Saturday, Oct. 5
Exodus 37:1 – 38:30 Read it here
The design of the Tent of Meeting is a smaller and simpler version of what we will one day see in the Temple at Jerusalem.
At the very heart of it is the ark—a box that contains the stone tablets the law is written on. (The word “ark” refers to a large box. Its modern usage is usually related to either the Ark of the Covenant we read about here or Noah’s Ark. In a synagogue the box containing the scrolls of the Torah is called an ark. “Ark” can also be used to refer to a place of safety or refuge, from the ark used for protection from the great flood.)
The Ark of the Covenant was kept behind a curtain in a tent (the tabernacle). The curtain separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place (26:34). A courtyard surrounded the whole tent, with the altar of sacrifice between the entrance gate and the tabernacle.
While the Temple will be both more elaborate and contain more layers, the essential plan is the same—the presence of God is approached in stages, with each level more exclusive.
With the idea here that God is deep within the Temple, with layers of protection keeping the common people away from his holiness, we begin to see one of the reasons Jesus was so unexpected. There are very few times in his life that he goes to the Temple, and he is always approaching it from the outside, not coming from inside the Most Holy Place where God was thought to live.
In the theology of Temple worship, all that most people could ever hope for was to approach near to God’s presence, and perhaps see one of the holy men who had full access.
With Jesus, God wasn’t buried deep under layers of protective wrapping, but was out among his people…especially among the least of his people. God didn’t need protecting—even when the worst happened and Jesus was killed—God turned that defeat into victory, and showed that he didn’t need protection, but that he gave protection.