Hebrews 8:5 They offer service in a replica and foreshadower of the heavenlies—one that is just as Moses was instructed by God when he was about to complete the tabernacle. For He says, “See that you make everything according to the design that was shown to you on the mountain.”

The word pattern in the text seemed to pop off of the page as if in 3D and this drove me to look at and search for every element that was commanded to be used in its construction. As I did, I found that everything that was used to build the Tabernacle and its furnishings had a symbolic prophetic nature. From the wood used to build the poles that held up the curtain, to the Ark of the Covenant, each individual piece was designed by G-D and perfectly integrated to share something about His redemptive plan for mankind, and each piece in some way focused our attention on Yeshua.

I spent hours and hours digging into each and every piece and was amazed time after time how intricately G-D designed each cell of the Tabernacle so that every piece connected to every other piece to weave a beautiful tapestry depicting His plan to redeem mankind.

Recently, however, as I was reading through Exodus again, two different words popped off of the page and caused me to read these words from a different perspective. These two words are “sanctuary” and “dwell.” These words changed my focus on the Tabernacle and I hope they will change yours a little also.

While it is absolutely true and extremely important to remember that when G-D provided to Moses the blueprints for the Tabernacle, the materials which were used and the furniture was designed purposely to tell G-D’s prophetic plan.

However, the Bible actually states that the purpose of the Tabernacle was to provide a sanctuary and a dwelling place for G-D. Now, before I go on, please note that I know that G-D didn’t need a tent to have a home. After all, Isaiah 66:1 tells us: “…that Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool.”

So, because the purpose of the tabernacle was so that it would be a sanctuary and dwelling place for G-D, I began to look into these two concepts. First, a sanctuary by definition is a sacred place or holy place, and a dwelling is a place to abide in or live in.

Being that we know that G-D didn’t need a sacred place or a dwelling for Himself, we must conclude the purpose of the Tabernacle was so that we would have such a place, a sacred or holy place to dwell in with G-D. However, the more I studied, the more I realized that the Tabernacle wasn’t just a replica of what is in Heaven, but was also a visual example for us. If the Tabernacle was G-D’s design for His home on earth, wouldn’t it stand to reason that the Tabernacle was also His design for what our homes should be?

Now, before you start thinking that I am encouraging everyone reading this to sell their houses and move to tents, that is not where I am going. I believe there is a deeper and much more meaningful pattern in the Tabernacle that G-D wants us to design our homes according to.

In this blog, I will only be looking at one aspect of the pattern and its meaning for us. If our homes are to follow the pattern that G-D provided for a home, then our homes must be more than just places in which we eat and sleep. Our homes must also be sanctuaries, holy places, sacred spaces.

I believe the design of the Tabernacle provides a pattern for our homes and there was a reason the Tabernacle had three distinct and separate sections.

The Outer Court: (Our patios, our backyards); this space was open and available not only to the priests and Levites, but also to anyone who chose to come to the Tabernacle. Our homes should likewise have space where everyone is welcome, where both those who know G-D and those who do not yet know Him may come and fellowship.

The Holy Place: (Our living rooms, or Dens); this space was just available to the Levites and Priests. Our homes should have spaces where only those who are in relationship with G-D are welcomed. This space must be sacred and holy, a safe space for our families and friends to fellowship with each other and G-D. (As you read this, please understand that I am not saying we should never invite those who do not yet believe in Yeshua into our homes. I am simply providing a spiritual application for the Tabernacle pattern.)

The Holy of Holies: (Our Bedrooms or Prayer Rooms) This space was only for the High Priest. This space in our home must be limited only to those and that which is holy and sacred. There is a reason for what we read in Matthew 9:23-25: Yeshua was honoring and following this Tabernacle pattern.

Matthew 9:23 When Yeshua came into the synagogue leader’s house and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd wailing, 24 He said, “Go away, for the girl isn’t dead, but sleeping.” And they began jeering at Him. 25 But when the crowd had been cleared out, He went in and took her hand, and the girl got up.

To make what I am describing a little easier to comprehend. In the outer courts you may allow conversations about the news of the day. In the Holy Place we welcome believers and ask G-D to enlighten us concerning the news of the day, to show us in his word how to respond to the news of the day and to pray and worship our way through the news of the day (The Menorah, The Table of Showbread, The Altar of Incense) In the Holy of Holies we as individuals boldly enter into G-D’s presence to intercede concerning the news of the day both good and bad.

This is only one example of the many patterns provided to make our homes a Tabernacle, or Sacred Place of Dwelling. In future blogs, or maybe a new book, I will share more.

March 20, 2023 0 comment

Faith Spotlight

The Old Testament Still Applies Today

by Sarah Crockett November 12, 2022

written by Sarah Crockett

I don’t know about you, but when I get to some parts of the Old Testament I find myself reading the words on the page but they aren’t registering. My eyes are reading the words, but my mind is completing thinking about something else.

This time it was different. Before I began reading I invited Holy Spirit to come and speak to me. I knew I was about to read chapters that were very detailed and tedious. I reminded myself that if it was in the bible God put it there for a reason and if it was important enough to Him to include it then I was going to choose to make it important to me too.

I intentionally approached reading this portion of scripture with hunger and seeking revelation. I read a few sections before I was hit with a short phrase that began to speak to me; detailed plans for the tabernacle, more detailed plans for the altar, and then I read Exodus 27 verse 9…

“Make a courtyard for the tabernacle. The south side shall be a hundred cubits long and is to have curtains of finely twisted linen…”

As I read the verse it felt like I had just walked past something only to be yanked back to it. That may sound a little violent, but I could feel the swift and strong pull of Holy Spirit drawing my focus to this phrase. As I read it again my thoughts began to race. The first thought that came to mind was that we are a temple for the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). I began exploring this truth with Holy Spirit using a mathematical equation called an if-then statement.

Old Testament = Courtyard for the Tabernacle

THEN

New Testament = ______________ for Me

As I sat there pondering this with the Holy Spirit, I shared my thoughts with Him… A courtyard surrounds a building and a courtyard is uncovered. I pressed into what that could mean for me asking the Holy Spirit for revelation. What did this Old Testament verse mean for me now? I continued to ponder… God gave specific plans to Moses for making a courtyard for the tabernacle and if I’m now the tabernacle that houses God’s presence then what would my “courtyard” be? Then Holy Spirit filled in the equation…

Old Testament = Courtyard for the Tabernacle

THEN

New Testament = ENVIRONMENT for Me

I get to be the tabernacle that carries God’s presence

The revelation began to unravel for me. An environment is what surrounds me. Wherever I go there is an environment and I get to be the tabernacle that carries God’s presence. Wow! What an amazing thought. I may have differing levels of authority in any given environment, but I always have influence as a carrier of God’s presence. For example, I have more authority over the environment of my home than I do at Walmart. However, I have influence over the environment in both places. The tabernacle that housed God’s presences in the Old Testament influenced the atmosphere of the courtyard.

Take Aways
– The Old Testament is still relevant
– Father God chose to make us the present-day tabernacle.
– We can, as the present-day tabernacle, make a “courtyard” wherever we go
– Our awareness of God’s presence in us enables us to influence our environments

May the Old Testament come alive for you in new ways as you partner with Holy Spirit to discover biblical truth!

Written by Sarah Crockett

November 12, 2022 2 comments

Israel Israel Insider

When Not Even Moses Could Enter the Tabernacle

by Rabbi Eric Tokajer April 12, 2022

written by Rabbi Eric Tokajer

We are about to celebrate the Passover, the Feast of Redemption, a celebration of the deliverance of the Children of Israel from their slavery in Egypt. Families will gather around their tables and enjoy a Seder meal. Within this meal, each item of food symbolically represents a part of the story. This meal takes place on the 14th day of the Biblical month of Aviv (also known as Nisan). However, in this blog I don’t want to focus on the Seder meal and all of the amazing symbolism within it. You can find hundreds of great blogs and books that cover that subject. In this blog, I want to bring your attention to something else that takes place on the 1st day of the month of Aviv.

We read in Exodus 12:1-2:

1 Now Adonai spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt saying, 2 “This month will mark the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year for you.

It amazes me that even though G-D directly made the 1st of Aviv Israel’s new year, most of the Jewish world, as well as most believers in Yeshua, pass by the date with almost little to no acknowledgement. For many, the 1st of Aviv is merely the day we begin to empty our homes of Hametz (yeast products) in preparation for celebrating Passover.

However, there is something that happened on the 1st of Aviv that was not only miraculous, but also contains a lesson that is vital for us today, especially those of us who believe in Yeshua.

We find this event in Exodus 40. While I encourage you to read the entire chapter, for the sake of space, I will only post a few of the verses in this blog.

Exodus 40:1 Then Adonai spoke to Moses saying, 2 “On the first day of the first month, you will set up the Tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting.

In this verse, we read that G-D spoke to Moses to set up the Tabernacle on the first day of Aviv. Just a little further down in Exodus 40:16-17, we read that Moses did what G-D commanded and set up the Tabernacle on the first day of Aviv.

16 Moses did so, just as Adonai had commanded him. 17 Now it happened during the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month, the Tabernacle was raised up.

So, on the first day of the month of Aviv, the day Israel celebrated the New Year, Moses set up the Tabernacle. If nothing else significant happened on that day, this event alone is enough to cause us to celebrate. On the first day of Aviv, the Tabernacle of G-D was set up by Moses. After all the work and preparations to build and prepare the Tabernacle to the exact specification provided by G-D Himself, the Tabernacle was finally completed, set up, and inaugurated. I know this is not a commanded Feast Day, but there are so many non-commanded days we observe as memorials, certainly the day the Tabernacle was completed and set up should be remembered yearly.

While the Tabernacle was completed and set up on the 1st of Aviv, that is not the only thing that happened on that day that we read about in Exodus 40. If we keep reading through the chapter, we get to Exodus 40:34-35:

34 Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of Adonai filled the Tabernacle. 35 Moses was unable to enter into the Tent of Meeting, because the cloud resided there and the glory of Adonai filled the Tabernacle.

Think of what an amazing experience it was to see the cloud fall and the glory of G-D fill the Tabernacle. But, notice that when the Spirit of G-D filled the Tabernacle, Moses was unable to enter because the cloud resided there. I wrote above that not only did something miraculous happen on the 1st of Aviv, but that there was also a lesson for us today.

The miracle was the visible presence of G-D falling like a cloud and His Spirit filling the Tabernacle. The lesson is that just as the Tabernacle became a home where G-D’s Spirit dwelt, we are temples of G-D, as we read in 1 Corinthians 3:16:

16 Don’t you know that you are God’s temple and that the Ruach Elohim dwells among you?

But, the fact that we are the temples, or tabernacles, of G-D’s Spirit isn’t the lesson I want to share with you. The lesson is that although Moses oversaw the entire process of the Tabernacle’s construction, once the Tabernacle was set up, the Spirit of G-D filled the Tabernacle so full that even Moses couldn’t enter. This should be the same with you and I today. Yes, we must prepare ourselves to be the tabernacle or temple of G-D, but once we are prepared and once we welcome His Spirit into our Tabernacle, we must let His Spirit fill us so completely that there is no space or room for our spirit at all.

One last thought as you consider this: it was only after G-D’s Spirit completely filled the Tabernacle that the Children of Israel could follow the lead of the Cloud about where to go and what to do.

April 12, 2022 0 comment

Articles

Failures Are Not Forever

by GOD TV June 20, 2019

written by GOD TV

“Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.” (Lamentations 3:22)

In the verse above “consumed” = “finished”. At times we may fail in several areas. We can’t guarantee that we will be successful at all times. However, there’s something that doesn’t fail. NEVER. That’s His compassions. They never fail. Because His compassions never fail, and because of the Lord’s mercies, we are not consumed (finished).

His compassions and mercies never fail

So, the question is, as a child of God, we may fail and people around us may try to finish us. But God overrides that and because of His mercies and compassions, we will not be consumed.

What a solace we have in our God, who NEVER fails. This is something we can bank on. He has our back. So, we will not be consumed. I think we can be at ease instead of fretting over our failures. Thank You God, for Your compassions and mercies. Thank You that they NEVER fail, so are we NEVER consumed.

“This is my comfort in my affliction: for Thy word hath quickened me.” (Psalm 119:50)

Here, “Thy Word” = “speech, utterance, the Word of God”…”Quickened” = “to live, to revive”. This tells me that there will be afflictions that come our way. However, He would revive me, through His spoken word.

“For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion: in the secret place of His tabernacle shall He hide me; He shall set me up upon a rock.” (Psalm 27:5)

Protection from trouble

When there’s trouble outside, He will hide me in His “pavilion” = “a hut, booth, cottage”. And also in the secret place of His tabernacle, He shall hide me, so that I’m protected.

When my enemies are looking for me, God shall hide me in the secret place of His tabernacle, where no one can enter or no one has access or no one knows the whereabouts, so that I’m kept safe.

This tells me that there will be times of trouble. But He will make sure that I’m hidden in the secret place of His tabernacle, so that I’m kept safe.

This post was written by Sharath Dodda.

June 20, 2019 0 comment

Video

For Texas Archeologist, Shilo Discoveries Reinforce Christian Faith

by GOD TV June 26, 2018

written by GOD TV

When an unnamed media outlet placed Dr. Scott Stripling, the provost at The Bible Seminary in Katy (Houston), Texas and the Director of Excavations for the Associates for Biblical Research, “outside the mainstream” of Israeli archeological thought because he believes the Bible is the literal word of God, he took the description as a compliment.

“I can’t remember where it was, but the report said that “while Stripling and his team do vigorous scientific archeology, they lie outside the mainstream of Israeli archeological because they take the Bible as a serious text.

“I think they meant it as a pejorative, but I agreed with every word, Yes, I’m guilty as charged – we’re doing serious archeological research and yes, we take the bible as a serious text,” Stripling told TPS.

Walking around the the excavation site at Ancient Shilo, where the Prophet Joshua is said to have set up the Tabernacle after conquering the promised land and where it remained for 369 years, it is clear that for Stripling, who is also an ordained minister with an infectious smile and chiseled features honed from years of digging, the overlap of his scientific and Biblical expertise have come to reinforce one-another. While there is no concrete evidence of the elusive Ark of the Covenant or the Tabernacle, he says the findings all around the site give clear indication of an ancient civilisation here, complete with remnants of sacrificial norms that would reinforce the Biblical narrative.

“Just behind us, in our area D is a massive bone deposit with bones only from the biblical sacrificial system full of Late Bronze Age pottery with restorable vessels… so very very clearly this was a sacrificial site,” Stripling said during a tour of the site. “And the ruins we’ve unearthed on the south side were built by the Christians in the 5th century. They clearly believed that something significant had occurred here.”

Even more significant, he says, is the northern gate, which he says was likely to serve as a port to bring water from a nearby spring and which contains imagery and remnants of Biblical fruits such as pomegranate. After digging for 20 years at Khirbet el-Maqatir, about 15 kilometres to the south, Stripling and his dig team began to unearth and study the current site last year, and will continue at least until 2023.

“We’re exposing the outside of the ancient wall, the fortification wall that went all the way around the site. The top of it, and then the inside of it. On the outside, we have a glacis, an earthen embankment that protects the wall from foreign invasion. On the top of it we have early Roman/ Early Second Temple structures built into it because it’s a very large wall, five and a half meters wide.

“On the inside we have storage rooms and interior buildings where people stored grains, figs, barleys. When people (came) to Shilo, they wanted to give their tithe, and that meant commodity. So (you’ve got evidence of) sacrifice, also of commodity.

“For more than three centuries, this is the center of Israelite life,” he said.

Asked how long ancient Shilo was inhabited, Stripling flips easily between Biblical references to the era of the Judges and archeological references to the Iron, Byzantine and Canaanite periods.

“In an archeological tel the deeper you dig the older the material is. Walking here you really are suspended in time – when we dig you’ve got the Islamic period, Byzantine, Early Roman (late Second Temple), Hellenistic, Persian, which is the Iron II (Age), which is the period of the Kings, Tabernacle), then back to Canaanite/Amorite period.

“(So I’d say the site is) likely to have been inhabited for most of the past 4,000 years, from the Amorite Period (c.1750-1800 BCE) almost continuously to medieval times, about 500 years ago).

Ultimately, Stripling said that while the Biblical narrative cannot be proved beyond a scientific doubt, he added that his findings at the site, as well as at other dig sites he has overseen around Judea and Samaria, has served only to strengthen his belief that the Biblical story is historically accurate. That view has led on occasion to professional disagreements with local colleagues – he was “stunned” several years ago when a PhD student at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem said that he had been the first archeologist that had ever mentioned the Bible to them.

Nevertheless, Stripling is not intimidated by the charge that he is outside the mainstream.

“The most basic of all human questions that people of all cultures and all socio-economic strata have is ‘how do I connect with God,’ ‘how do I bridge that gap between us when we fracture our relationships and between God. Sacrifice provides a means by which we can recover broken relationships.

“So if we seem a little outside the mainstream – then fine! Then the mainstream needs to shift.”

Written by Andrew Friedman/TPS | Photo by Andrew McIntire/TPS

June 26, 2018 0 comment

Articles Faith

There’s More to It Than Just Conversion: The 3 C’s of Christianity

by Karen Rosario Ingerslev May 24, 2017

written by Karen Rosario Ingerslev

The 3 C’s of Christianity: Conversion, Communion, and Consummation

I once found myself in a vision of the Tabernacle of Moses, with each of the three portions of the Tabernacle representing a degree of intimacy with the Lord. The Outer Court was labelled ‘Conversion’ and there was a large area splashed with the blood of Jesus. Beyond the blood, a veil had been slashed open so that anyone could enter into the next level. It was clear that although the gate to salvation is narrow, once inside we can go as deep as we want.

Unfortunately, many people don’t get much further than Conversion; it is just too messy to walk through the blood. I took a moment to consider whether I really wanted to get my feet dirty and eventually crossed through the veil to the Inner Court.
The Inner Court was the place of Communion and I saw the body and blood of Jesus laid out for me to consume. Those who enter this place find a deeper satisfaction with the Lord but it comes at a cost; it is darker in the Inner Court and you will have died to self a little in your walk through the blood. Beyond the next veil, the Holy of Holies was waiting.
This is the place of Consummation; true and total intimacy with the Lord. Once reserved for the high priest alone, we now all have access because of Christ’s blood sacrifice. I stood with the veil before me, the full glory of His power and presence just a step away. I’d been praying for more of God for so long and finally, I was about to be face to face. I would have thought I would run straight in.

Instead, I found myself gripped by an immense fear. The holiness emanating from beyond the veil was so intense that I felt like if I were to step any further I might die. In reality, death to every part of me is what is needed in order that Christ might live through me, but in that moment I couldn’t embrace it. Though it is scripturally true that I have been crucified with Christ, I realized that it wasn’t yet a reality in my full being. My mind was still set on earthly things, my flesh- driven by a fear of dying- was consumed with dread, and so I did not venture any further.

This experience bothered me. I thought I knew Jesus pretty well. I thought my hunger for more of Him proved my devotion. It was startling to discover that He was waiting for me in a place much deeper than I dared to venture. Sometimes, in my vanity, I can be tempted to think that my desire for God is greater than His desire for me. Through dark and testing times I have sometimes entertained the bitter lie that God is absent, unloving or unknowable. But the truth is, if God did not want to be known then He is big and powerful enough to never be found. On the contrary: Jesus’ deep hunger to be known by us is precisely why He came. God takes no pleasure in holding back His presence or power from our lives. There is no price or pain that we could pay that would compare to what He paid for the chance that we would turn and know Him. When our lives flashed before His eyes during the awful crucifixion, we can be sure Jesus wasn’t merely thinking, “I hope they get saved one day.” He hungered and thirst for much much more.

The God of Israel was a spectacular God, one who did not share His glory with another. Yet, on the night He died, Jesus made this astonishing statement: ‘The glory you have given to me, I have given to them’ (John 17:22). If we are in Christ, then we are no longer considered to be ‘another.’ Total unity, total Consummation, is available to us. That is what He wants for us. That is what He died for. Is it what we live for? When He calls us deeper, will we dare to go? Even if it kills us?

The veil is open. All we need to do is step through.

Francis Chan makes the ironic observation that while ‘God doesn’t need us but still wants us, we desperately need God but don’t really want Him most of the time.’* Let’s not settle for comfortable Christianity, with an acceptance of Jesus which stops at Conversion. Communion is sweet but even that isn’t deep enough. Let’s keep walking through the blood, all the way to Consummation, whatever the cost. The veil is open. All we need to do is step through.

May 24, 2017 0 comment