The Tabernacle of David - Our Freedom

A friend and I have been discussing King David. I'm finding him quite fascinating. Some writers have made observation that he is like the New Testament in Old Testament times. For David and his companions there was no barrier between them and the holy - it just didn't exist. David is a forgleam of the freedom that we experience in the New Covenant!


Shewbread - Bread of Presentation

In Ancient times the shewbread or bread presentation was set before Almighty God in the holy compartment of the tabernacle or temple. (Exodus 25:30; Leviticus 24:5,6) Only the priests could enter the holy, only consecrated priests could eat the showbread. To the contrary in the recorded account in 1 Samuel 21:1-8 David and his men eat the bread of presentation. They broke the law - surely they should be condmened! They weren't. They weren't condemmed by the priesthood then. Jesus didn't condemn them either but rathered used this account of David of eating the shewbread as a favorable example in defense of his own action. (Luke 6:1-5)

The example of the shewbread pales in comparison to the "Tabernacle of David" and what went on there which is absolutely MIND-BLOWING!

Tabernacle of David

Have you heard of the Tabernacle of David? The Tabernacle of Moses is very familiar as is the temple of Solomon but I didn't really know too much about the oft-overlooked "tabernacle of David". In fact I didn't even know it existed. When I was recently told about it from another Christian it bowled me over. It is so FASCINATING and very important I would like to share this information with you.

First why is it important?

Amos prophecies, "On that day I will raise up The tabernacle of David, which has fallen down, And repair its damages; I will raise up its ruins, And rebuild it as in the days of old;" - Amos 9:11

Then in the early days of the Christian congregation a problem arises over the gentiles coming into the Church and the problem manifested itself over the issue of circumcism. This issue was dealt with in Jerusalem and is recorded in Acts 15. In coming to a decision James under Holy Spirit references this prophecy of Amos - the restoration of the tabernacle of David!

Why? The Tabernacle of David refers to unfettered and completely accesible worship in the presence of God without any barriers, barricades, blockades, doors, or dividing walls!

To understand the Tabernacle of David we first have to go back to the Tabernacle of Moses in how it was arranged. There were three areas.

1.) The Courtyard

The courtyard contained the brazen altar for sacrifices and the lever for the cleansing of the priests. Everyone is Israel was permitted to enter the courtyard. They could worship God freely there.

2.) The Holy Place

Within the courtyad was the Holy Place. This was where we find the altar of incense, the lampstand, and the table of the shewbread. Entrance was restricted to just the priests.

3.) The Most Holy Place

Within the Holy Place was a veiled area called the Most Holy Place. It contained only one item. The ark of the covenant which represented the throne of God and his Holy presence. Entrance was limited to just one person - the High Priest, once a year.

This was how it was down to the days of Eli the High Priest. The traveling Tabernacle of Moses was now stationed in Shiloh. Eli had two good for nothing sons named Hophi and Phineas who served with him as priests in the tabernacle. These were the guys who were having sex relations with women at the gates of the tabernacle and eating the fatty portions of the offerings reserved for God. (1 Samuel 2:22-25)

One day Israel gets into a battle with the neighboring Phillistines. Israel had always had success against the Phillistines but on that day they were defeated and lost 4,000 men! So the people are confused. "Why didn't God fight for us?" they wonder. So they hatch this "brilliant" idea to go get the ark of the covenant and bring it into battle. They reason if God doesn't want to show up for the battle we will just go get him and bring him to it. So Hophni and Phineas violate the Most Holy Place and take the ark of covenant into battle. And surprise, surprise God still doesn't show up. Hophni and Phineas die along with 30,000 Israelites! Worst of all the ark of the covenant is taken by the Philistines! When Eli hears the news about the ark he falls over backward and dies. (1 Samuel 4)

Now the Phillistines take the ark and station it in their chief city of Ashdod, but it brings plagues so they pass it to Gath. The same things happen in Gath so the people of Gath send it to Ekron. Ekron is terrified so they wise up and say, "Enough, let's send it back to Israel". So they load up the ark in cart and drive it back to Israel. (1 Samuel 5)

Israel of course is overjoyed to receive the ark back. It was a dark day when it was stolen and "the glory had departed". The ark is pulled into Besh Shemash and the people are really, really happy. But they do something incredibly stupid. They decide to take off the lid of the ark, the mercy seat, and peek inside. When the mercy seat is removed, the broken law is uncovered by the blood of atonement and they are condemned to death and instantly die. So the people get frightened and call for some people from Kiriath Jearim to come get the ark. (1 Samuel 6)

Interestingly the ark is not brought back to the tabernacle of Moses in Shiloh. Instead it is taken to the house of Abinadab in Kiriath Jearim where it is guarded by his son Eleazar (1 Samuel 7:1) And there it stays during entire the reign of Saul until the days when David reigns as King.

David loves God and wants to bring him back. So he calls upon the people to go get the ark from Kiriath Jearim and bring it back to Israel. A wonderful idea with just one problem -- they load up the ark on a cart. Remember that the cart idea was originally the brain-child of the heathen Philistines. As the ark travels upon this rickety invention of man it hits a bump on a threshing floor (The place where the wheat is seperated from the chaff). The ark wobbles so a man named Uzza reaches out to steady it and is struck dead. So David gets frightened and doesn't bring the ark back to his city but they store it in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. (1 Chronicles 13)

The ark is in the house Obed-Edom, blessing his family for for three months, and during that time David reads up on the Law and figures out that only the God ordained way to transport the ark is carried on staves by sanctified priests. So all the priests assemble and prepare to bring the ark to the City of David. And it is the biggest party in all of Israel. There are musicians and singers and even David himself strips down to a linen shift and dances in the presence of God. (1 Chronicles 15)

They bring the ark back, not to the Tabernacle of Moses which is now in Gibeon, but to the simple canvas tent David has erected upon Mt. Zion. David makes burnt offerings and then stations people to sing songs and play music in the presence of the ark of the covenant daily - there was even a night shift! (1 Chonicles 16:1-6)

At this time there was an anomaly in Israel - there were two tabernacles of God in existance simeultaneously. There was the Tabernacle of David on Mt. Zion and the Tabernacle of Moses in Gibeon. (Some of the Psalms even reference "Tabernacles" in the plural) David and the singers and musicians served on Mt. Zion before the ark in the Tabernacle of David. In Gibeon Zadok and the priests served in the prescibed manner of the Law with the sacrifices in the Tabernacle of Moses. At David's Tabernacle there was only a one time sacrificial offering and then 24/7 sacrifices of the fruit of the lips. At Gibeon there are daily animal sacrifices upon the altar. Mt. Zion is the new wineskin. Gibeon is the old wineskin. One had the presence of God, the wine, unfettered and accesible for all to drink. One didn't have it all. (1 Chronicles 16:37-42)

In the tabernacle of Moses only the High Priest could come before the presence of God in the Most Holy place. In the tabernacle of David it was completely open and accessible to all morning, noon, and night. Can you just picture David nestled up under the shadow of the wings of the cherubim on top of the ark writing, playing, and singing songs? Can you picture the people worshipping freely and uncondemned before God?

David was just a sneak preview of the joy that we realise today! Today we are free to eat the bread of presentation. Today we worship in the very presence of the Lord unrestricted! Through Jesus we have boldness to enter into the holy place, uncondemned! Jesus destroyed the barriers and not just those that existed between Jew and Gentile; but also those between priest and non-priest. The tabernacle of David is restored and what a sweet freedom we have!