Here are three more meaningful differences between the tabernacle’s design and the temple’s.
There was a “vestibule in front of the sanctuary of the house…And…windows with beveled frames. Against the wall of the temple he built chambers all around” (1 Ki 6:3-5). The tabernacle knew nothing of a vestibule, or windows, or chambers. What could it all mean? The welcoming vestibule on the front (20 cubits long x 10 cubits deep, v 3) was bracketed by two pillars, so special they had their own names! One called Jachin meant “He will establish,” and the other, Boaz, meant “In Him is strength” (7:21). Made of bronze—a symbol of judgment—the pillars were 18 ft in circumference and 27 ft tall. You could hardly miss them! Since this was the only approach to God’s dwelling, it isn’t difficult to see the meaning. Only “the Way” to the Father ( Jn 14:6) could establish a righteous entry for us AND then also sustain us by His strength so that nothing could ever bar our access to God. We’ll think more of them later. But now the beveled windows. The tabernacle declared that all the light came from within. Will it be different in heaven? Does heaven have windows? Well, yes, we read of them three times, once in judgment (Gen 7:11), once in blessing (Mal 3:10), and the other mingling judgment and blessing (2 Ki 7:2, 19). But in each case, the movement is from heaven through those symbolic windows out to earth. In addition, there were three floors of cantilevered chambers, growing larger as they moved up. Is this what Jesus had in mind when He said, “In My Father’s house are many [dwelling places]” (Jn 14:2)? Peeking ahead, we discover their occupants: “the singers,…who…were free from other duties; for they were employed in that work day and night” (1 Chron 9:33). Say, how soon can we move in?