God Is With Us
When David became king, one of his first acts was to usher God’s presence into Jerusalem. In this context, the Lord stated, “I have not dwelt in a house since the time that I brought the children of Israel up from Egypt, even to this day, but have moved about in a tent and in a tabernacle” (2 Sam. 7:6).
The term tent of meeting (Hebrew, ‘ohel mo’ed) focused on the function of God meeting with a mediator who interceded for Israel, whereas the term Tabernacle (Hebrew, mishkan, “dwelling place”) focused on the divinely ordained structure where God’s presence resided. The Tabernacle was a temporary, portable structure that accompanied Israel to at least four locations over 400 years before settling within Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem.
The Tabernacle was the focal point of community life and worship under the Mosaic Covenant. The 12 tribes of Israel positioned their tents with three tribes represented on each of the four cardinal directions facing inward toward the Tabernacle at the center. Here God’s presence protected and guided the people, reminding them that He was with them; and here atonement was made for the nation, and the entire sacrificial system was executed daily.
It was therefore a religious center for the priests to act on behalf of the people, a judicial center where disputes were settled at its entrance, and a place of social gathering that unified the tribes into one nation. However, only the Aaronic priests were permitted beyond its single entrance (Num. 18:22–23); and only the high priest could enter the holy of holies in its far end.
The Tabernacle finds a unique archaeological parallel in ancient Egypt, where the Israelites who built the structure learned their craft (in addition to God’s divine gifting, Ex. 36:2). The Egyptian example comes from a time some 200 years after the Israelite Tabernacle during the reign of Ramses II (1279–1213 BC), portraying a famous battle scene of his conquest of the Hittites at Kadesh. Ramses II recorded his triumph in bas-relief carvings on the inner walls of his temple at Abu Simbel near Egypt’s southern border. The depiction of his fortified camp includes a portable tent shrine where priests bow in worship. Inside the tent at its far end rests the shrine, consisting of a cartouche of Pharaoh Ramses flanked on either side by protective Ra deities. This is strikingly similar to the holy of holies containing the Ark of the Covenant on which cherubim figures flanked God’s presence (25:22). This archaeological detail supports the Tabernacle’s literal design in its biblical historicity.
Unlike the Egyptian tent, the Israelite structure was never taken into battle, as though God were controlled by His people. Only once did desperate and misguided Israelite soldiers bring the Ark of the Covenant into their battle camp, resulting in Israel’s defeat and the Ark’s capture (1 Sam. 4:3–11). God’s people were to trust by faith that He would carry them to victory, unlike pagan idols believed to bring luck only if the people carried them (Isa. 45:20; 57:13).
The Tabernacle affirms that God is with us. Wherever His people dwelt, He dwelt. Whether they were wandering, fighting to gain their land, or finally at rest, He was always with them. Likewise, both in our own periods of labor and rest, the Lord never leaves us. Believers in Jesus enjoy His presence through the Holy Spirit, our divine Helper and Comforter (Jn. 14:26). He accompanies us in our spiritual battles, being the down payment of our victorious redemption that guards us as His own (Eph. 4:30) until we enter into His presence forever (Rom. 8:11; 1 Th. 4:17; Rev. 22:4). God has left us an archaeological testimony that He is surely with us (Mt. 28:20).
