 The Meeting Place
In the Old Covenant, God instructed Moses to have a special tent that would represent His dwelling place. This would be the place that would house the Ark of the Covenant and the other holy things related to the worship of Yahweh. But, of course, God does not dwell in a tent or any kind of structure in the sense that he is somehow contained within the spatial limitation of creation. Rather, this special tent was symbolic of His habitation and provided a place to facilitate meeting with God. The Tabernacle was referred to as the “Tent of Meeting,” where Moses and the priests would go to mediate for the covenant people. In the place of God’s residence the people could seek His guidance, give thanks for His blessings, obey His instructions, bring His sacrifices and offerings, and receive His forgiveness. It became the place for mediation, substitution, and atonement. Later, Solomon would build a massive Temple to replace this special tent to be followed by another Temple rebuilt after the exile and finished in the first century. Of course, the Old Covenant Temple was destroyed in the Roman siege and destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD by Roman General Titus. Many Christians believe that God will restore the Temple and the worship of the Jewish people in the future. But if Jesus' words on the cross are true and the mediation, substitution, and atonement was complete on the cross (John 19:28-30); then could it be that God has now provided a great tabernacle for this new covenant age? In this article, I want to consider the characteristics of the tabernacle and the parallels or fulfillments in the New Covenant. I am going to use a definition of the Tabernacle that I heard from Pastor Timothy Easley. He said, “The Tabernacle is a skin-covered, mobile, place where God and man could meet.” I believe that we will see two places where the typology of the tabernacle is reflected in the New Covenant. The first is the Lord Jesus Christ and the second is His body – the church! Skins The Tabernacle was a tent made of animal skins. Of course, animal skins are symbolic of the sacrifice necessary to deal with our sins, even as God first made covering for Adam and Eve from animal skins after the fall into sin in the garden (Genesis 3:20-21). However, this is not only a memorial but a sign pointing forward to the incarnation when the word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:1-18). Jesus came covered in skin and with a body of real flesh and blood to take the penalty of death for everyone who trusts in Him. The Tabernacle was meant to point to the Lord who would rip apart the veil and give all believers access to God through the veil of His flesh (Hebrews 10:1-25). But now, The Lord Jesus is ascended and seated at the right hand of the Father in glory. So where is the skin covered dwelling of God today? Well, it is the church. Not the buildings that we meet in but instead the people who have been saved by grace through faith and who have been compelled by His love! The church is the New Covenant tabernacle and temple not built with dead rocks but rather living stones (1 Peter 2:4-10)! Mobility The tabernacle was also mobile; it could move. Unlike the Temple that would come later this structure was portable. So what is the significance of the mobility of the tabernacle? First, God is not restricted to certain geographical boundaries. He is omnipresent and Lord over all creation. The Lord Jesus has authority over all of heaven and earth (Matthew 28:19-20). While in the old covenant God did make certain conditional land promises to the physical descendants of Abraham, those promises were kept and those claims were forfeited (Joshua 21:43-45). So now in this New Covenant era, the dwelling of God is not confined to a specific place but is mobile so that it may multiply and fill the earth. The dwelling of God is in the believers who carry the kingdom and the good news of our great King evangelistically into all the world. Mediation There is so much more that could be said on the above points but I want to point out one more connection. The Tabernacle was the meeting place between God and man. Because of sin, man has been separated from God ever since the garden. But God in His great love and mercy came and through Christ (Titus 3:4-7) has met us and redeemed us from the curse (1 Timothy 2:5-6) and credited us with genuine righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:20-21). So let us scatter out into the world as skin-covered, mobile, embassies of this glorious New Covenant Kingdom and our great New Covenant King!
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