By Water & Blood

Questions on Exodus 60: Why God commanded the tabernacle

Why then did God command the tabernacle to be made?

The Master God himself made the reason clear. He spoke thus: “And you shall make me a sanctuary, and I shall be seen among you. And you shall make according to all that I show you on the mountain, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of its vessels.” For since he had given the law on Mount Sinai—and it was likely that some would suppose the divine to be confined—he ordered a tabernacle to be made, so that by making his own manifestation from there he might train the people in piety. Just as, when they had received the land promised to them, he commanded a temple to be made and legislated that the divine liturgies take place there, lest by doing this without restraint they fall into the deceit of the destructive demons, so also, while they were journeying and crossing the wilderness, he commanded them to make a tabernacle able to move with them, so that they might offer both prayers and sacred rites in it.

These things too came about for their need. For when the great Moses had spent many days on the mountain, they said to Aaron: “Make us gods who will go before us”; and having fashioned the image of the calf, they cried out dancing: “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.” God commanded this tabernacle to be made and legislated that it lead them when they set out and stand when they encamped, so that the priests might also accomplish the sacrifices in it.

It had the image of creation. For just as the Master God, having fashioned heaven and earth, again stretched out the firmament in the middle and separated the upper things from those below, so he commanded one tabernacle to be made, thirty cubits in length and ten in breadth; and stretching the veil in the middle, in the type of the firmament, he divided it in two and called the part by the door the Holy Place, and named the part inside the veil the Holy of Holies. And just as David says, “The heaven of heaven is the Lord’s, but the earth he gave to the sons of men,” so outside the curtain the priests could enter, but the things within were untouchable and inaccessible and royal. For the law was that only the high priest enter once a year.

There were the likenesses of the cherubim, having the type of the bodiless powers; and in the midst of these the ark lay, holding the tablets of the law and the jar of manna and Aaron’s rod that budded. Upon it lay the mercy-seat, overshadowed by the wings of the cherubim; and in this the God of all made his own manifestation. For since the divine nature is formless and shapeless, invisible and incomprehensible, and to craft an image of such a substance is altogether impossible, he commanded the symbols of his greatest gifts to lie within. The tablets showed the legislation; the rod, the priesthood; the manna, the food in the wilderness and the bread not made by hands; and the mercy-seat was a symbol of prophecy—for from there the oracles came. For just as “from the greatness and beauty of created things their Maker is seen proportionately,” so through these the Giver of great gifts was made known.

The things inside the tabernacle had the type of the heavenly things; therefore it was also named Holy of Holies. That this is true, the divine Apostle is witness, saying thus: “For Christ did not enter into handmade holy places, copies of the true ones, but into heaven itself, now to appear before the face of God on our behalf.” And again, discoursing about the divine hope, he added also this: “which we have as an anchor of the soul, secure and firm, and entering into the inner place behind the veil, where Jesus entered as forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.” Therefore the things inside the veil had the image of the heavenly; those outside, of the earthly; therefore they were also continually accessible to the priests.

These had a lampstand lying in the southern part, with seven branches and an equal number of lamps set upon them. These showed the number of the days of the week. And a golden table in the northern part, on which he commanded twelve loaves to be set out, and golden bowls full of frankincense and salt. In the middle between the lampstand and the table lay a golden incense altar. These were enigmas of the fruits given to human beings from the earth. Before the tabernacle outside was the bronze altar, which received the offered victims. This shows that these things are superfluous and not pleasing to the God of all. Hence he allowed them to be performed because of the Jews’ weakness, but commanded them to be offered outside the tabernacle, as not necessary for what is within. We, however, perform the liturgy assigned to what is within. For we offer incense and lamp-light to God and the mystical liturgy of the holy table.

That the length of the tabernacle was thirty cubits and the breadth ten is easy to learn: for the southern side had twenty boards, and as many the northern. For the other translators named the pillars “boards.” Each board having a cubit and a half, the twenty boards filled thirty cubits. So again the side looking west had six boards of the same measure, and two at the corners. Twelve cubits therefore being gathered from these, ten filled the inner breadth, and the other two received the joinings of the sides on either hand. From the eastern part he commanded the door to be made, so that the sun itself, rising, might as it were offer a kind of worship to the forecourt by sending its rays there at once; and so that those commanded to serve God alone, turned toward the tabernacle, might have the sun behind them and worship not it but its Maker.

The tabernacle therefore resembled a lattice, having boards fitted to one another on every side. They also had silver bases and capitals likewise; and they themselves were overlaid with gold both within and without. It had a roof of varied fabrics made of different colors. For one was purple, another rose-colored or scarlet-dyed, another like hyacinth; and the linen had a white hue. These too were enigmas of the four elements: for the hyacinth is like the air; the rose-colored or scarlet-dyed like fire; the purple indicates the sea—for that nourishes the shellfish from which such a color comes; and the linen, the earth—for from it it is said to grow. It also had hair coverings laid over it and indeed varied skins, so as to keep out both rain and heat.

Upon the priests too he placed every kind of adornment—striking the people with awe by the difference of the form, and teaching the priests themselves how one must beautify the soul and put upon it the adornment of virtue. He calls “undergarment” the inner tunic, and “overgarment” the outer tunic; he commanded this to be hyacinth-colored and named it “reaching to the feet,” as extending to the tips of the feet. From it he also hung golden bells and pomegranates, so that when entering the inaccessible and royal part of the tabernacle and receiving the sound produced from these, he might perform the liturgy with fear, taking into memory the One who commanded these things and who receives the offered sacred service. For this reason the full-length robe also had the color of the air—for it was hyacinth—so that looking to this he might become lifted up. Upon the head lay a turban imitating heaven. A band also covered the forehead, which the Seventy called a “mitre.” In the middle it had a golden plate inscribed with the unspoken name of God, which the Hebrews call the Tetragrammaton. Training the people in reverence, the Master God made this clear through a riddle: “You shall write on it,” he says, “Holiness of the Lord.”

He also commanded an outer garment to be made for him, which the Seventy called an “ephod”; and in Kings we find it named “ephod” according to the Hebrews’ tongue. This had on each shoulder two costly stones inscribed with the names of the tribes, and on the breast the so-called “oracle,” covering the rational heart. This too had twelve stones fitted to it, of differing hue; through these, when war was joined, victory or defeat was made known—and the history of Kings teaches this. For when the foreigners marched against Israel, Saul did not dare to draw up for battle until he saw the signs of victory: “Bring near,” he says, “the ephod.” Then, learning of the victory, he added: “Gather the ephod.” And so he armed the people. For this reason the God of all, having said, “And you shall put the oracle of judgment upon Aaron’s breast and join it to the ephod,” added: “And you shall put upon it the manifestation and the truth.” He called “manifestation” the messages from there, and “truth” the unlying character of the messages.

One should know, however, that since those of that time were coarser and unable to reach the intelligible things, the all-wise Master worked their benefit through bodily symbols. We understand through the oracle the contemplation of intelligible things, and through the ephod the working of virtue; and we take the harmony and conjunction of the oracle and the ephod as the agreement of faith and good practice. That the ephod is put on first, and then the oracle joined to it, means that good practice is the foundation of contemplation.