Tabernacle

“The Tabernacle of the Law of God” was a major theme in the second part of the Kebra. This symbol of Ethiopian faith was a physical symbol, as needed in all religions. Religions are mostly based on non tangible things, or ideas, that can only be imagined or believed in. For this reason they make physical symbols such as “The Tabernacle of the Law of God”, the Holy Cross, or the Star of David to represent and remind us of unearthly things. This reading points out not only how important the spiritual meaning behind these objects is, but also the physical objects them selves. Every time the Tabernacle is mentioned it has the phrase “of the Law of God” proceeding it, which shows that it isn’t just physically important symbol but also a representation of God and his Commandments.

Another part of the reading that illustrates the important ideas behind the Tabernacle is; most of the instances where we see the Tabernacle something like “Our Lady, they holy, heavenly Zion” directly precedes it (85). This is to constantly remind the people that it isn’t only the physical Tabernacle that is being written about or emphasized. Although the Kebra emphasizes the Tabernacle, it also mentioned the symbols and gods associated with other religions such as those of Egypt. It stated, when Solomon went looking for the Tabernacle he asked the Egyptians if they had seen the Tabernacle and they said “when these men came into the land of Egypt , our gods and the gods of the King fell down, and were dashed in pieces, and the tower of the idols were likewise broken into fragments (89) .” This again shows the power of the Tabernacle but also emphasizes that other Religions have idols or symbols that are equally important to them. This statement suggests that because the Egyptians didn’t only mention the idols being broken but also mentioned that the gods they represented had also fallen.

The last part of the Kebra strengthened the importance of the symbol because King Solomon followed the Ethiopians and Tabernacle because of the physical importance to his people. More importantly, the people from Israel realized that they were not just following an object but an idea. The idea of God, is what they were striving to recover but already had in themselves. They then realized that this object would give many others an opportunity to experience God through the Tabernacle. Even though one of their most important symbols was lost they could go back to the Holy land which in itself was a very important symbol.