Next came the instructions for constructing the Tabernacle ("tent"), an ornate portable structure that would be used as the center of worship until the Temple in Jerusalem would be built (see the Fact Finder question below). The Tabernacle was located inside a walled courtyard; inside the Tabernacle was the Holy Place, and within the Holy Place was the Most Holy Place where The Ark Of The Covenant (see also Raiders Of The Lost Ark) was kept.
"And you shall erect the tabernacle according to the plan for it which has been shown you on the mountain [i.e. Mount Horeb]. And you shall make a veil of blue and Purple and Scarlet stuff and fine twined Linen; in skilled work shall it be made, with Cherubim; and you shall hang it upon four pillars of acacia overlaid with Gold, with hooks of gold, upon four bases of Silver. And you shall hang the veil from the clasps, and bring the ark of the testimony in thither within the veil; and the veil shall separate for you the holy place from the most holy.Exodus Chapter 27
You shall put the mercy seat upon the ark of the testimony in the most holy place. And you shall set the table outside the veil, and the lampstand on the south side of the tabernacle opposite the table; and you shall put the table on the north side.
And you shall make a screen for the door of the tent, of blue and purple and scarlet stuff and fine twined linen, embroidered with needlework. And you shall make for the screen five pillars of acacia, and overlay them with gold; their hooks shall be of gold, and you shall cast five bases of bronze for them." (Exodus 26:30-37 RSV)
All of the functional items of The Tabernacle were precisely designed by The Lord [see YHVH, Adonai, Jehovah, LORD] because The Tabernacle, and the Temple that replaced it, were symbolic of God's perfect and pure Temple in heaven.
The altar of burnt offering:
"You shall make the altar of acacia wood, five cubits long and five cubits broad; the altar shall be square, and its height shall be three cubits. And you shall make horns for it on its four corners; its horns shall be of one piece with it, and you shall overlay it with bronze. You shall make pots for it to receive its ashes, and shovels and basins and forks and firepans; all its utensils you shall make of bronze. You shall also make for it a grating, a network of bronze; and upon the net you shall make four bronze rings at its four corners." (Exodus 27:1-4 RSV)The Courtyard:
"You shall make the court of the tabernacle. On the south side the court shall have hangings of fine twined linen a hundred cubits long for one side; their pillars shall be twenty and their bases twenty, of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver." (Exodus 27:9-10 RSV)The oil for the lamps:
"And you shall command the people of Israel that they bring to you pure beaten olive oil for the light, that a lamp may be set up to burn continually. In the tent of meeting, outside the veil which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening to morning before The Lord. It shall be a statute for ever to be observed throughout their generations by the people of Israel." (Exodus 27:20-21 RSV)Exodus Chapter 28
The garments of the Levite priests (see Levites) were also intricately designed for their symbolism. The High Priest was symbolic of Jesus Christ (see the Fact Finder question below).
"Then bring near to you Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the people of Israel, to serve me as priests - Aaron and Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu [see also False Christs Of The Old Testament], Eleazar and Ithamar [see also The Lines Of Eleazar and Ithamar]. And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. And you shall speak to all who have ability, whom I have endowed with an able mind, that they make Aaron's garments to consecrate him for my priesthood. These are the garments which they shall make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a coat of checker work, a turban, and a girdle; they shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons to serve me as priests." (Exodus 28:1-4 RSV) "And you shall take two onyx stones, and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel [see Children of Jacob], six of their names on the one stone, and the names of the remaining six on the other stone, in the order of their birth. As a jeweler engraves signets, so shall you engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel; you shall enclose them in settings of gold filigree." (Exodus 28:9-11 RSV)
"So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment upon his heart, when he goes into the holy place, to bring them to continual remembrance before The Lord. And in the breastpiece of judgment you shall put the Urim and the Thummim [see Urim And Thummim], and they shall be upon Aaron's heart, when he goes in before The Lord; thus Aaron shall bear the judgment of the people of Israel upon his heart before The Lord continually." (Exodus 28:29-30 RSV)
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