God Desires to Dwell with His People

The entire story of Scripture becomes the story of a God who is relentlessly working to bring His people back near.

"The LORD said to Moses, 'Speak to the people of Israel, that they take for me a contribution. From every man whose heart moves him you shall receive the contribution for me. And this is the contribution that you shall receive from them: gold, silver, and bronze; blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen; goats' hair; tanned rams' skins and goatskins; acacia wood; oil for the lamps; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; and onyx stones, and stones for setting, for the ephod and for the breastpiece. And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst. Exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it.'" — Exodus 25:1–9

The Tabernacle Was an Icon

An icon is something you look at in order to look through it — to see beyond it.

The Entrance Gate

You don't just wander casually into the presence of God however you want.

The Outer Court

• The Bronze Altar — featuring horns
• The Bronze Laver
• The Table of Showbread
• The Golden Lampstand (Menorah)
• The Altar of Incense

The Holy of Holies

• The Ark of the Covenant

The Tabernacle Foreshadowed Jesus

"The Word became flesh and dwelt among us…" — John 1:14

"Dwelt" = tabernacled

Jesus was a walking tabernacle.

Point 1: Jesus Is the Gate

"I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved." — John 10:9

"I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." — John 14:6

Point 2: Jesus Was the Sacrifice on the Bronze Altar

At the bronze altar, a lamb was slain for the sin of others. In the same way, at the cross, Jesus — the Lamb of God — became the true and final sacrifice for all sin.

Point 3: Jesus Is Our Daily Cleansing at the Bronze Laver

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." — 1 John 1:9

We are invited to come to Jesus again and again when we need cleansing.

Point 4: Jesus Is Our Table of Showbread

"I am the bread of life." — John 6:35

Bread in the Scriptures always pointed to sustenance, to satisfaction, to the provision that keeps a person alive.

Point 5: Jesus Is the Golden Lampstand of God's Presence

"I am the light of the world." — John 8:12

Through Jesus, true illumination comes to the human soul.

The Garden of Gethsemane

Gethsemane means "crushed olive."

"Greatly distressed and troubled…" — Mark 14:33–34

Pressed in on every side with anguish.

"He was crushed for our iniquities." — Isaiah 53:5

In the garden of Gethsemane, the Son of God entered the place of crushing. There He faced the full weight of what it would cost to bring humanity back into the presence of God. And through that suffering the light of salvation was kindled, a light that no darkness can overcome. — C.S. Lewis

Jesus was crushed so the light of God's presence could burn through the oil of the salvation He provides.

Point 6: Jesus Is Our Altar of Incense

"My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." — 1 John 2:1

Jesus, as our advocate, stands before the Father day and night interceding for His people.

If I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies. Yet distance makes no difference. Scripture assures me that he is praying for me now. — Robert Murray M'Cheyne

Point 7: Jesus Is the Holy of Holies

"And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom." — Mark 15:37–38

On the cross, Jesus shed His blood for our sins, and through His resurrection He carried our sin away forever.

"Divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them." — Acts 2:3

"And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit." — Acts 2:4

The presence of God that once dwelled in the Holy of Holies now lives inside you.

Conclusion

You are a walking Holy of Holies.

The tabernacle of God is no longer a building people visit — it's a people God sends.