(Exod. 26:1-6; 36:8-13).
These curtains were ten in number, each curtain being twenty-eight cubits long and four cubits broad. Pure white linen formed the ground-work on which the colors blue, purple, and scarlet were displayed, as also the highly significant hieroglyphic figures of the Cherubim. The colors were wrought by the wise-hearted women into the very texture of the linen and wrought by hand. The Cherubim were of special work and design (26:1). Both men and women lad their part in the preparation of the materials which formed the roof of God’s dwelling place.
Those pure linen curtains are termed “one Tabernacle”, (verse 6). The goats’ hair curtains are spoken of as one Tent (verse 11). The rams’ skins dyed red, and badgers’ skins are termed “coverings” (verse 14). Thus the curtains and coverings are respectively termed, Tabernacle, Tent, and coverings.
The beautiful embroidered curtains were hid from all outside by the goats’ hair curtains which covered them completely. The beauties of those innermost set of curtains could only be viewed by the priests in the Tabernacle. Neither the curtains, nor the gold covered boards of the Tabernacle could be seen by an outsider. Then the goats’ hair curtains were protected by the coverings of rams’ skins, and the yet rougher material of the badger skin.
The exterior of the sacred edifice was in marked contrast to the interior. To anyone standing on the surrounding heights and looking down upon the Tabernacle standing within its court and protected on all sides, it must have had a mysterious significance. The utter absence of all pretension to beauty and ornament, so unlike the showy and even gorgeous temples of the heathen, must have struck the observer with surprise. What met the eye was the rough, coarse grained skin of the badger, which however effectually protected the sacred building from external harm and injury. Inside, the rough sands of the desert formed the floor of God’s dwelling, the sides were of purest gold, while the hand-wrought, parti-colored curtains with cherubic figures embroidered in the pure white linen, formed the ceiling.