Getting Started

That God should take up residence in a physical structure is a new development in the Bible story. But the themes we encounter in the Tabernacle take us back to the opening chapters of Genesis. The words in Genesis 3 describe God “walking in the garden,” as though it were the most ordinary thing in the world. We get the impression that Adam and Eve shared a habitual intimacy with divine presence. 

In the Tabernacle, Israel recovers access to God’s indwelling presence. He lives “in the midst” of this community and, as we’re about to see, this indwelling recalls the Garden of Eden in a number of ways. Beyond being a new building, the Tabernacle is a “new creation.”

Let’s explore it together.