Paradise To Promiseland Book Review

Part I

In Part two of From Paradise to the Promised Land, T.D. Alexander uses chapters fifteen and sixteen to describe the themes of God’s desire to be amongst His creation and His desire for them to be holy. The tabernacle, later replaced by the temple, plays a great part in this process because it was constructed to become the dwelling place of the Lord. No man was allowed permission to commune with God unless he repented of his sins by way of sacrifice. The Israelites had to become holy just as the Lord is holy. Exodus is generally divided into three parts and its final third is where the construction takes place.

Because the people of Moses lived in tents, this was the basic floor plan of the tabernacle. The Lord gave instruction as to how the Israelites were to build His "home" so that it may be set apart from the rest. The tabernacle was to depict a thought of royalty. It was covered in fine linens, silver, gold, bronze, yarn, and other fine materials. Interestingly enough, the instructions occur in order of importance rather than in the order of the actual fulfillment. The Israelites followed the Lord’s request down to the letter just as it was given unto Moses. "Exodus ends in a dramatic fashion by describing how God’s glory filled the tabernacle ‘on the first day of the first month in the second year’ (40:17) just in time for the people to celebrate the first anniversary of their deliverance from Egypt."

In addition to setting the tabernacle apart through the perception of a form of royalty, the Israelites had to also maintain a holy atmosphere at all times. Moses constructed a courtyard that surrounded the tabernacle with only one entrance located on the eastern side. Everything contained within the courtyards was considered holy and only those made holy through sacrifice and repentance were allowed to enter. Alexander moves from Exodus to Leviticus as he enters the topic of holiness. Here is where the Lord stresses the importance of being made holy and the consequences of entering His presence without doing so. The courtyard was divided into three areas, each containing a different status of holiness. The Israelites could enter the courtyard, the priest could enter the ‘Holy Place,’ and the high priest was the only one allowed to enter the ‘Holy of Holies.’ Moses was considered holy and righteous so he was therefore the mediator between God and His people.