Portion Terumah: Exodus 25:1-27:19
I took the following teaching about the tabernacle from a dear man of God who I greatly appreciate, and will divide it into four parts, today being the first part.
The Lord always desired a place among mankind to dwell in, a place that would be mobile to travel with the people, especially during their journey in the desert. We will see how the physical tabernacle corresponds to a man’s personality and how Yeshua will slowly, slowly change a person’s being, until he/she will reach the presence of God and have an ever growing revelation of the Messiah… until he/she will meet Him face to face.
We know that the Hebrew bible, and especially the Torah (five books of Moses) carry symbols that are a shadow of the Messiah. We want to therefore study the structure of the tabernacle as a shadow of the Messiah. This time, however, we will also look at them as a shadow of a person’s being, characteristics and personality. We humans share a common basic division into body, spirit and soul.
The Lord always desired a place among mankind to dwell in, a place that would be mobile to travel with the people, especially during their journey in the desert. We will see how the physical tabernacle corresponds to a man’s personality and how Yeshua will slowly, slowly change a person’s being, until he/she will reach the presence of God and have an ever growing revelation of the Messiah… until he/she will meet Him face to face.
We know that the Hebrew bible, and especially the Torah (five books of Moses) carry symbols that are a shadow of the Messiah. We want to therefore study the structure of the tabernacle as a shadow of the Messiah. This time, however, we will also look at them as a shadow of a person’s being, characteristics and personality. We humans share a common basic division into body, spirit and soul.
The Fence
Let’s start with the body. The fence separated the world outside from the place of God’s presence inside. The fence also separated Jews from Gentiles. The fence was very tall, made of pure, unblemished linen – and symbolizes the clothes of the righteous, justified by the blood of Yeshua (book of Revelations)
Exodus 27:16
16 “For the entrance to the courtyard, provide a curtain twenty cubits long, of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen—the work of an embroiderer—with four posts and four bases.
Revelations 19:8
Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)
The fence was so tall that a man could not see what was going on inside the court. We, too, sometimes prefer to stay outside and would just peek in to see what is happening in God’s world, without entering in, without commitment, just to watch the signs and wonders and the good things happening inside…. But we can’t. We are either cold or hot in regards to God’s kingdom. The only entrance to the tabernacle is through the gate, which symbolizes Yeshua (John 14:6). The outer fence with its gate, but also the outside of the tabernacle correspond to the area of our body (Exodus 27:16).
Exodus 27:16
16 “For the entrance to the courtyard, provide a curtain twenty cubits long, of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen—the work of an embroiderer—with four posts and four bases.
Revelations 19:8
Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)
The fence was so tall that a man could not see what was going on inside the court. We, too, sometimes prefer to stay outside and would just peek in to see what is happening in God’s world, without entering in, without commitment, just to watch the signs and wonders and the good things happening inside…. But we can’t. We are either cold or hot in regards to God’s kingdom. The only entrance to the tabernacle is through the gate, which symbolizes Yeshua (John 14:6). The outer fence with its gate, but also the outside of the tabernacle correspond to the area of our body (Exodus 27:16).
The Tent Covering of the Tabernacle
The tabernacle covered the place of the Holies and the Holy of Holies (Exodus 26:1-14). From the outside, it was just a regular tent, with dusty walls, nothing particular. But, when one stepped inside, the beauty of the cloth-covered walls and gold furniture was overwhelming. Correspondingly, in Samuel 16:7 we read that God does not look at the beauty and high stature of a person, but at the heart (see also I Peter 3:3-4).