Journey Through Exodus 20-40Sample

Intro

Nicole introduces this lesson about how Israel recovers access to God’s indwelling presence with the Tabernacle, an indwelling which recalls the Garden of Eden in a number of ways—a “new creation.”

Tabernacle as New Creation: In the Text

How might the Tabernacle provide a return to something lost in Paradise?

Creation & the Construction of the Tabernacle

As we suggested, there are a number of textual parallels between the story of creation and the construction of the Tabernacle. Here are a few of them:

The work is completed.

Thus the heavens and the earth were completed.

Genesis 2:1 (NIV)

So all the work on the Tabernacle, the tent of meeting, was completed.

Exodus 39:32 (NIV)

The work is inspected and approved.

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.

Genesis 1:31 (NIV)

Moses inspected the work and saw that they had done it just as the Lord had commanded.

Exodus 39:43 (NIV)

Again, the work is finished.

By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing.

Genesis 2:2 (NIV)

And so Moses finished the work.

Exodus 40:33 (NIV)

And there is a blessing.

Then God blessed the seventh day.

Genesis 2:3 (NIV)

So Moses blessed them.

Exodus 39:43 (NIV)

These parallels reinforce the idea that God is committed to starting again with Israel. What he began with creation, he intends to finish through them.

The Garden of Eden & the Tabernacle

In some ways the Tabernacle was a larger version of everybody’s tent. It was the same type of structure and had things like lamps and a table, which were typical of any dwelling place. But following the similarities in the language of the creation and construction accounts, many scholars believe there is a deeper symbolism involved.

The Tabernacle represented a recovery of God’s indwelling presence last known by humanity in the Garden of Eden. While it’s important not to impose meaning on the text that isn’t there, it’s worthwhile to acknowledge some of the connections that scholars have made. Do you find the suggestion that there is a correlation between God’s design of Eden and his design of the Tabernacle convincing? Or do you find it a bit of a stretch?

Consider the following evidence.

1. Both Eden and the Tabernacle were likely entered from the East.

2. In Genesis 3:24 cherubim were placed at the entrance to the Garden. The next time cherubim appear in the Bible story is on the cover of the Ark in Exodus 25.

3. Some scholars connect the Tree of Life in the Garden with the golden menorah in the Tabernacle, which is described as having “branches” and “cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms.”

4. The Garden provides food for Adam and Eve in the presence of God. The Tabernacle presents food on the Table of the Presence.

5. Adam is said in Genesis 2:15 to be responsible for “working” and “keeping” the Garden. These same words are used together in Numbers 3:7-8, 8:26 and 18:5-6 where they describe the responsibility of priests at the Tabernacle.

6. God clothed Adam and Eve with tunics in Eden and ordered the clothing of priests with tunics in Exodus 28:40-41, 29:8, and 40:14.

7. In Genesis 3:6 the tree of knowledge of good and evil is said to be “good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom.” In Psalm 19 the law that is stored in the Ark in the Tabernacle is said to be, “sweeter than honey,” “giving light to the eyes” and “making wise the simple.”

It is noteworthy that the Garden of Eden is never referred to in Genesis as a sanctuary. In the absence of an explicit connection, do you think it’s responsible to consider Eden a prototype for the Tabernacle, or the Tabernacle a re-creation of Eden? Explain your answer in no more than three or four sentences.

The BibleProject: Exodus 19–40

One great way to review the whole book of Exodus and prepare us for the next book is with a video from the BibleProject.