Having described how to build the ark for God to sit on and the table for God's food to sit on, it was time to describe the actual tabernacle. The tabernacle, God said, should be made from ten fine linen curtains of blue, purple, and scarlet, with cherubims stitched in them, made by someone who really knew how to embroider cherubims. If the curtains just had some lame stick figures with wings, God was going to be seriously pissed, in a smitey sort of way.

Each curtain should be 28 cubits long by 4 cubits wide (for conversion factors, see Exodus 25). These curtains should be stitched together in two groups, five in each group. Then, 50 blue loops should be sewn into the edge of each group, in such a way that the two groups could be joined together using those loops. 50 golden tacks should be made to fasten these two curtain sections together so that God could have some private time in his tabernacle when he was feeling particularly vulnerable.

God further instructed that 11 curtains of goat hair should be made, each 30x4 cubits in area. In this case, five would be sewn into one group and six into another. Similar to the linen curtains, 50 loops and 50 tacks should be used to join the two sections. These curtains should surround the tabernacle In a tent-like structure, with the excess material hanging off the back and sides of the tabernacle, to provide more coverage. Then, a covering of ram and badger skins should be made to cover the tent of goat skin. One might question why God felt the need to have three layers of coverings over his ark, and one might further wonder if God might change his mind on this point after experiencing a summer in the Middle East inside a linen, goat, badger, and ram tent. One might also shut the hell up and let God finish designing his dream house.

God then moved on to the wood frame of the tent, which he instructed to be built out of the previously gathered shittim wood, cut in boards 10 cubits long by 1.5 cubits wide. The north and south sides of the tabernacle would be made from 20 of these boards, and the east and west side from six of them. These all end up being joined together in a complicated structure involving silver sockets and non-silver tenons, and overlaid in gold, and eventually you end up with a tabernacle.

Finally, a blue, purple, and scarlet veil of fine linens with cherubim accents should be made and hung on four pillars of gold-plated wood on gold hooks set into four silver sockets. The vail should go in the innermost area of the tabernacle, separating the "holy" place from the "most holy" place. The "most holy" place is where the ark goes. The table would go outside the vail, with the candlestick (see Exodus 25) against the south side of the table, with the table being on the north side of the tabernacle.

So, to put it in terms of a normal house, the "holy" place is like God's entertaining area, sort of the family room and dining room, perhaps the kitchen. The "most holy" place is more like God's private set of rooms, like a master bedroom and master bathroom, making the "mercy seat" sort of like God's private toilet. From this, we can deduce it is called a "mercy seat" because that's what people cry for when God is finished using it.

Finally, another embroidered linen curtain should be made for the door of the tent, and hung on pillars of wood with gold hooks in brass sockets.

If you wish to build your own tabernacle and are unsatisfied with the level of detail in this guide, please refer to old videos of This Old Tabernacle on PBS.