LIVING WATERS
For the proclamation of the Gospel and the edification of the Body of Christ
The Tabernacle
The Gospel of John uses -in the Greek- a very interesting word referring to the Lord Jesus that has not been properly translated into English. This word is in chapter 1, verse 14: "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth". "Dwelt" here means, to use one word, "tabernacled".
Why does John use this strange word, difficult to translate? In fact, no translator has ever used it. The reason is very simple: John is drawing our attention to the tabernacle in the wilderness, for the Lord Jesus is the true tabernacle of God with men. He fulfilled the figure of the tabernacle erected by Moses, so that when reviewing the different aspects of the tabernacle, we must always keep in mind to whom it points, and of whom it speaks to us.
God told Moses: "You shall make a sanctuary for me" (Ex. 25:8). In the same way, God asked Mary to offer her womb so that, from there, He could raise a tabernacle for Himself in Jesus Christ. Therefore, when the Lord said: "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up" (Jn. 2:19), He was referring to this "construction" made by the Holy Spirit in Mary's womb, that is, to the "temple of His body" (v. 21).
The dual nature of the Lord Jesus Christ-divine and human-is very well represented in the tabernacle. So much in the color of the curtains: blue, his divinity; red, his humanity; purple, the synthesis of his double divine and human nature. Likewise, much of the furniture has the dual nature implicit in wood and gold. Wood, humanity; gold, divinity. The whole tabernacle is an announcement, not only of his nature, but also of his work.
Just as the tabernacle had three environments, the court, the Holy Place, and the Most Holy Place, so the nature of the Lord -and that of every Christian- is tripartite: body, soul, and spirit. In the Lord was personified the tabernacle, with all its symbolism perfectly realized.
God asked Moses to erect a tabernacle for him, for he wished to dwell in the midst of his people. He came down from his exalted glory, to be near to men. So also in Christ, God was bridging the greatest distance -not only physical, but moral- to come to dwell among men: "Emmanuel, God with us". God drew near to man, and provided a means whereby man could draw near to God (hence the name "tabernacle of meeting"). There was a wide door for anyone who needed to approach God.
When the tabernacle was up, God spoke from there to Moses. Before he had spoken from the Mount; now he spoke from the tabernacle (Lev. 1:1). How near and approachable! In Christ, God has come down and we can touch Him; God has come and we can hear Him. Later we will find that the tabernacle also represents the church, but the primary and main point of which it speaks to us is our Lord Jesus Christ.