THE TABERNACLE IN THE WILDERNESS

Gloria Phifer

                                        

MOUNT SINAI

                                                         

            Psalm 90:1 “Lord You have been our Dwelling Place in all generations.

The Lord has always wanted to dwell with man. As David asked “What is man that you are mindful of him?” Why does God want to dwell with us and in us?  One of my favorite Names of God is Emmanuel…God with us.

John 1:14  The Word was made flesh and tabernacled among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the Only Begotten of The Father, full of grace and truth.

The children of Israel were delivered out of bondage.  In the 3^rd month of their travel in the wilderness they reached Sinai.  The people were to prepare for God’s coming to the Mount of Sinai. Exodus 19:1-15. 

 Notice in vs 3, even though no one, not even animals, could come near the mount, Moses went up to God.  Vs. 6 what did The Lord want these people to be? What are your thoughts on this chapter? 1 Peter 2:5 and 9. Who are we unto The Lord? What do priests do?

 Exodus 19: 11-25. On the 3^rd day, God manifested Himself on the mountain top. What a fearful happening. In vs 20 God called Moses to the top of the mountain. Moses came back down and in chapters 20-23 Moses tells the people God’s law.

 In Chapter 24 …I find this very interesting vs. 9-18 Moses, Aaron, Nadab, abihua and 70 of the elders of Israel went up the mountain with Moses and they saw The God of Israel and they ate and drank with Him. This was a Covenant meal. What are your thoughts? 

 After this Moses went up into the mount. What did the mountain look like to the children of Israel?  The glory of The Lord looked like a devouring fire. Moses was on the Mountain with God for 40 days and 40 nights.

 (Remember when Jehovah God first appeared to Moses, it was in a burning bush…a bush that looked like it was on fire, but was not consumed.)  Exodus 1-4.  Now the top of Mount Sinai appears to be on fire.

Hebrews 12:18-29. We have come to Mount Sion…unto The New Covenant, we have received a kingdom that can never be shaken. Vs. 29 for our God is a consuming fire.   Thoughts?

Moses is now on the mount, in the Presence of Jehovah God. He is given the 10 commandments on tables of stone. From Exodus 25-31 The Lord gives Moses extensive instruction on the Tabernacle. The materials, the structure, even the names of the men who God had given the ability to make this Tabernacle.

This Tabernacle would be placed in the camp of the Israelites. As we will see, it is a picture of salvation. A type and shadow of God’s plan for salvation. A picture of His Son, Jesus Christ.

There is much detail and symbolism. We have seen in our studies how salvation was a mystery hidden from the foundation of the earth. The Tabernacle is like a mystery…a foretelling of Christ’s suffering and ministry.