Tabernacles and Tents
the Israelites were a nomadic
people en route to the promised land, they had no temple, but they did still
have a sacred dwelling place... which was the physical focal point for worship,
prayer, and "meeting" with God.
After the exodus out of Egypt, the Israelites
were a nomadic people en route to the promised land, and so of course they had
no temple, but they did still have a sacred dwelling place. In Exodus, chapters
25-31 and 35-40, mention is made of a very special tent, "the meeting
tent," which was the physical focal point for worship, prayer, and
"meeting" with God.
Hundreds of years later, at the time of King
David, God's presence was still enshrined in a sacred tent housing the ark of
the covenant, but the Israelites themselves had become firmly settled in the
promised land. Finally, Solomon built the magnificent temple in Jerusalem and
transferred the ark there as the new sacred dwelling place, but the Temple's
design clearly incorporated a "tent" motif in the central sanctuary
to emphasize the continuity of God's presence with His people from their
nomadic beginnings.
The Latin word tabernaculum simply means
"tent." The tabernacle of each church is thus still an essential
element of continuity, for the Lord's Real Presence dwells in the tabernacle,
retaining the focus of our worship, prayer, and awareness of
"meeting" with God.