Significance of the pattern of the Temple and its furnishings
God instructed Moses to build the dwelling for His presence among His people (the hideout) and to arrange its furnishings exactly as the pattern He showed him. God gave Moses specific instructions about the size, orientation, and type of furnishings for His dwelling (the sanctuary). The pattern of the temple’s furnishings conveyed an important lesson. The temple, or the tabernacle—meaning dwelling—was oriented east-west with the entrance on the east end. God did not tell Moses why the temple needed to face east-west, but several parallels offer clues. First, God placed the Garden of Eden on the eastern side of Eden. Second, the glory of God departed to the east just before the Babylonian exile. Third, the star that announced the Messiah’s birth to the three wise men rose from the east. Lastly, Jesus ascended to heaven in the east, and He will return from the east.
The Ark of Agreement was located was located at the West end of the dwelling place, the Tabernacle, the Second Compartment. The altar for sacrifices, the altar of incense, and the Ark of the Agreement in the Second Compartment formed a straight East-West line. The lampstand and the table for the bread formed a straight North-South line. This arrangement created a cross pattern. The top of the cross was the Ark of the Agreement, the Mercy Seat, at the west end of the Tabernacle. The curtain separating the Holy from the Most Holy chambers hung from North to South and was just behind the altar of incense. When the high priest, on the annual Day of the Removal of People’s Sins, entered the Most Holy, he faced Golgotha west of Jerusalem and just outside its wall. The curtain represented the body of Jesus Christ as it hung on the cross at Golgotha. Hebrews 10:19.
Note. God did not divide the Temple into the Holy and the Most Holy; the priests divided it into two. God gave the law of the Temple: “This is the law of the temple: All the surrounding area on top of the mountain will be most holy. Such is the law of the temple.” Ezekiel 43:12. This is because the temple was God’s dwelling among His people. Therefore, the entire temple and its surroundings were considered the Most Holy. For us, humankind, God is in heaven, His dwelling; thus, the whole heaven is the Most Holy.
The service held once a year on the Day of the symbolic Removal of People’s Sins was the most effective visual lesson for the people. It clearly illustrated how, at the right time, God would sacrifice the Lamb of God to remove the sin that separated humankind from Him and bring us back to Him as His children. The pattern of furnishings pointed west of the city of Jerusalem, the Golgotha, where Jews crucified the Lamb of God. That was also the place where Abraham was to sacrifice Isaac, but God provided a ram instead. Therefore, the Jews had no excuse for not recognizing Jesus as the promised Messiah.
To strike the rock once or twice? Read in the next blog.