The tabernacle was a tent that God ordered Moses to assemble. God specified exactly how to build it. It was the place where the High Priest presented sacrifices for sin. But it was not the true tabernacle, only a copy of the one in heaven.


Moses’ tabernacle was an object lesson. It showed how great the problem of sin is and why the priest and his ongoing sacrifices could not solve it. The sacrifices in Moses’ tabernacle expressed regret for sin. But because the people and the High Priest remained sinners, those sacrifices stayed right here on the earth. Sin blocks the relationship between God and sinners. Since we are all sinners, none of us, even a High Priest, could enter heaven to present a sacrifice and unblock the relationship.


But Jesus solved the problem. Because He was a sinless man, He offered His body as a perfect sacrifice. And because He was also God, He entered the presence of God, the true tabernacle, presented the sacrifice and made a relationship between God and humanity possible.