We've been studying the ancient Hebrew Tabernacle. When Moses led the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt to the desert (in preparation for taking their Holy Land), God gave specific instructions for setting up a place of worship for Himself. It was a 45 foot long enclosed area where the people would offer animals to the priests to sacrifice to atone for their sins. That's an oversimplification, but you can read a little more about it below:

Our completed model will look like this

We visited a full-size reproduction of it in Lancaster last week.

Shown here are the common people placing their hands on the heads of the animals as an act of transferring their sins to them:

This is the priest sacrificing the blameless animal on behalf of the common man:

This is the priest washing his hands after the sacrifice as a symbol that he is clean both inside and outside:

This is a rendition of how the Hebrews camped around the Tabernacle. It is estimated that 2 million (600,000+ adult men and their families) lived in the desert in this way. The Holy Spirit led them by cloud by day and by fire by night.

When Jesus came, He allowed Himself to be sacrificed on our behalf, the everlasting atonement for our sins. When we put ourselves under His Lordship, the Holy Spirit lives in us, guiding us through life. Email me if you want to learn more.