Among all the provisions which God made for the safety and welfare of Is'ra-el in the wilderness, He was careful to include full instructions regarding Divine worship. The first of His Commandments was that they should worship God, and Him alone; the second Commandment forbade the making of graven images of any kind for worship, or the setting up of any god whatsoever.
The first great sin committed by the Is'ra-el-ites after the LORD had given Mo'ses the Ten Commandments was the breaking of the first two Commandments. Evidently the Is'ra-el-ites needed more instruction, so when Mo'ses was called to the top of Mount Si'nai for the second forty day season with God he was told to build a house of worship for Is'ra-el. Complete details were given by the LORD concerning the size and shape of the building, the materials to be used, the furnishings to be placed within it, the outer court to be provided, and the altar to be placed before the entrance.
Thus the command to worship God, the set time for worship, the type of building to be erected for worship, and the forms of services to be rendered, all directly from the LORD.
The plans which God gave to Mo'ses for building a house of worship were intended to remove the temptation to bow down before idols. The LORD would provide for them a building which would remind them of His presence in Is'ra-el, and which at the same time would lead them away from the worship of graven images. He had taught them that the True God is a spirit, that He cannot be seen by the eyes of man, and that no graven image can give a true picture of the Divine. These truths would be kept before the people at all times in the building and furnishing of a house of worship.
The Is'ra-el-ites were living in tents at the time when the house of worship was built, and they were constantly moving from place to place. It was, therefore, necessary for the house of worship to be made somewhat like a tent, so that it could easily be taken down and carried as often as the Is'ra-el-ites moved to another encampment. For this reason the building was called a Tabernacle. It was to be the best tent in all the camp of Is'ra-el, made of the finest materials, furnished with the most costly equipment, and made as beautiful as possible. It must also be planned to meet the purposes of worship in the most adequate and complete manner.
The LORD directed that the Tabernacle be placed in the very center of the camp of the Is'ra-el-ites. The various tribes of Is'ra-el were to be arranged in an orderly manner, with their tents going back from the four sides of the court around the Tabernacle, and forming a great square with the house of God in the middle.
The open court in which the Tabernacle occupied the central spot was one hundred and fifty feet long and seventy-five feet wide. It was enclosed with curtains of fine linen, in brilliant colors, hanging upon posts of brass or copper. These posts were held in place by cords fastened to tent pins driven into the earth, and the height of the enclosure was between seven and eight feet. This court was always placed with its ends facing east and west, and its sides north and south, with an entrance in the center of the east side. Midway between the two sides, and about midway between the eastern entrance of the court and the east gate to the Tabernacle, there stood a special altar for burnt sacrifices.
