Sea cow hides turn up in Exodus 25:1-9 for what might be the first shopping list recorded in history:
The Lord said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for me from each man whose heart prompts him to give. These are the offerings you are to receive from them: gold, silver and bronze; blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair; ram skins dyed red and hides of sea cows; acacia wood; olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece.
“Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you."
Moses has been on Mt. Sinai with the Lord for forty days receiving detailed instructions for two main things:
1) The Law, instructions for living and worship, which will be the cornerstone for much of the western world's justice system for thousands of years.
2) Blue prints for construction of the tabernacle, God's own dwelling place with man on earth. In the history of blue prints and architectural drawings, this set is arguably the most important among millions of buildings. Because, you know, this is the house for the Almighty Sovereign Lord of the Universe.
But sandwiched between these two monumental set of instructions to Moses, God slips in a shopping list. I'm picturing a dad handing over the minivan keys to his 16 year old son on the way to the grocery store, "Ok Moses, we need gold, silver, bronze, flour, sugar, milk, eggs, sea cow hides..."
And then Moses looks up from scribbling on the back of his envelope.
"Sea Cow Hides??? Seriously???" God nods.
This has always been a chin-scratcher for me. I understand the gold and silver, because you want the living place of God to be dazzling. But sea cow hides? Really? Maybe it has some amazing water-repellent qualities, or wicks moisture, or is super tough. Or maybe God just cracks up at this funky cow/whale/vacuum machine creature as some inside joke with the Trinity.
God intended the sea cow hides to be coverings for some of the holy things of the tabernacle during transport through the desert. So if not an inside joke then I think that sea cows are small link in a huge chain of the theme of coverings in the Bible. Here's just a quick survey of the theme.
Covering After the Fall
One of the first acts of Adam and Eve after the fall was to cover their nakedness (Gen 3:7). Using fig leaves, they sewed together a covering. My guess is that "leaves" are more than a few points lower than sea cow hide on the covering quality scale (CQS). Later, after the curses and consequences were meted out for their sin, God gives them an upgrade in their coverings and makes new ones out of animal skins (Gen 3:21).
Covering in the Desert
When God delivered Israel from Egypt He instructed Moses to build a tabernacle where His holy presence could dwell among a sinful, rebellious nation. In a sense, the tabernacle (along with the elaborate complex of rituals) was a protective covering so that the Israelites would not get torched by the glory of God's presence. Perhaps like heavenly oven mitts to keep the people from getting burned by the all consuming fire. The sea cow hides were just one image of this as the holy thing were set apart, sanctified, by being covered.
But I think that the tabernacle was not just a protective covering for the sake of the safety of the people, but also a picture of God's desire to be wrapped in the people He loves. God surrounded Himself in the desert with tribes of Israelites encamped all around. From the perspective of God, it looks like He is covering Himself with people like a cloak. A filthy, stained garment, but one that He will be making new and cleansing white as snow.
Covering of the Incarnation
In the incarnation, God the Son took on a human nature. Jesus was more than just God in a body. He became fully human while still being fully God. But God took on a covering of flesh and blood, he tabernacled among us in while he walked the earth. We need to be careful because there are a thousand errors to easily fall into when discussing the incarnation. If you put a sandwich into a Tupperware container, the two are still distinct. When Jesus was born, he wasn't just covered with flesh and bones like Saran Wrap, he actually BECAME human while still retaining his divinity.
But there is still a theme of covering: Jesus' glory was veiled, his kingly majesty was covered with humility, his glorious power was hidden beneath his role of suffering servant.
Covering on the Cross
On the cross Jesus took on our sin as a cruel, torturous covering. The sins of all people for all time for all places was placed on him. Then he was covered with the wrath of God to atone for our sin. He was covered with his own blood, shed for our redemption.
Covering of the Holy Spirit
After Jesus returned to his glory at the resurrection, the Father sent the Holy Spirit to live in our hearts. Christians become the temple of the Holy Spirit, we are the covering for God. This is incredible. In the Old Testament the sea cow hide is used to cover the holy things from a sinful people. In the New Testament, sinful people are redeemed then become a covering for the Holy Spirit.
Our Covering in Eternity
When we enter the eternal kingdom there seems to be a reversal. Humans go from being the temple of God the Holy Spirit, to God becoming the temple, our eternal covering. Revelation 21:22-27 is awesome:
I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.
While the infinite God was confined and covered by the cramped desert tabernacle in the Old Testament, limited and finite people will inhabit and be covered by the temple of the eternal God in the kingdom.
Sea cow hides? Seriously? Seriously.
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