God commanded Moses to relay a message to the Israelite nation after the Exodus:

“’You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel” (Exodus 19:4-6).

The Israelites would eventually need to be reminded about the reason God chose them above all people. It was not for their greatness. Rather, God had made a promise to their fathers, and intended to keep it (cf. Deuteronomy 7:6-9). God would dwell among the Israelites so long as they obeyed Him, and kept His covenant. Although His mighty works among them demonstrated His presence, He saw it fit to establish a constant witness of His presence. Thus, the Lord spoke:

“And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it” (Exodus 25:8-9).

The sanctuary, or tabernacle, would stand to illustrate certain truths about God, and His relationship to the people. The sanctuary was a holy place. However, it was not a place holy within its own makeup, thus fit for a dwelling place of God. It was holy because of God who dwelt there.

“And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by My glory” (Exodus 29:43).

In his defense before the Sanhedrin, Stephen mentioned the “tabernacle of witness in the wilderness” (Acts 7:44). He also gave attention to the building of the temple by Solomon (v. 47). The Jews would continue to have a physical structure in the form of the temple to represent God’s presence among the nation. However, they would continually show their ignorance about God, and His relationship with them, conflating the presence of the temple with the approval of God – “Do not trust in these lying words, saying, ‘The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are these’” (Jeremiah 7:4). In the days of Jesus, Herod’s temple was in construction (cf. John 2:20). The Jews in this time had not learned from their ancestors’ mistakes, still misunderstanding the relationship between God and the temple:

“However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says: ‘Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. What house will you build for Me? says the Lord, or what is the place of My rest? Has My hand not made all these things?’ (Acts 7:48-50).

While the physical structure of the tabernacle and the temple represented the dwelling place of God among His people, it also symbolized other important spiritual truths. Ironically, that which witnessed God’s presence among the Israelite nation also represented a devastating gap between them.

In addition to the tabernacle, the Lord gave command to build the Ark of the Testimony. This ark housed several items specified by the Lord (cf. Hebrews 9:4). On top of the ark sat two cherubim on either end with wings outstretched covering the mercy seat. God explained:

“And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel” (Exodus 25:22).

This important item of the tabernacle which was the pinpoint of God’s symbolic dwelling would rest in the Most Holy place (cf. Exodus 26:34). It would be further separated from the rest. This separation would be shown with a veil:

“You shall make a veil…[and] the veil shall be a divider for you between the holy place and the Most Holy place” (Exodus 26:31, 33).

Thus, although the tabernacle represented God’s presence among the people, it also represented a separation between God and the people. The Hebrew writer expounded upon this indication by the Holy Spirit:

“But into the second part the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people’s sins committed in ignorance; the Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing. It was symbolic for the present time” (Hebrews 9:7-9).

This separation was due to sin. And the way into the Holiest of All was not made manifest because the blood offered for sins once a year could not take away sins (cf. Hebrews 10:4). “But Christ came…” (Hebrews 9:11).

John spoke of Jesus as the eternal Word (cf. John 1:1). It was important that He came, because the way into the Holiest of All, or “heaven itself…the presence of God” (Hebrews 9:24), was not available. Jesus would open that way for all. How?

John continued, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Interestingly, it could well be translated that “the Word became flesh and [tabernacled] (skēnoō) among us.” Jesus was God incarnate. In Jesus, God was dwelling among men. Ironically, the Jews rejected Jesus – God in the flesh –  falsely testifying that He had profaned the dwelling place of God (cf. Matthew 26:57-68). Thus, when Thomas asked, “’how can we know the way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me’” (John 14:5-6). By the coming of Jesus there is “a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh” (Hebrews 10:20). To approach God with the atoning blood, Jesus had to enter through the veil just as those under the Law of Moses. However, “Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us” (Hebrews 9:24). It was not with the blood of animals that Christ approached God, but with His own blood (cf. Hebrews 9:14).

In His sacrifice, Christ took care of the problem represented by the veil. It is fitting, then, that through the Holy Spirit Matthew records, “And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom” (Matthew 27:50-51a). The way to God was opened. Now, because of Jesus’ sacrifice, those who put their trust in Him have a hope, “both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus” (Hebrews 6:19-20).

Do you desire an eternal dwelling place with God in the Holiest of All? Understand that Jesus is “the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through [Him]” (John 14:6).