What was every part of the tabernacle a picture of?
Every part of the tabernacle was a picture of Christ, the Lord Jesus. The materials, outer fence, altar, laver, table of showbread, altar of incense, candlestick, Ark of the Covenant, and mercy seat all portrayed Him and His finished work of the cross. He is everything in that day of atonement.
Les explains that all the materials of the tent, the outer fence, the altar, the laver of cleansing, the table of showbread, the altar of incense, the candlestick, the Ark of the Covenant, and the mercy seat covered with gold and made with wood—everything in that tabernacle—was a picture of Christ, the Lord Jesus. Les uses this to explain propitiation: He was the high priest, the sacrificial animal, the place of sacrifice, the laver of cleansing, the table of showbread, the altar of incense, the candlestick, the Ark of the Covenant, and the mercy seat. The word propitiation indicates that not only is He the sacrifice, He is the place of applying the sacrifice. The whole tabernacle system pictures Christ's finished work of the cross, because He was everything demanded of a holy God and did it all on our behalf. He was the sacrificial blood, the high priest who presented it, and the mercy seat where He presented His own blood.