Page 56 - Pentateuch

warned Israel about this before (20:5), but now his jealousy is made clear. Humans usually understand
jealousy from a negative perspective. We lack something another person possesses. For example, the
Philistines envied Abraham's wealth (Gen. 26:14). Rachel was jealous of her sister for bearing children (Gen.
30:1). Joseph’s brothers were jealous of their favored son's status (Gen. 37:11). God lacks nothing. His
jealousy is different. It is actually an expression of his love. He wants the best for his people, and he is the
best. When his people stray to worship another god, they are losing what is best. So God is deeply jealous
of them. We might even speak about fierceness or passion for God’s jealousy. If he were not infinitely,
unchangeably committed to seeing humans love him, he would not be true to himself, nor would he be
completely loving to humans.

The account in Exodus continues with God restating some of the main provisions of the law he had
previously given (34:18-26). Moses writes everything down, spending another forty days and nights on the
mountain (34:27-28). He returns to camp with a radiant face “because he had spoken with the LORD (v.
29).” The whole nation is afraid to come near, but he calls to the leaders and gives them God’s commands.
To prevent misunderstanding, Moses wears a veil whenever he comes out from speaking with God (vv. 30-
35).

Moses also brings down from the mountain instructions about building the tabernacle. The importance of
the tabernacle is easily seen by the number of verses devoted to the topic. A description is given in
chapters 25 through 31, including instructions about the priests. A second description is given after the
golden calf incident (32-34) in chapters 35 through 40. This second description is written narratively as the
tent and its furnishings are built and assembled. A reference to carrying out the work as the LORD
commanded occurs frequently (36:1, 5; 39:1, 5, 7, 21, 26, 29, 31, 32, 42, 43; 40:16, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29,
32). This is no small item in the life of Israel.

Yet a quick reading of Exodus 25-31 discovers a structure different from modern places of worship. (The
same can be said of the temple in later history.) The tabernacle is not built to shelter the worshippers. The
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tabernacle is a “portable temple,” a “dwelling-place for the divine presence,” and a place of holiness
(25:8). The concept of a temple does not quite cover the
intent of scripture. As the place where God would be
present with his people, the tabernacle was also a
palace, and the items in it were considered palace
furniture. The “tent of meeting” (35:21) speaks of
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purposeful contact between God and Israel (29:42-43).
The “tabernacle of the testimony” is the place where the
Ten Commandments are kept (38:21; 25:22).

The tabernacle, along with the activities done in the
structure, is designed to reflect God’s true dwelling
place in heaven. It is a “copy and shadow of what is in
heaven” (Heb. 8:5) or “copies of the heavenly things”
House pattern – not a built house (9:23). As with the rest of the law (10:1; Col. 2:17), the
tabernacle was a shadow of the spiritual reality. It was designed
by God to teach through illustration. Every day, the nation of Israel could see a physical structure similar to
heaven. Every day, the people could watch services that spoke of true spiritual relationships. Their
experience of God’s sanctuary and palace, where the Ten Commandments were kept and where they met
God, was designed to point to these other deeper realities. An artist outlines before he produces the

68 George Bush, Notes on Exodus (Minneapolis: Clock & Clock, 1976), 2:71.
69 Ibid., p. 72.
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