From the very beginning, God’s desire has been clear: to dwell with His people. In Eden, His presence walked among humanity. In the wilderness, He descended in cloud and fire. At Sinai, He unveiled a plan for His presence to move into the midst of a redeemed people. The God who fills the heavens longed to pitch His tent among them, to be not a distant deity but a near and living presence. Exodus 25–31 records this breathtaking moment when heaven’s Architect reveals His dwelling plan: not just how to build a structure, but how a holy God might live among a sinful people.
After giving the Ten Commandments and establishing the covenant with Israel, God begins an extended discourse about construction plans. Six chapters of detailed instructions about curtains, poles, rings, boards, and religious furniture. Yet these chapters tell us a lot about God. They reveal the nature of worship, God’s presence, and what it means to be in relationship with the Almighty.
The key to understanding these chapters is found in Exodus 25:8, where God declares His purpose:
Exodus 25:8 NASB “Let them construct a sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell among them.”
This verse presents us with what seems like an impossible problem: How can a perfectly holy God dwell among sinful people without destroying them? The tabernacle is God’s solution to this divine dilemma, and every detail serves this extraordinary purpose.
We’ll discover how the tabernacle reveals God’s solution to the greatest challenge in human history: bridging the gap between divine holiness and human sinfulness. Each element enables God’s dwelling among His people by addressing both His perfect holiness and their desperate need. Most importantly, we’ll see how this ancient blueprint finds its perfect fulfillment in Christ. He enables God to dwell not just among us, but within us. This divine dwelling project begins with a surprising requirement. For God to dwell among His people, He first requires something that cannot be manufactured: hearts moved by His grace.
God’s dwelling among His people requires hearts moved by grace (25:1-9)
Before any hammer strikes a nail or thread is woven, God addresses the one thing that will either enable or prevent His presence among them.
Exodus 25:2 NASB “Tell the sons of Israel to raise a contribution for Me; from every man whose heart moves him you shall raise My contribution.”
Notice that phrase “whose heart moves him.” The Hebrew suggests an inner stirring, a willing impulse from within. God doesn’t want reluctant gifts or obligatory contributions. A dwelling place built on grudging duty cannot sustain the presence of the God of love. He desires offerings that flow from hearts stirred by His goodness and grace.
The materials God requests reveal His strategy: gold, silver, bronze, fine linen, and precious stones. These represent the finest materials available, yet notice where they came from. The Israelites had just left slavery in Egypt, carrying wealth that God had caused the Egyptians to give them. God was asking them to return to Him the very gifts He had already provided.
This teaches us something fundamental about the foundation of God’s dwelling: we never give God anything that doesn’t already belong to Him. As David would later write,
1 Chronicles 29:14 NASB “But who am I and who are my people that we should be able to offer as generously as this? For all things come from You, and from Your hand we have given You.”
God’s dwelling among us begins with this recognition: everything we are and have comes from His hand. Our generous giving is simply returning to God what He has first given to us. This acknowledgment of dependence creates the only soil in which His presence will take root.
Before we sing a song, pray a prayer, or listen to a sermon, God examines our hearts. Are we here willingly, stirred by gratitude for His grace? Or are we here out of duty, tradition, or social expectation? The difference is everything to God, because His dwelling among us depends on hearts that have been moved by His goodness.
This doesn’t mean we should stay home until our hearts are perfectly stirred. It means we should come honestly, admitting where we are spiritually, and ask God to kindle affection in cold hearts. God’s dwelling among us begins with this foundation: hearts that recognize their complete dependence on His grace.
This points us to Christ, who not only moves our hearts but transforms them. Through His Spirit, God now dwells within every believer whose heart has been stirred by the gospel.
But this creates an immediate problem: how can sinful people survive the presence of a holy God? The next element God describes solves this dilemma.
God’s dwelling among His people becomes possible through the mercy seat (25:10-22)
God first established the heart condition required for His dwelling. Then He revealed the centerpiece that made His presence among sinful people possible: the ark of the covenant with its mercy seat. This sacred chest would serve as God’s earthly throne. It was the place where His presence would dwell without destroying them.
The construction details are precise: acacia wood overlaid with gold, golden rings for carrying poles, specific dimensions. The most significant feature is the mercy seat on top. It was made of pure gold with two cherubim facing each other, their wings outstretched. God promises,
Exodus 25:22 NASB “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.”
Here is the answer to our impossible problem. The God who spoke the universe into existence promises to make His dwelling place a golden box in a tent. The ark becomes the meeting place between heaven and earth, between the holy God and sinful humanity.
Notice the genius of God’s design. Inside the chest lie the stone tablets of the law, God’s perfect standards that condemn every human being. Above the chest sits the mercy seat. On it, the priest sprinkled blood each year. That blood covered the law through a substitute. The Hebrew word “kapporet” comes from the root meaning “to cover” or “to make atonement.” This is where mercy literally covers justice.
God’s dwelling among sinful people is possible because He has provided a way for His justice to be satisfied and His mercy to be extended simultaneously. The holy God can live among unholy people. This is possible because sin has been dealt with through a substitute sacrifice. A substitute sacrifice means that someone else takes the punishment that we deserve. Mercy doesn’t ignore justice but fulfills it.
What does this teach us about how God dwells among His people? First, that God desires to be present with us. The almighty God doesn’t remain distant and aloof but comes near and makes His dwelling among us. Second, we learn that God’s presence comes to us through mercy, not merit. The mercy seat teaches us that sinful people can only approach a holy God through the covering of sacrificial blood.
For New Testament believers, Jesus Christ is our ultimate mercy seat. A mercy seat is the place where God’s justice and mercy meet. Paul writes that God
Romans 3:25 NASB “…displayed [Christ] publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith.”
The word “propitiation” means the place where God’s anger against sin is satisfied. It’s the same Greek word used to translate “mercy seat” in the Old Testament. Jesus is the place where God’s justice and mercy meet. Sinful humanity can find forgiveness and fellowship with the holy God through Him. Through Christ, God’s dwelling within us becomes not just possible but permanent.
But this raises another question: once God dwells among His people, how is that relationship maintained? The next piece of furniture provides the answer.
God’s dwelling among His people requires continual fellowship (25:23-30)
God’s dwelling among His people requires ongoing, daily relationship, as revealed by the table of showbread that shows how His presence is sustained day after day.
Exodus 25:30 NASB “You shall set the bread of the Presence on the table before Me at all times.”
This golden table was to hold twelve loaves representing the twelve tribes of Israel, continuously before the Lord. The phrase “at all times” is crucial because this wasn’t occasional or intermittent presence, but constant, unbroken fellowship.
The table teaches us that God’s dwelling among His people requires daily maintenance. Worship is not a once-a-week event or an occasional religious duty but continuous fellowship represented by bread that was always present before Him. God doesn’t want to be a weekend visitor in our lives but a permanent resident.
Notice what happened to the old bread: the priests were commanded to eat it in the holy place. God’s provision wasn’t just symbolic but practical and sustaining. What nourished the priests’ bodies had first been offered to God, then given back as His gift to sustain their service. This reveals the beautiful economy of God’s dwelling: He provides what we offer back to Him, then gives it to us again as our daily sustenance.
The table challenges us to consider the regularity of our communion with God. Do we maintain continuous fellowship with Him throughout the week, or do we try to survive on spiritual leftovers from Sunday? God’s dwelling among us depends on fresh, daily relationship with His people, not stale religious routine.
Jesus later identified Himself as “the bread of life” (John 6:35), showing us that He is our ultimate spiritual sustenance. Just as the showbread was continuously present before God, Christ is continuously present as our spiritual food. His dwelling within us is sustained through regular feeding on His Word and constant communion through prayer.
Yet God’s presence demands more than symbolic fellowship. It requires active, faithful maintenance, as the next element reveals.
God’s dwelling among His people requires faithful maintenance (25:31-40; 27:20-21)
The presence of the holy God among His people requires careful, daily attention, as revealed by the golden lampstand that provided the only light in the Holy Place.
Exodus 27:20 NASB “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.”
The word “continually” reveals God’s expectation: these lamps were to burn without interruption.. God commanded that Aaron and his sons were to tend the lamps from evening to morning before the Lord regularly. The light of God’s presence required careful, faithful maintenance.
This teaches us something crucial about how God dwells among His people: Our sense of His presence doesn’t maintain itself but requires human cooperation, daily attention, and faithful service. The priests couldn’t skip a day and expect the light to keep burning, and neither can we.
Light represents God’s presence, His truth, His guidance, and His revelation. The seven lamps may represent the perfect, complete illumination that God provides. The continuous burning shows that God’s light never dims or fails. Yet it requires faithful human participation to remain visible among His people.
For those who maintain & clean the church building, the lampstand teaches us about the responsibility of maintaining spiritual light. Just as the priests had to regularly trim wicks, add oil, and keep the flames burning, spiritual leaders must faithfully maintain the light of God’s truth in the church. God’s dwelling among His people depends on servants who take this responsibility seriously.
Jesus declared, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12), and then told His followers, “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14). His light in us requires the same daily tending that the golden lampstand demanded. His dwelling within us is maintained through faithful attention to spiritual disciplines: study, prayer, and obedience. Are we faithful servants who maintain His light, or careless stewards who let it dim through neglect? God’s dwelling among His people has always depended on human cooperation with His grace.
But the practicalities of God’s dwelling involve more than function. They also concern His character, as we see in the tabernacle’s design.
God’s dwelling among His people reflects His glorious character (26:1-14)
The holy God’s dwelling among His people should reflect something of His magnificent character, as revealed in the tabernacle’s stunning design that created a beautiful paradox.
Exodus 26:1 NASB “Moreover you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twisted linen and blue and purple and scarlet material; you shall make them with cherubim, the work of a skillful workman.”
From the outside, the tabernacle appeared plain, just a brown tent in the wilderness. But inside, it was gorgeous beyond description. The priests who served within would be surrounded by colors that represented royalty and heaven. They would see artistic craftsmanship that reflected God’s own creative excellence and materials that spoke of the finest human skill.
The phrase “work of a skillful workman” tells us that God cares about excellence and beauty in His dwelling place. He didn’t settle for merely functional furniture and drab coverings but wanted His dwelling place to reflect something of His own glory and magnificence. Yet the plain exterior teaches us that true spiritual beauty is internal, not external.
God’s dwelling among His people isn’t about impressive buildings or elaborate decorations but about hearts that have been made beautiful by His grace. The most magnificent sanctuary is worthless if God’s presence isn’t there; the simplest gathering place becomes glorious when filled with His Spirit.
Since God now dwells within every believer through Christ, our lives should reflect the same principle: we may look ordinary from the outside, but inside us dwells the glory of the living God. This is the beautiful paradox of the Christian life: we may look ordinary to the world, but inside us dwells the glory of the living God.
Yet character alone doesn’t solve the fundamental problem of sinful people approaching a holy God. This requires proper access, as the next instructions make clear.
God’s dwelling among His people requires proper access through sacrifice (26:31-37; 27:1-19)
God’s dwelling among sinful people requires proper access through boundaries that teach us how to approach the holy God safely rather than fatally.
Exodus 26:31 NASB “You shall make a veil of blue and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen; it shall be made with cherubim, the work of a skillful workman.”
The veil separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place, accessible only to the high priest once per year. The screen at the entrance to the Holy Place allowed access to all the priests for their daily service. The outer court was surrounded by linen hangings that created a boundary between the sacred space and the ordinary camp of Israel.
These boundaries weren’t meant to keep people away from God but to teach them the proper way to approach Him. Each level of access required increasing levels of holiness and preparation. The message was clear: God is approachable, but He must be approached with reverence and according to His prescribed means. Without these boundaries, God’s holiness would have consumed His people; with them, fellowship becomes possible.
The altar of burnt offering stood in the outer court as the first stop for anyone approaching God’s dwelling. This bronze altar, where animal sacrifices were offered, taught that approaching God requires recognition of sin and the need for substitutionary sacrifice. No one could proceed to the Holy Place without first stopping at the altar of sacrifice.
For New Testament believers, these boundaries have been transformed but not eliminated. When Jesus died,
Matthew 27:51 NASB “And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split.”
This signified that the way into God’s presence had been opened through Christ’s sacrifice. Yet we still approach God with reverence and through the proper means: through faith in Jesus Christ. The boundaries that once limited access now enable unlimited access, because Jesus has met every requirement on our behalf.
The altar finds its fulfillment in the cross of Jesus Christ, where the ultimate sacrifice was offered once and for all. Every approach to God must still go through the sacrifice of Christ, recognizing our sin and His substitutionary death on our behalf.
But this access was not to be casual or careless. It required those who were specially prepared to facilitate God’s dwelling, as the extensive priestly instructions demonstrate.
The holy God’s dwelling among His people requires those who are specially prepared to maintain that presence, as revealed in the extensive instructions for priestly garments and consecration.
God’s dwelling among His people requires specially prepared servants (28:1-31:17)
Exodus 28:2 NASB “You shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty.”
The phrase “for glory and for beauty” reveals God’s dual concern in preparing those who will maintain His dwelling among His people. Glory speaks to the weight of serving a holy God. Beauty speaks to the care and excellence that such service demands.
Every detail served the purpose of enabling God’s dwelling among Israel. The stones on the ephod and breastplate had deep meaning. Aaron carried the people of Israel on his shoulders and over his heart when he entered God’s presence. The consecration process was elaborate. It involved washing, clothing, anointing with oil, and multiple sacrifices. The ordination lasted seven days.
But why such elaborate preparation? God Himself explains the purpose:
Exodus 29:43-45 NASB “I will meet there with the sons of Israel, and it shall be consecrated by My glory. 44 “I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar; I will also consecrate Aaron and his sons to minister as priests to Me. 45 “I will dwell among the sons of Israel and will be their God.
The preparation matches the magnitude of the purpose. The Creator chose to dwell among His people and meet with them through consecrated servants. His dwelling required mediators specially prepared for this sacred responsibility.
For New Testament believers, we are all priests (1 Peter 2:9), all called to maintain God’s presence in the world. This means the preparation the Old Testament priests underwent has implications for every Christian. We need daily cleansing through confession and the Word, the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and hearts that carry others in prayer.
But here’s the difference: we don’t prepare ourselves to earn God’s dwelling among us. Through Christ, God already dwells within us. We prepare because we’ve already been accepted, not to become acceptable. Our preparation flows from the reality of His presence, not toward the hope of His presence.
All these elements, willing hearts, mercy seat, fellowship, maintenance, beauty, access, prepared servants, create a temporary dwelling for God among His people. But something permanent underlies this temporary structure.
God’s dwelling among His people rests on unchanging foundations (31:18)
While God’s dwelling among His people takes different forms throughout history, it rests on permanent, unchanging foundations, as revealed in the stone tablets that conclude the tabernacle instructions.
Exodus 31:18 NASB When He had finished speaking with him upon Mount Sinai, He gave Moses the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written by the finger of God.
After all the detailed instructions about temporary structures, God gives His people something permanent: His moral law written in stone. The phrase “written by the finger of God” emphasizes the divine origin and eternal nature of these commands.
The tabernacle itself was temporary, designed to be assembled, disassembled, and moved as Israel journeyed toward the Promised Land. But the tablets represented something eternal: God’s unchanging character and His permanent moral standards.
The forms of God’s dwelling among His people may change from tabernacle to temple to the incarnation of Christ to the indwelling of the Spirit, but the foundations never do. God’s character remains constant. His holiness doesn’t diminish. His mercy doesn’t waver. His desire to dwell among His people never changes.
The Sabbath command, emphasized again in this passage, serves as a sign of the covenant between God and His people. Even the good work of building God’s house must respect the rhythms He has established. God’s dwelling among His people isn’t based on our frantic religious activity but on His gracious initiative.
But the Old Testament tabernacle was only the beginning. All these requirements and provisions point forward to something greater.
God’s dwelling among His people finds perfect fulfillment in Christ
The writer of Hebrews tells us that the earthly tabernacle was “a copy and shadow of the heavenly things” (Hebrews 8:5), pointing forward to Christ. But there’s an even more stunning development: Paul tells us that we ourselves are now God’s temple.
1 Corinthians 3:16 NASB Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
This represents the ultimate fulfillment of God’s desire to dwell among His people. The God who once dwelt in a tent in the wilderness now dwells in you. The presence that once filled the Most Holy Place now fills your heart. The glory that once required elaborate preparations and priestly mediation is now accessible through Jesus Christ.
All the principles governing the tabernacle now apply to your life as God’s dwelling place. Your heart must be moved by grace, not driven by guilt. Your approach to God must be through the mercy seat of Christ. Your relationship with God requires daily maintenance through prayer, Scripture, and obedience. Your life should reflect the beauty of God’s character. Your service to others should flow from God’s presence within you. Your spiritual life rests on God’s unchanging character.
The most radical truth of Christianity isn’t that we can go to heaven when we die. It’s that heaven has come to earth in the person of Jesus Christ. Through Him, God has made His permanent home within every believer.
Conclusion
The tabernacle instructions answer the greatest question in human history: How can a holy God dwell among sinful people? Every detail serves this single purpose. It is possible for the Creator of the universe to live safely among His creatures.
The ancient tabernacle was just the beginning. It pointed forward to Jesus, who “tabernacled among us” (John 1:14, literal translation) and made God’s presence visible and accessible. And it points forward to the ultimate fulfillment, when God will make His home with humanity forever:
Revelation 21:3 NASB And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them,
Even now, we live as those in whom God has already made His home. We are the walking temples, the portable tabernacles, the living demonstration that the holy God can dwell with sinful people through the grace of Jesus Christ.
The blueprint for the tabernacle was ultimately a blueprint for relationship. It shows us how a holy God can dwell among sinful people through divinely prescribed means. These means, the sacrifices, the priests, the mercy seat, show how holiness and mercy meet. In Christ, that blueprint has been perfectly fulfilled. We are now invited to be living temples where God’s glory dwells. Through us, His light shines to the world.
The God who spoke galaxies into existence has not only moved into your neighborhood but has moved into you, if you are indeed His temple. The question isn’t whether you’re good enough for such a holy houseguest, but whether you are His dwelling, and if you are, whether you’ll live in the wonder of this truth: the holy God dwells within you through Christ.
