Dear church,

This description of the building of the tabernacle can feel a bit redundant. We’ve already read God’s instructions of its construction. And now here we have the carrying out of those instructions. And the Israelites tried to carry out the plan to perfection. 

This is good.

As we read this, we can pay attention to the exquisite detail that we are given. The tabernacle wasn’t thrown together like a woodshed made out of pallets on a Saturday afternoon. Careful thought went into this house of God – the place of God’s presence among the people. 

The tabernacle pre-figures Christ. It was the central place of worship and direction and holiness for the people of God. This is where the prayers of the people were directed. 

After the tabernacle was the temple. And then Christ replaced the temple. 

And the faithful believers in Jesus Christ – the church – were brought into him. We now are “in Christ” (Ephesians 2:10). 

And so this description is, in some ways, a description of the church. It was built by skillful craftsmen – first by the apostles and then by every faithful preacher, pastor, and Sunday School teacher who followed them. 

The apostle Paul said, “According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it” (1 Corinthians 3:10).

Let’s be careful how we approach our lives in the church. This priesthood of all believers that we share is a sacred thing. We want to build with care – to build a more biblically-based, more evangelistic, more compassionate church. We want to build a church that constantly is proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ to the world.

And we want to do this according to the grace God has given us. 

Chris