April 10, 2023

Why are there Veils in the Tabernacle?

Exodus 26

Stephanie Horner
Monday's Devo

April 10, 2023

Monday's Devo

April 10, 2023

Monday's Devo

April 10, 2023

Monday's Devo

April 10, 2023

Big Idea

God reveals the way and His will through His Word.

Key Verse | Exodus 26:30

Then you shall erect the tabernacle according to the plan for it that you were shown on the mountain.

Exodus 26

The Tabernacle

1 Moreover, you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen and blue and purple and scarlet yarns; you shall make them with cherubim skillfully worked into them. 2 The length of each curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits, 1 26:2 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters and the breadth of each curtain four cubits; all the curtains shall be the same size. 3 Five curtains shall be coupled to one another, and the other five curtains shall be coupled to one another. 4 And you shall make loops of blue on the edge of the outermost curtain in the first set. Likewise you shall make loops on the edge of the outermost curtain in the second set. 5 Fifty loops you shall make on the one curtain, and fifty loops you shall make on the edge of the curtain that is in the second set; the loops shall be opposite one another. 6 And you shall make fifty clasps of gold, and couple the curtains one to the other with the clasps, so that the tabernacle may be a single whole.

7 You shall also make curtains of goats' hair for a tent over the tabernacle; eleven curtains shall you make. 8 The length of each curtain shall be thirty cubits, and the breadth of each curtain four cubits. The eleven curtains shall be the same size. 9 You shall couple five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves, and the sixth curtain you shall double over at the front of the tent. 10 You shall make fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in one set, and fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in the second set.

11 You shall make fifty clasps of bronze, and put the clasps into the loops, and couple the tent together that it may be a single whole. 12 And the part that remains of the curtains of the tent, the half curtain that remains, shall hang over the back of the tabernacle. 13 And the extra that remains in the length of the curtains, the cubit on the one side, and the cubit on the other side, shall hang over the sides of the tabernacle, on this side and that side, to cover it. 14 And you shall make for the tent a covering of tanned rams' skins 2 26:14 Or of rams skins dyed red and a covering of goatskins on top.

15 You shall make upright frames for the tabernacle of acacia wood. 16 Ten cubits shall be the length of a frame, and a cubit and a half the breadth of each frame. 17 There shall be two tenons in each frame, for fitting together. So shall you do for all the frames of the tabernacle. 18 You shall make the frames for the tabernacle: twenty frames for the south side; 19 and forty bases of silver you shall make under the twenty frames, two bases under one frame for its two tenons, and two bases under the next frame for its two tenons; 20 and for the second side of the tabernacle, on the north side twenty frames, 21 and their forty bases of silver, two bases under one frame, and two bases under the next frame. 22 And for the rear of the tabernacle westward you shall make six frames. 23 And you shall make two frames for corners of the tabernacle in the rear; 24 they shall be separate beneath, but joined at the top, at the first ring. Thus shall it be with both of them; they shall form the two corners. 25 And there shall be eight frames, with their bases of silver, sixteen bases; two bases under one frame, and two bases under another frame.

26 You shall make bars of acacia wood, five for the frames of the one side of the tabernacle, 27 and five bars for the frames of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the frames of the side of the tabernacle at the rear westward. 28 The middle bar, halfway up the frames, shall run from end to end. 29 You shall overlay the frames with gold and shall make their rings of gold for holders for the bars, and you shall overlay the bars with gold. 30 Then you shall erect the tabernacle according to the plan for it that you were shown on the mountain.

31 And you shall make a veil of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. It shall be made with cherubim skillfully worked into it. 32 And you shall hang it on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold, with hooks of gold, on four bases of silver. 33 And you shall hang the veil from the clasps, and bring the ark of the testimony in there within the veil. And the veil shall separate for you the Holy Place from the Most Holy. 34 You shall put the mercy seat on the ark of the testimony in the Most Holy Place. 35 And you shall set the table outside the veil, and the lampstand on the south side of the tabernacle opposite the table, and you shall put the table on the north side.

36 You shall make a screen for the entrance of the tent, of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, embroidered with needlework. 37 And you shall make for the screen five pillars of acacia, and overlay them with gold. Their hooks shall be of gold, and you shall cast five bases of bronze for them.

Footnotes

[1] 26:2 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters
[2] 26:14 Or of rams’ skins dyed red

"Ever struggle to understand the parts of the tabernacle?"

Listen Now

Dive Deeper | Exodus 26

During the time when the Israelites were wandering in the desert, God gave specifications to build a tabernacle. This  tabernacle was a place where the Israelites could properly worship God. It was divided into two rooms: 1) the Holy Place where the Israelites worshiped, and 2) the Holy of Holies where the Ark of the Covenant was placed and where God dwelt. The rooms were separated by a veil hung by gold clasps from four gold-covered acacia posts.

When I read the word veil, my mind flashes to a bride's veil, sheer and delicate. Well, this is not the type of veil that God gave instructions to hang in His tabernacle. The veil separating the Israelites from the Ark of the Covenant, and God's presence, is estimated to have been 30 feet long by 30 feet wide and perhaps four inches thick. It's said that two horses couldn't have pulled this veil apart. Intricately woven into this veil that guarded the entrance to the Holy of Holies were three huge cherubim figures, symbolic defenders of God's power and holiness, hanging there as if to say, "You, sinner, may go no further." The purpose of the veil (which was the furthest thing from delicate and sheer) was to keep people out of the Holy of Holies. It was a constant reminder that sin separates the sinner from God. The only way to pass into the Holy of Holies was by God's prescribed means—only the high priest, only once a year, and only by way of sprinkling a blood sacrifice (Leviticus 16). It was the sacrificial blood, a payment for sin, that allowed entrance into God's presence.

Fast-forward 1,600 years later when Jesus died on the cross. The veil was torn from top to bottom! The barrier between God and humanity was removed through Jesus' sacrifice; He paid the price of sin for all mankind (Matthew 27:50, 51; Hebrews 10:19-22).  Jesus states in John 10:9, "I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved." 

This month's memory verse

4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand;

– Philippians 4:4-5

Discussion Questions

1. We can now enter the holiest presence of God because Jesus' blood paid for our sin. By God's wondrous grace, our scarlet sin has been washed white as snow! Do you live a life marked by the acceptance that your sins have been paid for?

2. Take a moment and imagine the massive veil hanging in the tabernacle. No one was worthy to enter God's presence. God is set apart from sin, and thus we have been set apart from Him. God sent His Son to pay the blood debt owed for our sin. He tore down the veil. However, is there anywhere in your life where YOU have hung a veil to keep God out? Perhaps there is a part of your life that you feel unworthy to allow God into. Or maybe you just don't want to hear what God has to say about that area in your life behind your veil. Identify where and why you hung your veil.

3. In view of the divine tearing of the Temple veil, do you think you can tear apart any veils in your life? What are the things that only God can do and what steps is He calling you to take to tear your veils apart and allow Him in?

4. God pursued you by sending His Son. Whom can you pursue this week?

5. God has forgiven you for your sins. Whom can you forgive this week?

As we gear up to release even more features for Join The Journey in 2025, our staff team, unfortunately, no longer has the margin to continue to support the comment functionality. We have big things in store for Join The Journey 2025. Stay tuned!

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Hugh Stephenson

GM Stephanie. Love this devo and questions. Q1. Oh boy. What a question. Awhile back it occurred to me that although my old life of chaos, sin, and rebellion has been washed away there is still some element of a struggle to accept the full gift of unmerited favor. The visible piece of my day-to-day life that manifested this was a long task list and a sense of joy in my heart that was far less than what I knew and understood in my head. More recently, what I have come to understand is that the super intense work ethic I was taught as a boy does not serve me well as a child of God. The idea of a silent retreat does not appeal to me, but it might be just what I need. Q2. What’s behind my veil? Another thought-provoking question. Same zip code for an answer.
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Hugh Stephenson

One word…ABIDE. One verse; Psalm 46:10. “Be still” or “Cease striving.” "…and know that I am God." Q3. I have ZERO power to tear this veil apart. The fact that’s it’s still there 8 years after being saved is evidence of that. Q4. Good Friday and Easter are good prompts for inquiries. I look forward to them. Q5. Sadly, I still have some lingering resentments from my step-mother and a list of other small “hurts and harms”. -------------------------------- Like many, I read these details as well as many that are upcoming and wonder why they’re in there? "The tabernacle seems to represent a microcosm of creation itself. The splendor and beauty of the materials used—fine fabrics, precious metals, and stones—affirm the goodness of the created world. The precise and perfect dimensions of the tabernacle indicate a sense of order amid chaos. ...
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Hugh Stephenson

"in the midst of a fallen world, in exile from the Garden of Eden—the original 'heaven on earth'—God undertakes another act of creation, a building project that is nothing less than a return to pre-Fall splendor. ... If this is a correct understanding of the tabernacle, we begin to see why the writer of Exodus devotes so much space to its description." ------------------------------------------------ “The tabernacle as a whole illustrates four different things, according to Scripture. -It represents the heavens where God dwells, from which He manifests Himself (Hebrews. 4:14; 9:23-24), -the work of Christ (John 2:19-21; Hebrews. 3:3-4; 8:2; 9:11-12), -the individual believer (1 Corinthians 6:19), -and the church (1 Timothy. 3:15; Hebrews. 3:6; 10:21).”
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Michael Sisson

Re: Ex 26:31 According to Heb 10:20, the veil separating the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies is a type of Yeshua ha Mashiach (Jesus Christ). He is the veil between this world and the world to come (heaven). See also Lk 23:45 Produced by Chosen People Ministries, this is one of the more realistic CGI visualizations of the Tabernacle and its furnishings: https://youtu.be/7K8faUuCD2Y D. Thomas Lancaster PhD, teaching from Hebrews 9, explains how the Tabernacle presents an illustration of the passage from this world to the World to Come. https://www.bethimmanuel.org/sites/default/files/audio/protos_and_deuteros.mp3
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Sue Bohlin

Wonderful devo and questions, Stephanie, thank you! I am so grateful for the perspective that comes from having read the Bible all the way through several times; it means an ever-growing ability to see the big picture, so I have a better chance of connecting the dots. I read God's instructions for the veil between the holy place and the Holy of Holies with an awareness of how, many hundreds of years later, the Father would supernaturally tear the temple veil in two from top (heaven) to bottom (earth) to show He had destroyed the barrier between Himself and sinful humanity through the death of His Son. I keep seeing so many instances of God setting up physical props and illustrations of a spiritual point He would later make at the right time. For example, SO MANY preparations in the Old Testament for understanding Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday, which we just got to experience this weekend. I'm so thankful that God WANTS us to know and understand Him, rather than leaving us to try and figure things out on our own! P.S. Thanks to @MichaelSIsson for the link to the video of the tabernacle and its furnishings!
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Michael Scaman

They will build the tabernacle about 3 months after leaving Egypt and them stay about a year in the shadow of Mt Sinai until God says 'you've been long enough at this mountain' Isn't it amazing God provided enough materials from Egypt to build it? The cutter covering of the tent are animal skins. The inside a mix of precious (gold and silver) and common (woods) peaks to Jesus who is both fully human and fully divine In Psalm 68, the ark ascends Mount Zion and it is seen in Ephesians as Jesus ascending bringing us with. This tells us the ark is pointing to Jesus.
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Amy Lowther

1. Yes. 2. No, I look to God for guidance whenever and wherever possible in life. I use to think God would not go to business places with me where there was no Bible but using God’s values and walking with Jesus in business improves and increases relevant communication. It also improves how you complete daily work, how your fellow associates complete daily work, and how everyone relates to customers. 3. I am working to get a new job but as I do it, I am finding things in my life that I need to clean up. God helps me see these things as he would and little by little, I am making progress. I need to keep praying over getting a new job and everything that goes with it. God is a good career counselor because he helps you know who you are and what you are looking for in potential employers (including your current employer). In completing this task, I need to continue doing a little bit everyday. 4. I can help fellow workers at work. I can help guests and fellow greeters while I greet on upcoming Sundays. 5. My dad had a nice job. He recently chose to work for a different company in the same industry where he will be doing similar work. My parents and I are currently discussing why this occurred. Forgiveness of sin may or may not be needed.