326: Sanctuary — Entering the Mishkan

BEMA Episode Link: 326: Sanctuary — Entering the Mishkan
Episode Length: 1:11:53
Published Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2023 01:00:00 -0700
Session 6
About this episode:

Marty Solomon and Brent Billings are back with Josh Bossé to consider the boundaries established for the tabernacle and the love hidden within them.

Presentation for Sanctuary — Entering the Mishkan (PDF)

Symbolism of the Biblical World by Othmar Keel

Inspiration and Incarnation by Peter Enns

Join the BEMA Slack

Notes

*Note: The following notes are handwritten by me, Adam, and I reserve the right to be wrong.

Title & Source Summary

Episode: 326 — The Tabernacle Project: Day Two, Boundaries and the Door of Love
Hosts: Marty Solomon and Brent Billings, with guest Josh Bosse
Focus: Genesis 1:6–8 (the second day of creation) and Exodus 26 (the tabernacle curtains, frames, veil, and entrance screen)

This episode continues the “tabernacle project,” which reads the building instructions for the mishkan (tabernacle) alongside the days of creation. Josh Bosse starts with day two. On that day God separates water from water with a “vault” or “expanse” (raqia) and names it “sky” or “heavens” (shamayim). It is the only one of the six days that God does not call “good.” Josh argues that this boundary works less like a wall and more like a door: a separation meant to be crossed, and crossed through love. He then reads Exodus 26 through the same lens. The tabernacle’s layered coverings, gold clasps, upright frames, inner veil, and entrance screen all divide space, yet the text says the tabernacle is to be “one” (echad). The hosts argue that the tabernacle’s boundaries are an act of love. They let people come into God’s presence at a pace they can handle, and they set up a cycle of going in to God and coming back out to serve, much like water rising and falling as rain.

Key Takeaways

Day two is unusual. It is the only day not called “good,” and it is the only separation where both sides are the same thing: water from water. On the other days, God separates opposites such as light and darkness or land and sea.
The Ramban’s warning. Nachmanides (the Ramban) said those who understand day two should not teach it, and those who don’t should not ask. Marty suspects the warning was meant to make people curious.
The vault is a process. The text says God made (asah) the expanse. The verb suggests work that takes time, unlike the instant “let there be… and there was” of day one. God is still working on this boundary.
The boundary is a door, not a wall. Water keeps passing between the waters above and below as rain and evaporation. The expanse separates the way a border does, not the way a sealed container does.
Waters can stand for people. Water naturally clings to itself. Separating it is like human isolation: we start out lonely and cut off, and connecting with others takes work.
God stands in the middle, not at the top. In a vertical order with fresh water above and chaotic water below, God is found in the “heavens,” the space between them, where the door is being built.
Love takes us through the door. We have to cross over ourselves. We “fall like rain” when we love first, give to those in need, and look past our own tribe.
The tabernacle is divided yet one. Exodus 26 has layer on layer of separation, but the gold clasps make the tabernacle echad, “one” or “a unit.”
Boundaries in the tabernacle are loving. People can’t take in all of God at once. The divided spaces let people meet God’s presence at the level they are ready for.
Hospitality comes before mystery. The outer room, with the lamp and the table, is about giving others light and bread. The inner room, with the ark, holds the “heavy” mysteries and testimonies. Pulling people straight into the Holy of Holies is overwhelming, not loving.
Don’t take shortcuts in discipleship. A conversion-focused culture that values speed can blur God’s light until it looks like darkness.

Main Concepts & Theories

1. The Structure of Day Two (Genesis 1:6–8)

Josh reads each creation day by asking three things: what material God is working with, how God acts on it, and what comes out of it.

Material: Water, and only water, on both sides of the division.
God’s actions:
1. God speaks: “Let there be a vault.”
2. God makes (asah) the vault. The verb implies work carried out over time, in contrast to the instant, “carved-out” sense of bara (“create”).
3. God separates the waters below from the waters above.
4. God names the vault shamayim, “sky” or “heavens.” This is the same word used for heaven, where God dwells.
What’s missing: The text never says “God saw that it was good.” Rabbinic tradition explains this by saying that separating something from itself (water from water) is not yet good. The division is left unfinished and waits to be resolved.

2. The Expanse as a Leaky Boundary

The Hebrew raqia suggests something hammered out thin, as in metalwork. This craftsmanship language ties in with the tabernacle’s own emphasis on skilled work.
Ancient observers knew there was water “up there” because rain fell. The boundary is obviously porous.
The border analogy: The expanse does not work like the compartments on a divided plate. It works like a line between states or countries, which marks a difference but can still be crossed.
What a door is: It separates two spaces, but it is meant to be walked through. Marty put it this way: “The door doesn’t just separate; the door also grants access.”

3. The Waters as a Picture of Human Separation

Josh gives two readings:

Individual (modern, Western) reading: Each of us is isolated inside our own head. We can’t read each other’s minds, and sharing our hearts is hard. Loneliness is where we start.
Communal (ancient) reading: The waters below are the abyss: salty, dangerous, and often undrinkable. The waters above are fresh and life-giving. This matches the gap between those who have and those who lack. Egypt, for example, had the Nile and didn’t need rain, while others waited on the sky.
Where we are called: Be the rain. Take the first step in relationships, give love before receiving it, and share what you have with people across the “firmament.”

4. God in the Middle of the Hierarchy

The division on day two runs up and down, not side to side, which suggests a ranking.
We might expect God to sit at the top. Instead, God is found in the heavens, the in-between space where the waters meet.
God stands at the doorway between the powerful and the powerless and keeps building and repairing the door. Josh says this theme returns strongly on day five.

5. Exodus 26: Coverings, Clasps, and Oneness

Element	Description	Day Two Reading
Inner curtains	10 curtains of fine linen in blue, purple, and scarlet, with cherubim woven in	Covering: it separates above from below
Gold clasps (50)	Join the two sets of five curtains	Gold links back to the ark, table, and lampstand (day one tools), which are what bind people together
Goat-hair curtains	11 curtains with bronze clasps, and an overhang at the back	Another layer of separation
Ram skins and durable leather	Outer coverings	Practical protection: insulation and weatherproofing
Upright frames	Acacia wood overlaid with gold	Set up “according to its mishpat”

“So that the tabernacle will be one”: The literal Hebrew is that the tabernacle becomes echad, “one” or “whole.” The separations exist for the sake of unity, just as the water cycle keeps the planet’s water unified and clean.
The woven cherubim: Cherubim carry God’s presence and are sometimes pictured as God’s throne or chariot. Marty wondered whether keruv (cherub) and rakhav (to ride, chariot) are related. Josh said the words are close, and he recalled rabbinic notes linking them as anagrams. Looking up at the woven ceiling tells you that God’s presence is here.

6. Mishpat Instead of Tavnit

Earlier, the instructions said to build “according to the pattern” (tavnit) shown on the mountain. For the frames, the text instead says “according to its mishpat,” a word usually translated “justice” or “judgment.”
Josh’s short reading: the upright frames hold the whole structure up, and being upright is necessary for the whole system to work.
On a cultural level, the frames echo ancient Near Eastern cosmology, where pillars hold up the vault of the heavens. The tabernacle is a small model of creation.

7. The Veil and the Entrance Screen

The veil (parochet) separates the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. It is made like the inner covering, with cherubim woven in.
The entrance screen separates the outside from the inside of the tent.
The ark and atonement cover go behind the veil. The table stands on the north side and the lampstand on the south, outside the veil.
There are divisions inside divisions, a kind of fractal pattern of separation. All of them can be read as doors.

8. The Cycle: In, Cleansed, Out

Water cycle: Water evaporates, is purified, and falls again to nourish the ground. Rain that stays in the sky does nothing.
Tabernacle cycle: Priests go in and come back out, sprinkling blood toward the veil and eating holy meals. On Yom Kippur, the sin that had built up is carried into the holiest place and the whole system is cleansed.
Brent’s summary: “We pass through heaven, we pass through God’s presence, we are cleansed, and then we return to the earth to nourish it.” Josh added: to do mishpat.
Warning: If the priests just stay inside the tent, the system breaks down. Marty says this is what Jesus criticizes in the temple system of his day.
Atonement (kippur) means a covering, a separation from sin, yet it brings unity and cleansing.

9. Two Rooms: Mystery and Ministry

Marty put the division of the tent this way:

The inner room (ark): Darkness, mystery, transcendence, the “bigness” of God. It holds our testimonies and the heavy things we carry to God.
The outer room (lampstand and table): Ministry, hospitality, and generosity. Here we take light and bread out to people who are in darkness.

Josh applies this to evangelism:

Many believers were taught to lead with the “Holy of Holies” material: “God is everywhere, can’t you feel it?” People who lack those experiences can’t connect with that.
Telling someone who is suffering that “God is in all of it” can wrongly tie God to their darkness. On day one, God tied himself to light.
The Hebrew word for glory, kavod, also means “heavy.” Glory can be a weight. People first need bread and light, which is milk before meat.
When the menorah is lit, someone in the outer room already sees cherubim and gold and knows they are in God’s house. They don’t have to be behind the veil to know that.

10. Resisting Binary, Efficiency-Driven Faith

Western culture, shaped by Hellenistic thinking and capitalism, pushes toward binaries such as lost/saved and in/out, and toward speed.
Josh recalls being taught to keep five-minute, two-minute, and thirty-second versions of his testimony, the “elevator pitch” approach to conversion.
The tabernacle shows no interest in speed. It cares that the encounter is genuine. Jesus warned: “If the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness” (Matthew 6:23).
Rain doesn’t fall “just enough.” It gives all of itself.
The process isn’t static. We also move between the spaces, sometimes withdrawing into God’s heavy presence and sometimes going out to share bread.

Examples & Applications

A border you can cross: State lines are often just painted lines or signs. They mark a difference without blocking traffic. Day two’s boundary works the same way.
The water cycle as a picture of discipleship: Seawater is salty and undrinkable. When it evaporates, the salt stays behind, and the water comes back as fresh rain. Drawing near to God (rising) and then serving others (falling) works like that purification.
Loneliness today: Many people describe feeling deeply isolated even while constantly connected online. Josh’s point is that we start out separated, but God is always building a door, and love is how we go through it.
Freshly baked bread: Josh invites listeners to picture specific faces and ask how they could make God’s presence as nourishing as a warm loaf. That means practical, tangible care with the “yeast” of the kingdom hidden inside.
Discipleship tiers in Jesus’ ministry: Peter, James, and John had the closest access, as at the Transfiguration. Then came the Twelve, then the wider group of followers, such as the seventy-two in Luke 10. Josh compares this to the priests and the different Levite clans, each with its own tasks in the tabernacle. Every level had a place, and all of it was one body.
The rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19–31): Marty points out that the “great chasm” doesn’t stop conversation, so it works almost like a door. Josh adds that in life, Lazarus lay at the rich man’s gate, as close to the door as he could get, and the rich man stepped over him. In death, the rich man still wants someone else to cross over to him and bring water.
Two-by-fours: Modern lumber labeled “2×4” isn’t actually 2 by 4 inches. Readers a thousand years from now might be confused, just as we puzzle over tabernacle measurements that were probably clear to the original audience.
Tabernacle models and sacred copying: Exodus 30 forbids reproducing the holy anointing oil and incense for ordinary use. Some rabbinic practice adds or changes an ingredient to avoid an exact copy. Brent suggests that small inaccuracies in the episode’s tabernacle diorama might be intentional for the same reason.

Potential Areas for Further Exploration

The Ramban on Genesis 1:6–8: What did Nachmanides mean by his warning about day two, and why is day two not called “good”?
Asah vs. bara: How do the Hebrew verbs for “make” and “create” work across Genesis 1–2 and the tabernacle instructions?
Ancient Near Eastern cosmology: Othmar Keel, The Symbolism of the Biblical World (on imagery in the Psalms), and Peter Enns, Inspiration and Incarnation (with a diagram of the vault and pillars of heaven). Both were recommended in the episode.
Mishpat vs. tavnit in Exodus 25–26: Why does the vocabulary change for the upright frames?
Cherubim in Scripture: Their role as bearers of God’s presence (Ezekiel 1 and 10; Psalm 18:10; 2 Samuel 22:11) and possible links to rakhav (chariot or riding).
The golden altar of incense: Its location relative to the veil (compare Exodus 30:6 with Hebrews 9:3–4). The series plans to link it to day six.
Talmudic debate on the ark and its cover: Are they one object or two? The debate turns on how Moses anointed them.
Day five and the priesthood: Josh’s teaching on why priests who stay inside the tent are a problem, which the series promises to develop later.
Creation as an allegory for Israel’s formation: Jewish readings that treat Genesis 1 as a picture of God forming his people, and the tradition of allegorical reading (e.g., Philo).
New Testament temple theology: Believers as the temple (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19), Pentecost as a “mini-Sinai,” and Jesus as the firstborn of a new creation (Colossians 1:15–18).
Yom Kippur and kippur: Atonement as a covering that both separates and unites (Leviticus 16).
Exodus 26 details not covered: Cardinal directions, the number of frames, the silver bases, and the bronze clasps on the goat-hair layer.

Comprehension Questions

What makes the second day of creation different from the other days, and how does rabbinic tradition explain why God did not call it “good”?
Why does Josh say the expanse (shamayim) works more like a door than a wall, and what does that suggest about how God wants separated people to relate to each other?
In Exodus 26, what joins the two sets of inner curtains, and why is it significant that the text says the tabernacle will become “one” (echad)?
How do the hosts connect the water cycle to the movement of priests in and out of the tabernacle, including Yom Kippur? What goes wrong if the “rain” stays in the sky?
According to Marty and Josh, what do the inner room (ark) and the outer room (lampstand and table) represent, and why is it unloving to pull people straight into the “Holy of Holies”?

Personalized Summary

This episode recasts separation as an invitation. Day two, when God divides water from water and names the space between them “heavens,” reads like a picture of the loneliness everyone starts with. Josh’s key point is that the boundary is a door, God is working on it, and God stands in the middle of it rather than above it. We go through that door only by crossing over to love someone else, falling like rain on dry ground.

Exodus 26 makes the same point in the tabernacle’s structure. There are layers of coverings, a veil, and an entrance screen, yet everything is fastened together with gold so the tabernacle is one. The boundaries don’t keep people out. They make room for everyone to meet God at the level they are ready for. The practical challenge is to lead with the outer room, meaning light and bread, hospitality and real care, and to save the heavy mysteries for when they are needed. It also means resisting the fast, binary style of faith that dims God’s light, and moving between the spaces ourselves: going in to be cleansed and coming out to nourish others.

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S6 326: Sanctuary — Entering the Mishkan

Inviting People into the Tent [1:11:53]