Moses' Tabernacle and Worship
The following is an excerpt from Keely’s new book,
“More Than A Song: Worship is the Relentless Pursuit of the Lover of our Soul.”
Moses’ obedience to God is an incredible example of worship. Through his shortcomings, he still chose to obey God. After the Passover, God led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt and into the wilderness. During this time, God gave Moses a divine blueprint for how His people were to worship. In Exodus 25-27, we can read the plans for Moses’ Tabernacle. This was not only to be a place for His presence to dwell but also would serve as a prophetic picture of Jesus and what He would do for us.
Exodus 25:8-9 reads, “And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it.” We will look at the areas and articles of Moses’ Tabernacle and, more specifically, how they apply to our worship. If you would like a deeper study of this topic, I recommend the book “The Tabernacle of Moses: The Riches of Redemption's Story as Revealed in the Tabernacle” by Kevin J. Conner.
The Outer Court
The Outer Court had two main elements of worship, and anyone in Israel could bring sacrifices here. This is where sin was dealt with, and ceremonial cleansing took place. It is representative of our saving faith in Jesus Christ. Psalm 100:4 reads, “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise.” Our worship should begin with thanking and praising the Lord for dealing with our sins and cleansing us.
Brazen Altar
The first thing that people would see upon entering Moses’ Tabernacle was the Brazen Altar. There was no way around it; those who came to worship would see the sacrifices being offered on the altar. Exodus 29:37 (ESV) reads, “Whatever touches the altar shall become holy.” The Brazen Altar is a prophetic picture of the sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross. He willingly died and paid the price with His body and blood so that we may live.
In response, we must realize that we were bought at a high price. Our life is not our own; we live to serve and worship Him. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 reads, “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
The Laver
Before entering the Tabernacle, the priests would ceremonially wash in the bronze laver. Levitical Priests could not enter the tabernacle without this cleansing. Titus 3:5 (AMPC) reads, “He saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but because of His own pity and mercy, by [the] cleansing [bath] of the new birth (regeneration) and renewing of the Holy Spirit.” Our worship must hold the proper perspective that, because of Jesus, we have been washed clean. We can freely and boldly approach Him (see Hebrews 4:16.)
Furthermore, Ephesians 5:26 explains that Jesus sanctifies and cleanses us by the water of the Word. Not only do we need to understand the sacrifice that was made for us, but we also need the cleansing presence of the Word of God.
The Holy Place
Within the courtyard was a structure that contained both the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies (or the Most Holy Place.) While Priests and Levites alike could worship and sacrifice in the Outer Courts, only the Priests could enter the structure into The Holy Place. It was here that God would choose to dwell, and Priests would experience a special glory of His presence. In the Holy Place, you would find three articles of furniture that would lead the Priest deeper into the presence of God.
The Lampstand
The first article of furniture you would encounter is the Golden Lampstand. This was to give light to the Holy Place, and it was never to go out. This directly relates to Jesus being the Light of the World (John 8:12.) Furthermore, the oil used in the lampstand represents the Holy Spirit, Who enables us to “proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9, ESV.) Our worship illuminates the darkness so that we may see Him clearly.
The Table of Shewbread
The second article of furniture you would encounter is the Table of Shewbread (or the Table for the Bread of Presence.) This was a table that would hold baked bread prepared weekly according to very strict guidelines. The bread was meant to be eaten by the Priests while in the Holy Place ministering to the Lord.
In Matthew 4:4, Jesus says, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” Later, in John 6:35, Jesus says, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.” Our worship must be utterly dependent on the Bible and the presence of Jesus.
The Altar of Incense
The third article of the Holy Place was the Altar of Incense. This altar was placed immediately before the veil that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. This altar was to have an offering of incense burning continually. This is a prophetic picture of the prayers of God’s people (see Psalm 141:2 and Revelation 5:8.)
Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the High Priest would put blood upon the horns of the altar to cleanse it. We can rest assured that because of the blood of Jesus, our worship and prayers are acceptable to the Lord.
The Holy of Holies
The innermost part of the Tabernacle was the Holy of Holies. The Lord Himself declared that it was here, beyond the veil in the Holy of Holies, that He would manifest His presence (see Leviticus 16:2.) Only once a year, the High Priest would pass beyond the veil, with the blood of a sacrifice, to make atonement for all the people of Israel and their sins.
The Ark of the Covenant
Inside the Holy of Holies was the Ark of the Covenant. This was the very place that God chose to manifest His presence. In this place, there was no light other than the glory of God. It was here that the raw power and presence of God were on full display. Hebrews 9:11-12 (emphasis added) reads, “But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.”
Jesus entered the Holy of Holies as our High Priest and offered His blood as a sacrifice for a once-and-for-all atonement. This is why Hebrews 4:16 reads, “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Our worship of the Lord brings us to the very place where we encounter His manifest presence. This is no longer limited to a single annual event either. Matthew 27:51 (AMPC) reads that when Jesus was crucified, “the curtain of the sanctuary of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; the earth shook and the rocks were split.” We now have free access to the presence of God because of Jesus!
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It is a wonderful blessing to read how God gave Moses divine instructions not only for Levitical worship in the Old Testament but also as a prophetic declaration of what was to come. I pray that this section has stoked the flames of passion to worship the Lord in the glory of His presence.
