Exo 27:9-19 Exo 38:9-20
A. Its construction
Total enclosed area – 75′ x 150′ = 11,250 square feet = 1/4 football field (160′ x 300′)
1. the curtain
white linen – 7-1/2′ high
each section an unspecified length
hung from silver hooks on the posts
2. the posts
acacia wood, 7-1/2′ tall minimum
60 posts total – 20 down each long side, 10 at front and back – spaced every 7-1/2′
trimmed at the top with bands of silver, perhaps a place for the rings to attach
3. the bases
as the front of the tabernacle – cast bronze
the material for bases is apparently important – specified as “bronze bases” 3x v.11, 17, 18
4. the accessories
tools and tent pegs – cast bronze
all the things necessary for setting up and taking down the tabernacle structure were to be of bronze
5. the gate
a curtain similar in construction to the curtain at the entrance of the tabernacle
same material, same colors embroidered on it
as with the other curtain, no pattern specified for the embroidering
B. Its use
1. separation but not isolation
a. distinction between what was outside and what was inside
b. a single entrance – through the gate
c. limited access to the sanctified area within the courtyard
d. the top of the tabernacle and the pillar of God’s presence visible above the courtyard hangings
2. protection
a. prevented people from inadvertently violating the sacred space
C. Its significance
1. the visible kingdom
2. the Church in the world
3. distinct, yet…
…The erection of a court surrounding the dwelling on all four sides is to be traced to the same circumstance as that which rendered it necessary to divide the dwelling itself into two parts: on account of the unholiness of the nation, it could not come directly into the presence of Jehovah, until the sin which separates unholy man from the holy God had been atoned for.
Although, by virtue of their election as the children of Jehovah, or their adoption as the nation of God, it was intended that the Israelites should be received by the Lord into His house, and dwell as sons in their father’s house; yet under the economy of the law, which only produced the knowledge of sin, uncleanness, and unholiness, their fellowship with Jehovah, the Holy One, could only be sustained through mediators appointed and sanctified by God: viz., at the institution of the covenant, through His servant Moses; and during the existence of this covenant, through the chosen priests of the family of Aaron. It was through them that the Lord was to be approached, and the nation to be brought near to Him.
Every day, therefore, they entered the holy place of the dwelling, to offer to the Lord the sacrifices of prayer and the fruits of the people’s earthly vocation. But even they were not allowed to go into the immediate presence of the holy God. The most holy place, where God was enthroned, was hidden from them by the curtain, and only once a year was the high priest permitted, as the head of the whole congregation, which was called to be the holy nation of God, to lift this curtain and appear before God with the atoning blood of the sacrifice and the cloud of incense (Lev 16).
The access of the nation to its God was restricted to the court. There it could receive from the Lord, through the medium of the sacrifices which it offered upon the altar of burnt-offering, the expiation of its sins, His grace and blessing, and strength to live anew. Whilst the dwelling itself represented the house of God, the dwelling-place of Jehovah in the midst of His people, the palace of the God-King, in which the priestly nation drew near to Him; the court which surrounded the dwelling represented the kingdom of the God-King, the covenant land or dwelling-place of Israel in the kingdom of its God. K & D
See Psalm 84:2-10
