Question: Why does God, the Creator and Lord of the universe, bother to give very detailed instructions to Moses about how to build a tabernacle, going so far as to pick out the drapes? Also, for Noah, God gave him the exact dimensions of the ark. Why?
Answer: I remember at one point in my faith wondering about some of these same questions. There are some sections of God’s Word that leave us wishing we had more details, and other sections almost seem tedious with the number of details included.
In general, let’s be sure that we recognize that God has included everything in the Word of God that He has decided should be there (2 Peter 1:3). Further, we should remember that not every text was written directly to us. This is especially true of the Old Testament (written to Israel). We are to gain instruction from all of God’s Word, but we are not the original audience for much of it. Therefore, we must aim to look at the value of the instruction for those to whom it was first written.
Let’s take Noah’s ark first. We see in Genesis 6:14-16 the dimensions of the ark are listed. Consider how valuable this information was to Noah! A global flood would be coming, and the very survival of human and animal life depended upon the viability of this vessel. Even now, creation scientists have been able to study the dimensions of the ark and have concluded that these dimensions created a very stable platform. God’s wisdom found in the exact dimensions have helped many Christians to see another instance of the loving hand of God. If these details weren’t listed in the Bible for us, it would be a missed opportunity to learn more about God’s care for His people.
The instructions for the Tabernacle are even more detailed (Exodus 25-31). A key verse is found in Exodus 25:8, “And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.” We learn in Hebrews 8:5, that the tabernacle on earth was but a copy and shadow of the heavenly sanctuary. Thus, we can learn and expect from this, that God would be very detailed in how the earthly tabernacle was instructed. Moses was told, “See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain” (Hebrews 8:5). The tabernacle symbolized the dwelling place of God in the midst of His people and represented the meeting between God and man.
Another important aspect of the tabernacle is the typology present. Hebrews 9:8-9 says, “The first tabernacle … was symbolic for the present time.” God was using the Tabernacle to specifically point ahead to a time when we would have direct access to God through His Son Jesus Christ. There is rich meaning in the details recorded about the Tabernacle. Just consider one example of many. Hebrews 10:19-20 teaches that the veil of the Tabernacle points to the limited access that man had with God, but now we have been given direct access to the Father through the veil of Christ’s flesh being consecrated for us.
I hope you can see that at first glance, yes, the details can seem overwhelming. Yet, as we continue to look closer into God’s Word, we see wonderful reasons for the details God has provided!
