"Then all the gifted artisans among them who worked on the tabernacle made ten curtains woven of fine linen, and of blue, purple, and scarlet thread" (Ex. 36:8a).
In the passage before us, we see an account of the building of the tabernacle that was first mentioned in chapter 25. We read about the fine linen, the scarlet thread, the blue yarn, the clasps of gold, and the acacia wood—all very expensive and ornate. Commentators throughout history have pondered the reason for the ornate design of the tabernacle, and various reasons have been given. Some believe the elaborate design of the tabernacle was necessary for the worship of God; the setting needed to fit the holiness and majesty of God. While no one would disagree that the majesty of God is certainly in view here, it doesn’t follow from this that such a setting is necessary—God’s people can worship Him appropriately without any outward adornments whatsoever. A case can even be made that people are more likely to avoid superstition and ritualism when the ornaments are removed from worship.
Others maintain that because the pagan cultures of that day worshiped their gods with much pomp, the true God could not be worshiped with any less. If the pagan cultures saw the Jewish people worshiping in a barn house, rather than in the pompous displays with which the pagans honored their gods, they might think little of Jehovah. But this reason doesn’t make sense in light of the many exhortations in Scripture directing God’s people to worship without any pomp at all, and even without any hewn rock, for the very reason that God wanted His people to be different from other nations, to worship without outward show, and to be sincere in their hearts.
John Calvin maintains that the ornate design of the tabernacle, the expense and the pomp, were arranged according to the spiritual pattern that had been shown to Moses on the mount (Ex. 25:40). Both Stephen and the apostle to the Hebrews reproved the people who continued to be wrapped up in external ceremonies (Acts 7:44; Heb. 8:5). These two witnesses confirm this teaching. According to their teaching, the tabernacle and everything with it were of no importance except insofar as they referred to the heavenly pattern of which they were shadows and images. Their entire purpose depended on the truth which they represented. The slaughter of an ox, for example, meant nothing, except in that it was a type of the sacrifice to come.
Why is it easy for people to make more of external ceremonies than they should? What is the danger of emphasizing external ceremonies, especially ornate ones? What does it mean to worship in spirit and in truth? Do you think you can worship anywhere at anytime? Read the verses below.