The Tabernacle In The Human Body
The human body is the dwelling place of an individual’s eternal spirit while they live on earth (Eccl. 12:7). In Scripture, it is referred to as a tent and a temple (John 2:19-21; 1 Cor. 6:19-20; 2 Cor. 5:1), both of which were ancient dwellings and places of worship. God gave Moses the design for the Tabernacle (Ex. 25:8; 26:30), which was the holy sanctuary where His presence dwelled and Israel’s designated place of worship. The Tabernacle was also a tent, designed to be portable as they moved throughout the wilderness and into the Promised Land. It was an earthly copy of the Tabernacle in heaven (Heb. 8:5), but its design can also be seen in the human body. The human body is intricately designed with a divine makeup that consists of chemicals, cells, tissues, organs, and organ systems. This design and its created functions are seen in the Tabernacle’s system of worship.
Natural Elements
The design of the Tabernacle included naturally occurring materials and elements. Wood, silver, and gold are included in this list, which were used in the frames and furniture pieces of the Tabernacle. Silver and gold exist in small amounts in the body, as it is made from earth (Gen. 2:7; 3:19) and consists of 26 chemical elements, the building blocks of matter. Oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen are the most prominent. Oxygen and hydrogen combine to form water, the most essential chemical compound in the body. Water represents the Holy Spirit (John 7:37-39), and without it the body would die in a matter of days. Copper and tin are trace elements in the body; they exist in very small amounts but are important to bodily functions. These two elements can be combined to form bronze, a metal included in the design of the Tabernacle, though its use was restricted to the courtyard.
GOLD
Gold is a naturally occurring chemical element and a precious metal. It is highly resistant to corrosion and other chemical reactions and is found in soil, caves, and rocks.
When it was time to build the Tabernacle, gold was among the materials collected from the community via free-will offerings (Ex. 35:5, 20-22). It was used to make the furniture pieces of the Most Holy Place, as well as the clasps (hooks) for the curtains and certain portions of the high priest’s garments.
Related Readings:
Dedicated Spaces
The Tabernacle was divided into three spaces: the Courtyard (the Outer Court), the Holy Place, and the Most Holy Place (the Holy of Holies). The Courtyard was the outer portion of the Tabernacle structure and was the outside space where the Israelite community gathered for worship. The Holy Place was the inner portion of the sanctuary, and could only be accessed by priests. The Most Holy Place was the innermost portion of the Tabernacle and was where the presence of God dwelled. Each of these spaces was dedicated to a specific aspect of worship. In the human body, they represent body cavities.
Frames
The Tabernacle was crafted together by frames that gave it its rectangular shape. These frames were made from acacia wood and overlaid with gold.
Acacia wood is hard and durable, yet lightweight, which made it an excellent selection for the portable sanctuary. It grows darker as it ages (Mass, 1907-1913), and its close grain protects it from external elements that would cause it to decay. The wood also does not attract insects, who find its taste distasteful (Bill, 2003). These attributes made it an excellent selection for the portable sanctuary, which survived forty years in the wilderness heat and centuries after the Israelites entered the Promised Land. Interestingly, the chemical makeup of wood is like that of humans, mostly composed of oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen (Rowell, 2005). Calcium, potassium, sodium, magnesium, iron, manganese, sulfur, chlorine, silicon, and phosphorus also exist in small amounts (Sjöström, 1993), just as they do in the human body.
The frames and adjoining bases (made of silver), pegs, corner pieces, and crossbars represent the skeletal system of the body. The skeletal system is composed of bones, joints, and cartilage and serves the body by giving it shape, allowing it to move, protecting the internal organs, producing blood cells, and storing calcium and iron.
The frames of the tabernacle represent the bones of the human body. Bones are joined together by joints, which also connect bones to cartilage and teeth.
Curtains, Loops, & Clasps (Hooks)
A number of curtains covered the frames of the Tabernacle and some of its sections. These curtains included the outside tent covering, as well as the inner curtains that lined the two sections of the Tabernacle, and the inner curtain that separated them (Ex. 26:33). These curtains were joined together by an intricate system of loops and clasps that allowed the Tabernacle to be one piece (Ex. 26:7). In the body, these curtains and their connecting pieces represent the integumentary system, the muscular system, and the internal tissues of the body.
The integumentary system is composed of skin, hair, nails, sweat glands, and oil glands. It protects the body by providing a covering for everything contained inside and also absorbs vitamin D from the sun. As the covering, it gives the body insulation and recognizes the sensations of pain and temperature.
SKIN = THE TENT COVERING
The skin is part of the integumentary system. As the largest organ in the body in weight, it has many functions. Primarily, the skin serves to protect the internal organs from outside elements. In this way, the skin of the human body is the tent covering of the Tabernacle.
Suggested Reading
The Skin Is the Tabernacle Covering
The muscular system consists of three types of muscular tissue: skeletal tissue, which is attached to bones, cardiac tissue, which is made up of the majority of the heart wall, and smooth tissue, which is found in the skin and walls of hollow internal structures.
Muscle is attached to bones by tendons, which are connective tissue. Tendons, therefore, are the clasps of the Tabernacle.
Furniture
The Tabernacle included furniture that was designed by God with specific detail for specific functions. These furniture pieces represent organs of the body, which are made up of two or more tissues combined to form one unit and carry out specific functions. The furniture of the Tabernacle included the altar of burnt offering (the bronze altar) and its associated pieces, the bronze washbasin, the table for the bread of the presence and its associated pieces, the incense altar (the gold altar), the golden lampstand (the menorah), and the ark of the covenant. The worship that involved these specific pieces of furniture represents the organ systems of the body.
The Most Holy Place
The thoracic cavity represents the Most Holy Place, the innermost room of the Tabernacle also referred to as the Holy of Holies. The Most Holy Place held the ark of the covenant, a wood box overlaid with gold accompanied by two attached carrying poles. The ark’s cover was a solid gold lid with two solid gold cherubim molded onto each end of it. The Most Holy Place (the Holy of Holies) was separated from the Holy Place by the inner curtain.
In the human body, the thoracic cavity contains the pericardial cavity, the pleural cavities, and the mediastinum which are filled with fluid. The pericardial cavity is the space that surrounds the heart. The pleural cavities are the spaces that surround each lung, and the mediastinum is the space between the lungs. The mediastinum holds the heart and its blood vessels, the esophogus, the trachea, and the thymus.
Metaphorically, the heart represents the ark of the covenant, the large blood vessels represent the carrying poles of the ark, the lungs represent the cherubim, and the diaphragm represents the inner curtain. The fluid that fills the spaces represents the Holy Spirit.
DIAPHRAGM = INNER CURTAIN
The inner curtain of the Tabernacle separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place (Ex. 26:33), the innermost room that held the Ark of the Covenant. It hung from clasps and was decorated with cherubim and other designs made from blue, purple, and scarlet embroidered thread. In the human body, the inner curtain is represented by the diaphragm, and its embroidered design represents capillaries (small blood vessels).
LUNGS & THYMUS = CHERUBIM
The lungs are the floating organs that bring inhaled oxygen into the blood and release carbon dioxide out of the body. They represent the cherubim, positioned on each side of the atonement cover (the mercy seat) facing each other with their wings spread, symbolizing their protection of it (Ex. 37:6-9). Just as the lungs float in the body and surround the heart, the cherubim hovered over the Ark of the Covenant and surrounded God’s presence (Ex. 25:22).
The thymus is a small organ located over the heart. It is part of the immune system, which protects the body against foreign invaders. The thymus represents the center connection of the cherubim’s wings as they protect the atonement seat and shield the presence of God.
HEART = THE ARK OF THE COVENANT
The heart represents the Ark of the Covenant.
Suggested Readings
The Holy Place
The Holy Place contained the incense altar, the table of the bread of the presence (the table of showbread), and the golden lampstand (the menorah). The incense altar stood directly in front of the inner curtain that separated the Holy place from the Most Holy Place. The table for the bread of the presence (table of showbread) stood on the north side of the Holy Place, and the golden lampstand stood across from it on the south side (Ex. 26:35). In the human body, the Holy Place is represented by the abdominal cavity. The kidneys represent the incense altar, the stomach represents the table of the bread of the presence, and the liver represents the golden lampstand.
The Incense Altar
THE KIDNEYS = BOX OF THE ALTAR
In the human body, the kidneys, ureters, and adrenal glands represent the incense altar, the priestly place of prayer.
The incense altar (or altar of incense) was a square box made out of wood and overlaid with gold. (The gold on this altar differentiates it from the altar of burnt offering, which was bronze. Some verses refer to the incense altar as the gold altar [Ex. 39:8; 2 Chron. 4:19].) Horns were incorporated into its design at each of its four corners and it was surrounded with molding around the edge of its top. Gold rings were placed on each side to hold its carrying poles, which were also made out of wood and overlaid with gold (Ex. 30:1-5). These are represented in the human body. The altar is the kidneys, its horns are the adrenal glands, and its carrying poles are the ureters.
The incense altar stood outside of the inner curtain that separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place (the innermost room of the Tabernacle where the Ark of the Covenant stood). As part of the old covenant law, priests were required to burn incense on the altar every morning and evening.
THE ADRENAL GLANDS = HORNS OF THE ALTAR
THE URETERS = CARRYING POLES
Suggested Reading
The Table for the Bread of the Presence
THE SMALL INTESTINE = THE TABLE
THE STOMACH = THE BREAD PLATTER
THE SPLEEN = INCENSE JAR
THE PANCREAS = THE LADLE
THE GALL BLADDER = BOWL
Holds the emotions before being poured out to God as an offering.
The Lampstand
THE LIVER = THE LAMPSTAND
The liver represents the lampstand of the Tabernacle. As furniture, this peace represented the Tree of Life, therefore it also represented God the Father, who is the source of light.
LAMP SNUFFERS
LAMP TRAYS
OIL CONTAINERS
The Courtyard
The Courtyard was the outer portion of the Tabernacle structure where the Israelites gathered for worship. (Only priests could actually go inside the Tabernacle.) This area was enclosed by curtains. The courtyard contained the bronze washbasin and the altar of burnt offering. In the human body, the urinary bladder represents the washbasin and the altar of burnt offering represents the large intestine. The internal reproductive organs represent the cooking area of the Tabernacle.
THE URINARY BLADDER = THE WASHBASIN
The urinary bladder is a hollow organ that stores urine (waste, a byproduct of metabolism) before it is released from the body. It is held in place by folds in the peritoneum (abdominal lining). In the Tabernacle of the human body, the urinary bladder is the washbasin and the folds holding it in place are the washbasin’s stand.
The washbasin stood in the Tabernacle courtyard between the Tabernacle and the altar of burnt offering (Ex. 40:7). It was made of bronze and its stand was made from mirrors donated by the women who served at the entrance of the Tabernacle as a free-will offering (Ex. 38:8). Like the other furniture pieces of the tabernacle, it too was anointed with oil and set apart as holy (Lev. 8:11).
The priests used the washbasin to wash their hands and feet before entering the Tabernacle and before approaching the burnt altar to offer sacrifices. If they didn’t they would die (Ex. 30:19-20). This symbolized the purity required to serve the Lord. Scripture does not reveal how often the water was changed or all that was involved with its maintenance.
Two New Covenant washing ceremonies point back to the washbasin of the Tabernacle. One occurred during the Last Supper when Jesus washed the Apostles’ feet (John 13:1-17). As He explained, it was an example of the humble service they were to extend to others. As the leaders of the new priesthood—the believers of Christ who make up the Church, they too were ministering before the Lord, just like the Old Covenant priests. However, instead of worshippers coming to the Temple, the apostles would go into the world and make new disciples, whose holy lives would be the worship that God sought. How beautiful, then, were the feet that brought Good News (Rom. 10:14-15).
The remaining connection is baptism. Just as the old covenant priests were washed to symbolically show their purity, Scripture teaches the New Covenant priests (believers) should be baptized. Jesus set the example here, too, as He was baptized by John the Baptist before beginning his earthly ministry (Mark 1:9), and He told the apostles to baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19). Baptism itself is also tied to the ceremonial washings required of in the Old Covenant whenever someone became ceremonially unclean (such as if they touched a dead body; Num. 19:13). In the New Covenant, however, baptism is symbolic of moral purity.
THE LARGE INTESTINE = THE ALTAR OF BURNT OFFERING
THE INTERNAL REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS = THE COOKING AREA
The internal reproductive organs represent the cooking area of the courtyard. The uterus is the oven where bread was prepared. The gonads (testicles for men, ovaries for women) represent the storage area that held food before it was prepared.
References
Bill, S. (2003). Acacia. In C. Brand, C. Draper, A. England, S. Bond, E. R. Clendenen, & T. C. Butler (Eds.), Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (p. 15). Holman Bible Publishers.
Maas, A. (1907–1913). Acacia. In C. G. Herbermann, E. A. Pace, C. B. Pallen, T. J. Shahan, & J. J. Wynne (Eds.), The Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church: Vols. I–XV. The Encyclopedia Press; The Universal Knowledge Foundation.
Masterman, E. W. G. (1915). Acacia. In J. Orr, J. L. Nuelsen, E. Y. Mullins, & M. O. Evans (Eds.), The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia (Vols. 1–5, p. 27). The Howard-Severance Company.
Rowell, R. (2005). Handbook of Wood Chemistry and Wood Composites (p. 3). CRC Press.
Sjöström, E., & Sjöström, E. (1993). Wood chemistry (p. 107). Academic Press.