Dr Paul Allen

God also revealed His glory in the tabernacle (Ex. 40:34). The tabernacle included the holy of holies, which contained the ark of the covenant. On the top of the ark was the mercy seat, where the high priest sprinkled blood once a year as an atonement for the sins of the people. It was on the mercy seat that the Shekinah of God dwelt or tabernacled, for God said to Moses, “There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, I will speak to you about all that I will give you in commandment for the sons of Israel” (25:22). Another reminder to the people of God’s glory was the encampment of Israel during the forty years of wandering. Whenever the people stopped to set up camp, the priests were to be the closest to the tabernacle. Just beyond the priests were the Levitic families while the rest of the twelve tribes made up the outer ring. The tabernacle was located in the exact centre of the tribes.