Why the Tabernacle is a pattern for living

In short: The Tabernacle was the portable sanctuary Israel built in the wilderness to God's exact specifications. Hebrews calls it a copy and shadow of heavenly things, and Dr. Alex W. Ness's Pattern for Living reads its court, holy place and holiest of all, its furniture, priesthood, offerings and feasts, as a pattern of redemption and of how a believer approaches God.

What the Tabernacle was

After the exodus, God gave Moses the design for a tent sanctuary and told him to make it "according to the pattern shown you on the mountain" (Exodus 25:40). Roughly a third of Exodus is taken up with its construction. It had an outer court with the altar of sacrifice and the laver, a holy place with the lampstand, the table of showbread and the altar of incense, and the holiest of all, behind a veil, containing the Ark of the Covenant.

Why it is called a pattern

The writer of Hebrews says the priests served "a copy and shadow of the heavenly things" (Hebrews 8:5) and that Christ entered the true sanctuary of which the earthly one was a figure. Paul calls the believer's body a temple. The New Testament itself invites us to read the Tabernacle as a picture of Christ, of salvation, and of the believer's life. That invitation is the premise of Pattern for Living.

The path through the court

Dr. Ness follows the worshipper's path. The gate: one way in. The brazen altar: sacrifice first, because there is no approach to God without atonement. The laver: cleansing by the Word. Each station is matched with its New Testament fulfilment in Christ and its application in the believer's walk.

The holy place

The lampstand, the only light in a windowless room, pictures the Spirit and the Word. The table of showbread pictures fellowship and provision. The altar of incense, nearest the veil, pictures prayer and worship. Dr. Ness spends a chapter on each piece of furniture and on the materials they were made of, because the materials carried meaning: gold for deity, silver for redemption, brass for judgment.

The holiest of all

Behind the veil stood the Ark with its mercy seat, where blood was sprinkled once a year. The veil was torn from top to bottom when Christ died (Matthew 27:51). The book's treatment of the Ark of the Covenant is one of its longest sections and the reason many readers call it the best single study of the Tabernacle in print.

Priesthood, offerings, feasts

Pattern for Living does not stop at the building. It covers the high priest and his garments, the five offerings of Leviticus 1 to 7, and the seven feasts of Leviticus 23, each read as a stage in redemption and in the believer's experience. That breadth is why it runs to 492 pages.

Where to read it

Pattern for Living by Dr. Alex W. Ness was first published in 1979 and is kept in print by Moriah Publications, which holds the exclusive rights to his books. It is the anchor of the seven-book Dr. Alex W. Ness Collection.

Read next

• Pattern for Living by Dr. Alex W. Ness
• The Dr. Alex W. Ness Collection, 7 books
• About Dr. Alex W. Ness

Frequently asked

What does the Tabernacle represent?

The New Testament presents it as a copy and shadow of heavenly things and a picture of Christ's work. Pattern for Living reads each part as a stage in the believer's approach to God.

What does Pattern for Living cover?

The Tabernacle's structure and furniture, the priesthood, the five offerings, the seven feasts, the Ark of the Covenant, and Christ and the Church in the Tabernacle, across 492 pages.

Is it suitable for group study?

Yes. Its chapter structure follows the worshipper's path through the Tabernacle, which makes it easy to teach section by section.

Where can I buy Pattern for Living?

From Moriah Publications, the official publisher and only source of new copies, shipping from Canada.