.
M e r c y a n d
F o r g i v e n e s s N o t e s
.
Tabernacle :.means
a dwelling place.
From Easton's Bible Dictionary:
The sacred tent (Hebrew 'mishkan', meaning 'the dwelling place'); the movable
tent/temple. The tabernacle was so constructed that it could easily be
taken down and conveyed from place to place during the wanderings in the
wilderness. Moses erected it for the service of God, according to the pattern
which God himself showed to him on the mount:.Exodus
25:9; Hebrews 8:5.
It is called."the
tabernacle of the congregation", rather."of
meeting", i.e., where God promised to meet
with Israel (Exodus 29:42); the."tabernacle
of the testimony".(Exodus
38:21; Numbers 1:50), which
does not, however, designate the whole structure, but only the enclosure
which contained the."ark
of the testimony".(Exodus
25:16,22; Numbers 9:15); the."tabernacle
of witness".(Numbers
17:8); the."house
of the Lord".(Deuteronomy
23:18); the."temple
of the Lord".(Joshua
6:24); a."sanctuary":
Exodus
25:8.
Below comprised
from Dictionary of Theology included with the
Online Bible you can get free for putting on your own computer. The
tabernacle was the structure ordered built by God so that He might dwell
among His people:.Exodus
25:8.
The tabernacle was in the
form of a perfect cube of 20 cubits.
In here, the high priest back then, entered to make atonement
for the failings of the people to live up to God's standards:.Hebrews
7:27; 9:7,12;.(*)
It was to be mobile and constructed
to exacting specifications. It is referred to in Exodus
chapters 25-27, 30-31, 35-40, Numbers
3:25, Exodus
4:4; 7:1. In all of scripture more space is devoted to the tabernacle
than any other topic. Many books have been written on the spiritual significance
of the tabernacle, how it represented Christ, and how it foretold the gospel.
The tabernacle consisted
of the outer court and the tabernacle. The outer court was entered from
the East. The outer court contained the altar of burnt offering (Exodus
27:1-8) and the bronze laver:.Exodus
30:17-21. The tabernacle stood within the court:.Exodus
26:1.
The tabernacle (dwelling
place) was a rectangular enclosure, in length about 45 feet and in breadth
and height about 15. Its two sides and its western end were made of boards
of acacia wood, placed on end, resting in sockets of brass, the eastern
end being left open:.Exodus
26:22. This framework was covered with four coverings, the first of
linen, in which figures of the symbolic cherubim were wrought with needlework
in blue and purple and scarlet threads and probably also with threads of
gold:.Exodus
26:1-6; 36:8-13. Above this
was a second covering of twelve curtains of black goats' hair cloth, reaching
down on the outside almost to the ground:.Exodus
26:7-11. The third covering was of rams' skins dyed red, and the fourth
was of badgers' skins (Hebrew. tahash, i.e., the dugong, a species of seal),
Exodus
25:5; 26:14;
35:7,23;
36:19;
39:34.
Holy of Holies:
the second or interior portion of the ancient tabernacle came to be known
as the holy of holies. It was left in total darkness. No one was permitted
to enter this second part of the tabernacle except the high priest and
that only once a year. It contained
the
ark of the covenant only:.Exodus
25:10-16.
This
equates
today to where this eternal being (Psalms
102:27) we refer to as God dwells – in our hearts (Acts
7:48; 1Corinthians 6:19;
3:16)
in eternity:.Isaiah
57:15.
It was divided into two
main divisions - the holy place and an inner part often called (but not
in the Bible) 'the holy of holies", which were separated by a veil (Exodus
26:31) the same veil that was torn from top to bottom at the crucifixion
of Jesus:.Matthew
27:51-54.
The tabernacle was a place
of sacrifice. The holy place contained three things. First, a table on
which was placed the shewbread, the bread of the presence (Exodus
25:23-30) second, a golden lampstand (Exodus
25:31-40) and third, an altar of incense:.Exodus
30:1-7.
In what came to be known
as the Holy of Holies was the ark of the covenant which contained the Ten
Commandments:.Exodus
25:16; Hebrews 8:6.
The holy of holies was entered
only once a year by the high priest back then who offered sacrifice for
the nation of Israel:.Hebrews
9:23.
Internally the ancient tabernacle
was divided by a veil into two chambers, the exterior of which was called
the holy place, also."the
sanctuary".(Hebrews
9:2) and the."first
tabernacle".(verse
6); and the interior, which came to be known as the holy of holies,
"the holy place," "the Holiest," the."second
tabernacle":.Exodus
28:29; Hebrews 9:3,7.
The veil separating these
two chambers was a double curtain of the finest workmanship, which was
never passed except by the high priest once a year, on the great day
of Atonement. The holy place was separated
from the outer court which enclosed the tabernacle by a curtain, which
hung over the six pillars which stood at the east end of the tabernacle
and by which it was entered.
What
the veil in the New Testament represents.
What
the tabernacle in the New Testament means.
Where the
veil had represented the barrier separating sinful man from a holy
God (Hebrews 9:8) its destruction represented
the free access sinners have to God through the blood of Christ:.Hebrews
10:19.
Mercy Seat:.the
covering or lid of the
ark of the covenant.(q.v.).
It was of acacia wood, overlaid with gold, or perhaps rather a plate of
solid gold, 2½ cubits long and 1½ broad:.Exodus
25:17; 30:6; 31:7.
It is compared to the throne of grace:.Hebrews
9:5; Ephesians 2:6. The holy
of holies is called the."place
of the mercy seat":.1Chronicles
28:11; Leviticus 16:2.
It has been conjectured
that the censer (thumiaterion, meaning "anything having regard to or employed
in the burning of incense") mentioned in Hebrews
9:4 was the 'mercy seat', at which the incense was burned by the high
priest on the great day of atonement and upon or toward which the blood
of the goat was sprinkled:.Leviticus
16:11-16; compare
Numbers 7:89
and Exodus 25:22.
