The purpose of this lesson: To introduce the students to some basic concepts regarding the Jewish tabernacle; these concepts will have relevance later as we consider the Christians relationship with God.
The problem was huge! How do you transform a group of slaves with primarily an identity based on forefathers and family heritage into a religious nation? How do you transform a group of slaves who have been dehumanized by slavery into a people who through a relationship with the living God sustain a theocracy? How do you transform slaves into Gods people without making them arrogant by developing a sense of self importance (the God delivered usso we are important syndrome)? How do you help people who were slaves? (Today, does not helping some in need continue to be a challenge because they lack values and insights?) How do you help a people who knew so much about idolatry learn to depend on God? How do you transform slaves who equated religion with idolatry into a nation that realizes the difference between spirituality and performing religious acts?
Help your students realize that the transition from slave in Egypt to the nation of people who belonged to God was NOT an easy, simple transition.
Slavery is a dehumanizing establishment! A good (productive) slave thinks of himself/herself as property, not as a person. He or she is not to be a person of values and principles, but be a person who does as his or her owner says. The only time period that matters is the time period selected by the owner. A good slave is not supposed to function on original thoughts, but to function on the owners instructions. Slaves are expected to be dependent. The slaves experiences do not usually prepare them for an independent life. Slavery tends to make slaves quite selfish and self-centered.
Help your students understand that slavery in any form is dehumanizing. (The form of slavery that existed in America differed from slavery in the first-century Roman Empire, and the slavery of the Old Testament.) It is difficult for many Americans to relate to the feeling of being property, existing to be used, and having no rights.
There is a slave mentality. A slave thinks like a slave, acts like a slave, has the priorities and values of a slave, and sees situations as a slave looks at them. While there are various kinds of slavery, all the kinds share at least one thing in common: slaves must have the mental outlook of a slave. The slave mentality is not reversed quickly merely by providing the man or woman freedom from the control of an owner. In the case of Israel, dependence would not be transferred from Egyptian owners to God promptly, easily, and without difficulty.
One of the reasons for slavery being so dehumanizing is found in the fact that it profoundly alters the way the person thinks. That thinking does not automatically change because the persons physical circumstances changeespecially if you were born to slave parents and personally never experienced freedom in any form.
Read Exodus 6:1-9, and remember this followed an incident when even Moses (read Exodus 5:22, 23) concluded resisting Pharaoh was futile. Realize God had as much to prove about His identity to Israel as to the Egyptian Pharaoh. The ten miraculous acts of God in Egypt that
resulted in Israels deliverance were as much to establish credibility with Israel as to prove to Pharaoh that He was superior.
Emphasize Gods acts to deliver Israel from Egypt served two purposes, not one. Israel had to learn to trust God. Call attention to the fact that Gods messages to Israel commonly contained the reminder that He was the God who brought them out of Egypt. He alone was responsible for making them a nation and providing them Canaan. Be sure to read again such statements as Deuteronomy 7:6-11 and 9:4-6.
Following is the writers view. There are other views. After Israel crossed the Red Sea, at some point a tent was erected outside the camp for Moses to judge problems that arose among the people and to confer with God. Read Exodus 33:7-11. One of the central objectives of this small tent was to visibly establish the unique bond between Moses and God. The cloud represented Gods presence. Israel was reminded repeatedly that Moses was doing far more than advancing his own personal agenda.
To the writer, it was important to verify the bond between Moses and God earlyto verify Moses was not acting on his own for self-centered reasons. That is one of the reasons the writer distinguishes between the small tent in Exodus 33:7-11 and the tabernacle. Some regard Exodus 33:7-11 as an early reference to the tabernacle.
From Exodus 35 through 40:33 the tabernacle, the furnishings, and the priestly garments were built according to Gods designs and instructions. When completed, again the cloud declared Gods acceptance and presence. During the 40 years of stay in the wilderness, the cloud provided guidance for Israel, and a visible reminder that the God who delivered them from Egypt was among them (also read Numbers 14:32-35).
Be certain to call attention to the cloud and its function.
The tabernacle was situated in the middle of the camp with 3 tribes encamped on each side (read Numbers chapters 2, 3). It did not serve as a place of assembly, but as a place of sacrificial worship performed by those designated by God. It was by design a portable place of sacrificial worship. It was unique because (1) its existence was commanded by God, (2) it functioned on the basis of delegated responsibilities, and (3) it was a visible reminder of Gods active role in the affairs of Israel.
Note the tabernacles place and its basic function. Note the unique roles it served by its presenceit was a constant visual reminder of Gods presence among them.
During the wilderness experience of Israel, the tabernacle served a crucial, practical role in the nation. Day and night it visibly reminded Israel that (1) they were a nation by the acts of God, (2) God was present, and (3) the nation knew when and where to go as well as when to stay. Among other things, the tabernacle functioned to transfer dependence on the Egyptians and Pharaoh to dependence on God.
Note the practical role the tabernacle served. God did not merely deliver them and then leave them on their own. The tabernacle was one of the constant reminders of their dependence on God (like the manna was). God wanted them to learn to trust Him.
What happened to the construction known as the tabernacle when Israel settled in Canaan is not known. Presumably, much of the tabernacles original construction materials wore out with the passage of time. When Canaan was divided into territories which were to serve as the homelands of each tribe, the tabernacle would no longer be in the daily sight of Israel as a nation. The known sites of the tabernacle in Canaan that seemed to be semi-permanent sites were perhaps Gilgal (Joshua 4:19), perhaps Shechem (Joshua 8:30-35), Shiloh (1 Samuel 1:3), Nob (1 Samuel 22:11), and Gibeon (1 Chronicles 16:39). When David transferred the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, he built a tent to house it. Where the tabernacle was in Canaan is sometimes a mystery and sometimes speculation. The Ark of the Covenant seemed to represent the Lords presence, and where it was became the site of sacrificial worship. Read Deuteronomy 12:1-14 and especially note verses 5, 11, 13, 14 and 16:16.
As long as Israel was in the wilderness, the tabernacle served (to Israel) several truly practical purposes. Though it remained the center of sacrificial worship, it was not the daily visible reminder when Israel conquered Canaan. The change from a roaming people to a settled people had some influence on the role of the tabernacle. Perhaps God expected future generations in Israel to operate spiritually by trusting the God who delivered their ancestors from Egypt. Perhaps they were to grow beyond the need of daily visible reminders.
For Thought and Discussion
1. Discuss the huge problem.
The discussion should include the difficulty of moving from slavery to the people (nation) of God.
2. Slavery is what kind of establishment? Why?
It is a dehumanizing establishment. It teaches people to see themselves as property instead of persons.
3. Explain the slave mentality.
This explanation should focus on the ways slaves look at themselves.
4. In Exodus 6:1-9, what was Moses to tell Israel?
He was the God who appeared to their forefathers. He was the God of the covenant. He was the God of deliverance. He was the God who would give them Canaan. He could be trusted to do as He promised.
5. What were the two purposes of Gods ten plagues or miraculous acts in Egypt?
a) Those acts built confidence in Israels ability to trust God.
b) Those acts demonstrated God was superior to Pharaoh (the Deliverer was superior to the enslaver).
6. What was the purpose of the small tent in Exodus 33:7-11?
It served two purposes. (1) It showed the bond between Moses and God. (2) It allowed people to seek justice.
7. What did the cloud represent both in the small tent and tabernacle?
The cloud represented the presence of God.
8. Where was the tabernacle situated?
The tabernacle was in the center of Israels camp with all Israel camped around it.
9. The tabernacle did not serve as what, but served as what?
It was not an assembly tent, but the place to offer sacrifices.
10. Give three reasons the tabernacle was unique.
a) Its existence was commanded by God.
b) It functioned through delegated responsibilities.
c) It was a visible reminder that God was active in Israels affairs.
11. The tabernacle reminded Israel of what three things day and night?
a) God made them a nation by His acts.
b) God was present.
c) God guided their movements and determined where and how long they stayed.
Link to Student Guide
Lesson 1