Leviticus and the Tabernacle (Part 3 of 0)

Leviticus and the Tabernacle – Part 3

We’ve seen that the Tabernacle was a portable continuation of the theophany on Mount Sinai. God would continue to be with His people, meeting with them in the Tabernacle just as He had met with them in the mount. In both cases, the people, priests, and place were sanctified: as God was Holy, so they must be Holy. In both, God manifested Himself, filling the mount and the Tabernacle with the cloud of His glory. In both, there were three zones of holiness and restricted access, the Outer Court corresponding to the foot of the mount, the Holy Place to the location on the mount short of the summit, and the Most Holy Place to the summit itself. God conversed with Moses in the Most Holy Place just as He had in the summit.

In these ways, the Lord’s presence on the mount continued in the Tabernacle, His dwelling-place among the children of Israel. The tables of stone given to Moses on the mount were kept in the ark in the Most Holy Place, a physical reminder that the book of the covenant was the basis of their relationship with the Lord and the focus of their ongoing attention. In short, the Tabernacle was a living microcosm of the theophany on Mount Sinai.

The Tabernacle and Creation

In addition to these connections between the Tabernacle and Mount Sinai, the record of the Tabernacle is filled with allusions to the Creation in Genesis:

  • As the phrase “And God said <559 ’amar>…” declared God’s plan in the seven days of creation (Gen 1:1-2:3; cf. Psa 33:6, 9), so the phrase “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying <559>…” occurs seven times (Exod 25:1; 30:11, 17, 22, 34; 31:1, 12) in the “thou shalt make” section (Exod 25-31), dictating God’s pattern for the Tabernacle.
  • This parallel is confirmed by the seventh of these, in which keeping the Sabbath is explicitly based on God having rested on the seventh day: “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep… for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed” (Exod 31:12-17; cf. Gen 2:1-3). The idea of Sabbath rest occurs seven times in this passage, which is no doubt significant (one of these seven, “the sabbath of rest”, has the Hebrew root twice).
  • “And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold… onyx stone…” (Exod 25:3, 7; cf. 35:22, 27) recalls the gold and onyx stone of the land of Havilah (Gen 2:11-12).
  • The cherubim of the mercy seat (Exod 25:18-22; 37:7-9), in the linen curtains (26:1; 36: 8), and in the veil (26:31;36:35) reminds us of the cherubim that were placed east of the garden of Eden, “to keep the way of the tree of life” (Gen 3:24).
  • The candlestick — with its shaft, seven branches, and almond-like bowls, knops, and flowers (Exod 25:31-40; 37:17-24) — is reminiscent of the Tree of Life (Gen 2:9; 3:22, 24), because almond trees typify life from the dead: Aaron’s rod “was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds” (Num 17:8); as a prototypical example of life from the dead, Aaron’s rod was stored in the Ark of the Covenant (Heb 9:4).
  • Bezaleel and Aholiab being filled with the Spirit of God so they could build the Tabernacle (Exod 31:1-6; 35:30-35) recalls “And the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters” (Gen 1:2b).
  • “Thus was all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation finished <3615 kalah>” (Exod 39:32) parallels “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished <3615>, and all the host of them” (Gen 2:1).
  • “According to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so <3651 ken> the children of Israel made all the work… they had done it as the LORD had commanded, even so <3651> had they done it… Thus did Moses: according to all that the LORD commanded him, so <3651> did he” (Exod 39:42, 43; 40:16) follows the “And God said… And it was so <3651>” pattern in Genesis 1. In addition, the description of Moses setting up the Tabernacle is punctuated seven times by the reverberating refrain “as the LORD commanded Moses” (40:19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 32).
  • Moses inspecting and approving the Tabernacle, “And Moses did look upon <7200 ra’ah> all <3605 kowl> the work, and, behold <2009 hinneh>, they had done <6213 ‘asah> it as the LORD commanded” (Exod 39:43a), echoes God inspecting and approving creation, “And God saw <7200> every thing <3605> that he had made <6213>, and, behold <2009>, it was very good” (Gen 1:31); the Hebrew for these two passages is nearly identical.
  • “And Moses blessed <1288 barak> them” (Exod 39:43b) recalls “And God blessed <1288> them [the water creatures]… And God blessed <1288> them [the man and woman]… And God blessed <1288> the seventh day” (Gen 1:22, 28; 2:2).
  • “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, On the first day of the first month shalt thou set up the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation… And it came to pass in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was reared up” (Exod 40:1-2,17) refers back to the Passover com­mand “This shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you” (Exod 12:2). Together these bring to mind “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth… And the evening and the morning were the first day” (Gen 1:1, 5; cf. 8:13). The setting up of the Tabernacle occurred on New Year’s Day, and represented a new beginning, a new creation.
  • “So Moses finished <3615 kalah> the work <4399 mela’kah>” (Exod 40:33) parallels “And on the seventh day God ended <3615> his work <4399> which he had made” (Gen 2:2).
  • “Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LorD filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the con­gregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the LorD filled the tabernacle” (Exod 40:34, 35) reminds us of God’s purpose with the earth: “As surely as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD” (Num 14:21; cf. Psa 72:18, 19; Isa 11:9; 60:19; Hab 2:14; Rev 21:22, 23).

These allusions show that the Tabernacle was intended to be a microcosm of Creation! Just as God dwelt among the children of Israel (Exod 25:8), even so He will dwell among men (Rev 21:3; cf. John 1:14).

Overcoming Sin

Beyond these detailed parallels between the Tabernacle and Creation, there is a general “big picture” analogy between Genesis 1-9 and Exodus 19-40. The two records follow the same pattern of blessing/sin and cursing/restored blessing.

Genesis 1-9 follows this three-phase pattern (see Appendix 1):

  • Phase 1. Creation is very good (Gen 1-2).
  • Phase 2. Sin threatens creation; in particular, Adam and Eve sin and are driven out of the garden of Eden, Cain murders Abel, and God destroys all flesh by flood because mankind is evil, corrupt, and violent (Gen 3-7).
  • Phase 3. God remembers Noah and his family, creation is restored, and God establishes his covenant with all living things (Gen 8-9).

Exodus 19-40 follows the same three-phase pattern (see Appendix 2):

  • Phase 1. God establishes His covenant with Israel (Exod 19-24), and gives them the plan for the Tabernacle (Exod 25-31).
  • Phase 2. The sin of the golden calf breaks the covenant, threatens the destruc­tion of the nation, and forestalls the need for the Tabernacle (Exod 32:1-33:11).
  • Phase 3. Moses intercedes for the nation, God repents and renews the cov­enant (Exod 32-34), and the Tabernacle is built and is filled with the glory of the Lord (Exod 35-40).

Both cases start with blessings from God (creation; covenant and tabernacle). In both cases, man’s sin endangers the blessing, because of God’s wrath. In both cases, God preserves His purpose through one man (Noah; Moses). In both cases, God confirms the original blessing and (re-)establishes His covenant (with all living things; with Israel). Neither mankind nor Israel changes – the imagination of their heart is still evil continually; and they are still stiff-necked – but God Himself guarantees His everlasting covenant nevertheless.

This final “big picture” structural parallel clinches the analogy between the Tab­ernacle and Creation: the Tabernacle is indeed a microcosm of Creation.