THEO 360
Name:
CASE STUDY: METANARRATIVE AND THE TABERNACLE TEMPLATE
1. Understanding the Tabernacle
A. I have read the Exodus 25-31 in one sitting. Highlight the correct answer:
oYes
oNo
B. After reading Exodus 25-31 note your initial observations of this passage in the chart
below.
Verse(s) Observations
Exodus
25:1-8
As I read the these first few verses, this brought back how the Bible begins to
explain the beginnings of what will become the first Church of its kind. As we’ve
previously learned, the Bible is God’s way of providing us with His story from
beginning to end and sheds light on what would become His way of re-establishing
our relationship with Him through His love, mercy, and through His Grace.
Exodus
29:38-
41
My observation in these verses is a reminder that God’s mercy is not about our
works, rather they are about obeying his commands to refrain from doing sinful
things. We see these throughout scripture and even into the New Testament.
Offerings to God is not because He needs it, but it is about us remaining faithful to
Him. Later we see that the sacrificing of the lamb becomes Christ Jesus and instead
of going to the tabernacle to pray, our bodies become a tabernacle as we have the
Holy Spirit that resides in us.
Exodus
3: 12-18
The Sabbath in which God speaks of now becomes a covenant that we are to
observe, hence why we worship on this day with others at Church. For the
Israelites, it was a command that God provided because He knew that they would
be tempted by external forces, which is why he put strong provisions around this.
The part in verse 15 is difficult because it refers that should someone work on the
Sabbath they should be put to death. This is a great example of “Time” as we speak
about historical context. Today, we could not fathom someone being put to death
for working on the Sabbath, and clearly in the New Testament, Jesus spoke about
this as he was chastised for this. Only God knows why the Old Testament had this
provision, but it was for a good reason.
THEO 360
C. Using your Bible and the chart of observations on Exodus 25-31 you have constructed
above, record the major facts of the passage. For this exercise you should not consult any
outside resource. You are simply writing down what you have observed in reading the
Scriptures.
i. Who (main characters in the narrative): Moses and God
ii. What are the circumstances: This was a time when God’s desire to establish His
relationship with His people, by building a sacred place that would be
transportable. It describes how to build the tabernacle and all that would dwell
within it, to include the Ark of the Covenant.
iii. Where (setting): In the wilderness and then ultimately to Mount Sinai where God
would present Moses with the tablets of the covenant.
iv. When (What section of the Old Testament and/or when in the history of Israel): Once
the Israelites left Egypt and crossed the Red Sea, God led them through the
wilderness when the events of Exodus 25-31 took place.
THEO 360
2. Symbolism, Metanarrative, and Cosmic Themes of the Tabernacle
A. Provide a definition of the Metanarrative of Scripture. You must interact with a minimum
of 1 academic source and include biblical references to support your findings. This
section should be one full paragraph (3-5 complete sentences).
Her is what Hamilton states on the metanarrative of scripture, “So the three parts of this book
can be put into three words: story, symbol, and church. There’s obviously more that could be
said about biblical theology, but these are the three things about the path to the bridge into
another world we’ll focus on here: the overarching metanarrative that is the Bible’s big story, the
way the biblical authors use key symbols to summarize and interpret that story, and the place of
the church in it.” The metanarrative of the Bible foretells of God’s purpose and meaning to us
all. While some would argue that it consists of two books, the Old and New Testament, Others
contend that it is one story from beginning to end. God even states this, “I am the Alpha and the
Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End,” Revelation 22:13 9NIV).
Johnson, Matthew T. 2023. "The Practical Application of Biblical Theology to Christian
Apologetics." Eleutheria: John W. Rawlings School of Divinity Academic Journal 7, (2).
THEO 360
B. In 300-500 words, discuss where you observe metanarrative themes in the Tabernacle.
You must interact with a minimum of 3 academic sources and include biblical references
to support your findings.
In understanding how the metanarrative of the Tabernacle demonstrates God’s greatness with
the rest of the Bible, we can first look to Adam and Eve. God’s desire to be with His creation is
evident in that he created mankind in His own image, “So God created mankind in his own
image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them,” Genesis 1:27
(NIV). Furthermore, Dent states, “In Genesis 1-2, Eden is the dwelling place of God, and God
commissions Adam and Eve to expand the boundaries of that dwelling place to fill the earth
(Gen 1:28). While God’s original call seemed to be thwarted by sin in Genesis 3, God continues
to establish his dwelling place among the patriarchs until the construction of the tabernacle and
temple. We also can see that during Abraham’s time, the metanarrative continues God’s love for
His creation, “Once known as Abram, this man was full of faith and he eventually became the
father of the nation of Israel. Whenever Abraham encountered God, his immediate response was
to build an altar and worship. By so doing, he remembered God’s provisions, promises, and
special manifestations.” [2]. It could be said that the first altar, on a much smaller scale was built
like the tabernacle. “The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring[a] I will give this
land.” So, he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him,” Genesis 12:7 (NIV). We
already know that during Moses’ time, God established this covenant with Him and the Israelites
to further fulfill the promise of being their God. “It is among all these instructions that a most
significant statement of the Lord is found, significant because it sets the tabernacle against the
background of the Abrahamic promises.” [3]. Lastly, we see this occur in the New Testament
with Jesus when he talks about the Holy Spirit. “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you
another advocate to help you and be with you forever the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept
him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and
will be in you,” John 14:16-17 (NIV). By now we can see that the metanarrative of the
tabernacle was only a part of the whole story. What a great God we serve.
[1] Dent, C. A. (2019). The Grand Narrative worldview: a narrative inquiry into the impact of
biblical metanarrative teaching in Liberty University’s School of Divinity Global Studies
program. Liberty University.
[2] Wilcox, Debra. The Story and the Song : Examining Worship in the Tabernacle in Relation to
the Gospel and Postmodern Evangelism. Lynchburg, Va: Liberty University, 2017.
[3] Patterns in the Old Testament Metanarrative: Human Attempts to Fulfill Divine Promises,
Westminster Theological Journal, 72.2 (2010), Pp. 237–249. Accessed September 16,
2024.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326534406_Patterns_in_the_Old_Testament_Me
tanarrative_Human_Attempts_to_Fulfill_Divine_Promises_Westminster_Theological_Jour
nal_722_2010_pp_237-249.
THEO 360
C. In 300-500 words, discuss how these principles (answered above) are observed in the
temple (Solomon’s or Zerubbabel’s temple) and the incarnation of Christ in the New
Testament. You must interact with a minimum of 3 academic sources and include biblical
references to support your findings.
When looking at King Solomon’s temple, it was a project that took over seven years to
construct. “Solomon’s temple is perhaps the most well-known, and well-studied, spatial
expression of royal power in the Hebrew Bible. Scholars have noted that awe-inspiring
architecture in the highest elevation of Jerusalem’s royal complex and a narrative about that
architecture as commissioned by Yahweh would have served to legitimize the Judahite monarchy
in the eyes of Jerusalem’s inhabitants.” [1]. During Moses’ time, and as mentioned above, the
tabernacle was made to be portable, since the Israelites moved within the wilderness until
reaching the promise land. During the time of King David, he moved the Ark to Jerusalem, but it
was Solomon who had established a temple larger than any prior that would hold the Ark of the
covenant in the Holy of Holies. “The architecture of the temple Solomon was divine as noted in
2 Chronicles, where King David instructed Solomon on the need for precision in the construction
of the temple, as its design blueprint was handed to him by God. [2]. The temple is not only a
historical place, but an important place for Jewish people then and in today’s world. Over the
centuries, the city of Jerusalem has seen peace and conflict. Throughout the centuries, and even
today, the city of Jerusalem has been a place where Jews and Palestinians have fought over.
“Jerusalem has been the only capital of the Jewish people in their history and is considered as the
holy city in Judaism. The Jewish meta-narrative tells of the yearning and longing of Jews in exile
for 2,000 years to return to Zion, to re-build Jewish Jerusalem and to resurrect the Jewish
Temple. [3]. In the New Testament we see that Jesus discusses the temple with his disciples, “As
Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher! What massive
stones! What magnificent buildings! Do you see all these great buildings?” replied Jesus. “Not
one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down, ” Mark 13:1-2 (NIV).
Jesus had spoken with the Pharisees and stated that the temple would be destroyed and rebuilt in
three days. He was referring to the stones and that the new covenant was that our bodies would
be the temple and that the Holy Spirit would reside within us, so that we can have a personable
relationship with God.
[1] Russell, Stephen C. Solomon’s Temple:OOn Space, Power, and Ancient Evidence. The King
and the Land: A Geography of Royal Power in the Biblical World /. New York, NY :
Oxford University Press, 2016.
[2] Architectural Review of King Solomon’s Temple, Jerusalem. Accessed September 16, 2024.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/337307166_Architectural_review_of_King_Solo
mon’s_Temple_Jerusalem.
[3] Reiter, Yitzhak. “Narratives of Jerusalem and Its Sacred Compound.” Israel Studies 18, no. 2
(2013): 115–32. https://doi.org/10.2979/israelstudies.18.2.115.
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