There are perhaps few types in the Old Testament more replete with the
excellences of the Person, sacrifice and Priesthood of the Lord Jesus Christ
than the Tabernacle with its compartments, court, contents, curtains and
colours. In Ex.25.22 God expressed His deep desire to dwell among His people,
and so He designed a portable structure where His presence could be recognised
and enjoyed as they journeyed through the inhospitable waste of the wilderness.
Nothing was left to Moses’ imagination; every detail was Divinely conceived and
a detailed blueprint was communicated to Moses with the oft-repeated command,
“‘See,’ saith He, ‘that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to
thee in the mount’” Heb.8.5.

When at last the Tabernacle was finished, it was filled with the glory of
Jehovah and the apostle John later wrote of Him Who “dwelt [‘tabernacled’] among
us” that “we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,
full of grace and truth” Jn.1.14. The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews
frequently refers to the Tabernacle where it is seen to be typical of our Lord
Jesus entering into heaven, “the true tabernacle” Heb.8.2, His sacrificial work
completed and His ongoing and unceasing work as our great High Priest
commencing.

It is not surprising then that the study of the Tabernacle, with its deep
typical significance, should prove most interesting to the people of God. It
would be impossible not to trace features of Christ and facets of His glory in
that seemingly flimsy edifice that meant so much to God’s earthly people as they
made their way through the wilderness en route to the Promised Land.
Insubstantial though the Tabernacle seemed, it served its purpose for just over
four centuries, until it was eventually superseded by Solomon’s Temple.
In this, the thirteenth book in the ‘Glory’ series, the writers, to whom we owe
a great debt of gratitude, will direct our minds to the foundation, framework,
furniture, function and focus of the Tabernacle. It is our earnest prayer that
the contents will stimulate our interest in a much-neglected type, enhance our
appreciation of the Lord Jesus, His once-for-all sacrifice and His invaluable
ministry on our behalf as our sympathetic great High Priest.

Roy Reynolds, N. Ireland, October 2021