Moses and the Children of Israel Had a Portabe Temple

Purpose: To teach that even in the wilderness a temple was important to the Lord.

Resources: Bible Dictionary, "Tabernacle" and "Temple"

Definitions: Laver, Exodus 30:18-21
Altar to burn incense upon, Exodus 30:1-5
Shewbread table, Exodus 25:25-30; 37:10-16
Brazen altar, Exodus 27:1-7
Lampstand, Exodus 25:31-39
Rod of Aaron-Tribe of Levi, Numbers 17:8
Ark of the Covenant, Exodus 37:1-15, 25:16
Pot of manna, Hebrews 9:4
Cherubim decorating the veil, Exodus 26:31-33

Brief Description: (Could tell in your own words)

When the children of Israel were led out of Egypt by Moses, they made a covenant to be obedient to the Lord. The Lord, in turn, revealed to Moses exactly how he should build the temporary temple. Since they would be required to continue to move through the wilderness, it was necessary that this be portable. It was, however, just as sacred and important to the Lord, and the same ordinances that were done later in Solomon's temple were performed in this portable tabernacle.

This was not just a primitive tent but a portable structure built to specifications the Lord gave through revelation to Moses. These required special measurements be met, the finest cloth be used and embroidered, and gold be provided to cover many of the objects.

When set up, this formed a structure that was very similar in design to the great temple of Solomon that was later built in Jerusalem, although it was much smaller, of course. It formed a large rectangular enclosure (approximately 75 feet by 150 feet), with the gate or front door always facing east. The area just inside the gate was called the Court of the Congregation. Beyond that was the Altar of Burnt Offering where the majority of all sacrifices were burned. Next came the Laver, which was a large bronze water basin where the priests washed prior to performing the ordinances.

There was a tent after that which formed a room where the Lampstand stood to give light. This was made exactly as the Lord instructed with seven lights. In Hebrew it was called a Menorah and was said to represent the seven periods of creation (also representing perfection). Also in this room was the Shewbread Table on which were kept the 12 loaves of unleavened bread to remind the Israelites of the Passover.

The Altar of Incense was similar to the Shewbread Table but was not covered in gold. The burning of incense on the hot coals was symbolic of the prayers of the righteous ascending to heaven. This altar stood directly in front of the veil, which separated it from the Holy of Holies. The veil was elaborately decorated with cherubim, who represented the angels guarding the Holy of Holies.

The only object in the Holy of Holies was the Ark of the Covenant. This area was designated as the most sacred of the entire tabernacle. The ark contained the second set of plates give to Moses by God, the Rod of Aaron that budded (signifying the Priesthood authority of the Tribe of Levi), and a pot of manna. It was a continual reminder of the coming atonement of the Savior.

Possible Ideas:

You could make up word strips with the names of the objects found in the Portable Tabernacle and explain each of them to the younger children.

The older children could look up the scriptural references in order to define objects or areas within the Portable Tabernacle.

The children could be read the description of the tabernacle or specific objects and try to draw a picture of what they think it might have looked like. 

For younger children, objects could be drawn or illustrated that they could color and take home to tell their families about Moses and the portable tabernacle in the desert.

The older children could figure out how large things were based on a cubit being approximately 17 1/2 inches. They could see how the tabernacle might compare to our church building and discuss the difficulty in moving this across the desert.

You could create a crossword puzzle or word search using the words which were defined at the beginning.