Visit to tabernacle

Report by Tony Barton

May 23rd was a Sunday with a difference when many of us went to Kirby Bedon to visit a replica of the Tabernacle, the Hebrew Tent of Meeting, set out in the grounds of Kirby House. Jill Gower and her team from Call to Prayer were there to greet us and Jill started by giving us a fascinating tour of the great tented enclosure created as nearly as possible to resemble the original Tabernacle that God commanded Moses to build (Exodus 25-30). Jill taught us about the Jewish roots of our Christian faith, as we moved on a journey from the outer court area, past the Altar of Sacrifice and into the Tent of Meeting where we paused to learn about the Table of Showbread, the seven-legged Lampstand and the Altar of Incense. Going in there was literally the curtain-raiser to the climax of our tour, for we passed through the drapes at the back of the Tent and entered the Holy of Holies, there to find a replica of the Ark of the Covenant.

What does all this mean for us as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ? Well, we believe that by his death and resurrection he made for us the perfect sacrifice for sin (the thing that separates us from fellowship with the holy God) - and this was something of which the Altar of Sacrifice vividly reminded us, having in its centre a dramatic Cross of Christ with the inscription "It is Finished". Jesus, our Great High Priest, has decisively completed the work of Aaron and his brothers and there is now no further need of animal sacrifice. As it says in Hebrews, we can draw near to the throne of grace with confidence because of what Jesus has done our behalf. Jill poured fresh light on many things as we stood in the Tent of Meeting but one thing that really spoke was how God tore in two the temple curtain from top to bottom when Jesus died.

The next part of our visit was a service of worship led by Nicholas which, like the tour, took us from outside the temple court to inside the Tent of Meeting for a telling celebration of Holy Communion on a Sunday when we were remembering the coming of the Holy Spirit at the first Pentecost.

Then the last hour or so of our visit was spent having a picnic and exploring the lovely garden of Kirby House, home to John and Susan Wright. What a hot day it was, but that was no problem for the children who romped around on the sloping lawns to their hearts content. All too soon it seemed it was time to go and the coach which had brought many of us in the morning returned us to St Luke's. It had been a day of fun and fellowship but it was mainly what we had learnt and experienced that made this visit to the Tabernacle so memorable.

Nicholas Vesey, 24/05/2010