The Tabernacle was not much to look at. It was basically a tent which could be picked up and moved as the Hebrews moved from one location to another. It contained some priestly furniture including the Ark of the Covenant. The Mercy Seat on top of the Ark represented the Throne of God. Once a year the High Priest was allowed to go into the Holy of Holies and sprinkle the blood of a sacrificed lamb onto the Mercy Seat. That small tent was the holiest place on earth, because that is where God resided.
When Solomon became King, he built a temple for God. That temple was eventually destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. A second temple was then built and it was destroyed by the Romans. So where does God reside on the earth now? Not in any gold encrusted building with rich interiors and art works. Not in a church building, temple, or cathedral.
If you have Jesus as your savior, he has made you his tabernacle. In John 1:14 it says that Jesus came to dwell among us. The word dwell is actually 'tabernacle'. His earthly body was a walking temple where God lived.
2 Corinthians 6:16 says that we are the temple of the living God. If you are a believer in Christ and want to see where God lives now, you simply have to look in a mirror. You are not God, but the Spirit of God now tabernacles within you.
The Hebrew tabernacle was not much to look at, yet God dwelt there. Now God dwells in a house of flesh which He formed from the dust of the earth. We are nothing but an earthen vessels containing the most valuable of all riches within. We are the Tabernacles of God.
Photo Credit: By Ruk7 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0
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