Directions for the Tabernacle: Curtains, Planks, Bars, Veil & Screen

INTRO

The Lord encountered Moses on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights, while He revealed to Moses the pattern for building the tabernacle (also called the sanctuary, the tent of meeting). The Ark consisted of the Ten Commandments, a golden pot of manna, and Aaron’s budding staff. On top of the Ark was the mercy seat.

In the tabernacle, there was the Table of Showbread and the Golden Lampstand. Exodus 26 is the continuation of what Moses was told to build.

TEACHING

Exodus 26:1–6: The first 14 verses give details about the curtains. The colors blue, purple, and scarlet are used 20 times in Exodus in this specific order. The design of cherubim was to be worked into the curtains (Genesis 3:24; Isaiah 37:16). Cherubim are the representation of God’s presence wherever they go. God was describing it from His view. There were to be ten curtains of the blue, purple, and scarlet for the tabernacle itself.

Exodus 26:7–14: There were to be 11 “curtains of goat hair for a tent over the tabernacle” (v. 7). Whenever the prophets put on goat hair, it always symbolized separation from sin (Leviticus 16). These curtains were made of rich black fabric and were costly. The covering of ram skins and a covering of manatee (or badger) skins were even waterproofed.

Exodus 26:15–25: These verses describe the planks of acacia wood for the tabernacle. Were these planks solid boards or frames? Tenon and mortise were the parts that fit the planks together. If this mattered to God’s chosen people in the Old Testament, it should matter to us. I think we’ve blown off the Tanakh and the Torah for too long. This is important to God!

Exodus 26: 26–30: God loves detail. He loves when you do something, and you do it well. God said to Moses, “I want you to remember and set this up exactly how I’ve told you to do it!” Sometimes God tells us to do something, and we feel like we can cut corners. But Psalm 119:25 NASB says, “Revive me according to Your word.” When you work through the details, He has something way bigger in mind.

Exodus 26:31–35: These verses gave instructions for the veil. It was to be blue, purple, and scarlet “with a design of cherubim worked into it” (v. 31). The Israelites were to put the Ark of the Testimony behind the veil. The veil was to create a separation between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. The Most Holy Place (or Holy of Holies) contained the Ark of the Covenant and the mercy seat. The Holy Place was where the lampstand and the table were located. According to Arthur Pink:

“This order ‘blue, purple and scarlet’ is repeated over 20 times in Exodus and is never varied . . . The ‘blue’ is the color of heaven and speaks of Christ as the Son of God. The ‘scarlet’ is both the color of sacrifice and human glory. The ‘purple’ is a color produced by mixing together blue and scarlet. Without the purple, the blue and the scarlet would have presented too vivid a contrast to the eye; the purple coming in between them shaded off the one extreme from the other. Now the antitype of these colors is found in the incarnate Christ. He was both God and man, and yet these two vastly dissimilar natures unite in one perfect Person. The ‘purple,’ then, coming in between the ‘blue’ and the ‘scarlet’ tells on the perfect blending or union of His two natures.”1

When Jesus died, the veil was torn! And we now have access to the New Covenant. We now have access to the Presence of God (Matthew 27:50-51). God told Moses to construct the veil with blue, purple, and scarlet, but He had His Son in mind the whole time (Mark 15:37-38). For the Jew, the access to the Father is now split and torn and their religion is now done (Luke 23:45–46).

The veil is all about Jesus! It represents His flesh (Psalms 27:4). This is what the Israelites wanted—to be in His presence in the tabernacle (Psalm 26:8). But now Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. The Orthodox Jews long to be in the courts of the Lord, but it’s no longer there! Jesus has torn the veil. We come into the Presence of God through Christ.

All of this points to the Messiah, and it started through a mountaintop experience on which God revealed the pattern to Moses. Ultimately, God knew His Son would cry out, the veil would be torn, and the Jews would no longer have to seek His presence in that house. They would have it in Christ.

All of the Psalms cry out for more of the tabernacle, more of the Presence. And Jesus said, “I am more.” It’s a pretty awesome picture that the tabernacle points to Christ:

• All of His fullness now dwells in Christ (Colossians 1:19)!
• Everything we think is of God is now in Christ (Colossians 2:9).
• We have access to everything in Christ (Colossians 2:3).
• If you’re seeking Him, you’ll find every single spiritual blessing (Colossians 3:1).
• We don’t need to go to a sanctuary, a tabernacle, or a tent. All of the blessings now come through Christ (Ephesians 1:3). 2

CLOSING

Sometimes it’s hard to imagine that through the tabernacle, the Lord would point all this out. Slow down. If we look deep enough, we’ll see the Messiah there because He is the Word of God.