The Tabernacle

It was God’s own mind from before the creation of the world to have a people and to dwell among them. After Adam’s fall in sin, mankind was driven from God’s presence, and the way of return was barred by Cherubim with flaming swords. But God’s plan of redemption was already set in place. He called a people to himself, made them great, and raised up Moses to deliver them from bondage. Taking them into the wilderness, God commanded Moses to build the Tabernacle according to His perfect and detailed instructions—a house for the great God of creation to dwell among his people. The key to understanding everything in the Tabernacle is the central Person of the entire Scripture, Jesus Christ. God intended this holy structure to be the most visual presentation of the glory of Jesus Christ. It’s really the gospel in the Old Testament.

Giving continuous light to the inside of the Tabernacle, the Lampstand was made of one piece of solid, beaten gold. In it, we are given many spiritual parallels with Jesus Christ and his references to being the light of the world. The oil burned in the lamps symbolizes the Holy Spirit. The main shaft of the Lampstand pictures Christ, and the branches are united to it, reminding us of Jesus’ words, “Abide in me, and I in you….For without me ye can do nothing.”

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Rev. A.T. Vergunst is minister of the Gospel in the Reformed Congregation of Carterton, New Zealand.