25 AugustExodus 25

According to the pattern

Moses is on the mountain receiving directions to construct a sanctuary so God can dwell in their midst.

Exodus 25:8-9 (ESV) “And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst. Exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it”. God says that for God to be with his people and dwell in their midst, this tabernacle pattern must be made precisely as God shows it to Moses. Confirmed again in Exodus 25:40 (ESV) “And see that you make them after the pattern for them, which is being shown you on the mountain”.

Moses had to build the Tabernacle precisely as God showed him. This Tabernacle wasn't just there for the people of Israel to see that God was with them. It, symbolised what God would do through Christ.

The writer of Hebrews also mentions this about the Tabernacle in Hebrews 8:4-6 (ESV)”Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law. They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, “See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.” But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises”.

Moses had to build the Tabernacle 100% according to the pattern shown to him because this would be a foreshadowing of Jesus. Albeit the Tabernacle was a special place where only the high priest could go to be in the presence of God and make atonement for the people's sins. We couldn't enter because of our sins. But instead of going into the tabernacle built by Moses, Christ enters the holy places in heaven with his blood. When Jesus died for us, rose from the dead, and went to the Father, he went before God's throne with his blood to make atonement for us. This was the purpose of entering the Tabernacle.

Exodus 25:17 (ESV) “You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold. Two cubits and a half shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth”. This was the place of atonement and grace. Today Jesus goes into God's presence on our behalf, using His blood to cover our sins and secure our eternal redemption. This is confirmed in Hebrews 9:24-28 (ESV) “For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him”.

Jesus enters the holy places in heaven and removes the barrier that separates us from God. Through his blood, we can now be with God, and God can be with us. What can we say about our Lord, who loves us so much that he would do all this to live with and inside of us?