What’s the farthest you’ve ever walked? Around the block? A mile or two or more?
The children of Israel had to walk from one country to another! This long walk ended up being 40 years. Imagine how tired their feet must’ve been.
After they were freed from their slavery in Egypt, they began the long walk to the Promised Land. On the way, God spoke with Moses, giving the Ten Commandments and very detailed instructions on how to build a tabernacle.
A tabernacle was kind of like a church—only it was a huge tent. Because their journey was all on foot, their tabernacle, or church, had to be portable so they could carry it with them as they moved.
God gave specific instructions for making a big tabernacle. Because Hebrews tells us it was to be a copy of what was already in Heaven. The huge tent was to be a place where they could gather in God’s presence and celebrate everything God did for them. It was also the place where they made sacrifices for their sins. The tabernacle was where God’s holy presence could live near them.
And in this house, this huge tent, God put more clues about His promised Messiah. Everywhere in this tent were clues to finding Him!
There were two rooms in God’s house: a big room called the “Holy” and a smaller room called the “Most Holy.” Starting with Holy, the large room, there were three pieces of furniture: an oil lamp stand, a table with twelve loaves of special bread, and an altar for burning incense.
Those are three clues: lamp, bread, and incense for offering prayers. These all point to Jesus, the coming Messiah!
- Jesus is the Light of the World.
- Jesus is the Bread of Life.
- Jesus is our Intercessor, continually praying to God on our behalf.
But there are still more clues inside the Most Holy Place, the small room.
1 Kings describes, “The inner sanctuary [Solomon] prepared in the innermost part of the house, to set there the ark of the covenant of the Lord. And Solomon overlaid the inside of the house with pure gold and he drew chains of gold across, in front of the inner sanctuary, and overlaid it with gold” (6:19,21).
- What kind of person do you think would live in a house covered in gold?
Since nothing is random with God, what’s inside the ark of the covenant is important. The stone tablets are another clue. The commandments teach us God’s standard and that we can’t reach God on our own without a perfect Messiah.
Because no one can keep the Ten Commandments precisely over their lifetime or even for one day, every person needs a Savior. Each of us needs our sin covered by the blood of Jesus, just like the Passover story in the last lesson and just like the people who came to God’s tent in this lesson.
Only Jesus’ blood makes it so that we can be with God all the time, forever. His sacrifice was once for all.
If you have not received Jesus’ sacrifice for your sin, this would be a good time to say a prayer giving your heart to Him, the spotless lamb who died to forgive you:
Father, our great Creator, thank You that You gave us eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to believe. And because You love us, You have left countless clues for us to discover, all leading to your matchless Gift of Jesus, the Messiah. How wonderful it is to know that all Your promises come true!
If you missed Lent Lesson 1 , Lent Lesson 2, or Lent Lesson 3, it’s not too late! Jump in where you can. Even doing one lesson is worth it. And be sure to subscribe to get each week’s Lent Lesson in your inbox.
