26:1.
“Moreover thou shalt make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined
linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with cherubims of cunning
(skillful) work shalt thou make them.”
The roof of the Tabernacle
building consisted of four layers, the first or innermost being of fine
white linen embroidered with the figures of cherubims in blue, purple and
scarlet, as described here, so that the material of this inner covering was
the same as that which comprised the Gate, the Door, and the Vail.
The second layer was
another set of curtains woven of goats' hair, above which was a third layer,
of rams' skins dyed red, the fourth and outer layer being of badgers' skins.
The two innermost layers,
the embroidered linen, and the woven goats' hair, are called the curtains;
the linen curtains being called the Tabernacle; and the goats' hair
curtains, the tent. The outer layers, the badgers' skins and the
rams' skins, were called the coverings.
As with everything else
that comprised the Tabernacle, each layer of the roof presents a symbolic
picture of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The innermost layer, the
embroidered curtains, was the only one visible from the inside, only the
priests seeing it, since the other three layers hid that inner curtain from
the view of those outside the Tabernacle. The truth being taught in this is
that since believers of this present age of grace are a royal kingdom of
priests, 1 Peter 2:9; and since that embroidered inner layer of the ceiling
material presents a symbolic picture of the Lord Jesus Christ, we have the
privilege of seeing Him in it, and in all the other types presented in
Scripture.
As in the three curtained
entrances, this magnificent four-colored linen ceiling presents Him in the
same manner as do the four Gospels. The purple (color of royalty) presents
Him as King, as does the Gospel of Matthew. The scarlet (color of sin and
blood) presents Him as does the Gospel of Mark, i.e., as God's perfect
Servant Who was willing to be made sin for us, and Who was willing to shed
His blood for the expiation of our sins.
The white (color of
purity) presents Him as the perfect Man, the same character as is set before
us in the Gospel of Luke. And the fourth color, blue (color of heaven)
directs our attention to Him as God the Son, the heavenly One, this color
corresponding to the Gospel of John which presents Him in that same
character.
26:2. “The
length of one curtain shall be eight and twenty cubits, and the breadth of
one curtain four cubits: and every one of the curtains shall have one
measure.”
There were ten of these
ceiling curtains, each measuring twenty-eight cubits in length and four
cubits in width, sewn together in sets of five to form two larger sections,
the two then being joined together by means of fifty loops of blue on the
adjoining edges, gold taches or clasps being used to fasten the
corresponding loops together so that they formed one complete curtain. The
seam formed by the loops and gold clasps was positioned over the Vail so
that one section of five pieces formed the ceiling of the Holy Place, and
the other section, the ceiling of the Holy of Holies.
A few thoughts suggest
themselves in connection with these ceiling curtains. The section over the
Holy Place where the priests ministered is the symbolic reminder that the
Lord Jesus Christ not only overshadows us with His protecting care, but that
He beholds all we do, comprehending even our thoughts. (The embroidered
Cherubim confirm the idea of guardianship, for they are frequently presented
in that role in Scripture). The section over the Holy of Holies, where only
the High Priest went, and only on the day of Atonement, declares that the
same One Who watches over us, is also the guardian of God's holiness, a
further thought being that He Who is with us here on earth, will be with us
also when we leave earth and enter the true Holy of Holies, heaven.
Inasmuch as the
embroidered ceiling would be seen only when the priests looked up, a further
lesson is that if we're looking "down," i.e., occupied with the things of
earth, we'll comprehend nothing of Christ's glory. And the fact that only
the priests could see that ceiling, reminds us that only believers have the
privilege of understanding Scripture, i.e., of "seeing" Christ in the
Scriptures, for it is in the written Word that He, the Living Word, is set
before us literally, just as He is symbolically presented in those curtains,
see 1 Corinthians 2:14, “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the
Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them,
because they are spiritually discerned.”
Since the Bible's numbers
have spiritual significance, we must also examine the dimensions of this
linen ceiling which consisted of ten strips, each four cubits
wide, and twenty-eight long, making the overall dimensions forty
cubits by twenty-eight.
The ten strips
(number of Divine government) comprising the whole curtain remind us that He
Who came in the form of a Servant, and submitted Himself to every ordinance
of man, will return to reign as God's anointed King, the Father having
committed all judgment into the hand of the Son, “For the Father judgeth no
man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son,” John 5:22.
There is however, a lesson
more relevant to the present. Since all the activity within the area
covered by those curtains speaks of our activity as a royal kingdom of
priests, God would remind us that the Christ portrayed symbolically in the
curtains is the Head of the Church, so that everything we do is to be in
submission to His authority.
The factors common to
four, ten, twenty-eight, and forty, are two (number of
testimony or witness), five (number of responsibility), and seven
(number of perfection or completeness). They combine to declare that the
One portrayed in this beautiful curtain was the perfect Witness to man's
ruin and God's love, and the only One Who has fulfilled perfectly man's
responsibility to God, and to His fellow men.
26:3. “The
five curtains shall be coupled together one to another; and other five
curtains shall be coupled one to another.”
26:4. “And
thou shalt make loops of blue upon the edge of the one curtain from the
selvedge in the coupling; and likewise shalt thou make in the uttermost edge
of another curtain, in the coupling of the second.”
26:5. “Fifty
loops shalt thou make in the one curtain, and fifty loops shalt thou make in
the edge of the curtain that is in the coupling of the second; that the
loops may take hold one of another.”
26:6. “And
thou shalt make fifty taches (clasps) of gold, and couple the curtains
together with the taches; and it shall be one tabernacle.
The two innermost layers,
the embroidered linen, and the woven goats' hair, are called the curtains,
the linen curtains being called the Tabernacle, and the goats' hair
curtains, the tent. The outer layers, the badgers' skins, and the
rams' skins, were called the coverings.
As with virtually
everything else that comprised the Tabernacle, each layer of the roof
presents a symbolic picture of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we'll begin this
study by looking first at the inner layer, the embroidered linen curtains.
Only the priests saw them, since the other three layers hid them from the
view of those outside the Tabernacle.
As in the three curtained
entrances, this magnificent four-colored ceiling presents Him in the same
manner as do the four Gospels. The purple (color of royalty) presents Him
as King, as does the Gospel of Matthew. The scarlet (color of sin and
blood) presents Him as does the Gospel of Mark, i.e., as God's perfect
Servant Who was willing to be made sin for us, and Who was willing to shed
His blood for the remission of those sins. The white (color of purity)
presents Him as the perfect Man, the same character as is set before us in
the Gospel of Luke. And the final color, blue (color of heaven) directs our
attention to Him as God the Son, this color corresponding to the Gospel of
John which presents Him in the same character.
There were ten of these
ceiling curtains, each measuring twenty-eight cubits in length and four
cubits in width, sewn together in sets of five to form two larger sections,
the two then being joined together by means of fifty loops of blue on the
adjoining edges, gold taches or clasps being used to fasten the
corresponding loops together and form one complete curtain. The seam formed
by the loops and gold clasps was positioned over the Vail so that one
section of five pieces formed the ceiling of the Holy Place, and the other
section, the ceiling of the Holy of Holies.
A few thoughts suggest
themselves in connection with these ceiling curtains. The section over the
Holy Place where the priests ministered is the symbolic reminder, not only
that the Lord overshadows us with His protecting care, but that He beholds
all we do, comprehending even our thoughts. (The embroidered Cherubim
confirm the idea of guardianship, for they are frequently presented in that
role in Scripture). The section over the Holy of Holies, where only the
High Priest went, and only on the day of Atonement, declares that the same
One Who watches over us, is also the guardian of God's holiness, a further
thought being that He Who is with us here on earth, will be with us also
when we leave earth and enter the true Holy of Holies, heaven.
Inasmuch as the
embroidered ceiling would be seen only when the priests looked up, a further
lesson is that if we're looking "down," i.e., occupied with the things of
earth, we'll comprehend nothing of Christ's glory. And the fact that only
the priests could see that ceiling, reminds us that only believers have the
privilege of understanding Scripture (1 Corinthians 2:14), i.e., of "seeing"
Christ, for it is in the written Word that He, the Living Word, is set
before us literally, just as He is symbolically presented in those curtains.
Since the Bible's numbers
have spiritual significance, we must also examine the dimensions of this
linen ceiling which consisted of ten strips, each four cubits
wide, and twenty-eight long, making the overall dimensions forty
cubits by twenty-eight.
The ten strips
(number of Divine government) comprising the whole curtain remind us that He
Who came in the form of a Servant, and submitted Himself to every ordinance
of man, will return to reign as God's anointed King, the Father having
committed all judgment into the hand of the Son (John 5:22). There is
however, a lesson more relevant to the present. Since all the activity
within the area covered by those curtains speaks of our activity as a royal
kingdom of priests, God would remind us that Christ is the Head of the
Church, so that everything we do is to be in submission to His authority.
The factors common to
four, ten, twenty-eight, and forty, are two (number of
testimony or witness), five (number of responsibility), and seven
(of perfection or completeness). They combine to declare that the One
portrayed in this magnificent curtain was the perfect Witness to man's ruin
and God's love, and that He was the only One to fulfill perfectly man's
responsibility to God, and to His fellow men.
26:7. “And
thou shalt make curtains of goats’ hair to be a covering upon the
tabernacle: eleven curtains shalt thou make.
Since the goat was the
animal most frequently used for the Sin offering, God would have us see in
the goats' hair curtains, Christ as our Sin-bearer, He Who was sinless being
willing to be made sin so that we might be made righteous, as it is written,
“For he has made him who knew no sin, to be made sin for us, that we might
be made the righteousness of God in him,” 2 Corinthians 5:21.
26:8. “The
length of one curtain shall be thirty cubits, and the breadth of one curtain
four cubits: and the eleven curtains shall be all of one measure.”
The length speaks of the
duration of the Lord’s life. He died in His early thirties, but since three
or any multiple thereof speaks of resurrection, the truth being declared is
that though He died He also rose again, having power, as He himself
declared, to lay down His life, and to take it up again.
Since breadth in Scripture
speaks of the character of the life, and since four is the number of
testing, the four-cubit breadth of each curtain is the symbolic declaration
of the truth that the Lord, though He was tested as no other has ever been
or will be, manifested that His righteousness was perfect.
Since eleven is a prime
number and can’t therefore be factorized, its spiritual significance is
declared by separating one, the number of God, and then factorizing
the remainder, i.e., two the number of witness or testimony,
multiplied by five the number of responsibility. The eleven curtains
therefore portray in the numeral one the Lord as God manifest in
flesh, come to earth as the Witness, the numeral two, to man’s ruin,
and God’s love in providing a remedy, fulfilling perfectly His
responsibility, the numeral five, to God and man, and having power to
lay down His life, and to take it up again as He himself declared, “.... I
lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but
I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to
take it again,” John 10:17-18.
26:9. “And
thou shalt couple five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by
themselves, and shalt double the sixth curtain in the forefront of the
tabernacle.”
Since five is the
number of responsibility, and six is the number of man, and since the
curtains represent Christ, this division of them into one set of five, and
another of six, points to the Lord here on earth as man perfectly fulfilling
His responsibility to God and to man.
The doubling of the sixth
curtain in the forefront of the tabernacle emphasizes the truth that it was
as the Son of man that the Lord during His earthly life fulfilled perfectly
His responsibility to God and to Man; the doubling of the sixth curtain in
the forefront of the tabernacle pointing to the fact that He has expiated
the sins we will yet commit, the doubling of it over the back in verse 12
declaring that He has also atoned for all our past sins.
26:10. “And
thou shalt make fifty loops on the edge of the one curtain that is outmost
in the coupling, and fifty loops in the edge of the curtain which coupleth
the second.”
26:11. “And
thou shalt make fifty taches of brass, and put the taches into the loops,
and couple the tent together, that it may be one.”
Like the linen curtains,
those of goats' hair were also formed into strips, but there were eleven,
rather than ten of them, each measuring thirty cubits in length, and four in
breadth; and also like the linen curtains, these were first sewn into two
larger sections, one of five strips, and the other of six, the two sections
being joined together by means of fifty loops fastened together by means of
brass clasps, the whole covering being placed over the linen
curtains, with the seam between the two sections also placed directly over
the Vail which divided the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.
Since brass always speaks
of judgment, the fact that the clasps were of this metal, reminds us that
the One portrayed by the goats' hair covering, has borne all the judgment
due to us, see e.g., Isaiah 53:4-8, "Surely he hath borne our griefs, and
carried our sorrows .... He was wounded for our transgressions, he was
bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and
with his stripes we are healed .... The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity
of us all .... For the transgression of my people was he stricken," and
Romans 4:25, "(He) was delivered for our offenses."
Since six is the
number of man, weakness, and sin, the six piece part covering the ceiling
area of the Holy Place, speaks of the man Christ Jesus Who has made perfect
atonement for us, while its being hidden by the linen curtains, is the
symbolic assurance that our sins have been blotted out from God's sight for
ever. Since five is the number of responsibility, the five strip
section over the Holy of Holies, and also hidden by the linen curtains, is
the symbolic assurance that by the Lord's death every claim of God's holy
throne has been fully met, the sin which had violated that throne being
perfectly atoned for in Christ's death, He the last Adam, yielding up the
life forfeited by the disobedience of the first Adam.
The factors common to
five and six (the pieces comprising the two sections), and
thirty the overall width of this covering, and forty-four, its
overall length, are two (number of witness), three (number of
resurrection), and five (number of responsibility), the goats' hair
covering thus declaring that the Lord's resurrection is the testimony to His
having fulfilled perfectly His responsibility both to God, and to man.
Despite the lack of detail
relative to the rams' skins and badgers'
skins, each also bears
eloquent testimony to Christ. The ram was the animal of consecration, the
removal of its skin implying its death, and since, as already noted, red is
the color of sin, and blood, the obvious lesson of the rams' skins dyed red
is that the Lord's consecration to the Father's will went all the way to
death, even the death of the cross. But His consecration was also manward,
for His devotion to the Father's will involved the redemption of man.
The ram (the male)
stresses the truth that consecration involved more than simply the
submission of the Lord's will to that of the Father: it emphasizes that
active energy of His own will which would permit nothing to turn Him aside
from offering Himself at Calvary, first for the glory of the Father, and
then for the redemption of men's souls.
The question as to whether
the outer covering was of badger or seal skins is of little consequence
since the primary lesson relates to its drab grey or brown color. That
outer covering - the only one seen from outside the Tabernacle - declares
the truth that an unconverted world sees nothing attractive in Christ. It
portrays Him as seen by the eye of unbelief, "He has no form nor comeliness
... no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of
men," Isaiah 53:2-3. The eye of faith however, sees Him very differently,
as being "altogether lovely .... fairer than the children of men,"
A further interesting
point to be noted in connection with badgers' skins relates to the fact that
the shoes of the Israelites didn't wear out during their forty years in the
wilderness, see Deuteronomy 29:5, and relative to God's care for Israel,
Ezekiel 16:10 declares, "I ... shod thee with badgers' skins." The point
being stressed is the impermeability of badgers' skins, the spiritual lesson
being that the man in Christ enjoys a dual safety: the badgers' skin shoes
speak of protection from harm from anyone or anything earthly, while the
badgers' skins covering the Tabernacle are the symbolic assurance that the
believer is safe also, not only from demonic powers, but also from the
judgment of a holy God, Christ having borne that judgment at Calvary.
And as with the rams'
skins, the fact that the outer covering was of skins (implying the
death of the animal), reminds us that our eternal safety rests on the value
God sets on the death of the Lord Jesus Christ.
26:12. “And
the remnant that remaineth of the curtains of the tent, the half curtain
that remaineth, shall hang over the backside of the tabernacle.”
This declares symbolically
that Christ has expiated all our past sins, see also comments on verse 9
relative to His expiation of the sins we will yet commit.
26:13. “And a
cubit on the one side, and a cubit on the other side of that which remaineth
in the length of the curtains of the tent, it shall hang over the sides of
the tabernacle on this side and on that side, to cover it.”
While verses 9 and 12
relate symbolically to the expiation of future and past sins, this overhang
on the two sides of the tabernacle have to do with the covering of sins
committed against God and also against men (though ultimately all sin is
against God), the emphasis being on the truth declared emphatically in 1
John 1:7, “... the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all
sin.”
26:14. “And
thou shalt make a covering for the tent of rams’ skins dyed red, and a
covering above of badgers’ skins.”
See comments on verse 10,
paragraph 5, relative to the rams’ skins; and on verse 10, last three
paragraphs, relative to the badgers’ skins.
26:15. “And
thou shalt make boards for the tabernacle of shittim wood standing up.”
In our study of verse 5 we
considered the shittim (acacia) tree as a type of Christ, but here the
boards of shittim wood are types of believers, those possessed of His life
and nature; and as that which comprised the walls of the Tabernacle they
represent us as a corporate body, the Church, as it is written, “For we are
members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones,” Ephesians 5:30.
“... standing up” speaks
here of resurrection. As trees they had had their roots in the earth,
figures of us prior to conversion, “The first man is of the earth, earthy;
the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they
also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are
heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear
the image of the heavenly,”
1 Corinthians 14:47-49.
By the conviction of the Holy Spirit through the gospel we too were “cut
down,” made to see ourselves as being “dead in trespasses and in sins,”
Ephesians 2:1; but through faith in Christ as Savior we have been raised up
out of death, and as each board then stood on a block of silver, silver
being the emblem of redemption, so do we now stand eternally alive on a new
foundation, the redemption secured for us by the death and resurrection of
the Lord Jesus Christ.
26:16. “Ten
cubits shall be the length of a board, and a cubit and a half shall be the
breadth of one board.”
Since ten is the
number of God as the Governor of all things; and since length here
represents the duration of a man’s life, the lesson being taught
symbolically is that all men are under God’s government, obedience bringing
eternal reward; and disobedience, eternal loss.
As length speaks of the
duration of a man’s life, breadth represents the quality of it.
A cubit and a half is the
half of three, the number of resurrection, and here it reminds us that
earthly life is only the beginning for man: he is a creature of eternity, to
enjoy eternal bliss in heaven, or eternal torment in the lake of fire,
depending on whether he dies as a believer or as an unbeliever. As a
believer he will be raised to glory at the resurrection of life; as an
unbeliever he will be raised to eternal torment at the resurrection of
damnation, see John 6:28-29, “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in
the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come
forth: they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they
that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation,” the good mentioned
here being to have trusted Christ as Savior; the evil, being to have died
without having exercised that faith.
26:17. “Two
tenons shall be in one board, set in order one against another: thus shalt
thou make for all the boards of the tabernacle.”
The tenons were two
projections formed on the end of each board by cutting away the section of
wood between them, so that the boards would fit into the corresponding
sockets of the blocks of silver which formed the base of the Tabernacle.
Since two is the number of witness or testimony they represent the
believer’s confessed faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior.
26:18. “And
thou shalt make the boards for the tabernacle, twenty boards on the south
side southward.”
The factors of twenty are
two, two and five, two being the number of witness or
testimony, and five the number of responsibility, so that the twenty
boards are the symbolic announcement of the fact that we are responsible to
be God’s witnesses to men; and since the south is the biblical direction of
faith, the further lesson being taught is that an integral part of that
witness requires us to demonstrate that we “walk by faith, not by sight,” 2
Corinthians 5:7.
26:19. “And
thou shalt make forty sockets of silver under the twenty boards; two sockets
under one board for his two tenons, and two sockets under another board for
his two tenons.”
The factors common to
twenty and forty are two and five, the numbers of witness and
responsibility respectively, so that the lesson here relates to our
obligation to be the Lord’s witnesses to the world. Silver is the biblical
symbol of redemption, see Exodus 30:12-13, “When thou takest the sum of the
children of Israel after their number, then shall they give every man a
ransom for his soul unto the Lord; that there be no plague among them, when
thou numberest them. This they shall give, every one that passeth among
them that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary: (a
shekel is twenty gerahs:) an half shekel shall be the offering of the Lord,”
The need for every
Israelite to be redeemed is the symbolic warning that every man who is not
redeemed by the precious blood of Christ will die the second death, i.e.,
suffer torment eternally in the lake of fire, believers being assured that
“... ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as slver and
gold, from your vain conversation (manner of living) received by tradition
from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb
without blemish and without spot,” 1 Peter 1:18-19.
26:20. “And
for the second side of the tabernacle on the north side there shall be
twenty boards:”
26:21. “And
their forty sockets of silver; two sockets under one board, and two sockets
under another board.”
The directions for the
north side are exactly the same as for the south side, but since the north
is the direction of intelligence, as the south is of faith, the lesson being
taught is that faith is not a foolish emotional thing, but is rather an act
of the highest intelligence, it being written concerning the unbeliever,
“The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God,” Psalm 14:1.
26:22. “And
for the sides of the tabernacle westward thou shalt make six boards.”
The west is the direction
that speaks of approach to God; and the east, of departure from Him: note
e.g., that Adam and Eve went eastward out of Eden, Genesis 3:24, as did
Cain, Genesis 4:16. The entrance to the Tabernacle was placed on the east
side where man is spiritually, so that to enter it one had to move
westward. In other words God placed the way of approach on the east side,
thus showing in symbol that He has placed the way of approach to Him where
it is most easily accessible, i.e., here on earth where men are
spiritually. The type was fulfilled when the Lord Jesus Christ came down to
earth to be “the Way” through which repentant sinners could return to God,
He Himself saying, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh
unto the Father, but by me,” John 14:6.
Since six is the number of
incompleteness, the six boards serve to remind us that the Tabernacle itself
was only a type of the Church, and of God’s dwelling place in heaven.
26:23. “And
two boards shalt thou make for the corners of the tabernacle in the two
sides.”
26:24. “And
they shall be coupled together beneath, and they shall be coupled together
above the head of it unto one ring: thus shall it be for them both; they
shall be for the two corners.”
Since a ring or circle,
having neither beginning nor end, represents that which is eternal, the
rings joining the corner boards of the Tabernacle may represent the
Scriptures, the eternal Word, which views the true Church as one indivisible
whole in spite of all its man-made divisions.
26:25. “And
they shall be eight boards, and their sockets of silver, sixteen sockets;
two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board.”
Eight is the biblical
number of a new beginning, and since sixteen is a multiple of eight, the
lesson here may be that the Church, of which the Tabernacle is a type, is
not just a Gentile development of Judaism, but is a completely new corporate
entity which is the bride of Christ.
26:26. “And
thou shalt make bars of shittim wood; five for the boards of the one side of
the tabernacle,”
26:27. “And
five bars for the boards of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars
for the boards of the side of the tabernacle, for the two sides westward.”
This description is
ambiguous, and scholars are disagreed as to exactly what is meant, so rather
than fuel controversy, we will simply note that the boards represent the
believers who comprise the Church, the thrice repeated number five (number
of responsibility) reminding us that as those who are typified by these
boards, we are responsible to live so as to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ.
The five bars of shittim wood may be the symbolic reminder that each of us
is responsible to seek to maintain unity amongst God’s people.
26:28. “And
the middle bar in the midst of the boards shall reach from end to end.”
That long middle bar
holding the boards together seems to be a type of the Lord Jesus Christ Who,
in spite of man-made divisions amongst believers, joins all of them together
into one body which is the Church, His bride, see Ephesians 2:19-22, “Now
therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with
the saints, and of the household of God; and are built upon the foundation
of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner
stone; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy
temple in the Lord: in whom ye also are builded together for an habitation
of God through the Spirit.” See also Ephesians 4:15-16, “But speaking the
truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even
Christ: from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that
which every joint supplies, according to the effectual working in the
measure of every part, makes increase of the body unto the edifying of
itself in love.”
26:29. “And
thou shalt overlay the boards with gold, and make their rings of gold for
places for the bars: and thou shalt overlay the bars with gold.”
The golden overlay
portrays the glory that will cover every believer eternally in heaven, see
Romans 8:17,30, “And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs
with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified
together .... Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and
whom he called them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also
glorified.”
For the significance of
the rings see comments on verse 24, and for that of the bars see comments on
verse 27.
26:30. “And
thou shalt rear up the tabernacle according to the fashion (pattern) thereof
which was shewed thee in the mount.”
There was to be no
departure from the Divine blueprint. The multiplicity of different orders
now governing the local churches however, attests the extent to which this
command has been disobeyed.
26:31. “And
thou shalt make a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined
linen of cunning work: with cherubims shall it be made.”
The vail was a curtain
which divided the Holy Place from the Most Holy, and beyond which only the
High Priest was permitted to go, and then only on the Day of Atonement. It
is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ, see Hebrews 10:19-20, “Having therefore,
brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new
and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the vail, that is
to say, his flesh.” The blue portrays Him as the heavenly One set before us
in the Gospel of John; the purple, as God’s anointed King presented by
Matthew; the scarlet, as the suffering Savior described by Mark; and the
fine twined linen, as the sinless Man of Luke’s Gospel.
The cherubims are the
guardians of God’s holy presence, see e.g., Genesis 3:24, “So he drove out
the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a
flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life,”
so that their being embroidered on the vail declares that Christ is the only
One through Whom man can enter the presence of God, He Himself declaring, “I
am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes unto the Father, but by
me,” John 14:6.
26:32. “And
thou shalt hang it upon four pillars of shittim wood overlaid with gold:
their hooks shall be of gold, upon the four sockets of silver.”
There can be little doubt
that the four pillars here represent the four Gospels, each of which
presents Christ as man’s Savior, the silver, as noted already, being the
emblem of salvation or redemption.
26:33. “And
thou shalt hang up the veil under the taches, that thou mayest bring in
thither within the veil the ark of the testimony: and the veil shall divide
unto you between the holy place and the most holy.”
See comments on 26:11 for
the spiritual significance of the taches; and 25:10 relative to the ark.
The holy place, the outer
compartment of the Tabernacle, speaks of the basis upon which man can come
into the presence of God to pray and worship; while the most holy place
portrays heaven itself.
26:34. “And
thou shalt put the mercy seat upon the ark of the testimony in the most holy
place.”
Since the Ark is a type of
Christ, the mercy seat resting upon it declares that it is only because of
His vicarious sin-atoning death that God, on a perfectly just basis, can be
merciful to repentant sinners, permitting them to enter in spirit into His
presence here on earth, and can receive them into heaven to dwell with Him
for ever when their earthly course is finished.
26:35. “And
thou shalt set the table outside the veil, and the candlestick over against
the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the south: and thou shalt put
the table on the north side.”
As the area inside the
vail speaks of what pertains to heaven, so does that which is outside it
portray what relates to earth, and the location of the table outside the
vail is the symbolic assurance that it is here on earth that God spreads a
table for men. For unbelievers it is His Word in the gospel offering them
the bread of life: a pardon for all sin, and His gift of eternal life
through faith in Christ as Savior and Lord; and for believers it is His Word
to feed them, and direct their lives.
The Candlestick is a
figure of Christ as the Light of the world, and its being mentioned in
connection with the Table reminds us that spiritual food and light are
inseparable. Only as we read, study, and obey the Word are we enlightened
relative to what pertains to the kingdom of heaven. Its being on the south
side, the direction that is synonymous with faith, tells us that obedient
faith and enlightenment are also inseparable.
Since the north is the
direction that speaks of intelligence, the Table’s being placed on the north
side teaches that we will be spiritually intelligent only as we devote
ourselves to the study of Scripture.
26:36. “And
thou shalt make an hanging for the door of the tent, of blue, and purple,
and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework.”
See comments on verse 31
relative to the spiritual significance of this curtain.
26:37. “And
thou shalt make for the hanging five pillars of shittim wood, and overlay
them with gold, and their hooks shall be of gold, and thou shalt cast five
sockets of brass for them.”
This continues to be a
symbolic portrait of Christ, and since five is the number of
responsibility we are being reminded that He is the only One Who has
perfectly fulfilled His responsibility to God and to man.
The shittim wood
represents His humanity, but its being sheathed in gold declares that He Who
was humiliated on earth is now eternally glorified in heaven. The golden
hooks from which the veil was suspended announce the fact that it is as a
result of His perfect fulfillment of His responsibility to God and to man
that He is held up to our view as “the way, the truth, and the life” apart
from Whom no man can enter God’s presence.
Since brass is the
biblical symbol of judgment the five brazen sockets teach the truth that it
is only on the basis of Christ’s having borne the judgment due to us that
God can pardon us and welcome us into His presence, spiritually here on
earth, and literally in heaven when our earthly course is finished.