The Tabernacle, an interactive visual study of the portable sanctuary described in Exodus, with a guided walk-through of its seven major elements and their meaning.
The Tabernacle.
The portable sanctuary built in the wilderness, where the God of all the earth chose to dwell with his people. Every chamber, every vessel, every offering pointed forward to something greater.
"And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst."Exodus 25:8 ESV
A walk from east to west.
The journey through the Tabernacle moved inward, from the courtyard's entrance toward the throne of God at the heart of the holy of holies.
Tap any element on the map to read its study.
The bronze altar.
The first encounter upon entering the courtyard. A large bronze altar, five cubits square and three cubits high, with a horn rising from each corner. Animal sacrifices were offered here, the necessary first step toward approaching God. Sin had to be addressed before fellowship could begin.
"Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." The altar foreshadowed a final sacrifice, one offered once for all.
"Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins."
The altar was acacia wood overlaid with bronze, the only metal that could withstand its constant fire. It stood at the entrance to remind every worshiper that approaching God required a death. Leviticus 6:13 commands that the fire on the altar must never go out.
Sacrifice was not occasional. It was continual, every morning and every evening, plus festival offerings on top of that. The shadow had to be repeated. The substance, when he finally came, would be offered once.
The bronze laver.
A bronze basin standing between the altar and the tabernacle entrance. Priests washed their hands and feet here before every act of service. The blood at the altar dealt with guilt; the water at the laver dealt with daily defilement. Cleansing always follows sacrifice.
"That he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word."
"The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean."
Exodus 38:8 records a striking detail. The laver was made from the bronze mirrors donated by the women who served at the tabernacle entrance. Vanity, refashioned for service.
There are two kinds of cleansing here. The once-for-all bath of justification, and the daily washing of sanctification. The Christian needs both: a settled standing before God, and a renewed walk in his presence.
The golden lampstand.
Inside the Holy Place, on the south side, stood a lampstand of pure hammered gold with seven branches. Its lamps burned continually, the only light in that windowless room. Where God dwells, there is light to live by and light to work by.
"I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden... let your light shine before others."
The lampstand was hammered from a single talent of pure gold, roughly seventy-five pounds, an extraordinary weight for one piece. Its branches included almond blossoms, cups, and calyxes, hinting at life and fruitfulness. Almonds are the first trees to bloom in spring; the lampstand bore the symbol of early life.
Christ is the light. His followers reflect his light. The lampstand had seven flames, and the Spirit gives many gifts, all serving the same end: to make the church a light to the world.
The table of showbread.
On the north side of the Holy Place stood a small table overlaid with gold. Twelve loaves of bread were set on it, one for each tribe of Israel, replaced fresh every Sabbath. The bread of the Presence sat continually before the Lord. God provides for his people. He sustains them.
"I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst."
In 1 Samuel 21:6, when David and his fleeing men were starving, the priest gave them the showbread to eat. Jesus referenced this moment in defending his disciples in Matthew 12:3, 4. The Lord's provision, when his people are hungry, has always overridden ritual.
The twelve loaves represented the twelve tribes of Israel. Every Sabbath the bread was refreshed, but it was never absent. The bread of the Presence was always there. God's people were never out of his sight, never out of his provision.
Provision is not a one-time gift. It is a continual presence. The bread that fed Israel for a week sat in the bread of his Presence the whole time. We do not eat alone.
The altar of incense.
Directly before the veil stood a small gold altar. Every morning and every evening, the priest burned fragrant incense on it. The smoke rose continually, mingling with the prayers of God's people, drifting up toward the holy of holies.
"He always lives to make intercession for them." Christ continually offers his people's prayers before the Father.
"And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer... and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God."
The incense was a specific blend of stacte, onycha, galbanum, and pure frankincense (Exodus 30:34). Anyone making the same blend for personal use was cut off from Israel. This incense was holy, set apart for God alone.
Prayer is not a transaction. It is an offering, fragrant and continual, rising before God. The same Lord who taught us to pray now lifts our prayers to the Father, mingled with his own intercession.
The veil.
A heavy curtain of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, embroidered with cherubim, separated the holy place from the holy of holies. Only the high priest could pass through it, only once a year, and only with blood. Access to God's presence was restricted. Sinful humans could not approach a holy God lightly.
"And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom." At Christ's death, the way was opened.
"We have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh."
Jewish tradition held that the veil was four inches thick. It was woven, not sewn. When it tore at Christ's death, it tore from top to bottom. No human hand could have done it. The hand that tore it was God's.
The same Lord who designed the veil also tore it. Both acts were love. The first protected sinners from a holiness they could not survive. The second invited them in, made holy by a sacrifice they could not have offered.
The Ark of the Covenant.
In the holy of holies sat the most sacred object. A gold-covered chest holding the tablets of the law, a jar of manna, and Aaron's rod that budded. Its lid, called the mercy seat, was overshadowed by two cherubim with outstretched wings. There, God said, "I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat... I will speak with you."
"Whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood." Christ is the true mercy seat, where holiness and guilt meet and grace is given.
Hebrews 9:4, 5 describes what the Ark contained: the golden urn holding the manna, Aaron's staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant. Above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat.
The Hebrew word for mercy seat is kapporet, related to the word for atonement. Once a year on Yom Kippur, the high priest sprinkled blood on it. The Greek translation rendered the word hilasterion, the same word Paul used in Romans 3:25 to describe Christ.
The Ark was lost to history during the Babylonian exile. The presence of God was no longer in a box. He had been preparing his people for a presence that would dwell in flesh, Immanuel, God with us.
Every element pointed to Christ.
Every chamber, every vessel, every offering. The whole structure was, in the words of Hebrews, "a copy and shadow of the heavenly things." When Christ came, he did not enter holy places made with hands, but heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.
And then the great announcement. At the cross, the veil tore. The way into the presence of God, closed for fifteen centuries, was opened forever.
"Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh."Hebrews 10:19, 20 ESV
All scripture quoted from the English Standard Version. A study from The Lampstand Project.