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THE TABERNACLE
THE MANY SYMBOLS
Lesson
8
The fine white linen, without spot, declared that He met and satisfied the requirements of God's holiness. The pillars of strength show He is mighty to save. Strong to protect. The altar spoke of the cross where the sin of man was dealt with. The laver speaks of His washing us by the water of the Word.
Just as the outer court spoke of His earthly ministry, the tabernacle points to the heavenly. The exterior of this wilderness tabernacle in appearance (a black tent) was not beautiful nor unusual. It was certainly not radiant, as was Solomon's Temple which gleamed and caught the attention of all.
Jesus came into a wilderness of unbelief. He was majesty, hidden in flesh, but the Jews with carnal eyes saw no beauty in Him. Nor did they see form or comeliness, that they should desire Him. Some students of the Word think that the tabernacle was the habitation of God for less than thirty five years. God in the midst of His chosen people. Jesus tabernacled among men in the flesh for thirty three years. Palestine was the dwelling place of Jesus, in the midst of His chosen people.
The tabernacle had only one door. Just one way into the presence of God. Jesus said, "I am the way the truth and the life, no man cometh unto the Father but by me." John 14:6. Access to the Father can only be attained through Him who declared, "I am the door." John 10:9.
Entrance to the outer court and the tabernacle was approached through the camp of Judah and Aaron, the mediator, the high priest. The plan was given to Moses, but God, called a man from the tribe of Judah (Exodus 31:2) and gave Him wisdom and knowledge in all manner of workmanship. Through Judah, the temporary tabernacle was erected in the midst of the people. This temporary tabernacle foreshadowed the first advent of Christ and testified to his humanity. In the gospel of Luke 1:34-35, we read of a young woman from the tribe of Judah who became the one through whom the Word was made flesh to dwell among us. John 1:14, the Amplified Bible says "tabernacled among us."
Exodus 26:15-30 NKJV. "And for the tabernacle you shall make the boards of acacia wood, standing upright. Ten cubits shall be the length of a board, and a cubit and a half shall be the width of each board. Two tenons shall be in each board for binding one to another. Thus you shall make for all the boards of the tabernacle. And you shall make the boards for the tabernacle, twenty boards for the south side. You shall make forty sockets of silver under the twenty boards: two sockets under each of the boards for its two tenons. And for the second side of the tabernacle, the north side, there shall be twenty boards and their forty sockets of silver: two sockets under each of the boards. For the far side of the tabernacle, westward, you shall make six boards. And you shall also make two boards for the two back corners of the tabernacle. They shall be coupled together at the bottom and they shall be coupled together at the top by one ring. Thus it shall be for both of them. They shall be for the two corners. So there shall be eight boards with their sockets of silver; sixteen sockets; two sockets under each board. And you shall make bars of acacia wood: five for the boards on one side of the tabernacle, five bars for the boards on the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the side of the tabernacle, for the far side westward. The middle bar shall pass through the midst of the boards from end to end. You shall overlay the boards with gold, make their rings of gold as holders for the bars, and overlay the bars with gold. And you shall raise up the tabernacle according to its pattern which you were shown on the mountain."
We have already considered the layout of the camp, the outer court, the entrance, the altar and the laver. Now having passed these, we stand in front of the tabernacle itself.
There were ninety-six sockets of silver in a much smaller area than the outer court which had only sixty. This would have made a very solid support. Jesus is very solid. He is the cornerstone, the foundation, the rock that is higher than I ...on the solid support of Jesus Christ we stand.
There were forty-eight boards of acacia wood covered with sheets of gold. Twenty-seven inches wide, by fifteen feet tall, they stood upright in the holders that fit into the silver sockets. Jesus was upright in all His ways. Twenty boards were placed on each side of the tabernacle. Eight at the west or back side. Fifteen bars (five for each side and the back) ran through rings of gold, to hold the boards firm. Five pillars of wood covered with gold and set in sockets of brass were at the east these held up the door curtains. The wood stands for the humanity of Jesus and the gold for His majesty. The wood and the gold rested upon the silver which represents the redemption that He paid for.
This was the tabernacle of God, His place of habitation and thus foreshadows the church of today.
Ephesians 2:21-22 NKJV. "... in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit."
Notice joined together, the tabernacle boards at the edges were fixed in a manner which the amplified bible calls dovetailed. It is probable that this was similar to what we call tongue and grove. Exodus 26:17 amp.
In the New Testament we are spoken of as lively stones, most construction in that time was of stone. To put up a stone wall and build a building we need stones, mortar, and a mason. The stones do not choose their location or their neighbors, the mason chooses. Some years ago, my husband put up a stone wall in our family room. After setting a rock, he would stand back and look at the next space. Then he would go and search for a rock that would look and function the best in that space. One rock was not more important than another, each one became a part of the whole, we could not do without any of them. Some are at the top, some at the bottom, some in the middle. All are needed.
The boards of the tabernacle were not given a choice as to which side of the tabernacle they would be on or which board they would be next to. God is the builder (the mason) of His habitation, He is the one who stands back and turns an experienced eye upon His lively stones and sets them in the building in the proper place. Lively stones do not get to choose their function or their location. The master builder does. He is building a church that the gates of hell will not prevail against.
Some of us may have been trying to place ourselves in the church. Good advice, born of experience, says "stop". We must start saying here am I and then be patient, He will place us.
Exodus 26:1-6 NKJV. "Moreover you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine woven linen and blue, purple, and scarlet thread; with artistic designs of cherubim you shall weave them. The length of each curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits. And every one of the curtains shall have the same measurements. Five curtains shall be coupled to one another, and the other five curtains shall be coupled to one another. And you shall make loops of blue yarn on the edge of the curtain on the selvedge of one set, and likewise you shall do on the outer edge of the other curtain of the second set. Fifty loops you shall make in the one curtain, and fifty loops you shall make on the edge of the curtain that is on the end of the second set, that the loops may be clasped to one another. And you shall make fifty clasps of gold, and couple the curtains together with the clasps, so that it may be one tabernacle.
Over the solid structure went the fine white linen curtains, the white spoke of the holy pure one, Jesus. The ceiling was embroidered with blue, which spoke of the Lord from heaven. Purple which speaks of the King of Kings and scarlet which speaks of the suffering one who will return in glory. These colors are always mentioned in order, blue, purple, scarlet. The Father is orderly and pays attention to details. These colors were worked into the form of Cherubim with wings. The function Cherubim is to protect the throne.
The ten curtains were each 6 feet wide, they were hooked together in two sets of five. There were fifty loops of blue that were used to connect the two sets of ten. Clasps of gold went through the blue tops to hold them together.
Many times in scripture when we read the number ten we will find it connected to the subject of human responsibility.
When the ten commandments were given, they were written on two tablets of stone with a set of five commandments on each. The first five spoke of mans duty to God. They all mention God.
Exodus 20:1-12 NKJV. And God spoke all these words, saying: "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you."
Mans responsibility to God.
1. You shall have no other Gods before me.
2. You shall make no graven images to worship, I am a jealous God.
3. You shall not take the name of God in vain.
4. Remember the seventh day is a day of rest unto God.
5. Honor Father and Mother that your days may be long on the land which the Lord your God gives you.
The second set of five commandments tell of mans responsibility to man.
Exodus 20:13-17 NKJV. "You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's."
6. You shall not kill.
7. You salt not steal.
8. You salt not commit adultery.
9. You salt not bear false witness.
10. You salt not covet.
The royal law, given by Jesus, was. "love the Lord thy God with all thy heart," which sums up the first five and, "thy neighbor as thy self," which sums up the second five.
The curtains, grouped in two sets of five, joined together with blue and gold, speak of Jesus spanning the great gulf that separated God and man. They also speak of His fulfilling the obligations both to Godward and manward.
When the curtains were in place, the ceiling must have been a beautiful sight. The white background with the Cherubim wings outspread. When David wrote of God covering him with His feathers and under His wings shall I trust, Psalm 91, and cried hide me under your wings, Psalm 17:8, he surely had in mind the beauty of the tabernacle ceiling.
The door of the tabernacle had five pillars of wood covered with gold and held upright by sockets of brass. Five is believed to be a number connected with grace. The door serves either to keep one out, or if the conditions are met, to let one in. Jesus said, "I am the door," the condition is believe. Paul called James, John and Peter pillars of the church, they upheld the teaching of Him who is the door. "He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God..." Revelation 3:12.
The door hangings had blue, purple and scarlet work on it. Since there is no mention of design, many think that this was a mingling of colors, sort of variegated. It takes blue, the divine, and red, sacrifice, to make the purple, royalty. A mingling of colors.
Every step forward toward the Holy of Holies is through Jesus the door. We do not have to enter the Holy of Holies to be saved. We can enter in, then hang around in the court yard, if we want to. It seems strange to say, but there are degrees of life. There is life, more life, and abundant life.
Life is born again. When we are born again, we believe and we pass from death unto life, he that believes has eternal life. Our experience is one of looking to the future, in heaven everything will be wonderful. At this point, we love to sing, "When we all get to heaven, we'll sing and shout the victory."
That was and is life, but then we discover more life. Most of us remain in this area for a very long time. We have more life than some of our brothers and sisters in the Lord, but it isn't abundant life. At this point we believe, win some, lose some and into each life some rain must fall. Ours is not to reason or understand why, but to do or die. We sing farther along we'll know all about it, farther along, we'll understand why.
Then we begin to understand abundant life and we find out that the Lord reveals His plan to His servants, Amos.3:7, and that abundant life means now. In this life time, He has (past tense) blessed us in all things that pertains unto life and godliness, 2 Peter 1:2-5. That's called growing in the knowledge of the Lord. It is in this stage of growth that we start entering into the Holy Place.
The white curtains were spread over the upright gold covered boards. Over the white on the outside, or topside, were spread the goats hair covering, called the tent, these were of a dark color. Song of Solomon 1:5 and 6.
Exodus 26:7-13 NKJV. "You shall also make curtains of goats' hair, to be a tent over the tabernacle. You shall make eleven curtains. The length of each curtain shall be thirty cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits; and the eleven curtains shall all have the same measurements. And you shall couple five curtains by themselves and six curtains by themselves, and you shall double over the sixth curtain at the forefront of the tent. You shall make fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in one set, and fifty loops on the edge of the curtain of the second set. And you shall make fifty bronze clasps, put the clasps into the loops, and couple the tent together, that it may be one. The remnant that remains of the curtains of the tent, the half curtain that remains, shall hang over the back of the tabernacle. And a cubit on one side and a cubit on the other side, of what remains of the length of the curtains of the tent, shall hang over the sides of the tabernacle, on this side and on that side, to cover it."
There were eleven curtains of goats hair, joined together by brass clasps. Eleven goats' hair curtains, eleven occasions to use the goat as a sin offering. Two goats, one for a sacrifice and one for a scapegoat, were used as the sin offering whenever the people gathered collectively or nationally to offer sacrifice.
The various occasions were:
1) The feasts of the unleavened bread.
2) The Day of Pentecost.
3) The Day of Trumpets.
4) The Day of Atonement.
5) The Feast of Tabernacle which was the celebration of harvest time.
In addition a goat was the sin offering:
6) When a ruler sinned un-intentionally.
7) When a common man sinned un-intentionally.
8) When the priesthood was consecrated.
9) When the altar was dedicated, in this case 12 goats were used, one for
each tribe.
10) For the national sin of ignorance.
11) At the beginning of each month a goat was offered as a sin offering.
Leviticus 4:23, 9:2-3, Numbers 7:16, 15:24-27 and Numbers 28:11-15.
Overcoming
the Enemies
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Eleven goats' hair curtains, eleven occasions to use the goat as a sin offering. The curtains were to be hooked together in a group of five and a group of six. Five for grace and six for man, joined with brass couplings. Man was joined together with God's grace by Jesus, who accepted the judgment of God, in our place.
The next two layers of ram and seal skins were called coverings. A covering
of ram skins, dyed scarlet, was placed over the goat's hair tent. The ram
was used to consecrate the priests when they were separated for service,
Exodus 29:26. It speaks of devotion to God. Recall that when God supplied
a sacrifice, a ram, for Abraham, Genesis 22:13, the sacrifice was given in
response to Abraham's obedient devotion to God. The red color speaks of devotion
unto death. Jesus was devoted to the Father and was obedient even unto death,
even the death of the cross. He lived as unto God and laid down His life
that we being dead in sin, might be made alive unto God.
The seals skins were the top layer and the only thing that people in the distance were able to see. All the beauty, the costly gold and silver, the beautiful needle work, these things could only be seen by those who would enter in. The beauty of Christ is not seen by those who stand at a distance. We must enter in.
What must we do to be saved, to enter in? We confess with our lips that Jesus is Lord. We believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead. For with the heart man believes and so is justified and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation, Romans 10:9-10.
THE FURNISHINGS
We have covered the courtyard, now we enter the tabernacle, the
Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. We begin with the interior
furnishings of the tabernacle. The first thing mentioned is the ark and the
mercy seat, then the table, candlestick, curtains, boards, veil, and the
outer court curtains. The order is from the interior to the exterior. Exodus
25:10 to 27:21.
This is the order of God's abounding grace. The grace of God that moves from the throne out to the place where the sinner is. This is a beautiful picture of the incarnation of Jesus. Sinners in their sins could not go from earth to heaven so God in the person of His Son came to earth and died. The just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God.
The book of Ephesians unfolds in the same manner. Ephesians begins with God choosing us in Christ before the foundation of the world. Later it teaches concerning redemption and regeneration, then it moves on to the resulting privileges and responsibilities of the redeemed.
Exodus 36:8 to 38:31
Instead of beginning inside the Holy of Holies with the ark and the mercy
seat, where Jehovah dwells, this record begins by describing the tabernacle
and curtains of the outer court. It moves from the exterior to the interior
furnishings. This is the way that man comprehends God. Moving from the outside
to the inside. Drawn closer and closer to the Holy Place. The book of Romans
unfolds in the same manner as this second description of the tabernacle does.
Beginning with man's fallen state, then speaking of God's provision in Christ.
Closing by showing the redeemed sinner in the presence of God.
In Exodus chapters 25 through 27 and in the book of Ephesians we are shown God moving in abounding grace toward the sinner. In Exodus 36-38 and in the book of Romans we see the sinner moving toward God.
The court, brazen altar, and laver have already been briefly examined.
We are going to examine the tabernacle articles, one by one, from the exterior to the interior as if we were entering in from the outside through the gate.
next: Chapter Nine
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