From “The House That Jack Built” to the parable by Yeshua the Mashiakh (Jesus the Christ) of the wise homeowner’s constructing it on a rock (Matt. 7:24–27; Luke 6:47–49), the metaphor of a house representing one’s character and lifestyle is widely employed over eons and continents.

The architectural and interior-design details about Israel’s Tabernacle in Torah reading תרומה Terumah (“contribution,” Exodus 25:1-27:19) may seem like needless and tiresome minutia. But why they deserve close, repeated reflection is they are a “pattern” for what the Heaven-transformed life looks like. That’s the pattern Yeshua, the ultimate Tabernacle from Heaven (John 1:14), lived out, as recorded in the Gospels.

The Tabernacle was the centerpiece for the nation in the wilderness. It was the embassy of the Creator of the Universe, right smack dab in the center of His creation. When the Tabernacle was operating, the Israelite tribes were evenly oriented all around the Tabernacle so God’s dwelling was literally in the center of His people.

Today as mobile tabernacles of God’s Presence, we meet with God in three main places that are pictured in the architecture of the Tabernacle: in His word, in prayer with Him and in His people.

Don’t show your backside to the Sovereign

There’s a lesson in the orientation of the Tabernacle to the compass. To witness the sacrifices, one would face away from the rising sun and towards the setting sun (depending on the time of day).

We see in the time of the prophets, the priests and the people were actually worshipping with their backs to God, disrespecting Him and paying obeisance and worship to false gods (Ezek. 8:15–17). They were worshipping the creation (sun), rather than the Creator. They saw the sun as the source of their strength, ignoring the Psalms which tell us that the LORD is the source of all strength (Psalm 121). We need to look up to the LORD, not down to our idols.

When we look to the creation rather than the Creator, we always end up in idolatry, and that leads to trouble. Idols are formed by the craftsman. When make an idol and worship it we are, in a sense, worshipping ourselves. They are molded to what we want them to be. They were moulding the things of God to what they wanted them to be rather than allowing themselves to be moulded by God.

In most cultures, you never turn your back to the sovereign. If you showed your back to the sovereign when you were not supposed to, that was a sign of utter disrespect.

In Salt Lake City, all the streets are oriented to the Mormon Temple.

The LORD should be at the center of everything we do, not an afterthought. When the Tabernacle was operating, the camps were evenly oriented all around the Tabernacle so God’s dwelling was literally in the center of His people.

Leviticus teaches us how to enter in the front door from the courtyard to the Most Holy Place. There are three stages of entry into God’s presence: front door, veil to the Holy Place, veil to the Most Holy Place.

The focal point of the Tabernacles was the ark, and the focal point of the ark were the tablets of the testimony. That is what God wants us to know about Him. Not a figurine or an idol.

Even the cherubim, which were placed on top of the ark look toward the mercy seat.

The testimony of the Lord is where you meet the Lord. We don’t need more commentaries, more translations, or something to hang from our keychains or our rear view mirrors to meet with God and get to know Him.

The mercy seat was God’s throne and that fact that God’s throne is called the place of mercy tells us much about God’s character.

Heavy metal?

There are three main metals in the Tabernacle design:

* Copper (bronze): It’s red — if you keep it clean. Copper (נחשת n’khoshet, H5178) is mainly in the courtyard of the Tabernacle,...