God told Moses to build a tabernacle which he would use to serve God, worship Him and enable him to have a place for the sacrifices.

The Tabernacle was a magnificent structure made of all manner of precious materials and beautiful fabrics, gold, silver, brass, cloth dyes, fine linen, goats’ hair, red rams’ skins, seals’ skins, acacia wood, oil, spices, incense and precious stones. All of these precious items were needed to construct the beautiful Tabernacle.

There was also a need for willing workers who are skilled in carpentry, metal work, weaving, carving and all the crafts and arts necessary to build and decorate the tabernacle and everything connected with it.

God told Moses that Bezalel would be in charge and his assistant was Aholiab.

Firstly Moses asked the Israelites, who had a willing heart, to bring to him all that was needed, so that the Tabernacle could be built.

Exo 35:4  And Moses spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, “This is the thing which the LORD commanded, saying:

Exo 35:5  ‘Take from among you an offering to the LORD. Whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as an offering to the LORD: gold, silver, and bronze;

Exo 35:6  blue, purple, and scarlet thread, fine linen, and goats’ hair;

Exo 35:7  ram skins dyed red, badger skins, and acacia wood;

Exo 35:8  oil for the light, and spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense;

Exo 35:9  onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod and in the breastplate.

Those who had special skills in this manner of work were commissioned by God to build the Tabernacle.

Exo 35:10  ‘All who are gifted artisans among you shall come and make all that the LORD has commanded:

Exo 35:11  the tabernacle, its tent, its covering, its clasps, its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its sockets;

Exo 35:12  the ark and its poles, with the mercy seat, and the veil of the covering;

Exo 35:13  the table and its poles, all its utensils, and the showbread;

Exo 35:14  also the lampstand for the light, its utensils, its lamps, and the oil for the light;

Exo 35:15  the incense altar, its poles, the anointing oil, the sweet incense, and the screen for the door at the entrance of the tabernacle;

Exo 35:16  the altar of burnt offering with its bronze grating, its poles, all its utensils, and the laver and its base;

Exo 35:17  the hangings of the court, its pillars, their sockets, and the screen for the gate of the court;

Exo 35:18  the pegs of the tabernacle, the pegs of the court, and their cords;

Exo 35:19  the garments of ministry, for ministering in the holy place—the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, to minister as priests.’ ”

Exo 35:21  Then everyone came whose heart was stirred, and everyone whose spirit was willing, and they brought the LORD’s offering for the work of the tabernacle of meeting, for all its service, and for the holy garments.

Exo 35:22  They came, both men and women, as many as had a willing heart, and brought earrings and nose rings, rings and necklaces, all jewelry of gold, that is, every man who made an offering of gold to the LORD.

Exo 35:23  And every man, with whom was found blue, purple, and scarlet thread, fine linen, goats’ hair, red skins of rams, and badger skins, brought them.

Exo 35:24  Everyone who offered an offering of silver or bronze brought the LORD’s offering. And everyone with whom was found acacia wood for any work of the service, brought it.

Exo 35:25  All the women who were gifted artisans spun yarn with their hands, and brought what they had spun, of blue, purple, and scarlet, and fine linen.

Exo 35:26  And all the women whose hearts stirred with wisdom spun yarn of goats’ hair.

Exo 35:27  The rulers brought onyx stones, and the stones to be set in the ephod and in the breastplate,

Exo 35:28  and spices and oil for the light, for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense.

God assigned Bezalel and Aholiab his assistant, to be in charge of the great amount of beautiful materials wood and precious metals used in the construction of the Tabernacle.

Exo 35:29  The children of Israel brought a freewill offering to the LORD, all the men and women whose hearts were willing to bring material for all kinds of work which the LORD, by the hand of Moses, had commanded to be done.

Exo 36:1  “And Bezalel and Aholiab, and every gifted artisan in whom the LORD has put wisdom and understanding, to know how to do all manner of work for the service of the sanctuary, shall do according to all that the LORD has commanded.”

Exo 36:2  Then Moses called Bezalel and Aholiab, and every gifted artisan in whose heart the LORD had put wisdom, everyone whose heart was stirred, to come and do the work.

Exo 36:3  And they received from Moses all the offering which the children of Israel had brought for the work of the service of making the sanctuary. So they continued bringing to him freewill

offerings every morning.

While the Tabernacle was being built, Bezalel and Aholiab, built the Ark of the Covenant to house the Ten Commandments. Originally Moses made an Ark for the tablets, but that was only temporary until the Ark of the Covenant was made by skilled workers.

Deu 10:1  “At that time the LORD said to me, ‘Hew for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and come up to Me on the mountain and make yourself an ark of wood.

Deu 10:2  And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke; and you shall put them in the ark.’

Deu 10:3  “So I made an ark of acacia wood, hewed two tablets of stone like the first, and went up the mountain, having the two tablets in my hand.

Deu 10:4  And He wrote on the tablets according to the first writing, the Ten Commandments, which the LORD had spoken to you in the mountain from the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly; and the LORD gave them to me.

The Ark of the Covenant was made.

Exo 37:1  Then Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood; two and a half cubits was its length, a cubit and a half its width, and a cubit and a half its height.

Exo 37:2  He overlaid it with pure gold inside and outside, and made a molding of gold all around it.

Exo 37:3  And he cast for it four rings of gold to be set in its four corners: two rings on one side, and two rings on the other side of it.

Exo 37:4  He made poles of acacia wood, and overlaid them with gold.

As well as the Ark there was a table made.

Exo 37:10  He made the table of acacia wood; two cubits was its length, a cubit its width, and a cubit and a half its height.

Exo 37:11  And he overlaid it with pure gold, and made a molding of gold all around it.

Exo 37:12  Also he made a frame of a handbreadth all around it, and made a molding of gold for the frame all around it.

Also the beautiful lampstand.

Exo 37:17  He also made the lampstand of pure gold; of hammered work he made the lampstand. Its shaft, its branches, its bowls, its ornamental knobs, and its flowers were of the same piece.

Exo 37:18  And six branches came out of its sides: three branches of the lampstand out of one side, and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side.

Exo 37:19  There were three bowls made like almond blossoms on one branch, with an ornamental knob and a flower, and three bowls made like almond blossoms on the other branch, with an ornamental knob and a flower—and so for the six branches coming out of the lampstand.

Exo 37:20  And on the lampstand itself were four bowls made like almond blossoms, each with its ornamental knob and flower.

Exo 37:21  There was a knob under the first two branches of the same, a knob under the second two branches of the same, and a knob under the third two branches of the same, according to the six branches extending from it.

Exo 37:22  Their knobs and their branches were of one piece; all of it was one hammered piece of pure gold.

Exo 37:23  And he made its seven lamps, its wick-trimmers, and its trays of pure gold.

Exo 37:24  Of a talent of pure gold he made it, with all its utensils.

They also made the incense altar.

Exo 37:25  He made the incense altar of acacia wood. Its length was a cubit and its width a cubit—it was square—and two cubits was its height. Its horns were of one piece with it.

Exo 37:26  And he overlaid it with pure gold: its top, its sides all around, and its horns. He also made for it a molding of gold all around it.

Exo 37:27  He made two rings of gold for it under its molding, by its two corners on both sides, as holders for the poles with which to bear it.

Exo 37:28  And he made the poles of acacia wood, and overlaid them with gold.

Exo 37:29  He also made the holy anointing oil and the pure incense of sweet spices, according to the work of the perfumer.

Everything for the Tabernacle had to be made exactly as God had instructed Moses. The material was beautifully crafted in varying colours, the gold and metal work was done by people with a great amount of talent. All articles were expertly done. The jewels were cut and fashioned so their brilliance shown.

The Tabernacle was completed 1 year after they left Egypt.

God put the Levites in charge of the Tabernacle. Taking it down and putting it up during their 40 years of wondering.

The Levites took care of all the duties within the Tabernacle and they also camped close to it so that they could give most of their time to serving in the Tabernacle, keeping it and securing it so that no person other than the Levites came near the Tabernacle.

There was a protective fence around the Tabernacle made of fine linen, and this area between the fence and the Tabernacle was called the court.

In the court near the only gate into the area was the alter of burnt offerings.

It was made of acacia wood and overlaid with brass. The wood was hollowed out and filled with earth.

The fire that was on the alter was not allowed to go out. Aaron and the priests attended to it and made sure it was burning all the time.

After the Tabernacle had been constructed the elders of Israel made offerings of wagons and oxen, these were to be used in their service of the Tabernacle.

Num 7:2  Then the leaders of Israel, the heads of their fathers’ houses, who were the leaders of the tribes and over those who were numbered, made an offering.

Num 7:3  And they brought their offering before the LORD, six covered carts and twelve oxen, a cart for every two of the leaders, and for each one an ox; and they presented them before the tabernacle.

Num 7:4  Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

Num 7:5  “Accept these from them, that they may be used in doing the work of the tabernacle of meeting; and you shall give them to the Levites, to every man according to his service.”

Num 7:6  So Moses took the carts and the oxen, and gave them to the Levites.

The alter was made to be carried as the Israelites wandered, again this was a magnificent structure.

Exo 38:1  He made the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood; five cubits was its length and five cubits its width—it was square—and its height was three cubits.

Exo 38:2  He made its horns on its four corners; the horns were of one piece with it. And he overlaid it with bronze.

Exo 38:3  He made all the utensils for the altar: the pans, the shovels, the basins, the forks, and the firepans; all its utensils he made of bronze.

Exo 38:4  And he made a grate of bronze network for the altar, under its rim, midway from the bottom.

Exo 38:5  He cast four rings for the four corners of the bronze grating, as holders for the poles.

Exo 38:6  And he made the poles of acacia wood, and overlaid them with bronze.

Exo 38:7  Then he put the poles into the rings on the sides of the altar, with which to bear it. He made the altar hollow with boards.

Between the tabernacle and the altar was a huge brass bowl called the laver. This was always to be full of water in which the priests were to wash their hands and feet before going about their duties at the altar.

Exo 30:17  Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying:

Exo 30:18  “You shall also make a laver of bronze, with its base also of bronze, for washing. You shall put it between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar. And you shall put water in it,

Exo 30:19  for Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet in water from it.

Exo 30:20  When they go into the tabernacle of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn an offering made by fire to the LORD, they shall wash with water, lest they die.

Exo 30:21  So they shall wash their hands and their feet, lest they die. And it shall be a statute forever to them—to him and his descendants throughout their generations.”

SUMMARY OF HOW THE TABERNACLE LOOKED

Exo 40:1  Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying:

Exo 40:2  “On the first day of the first month you shall set up the tabernacle of the tent of meeting.

Exo 40:3  You shall put in it the ark of the Testimony, and partition off the ark with the veil.

Exo 40:4  You shall bring in the table and arrange the things that are to be set in order on it; and you shall bring in the lampstand and light its lamps.

Exo 40:5  You shall also set the altar of gold for the incense before the ark of the Testimony, and put up the screen for the door of the tabernacle.

Exo 40:6  Then you shall set the altar of the burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting.

Exo 40:7  And you shall set the laver between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar, and put water in it.

Exo 40:8  You shall set up the court all around, and hang up the screen at the court gate.

Exo 40:9  “And you shall take the anointing oil, and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it; and you shall hallow it and all its utensils, and it shall be holy.

Exo 40:10  You shall anoint the altar of the burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar. The altar shall be most holy.

Exo 40:11  And you shall anoint the laver and its base, and consecrate it.

Exo 40:12  “Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the tabernacle of meeting and wash them with water.

Exo 40:13  You shall put the holy garments on Aaron, and anoint him and consecrate him, that he may minister to Me as priest.

Exo 40:14  And you shall bring his sons and clothe them with tunics.

Exo 40:15  You shall anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may minister to Me as priests; for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations.”

Exo 40:16  Thus Moses did; according to all that the LORD had commanded him, so he did.

Exo 40:17  And it came to pass in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was raised up.

Exo 40:18  So Moses raised up the tabernacle, fastened its sockets, set up its boards, put in its bars, and raised up its pillars.

Exo 40:19  And he spread out the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent on top of it, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

Exo 40:20  He took the Testimony and put it into the ark, inserted the poles through the rings of the ark, and put the mercy seat on top of the ark.

Exo 40:21  And he brought the ark into the tabernacle, hung up the veil of the covering, and partitioned off the ark of the Testimony, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

Exo 40:22  He put the table in the tabernacle of meeting, on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil;

Exo 40:23  and he set the bread in order upon it before the LORD, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

Exo 40:24  He put the lampstand in the tabernacle of meeting, across from the table, on the south side of the tabernacle;

Exo 40:25  and he lit the lamps before the LORD, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

Exo 40:26  He put the gold altar in the tabernacle of meeting in front of the veil;

Exo 40:27  and he burned sweet incense on it, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

Exo 40:28  He hung up the screen at the door of the tabernacle.

Exo 40:29  And he put the altar of burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and offered upon it the burnt offering and the grain offering, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

Exo 40:30  He set the laver between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar, and put water there for washing;

Exo 40:31  and Moses, Aaron, and his sons would wash their hands and their feet with water from it.

Exo 40:32  Whenever they went into the tabernacle of meeting, and when they came near the altar, they washed, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

Exo 40:33  And he raised up the court all around the tabernacle and the altar, and hung up the screen of the court gate. So Moses finished the work.

Exo 40:34  Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

Exo 40:35  And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

Exo 40:36  Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would go onward in all their journeys.

Exo 40:37  But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not journey till the day that it was taken up.

Exo 40:38  For the cloud of the LORD was above the tabernacle by day, and fire was over it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.

The tabernacle had two rooms. The first one, which was to be entered from the curtained east end, was about forty feet long and twenty feet wide. This gold covered room, spoken of as the holy place, contained three important things: a gold covered table on which were to be placed twelve loaves of bread to represent the food offerings of the twelve tribes of Israel, a golden lampstand with places for seven oil fuelled lamps and a golden altar on which incense was to be burned.

The second room was only half the size of the first room, or about twenty feet square. In this very sacred area, which was to be entered only by the high priest, only once a year, on the Day of Atonement, there was an object of great value. It was a wooden chest, covered with gold, called the ark of the covenant. This ark was about the size of a large trunk. It had a solid gold lid, called the mercy seat, on which were mounted two golden cherubim facing each other. Inside the chest were the two stone tablets on which were written the Ten Commandments. Aaron’s rod was also kept there. Then there was a special container in which there was manna.

Now we will look at the clothes for the priests

Exo 39:1  Of the blue, purple, and scarlet thread they made garments of ministry, for ministering in the holy place, and made the holy garments for Aaron, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

Exo 39:2  He made the ephod of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and of fine woven linen.

Exo 39:3  And they beat the gold into thin sheets and cut it into threads, to work it in with the blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and the fine linen, into artistic designs.

Exo 39:4  They made shoulder straps for it to couple it together; it was coupled together at its two edges.

Exo 39:5  And the intricately woven band of his ephod that was on it was of the same workmanship, woven of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and of fine woven linen, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

Exo 39:6  And they set onyx stones, enclosed in settings of gold; they were engraved, as signets are engraved, with the names of the sons of Israel.

Exo 39:7  He put them on the shoulders of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

Exo 39:8  And he made the breastplate, artistically woven like the workmanship of the ephod, of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and of fine woven linen.

Exo 39:9  They made the breastplate square by doubling it; a span was its length and a span its width when doubled.

Exo 39:10  And they set in it four rows of stones: a row with a sardius, a topaz, and an emerald was the first row;

Exo 39:11  the second row, a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond;

Exo 39:12  the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst;

Exo 39:13  the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They were enclosed in settings of gold in their mountings.

Exo 39:14  There were twelve stones according to the names of the sons of Israel: according to their names, engraved like a signet, each one with its own name according to the twelve tribes.

Exo 39:15  And they made chains for the breastplate at the ends, like braided cords of pure gold.

Exo 39:16  They also made two settings of gold and two gold rings, and put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate.

Exo 39:17  And they put the two braided chains of gold in the two rings on the ends of the breastplate.

Exo 39:18  The two ends of the two braided chains they fastened in the two settings, and put them on the shoulder straps of the ephod in the front.

Exo 39:19  And they made two rings of gold and put them on the two ends of the breastplate, on the edge of it, which was on the inward side of the ephod.

Exo 39:20  They made two other gold rings and put them on the two shoulder straps, underneath the ephod toward its front, right at the seam above the intricately woven band of the ephod.

Exo 39:21  And they bound the breastplate by means of its rings to the rings of the ephod with a blue cord, so that it would be above the intricately woven band of the ephod, and that the breastplate would not come loose from the ephod, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

Exo 39:22  He made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue.

Exo 39:23  And there was an opening in the middle of the robe, like the opening in a coat of mail, with a woven binding all around the opening, so that it would not tear.

Exo 39:24  They made on the hem of the robe pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet, and of fine woven linen.

Exo 39:25  And they made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates on the hem of the robe all around between the pomegranates:

Exo 39:26  a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, all around the hem of the robe to minister in, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

Exo 39:27  They made tunics, artistically woven of fine linen, for Aaron and his sons,

Exo 39:28  a turban of fine linen, exquisite hats of fine linen, short trousers of fine woven linen,

Exo 39:29  and a sash of fine woven linen with blue, purple, and scarlet thread, made by a weaver, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

Exo 39:30  Then they made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote on it an inscription like the engraving of a signet: HOLINESS TO THE LORD.

Exo 39:31  And they tied to it a blue cord, to fasten it above on the turban, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

Exo 39:32  Thus all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting was finished. And the children of Israel did according to all that the LORD had commanded Moses; so they did.

Exo 39:33  And they brought the tabernacle to Moses, the tent and all its furnishings: its clasps, its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its sockets;

Exo 39:34  the covering of ram skins dyed red, the covering of badger skins, and the veil of the covering;

Exo 39:35  the ark of the Testimony with its poles, and the mercy seat;

Exo 39:36  the table, all its utensils, and the showbread;

Exo 39:37  the pure gold lampstand with its lamps (the lamps set in order), all its utensils, and the oil for light;

Exo 39:38  the gold altar, the anointing oil, and the sweet incense; the screen for the tabernacle door;

Exo 39:39  the bronze altar, its grate of bronze, its poles, and all its utensils; the laver with its base;

Exo 39:40  the hangings of the court, its pillars and its sockets, the screen for the court gate, its cords, and its pegs; all the utensils for the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of meeting;

Exo 39:41  and the garments of ministry, to minister in the holy place: the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and his sons’ garments, to minister as priests.

Exo 39:42  According to all that the LORD had commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did all the work.

Exo 39:43  Then Moses looked over all the work, and indeed they had done it; as the LORD had commanded, just so they had done it. And Moses blessed them.

Now we will look at what happened to the Tabernacle once the Israelites entered the Promised Land.

As we have shown the Tabernacle and the Ark were carried about and set up and taken down as the Israelites wandered for forty years.

Eventually God allowed the Israelites to enter the Promised Land.

1Ch 21:29  For the tabernacle of the LORD and the altar of the burnt offering, which Moses had made in the wilderness, were at that time at the high place in Gibeon.

1Ch 23:25  For David said, “The LORD God of Israel has given rest to His people, that they may dwell in Jerusalem forever”;

1Ch 23:26  and also to the Levites, “They shall no longer carry the tabernacle, or any of the articles for its service.”

2Ch 1:3  Then Solomon, and all the assembly with him, went to the high place that was at Gibeon; for the tabernacle of meeting with God was there, which Moses the servant of the LORD had made in the wilderness.

2Ch 1:4  But David had brought up the ark of God from Kirjath Jearim to the place David had prepared for it, for he had pitched a tent for it at Jerusalem.

2Ch 1:5  Now the bronze altar that Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made, he put before the tabernacle of the LORD; Solomon and the assembly sought Him there.

2Ch 1:6  And Solomon went up there to the bronze altar before the LORD, which was at the tabernacle of meeting, and offered a thousand burnt offerings on it.

2Ch 5:2  Now Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the chief fathers of the children of Israel, in Jerusalem, that they might bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD up from the City of David, which is Zion.

2Ch 5:3  Therefore all the men of Israel assembled with the king at the feast, which was in the seventh month.

2Ch 5:4  So all the elders of Israel came, and the Levites took up the ark.

2Ch 5:5  Then they brought up the ark, the tabernacle of meeting, and all the holy furnishings that were in the tabernacle. The priests and the Levites brought them up.

2Ch 5:6  Also King Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel who were assembled with him before the ark, were sacrificing sheep and oxen that could not be counted or numbered for multitude.

2Ch 5:7  Then the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the temple, to the Most Holy Place, under the wings of the cherubim.

2Ch 5:8  For the cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles.

2Ch 5:9  The poles extended so that the ends of the poles of the ark could be seen from the holy place, in front of the inner sanctuary; but they could not be seen from outside. And they are there to this day.

2Ch 5:10  Nothing was in the ark except the two tablets which Moses put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they had come out of Egypt.

2Ch 5:11  And it came to pass when the priests came out of the Most Holy Place (for all the priests who were present had sanctified themselves, without keeping to their divisions),

2Ch 5:12  and the Levites who were the singers, all those of Asaph and Heman and Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, stood at the east end of the altar, clothed in white linen, having cymbals, stringed instruments and harps, and with them one hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets—

2Ch 5:13  indeed it came to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the LORD, saying: “For He is good, For His mercy endures forever,” that the house, the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud,

2Ch 5:14  so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God.

Heb 9:1  Then indeed, even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service and the earthly sanctuary.

Heb 9:2  For a tabernacle was prepared: the first part, in which was the lampstand, the table, and the showbread, which is called the sanctuary;

Heb 9:3  and behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of All,

Heb 9:4  which had the golden censer and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant;

Heb 9:5  and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.

Heb 9:6  Now when these things had been thus prepared, the priests always went into the first part of the tabernacle, performing the services.

Heb 9:7  But into the second part the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people’s sins committed in ignorance;

The following verses are very important, they show that the Tabernacle was only a temporary structure, and it was there until Christ would make the way to the Holiest of All available by His death.

Remember at His death how the veil was torn in two from top to bottom. Matt 27 v 51.

Heb 9:8  the Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing.

Heb 9:9  It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience—

Heb 9:10  concerned only with foods and drinks, various washings, and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation.

Act 7:44  “Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as He appointed, instructing Moses to make it according to the pattern that he had seen,

Act 7:45  which our fathers, having received it in turn, also brought with Joshua into the land possessed by the Gentiles, whom God drove out before the face of our fathers until the days of David,

Act 7:46  who found favor before God and asked to find a dwelling for the God of Jacob.

Act 7:47  But Solomon built Him a house.

Act 7:48  “However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says:

Act 7:49  ‘HEAVEN IS MY THRONE, AND EARTH IS MY FOOTSTOOL. WHAT HOUSE WILL YOU BUILD FOR ME? SAYS THE LORD, OR WHAT IS THE PLACE OF MY REST?

Act 7:50  HAS MY HAND NOT MADE ALL THESE THINGS?’