The Tabernacle: A virtual three-dimensional model and tour!

The Tabernacle, Hamishkan. The Hebrew word means dwelling place. It was where God dwelled with his people, and its elements show us how to relate with God. After delivering the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, God gave them detailed instructions on how to build this dwelling. Once constructed, the Lord descended on the Tabernacle in a pillar of cloud. Curtains separated the whole Tabernacle In this courtyard was the Tabernacle's largest piece of furniture, the altar. A wooden box covered with bronze, the altar was shaped as a square, measuring approximately 7.5 feet long and 7.5 feet wide. From top to bottom it stood about 4.5 feet. Hollow space inside the box allowed priests to insert coals. Above was a bronze grating, where priests would lay animals for sacrifice. A horn of one piece with the altar stood at each corner. Four bronze rings under the ledge allowed one to insert carrying poles so the Israelites could transport the altar. Between the altar and the tent of meeting was a bronze laver. Priests had to cleanse their hands and feet here before offering sacrifices or entering the tent. Within the inner tent stood one of the most recognized elements of the whole Tabernacle, the menorah. A lampstand with three branches that rose on each side to create a total of seven lamps. This solid gold lampstand weighed about 75 pounds. Each lamp was a small cup that the priest would fill with oil to fuel the light. Each branch in the middle of the shaft had almond blossoms. The menorah served a most practical purpose. It was the only source of light in the tent, an eternal light that was never to go out. Also in the tent stood a wooden table covered with gold. On it was to always remain the bread of the presence. The bread of the presence symbolizes God's desire to be with His people. Incense was to burn continuously on the altar. God instructed the priests to replenish the incense every evening and morning. A curtain separated the holy place from the holy of holies. The menorah, the altar of incense, and the bread of the presence were all in the holy place, but outside this veil. Like the curtains covering the tent of meeting, this veil was blue, purple, and scarlet, with cherubim, a kind of angel. Beyond the veil at the far end of the tabernacle was the ark. The ark was a wooden box covered with gold. It was nearly four feet long. Its width and height were about two feet, three inches. Like the altar, the ark had rings and poles so the Israelites could carry it as they traveled. Within the ark were the two stone tablets on which God had written the Ten Commandments. Later, it contained a sample of manna and the rod that bloomed to reinforce Aaron's leadership. The mercy seat was the ark's lid and features prominently on Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement. At each end stood a cherub facing the other with its wings outspread. This cover was made of solid gold. The priest would sprinkle the blood of the sacrifice on this mercy seat. Symbolizing that the nation's sins were covered for another year. While only the high priest would see it, the mercy seat was the key symbol of atonement that God would forgive his people. Though daily sacrifices on the altar were necessary for payment of sin, it was only through the mercy seat on the Day of Atonement that the stain of sin was washed away. While priests had to make repeated sacrifices, one man offered a sacrifice to atone for sin once and for all. When Jesus the Messiah died, he sprinkled his own blood before God, securing atonement forever for all who would trust in him. Jesus cleanses us, makes us pure, and enables us to rightly approach the Lord. He tore the veil that kept distance between Israel and the Lord. God dwelled among the Israelites through a tent. Now, he dwells within his people through the Spirit.