What were the tabernacle and the temple? (God's dwelling among His people)

Q: What were the tabernacle and the temple? (God's dwelling among His people)

The tabernacle and the temple were the places where God chose to dwell among His people and be worshiped. - The tabernacle was a portable tent that God commanded Moses to build at Sinai (–): 'they are to make a sanctuary for Me, so that I may dwell among them' (BSB, ). Israel carried it through the wilderness. - The temple was the permanent stone version, built by Solomon in Jerusalem (; ), replacing the tent once Israel was settled. Both had the same layout — an outer court, the Holy Place, and the innermost Most Holy Place (the Holy of Holies), which held the ark of the covenant and was separated by a heavy veil (–). Only the high priest entered it, once a year, on the Day of Atonement.

Topical

Short answer

The tabernacle and the temple were the places where God chose to dwell among His people and be worshiped.

The tabernacle was a portable tent that God commanded Moses to build at Sinai (Exodus 25–Exodus 40): 'they are to make a sanctuary for Me, so that I may dwell among them' (BSB, Exodus 25:8). Israel carried it through the wilderness.
The temple was the permanent stone version, built by Solomon in Jerusalem (1 Kings 6; 1 Kings 8), replacing the tent once Israel was settled.

Both had the same layout, an outer court, the Holy Place, and the innermost Most Holy Place (the Holy of Holies), which held the ark of the covenant and was separated by a heavy veil (Exodus 26:31–Exodus 26:33). Only the high priest entered it, once a year, on the Day of Atonement.

Question

What were the tabernacle and the temple? (God's dwelling among His people)

Analysis

From tent to temple

At Sinai God gave Moses a detailed blueprint for the tabernacle so He could dwell among Israel (Exodus 25:8; Exodus 25:9), and when it was finished His glory filled it (Exodus 40:34). Centuries later, Solomon built the first temple in Jerusalem (around the 10th century BC), and again the glory of the LORD filled the house (1 Kings 8:10; 1 Kings 8:11). That temple was destroyed by Babylon in 586 BC (2 Kings 25:9), rebuilt after the exile under Zerubbabel (Ezra 3:10; Ezra 6:15), and later magnificently expanded by Herod, the temple standing in Jesus' day, which the Romans destroyed in AD 70, just as Jesus foretold (Mark 13:1; Mark 13:2).

What it pointed to

The whole system was a picture pointing beyond itself. John says the Word 'became flesh and dwelt among us', literally 'tabernacled' among us (John 1:14), and Jesus called His own body a 'temple' to be raised in three days (John 2:19; John 2:21). At the moment Jesus died, the temple veil was torn in two from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51), signifying open access to God (Hebrews 10:19; Hebrews 10:20). The New Testament then calls believers God's temple, the place the Spirit now dwells (1 Corinthians 3:16; 1 Corinthians 6:19). And the Bible's final vision needs no temple at all: in the New Jerusalem 'the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple' (BSB, Revelation 21:22), God dwelling with His people directly, which is what the tent and the temple were always about.

Sources, trace every one

Every cited verse, in full. Tap any reference to open it in the reader.

Exodus 25:8bsb
And they are to make a sanctuary for Me, so that I may dwell among them.
Exodus 26:31bsb
Make a veil of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and finely spun linen, with cherubim skillfully worked into it.
Exodus 26:33bsb
And hang the veil from the clasps and place the ark of the Testimony behind the veil. So the veil will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.
Exodus 25:9bsb
You must make the tabernacle and design all its furnishings according to the pattern I show you.
Exodus 40:34bsb
Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
1 Kings 8:10bsb
And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, the cloud filled the house of the LORD
1 Kings 8:11bsb
so that the priests could not stand there to minister because of the cloud. For the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD.
2 Kings 25:9bsb
He burned down the house of the LORD, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem — every significant building.
Ezra 3:10bsb
When the builders had laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their positions to praise the LORD, as David king of Israel had prescribed.
Ezra 6:15bsb
And this temple was completed on the third day of the month of Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.
Mark 13:1bsb
As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, look at the magnificent stones and buildings!”
Mark 13:2bsb
“Do you see all these great buildings?” Jesus replied. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”
John 1:14bsb
The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 2:19bsb
Jesus answered, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again.”
John 2:21bsb
But Jesus was speaking about the temple of His body.
Matthew 27:51bsb
At that moment the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked, and the rocks were split.

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