A Journey through the Bible with Tiglath

18. Exodus Chapter 34 to the end of the book.

From time to time we have to pause on our journey to look at some very

important event. This is one of those times. We are going to study the Ark of

the Covenant. You will recall the Covenant, made by God with His people.

Firstly, God said, 'I will take you for my people'. (Exodus Ch 6 verse 7).

Secondly He said, 'I will be your God'. (Exodus Ch 6 verse 7). God

instructed Moses that a special structure should be made. This was called

the Tabernacle (Latin: tabernaculum which is the diminutive of taberna, a

hut).

The Lord was telling His people that He would dwell among them and, as the

Tabernacle had to be portable, He would be with them on their journey to the

Promised Land. Now read Chapters 35 and 36 and wonder at the skill used in the

construction of the Tabernacle. Food for thought, also, is the fact that all the

materials used - fabrics, copper, gold ornaments, etc could not have been

obtained in the Sinai Desert, but had been brought from Egypt. The wood used

was acacia which grows in these barren regions.

The centre-piece of the Tabernacle was the Ark of the Covenant made by

Bezalel. The Ark was a wooden chest made to contain the Ten Commandments

carved on stone tablets. It was two and a half cubits long, one cubit and a half

wide and one cubit and a half high. A cubit was the distance from the elbow

to the fingertip, 17.5 inches. There was also a long cubit of 20.4 inches.

The Ark was overlaid with gold, as described in Chapter 37 verses 1-9 , in

verses 10-16, the Ark is described as standing on a table of acacia wood. Note the arrangement for carrying the Ark and the Table. Chapters 38 and 39 are

very detailed descriptions of all the work put into preparing the fittings for

the Tabernacle and the priest's vestments. In Chapter 39 verses 27-31 we read of the fine tunics made for Aaron and his sons. So, in Chapter 40 the Tabernacle is consecrated:

A cloud covers the Tent of the Presence and the Bible tells us - the glory of

the Lord filled the tabernacle. Thereafter on the journey, when the cloud lifted

in the morning, the Israelites broke camp and went on their way. If the cloud

did not lift they remained in camp. So they journeyed on, the cloud leading

them by day and glowing with fire by night.

We resume our journey. Exodus has brought us a long way and shown us

many wonderful things about God. We now enter the Book of Leviticus, the

Book of Laws, named after the Levitical priests of the Levi tribe, Aaron and his

sons and their descendants. One last thought about the Tabernacle. It was to

remain the focal point of the Israelites' worship until the time of King

Solomon, three hundred years in the future.