The Exodus. Day 100, The Courtyard Of The Tabernacle

The tabernacle is to have its own courtyard and this enclosure will be fenced off by linen hangings attached to bronze pillars. We've seen this enclosure pictured in the diagrams we've studied of the tabernacle but until now we haven't discussed the courtyard. I'm inserting an up-close artist's illustration of what the enclosure may have looked like.

"Make a courtyard for the tabernacle. The south side shall be a hundred cubits long and is to have curtains of finely twisted linen, with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases and with silver hooks and bands on the posts. The north side shall also be a hundred cubits long and is to have curtains, with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases and with silver hooks and bands on the posts. The west end of the courtyard shall be fifty cubits wide and have curtains, with ten posts and ten bases. On the east end, toward the sunrise, the courtyard shall also be fifty cubits wide." (Exodus 27:9-13) The courtyard is to be rectangular, with the north and south sides twice as long as the east and west sides.

Up until the reign of King Solomon, the Israelites worshiped at this tabernacle. This is the courtyard the writers of the Psalms spoke about in their songs. "Blessed are those You choose and bring to live in Your courts!" (Psalm 65:4) "My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God....Better is one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked." (Psalm 84:2,10) "Ascribe to the Lord the glory due to His name; bring an offering and come into His courts." (Psalm 96:8) "Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name." (Psalm 100:4)

The opening to the courtyard will be on the eastern side, the same side as the opening to the tabernacle. This side will have special curtains. "Curtains fifteen cubits long are to be on one side of the entrance, with three posts and three bases, and curtains fifteen cubits long are to be on the other side, with three posts and three bases. For the entrance to the courtyard, provide a curtain twenty cubits long, of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen---the work of an embroiderer----with four posts and four bases." (Exodus 27:14-16) We don't know exactly what these colorful embroidered curtains looked like but below is an image that may help us to picture in our minds the entrance to the courtyard.

All the materials used to hold the entrance curtains and the enclosure curtains must match. Everything about the tabernacle is to be symmetrical and harmonious. "All the posts around the courtyard are to have silver bands and hooks, and bronze bases. The courtyard shall be a hundred cubits long and fifty cubits wide, with curtains of finely twisted linen five cubits high, and with bronze bases. All the other articles used in the service of the tabernacle, whatever their function, including all the tent pegs for it and those for the courtyard, are to be of bronze." (Exodus 27:17-19)

God is the God of order, not chaos. The temple complex will reflect that. Everything about it is orderly. Everything about it goes together beautifully. Imagine how distracting a time of worship would be if all the articles and furnishings of the tabernacle complex were a hodgepodge of colors and materials that didn't match. A thing like that could take a person's attention off what he came to do. The God of order and peace (1 Corinthians 14:33) wants order and peace in His house. He wants beauty, functionality, and symmetry. The tabernacle complex must be a space where a person can reflect upon the beauty of the Lord and His holy word, a place of refuge from the chaos of the outside world, and a place where nothing distracts the heart and mind from worship.