The care of the tabernacle was in the charge of the descendant families from the Jacob-Israel tribe of Levi. Levi was Jacob's third-born of twelve sons. Levi had three sons - Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. It was through the line of Levi's second son, Kohath, and his son Amram, that Moses, Aaron and Miriam were born. The following, is an extract from a booklet called "The House of Levi" by Isabel Hill Elder. |
"They (Moses, Aaron, and Miriam) became the greatest Levites of all time, used of God in the deliverance of His people Israel from the bondage of Egypt. The Passover feast, on the eve of the departure of the Israelites from Egypt was instituted by Levites, Moses and Aaron, at God's command, and ordained to be administered by Levites until the coming of the Lamb of God, (Jesus Christ), whose sacrifice the feast foreshadowed. "Once over the Red Sea, and on the Arabian side, the gift of leadership with which Moses, Aaron and Miriam were endowed for the guidance of God's people through the wilderness, manifested itself in outstanding and dramatic situations unprecedented in the annals of history. No longer young, Moses, the youngest of the trio, was 80 years of age; all had that strength of character and physical virility which made them fit instruments under the hand of God for the great task on which they had embarked ... during those 40 years of slow movement towards the land of Canaan. In this journey they made 52 encampments, with much labour involved ... for these temporary homes." |
As quoted, "these temporary homes" also included moving the Tabernacle: erecting it when they arrived at a new campsite, and dismantling it each time they departed from a campsite. The family of Merari had charge and care of the tabernacle boards. |
Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites, and the family of the Mushites: these are the families of Merari. And those that were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were six thousand and two hundred. And the chief of the house of the father of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail: these shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle northward. And under the custody and charge of the sons of Merari shall be the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and the sockets thereof, and all the vessels thereof, and all that serveth thereto, And the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords. |
As for the sons of Merari, thou shalt number them after their families, by the house of their fathers; From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old shall thou number them, every one that entereth into the service, to do the work of the tabernacle of the congregation. And this is the charge of their burden, according to all their service in the tabernacle of the congregation; the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and sockets thereof, And the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords, with all their instruments, and with all their service, in the tabernacle of the congregation under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. |
The census statistic for the males of the family of Merari at the beginning of the Exodus period, when the tabernacle was built, was 3,200 members who were aged 30 years and over (Numbers 4.43). There were also 6,200 males who were less than 30 years old (Numbers 3.34). These figures are quoted earlier in this work, in Chapter 1 also.
As we measure the size of the tabernacle boards, and assemble them together, we learn that the building itself was the size of a small house, hall or church. If we use the assumption that the Tabernacle (or Sacred) Cubit was 22 inches, then our study which follows will tell us that this building construction actually measured 22 feet wide, by 55 feet long. Many references to my tabernacle research indicate that the Holy of Holies section of the tabernacle was a perfect square measurement. By following the layout as given in the King James version of the Bible, I cannot see how the perfect square measurement can be so, and hope to prove this. Chapter 1 of this work refers to the significance of the numbers 22 and 55, and by now we should be well familiar with them and their numeric combinations as representing priestly numbers in relationship with God.
The tabernacle was a portable building, which could be moved about, as the Israelite nation travelled from Egypt, through the wilderness of the Sinai desert, on their route to their land which God first promised them through Abraham, and that promise later confirmed through Isaac and Jacob. They travelled on foot, probably made use of carts upon which to carry things about, so there was a need for those Merari men, 3,200 of them over 30 years old, and certainly there would be a need for the energy and strength of the 6,200 younger men who were under 30 years old.
All up, the family of Merari totalled 9,400 men, and this represented about almost 31 percent of the total male Levite population, but their numbers only represented about 1.4 percent of the total Israelite and Levite population of 655,603 combined.
Today, when we build a home, hall, or other structure, we always start with groundwork preparation, and follow on with building the framework. Usually, the roof is fixed to the framework next. The plumber and electrician are then brought in to do their preparatory work just before the outer and inner walls are erected. And last of all, after the painter has done his work, the soft furnishings like curtains, floor coverings and furniture are put into place, and service equipment is installed by electrician and plumber.
The Exodus record of the construction of Moses' Tabernacle, however, approached the work in a different way. It presented the order of work as follows:
FURNITURE
1. The Ark of the Covenant, its Mercy Seat and two cherubims which were placed on it
2. A Table, with dishes, spoons, and covers. Shewbread was to be placed on the table always.
3. A seven-branched Candlestick with seven lamps, tongs and snuffers
SOFT FURNISHINGS
4. Linen curtains with coupling loops and taches - for the inner roofing of the tabernacle
5. Goats' hair curtains with coupling loops and taches - placed on top of the linen curtain
6. A third curtain made of ram's skin died red, placed on top of the goats' hair curtain, and
7. Above that, was a curtain made of badgers' skins.
THE WALLS
8. The Tabernacle Boards, tenons and silver sockets, and coupling rings
9. Bars to support the walls
HANGING VAILS AND PILLARS
10. One vail hung on four pillars, to divide the Tabernacle into two sections, and the other
11. To hang from five pillars over the entrance to the Tabernacle or Tent
The requirements for the outer court, priestly apparel, consecration of the priests, the procedures for offering burnt offerings are all described; then there is the specification for making an Incense Altar to be placed in the most sacred place inside the Tabernacle.
When I first began to draw up the plan for the Tabernacle structure, naturally, I began with the framework - just as we would do today. But I ran into difficulty when I wanted to place the pillars for dividing the Tabernacle into two rooms or compartments. The dividing vail was to hang from hooks on the four pillars which were placed underneath the coupling of 50 loops and taches, between the two assembled linen curtains. So in order to place the pillars and hang the vail, one had to study all about the curtains. This seems to be an adequate explanation for why the Exodus description of constructing the tabernacle began with the making of the soft furnishings before the boards were erected, and the pillars placed into position!
We'll start here with the making and erection of the Tabernacle Boards, but then we'll deviate to the making of the curtains, before we can place the pillars into position.
Bible Chronology Measure the Temple CONTENTS |