Releasing His PresenceSample

Releasing His Presence - The Tabernacle

After watching the video, read and reflect upon Exodus 25:8-9 and Exodus 26:30-35.

Now lets recap the key points in the video presentation. As you read, think about how these realities apply to your personal life.

Fast forward to the book of Exodus. The nation of Israel gathered in the desert under the leadership of Moses. God has a plan to come down again to be with His people. But, sin is still a barrier. For people to hang out with God, they must be right with God. The kind of selfishness, jealousy, hatred and lying that dominates our lives has no place in God's community. So, the presence of God must be contained in a room that people cannot enter. God gives Moses instructions to build that room in a place called the tabernacle.

In the center of their community was the presence of God, or the Tabernacle, and that is the same way that it should be in our lives. In the center of our families, in the center of our churches and in the center of our lives should be the presence of God. Inside the Tabernacle there were two rooms: The Holy Place and The Holy of Holies or Most Holy Place.

The Holy place was where the priests and the high priest would do their work. No one else, other than the priests and the high priest, was allowed to enter the Holy Place. The Holy of Holies, or Most Holy Place was where the presence of God resided, upon the Ark of the Covenant.

It was only the opportunity of the High Priest, once a year, to enter into this room, into the presence of God, to offer a sacrifice for the forgiveness of the sins for all the people of Israel. The Hebrews call this day Yom Kippur, the day of atonement. A thick veil separated the Holy Place from God’s presence in the Holy of Holies. Notice that on the veil there are Cherubim. They were the guardians that God put in place at the Garden of Eden. They guarded the access to the presence of God from man.