Page 205 - Through New Eyes

The World of the Tabernacle 203

tress they had to depend exclusively on the Israelite voluntary
militia.g The last of these judges was Samuel, who presided over
the dissolution of the Mosaic establishment, and who laid the
foundation for the new Davidic establishment that replaced it.
In the patriarchal establishment, as we have seen, there were
many garden-oasis sanctuaries set up by men. These were places
of routine worship and sacrifice. In the Mosaic establishment,
the patriarchal-oasis church was divided into two institutions:
Tabernacle and synagogue. The synagogue continued the patri-
archal tradition of being set up in many places at the determination
and design of men. The Tabernacle continued the patriarchal-
sanctuary in that in the Tabernacle architecture, the altars,
trees, and wells of the patriarchs were woven into an organized
structure. The Tabernacle, however, was expressly designed by
God, and was located at His command, the new location being
indicated by the movement of the glory-cloud.
The sacrificial worship, focused at the three annual festivals,
was centralized at the Tabernacle. Only the priests might ap-
proach the altar and the Tent to offer sacrifice and to maintain
the Tent. The Levites were set apart as guards and helpers of the
Tabernacle area. By way of contrast, the worship of preaching
and prayers was decentralized into local synagogues, pastored
by Levites who lived in the towns (Deuteronomy 14:27, 29;
Judges 17:7; 19:1).
For the most part, scholars use the term “synagogue” to refer
to the highly structured institution that had developed by the
time of our Lord, and that continues in Judaism today. Accord-
ing to Jewish tradition, this synagogue structure was established
by Ezra, but it is more likely that it developed later than Ezra’s
time. Unfortunately, focusing on the New Testament synagogue
has often blinded Bible students to the clear statements of the
Old Testament to the effect that there were centers of worship
(not of sacrifice) throughout Israel. Such houses of prayer were
places of “holy convocation,” which was required every sabbath
(Leviticus 23:3). Worship services were also held on the new
moons (2 Kings 4:23). During the Mosaic period, the Levites
were the pastors of these local churches. I don’t know what we
should call them unless we call them “synagogues ,“ and so that is
what I shall call them in this book.