The Tabernacle of David

From the Tabernacle of Moses to the Tabernacle of David

The tabernacle of Moses was designed to contain the ark of the testimony of the presence of God, who told Moses:

Let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. According to all that I show thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its vessels, even so shall ye make it. (Exodus 25:8–9)

God showed Moses the pattern when he went up the mount of the presence of God (Exodus 25:40), and the holy of holies of the tabernacle represents the heavenly realm and reconciliation with God.

There was an outer court⁶⁷² containing a large brazen (bronze) altar for blood sacrifices (five cubits long by five cubits wide by three cubits high).⁶⁷³ Inside the tent of the tabernacle, there was a holy place,⁶⁷⁴ which was exclusively for the ministry of the priests (born into the family of Aaron) and contained the table of showbread and the lampstand that was separated by a veil from the holy of holies.⁶⁷⁵ The holy of holies contained the ark, a golden altar of incense, and two cherubim whose wings together spanned the entire width of the tabernacle, touching each side and touching each other and overshadowing the ark,⁶⁷⁶ which is the first thing that God described to Moses:

And they shall make an ark of cedar wood; two cubits and a half shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height. (Exodus 25:10)

The number one is symbolic of light, two is symbolic of decision, and one half is symbolic of sacrifice. God told Moses:

And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee. (Exodus 25:16)

After the children of Israel failed miserably by worshipping the calf made of gold, and after Moses cast down the two stone tablets with the Ten Commandments written by the finger of God, which shattered them, God had Moses make a second set of tablets and place them securely in the ark. Even though the commandments applied to the present, they were written in future tense (Thou shalt not …) to send a prophetic message that God would eventually have a people who would keep his commandments.

This is only possible in Christ (the Anointed One, or Messiah) who would come approximately fifteen hundred years into the future to redeem his people. A key feature built into the ark confirms this:

And thou shalt make a seat of reconciliation of pure gold; two cubits and a half shall be its length and a cubit and a half its breadth. And thou shalt make two cherubim of gold; of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the seat of reconciliation. (Exodus 25:17–18)

Reconciliation with God does not mean that we will meet him in a compromise halfway between our “mortal” and “venial” sins. It means that fallen man will be straightened out and lined back up with God who is righteous. This requires the righteousness of the life of Christ in us by the Holy Spirit.

And make one cherub on the one end and the other cherub on the other end: even of the seat of reconciliation shall ye make the cherubim on the two ends thereof. And the cherubim shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the seat of reconciliation with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the seat of reconciliation shall the faces of the cherubim be. (Exodus 25:19–20)

God made man a little lower than the angels, and the Lord Jesus Christ (who is God) had to become a man in order to redeem us;⁶⁷⁷ in addition, God is using the redemption of the human race to teach things that the angels desire to look into (1 Peter 1:10–12). Therefore, the ark has two cherubim built into the seat of reconciliation (where the high priest had to apply the blood each year so that he could continue to be in communion with God and intercede for the nation). They covered the ark with their wings and watched all of the proceedings relating to redemption (these were symbolic at that time and preceded the one-time, all-sufficient sacrifice of Jesus Christ).

And thou shalt put the seat of reconciliation⁶⁷⁸ above upon the ark, and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. And there I will meet with thee, and I will speak with thee from above the seat of reconciliation, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the sons of Israel. (Exodus 25:21–22)

Therefore, speaking from above the seat of reconciliation, God dictated many commandments to Moses for the sons of Israel with powerful angels looking on. The cherubim are associated with the heavenly throne of God throughout Scripture.

The History of the Tabernacle of Moses in the Promised Land

After the death of Moses and the conquest of the promised land under Joshua, the sons of Israel were faithful to God as long as the elders who had known Joshua lived. After that, they began to fall away from God, going after pagan gods such as Baal and Ashtoreth. This worship was an abomination because of their idolatry, sexual perversion, and even human sacrifice. Over a period of four hundred and fifty years,⁶⁷⁹ God raised up a succession of judges (some count fifteen in total, beginning with Joshua and ending with Samuel) to deliver Israel each time they fell into apostacy and were subsequently overrun by their enemies. Each judge was unique and had elements that were not necessarily politically correct, but the one thing they all had in common was that the anointing of the Spirit of God was upon each one of them in such a way that virtually all Israel witnessed to each testimony and submitted to the judgments of God that flowed through them.

The circumstances surrounding the inauguration of Samuel, the final judge, were unique. The spiritual situation of the nation of Israel was getting worse, and the corruption had permeated the priesthood. Even though it appears that Samuel was not of the tribe of Levi (his family was from Mount Ephraim and his ancestors from Ephrathah or Bethlehem), at a very young age, the child ministered unto the LORD before Eli the priest. But the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they did not know the LORD (1 Samuel 2:11–12).

Young Samuel was raised by Eli, the seemingly benevolent old high priest, whose sons were an abomination. Even in the midst of such blatant corruption,⁶⁸⁰ Samuel followed the Lord.

The child⁶⁸¹ Samuel kept on growing and was in favour both with the LORD and also with men. And a man of God came unto Eli and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Did I not plainly appear unto the house of thy father when they were in Egypt in the house of Pharaoh? And I chose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer upon my altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me, and I gave unto the house of thy father all the offerings on fire of the sons of Israel. (1 Samuel 2:26–28)

This refers to the Levitical priesthood that began with Aaron, which God, speaking to Eli, calls “the house of thy father,” even while all the tribes of Israel were still in bondage in Egypt in the house of Pharaoh. God chose the tribe of Levi to be his and chose the house of Aaron, including his descendants, to be his priests. God now poses a question for Eli and for his entire house:

Why do ye trample my sacrifices and my offerings which I have commanded to be offered in my tabernacle and honor thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people? (1 Samuel 2:29)

God is posing this same question today to those who claim to represent him yet are making a mockery of God’s sacred things, honoring their own “sons” or proselytes above God, even while making themselves fat at the expense of all the choice offer[1]ings of his people.

Therefore, the LORD God of Israel said, I had said indeed that thy house and the house of thy father should walk before me for ever, but now the LORD said, It shall never be; for those that honor me I will honor, and those that lightly esteem me shall be vile. Behold, the days come that I will cut off thine arm and the arm of thy father’s house that there shall not be an old man in thy house. (1 Samuel 2:30–31)

This prophecy came true, and the spiritual interpretation also continues to be valid. Under a corrupt priesthood such as the house of Eli (or its modern-day clergy counterparts), no one will ever come to maturity in Christ. To cut off the arm is to cut off the power and strength.

And thou shalt see a competitor in my tabernacle in all the things in which I shall do good unto Israel, and there shall not be an old man in thy house for ever. I shall not totally cut off all thy men from my altar to consume thine eyes and to grieve thy soul, and all the increase of thy house shall die as young men. (1 Samuel 2:32–33)

Under the old covenant and the Levitical priesthood (as demonstrated by the house of Eli), God stated in no uncertain terms: there shall not be an old man in thy house for ever. Even though Eli was given the consolation that some of those from his house would be allowed to continue in ministry, God told him flat out: all the increase of thy house shall die as young men. Not one of them would attain maturity.

What about those who have been building a modern form of the corrupt house of Eli? And who, exactly, is the “competitor” to the house of Eli by which God will do good to his people? In the time that this was given, the one who dwelled in the tabernacle with the true anointing was young Samuel, who, in turn, eventually anointed David, according to the word of the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto thee that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas: in one day they shall both die. (1 Samuel 2:34)

It was not long before this literally came true when Hophni (means “puglist”) and Phinehas (means “serpent’s mouth”) went into battle against the Philistines with the ark. There is also a modern day of reckoning on our horizon in which something similar could take place.

A Faithful Priest and a Sure House

God promised to raise up a faithful priest after God’s heart and build him a sure house.

And I will raise me up a faithful priest that shall do according to that which is in my heart and in my mind, and I will build him a sure house,⁶⁸² and he shall walk before my anointed [Heb. Messiah] for ever. (1 Samuel 2:35)

Who is the faithful priest that God promised to raise up? God said it is someone that shall do according to that which is in my heart and in my mind. God said, I will build him a sure house. This is quite an enigma because God also said that this person, who will be a faithful priest and for whom God will build a sure house, would walk before [his] anointed for ever.

God’s anointed Messiah is Jesus Christ, but who is this person God promised to raise up who would be a faithful priest and be built into a sure house and walk before the Messiah forever? To make matters even more interesting, when the inspired writer of the book of Hebrews is describing the role of Jesus Christ as our new High Priest of the order of Melchisedec, it says, For if he were on earth, he should not even be a priest, being present still the other priests that offer gifts according to the law (Hebrews 8:4).

Therefore, since it seems that not even Samuel was of the tribe of Levi, and since he was ministering before the Lord in the tabernacle at a very young age (Levites were required to be at least thirty years of age in order to minister), it follows that the faithful priest that God promised to raise up to replace the house of Eli and the house of his father is more along the lines of the royal priesthood described under the new covenant (1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 1:6) and that it has to do with citizens of heaven (not citizens of the earth). Then this sure house that God promised to build could apply to those who God chooses and invites to have communion with him in the heavenly realm. This is the realm represented by the holy of holies, which contains the ark, and as we have seen, the ark is a representation of Christ.

And it came to pass one day when Eli was lain down in his place, his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see; and before the lamp of God was put out,⁶⁸³ Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was; and the LORD called Samuel, and he answered, Here am I. (1 Samuel 3:2–4)

Eli was losing his vision. The lamp of God was still burning in the holy place of the tabernacle of Moses (but would soon be put out). Young Samuel was sleeping where the ark of God was when the LORD called Samuel and he answered …

And he ran unto Eli and said, Here am I, for thou didst call me. And he said, I did not call; lie down again. And he went and lay down. (1 Samuel 3:5)

In order for Samuel to run over to Eli, it seems that they were sleeping in different places of the same house. In this case, the house was the tabernacle of Moses, referred to here as the “temple.” There were only two rooms: the holy place where the lampstand was and the holy of holies that was adjoined but separated by a veil. Samuel was used to hearing and responding to the voice of Eli because this was his immediate reaction.

And the LORD called Samuel yet again. And Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, Here am I, for thou didst call me. And he answered, I did not call, my son; lie down again. Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither had the word of the LORD yet been revealed unto him. (1 Samuel 3:6–7)

This is the second time the Lord called Samuel, who still thought it was Eli (means “my God”). There are many today who are accustomed to hearing about God from someone who is genuinely in the ministry that is symbolized by the holy place. This is where we may study the Scriptures in the light of the Holy Spirit, as symbolized by the lampstand. This is where the table of showbread is located, which symbolizes the broken body of Christ that provides nourishment for everyone that is born again into the priesthood of all believers (Ephesians 4:16). This is where the priests could extend their hand through the veil and keep the fire burning on the golden altar of incense, which symbolizes prayer that enters the throne room of God.

The holy place depicts the spiritual realm occupied today by much of the church – the realm in which people are used to getting their spiritual direction by studying the written Word of God and by consulting with their revered pastor, elder, or spiritual director, even while directing prayers to the throne of God.

However, the direct and personal word of the Lord is something that must be revealed to us, and when this happens, we will become aware of a higher realm in God, a heavenly realm of not only hearing his voice but of also perceiving (or seeing) things from his perspective.⁶⁸⁴ Samuel became known throughout Israel as the “seer” (1 Samuel 9:9).

And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, Here am I, for thou didst call me. Then Eli perceived that the LORD was calling the child. Therefore, Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down, and it shall be if he calls thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, LORD, for thy slave hears. So Samuel went and lay down in his place. (1 Samuel 3:8–9)

Even though his natural (and spiritual) eyes were growing dim, Eli finally per[1]ceived that the LORD was calling the child and gave Samuel good advice. Even a child can hear directly from the Lord and converse with him, and it helps if we can honestly tell the Lord that we are his slave (that we know for sure that we belong entirely to him). When young Samuel went and lay down in his place, this confirms that he was sleeping in a different place than Eli. Also, the fact that the Scripture refers to his place seems to indicate that the sleeping arrangement was prearranged and that this was not an unusual situation where Samuel had somehow gotten left in the tabernacle to tend the lamp and then unexpectedly fell asleep.⁶⁸⁵

And the LORD came and stood and called as at the other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy slave hears. (1 Samuel 3:10)

“Samuel” means “heard of God.”

And the LORD said unto Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of each one that hears it shall tingle. In that day I will perform against Eli all the things which I have spoken concerning his house; when I begin, I will also make an end. For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knows of (because his sons made themselves vile, and he did not restrain them). (1 Samuel 3:11-13)

When God’s time came for judgment, he began with the family, or house, of the high priest and confirmed his word through a little boy whom he had selected to become the next (and final) judge of the nation of Israel.⁶⁸⁶ Eventually, God’s judgments would affect many others among Israel, the Philistines, and even the surrounding nations. From the time of God’s call of young Samuel, through the kingdoms of Saul and then David, until all of the enemies of God’s people were finally subdued and the materials were ready for the construction of Solomon’s Temple, over one hundred years transpired. All or much of this has to do with living parables of what will happen in the events leading up to the day of the Lord and the second coming. Bear in mind that the New Testament confirms that judgment begins from the house of the Lord.⁶⁸⁷

And therefore, I have sworn unto the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be reconciled, not with sacrifices nor with presents for ever. (1 Samuel 3:14)

What clinched the end of the house of Eli was the behavior of his sons. If we go back over four hundred and fifty years, there was another priest named Phinehas, grandson of Aaron, who did the exact opposite (Numbers 25:7–11).

Then the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying, Phinehas,688 the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned my wrath away from the sons of Israel, being zealous for my sake among them, therefore I did not consume the sons of Israel in my jealousy. Because of this say unto them, Behold, I establish my covenant of peace with him; and he shall have, and his seed after him, even the covenant of the everlasting priesthood because he was zealous for his God and reconciled the sons of Israel. (Numbers 25:10–13)

I am sure that Phinehas, son of Eleazar (and ancestor of Eli), did qualify for the royal priesthood described by Peter, including God’s covenant of peace for him and for his seed after him, and even the covenant of the everlasting priesthood. This, however, was not enough to cover the apostate house of Eli when God swore that enough was enough and that their iniquity shall not be reconciled, not with sacrifices nor with presents for ever.

When the house of Eli was literally cut off from the high priesthood, it turned out to be Solomon from the house of David that finally did it⁶⁸⁹ by thrusting out Abiathar, the priest who accompanied David in the wilderness and who helped carry the ark and went through many afflictions with David; in his old age Abiathar joined the rebellion of Adonijah. His replacement was Zadok⁶⁹⁰ who was also descended from Aaron and Eleazar and Phinehas.

The Ark and the Tabernacle of Moses

After the ark left Shiloh, it never returned to the tabernacle of Moses. After the ark was captured by the Philistines and the sons of Eli were slain, when the news got back to Shiloh, Eli fell over backwards and broke his neck. Then the Philistines were devastated by the ark for seven months until they decided to send it back to Israel in a new cart, which was drawn by cows whose calves had been tied up back home. When the ark got to Bethshemesh (means “house of the sun”) in Israel, at first there was a great celebration, but then God smote fifty thousand of the people and seventy principal men who had looked upon the ark.⁶⁹¹ The ark was then received by the men of Kirjathjearim⁶⁹² (means “city of groves”) and placed in the house of Abinadab, whose son Eleazar was sanctified to keep the ark. Then Samuel preached repentance to Israel for twenty years until they finally responded to his invitation to gather at Mizpeh and corporately repent (1 Samuel 4–7).⁶⁹³ Corporate repentance of the people of God remains elusive today.

This revival lasted until Samuel was old and made his sons judges over Israel. Sadly, his sons did not walk in his ways, and Israel rejected them and began to clamor for a king. This led to the tragic kingdom of Saul, who God later decided to replace with David.

When David fled from Saul as a young man, he stopped to see Ahimelech the priest at Nob (means “height”)⁶⁹⁴ and received the sword of Goliath and the showbread (exclusive of the priests) to feed himself and his company of young men (1 Samuel 21:1–9). This was the beginning of a number of extraordinary things that God granted David grace to do, things that under the law of Moses were reserved exclusively for Levitical priests. After Saul killed Ahimelech and slaughtered virtually everyone in the priestly city of Nob, the grandson of Ahimelech fled to David and brought the ephod⁶⁹⁵ (which the high priest could use to consult with God and get a yes or no answer). There are at least two occasions on record when David commanded the priest to bring him the ephod so that he could use it to consult directly with God (1 Samuel 23:6, 9–12; 30:7–8).

Many years later, when David (approximately age thirty-seven) was consolidated as king over all Israel and after he captured the citadel of Zion and, therefore, Jerusalem, he made a frustrated attempt to bring the ark up from Kirjathjearim in a new cart drawn by oxen. A man named Uzza (means “strong man”) put forth his hand to hold the ark when the oxen stumbled, and God smote him.

And David was afraid of God that day, saying, How shall I bring the ark of God home to me? So David did not bring the ark home to himself to the city of David but carried it into the house of Obededom, the Gittite.⁶⁹⁶ And the ark of God remained with the household of Obededom in his house three months. And the LORD blessed the household of Obededom and all that he had. (1 Chronicles 13:12–14)

In the above Scripture, it certainly appears that David did something reserved only for sanctified priests when, after the death of Uzza, he carried the ark from the new cart into the house of Obededom, the Gittite.⁶⁹⁷ The result of this was that the Lord blessed the household of Obededom and all that he had. This, in turn, encouraged David to make another attempt to bring the ark to Jerusalem; this time, it came on the shoulders of clean priests who were set apart (or sanctified) for the exclusive service of God. This time, David even dressed as a priest. (Another interesting detail is that those who had important positions in the kingdom of David are listed in 2 Samuel 8, and at the very end of the chapter the last line reads: and David’s sons were priests.⁶⁹⁸⁾

So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obededom into the city of David with gladness. And it was so that when those that bore the ark of the LORD had gone six paces, he sacrificed oxen and fatlings. And David danced before the LORD with all his might, and David was girded with a linen ephod. (2 Samuel 6:12b–14)

One of the reasons that God rejected Saul was because he became impatient and “forced himself ” and offered sacrifices before Samuel the prophet arrived (1 Samuel 13:8–14). Here David is apparently under no such restriction.

And they brought in the ark of the LORD and set it in its place, in the midst of the tent that David had pitched for it, and David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD. And as soon as David had finished offering burnt offerings and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of the hosts.⁶⁹⁹ (2 Samuel 6:17–18)

The ark did not go back to the tabernacle of Moses, which was the location of the brazen altar, the lampstand, the table of showbread, the golden altar of incense (and probably the two large statues of Cherubim that covered the holy of holies), and where the ministry of the Levitical priesthood continued. The tent that David pitched for the ark became known as the tabernacle of David⁷⁰⁰ and was portrayed as a living, prophetic parable for what would happen under the new covenant during the age of grace and beyond.⁷⁰¹

Tabernacles of David and Moses: Grace and Law

The tabernacle of David is linked to grace, while the tabernacle of Moses is linked to law. What, exactly, does the tabernacle of David represent? In the new covenant there is only one mediator between God and man. This is the Lord Jesus Christ, and he is presently seated upon a heavenly throne.

The ark is a representation of Jesus Christ and of how our reconciliation with God the Father is made possible. The tabernacle of David depicts the heavenly realm touching the earth and is a living, prophetic parable of how we may come into a direct and personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ without intermediary clergy or religious, legalistic ritual; thus, we may become registered as citizens of heaven.⁷⁰² The once-and-for-all blood sacrifice at Calvary was required in order to put the new covenant into effect. However, the fullness of what is represented by the tabernacle of David (with the ark as its sole piece of furniture) will be restored at the second coming (with the complete revelation of Jesus Christ) along with the thrones of the house of David.

And the seventh angel sounded the trumpet, and there were great voices in the heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are reduced unto our Lord and to his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. And the twenty-four elders, who sat before God on their thrones, fell upon their faces and worshipped God, saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, who art and wast, and art to come because thou hast taken to thee thy great power and hast reigned.

And the Gentiles were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou should give the reward unto thy slaves the prophets and to the saints and those that fear thy name, to the small and to the great, and should destroy those who destroy the earth. And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of his testament was seen in his temple: and there were lightnings and voices and thunderings and earthquakes and great hail. (Revelation 11:15–19, emphasis added)

So, let’s consider the corrupt priesthood of Eli and the message that God gave him: And I will raise me up a faithful priest that shall do according to that which is in my heart and in my mind, and I will build him a sure house, and he shall walk before my anointed [Heb. Messiah] for ever (1 Samuel 2:35).

The faithful priest for whom God would build a sure house could not have been Samuel or even Zadok.⁷⁰³ The fact that he will walk before God’s anointed (Messiah) forever means that this does not refer directly to Jesus Christ. The only sure house that I can see that fits this bill is the house of David (1 Samuel 17), which continued in God’s favor until the birth of Jesus Christ, and in Christ it continues forever (this even includes us if we are in Christ).

As in ancient times, many scholars and theologians today do not see David as a priest. Of course, they are right in the sense that David was not a Levitical priest (and neither was Jesus, who is now our High Priest forever of the order of Melchisedec). God, however, has developed the house of David into a royal priesthood of all believers who are registered in the heavens and benefit from the sure mercies of David (Isaiah 55:3) that are in Christ (Acts 13:34–37). This is difficult, if not impossible, for the legalistic, temporal mind to comprehend. Most of the scribes and Pharisees had serious trouble understanding who Jesus really is and, therefore, they could not comprehend David either.

And answering, Jesus said, while he taught in the temple, How do the scribes say that the Christ is Son of David? For David himself said by the Holy Spirit, The LORD said to my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. David therefore himself calls him Lord, and where then is he his son? And the many people heard him gladly. (Mark 12:35–37)

Jesus added more clarity later when he said, I AM the root and the offspring of David (Revelation 22:16). It is Jesus (not David) who has made us kings and priests unto God and his Father (Revelation 1:6). Jesus is not only the offspring of David (the Messiah who came a thousand years after the physical death of David) but also the root of David. Jesus participated with God the Father in the creation of the heavens and the earth (including the line of all the ancestors of David). The attraction of David to the ark and, therefore, to everything having to do with the tabernacle of David and the sacrifices of praises ordained and offered there, was really an attraction to having a personal, intimate relationship with Jesus Christ and with God the Father by the Holy Spirit.

Well, what has changed since then? Jesus’s death and resurrection has opened the way for every believer to (in potential) have a direct personal relationship with Jesus and with the Father by the Holy Spirit. In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit did not reside in (or on) all of the people of God at the same time. This is what has changed. Now, all of us can enjoy true worship in Spirit and in truth, and this is not even tied to a fixed location because the Spirit of God resides in us (John 4:21–24). In the future, in the events leading up to and surrounding the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, we can expect an even greater outpouring of the anointing of the Holy Spirit along with the fulfillment of all the wonderful promises and prophecies contained in the psalms, some of which David wrote in the tabernacle of David, in the presence of the ark, and while contemplating the beauty of the Lord.

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⁶⁷² The outer court hangings measured one hundred cubits (x2) plus fifty (x2) by five cubits high (Exodus 27:18), or one thousand five hundred square cubits of curtains (that enclose the and tabernacle symbolize the fifteen hundred years of the age of the law.) The outer court received the light of the sun by day and the light of the moon and the stars at night. This is where the people worshipped.

⁶⁷³ Exodus 27:1–8

⁶⁷⁴ The holy place measured twenty cubits long by ten wide and ten high (for a total of two thousand cubic cubits that could symbolize the two thousand years of the age of grace). The light in the holy place came from the seven lamps of fire on the lampstand (made of sixty-six features of gold that symbolize the sixty-six books of the Scriptures in the light of the Holy Spirit).

⁶⁷⁵ The holy of holies measured ten cubits long by ten wide by ten high (for a total of one thousand cubic cubits that could symbolize the coming one thousand years of the millennium). The light in the holy of holies is the shekinah glory of the presence of God.

⁶⁷⁶ The ancients all knew after the fall (when Adam and Eve were banned from the garden) that the direct presence of the Lord would kill them. This is why they were always so frightened if they should ever encounter the angel of the Lord. Therefore, the ark of the testimony of the presence of God was deadly to unclean mortal man and had to be placed in a special chamber (called the holy of holies) veiled off from the holy place of everyday priestly ministry.

⁶⁷⁷ See Psalm 8:5 and Hebrews 2:7–9.

⁶⁷⁸ This is translated as “mercy seat” in many English Bibles. The original Hebrew, however, does not contain the word for mercy; instead it literally says, “seat of reconciliations” (sometimes Hebrew uses the plural for emphasis).

⁶⁷⁹ Acts 13:20

⁶⁸⁰ See 1 Samuel 2:13–25.

⁶⁸¹ Use of the word “child” denotes less than twelve years of age.

⁶⁸² Parallel passage: 1 Samuel 25:28.

⁶⁸³ The fire burning on the brazen altar, on the seven lamps of fire, and on the golden altar of incense was originally lit by God, and the priests were to keep it burning and not resort to “strange” fire lit by man (Leviticus 10:1; 24:1–4).

⁶⁸⁴ God told Moses that he would speak to him from above the seat of reconciliation covering the ark of the testimony within the holy of holies (Exodus 25:22).

⁶⁸⁵ Under normal conditions, only the high priest could enter the holy of holies where the ark resided, and this could only happen once a year on the tenth day of the seventh month (known as the day of reconciliation or atonement). There is, however, a precedent for what occurred with young Samuel (see Exodus 33:11 for the explanation of young Joshua of the tribe of Ephraim, who was not a Levite or a priest, yet he dwelt continually in the tabernacle). Joshua in Hebrew is the same name as Jesus in Greek.

⁶⁸⁶ It is also worth noting that Eli, who was sleeping in the holy place did not overhear what the Lord spoke to young Samuel (1 Samuel 3:17).

⁶⁸⁷ For it is time that the judgment begins from the house of God; and if it first begins with us, what shall the end be of those that do not obey the gospel of God? And if the righteous are saved with difficulty, where shall the unfaithful and the sinner appear? Therefore, let those that are afflicted according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls unto him as unto a faithful Creator, doing good. (1 Peter 4:17–19)

⁶⁸⁸ “Phinehas” can also mean “oracle.”

⁶⁸⁹ So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto the LORD that he might fulfil the word of the LORD, which he spoke concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh. (1 Kings 2:27)

⁶⁹⁰ “Zadok” means “righteousness.” There are wonderful accounts of the sons of Zadok in Scripture. They are the only priests to be allowed to minister inside the house that Ezekiel saw (Ezekiel 40:46; 44:15–16; 48:11–12).

⁶⁹¹ Compare this with Joshua 3:2–6, 14–17.

⁶⁹² Kirjathjearim was also formerly known as Kirjathbaal (means “city of Baal”) and was part of the inheritance of Judah (Joshua 15:60). When the ark wound up there, this indicated to some that the Lord had chosen the tribe of Judah instead of Ephraim (Shiloh had been in the midst of the inheritance of Ephraim).

⁶⁹³ Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. (1 Samuel 7:15)

⁶⁹⁴ After the disaster at Shiloh, the tabernacle of Moses was set up on the height of Gibeon (minus the ark), and people went there to offer their sacrifices on the brazen altar (1 Chronicles 16:39–40; 1 Kings 3:4). It is conceivable that Nob and the height of Gibeon are the same place.

⁶⁹⁵ See Exodus 28.

⁶⁹⁶ A “Gittite” is someone from Gath, the principal city of the Philistines.

⁶⁹⁷ In fact, even though the law stipulates that only sanctified priests were allowed to carry the ark, I highly doubt that any Levitical priest would have taken it upon himself to carry the ark into the house of a Gittite. The choice to put the ark into the house of Obededom must have been made by God and carried out by David. Three months later, David named Obededom and his entire extended family to serve as doorkeepers before the ark.

⁶⁹⁸ This phrase has thrown many Bible translators for a loop (so they substitute another word instead of “priests.” However, the Hebrew uses the word kohen, which is consistently translated hundreds of times as “priest(s)” in the OT. In the original sense of the word, a “priest” is a go-between who has face time with the king and may go in and out among the people. This is what David’s sons were able to do, and it was a great responsibility (look at what happened when Absalom went wrong). As part of the royal priesthood of all believers, we have the opportunity (and the responsibility that goes with it) to be able to present unbelievers to the Lord Jesus Christ. The first use in Scripture of the word “priest” is in Genesis 14:18, referring to Melchizedek (means “king of righteousness”).

⁶⁹⁹ Note that to confer God’s blessing upon the people was normally considered to be a priestly function.

⁷⁰⁰ And in mercy shall the throne be established; and he shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging and seeking judgment and hastening righteousness. (Isaiah 16:5)

⁷⁰¹ In that day I will raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen and close up its breeches; and I will raise up its ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old: that those who are called by my name may possess the remnant of Edom and all the Gentiles, said the LORD that does this. (Amos 9:11–12)

⁷⁰² Acts 15; Hebrews 12:18-24

⁷⁰³ They are definitely part of what God is doing, but there is no mention of either of them being built into a sure house – although all those who are in Christ are part of this house.