The tent (or tabernacle) during the time of Moses, and later the temple King Solomon built, represented the dwelling place of God on earth. Moses was told to build the tent (tabernacle) according to the pattern God gave him (Heb 8:5).
When the people of Israel traveled through the desert wilderness and then into the Promised Land, the tent of God's presence was a place of strength and security for them. It reminded God's people that their God was a living God, present with them, and His protection was more powerful than any army on earth.