The whole of the Creation account – maybe one of the greatest Miracles of all time, second only to Salvation through Yeshua our Messiah has a total of 2 chapters separated for it. So much happens within a few verses of Genesis that we are hardly given any information of what, how or why anything really happened. In this post, I hope to point out that even though God has said so little about the creation in Genesis 1, He does give us a lot more information in the Tabernacle account in the chapters of Exodus 25 – 31.
This study is not complete and is meant as a helpful guide for all who are interested in understanding what God hoped from creating the Tabernacle as well as understanding more about the Creation. I believe studying the Creation account sheds light on the Tabernacle and that studying the tabernacle helps us understand the Creation. Hope this helps you all in your self-study.
Creation and putting things in Order
If you do a basic study of the Creation Account, it is evident that God has a clear plan and a order of doing things. The first 3 days are days of Separation, while the next three days are days of furnishing.
Day 1 – God Separates Light from Darkness
Day 2 – God Separates Waters above from Waters below
Day 3 – God Separates Seas from Land and creates Greenery
Day 4 – God Fills what was separated on the first day with the Lights of Heaven
Day 5 – God Fills what was separated on the second day – Air with Birds and Waters with fish
Day 6 – God Fills what was separated on the third day – the land with Beast and Man
Day 7 – The Sabbath is separated from all of the preceding 6 days as it is the goal of Creation – God Resting upon His creation
The Tabernacle and putting things in order
At first glance, Exodus 25 -31 can look like a hodgepodge of “make this”, “do this” in no particular order. But God being God, nothing is out of place and nothing is communicated haphazardly. The Order of what is revealed through Moses follows the Order of Creation and just as God dwelled with His Creation at the End of the Creation account, He dwelled with His people at the end of the Creation of the Tabernacle (Mishkan – Dwelling Place).
Comparing Creation and the Tabernacle accounts
The Tabernacle accounts which run from Exodus 25:1-31:18, can be broken down into two main sections. The first Section is from Exodus 25:1 – 29:42 and the next from 29:43 to 31:18. These 2 sections run parallel to each other and follows the Creation Account. A helpful graphic is given below, for your ease.
Exodus 25:1-9 – Precreation
Just as God knew what He was going to create and what it would cost for Him to create the world (the death of His Son – Rev 13:8), we see God commanding what materials would be needed in the Creation of the Tabernacle.
Exodus 29:43-46 – Precreation
Just as God created all things with His people in mind (Eph 1:4) He speaks of looking forward to His promises being fulfilled, where He dwells with His people and becomes their God, and them His people.
Exodus 25:10-40 – The First Day
In Genesis 1:1-5 there are 3 main entities mentioned – The Heavens, The Earth and the “Light” in that exact order. In Exodus, God starts by instructing Moses to create The Ark of the Covenant – which is the seat of God, where He Dwells and no man other than the High Priest would visit once a year. The Table, where God has Communion with Man is next in line which can be compared to the Earth. This becomes more apparent when we compare Gen 1:15, Exo 25:37 & 26:35. The Menorah was to give light towards the Table of Shewbread. Next in line is Light which matches up with The Lampstand. (Note that the Lampstand is not lit at this point, just as Light becomes visible on the 4th day with the creation of the Lights such as Sun and Moon.
Exodus 30:1-10 – The First Day
Just as the first 3 instruments (Ark, Table, Lampstand) were all made of Gold, so is the Altar of Incense which runs parallel to the first Day. The Altar of Incense is what connects Heaven and Earth and is an instrument which brings the prayers of His people to God’s Ears. There maybe much more to figure out here, and I hope all of you share your ideas with me, so that I can fine-tune this study.
Exodus 26:1-37 – The Second Day
Just as this section speaks of the curtains that separate the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place and making of space, Genesis 1:6-8 speaks of waters being divided and space being created in the middle of these waters/curtains.
Exodus 30:11-16 – The Second Day
The Half Shekel runs parallel to the Second Day where God Separates waters (used throughout scripture for people) from waters. The Half Shekel shows how there is a price for Redemption and separation as His people comes from the price of Silver pointing towards Yeshua.
Exodus 27:1-19 – The Third Day
The Third day which saw the Seas separate from Land which bore fruit resembles the Bronze Altar and the Outer court with it’s Bronze Implements. Bronze, just like the Land is a metal that turns Green with time.
Exodus 30:17-21 – The Third Day
Just as the Bronze Altar and the court signifies the Land, the Bronze Laver mentioned in this section signifies the Seas which separated from the Land on the Third Day. Just as all the Instruments of the first day are Gold, all the instruments of the third day are Bronze.
Exodus 27:20-21 – The Fourth Day
Just as the Menorah matched with the light made on the first day, and the light became visible on the 4th Day with the creation of the lights in the Heavens, The Oil of the Menorah goes side by side with the fourth day. Without the Oil, The Menorah will not give the light, just as the light would be of no use if there were no lights in the heavens to cast the light of creation on the earth.
Exodus 30:22-33 – The Fourth Day
Just as the 4th day had a greater light and a lesser light, so does these parallel sections in Exodus have a Greater oil and a Lesser oil. The Anointing Oil parallels the 4th day in this manner.
Exodus 28:1-43 – The Fifth Day
Just as the Fifth Day saw the Waters below (separated on the third day) being filled with fish, we see the spaces made with the curtains on the third day being filled with the clothing of Aaron and his sons. Moses is told that Aaron would be consecrated in Exodus 28:41 (Malay Yad in Hebrew, which means Hands filled). The same word “malay” is used in Gen 1:22 where fish would fill the waters.
Exodus 30:34-38 – The Fifth Day
The Air was filled on the Fifth day with Birds in the account of creation, while this section speaks of the Sweet Incense which would fill the skies.
Exodus 29:1-29 – The Sixth Day
Just as the Sixth Day saw God creating man for the Service/Plant(Avodah) and Guarding/Keep(Shomer) of His creation, do we see Aaron and sons are also anointed to carry out the task.
Exodus 31:1-11 – The Sixth Day
Man who was made in God’s image parallels Bezalel and Oholiab who were imbued with the Wisdom of God to act in God’s place. These two individuals can even be compared to Adam and Eve who by coming together would be creating the next generation.
Exodus 29:30-42 – The Seventh Day
The Seventh day Sabbath which can be compared to eternity, seven itself being an idea of completion, parallels this section where we see Aaron and his sons consecrated for the offerings at the tabernacle to be made continually.
Exodus 31:12-18 – The Seventh Day
This section speaks directly about the Sabbath and it’s importance matching up to Gen 2:1-3.
Parallels after the Creation and Tabernacle accounts
Just as we see a parallel between these sections as highlighted above, Genesis 3 can be compared to Exodus 32 – The Fall of Adam and the Fall of Israel. Gen 2:25 uses the word Bu’ush (ashamed) just as we see the same word used in Exo 32:1 where Israel saw Moses Bu’ush (delayed). In Genesis we see Eve giving the fruit to Adam just as we see Israel giving the gold for the molten calf to Aaron. Just as Adam and Eve became naked before God, so did Aaron and Israel corrupt themselves before God. Just as Adam condemned Eve, so did Aaron condemn Israel.
Conclusion
I believe the information above should provoke us to study the Tabernacle a little more closer, as we maybe able to understand both the Creation and God’s plans for this creation through it. God is sovereign and His Word is written in a specific manner for a reason. There is nothing mentioned randomly, no information given without reason. Each of the measurements in the Tabernacle have some significance. For instance, the Holy of Holies is a perfect Cube, which we see at the end of Revelations where the Heavenly Jerusalem descends from heaven being itself a perfect Cube (Rev 21:16). My hope is that this inspires you to study the Tabernacle closer and share with all of us what His Holy Spirit reveals to you.
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The Biblical Timeline – From Creation to the time of Exile
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