God moves in
At Mount Sinai, God told Moses to build him a home:
"And they shall make me a sanctuary, and I will dwell in the midst of them: According to all the likeness of the tabernacle which I will shew thee."
Exodus 25:8 to 9 · around 1450 BC
God didn't give a rough idea. He gave an exact pattern, measured to the cubit. Every piece had its place.
God moves in again
Fifteen centuries later, John opens his Gospel like this:
"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us: we saw his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."
John 1:14
In John's Greek, "dwelt" is eskenosen: he pitched his tent. He tabernacled among us.
Walk through it
Follow the path a priest would take, from outside to the very presence of God.
The gate. The courtyard had one entrance, on the east side (Exodus 27:13). One way in. Jesus: "I am the door. If any one enter by me, he shall be saved" (John 10:9).
The altar. Just inside stood the bronze altar where the sacrifices were burned (Exodus 27:1). No one went further without blood. Jesus is the sacrifice.
The basin. Between the altar and the tent stood a bronze laver for washing (Exodus 30:18). Cleansed by water.
The bread. Inside the tent, on the north side, a golden table held the loaves of bread set out "in my sight always" (Exodus 25:30, 26:35). There were twelve of them (Leviticus 24:5 to 6). Jesus: "I am the bread of life" (John 6:35).
The light. Facing it, on the south side, the golden lampstand with seven lamps, the only light in the tent (Exodus 25:31 to 37). Jesus: "I am the light of the world" (John 8:12).
The incense. Before the veil stood the altar of incense, its smoke rising like prayer (Exodus 30:1 and 6). Jesus is "always living to make intercession for us" (Hebrews 7:25).
The veil. A thick curtain sealed off the Holy of Holies. The letter to the Hebrews names it: "through the veil, that is to say, his flesh" (Hebrews 10:20). When Jesus died, the veil in the Temple "was rent in two from the top even to the bottom" (Matthew 27:51).
The ark. Behind the veil, the ark of the covenant, covered by the golden "propitiatory," the mercy seat, where God said, "Thence will I... speak to thee" (Exodus 25:22). Paul calls Jesus our "propitiation through faith in his blood" (Romans 3:25).
The floor plan
Now look at it from above. Mark where each piece stood:
A line running from the gate in the east, straight back to the ark in the west. Cut across by the table on the north and the lampstand on the south.
The shape of the path to God is a cross.
Why this is a big deal
God didn't let Moses design his house. He gave the plan himself, down to which wall the table stood against.
Every piece is a picture of Jesus. And the way into God's presence, laid out in the desert fifteen centuries early, runs in the shape of the cross.