Through studying the Tabernacle’s design—its design, purpose, and use—we see that Jesus perfectly fulfilled its purpose. Just as the Tabernacle was a place for God to dwell with His people, Jesus came so God could be with us.
In Part 1, we explored the Outer Court, where sacrifice and cleansing took place. In Part 2, we step into the Inner Court and the Holy of Holies, the most sacred place of the Tabernacle. Here, we will uncover how the lampstand, the table of showbread, the altar of incense, and the Ark of the Covenant all foreshadow Christ’s work as our High Priest and the ultimate fulfillment of God’s presence with His people.
The Holy Place – The Inner Court of the Tabernacle
Only priests could enter the inner court into the Holy Place. Within the Holy Place, there were three pieces of furniture: the lampstand, the table of showbread, and the altar of incense, each significant to Old Testament worship and New Testament truths.
The Golden Lampstand
(Exodus 25:31-40)
The Lampstand’s Design
Artisans crafted the lampstand with pure gold. It was a hammered work, designed as a tree, with the top and each branch made like an open almond flower, each flower holding an oil lamp.
A hammered work meant that the lampstand was beaten into shape to achieve its design. Similarly, God allowed Jesus to be beaten and bruised (Isaiah 53:5) to accomplish the plan of salvation that God had put in place before the beginning of time.
The Almond Tree and the First Fruits
The almond tree was always the first to blossom and bear fruit in the spring. For that reason, it was called the “first fruit.”
Jesus was also the first fruit because He was the first to rise from the dead to everlasting life (1st Cor 15:20). Because of His resurrection, we will all be raised to life (Romans 8:23).
The Lampstand as the Only Light
Seven lamps were on the lampstand; seven represent God, completion, and fullness. Man is only complete in Jesus (John 15:5).
The lampstand was the only light source in the Tabernacle, and it was to burn continually (Exodus 27:20-21). Likewise, Jesus is the only true light for the world (John 8:12, John 9:5), and He will be our light forever.
The Oil and the Holy Spirit
The lampstand burned with pure, beaten olive oil.
“You shall charge the sons of Israel, that they bring you clear oil of beaten olives for the light, to make a lamp burn continually” (Exodus 27:20).
Olives had to be pressed to make pure olive oil. In Hebrew, “Garden of Gethsemane” means the garden of the olive press. Interestingly, the Garden of Gethsemane is the same garden where Jesus agonized over His impending death so much that he sweated drops of blood.
Jesus had to be crushed to produce oil for the rest of us. This oil represents the Holy Spirit. Jesus says, “Unless I go, the Holy Spirit won’t come” (John 16:7).
Because of Jesus’ willingness to be beaten and crushed, we now have the gift of the Holy Spirit, who marks us for salvation when we believe.
Our Call to Shine as Lights
Just as the lampstand was continually filled with oil, we must be continually filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). Our fire for God should never go out.
Because the lampstand was the only light in the Inner Court, we as Christians are the only lights in a dark world.
“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).
We need to be the light!
The Table of Showbread
(Exodus 25:23-30)
Per God’s instructions, artisans made the Table of Showbread out of acacia wood, overlaid with pure gold. Twelve loaves of bread were placed on the table to represent the twelve tribes of Israel.
The bread served as a reminder of how God sustained the Israelites during their wanderings in the wilderness.
The Bread of the Presence
The bread placed on the table was called the bread of the presence (Exodus 25:30). It was ever-present before God and could only be eaten by Aaron and his sons in a holy place.
The Unleavened Bread and Christ
The bread was to be made of fine flour, ground and baked without leaven. The Jewish people ate unleavened bread on the night of the Passover. The wheat had to be ground, and the bread passed through fire to be baked.
The showbread is a type of Christ. In Scripture, leaven often represents sin. The unleavened bread depicts the body of Jesus, who was completely sinless (Hebrews 4:15).
Jesus was the bread that fed the Israelites daily in the wilderness. He declares:
“I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.” (John 6:51)
Jesus, the Bread of Life
Like the showbread, Jesus is holy before God. He provides true sustenance. He is always present.
Jesus alone can satisfy us.
Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry'” (John 6:35).
Altar of Incense
(Exodus 30:1-16, 34-38)
The altar of incense was made of acacia wood, overlaid with pure gold, and placed right in front of the veil, the curtain separating the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies.
Burning coals from the brazen altar were brought to light the incense every day and every night. The incense rose to the Lord, just like our prayers. The Psalmist cries out in Psalm 141:2, “May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.” Revelation 8:4 describes the sanctuary of God, saying, “The smoke of the incense, mixed with the prayers of God’s holy people, ascended up to God from the altar where the angel had poured them out.”
The incense was constantly burning (Exodus 30:7-8). We are to pray without ceasing (1st Thessalonians 5:17). Like the incense smoke brings our prayers to God, we pray through the name of Jesus, and He presents our requests to the Lord.
The Holy of Holies
(Exodus 26:31-34, Leviticus 16:2-3)
The Holy of Holies was the most sacred part of the Tabernacle. It was so sacred that only the High Priest could enter, and only once per year on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:2-3).
A thick curtain separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies, allowing no natural light to penetrate the holy chamber. The only light in the sacred chamber was the supernatural light of God’s presence (Exodus 26:31-34).
Inside the Holy of Holies was one piece of furniture – the Ark of the Covenant. This sacred container held three significant items only the High Priest could access.
The Veil
(Exodus 26:31-33, Matthew 27:50-51, Hebrews 10:19-20)
The veil was the curtain that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. It represented the separation between man and God. No one could enter the presence of God without meeting the required conditions (Exodus 26:31-33).
Woven into the veil were cherubim. When God expelled Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, He stationed Cherubim to guard the east entrance (Genesis 3:24). The veil faced the east, just as the entrance to Eden did, symbolizing that access to God remained guarded.
The veil represents the flesh of Jesus Christ:
“Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body” (Hebrews 10:20).
On the Mount of Transfiguration, God gave Peter, James, and John a glimpse past Christ’s flesh into his unveiled glory:
“And He was transfigured before them, and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light” (Matthew 17:2).
When Christ’s body was torn on the Cross, and He gave up His spirit, God tore the veil in the temple from top to bottom, signifying direct access to His presence through Christ’s sacrifice:
“And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split” (Matthew 27:50-51)
God opened the way into His presence through the shed blood of His Son.
The Ark of the Covenant
(Exodus 25:10-22, Hebrews 9:3-5)
Behind the veil was a container —the Ark of the Covenant— made from acacia wood, overlaid with gold, and designed with gold rings for carrying.
Acacia wood grows in the Negev desert. It is a thorny tree, most likely what they used for Jesus’ crown of thorns (Matthew 27:29). Thorns are a symbol of the curse from the fall (Genesis 3:18), and Christ bore this curse on our behalf.
The Mercy Seat – God’s Presence and Atonement
The lid of the Ark, made of solid gold, was called the Mercy Seat. Two gold cherubim faced each other, with wings spread upward, covering the seat.
God’s Shekinah glory – His divine presence – hovered above the Mercy Seat. From here, God spoke to the High Priest.
“There I will meet with you; and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, I will speak to you about all that I will give you in commandment for the sons of Israel” (Exodus 25:22).
The Ark and the Mercy Seat represent the very throne of God in heaven (Revelation 11:19, Psalm 99:1). Just as God’s presence dwelled above the earthly mercy seat, His heavenly throne is also surrounded by cherubim (Isaiah 6:1-2, Ezekiel 10:1-2).
Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the High Priest sprinkled blood on the Mercy Seat to cover Israel’s sins (Leviticus 16:14-15), allowing God and man to be reconciled.
Through Jesus’s ultimate sacrifice, we are fully connected to God. Jesus is our Mercy Seat! The throne of judgment has now become a throne of mercy and grace (Romans 3:25, Hebrews 4:16).
Three Items Inside the Ark
(Exodus 25:16, Exodus 16:32-34, Numbers 17:8, Hebrews 9:4)
Inside the Ark of the Covenant were three significant objects, each pointing to Christ’s fulfillment of God’s covenant:
The Ten Commandments – God’s Righteous Standard
The Ten Commandments were placed inside the Ark of the Covenant, representing God’s righteous standards (Exodus 25:16, Deuteronomy 10:1-5). Imagine all God’s moral truths summarized on two stones! Jesus fulfilled the Ten Commandments by living a perfect life without sin:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17).
The Jar of Manna – Jesus, the Bread from Heaven
The second thing placed inside the Ark of the Covenant was Manna from Heaven, which sustained the Israelites during their wandering in the wilderness. God commanded that a jar be kept inside the Ark as a testimony to His provision:
“Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Take an omer of manna and keep it for the generations to come, so they can see the bread I gave you to eat in the wilderness when I brought you out of Egypt’” (Exodus 16:32)
Jesus later declared:
“I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die” (John 6:48-50).
Aaron’s Rod that Budded – Christ’s Resurrection and Priesthood
During the Israelites’ time in the wilderness, Korah and other leaders rebelled against Moses and Aaron. To end the unrest, God instructed Moses to place a staff from each tribe in the Tabernacle. The next day, only Aaron’s rod had budded, blossomed, and produced almonds, confirming that God had chosen him as High Priest (Numbers 17:5, 8).
Like Aaron’s rod, Jesus was also a living branch that sprouted from what appeared to be a dead root:
“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots, a Branch will bear fruit” (Isaiah 11:1).
Just as Aaron’s rod was cut off from a living tree, Jesus was cut off in death. Yet, both miraculously produced life—Aaron’s rod budded, and Jesus rose from the dead, confirming Him as God’s chosen one (Romans 1:4, Acts 2:24).
After budding, Aaron’s rod was placed in the Ark of the Covenant, in God’s presence (Hebrews 9:4). Likewise, after His resurrection, Jesus returned to the Father’s presence (Acts 1:9-11, Hebrews 9:24).
(For more on Aaron’s rod, see Christ in Numbers: Lessons from the Wilderness.)
Conclusion – Jesus, Our Eternal High Priest
Before Christ, only the High Priest could enter God’s presence once a year. Now, because of Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross, He is our forever High Priest. Through Him, we have peace with God.
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16)
From the gate of the Tabernacle to the Holy of Holies, God paints a beautiful picture of Jesus. Through this divine picture, we see God’s plan of redemption unfold – helping us better understand not only Old Testament worship but also New Testament truths.
Because of Christ, the way into God’s presence is open. Let us boldly draw near!
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