My second grade teacher sat each of her students in front of a bright light and traced our profiles onto a piece of paper. Then she carefully cut each silhouette out of black paper and pasted it onto a white background creating a gift for our parents. The teacher had to trace each profile exactly and cut it out carefully or the student wouldn’t be recognized.

Casting a Shadow

In the tabernacle, God was tracing a silhouette—a portrait in shadow—of the Messiah. God told Moses, “Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you” (Exodus 25:9, emphasis mine). Why was following the pattern so important? The tabernacle foreshadowed the work of the Messiah. Each article in the tabernacle and its function filled in a part of the portrait of the Messiah. If Moses didn’t trace the pattern exactly as God instructed or cut out the articles carefully, then the finished portrait would not accurately illustrate the one it was to silhouette—and then he might not be recognized when he came.

The tabernacle taught the Israelites—and us—how sinners may approach the holy God and live. It not only showed us what God required to forgive and cleanse us from sin, it also served as the temporary way to fulfill his requirements until the Messiah came.

Cutting out the Profile

Consider these examples of how the tabernacle and sacrifice ceremonies foreshadowed the Messiah:

Before Entering the Tabernacle

The bronze altar of burnt offering (Exodus 27:1-8) stood outside the tabernacle entrance and sacrifices had to be made before one could enter (Leviticus 1–7). A worshiper was to “lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him” (Leviticus 1:4). In our sinful state, we cannot enter the presence of God or else we would die (Exodus 33:20). But our sins were laid on Jesus, and his atoning sacrifice allows us to move into the presence of God.

The bronze basin (Exodus 30:17-21) stood near the entrance to the tabernacle for Aaron and his sons to wash in “so they will not die” (vs. 20, 21). Jesus told Peter, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me” (John 13:8). The laver symbolically washed away sin—a perfect portrait of how the Messiah offers to wash away our sins. If we refuse to be washed, we will die in our sins.

Inside the Tabernacle

The table of the Bread of the Presence (Exodus 25:23-30) stood on the north wall of the tabernacle. Jesus said, “The bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world
. . . . I am the bread of life . . . . I am the bread that came down from heaven” (John 6:33, 35, 41). Without sustenance we cannot live; without spiritual sustenance, we cannot live spiritually.

The golden lampstand (Exodus 25:31-40, 27:20, 21) stood on the southern wall. Without the light of truth, we live in darkness and sin. Jesus declared, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12). In the future, all believers will gather in the city of God. Revelation 21:23 says, “The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.”

The altar of incense (Exodus 30:1-10) stood close to the ark. God told Moses, “Put the altar in front of the curtain that is before the ark of the Testimony . . . where I will meet with you” (Exodus 30:6). The sweet fragrance rising to God represents our prayers (see Revelation 5:8). Because Jesus has made atonement for us, God meets with us in prayer.

Entering the Most Holy Place

The curtain (Exodus 26:31-35) separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place, mercifully preventing anyone from making the fatal mistake of entering the presence of God improperly. When Jesus died, “At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom” (Matthew 27:51) and the way for us to enter God’s presence was opened.

The Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 25:10-22) contained “the two tablets of the Testimony, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God” (Exodus 31:18) which represented the entire law of God. Blood from sacrifices was sprinkled on the ark’s lid, known as the atonement cover. As God looks down upon his perfect law inside the ark, he must look through the blood sprinkled upon it and be reminded that blood has been shed to atone for the breaking of his law. As God looks upon us who have broken his law, he views us through the atoning blood of Jesus, which covers every believer.

Sacrifice and Scapegoat

Each sacrifice in the system (Leviticus 1-7) shadows an aspect of Jesus’ sacrifice. Consider the two goats on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:5, 7-10). One goat would be the Lord’s sacrifice, its blood sprinkled on the atonement cover of the ark (v. 15) to “cover” the broken law, portraying Christ’s atoning work.

Although the scapegoat lived (Leviticus 16:20-22), the priest confessed all the people’s sins over the goat’s head, transferring them onto the goat. Then the goat was led into the dessert, released, and banished forever from the camp. Jesus, too, was led outside the city of Jerusalem carrying our sins with him. As our scapegoat, he carried our sins away, banishing them for all eternity.

The Tent

The glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle (Exodus 40:34, 35) showing God approved of the work Moses and his craftsmen had completed. Jesus said, “I tell you that one greater than the temple is here” (Matthew 12:6). When the Jewish authorities asked for a sign, he said, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days” (John 2:19), a charge brought against him during his trials (Matthew 26:60, 61).

When the portable tabernacle gave way to the more permanent temple, the geographic location was important. God directed Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac in the region of Moriah (Genesis 22:1, 2). Centuries later Solomon built the temple on this very site (2 Chronicles 3:1).

Out of the Shadows

Seeing the future new Jerusalem, John wrote, “I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple” (Revelation 21:22).

My mom probably still has that second-grade silhouette of me somewhere. But it has been put away, for it is only a shadow of the real me, just as the tabernacle was only a shadow of the Messiah. Today it is through him alone that we may approach the holy God and live. |L

Dianne E. Butts is a freelance writer in  Pueblo, Colorado.