The Tabernacle in the Wilderness

Ward R. Williams Ph. D. University of Minnesota

It must be remembered that the majority of the Israelites were illiterate: Writing was the area of expertise for a class called Scribes. Further, the full meaning of the Tabernacle requires the New Testament for its interpretation. This is because the types of the Tabernacle were only fulfilled in the life and ministry of Jesus.

The ALTAR Ex 27:1 - 8 was just inside the entrance to the Tabernacle. The man who was the head of the household brought a lamb to be sacrificed. He laid his hand on the lamb and confessed the sins of his household: The sins of the man, his wife, his children and his servants. The lamb is then killed by the Levites and burnt on the altar of brass, symbolizing that the sins of the household are taken away. Jesus became our sacrificial Lamb when he went to the cross.

The LAVER Ex 30:17 - 21(or storage tank for water) was the next step. It represented the Word of God which today cleanses us from our wrong thinking and wrong actions as we study and obey the Bible.