Editors from around the world tell stories of living in God's grace
Understanding the Tabernacle: its purpose, symbolism, and what it means to us today.
A simple and easy to understand article. Suitable for everyone,
but particularly for young adults.
📖 The Tabernacle — God’s Special Tent Where Heaven Meets Earth
(For a fuller treatise, please visit the excellent article Logos Grow: Heaven Invades Earth: Understanding the Symbolism & Purpose of the Tabernacle … Logos)
Why the Tabernacle Matters
- The tabernacle was a special tent that God told Moses and the Israelites to build while they were in the wilderness after leaving Egypt. God wanted a place where He could be with His people.
- It was a mobile temple — it could be taken apart and moved as the Israelites traveled.
- The Bible spends many chapters (Exodus 25–40) giving detailed instructions on how it was to be built because its purpose was very important.
What the Tabernacle Showed
- The tabernacle was more than just a tent — it served as a place where his people could have their sins forgiven and where God’s glory and presence could be close to them.
- It reminds us that God wants to meet with us — not be distant or far away.
- The way it was built and what was inside it were full of meanings and symbols pointing to God’s relationship with His people. The Logos article does an excellent job of explaining this in depth.
What It Looked Like
- There was an outer courtyard, a Holy Place, and the Most Holy Place — the most sacred part where the presence of God was especially near.
- God’s glory filled the tabernacle once it was completed, showing that God was truly dwelling among His people.
Match-the-Label Activity
- Please print the tabernacle diagram (or view on a screen).
- Make a list of the labels separately:
- Bronze Altar
- Wash Basin
- Lampstand
- Incense Altar
- Table
- Most Holy Place (Ark)
- Now draw lines from the label to the correct object in the tabernacle picture.
- Tip: Use different colored magic markers (medium tip) for each category (outer courtyard vs holy place vs most holy place).
Big Idea (Easy to Remember)
⭐ The tabernacle was God’s meeting place with His people — a portable, holy space where heaven touched earth.
Meeting With God Today, and Satisfying His Requirements
The system of sacrificial offerings to satisfy God’s requirements under Moses was always intended to be temporary. It was designed to point to Jesus Christ. He became the permanent sacrifice, and so much more than that.
HEBREWS 10: 1-4 … “Since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come, and not the reality itself of those things, it can never perfect the worshipers by the same sacrifices they continually offer year after year. 2 Otherwise, wouldn’t they have stopped being offered, since the worshipers, purified once and for all, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? 3 But in the sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year after year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”
HEBREWS 10:10 … “By this will, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time.”
From Hebrews we see that the old testament’s temporary solution has been replaced by the new permanent solution: Jesus Christ.
So where is the presence of God now? If we have Jesus in our hearts, then the presence of God is inside of us. We are his tabernacle and temple.
Click Here for Video About the Tabernacle
Going Deeper. If you want to dive a bit deeper, here’s more.
The Tabernacle — From Outside to Inside
The tabernacle of Moses provided a place where the people could properly worship God. Priests sacrificed animals on the altar in the outer court. And once a year, the high priest would enter the Holy of Holies as part of the ceremony of the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16).
Based on the description in Exodus, here are some illustrations that help us picture the tabernacle.
1️⃣ The Outer Courtyard
This was the big open area everyone first entered.
- 🐑 Bronze Altar — Animals were sacrificed here to show that sin is serious and forgiveness is costly.
- 🚿 Wash Basin (Bronze Laver) — Priests washed before going inside. It showed that coming near to God required being clean.
👉 Lesson: God is holy, and people must adequately prepare themselves to come near Him. Through the gospel and having received Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior by faith, Hebrews 4:16 becomes reality: “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” This is cross references with Ephesians 3:12: “In Him and through faith in Him we may enter God’s presence with boldness and confidence.” In the age of grace, we have complete access to God, yet it should always be accompanied by our own humility and gratefulness.
2️⃣ The Holy Place
Only priests could go in here.
Inside were three special items:
- 🕯 Golden Lampstand — Gave light.
→ God brings light into darkness. - 🍞 Table of Bread — Twelve loaves for the twelve tribes of Israel.
→ God provides for His people. - 🌫 Altar of Incense — Sweet-smelling smoke rose upward.
→ Like prayers rising to God.
👉 Lesson: God provides light, daily needs, and listens to prayer.
3️⃣ The Most Holy Place (Holy of Holies)
This was the smallest and most special room.
- 📦 The Ark of the Covenant was inside.
- It represented God’s throne and precise presence on earth.
- Only the High Priest could enter — and only once a year!
👉 Lesson: God is very holy — but He still made a way to dwell with His people both at that time, and today through Jesus.
⭐ The Big Picture in Simple Terms
The Tabernacle shows a journey:
A Mechanism for Sins to be Forgiven → Entering God’s presence → Fellowship with God → Jesus Christ, the permanent solution.
It teaches:
- God wants to live with His people.
- God is holy.
- God made a way for people to be forgiven of their sins and to come close to Him.
Final Point: When Jesus was crucified on the cross, the veil separating the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies in the temple ripped from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51). It was like God was saying, “all sacrificial requirements have now been fulfilled. Come, enter into My Presence.”
IMAGES: Some images on this page were created with the help of image-generating machine technology based on strict guidelines from Exodus 27 and other passages.
VIDEO CREDIT: The tabernacle video is produced by Chosen People Ministries.
