The Holy Place Is The Family Room

When God told Moses to build Him a sanctuary so that He may live among His chosen people on earth, He was very specific about how it was to be built. He gave exact dimensions and specific instructions about how the furniture inside was to be designed and where it was to be placed. This is because the Tabernacle was going to be His house. As His house, it was a place of worship where He and His divine family would dwell. Each portion of the Tabernacle, therefore, had its purpose. 

To understand the significance of the design of the Tabernacle (a portable tent), a review of the desert tents of ancient times is necessary. By the time of the Tabernacle they had been lived in for centuries (Gen. 4:20), and the Israelites lived in them throughout their time in the wilderness (Num. 24:2) and for some time after they entered the Promised Land. The interior was usually divided into two rooms or sections. The first section was the men’s section, which doubled as the reception area for hosting guests. The second section was the living quarters of the women and children. The kitchen was also in this area (Da Cruz, 1966). Like the Tabernacle, this section was screened from the view of those in the outer room, making this a private area of the home (Banner, n.d.). In this way, this room was the family room, and is reflected in the Tabernacle by the Holy Place. 

The Holy Place was the inner portion of the Tabernacle that only priests could enter. Everyone else who came to worship with sacrifices and offerings did so in the courtyard, the outside part of the Tabernacle that was enclosed with curtains. In other words, a person had to be approved and authorized to have access to the Divine Family. 

The Holy Place held three specific pieces of furniture: the lampstand, the incense altar, and the table for the bread of the presence. The lampstand represents the Father, the incense altar represents Holy Spirit Mother, and the Table for the Bread of the Presence represents Jesus Christ the Son. 

The Lampstand = God the Father 

The Lampstand was made of pure gold and represented the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden, which also represents God the Father. Its design included a center stem with three branches stemming from it on each side. These seven held lamps at the end, which were positioned so their light shined forward. This was perhaps to illuminate the room entirely, or to shine its light onto the Table for the Bread of the Presence, which represented Jesus, the coming Messiah who would sacrifice His body and complete the current system of worship. As such, the menorah itself represented God the Father, who is light (1 John 1:5, 7; Ps. 27:1), the source of light (Gen. 1:3), and the Father of lights (James 1:17). As a representation of the Tree of Life, the light of the menorah casted its light upon the path back to Paradise—repentance (through prayer and work of the Holy Spirit) and the Son (accepting Him as the way back to the Father).

The Incense Altar = Holy Spirit Mother 

The incense altar represents Holy Spirit Mother. It was the place of priestly prayer and where incense was burned each morning and evening (Ex. 30:7-9). It produced a pleasing aroma, which Her breath was in the Sacred Tent (Sir. 24:15). As the place of prayer, it was the place of intercession, further representing Her as She has always been the connection between God and Their children. She has continuously empowered them throughout history to complete the will of the Father and communicates with Him on their behalf (Rom. 8:26-27). 

The Table for the Bread of the Presence = Jesus Christ, the Son 

The Table for the Bread of the Presence stood across from the lampstand. Like the incense altar, it was made of wood and overlaid with gold. It held the bread of the presence, frankincense, wine, and a bowl or jar. 

The table itself represents His sacrifice, as wood was needed for sacrifices (Gen. 22:3, 6-9). The gold represented His divinity and the preciousness of what was placed on top. 

The bread represents the body of Christ, and He is the Bread of Life (John 6:35, 48). It consisted of 12 loaves, placed in two stacks of six loaves each with each loaf representing one of the 12 tribes of Israel. As Jesus also replaced the Mosaic system of worship with the New Covenant, the 12 sons of Jacob (the heads of the 12 tribes) were replaced by the 12 apostles, who distributed pieces of broken bread to His followers at the miraculous feeding of the 5,000 (Luke 9:10-17). When finished, they collected 12 baskets of leftovers, representative of the gospel message they would carry and distribute to the world as apostles. Also, during the last supper, Jesus again broke bread and gave a piece of each of the 12 and referred to it as His body (Luke 22:19). 

The frankincense accompanied the bread. It was placed on the table as a representative offering (Lev. 24:7). A memorial offering was burned as a memorial token of honor to the Lord (Swanson, 1997). This frankincense, as incense, was burned on the incense altar, connecting the two pieces of furniture as Jesus is connected to Holy Spirit Mother and She is given to those who accept Him. Frankincense was also one of the gifts the magi men brought Jesus after He was born (Matt. 2:11). 

The wine and bowl were for the wine offering. While liquid offerings were accepted in the courtyard with burnt offerings, only wine (or strong drink) could be poured out as an offering inside the Holy Place (Num. 28:7). Since only incense could be offered on the incense altar (Ex. 30:9), the wine was poured into the bowl on the table. The wine represents the blood of Jesus, which would be poured out for the Church (Luke 22:20). 

All in all, the Tabernacle was a beautifully designed place of worship with significant meaning poured into each detail by the Father, our Creator. The design of its Holy Place represented the divine family dwelling with its furniture pieces representing the Father, Holy Spirit Mother, and Jesus Christ the Son. 

REFERENCES

Benner, J. Manners & Customs: Tent dwellings | AHRC. Ancient-hebrew.org. Retrieved 25 January 2022, from https://www.ancient-hebrew.org/manners/tent-dwellings.htm. 

Da Cruz, D. (1966). The Black Tent. Retrieved 25 January 2022, from https://archive.aramcoworld.com/issue/196603/the.black.tent.htm. 

Swanson, J. (1997). In Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (electronic ed.).