Tabernacle

The Angel of The Lord and His Heavenly Hosts

The Angel of The Lord and His Heavenly Hosts

We begin with the Cherubim and Seraphim angels, their ministry to God, and the Tabernacle of Moses. Cherubim first appeared at the Garden of Eden entrance and later in constructing the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant. Inferring a correlation to the Garden of Eden, Cherubim were woven into the inner veil that separated the holy of holies. Our Sages wrote that Cherub angels have a child-like appearance, hence their portrayal in Christian art as babies with wings. Ezekiel refers to them nineteen times, with many believing they are synonymous with the four living creatures described in Revelation. In his vision, he saw four Cherubim angels in the midst and around the throne of God, ministering to the Lord.

Israel's Covenants and The Kingdom

Israel's Covenants and The Kingdom

It can be said that Israel’s origins begin with Abraham, the father faith, as Paul, “It is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all” (Romans 4:16). God desired that Abram become a source of blessing to the whole world, setting before him a moral imperative to obey His commandment to leave everything of this world behind. Nearly two thousand years before the Advent of Christ, the Lord God made a covenant with Abraham, promising to make of him a great nation and a company of nations: “I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:2-3).

The Tabernacle of Moses

The Tabernacle of Moses

A number of years ago I was asked to prepare a teaching on the Tabernacle of Moses—the Mishkan. I had read the endless narratives in the Torah many times where each part of the Tabernacle, meticulously detailed by the Lord, commanded the Israelites to only build a copy of the heavenly image. I had visited several life-size displays, one recently in Pennsylvania, but none revealed anything of particular magnificence. Even its size looked rather underwhelming—a small tent perched in the desert surrounded by miles of barren wilderness. From a near distance the structure would have been hardly noticeable.