This passage contains all of the minute details of how God wanted Moses to build the Ark of the Covenant and the Tabernacle. I was struck by the intricacies of the directions and couldn’t help but meditate on the fact that God required such a detailed, beautiful intricate dwelling place. Of course, I should not be surprised that He wanted the dwelling place to be awe inspiring and set apart from just the regular old tents that the Israelites carried around.
Take a look at these chapters and noticed how many times God required gold, silver and bronze. Can you imagine how bright and shiny this thing was? God called for nothing less than the purest of these precious metals. This dwelling place was to be like nothing they had ever seen.
Why all the trouble? I think God wanted this Ark and Tabernacle to be set apart. He wanted there to be no question that this dwelling place was Holy and pure and precious. Remember, this dwelling place was for the King of Kings; a King deserves the best and the most beautiful.
But, keep in mind, these materials and designs were of earthly things. We have so much more to look forward to when we worship the Lord in heaven. When we come to see Him face to face at His throne, this will be like nothing our human mind could ever fathom. Colors, textures, brightness, shine; we will be awe struck at His presence. The final chapters of Revelation give us a glimpse of what we have to look forward to:
Revelation 21:3
3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.
If you read further in that chapter, it goes on to describe what the New Jerusalem will be like. Really cool description. Here is what it say the foundation of the city will be like:
Revelation 21:18-21
18The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. 19The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, 20the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.[a] 21The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass.
Just let your imagination take over and think about what this will really look like. Pretty amazing. Of course, should we really expect anything less from our AMAZING LORD?!