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THE TABERNACLE OF THE CONGREGATION
The Tabernacle of the Congregation is one of the major (if not the major) types of God’s dealings with us in His plan of redemption.
In this book several areas of study are presented: the general plan of the Tabernacle, including the materials used; the seven pieces of furniture; the boards, sockets and bars; the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies; the Veil; the linen curtain; the tent; the coverings; the door; the gate; the linen fence; the work of the priests and Levites; the order of Israel on the march; the history of the Tabernacle of the Congregation; and the history of the Ark of the Covenant.
Six areas of interest are examined:
The physical description of the parts, furnishings and details of the Tabernacle.
The Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The history of the Christian Church.
The redemption of the believer.
The Body of Christ.
The Kingdom of God.
The physical elements of the Tabernacle are interpreted as referring to the Lord Jesus Christ, to the Christian disciple, to the Body of Christ, and to the Kingdom of God.
All Biblical quotations unless otherwise stated are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
Quotations from the following translations are used by permission of the publishers:
The Amplified Bible, Old Testament, Copyright © 1962, 1964 by Zondervan Publishing House.
The Emphasized Bible, by Joseph Bryant Rotherham, 1971, Kregel Publications.
Table of Contents
Two Guidelines for Interpreting Bible Symbols
Seven Forms of the House of God
Enumeration of the Parts to be Studied
Six Areas of Study of the Tabernacle
General Plan of the Tabernacle of the Congregation
Materials Used in the TabernacleSymbolism of materials
The people offered willingly
Bezaleel and AholiabArk of the Covenant
Mercy Seat (Atonement Cover)
Table of Showbread
Lampstand
Altar of Burnt Offering
Altar of Incense
Laver
Interaction and Common Aspects of the Seven Furnishings
Sides of the Tabernacle
The Holy Place: Furnishings; Door; Walls; Ceiling; Veil; and Floor
The Holy of Holies
The Two Curtains and Two Coverings
The Linen Fence—Its Pillars, Sockets, Gate, Joinings, Pins, and Cords
The Three Lights
The Setting Up of the Tabernacle
Anointing the Tabernacle with Oil
The Lord’s Fire Consumes Our Offering
The Morning and Evening Sacrifice
Following the Glory of the Lord
The Work of the Priests and Levites
Israel on the March
History of the Tabernacle of the Congregation
History of the Ark of the Covenant
Overall Impression
Four Major Types of Redemption
Five Areas of Interpretation of the Tabernacle
CHAPTER III. THE PERSON AND WORK OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
CHAPTER IV. THE HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
CHAPTER V. THE REDEMPTION OF THE BELIEVER
The Seven Furnishings
Altar of Burnt Offering
LaverWater baptism
Cleansing for priestly serviceChrist, the living bread
Strengthening the inner man
The Word meets a need
Living bread comes through human ministry
Concept of freshnessLighted during the night
The "Pentecostal" experience
The cups, fruit and flowers
The invisible and the visibleAltar of Incense
Veil
Ark of the CovenantAaron’s rod
Jar of manna
Ten CommandmentsMercy Seat (Atonement Cover)
Three Entrances; Three Places; Three Lights
Fire in the Christian LifeTesting our works
Baptism with firePressing on
The rewards go to the overcomer
Following the Lord
CHAPTER VI. THE PERFECTING OF THE CHURCH
The Seven Furnishings
The Wife of the Lamb
Three Basic Elements of Christian Worship ServicesEating of Christ
Manifestation of the Holy Spirit
Holy Prayer and worship
Altar of Incense
First things, first
God’s reward
Word of cautionChristian unity
Exercise of giftsGiving Divine Directions
Tabernacle boards typify the Body of Christ
The bars of the Tabernacle
Paul’s attitude
Apostles
Prophets
Evangelists
Shepherds and teachersThe Design of Christian Ministry
The purpose of the gifts and ministries
Free-will offerings
Current need for prayer and worshipThe Oneness of the Body of Christ
Unified by the ministries of the entire Church
Unified by marriage to the Lamb
Unified by the Glory of God in Christ
Don’t touch the ArkChrist (the Anointed One) is the Lampstand
Differences in the Manifestation of the Holy Spirit
The Interest of Heavenly Creatures in the Church
The Importance of Holiness
CHAPTER VII. THE SETTING UP OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD
The Relationship Between the Church and the Kingdom
The Seven FurnishingsMercy Seat (Lid of Atonement)
Ark of the Covenant
Altar of Incense
Lampstand
Table of Showbread
Laver
Altar of Burnt OfferingThe Tabernacle of David
Set Up On the EarthChrist will rule on the earth
God available through the ChurchThe Goal of the Christian Life
The promised land is the earth
Revolutionary force
Practical impact of the Kingdom conceptThe Christian Church is "Zion" of the Old Testament
Nations bow before the Church
God’s VineThe Manifestation of the Sons of God
The Trumpet of Jubilee
The Concept of Resurrection
Multiple Application
Ezekiel’s Temple
Water of Life
The Burden of Prophecy
The End-time Army
The Day of the LordThe return of Christ
Applies to all Israel
Rest in the day of trouble
"Fireproofing"
The Christian and judgment
The nature of holiness
Holy behavior
A balanced concept of grace
Grace and works
Christians are held accountable for their actions
The context of Romans 8:1Righteousness by faith means God overlooks sin
Holiness consists of do this and don’t do that
Creating holiness by human will powerHoliness and the Day of the Lord
Apostolic warnings
Godly living and the Day of the Lord
Overcoming sin
The overcoming requirement
The victorious saints
The holiness of the holy city
The saints administer the judgment
The first resurrection
The relationship of the present to the future
The royal priesthood
CHAPTER IX. ADDITIONAL OBSERVATIONS
Exactness of Directions
Incompleteness Requires the Spirit of Revelation
The God-centeredness of the Tabernacle
God Faced the Land of Promise
CHAPTER X. REVIEW AND CONCLUSION
Two Guidelines for Interpreting the Symbols of the Scriptures
Seven Forms of the House of God
Six Areas of Study of the Tabernacle
Physical Description
Four Major Types of Redemption
The Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ
The History of the Christian Church
The Redemption of the Believer
Three Areas
The Perfecting of the Church
The Setting Up of the Kingdom of God
Holiness
CHAPTER I PRELIMINARY
This book has to do with the Tabernacle of Congregation described in the Old Testament. The book has been written for the Glory of God that His Son, Christ, might build up His Church and draw all men to Himself.
We trust that the Lord Jesus will give the reader the Spirit of understanding and revelation, renewing your mind in Him; and that He will feed you with His holy body and blood so Christ may be formed in you.
Although there are references to the Tabernacle of the Congregation in several places in the Scriptures, particularly in Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers, a good place to begin studying is the Book of Exodus, starting with Chapter 25 and going through to the end of Exodus.
Two Guidelines for Interpreting Bible Symbols
Two guidelines should be kept in mind when interpreting scriptural symbols, or types, as they are called. The first guideline is this: look at the symbol in a general way, and then turn away and allow the Holy Spirit to cause the main truth to rise to the surface. Look at a scriptural type out of the corner of your eye, so to speak.
Do not focus too long on specifics, trying to force an interpretation from every detail. Pray and ask the Holy Spirit for understanding. The spiritual truth will rise from the general shape of the facts.
One should not pursue a type too far. For example, the wilderness wandering of the Israelites is a type of the Christian discipleship. But we should not take each kind of shrub and animal found in the Sinai wilderness and apply it to some part of the Christian experience.
The Passover lamb of Exodus, Chapter 12 is a type of Christ. But we cannot apply each part of the animal, or its disposition, to our Lord Jesus except in the manner specifically set forth in the Scripture. The Lord Jesus is not always lamblike in behavior.
Christians are compared to a flock of sheep, in one setting, and to a fierce, disciplined army, in another setting.
The second guideline for interpreting scriptural symbols is as follows: there should be a direct New Testament reference for every interpretation of a scriptural type. We must always compare Scripture with Scripture. In many instances the writers of the New Testament emphasize the significance of Old Testament types and shadows.
When we state that the bronze Altar of Burnt Offering of the Tabernacle represents the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross, and that He was offered there for our sins, there should be teaching in the new Testament stating that Christ is the offering for our sins. Of course, there is such teaching.
If we claim that the black goats’ hair tent over the Tabernacle represents sin in our flesh, and that the rams’ skins dyed red over the tent signifies that the blood of Jesus justifies us in the sight of God, then there should be statements in the New Testament declaring that the blood of Christ keeps us free from condemnation. There are such statements.
The types of the Scriptures are not intended to be rigid symbols that a student can pursue, building from them a system of interpretation. Rather, types provide for us a momentary glimpse, as it were, of a particular spiritual truth. In another setting, or at another time in our own Christian experience, the Holy Spirit may reveal to us a different spiritual application of the same set of material facts.
Perhaps the most effective way in which to gain understanding of the Kingdom of God from the scriptural types and shadows is to approach the Scriptures in a reverent, obedient attitude, looking always to the Holy Spirit for wisdom and knowledge in the things of Christ.
To summarize: (1) Do not force the interpretation of a scriptural symbol or type in a detailed manner using an intellectual approach; and (2) Make sure you have New Testament statements for your beliefs. Ask guidance from the Holy Spirit of God.
All teaching that proceeds from the Holy Spirit is pure, peaceful, gentle, full of compassion and good fruits. The Holy Spirit always brings us to Christ and always creates in us love, joy, peace, and purity of conduct, speech, and thinking. The Holy Spirit never leads us into fear, gloom, or despair.
Get ready to march victoriously with us through the study of the Tabernacle of the Congregation, with the Lord Jesus Christ at the head, bringing each of us to total dominion over everything in our lives that is keeping us from the fullness of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Seven Forms of the House of God
The Tabernacle of the Congregation was one form of the dwelling place of God. The house of God can be found in seven forms in the Scriptures:
1. Moses’ tent, which was pitched far off from the camp (Exodus 33:7-11). This tent is termed "the Tabernacle of the congregation" (Exodus 33:7); but according to our understanding, it is not to be confused with the actual Tabernacle of the Congregation that was set up later (Exodus 40:17). Not much is said about Moses’ tent except that it was the place where the Lord talked with Moses. It served until the Lord enabled the Israelites to construct a tabernacle in keeping with the pattern He had in mind.
2. The Tabernacle of the Congregation (Tent of Meeting), which is the subject of this study. It was the structure that had the linen fence, the Altar of Burnt Offering, the golden Lampstand, the Ark of the Covenant, the Holy and Most Holy Places, and the rest of the elements with which many Christians are familiar. Chapter 40 of the Book of Exodus tells about the setting up of the Tabernacle of the Congregation.
Although we use the term Tabernacle of the Congregation because of its frequent use in the King James translation of the Scriptures, the Tabernacle was not a tabernacle, or dwelling place, for the congregation of Israel. The Tabernacle was the dwelling place of God, a tabernacle for the Lord. And the Lord did dwell in the Tabernacle.
When referring to the congregation of Israel, the term Tent of Meeting is preferred. The Israelites gathered at the Tent of Meeting for a meeting with their Lord. But the Israelites did not dwell, or tabernacle, there.
The Tabernacle that is the subject of our book, which the King James refers to as the Tabernacle of the Congregation, actually was the place of God’s residence on the earth. This was especially true of the Holy of Holies (Most Holy Place) of the Tabernacle.
The term Tabernacle of the Congregation is in such common usage that we have kept this name when referring to the structure built in the Sinai wilderness, according to the pattern revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai. But the student should keep in mind that the correct terminology is Tent of Meeting, when referring to the congregation of Israel; and Tabernacle, when referring to the dwelling place of the Lord.
To be even more precise, the linen curtain that formed the ceiling of the Holy Place and Most Holy Place, and was draped over the gold-covered boards, was the dwelling place of the Lord, the actual Tabernacle. The goats’ hair Tent was then pitched over the linen material; and there were two more layers of material covering the Tent.
3. The Tabernacle of David, a tent that David set up in Zion, which was a city located on one of the hills within the area of Jerusalem. Inside the tent of David was the Ark of the Covenant, which had become separated from the Holy of Holies of the Tabernacle of the Congregation because of the ignorance and wickedness of Israel.
David made a place for the Ark within a tent in his city, Zion, and placed the Ark of the Covenant there amid great rejoicing (II Samuel, Chapter Six). The remainder of the Tabernacle of the Congregation remained at Gibeon, at the "high place."
Because the Tabernacle of David and the Ark of the Covenant are associated with the coming of Christ as king, and there is much prophetic significance surrounding the Tabernacle of David that has not been fulfilled as yet, James made reference to this particular form of the house of God at an important convention of the early Church:
Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things. (Acts 15:14-17)
Perhaps the Lord will give us understanding concerning the fulfillment of the symbolism that has to do with the separating of the Ark of the Covenant from the Tabernacle of the Congregation, and concerning the prophecy of Amos and the interpretation that James put on this prophecy during the convention of the apostles and elders of the early Church.
4. The Temple of Solomon, that followed the same general design as the Tabernacle of the Congregation but was greatly enlarged and made more elaborate with costly ornamentation. The Temple of Solomon suffered much at the hands of the nations that attacked a sinful Israel, after the death of Solomon. The Temple was destroyed because the invaders wanted the precious metals and jewels of the Temple and because the Temple was a rallying point and center of national pride for Israel.
The Temple was rebuilt after the captivity (Ezra 6:15), and again by King Herod in the first century B.C. It was Herod’s Temple that was standing during the ministry of Jesus and the early Apostles. The Temple of Herod was demolished by the Romans in 70 A.D.
5. Ezekiel’s temple, described in Ezekiel, Chapters 40-48. Although there are many detailed descriptions of the parts of Ezekiel’s temple, it appears that it is to be understood spiritually. There is a possibility that Ezekiel’s temple represents the Church of Christ during the thousand-year Kingdom Age (Millennium). Yet it cannot be that the animal sacrifices will be restored, now that the one perfect Lamb of God has been offered as the eternal sacrifice for sin.
Perhaps the Spirit of God was presenting through Ezekiel a vision of the reign of Christ in the only terms in which the Hebrews of Ezekiel’s day, whose entire spiritual life was involved in animal sacrifices, could understand the wonders associated with the coming of Christ.
It appears that the Scripture is not clear as to the exact relationship between the spirit realm and the physical realm during the thousand-year Kingdom Age. We do not know, for example, whether the saints of God will rule in bodies on the earth, or as spirits from Heaven as Jesus rules us today; or—which seems most likely—in some combination of these two. The description of the Temple of God in the Book of Ezekiel has this half-heavenly, half-earthly quality. So perhaps it has to do with the Kingdom of God during the Millennium.
We do know that Christ and the saints will govern the earth for one thousand years. The Scriptures are clear concerning this rulership. But just how the saints are to rule is not described in detail. Perhaps Ezekiel’s temple shows some of the aspects that will be true during the Millennium, when there is a situation in which flesh and blood people are being ruled by saints who are living in resurrection life. It seems we will have to wait on the Holy Spirit for further understanding before we have more to say concerning Ezekiel’s temple.
Since this book was written we believe the Lord has revealed to us the meaning of Ezekiel’s temple. Let the reader judge.
It seems to us that the first chapter of Ezekiel, the vision of the Lord, refers not only to the Lord Himself but also to the image of glorified man—since man is made in the image of God.
The description of Ezekiel’s temple, beginning in Chapter Forty and continuing through the remainder of the book has to do with the construction of the inner personality of the saint. The stone tables and implements for the sacrifice refer to that which is created within the disciple so he always is ready to offer his sacrifice to God. The guard rooms emphasize the fact that the Christian always must post a guard against the enemy
The repeated measurings are familiar to the saint who knows well how God keeps judging every thought, word, and action until the Divine standard is met. The water that flows in increasing levels indicates the progress of the believer in the Spirit-filled life until he or she becomes a tree of life, ready to bring God’s Glory to the multitudes found in the saved nations.
When one dances lightly on the text this type of truth seems to emerge. The name of the city for eternity will be, "The Lord is there." This name can apply only to the Church, the Wife of the Lamb, the new Jerusalem.
In any case, there never will be another blood sacrifice that God will honor now that God’s own Son has died on the cross for our sins.
6. The Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal dwelling place of God. In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. He is the Tabernacle, the Temple, of God. God the Father has His eternal abode in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Adam was created by the Lord God; but the Scripture never refers to Adam as the dwelling place of God. Christ is the dwelling place of God and we Christians also are referred to in the Scripture as the habitation of God (Ephesians 2:22).
7. The new Jerusalem, the seventh and final form of the house of God. The new Jerusalem is the Body of Christ, the Wife of the Lamb, the glorified Christian Church (Revelation 21,22). When each member of the Body of Christ has come into perfect union with the Head, Christ, and when the members of the Body are filled with the Glory of God and flow together in perfect unity, then the Head and the Body will be the perfect and eternal house of God, the Temple of God, the dwelling place of God and the Lamb forever, ages without end.
Do you think you can remember the seven forms that the house of God has taken? Here they are again:
Moses’ tent.
The Tabernacle of the Congregation.
The Tabernacle of David.
Solomon’s Temple.
Ezekiel’s Temple.
The Lord Jesus Christ.
The eternal Temple of God, Christ—Head and Body, the Lamb and His Wife, the new Jerusalem.
We may use the term house of God today to refer to a building in which Christians assemble for worship and ministry. However, this is only a figure of speech because God lives in the worshipers themselves, never in the buildings in which they assemble.
But in the seven forms of the house of God we have just mentioned, God actually placed His glory there. The Israelites could behold with their eyes the Glory of God resting on the Tabernacle of the Congregation.
In our study of the second of the seven houses, the Tabernacle of the Congregation, we must grasp the fact that the Tabernacle literally was the house of God. The Creator, God Almighty, actually dwelled between the cherubim in the Holy of Holies. God spoke to Moses there and Moses spoke directly to God.
Anyone who dared to enter the Holy Place, other than the priests in the strict observance of their appointed duties, would have been slain instantly by the glory of the Presence of the Lord.
Do you begin to feel the awesome holiness of the house of God? The Presence of the Lord in their midst set the Israelites apart from every other nation on the earth.
Enumeration of the Parts to be Studied
In this book we will be going over several areas of study: the general plan of the Tabernacle, including the materials used; the seven pieces of furniture; the boards, sockets and bars; the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies; the Veil; the linen curtain; the tent; the coverings; the door; the gate; the linen fence; the work of the priests and Levites; the order of Israel on the march; the history of the Tabernacle of the Congregation; and the history of the Ark of the Covenant.
These physical elements will be interpreted as referring to the Lord Jesus Christ, to the Christian disciple, to the Body of Christ, and to the Kingdom of God.
Six Areas of Study of the Tabernacle
We have just listed the several aspects of the Tabernacle of the Congregation that we will be examining. We will be working with these several aspects in six general areas of study, as the Holy Spirit helps and guides us. The six areas will be explained further as we proceed:
The physical description of the parts, furnishings and details of the Tabernacle. This is the factual knowledge of the object or incident in the material realm. The people, objects, and history of the Old Testament were real people and actual things and happenings. We will include, in some instances, a brief comment on the significance of the items.
The Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. All of the types and symbols of the Scriptures reveal the Person and redemptive work of the Lord Jesus, and the Tabernacle and its parts are no exception.
The history of the Christian Church. The order in which God gave to Moses the directions concerning the parts of the Tabernacle provides a history, in type, of the developing of the Church.
The redemption of the believer. The maturing of the Christian is an orderly process. The order of the seven furnishings, commencing with the Altar of Burnt Offering, typifies the seven fundamental aspects of the plan of salvation as a person moves from total chaos of personality all the way to the Throne of God.
The Body of Christ. There is a Divine plan for bringing to perfection of the Christian Church, the Body of Christ. The order of the seven furnishings, commencing with the Altar of Burnt Offering, portrays the growth of the Christian Church from collections of saved believers to the Body of Christ, the holy city, the new Jerusalem, the Wife of the Lamb.
The Kingdom of God. The design of the Tabernacle reveals the plan for the setting up of the Kingdom of God on the earth.
Can you say from memory the six areas of study we encounter as we begin to work with the parts of the Tabernacle of the Congregation?
The physical description
The Person and work of Christ
The history of the Christian Church
The plan of salvation
The Body of Christ
The establishing of the Kingdom of God
The Tabernacle of the Congregation is one of the major (if not the major) types of God’s dealings with us in His plan of redemption. The people and incidents of the Scriptures really existed and took place on the earth. There are other great allegories in literature in which spiritual concepts are conveyed, such as Pilgrim’s Progress, which are not true historical accounts. But the holy Scriptures set forth an accurate record of actual people, places and happenings.
The Tabernacle of the Congregation was a large tent set up in the wilderness region between Egypt and Canaan. That area is a hot, desolate countryside.
At the time of the setting up of the Tabernacle, approximately fifteen hundred years before Christ, there were two or three million Israelites, plus a mixed multitude, following Moses on the pilgrimage from Egyptian slavery to the land of milk and honey. Exodus 12:37 informs us that there were six hundred thousand men on foot and their families.
They were flesh-and-blood people who brought along their struggling animals, sheep, goats and cattle, some of which were to be offered later by the priests on the bronze Altar of Burnt Offering. It was a hot, messy, smelly undertaking overshadowed by sacrificial death, like our own Christian life. But then there was the Glory of God before them and with them, just like our own resurrection life in Christ.
The Israelites could see the cloud going before them during the daytime marches, and the pillar of fire directing the way at night. The pilgrimage of these millions of people remains one of the most significant and astonishing events of world history.
Let’s look now at the physical description of the parts and workings of the Tabernacle of the Congregation as they existed in the material world.
CHAPTER II PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE PARTS, FURNISHINGS, AND DETAILS OF THE TABERNACLE OF THE CONGREGATION
General Plan of the Tabernacle of the Congregation
Chapters 25-40 of Exodus tell us much of what we know about the Tabernacle of the Congregation, the dwelling place of the Lord. It was an oblong wooden building, covered with gold, and roofed with cloth covered by animal skins. The building was about forty-five feet long by fifteen feet wide by fifteen feet tall.
The gold-covered boards from which the building was constructed stood upright, having two tenons (projections) on the bottom which were inserted in silver sockets placed on the ground.
Four layers of material were thrown over these upright boards, forming the ceiling and roof. The outside layer of material was badgers’ skins (actually dolphins’ or porpoises’ skins), so the appearance of the sides and back (west end) of the Tabernacle was rough and plain.
There was a beautiful Veil made from blue, purple, scarlet and fine twisted linen with cherubim skillfully worked into the material. The Veil hung inside the building on four gold-covered wooden posts standing on bases of silver.
The Veil was placed two-thirds of the way toward the far end of the building, partitioning off a room cubical in proportion, fifteen feet on a side. This was the Most Holy Place (Holy of Holies).
The remainder of the building was called the Holy. In English we add the word place, referring to it as the Holy Place.
The Tabernacle building or Tent of Meeting, stood within an area referred to as the Court, or Courtyard, of the Tabernacle of the Congregation. The Court was surrounded by a linen fence hung on posts, or pillars, standing on sockets of bronze. The fence of linen was about one hundred fifty feet long by seventy-five feet across by seven and one-half feet high.
The reason we say about is that the Scriptures give the dimensions in cubits and there is some uncertainty about the exact length of the cubit of the Old Testament. We have estimated the cubit at eighteen inches, which reflects current thinking and probably is close enough for our purposes.
In any case, the linen fence was twice as long as it was wide. So if you think of seventy-five by one hundred fifty by seven and one-half feet high for the linen fence you will have a good idea of its dimensions.
The Tabernacle building was three times as long as it was wide, and it was as tall as it was wide. If you think of fifteen feet wide, fifteen feet high, and forty-five feet long you will be close enough for the Tabernacle building itself. Remember, fifteen by fifteen by forty-five feet for the building, and seventy-five by seven and one-half by one hundred fifty feet for the linen fence.
Measure one of the rooms in your house and you will get a picture in your mind of the size of the Tabernacle of the Congregation. It was quite large.
If you stood back at a distance you would gain the impression of a large fenced area, the fence being sparkling-white linen. The building was twice as high as the fence and its appearance was plain and rough on the two sides and rear. The inside of the building was very ornate and beautiful, as we will be noticing.
Isn’t that just like the Christian life? The world sees only the rough exterior. It cannot see the Glory of God on the inside.
Sometimes the Glory of God can be seen on the "outside" of a Christian during periods of anointed ministry or during the course of a completely dedicated life. So it was with the Tabernacle of the Congregation. The Glory of God Himself could be seen as He came down on the Tabernacle.
Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. (Exodus 40:34,35)
For the cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys. (Exodus 40:38)
The gate to the Court of the Tabernacle was on the eastern end. It was a curtain that hung from four pillars. The curtain that formed the gate of the Court was about thirty feet wide and seven and one-half feet tall—the same height as the rest of the fence.
The gate was part of the fence that surrounded the Courtyard. The colors of the gate leading into the Courtyard of the Tabernacle were blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twisted linen (white). These colors appear in the same order in several places in the Tabernacle.
The door to the Tabernacle building within the Courtyard also was of blue, purple, scarlet and fine twisted linen. This hanging of material was upheld by five posts of acacia wood overlaid with gold and topped with gold capitals.
The beautiful gate to the Courtyard and the higher door to the Tabernacle building gave the Israelite who came with his offering some idea of the magnificence of the gold-covered interior of the wooden Tabernacle building—the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place.
From the outside only two of the seven pieces of furniture could be seen. These were the great bronze Altar of Burnt Offering on which the lambs, goats, bullocks, rams, and birds were sacrificed; and the bronze Laver that stood between the Altar of Burnt Offering and the door of the Tabernacle building.
The long sides of the Tabernacle building and of the linen fence ran west to east, with the entrances (door and gate) on the eastern end.
There were five pieces of furniture in the Tabernacle building. When the priest stepped inside the door of the Tabernacle, on his right, that is, on the north side, was the Table of Showbread. It was constructed of wood and overlaid with gold. On his left, the south side, was the solid-gold Lampstand.
Straight in front of him, just this side of the Veil that partitioned off the Most Holy Place on the western end of the building, was the gold-covered Altar of Incense.
On the annual Day of Atonement, when the high priest was allowed to go past the Veil, he carried a censer, an incense burner, into the Most Holy Place (some scholars differ on the exact procedure here). Straight before him in the center of the Most Holy Place, a cubical room about fifteen feet on a side, was the gold-covered Ark of the Covenant.
Serving as a lid on the top of the Ark of the Covenant was the solid-gold Mercy Seat (literally, Atonement Cover) with the two covering cherubim hammered into shape from the same solid piece of gold from which the Mercy Seat itself was beaten into shape by Bezaleel (Exodus 37:6-9).
The Israelites pitched their tents outside the linen fence.
The tribe of Levi had charge of putting up and taking down, watching over, and carrying the Tabernacle of the Congregation. The tribe of Levi was divided into three families: the sons of Gershom; the sons of Kohath; and the sons of Merari.
The sons of Merari camped on the north side of the Tabernacle and had charge of the posts and other hardware of the Tabernacle.
The sons of Gershom camped on the west side of the Tabernacle and had charge of the curtains, coverings and hangings.
The sons of Kohath camped on the south side and took care of the holy furnishings and implements.
The remainder of the Israelites camped around the Tabernacle in the following order: on the east side, the side of the entrances, were camped Moses, and Aaron and his sons. Outside of them, on the eastern side, were the tribes of Zebulun, Judah and Issachar—186,400 soldiers under the flag of Judah.
On the south side were camped Simeon, Reuben and Gad—151,450 soldiers under the standard of Reuben.
To the rear, outside the western end of the linen fence, were camped Benjamin, Ephraim and Manasseh—108,100 soldiers under the flag of Ephraim.
On the north side of the linen fence were camped Asher, Dan and Naphtali—157,600 soldiers under the flag of Dan.
There were a total of 22,300 Levites and 603,500 foot soldiers.
When Israel set forward on the march these tribes moved out in a specific order, completely protecting the Levites who were carrying the Tabernacle. The entire arrangement shows us plainly that God intended for the Tabernacle of the Congregation, His dwelling place among mankind, to be central in the life and culture of Israel.
The Ark of the Covenant was carried in the center of the line of march. The Ark was of special importance because within the Ark were the two tables of stone, the Testimony, the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments were the covenant of God with Israel; therefore the Ark was termed the Ark of the Covenant, that is, the Ark containing the Ten Commandments.
The Ten Commandments were the testimony that God gave concerning His requirements for the conduct of the people of Israel and, in fact, for the conduct of all mankind. Those requirements were in the form of judgment against sin.
The Ten Commandments are prohibitions concerning human behavior. They warn us concerning our conduct until we can make the transition into a life in which we are able, through the Holy Spirit, to put to death the deeds of our bodies—a life in which the fruit of the Spirit is governing the manner in which we act, speak, and think.
We have seen, then, that the Tabernacle of the Congregation was a rather large structure consisting of a gold-covered wooden building, or tent, within a fenced area, set up by the Hebrews in the Sinai wilderness during their journey from Egypt to the land of promise. The pattern of the Tabernacle was shown to Moses by the Lord (Hebrews 8:5). It was the dwelling place of God in a human neighborhood (Exodus 25:8; 29:45).
The Tabernacle was an earthly figure of the Temple of God in Heaven (Hebrews (9:23,24).
The Tabernacle was divided into three main parts. The outer area, the Courtyard, was surrounded by the linen fence (Exodus 27:9). The courtyard was not covered. It was an outside area lighted by the sun.
The second and third areas were inside the wooden structure, which was covered by the linen curtain, the goats’ hair curtain, the rams’ skins dyed red, and the badgers’ skins—four layers of material. The interior of the wooden structure was never seen by the Israelites except those persons set apart for the priestly work associated with the Tabernacle.
The wooden building was divided into the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies (Most Holy Place). The separating partition was the ornate Veil. The Veil was ripped open from top to bottom by unseen hands when the Lord Jesus died on the cross, signifying that Christians, through the blood of Jesus, now have access to the very Presence of the Father in Heaven (Hebrews 6:7-12; 10:19,20).
In the Holy Place, the larger room of the wooden building (about fifteen feet wide, fifteen feet high, and thirty feet long), were placed the table that held the consecrated loaves of Showbread; the golden Lampstand, which is an important symbol of Judaism to this day; and the Altar of Incense. The Holy Place was lighted at night by the Lampstand.
The Holy of Holies, the western end of the wooden building, was cubical in proportion—about fifteen by fifteen feet. Inside the Holy of Holies were the gold-covered wooden chest, the Ark of the Covenant, in which were placed the Ten Commandments; the memorial jar of manna; and Aaron’s rod that budded. The lid of the Ark of the Covenant was the solid gold Mercy Seat, with a cherub on each end overshadowing the Mercy Seat with its wings. The Holy of Holies was lighted by the Glory of God Himself.
Out in the Courtyard, directly in line with and just before the door of the Tabernacle building, were placed the Altar of Burnt Offering and the bronze Laver.
Hopefully this brief overview of the Tabernacle of the Congregation will aid you in understanding what we are talking about as we go into more detail concerning the materials, furnishings, and parts.
Materials Used in the Tabernacle
The Tabernacle of the Congregation is introduced in the Book of Exodus.
Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take My offering. And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass, And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair, And rams’ skins dyed red, and badgers’ skins, and shittim wood, Oil for the light, spices for anointing oil, and for sweet incense, Onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod, and in the breastplate. And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. (Exodus 25:2-8)
We will not be discussing the last two materials, the onyx stones and the precious gems to be set in the ephod, because these were for the garments of the high priest. The high (anointed) priest, who is a type of Christ, and the vestments of the high priest, although directly related to the study of the Tabernacle, are important enough to be a separate study by themselves.
Gold—The first material named was gold. This is the same metal
we have today. The term pure gold is stressed, no doubt because the gold was refined until the impurities had been removed.
Silver—This is the same metal we have today.
Brass—Scholars seem to be in agreement that this metal was
either copper, or the brown alloy of copper and tin we know today as bronze. Both the refining of copper and the making of bronze were techniques known to the Israelites in 1500 B.C.
Blue, and purple, and scarlet material probably were linen dyed these colors.
Fine Linen—An excellent quality of the white cloth material made from flax that we still use today in our clothes.
Goats’ hair—A fine, soft wool like cashmere, perhaps black in color. Eastern goats are black.
Rams’ skins dyed red—Leather made from the skin of male sheep, dyed red.
Badgers’ skins—It is not certain what animal this was. The goat has been suggested; also, a fish of some large species. Dolphin or porpoise seems to be favored currently. The animal probably was not the one we know as the badger. In any case, the "badgers’ skins" was some kind of tough, weatherproof, durable animal hide that was chosen for its ability to protect the Tabernacle against the elements of the wilderness. It probably was rough and plain in appearance.
Acacia (shittim) wood—From a thorny tree having knots and twists, able to grow in a dry climate. The wood is hard, durable, close-grained, and suitable for cabinet work. It takes a polish. The tree grows to twenty-five feet in height. It does not rot easily.
Oil for the light—Oil from beaten olives, to burn in the golden Lampstand.
Holy anointing oil—Olive oil mixed with myrrh, cinnamon, calamus, and cassia—four spices. It was used to anoint the Tabernacle and its furnishings, and also the high priest.
Incense—Compounded from stacte, onycha, galbanum, and frankincense, seasoned with salt (King James—tempered together).
Symbolism of Materials:
Gold—This metal, used so much in the Tabernacle building, represents the Substance and Nature of God.
Silver—Silver typifies redemption: the buying back of what has been sold, stolen, or captured. All that has been lost from the possession of its original and rightful owner is a candidate for redemption. Christ redeems us from the authority and power of sin.
Brass (bronze)—God’s judgment on sin.
Blue—That which is from Heaven.
Purple—Purple, being a mixture of blue and red, shows Christ as Son of God (blue) and Son of Man (red). Purple also denotes royalty and stresses the lordship of Christ.
Scarlet—The atoning blood of Christ; also, the humanity of
Christ.
Fine twisted (white) linen—The righteousness of the Law imputed
to us through accepting Christ; also, the righteous conduct of the saints (Revelation 19:8).
Goats’ hair—It is believed that this particular species was
black, representing sin. In addition we have Christ’s statements about dividing the nations into the sheep and the goats.
Rams’ skins dyed red—The blood of Christ, particularly
as a covering.
Badgers’ skins—Probably dolphin, or porpoise skin. The tough
covering God creates around His saints so they can endure hardness as good soldiers of Christ.
Acacia (shittim) wood—The wood used in the Tabernacle is symbolic of human beings.
Oil for the Lampstand—The Holy Spirit in ministry to the Body of Christ, and as the testimony to the world of the Person, Word, will, and eternal purpose of God.
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamps to burn continually. (Leviticus 24:1,2)
Holy anointing oil—The Holy Spirit in Presence and blessing, setting aside us and our works as holy unto the Lord God.
And thou shalt make it an oil of holy ointment, an ointment compound after the art of the apothecary: it shall be an holy anointing oil. And thou shalt anoint the tabernacle of the congregation therewith, and the ark of the testimony, (Exodus 30:25,26)
And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office. (Exodus 30:30)
Incense—The life of Christ which, through the Holy Spirit, is to be mixed with the prayers of all saints.
And thou shalt make it a perfume, a confection after the art of the apothecary, tempered together, pure and holy: And thou shalt beat some of it very small, and put of it before the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation, where I will meet with thee: it shall be unto you most holy. (Exodus 30:35,36)
"Tempered together, pure and holy: and you shall beat some of it very small, and put of it before the testimony" signifies that the Holy Spirit has worked in us through the experiences of our discipleship until the life of Christ has been pounded into every part of our personality.
The mixing process is exceedingly thorough so no matter where we turn, God receives from us a sweet savor of Christ. This mixture was an incense. When thrown on the coals placed in the Altar of Incense, or held in the censer, it gave off the Lord’s special perfume.
The people offered willingly. One of the outstanding characteristics of the Tabernacle of the Congregation was that the materials were offered willingly by all the people, as each person was prompted by his or her own heart. The Israelites contributed freely, under no coercion, bringing what they were able to give. When the Tabernacle was completed, many individuals had the satisfaction of knowing that something of themselves was in the place where the Glory of God dwelled.
The children of Israel brought a willing offering unto the Lord, every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring for all manner of work, which the Lord had commanded to be made by the hand of Moses. (Exodus 35:29)
So happy were the people to give, the blessing of the Lord being on them, that they soon brought much more than was needed for the Tabernacle.
And they spake unto Moses, saying, The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work, which the Lord commanded to make. And Moses gave commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary. So the people were restrained from bringing. (Exodus 36:5,6)
Bezaleel and Aholiab. God called out two men by name from the millions of Israelites. These two were the precise people God wanted and had prepared to perform and supervise the many measurements and designs of the vessels of the Tabernacle and all of its parts.
The Tabernacle was the dwelling place of the Lord God. It was made of costly materials and specified to the smallest detail. There was no part of it left to human ingenuity. The Lord designated Bezaleel and Aholiab in order that His building plan might be followed precisely as He gave it.
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, And in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship. And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan: and in the hearts of all that are wise hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee; (Exodus 31:1-6)
When we examine the many instances in which God called people by name to be leaders of the tribes, for the work of the Tabernacle, for every aspect of the service and life of the nation of Israel, we understand that the Holy Spirit assigns tasks to every member of the Body of Christ according to the will of the Spirit.
The Apostles of the early Christian Church were called by name, just as were Bezaleel and Aholiab. And not just the Apostles, but every Christian, every member of the Body of Christ, has a specific task to perform in the work of perfecting the Body of Christ.
We must, according to Romans 12:1,2, present our body as a whole burnt offering that we may prove what is the perfect will of God for our lives. This is our reasonable service of worship to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Let us turn our attention now to the seven main pieces of furniture, presenting them in the order in which they are first listed in the Book of Exodus.
Exodus 25:10—the Ark of the Covenant, made from acacia (shittim) wood covered with gold. Acacia wood and gold were two of the most important building materials of the Tabernacle of the Congregation.
Exodus 25:17—the Mercy Seat (Atonement Cover) beaten out of pure gold.
Exodus 25:23—the Table of Showbread (Bread of Faces, or Bread of the Presence). The Table of Presence Bread was made from acacia wood covered with gold.
Exodus 25:31—the Lampstand. This object had a central branch and six side-branches. At the top of each branch was a golden lamp that burned olive oil. The Lampstand and its accessories were beaten into shape from pure gold.
Exodus 27:1—the bronze Altar of burnt Offering. It is referred to in the Scriptures as the "brazen," that is, brass, altar. But scholars are of the opinion that copper or bronze was the metal used.
Exodus 30:1—Altar of Incense. The Altar of Incense stood within the Holy Place before the Veil, in direct line with the Ark of the Covenant. The Altar of Incense was constructed from acacia wood covered with gold.
Exodus 30:18—the bronze Laver. The Laver was a wash basin placed out in the Court of the Tabernacle between the Altar of Burnt Offering and the door of the Tabernacle.
Now we will take a closer look at each of the seven pieces of furniture.
And they shall make an ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof. And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about. And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in the four corners thereof; and two rings shall be in the one side of it, and two rings in the other side of it. And thou shalt make staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold. And thou shalt put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, that the ark may be borne with them. The staves shall be in the rings of the ark: they shall not be taken from it. And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee. (Exodus 25:10-16)
The Ark of the Covenant was located in the Holy of Holies, in the Tabernacle of the Congregation. It was a chest made of acacia wood. Using our equivalent of eighteen inches per cubit the Ark was three feet nine inches wide, two feet three inches deep, and two feet three inches high. It was covered inside and outside with refined gold.
The "crown of gold round about" appears to have been a border or rim that ran around the top, perhaps to keep the Mercy Seat, which was the lid of the chest, from slipping off while Israel was on the march.
There were four receptacles of gold attached to the four corners of the Ark, two receptacles on each side. Two carrying poles of acacia wood overlaid with gold were placed in these receptacles so the Levites would not have to touch the Ark itself when it was being lifted, carried, and set down in place.
The carrying poles were kept in the receptacles of the Ark of the Covenant at all times, unlike the other furnishings from which the poles were removed each time the Tabernacle was set up at a camping site. The Ark of the Covenant was carried on the shoulders of the Kohathite Levites when the Israelites broke camp and followed the cloud and the fire to the new location.
Inside the Ark of the Covenant was placed the "testimony," the two tables of stone containing the Ten Commandments. Also, in the Ark were placed a memorial jar of manna and Aaron’s rod that budded. By the side of the Ark was placed a copy of the writings of Moses (Deuteronomy 31:26).
When the Israelites took up their journey, the Ark of the Covenant (with its lid, the golden Mercy Seat, in place) was covered with the Veil used to partition off the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place of the Tabernacle. Over the Veil was placed a protective covering of badger (porpoise) skin; and then, finally, a blue cloth.
The Ark and the Mercy Seat were wrapped around with the Veil, with a protective covering of animal skins, and with an outer wrapping of blue cloth. If you stood watching the columns of Israelites marching through the wilderness, all that you would see of the Ark and the Mercy Seat would be the "cloth wholly of blue" and the gold finish of the carrying poles (see Numbers 4:5,6).
It is important to note that the carrying poles always remained in the receptacles on the sides of the Ark. When the Ark was placed in Solomon’s Temple (II Chronicles 5:9) it seems the poles were partially drawn out so the little Ark of the Covenant could be noticed in the midst of the elaborate cherubim that Solomon had made.
Then, as the anointed priest went into the Most Holy Place of Solomon’s Temple on the Day of Atonement, the extended poles would guide him to the Mercy Seat. It was dark in the Holy of Holies except when God chose to brighten it with His Glory.
The poles remained in the Ark. The Ark is always ready to move on. The Glory of God is always pressing on, pressing on toward the fullness of God’s Glory in Christ.
The Ark of the Covenant was the most important element in the national culture of Israel (except for the Person of God Himself) because it contained the testimony—the covenant, the Ten Commandments. The Ark was lost at the time of the Babylonian captivity (586 B.C.) and will never be seen again until the kingdoms of this world become the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ (Revelation 11:15-19).
Although we are treating the Mercy Seat as a separate furnishing, and it was made separately, it was placed as a lid on the Ark of the Covenant and was regarded as a part of the Ark so the whole made one unit—the Mercy Seat resting as a cover on the sacred chest, the Ark of the Covenant.
And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof. And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat. And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof. And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be. And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel. (Exodus 25:17-22)
The cherubim made a shelter with their wings over the Mercy Seat (the Propitiatory; Hebrew, MI>kap-PO-reth—lid of appeasement, atonement).
The Mercy Seat was the place of appeasement and reconciliation, the place of atonement, of mercy, of pardon, of covering. It fit exactly the top of the Ark, being three feet nine inches by two feet three inches in dimension.
The winged creatures, the cherubim, were beaten out of the one piece of gold along with the Mercy Seat itself. The Hebrews were acquainted with the art of casting metals, and parts of the furnishings were cast. They could have cast the Mercy Seat into its form much more easily and quickly than was possible by the technique of beating it into shape with a hammer.
Sometimes God has good reasons for accomplishing His purposes in a difficult, painful manner. Have you found this to be true?
The cherubim looked toward each other, toward the Mercy Seat, and covered the Mercy Seat with their wings. God spoke directly to His servant, Moses, from above the Mercy Seat, from between the two cherubim.
There was no wood in the Mercy Seat or in the covering cherubim. The unit was solid gold. This particular furnishing of the Tabernacle had no symbol of humanity in it; the solid gold speaks of what has been fashioned wholly of and from God.
The refined gold of the Tabernacle represents Divinity. The Divine Substance within us has to be beaten into shape. Have you ever wondered why the Spirit of God hammers, hammers, hammers away at you? Christ in you not only has to grow in you but also must be beaten into shape through the multitude of pressures on you each day.
The word seat, in the term Mercy Seat, is somewhat misleading. The Hebrew word kap-PO-reth has nothing to do with a seat. Kap-PO-reth is derived from the word translated make atonement. It means, lid of atonement.
The kap-PO-reth was a cover on the Ark, a lid rather than a seat. God communed with Moses "from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim." There are some who believe God rested on the wings of the cherubim.
In any case, the solid-gold Mercy Seat together with the Ark of the Covenant formed the place of God’s Presence. The Mercy Seat stood for the fact that God desires to reconcile to Himself the race of mankind, which has been brought into the bondage of sin through the disobedience of Adam and Eve.
Once each year, during the Day of Atonement, the blood of a young bull and of a goat was sprinkled on the front of the Mercy Seat, and evidently on the ground where the high priest approached the Mercy Seat (upon and before the Mercy Seat).
Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat: (Leviticus 16:15)
So real was the Presence of God that it would not be out of line to state that the Glory of God Himself formed part of the Mercy Seat in that His Presence actually came down and dwelled between the cherubim, over the Ark of the Covenant.
The golden Mercy Seat was only a material object, a symbol of the invisible God. It was never to be worshiped. It was a physical point of reference that God designed to represent His Presence with the children of Israel; a geographical location that God set apart as being the place where His Glory would dwell; and a prophetic symbol of spiritual facts pertaining to the Lord Jesus Christ and the Body of Christ. It was patterned after the Mercy Seat in Heaven.
The Presence and Glory of God Himself was with Israel as long as Israel was walking in strict obedience to God’s laws. The loss of the Ark symbolized the loss of the Presence and Glory of God (I Samuel 4:22).
The Mercy Seat with the covering Cherubim of Glory, and the Lampstand, had one extraordinary fact in common—they both were formed from refined gold beaten into shape. The Mercy Seat and cherubim were beaten from one piece of gold, and the Lampstand of the Holy Place was beaten out of one piece of gold.
In this respect, the Mercy Seat, the cherubim, and the Lampstand must be considered as being expressions of the Substance of the Godhead—of the Substance of the Divinity beaten into shape.
The Mercy Seat and the Lampstand represent the Divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ, for He is of pure Divine Substance. He was "beaten into shape" in that He was made perfect through the things He suffered on earth (Hebrews 5:8,9).
The Bride, the Wife of the Lamb, the Body of Christ, is of one Substance with Him, being born of Him and partaking of Him continually (Hebrews 2:11). The Body of Christ is of the Divine Substance and is beaten into shape through many sufferings, beatings, denials, frustrations, persecutions, until the Divine Substance that is in us through Christ appears in the shape God desires. We are being fashioned in His image.
There is a part of us, in the holy of holies of our being, the deepest part of our personality, that has been born of God. It is "solid gold." There is nothing of humanity in it. This is true of every person who has been born again.
The Divinity in each believer must be subjected to the fashioning processes of the Holy Spirit until the mercy seat, to speak symbolically, is created at the core of the being of the Christian. Human nature (wood) cannot be "hammered" into shape. Divine Nature (gold) can be "hammered" into shape.
Thou shalt also make a table of shittim wood: two cubits shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof. And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, and make thereto a crown of gold round about. And thou shalt make unto it a border of an hand breadth round about, and thou shalt make a golden crown to the border thereof round about. And thou shalt make for it four rings of gold, and put the rings in the four corners that are on the four feet thereof. Over against the border shall the rings be for places of the staves to bear the table. And thou shalt make the staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold, that the table may be borne with them. And thou shalt make the dishes thereof, and spoons thereof, and covers thereof, and bowls thereof, to cover withal: of pure gold shalt thou make them. And thou shalt set upon the table shewbread before me alway. (Exodus 25:23-30)
The Table of Showbread was placed in the Holy Place, on the north side—to the right as the priest entered the Tabernacle. It was constructed from the hard, close-grained acacia wood used for many purposes in the Tabernacle. The wood was then covered with refined gold. The table was three feet long; one and one-half feet broad; two feet three inches high.
There was a crown, a rim of gold, around the center area of the table so the twelve loaves of the showbread would remain securely in place; for the loaves were kept on the table continually, even on the march.
The surface of the table was enlarged by the "border (frame) of a hand breadth round about." The border was a shelf extending out on all four sides from the table top and having its own rim of gold around its outside edge.
The center area of the table top was the table proper. It was separated from the shelf area by a "crown" (rim) of gold. Within this center area were placed the twelve loaves of showbread (literally, bread of faces; or, Presence bread).
The shelf area, a "hand breadth" wide, that increased the area of the table top but may have been somewhat lower than the table top surface on which the twelve loaves were placed, evidently was for the four kinds of golden utensils used by the priest in the service of the Table of Showbread.
The four kinds of utensils were as follows: the dishes that held the showbread when carried to the table, and also when eaten by the priests; the little cups in which the holy incense was kept; and the larger cups and the bowls that held the wine for the drink offering and from which the wine was poured on the Tabernacle floor, apparently near the Table of Showbread, on the occasions when sacrifices were made for the whole nation of Israel.
The rim of gold around the showbread kept the twelve loaves separate from the golden utensils—the dishes, little cups, bowls and large cups. The rim of gold around the outside of the extended area kept the dishes, cups, and bowls from falling off onto the floor (ground).
We see, then, that the vessels of ministry were kept near the Presence bread, being placed on the frame of the table adjacent to the Presence bread but separated from the Presence bread by the "crown" (rim) of gold that surrounded the Presence bread, and perhaps also by being a little lower than the table top surface. In this manner the Presence bread was always kept separate from the dishes, bowls and cups placed on the surrounding ledge.
The Word of God is preached by frail humans; but the Word itself is always perfect. The Word of God, for a season, remains separate from those who preach and teach it while they are still in the process of being made perfect by the Word they themselves preach and teach.
The members of the Body of Christ are imperfect and may fail; but the Word of God, Christ Himself, is perfect and never fails.
The Table of Showbread had its four receptacles of gold so the carrying poles could be inserted in order for the Kohathite Levites to carry the table on the march. When the Table of Showbread was set in place in the Holy Place of the Tabernacle, after the march was over, the carrying poles were taken out—unlike the Ark of the Covenant in which the carrying poles remained even when the Tabernacle was set up at one of Israel’s stopping places in the wilderness.
And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof: two tenth deals shall be in one cake. And thou shalt set them in two rows, six on a row, upon the pure table before the Lord. And thou shalt put pure frankincense upon each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire unto the Lord. (Leviticus 24:5-7)
The term "memorial" brings to mind the words of the Lord Jesus, "This do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me."
Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the Lord continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant. And it shall be Aaron’s and his sons’; and they shall eat it in the holy place: for it is most holy unto him of the offerings of the Lord made by fire by a perpetual statute. (Leviticus 24:8,9)
Each cake, or loaf, had about four quarts of fine flour in it. Every Sabbath day hot loaves were placed on the table in two rows of six each, and the past week’s bread was eaten by the priests in a place set aside as holy.
When a drink-offering was poured out by the priest on behalf of all Israel, such as on the Levitical convocations, new moons, and the morning and evening offering of the daily lamb, the wine was poured out in the Holy Place, evidently on the floor of the Tabernacle, close to the Table of Showbread. Here we have the bread and the wine, a portrayal of the Communion service—the body and blood of the Lord Jesus.
As the lamb was being burned on the Altar of Burnt Offering at the opening and closing of each day, the wine was being poured out in the Holy Place by the priest. Can you see Calvary in this ceremony?
When Israel went on the march the Table of Showbread had to be prepared in a specific manner:
And upon the table of shewbread they shall spread a cloth of blue, and put thereon the dishes, and the spoons, and the bowls, and covers to cover withal: and the continual bread shall be thereon: And they shall spread upon them a cloth of scarlet, and cover the same with a covering of badgers’ skins, and shall put in the staves thereof. (Numbers 4:7,8)
The cloth of scarlet represents the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. The showbread, or Presence bread, indicates the body of the Lord; and the wine poured out as a drink offering near the table reveals His blood. We have our sharing together in the body and blood of Christ at the Table of Showbread, to speak symbolically. It is a picture of the Communion service.
The "continual bread" remained on the table even when the children of Israel were on the march.
The term "continual bread" reminds us that the body and blood of Christ are always available to whoever will come and receive. No one has ever come to Christ for the bread of life and been turned away hungry.
Whether one starts from the Mercy Seat, or from the Altar of Burnt Offering, the golden Lampstand is number four in order. The Lampstand represents Pentecost, the fourth Levitical feast (Leviticus 23:15-21). The Lampstand speaks of the ministry of the Holy Spirit in Christ and in the Body of Christ, bearing the Divine witness.
And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of the same. And six branches shall come out of the sides of it; three branches of the candlestick out of the one side, and three branches of the candlestick out of the other side: Three bowls made like unto almonds, with a knop and a flower in one branch; and three bowls made like almonds in the other branch, with a knop and a flower: so in the six branches that come out of the candlestick. And in the candlestick shall be four bowls made like unto almonds, with their knops and their flowers. And there shall be a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches of the same, according to the six branches that proceed out of the candlestick. Their knops and their branches shall be of the same: all it shall be one beaten work of pure gold. And thou shalt make the seven lamps thereof: and they shall light the lamps thereof, that they may give light over against it. And the tongs thereof, and the snuffdishes thereof, shall be of pure gold. Of a talent of pure gold shall he make it, with all these vessels. And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was shewed thee in the mount. (Exodus 25:31-40)
When the priest entered the door of the Tabernacle, the Table of Showbread was on the north, that is, on his right. On the south side, his left, was the gold Lampstand. The Lampstand was beaten from one piece of gold and, to a greater extent than the other pieces of furniture, was very ornamental. The Lampstand and its lamps, tongs and censers were all beaten from a talent of pure gold (approximately seventy-five pounds).
The ornamentation suggests to us that the manifestation of the Holy Spirit is attractive whereas the cross of Christ is a reproach.
The Lampstand proper, not counting the six side-branches, consisted of a shaft proceeding up from a base. On top of the shaft was a gold lamp containing olive oil and a wick. It seems from the description of the ornaments that the shaft was higher than the branches on either side.
There were three kinds of ornamental details worked in the central shaft, and also in the six side-branches that stood out, three on a side, from the central shaft. The three ornaments were as follows: first, the bowls, or cups. It appears from the language of the text that the cups were designed from the calyx of a flower. The calyx of a flower is the outer part that holds the petals. The calyx is in the form of a cup. There were four of these cups, or calyxes, in the central shaft, and three in each of the six side-branches.
The second ornament was the knop, or knob. Apparently the knob was in the form of a round fruit, that is, in the shape of a ball. There were four of these knobs in the central shaft and one knob in each of the six side-branches. Also there was a knob in the central shaft under each pair of side-branches, at the point where the side-branches came out from the central shaft.
The third ornament was the flower. There were four flowers in the central shaft and one flower in each of the six side-branches. Because there was so much more ornamentation in the central shaft, we believe the shaft was taller than the side-branches and represents Him who is anointed with the oil of gladness above His fellows.
The design we have presented seems to be what is set forth in the Scripture, but there may be discrepancies from what actually was the case in the days of Moses. Unfortunately, we do not have the original Lampstand to study.
On top of the central shaft and each of the side-branches was a lamp holding pure beaten olive oil and a wick. Thus there were seven lights coming from the entire lampstand. Unlike the Ark and the Table of Showbread, we do not have the measurements of the Lampstand. We can only surmise how large it actually was. Its size was limited, of course, in that it was beaten from a fixed quantity of gold.
Of the seven pieces of furniture in the Tabernacle of the Congregation, only the Mercy Seat with its two cherubim, and the Lampstand, were beaten from solid gold. This suggests to us that the Lampstand is related to the Mercy Seat. The Lampstand represents the Presence of God in the form of the Holy Spirit abiding in and upon Christ, Head and Body.
The purpose of the golden tongs that accompanied the Lampstand seems to have been that of pulling up the wicks when the lamps were dressed in order to increase the light; and perhaps also to trim off any charred parts of the wick.
The censers may have served to remove the charred wick, but especially for placing coals in the Altar of Incense and for carrying coals from the Altar of Incense into the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement.
In the King James translation the tongs are sometimes referred to as snuffers, and the censers as snuff dishes, which is somewhat confusing.
During the Day of Atonement the high priest took a censer full of coals in one hand, and a cup of incense in the other, and poured incense on the hot coals so the holy perfume would cover the Mercy Seat. The golden censer no doubt came from the Lampstand, the cup of incense from the Table of Showbread, and the coals from the Altar of Incense. In this way all the parts of the Holy Place would be entering the ministry to the Lord who dwelled between the winged Cherubim of Glory.
The Holy Place was dark, being shut out from the sunlight by the door of the Tabernacle, and from the Glory of God by the Veil. The Lampstand was the source of light for the Holy Place at night, and it made the Table of Showbread, the Altar of Incense, and the Lampstand itself visible to the high priest and to the other priests who were ministering. It appears that during the day the Door was turned back enough to permit the priests to move about in the course of their ministry.
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamps to burn continually. Without the vail of the testimony, in the tabernacle of the congregation, shall Aaron order it from the evening unto the morning before the Lord continually: it shall be a statute for ever in your generations. He shall order the lamps upon the pure candlestick before the Lord continually. (Leviticus 24:1-4
"He shall order the lamps upon the pure candlestick before the Lord continually." One would suppose from this that the lamps burned twenty-four hours a day. But the expression "shall Aaron order it from the evening unto the morning" gives us the interpretation. The seven oil cups were lighted in the evening, and the wicks were trimmed and the cups filled with oil in the morning.
And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep; (I Samuel 3:3)
Apparently the lamps burned through the night, and then ran out of oil. How the priest could see to trim the wicks in the morning we do not know, unless the light from the coals of the Altar of Incense gave sufficient illumination. Or, the solution could have been to partially tie back the door to let in the daylight. If this were the case, it must have been true that the interior remained hidden so no one from the outside could see the holy vessels. No one but the priest was permitted to see the furnishings of the Holy Place—not even the Levites.
There was a close relationship between the Altar of Incense and the Lampstand, as seen in the following passage. The incense Altar and the Lampstand were especially in the charge of the high priest, although other priests helped in the service of the Lord.
And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it. And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations. (Exodus 30:7,8)
We see that the seven lamps were tended twice each day by the high priest—at sunrise and in the evening. At sunrise the wicks were trimmed and the lamps filled with oil. In the evening the lamps were lighted and burned through the night.
The Lampstand was to be kept lighted throughout the night, just as the Presence bread was to be kept on the table continually. Also, the fire was to be kept burning on the Altar of Burnt Offering that stood outside the door of the Tabernacle.
As we notice the manner in which the Lampstand was prepared for the march, we can see that in addition to the golden tongs and firepans there were jars for holding and pouring the olive oil that accompanied the Lampstand.
And they shall take a cloth of blue, and cover the candlestick of the light, and his lamps, and his tongs, and his snuffdishes, and all the oil vessels [jars] thereof, wherewith they minister unto it: And they shall put it and all the vessels thereof within a covering of badgers’ skins, and shall put it upon a bar. (Numbers 4:9,10)
Now we have come to the largest of the seven pieces of furniture of the Tabernacle—the bronze Altar of Burnt Offering. All animal sacrifices were made here, at the door of the Tabernacle. It was here that God met Israel, just as God always meets people today at Calvary.
One cannot go around Calvary and find some other way to God. The cross of Christ stands squarely before the entrance to the holy things of the Lord God, and there is no other way.
And thou shalt make an altar of shittim [acacia] wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be foursquare: and the height thereof shall be three cubits. And thou shalt make the horns of it upon the four corners thereof: his horns shall be of the same: and thou shalt overlay it with brass [possibly, bronze]. And thou shalt make his pans to receive his ashes, and his shovels, and his basons, and his fleshhooks, and his firepans: all the vessels thereof thou shalt make of brass. And thou shalt make for it a grate of network of brass; and upon the net shalt thou make four brasen rings in the four corners thereof. And thou shalt put it under the compass of the altar beneath, that the net may be even to the midst of the altar. And thou shalt make staves for the altar, staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with brass. And the staves shall be put into the rings, and the staves shall be upon the two sides of the altar, to bear it. Hollow with boards shalt thou make it: as it was shewed thee in the mount, so shall they make it. (Exodus 27:1-8)
The Altar of Burnt Offering was made of the same acacia wood found throughout the construction of the Tabernacle. In this case, the acacia wood was covered with bronze, the alloy of copper and tin, or perhaps with copper. The scholars are not certain. It seems likely from the account that it was one or the other.
The four horns sticking up from the four corners of the Altar symbolize the fact that the good news of Christ’s atoning death is to be preached to the ends of the earth; and that His death and the resulting atonement, working through the power of His resurrection, will push with irresistible power and authority until the Kingdom of God fills the earth and Christ is Lord of all.
During the days of the Tabernacle of the Congregation the four horns of the Altar of Burnt Offering were used for tying the animals to be sacrificed.
God is the Lord, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar. (Psalms 118:27)
The Altar of Burnt Offering was quite large, about four and one-half feet high and seven and one-half feet square. The Altar dominated the Courtyard area as well as the countryside adjacent to the Tabernacle, because of the ceaseless activity of the priests, Levites, worshipers, animals; the sounds coming from it; and the smell of fat and meat cooking.
In the same manner, Christ on the cross dominates (or should dominate) the activities of the Christian Church. "And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me." The word altar has the root meaning of "slaying for sacrifice"; and the term burnt offering has the root meaning of "ascending toward God what is acceptable and pleasing to Him."
It appears there was a ledge constructed on the top edge of the Altar. Such a ledge would be in keeping with the design of the ledges on the Table of Showbread, Altar of Incense, and the Ark of the Covenant. It would be of wood covered with bronze.
The ledge would serve as a table, holding the five kinds of bronze utensils—shovels, pails for the ashes, basins for the blood, firepans, and the long forks for working with the meat. Also, the pieces of meat could be laid on it, and the priests could lean on it as they reached over and arranged the parts of the sacrifices. Perhaps animal skins were laid on it to keep the priest from getting burned.
Have you ever tried leaning over and placing an object weighing fifty or one hundred pounds in a certain position? Can you imagine doing this all day, day after day, in the heat of the Sinai desert, without leaning on something?
Why didn’t God tell Moses specifically how to arrange the ledge, and how to construct whatever kind of platform the priests stood on so they could reach the top of the Altar of Burnt Offering?
Perhaps the omission of these practical aspects suggests to us that there is no one right way to approach Christ on the cross. Some come with weeping, some come with great joy. Some come in faith, others in skepticism. Men are brought to Christ by ministers of every type of ability and temperament one can imagine. There are well-educated ministers, unlearned ministers, young ministers, old ministers, fluent orators, and the slow and awkward of speech.
The facts that are unchanging, that are of the essence of God’s intention and have prophetic significance, such as the number five (five cubits square, the five utensils, the five types of sacrifices); the wood covered with bronze; are included in the directions. But other facts of the Altar, the amount of dirt with which it must have been filled, and so forth are not stated.
The omission of some aspects may imply, as we have suggested, that the Holy Spirit prefers to work with people in a variety of ways in bringing them to Christ, and therefore does not want the service of sacrifice to be set forth too rigidly as to its details. Or perhaps the Lord is showing us here that He reserves some information so we remain dependent on Him as we labor in the Kingdom of God.
Then again, the omission of certain facts of construction may indicate that these had to do only with the operation of the Altar of Burnt Offering when it was being used with the children of Israel long ago and there is no prophetic significance attached to them.
The "grate" may have been a fairly heavy network of bronze that covered the upper half of the Altar on the outside, like a massive screen all around the four sides of the upper half of the Altar, commencing just below the ledge and extending halfway down the sides of the Altar. Such a bronze grating would provide the strength needed to keep the hollow wood Altar from being pushed apart, broken at the top, or warped out of shape while it was being carried on the march. Also, a bronze network would tend to radiate away the heat of the Altar.
We are aware there are several versions of the position of the grate, and that we may be the only one who pictures the grate as protecting the top half of the Altar. The Hebrew text is not clear as to the location.
Many view the grate as a cooking grate, located halfway down inside the Altar. Others believe the grate was on the outside and covered the bottom half of the Altar. Yet others conceive of the grate as a platform on which the priests stood as they worked with the sacrificial animals.
The four carrying receptacles were set in the four corners of the bronze grating in order to bear the weight of this—the largest and heaviest of the seven holy furnishings. No doubt the carrying poles were very long and thick (probably not round), perhaps allowing seven or eight Levites on each of the four ends.
There must have been some kind of platform, perhaps a mound of earth built up from the ground around the base of the Altar, two feet or higher, for the priests to stand on when ministering at the Altar. Such a platform would bring the top of the Altar down to their waists.
The height of the Altar was four and one-half feet from ground level, and it would have been impossible for men to work all day in that hot climate, placing hundred-pound pieces of meat on the fire, if they were not standing on some kind of elevated platform. Also, there would have been no way in which the priests could have arranged sacrifices across the seven and one-half foot span, the top surface of the Altar, if they were standing on the ground. The top of the Altar would have been on a level with their faces.
We conclude that the Altar must have been filled with earth, and perhaps mounded in the center. Then, glowing coals were placed on top of the earth, wood was placed on the coals, and the sacrifices on the wood.
To have had the fire down inside the Altar would have necessitated digging a hole at the bottom of the Altar for a draft and for collecting the ashes. The ashes of the sacrifices were handled according to precise ceremonial regulations. It would have been very difficult for the priests to treat the ashes of the sacrifices according to the Mosaic regulations if the bronze grate had been inside the Altar, as some have suggested.
Also, if the fire were not burning up at the top of the Altar on a mound of earth but instead were burning down inside the Altar on a grate, the draft coming from a hole at the bottom, the entire bronze Altar would have constituted a huge bronze oven.
Can you imagine what it would have been like for the priests and Levites standing out in the blazing sun of the Sinai Desert, ministering all day around a red hot bronze oven, four and one-half feet high and seven and one-half feet square, raising and lowering large pieces of bulls, goats and sheep? No doubt the strongest priest would have been completely exhausted by noon.
It seems more likely that the Altar of Burnt Offering was a large box, hollow at both ends, filled with earth to the top. The earth was left behind at the start of each journey and the Altar was refilled at the next stop.
If the Altar were filled with earth to the top, the burning wood would have been higher than the sides of the Altar and the sacrifices laid up where everyone could see them. Christ hung on the cross where He could be seen by everyone, young and old. As Moses lifted up the bronze serpent in the wilderness on a pole, so the Son of Man was lifted up on the cross that all the ends of the earth might see the redemption God has provided.
If the sacrifices were up at the top of the Altar, the draft of air necessary for a hot wood fire would have come up over the top of the Altar to the burning wood. Under these conditions the bronze sides of the Altar would be warmed only by the desert sun, because the fire was at the surface and earth does not conduct heat readily.
Also, an altar of earth and an earth platform to stand on would have been in keeping with the tenor of the Word of God to Israel. God does not intend that His way of redemption be embellished by the artfulness of the flesh of human beings.
Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon. (Exodus 20:26)
When the poles were inserted in the four bronze receptacles of the grate and the Altar was lifted, the grate of bronze (probably constructed by weaving a network of heavy bronze straps) would be just what was needed to keep this large hollow box square in shape.
The Altar was five cubits square. The number five, as used here, seems to refer to the beginning, or entrance, of spiritual life, just as animal life began on the fifth day of creation. There were five pillars at the entrance to the Tabernacle; and the fifth of the seven holy furnishings, the Altar of Incense, stood at the entrance to the Holy of Holies. The number five appears to be symbolic of the beginning, or entrance, of the Kingdom of God.
The four sides of the Altar portray the four ministries that present Christ crucified: the apostle, the prophet, the evangelist, and the pastor-teacher. Therefore, the size and shape of the Altar were significant and not to be changed in any manner. The heavy bronze grating would insure the maintaining of the exact shape of the Altar of Burnt Offering when it was picked up and carried for many miles over rough terrain by the Levites.
It is believed that bronze typifies God’s judgment on our conduct. Bronze can withstand the heat of the fire that consumes the sacrifice. Also bronze is a tough metal symbolic, in the Scriptures, of strength. Gold is a soft metal, unsuitable for war. Bronze is a metal of war, of resistance, of overcoming.
The bronze horns on the Altar of Burnt Offering indicate that the power of the crucified Christ will overcome all other powers of the universe, and will push against them until they are ground to powder under His bronze (or brass) feet (burnished brass, refined in the furnace of God’s judgment—Revelation 1:15).
If we are to offer our bodies a whole burnt offering, a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1), then the altar of our soul must be strengthened with a "grate of bronze." Otherwise, when the flesh begins to kick and squirm and many pressures come on us, our altar will fall apart or lose its shape.
God weaves great straps of bronze, a network of judgment, in our life and mightily strengthens our soul so we not only can stand up under the sacrifice and the grueling rigors of the march, as we "follow the cloud by day and the fire by night," but also can push with bronze horns (to speak figuratively) through the wisdom and strength of the Holy Spirit and the blood of Jesus until we overcome the accuser of the brothers, the huge dragon, the ancient serpent who deceives all humanity.
There were five kinds of utensils associated with the Altar of Burnt Offering, all made of bronze: the pails for the ashes, shovels for handling hot coals and for removing ashes, basins to receive the blood, forks to arrange the sacrifice on the altar and to remove portions to be eaten, and firepans (censers) to hold burning coals from the Altar when necessary for the Divine service.
The Altar of Burnt Offering was located in line with the door of the Tabernacle, out in the Courtyard of the Tabernacle, separated from the door of the Tabernacle only by the Laver—the bronze basin at which the priests washed their hands and feet before entering the Holy Place.
The Altar of Burnt Offering and the Laver were located in front of the door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation, and it was here that God met the children of Israel.
And thou shalt set the altar of the burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation. And thou shalt set the laver between the tent of the congregation and the altar, and shalt put water therein. (Exodus 40:6,7)
At the time of the consecration of Aaron and his sons the Divine fire consumed the offering.
And there came a fire out from before the Lord, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces. (Leviticus 9:24)
The fire on the Altar of Burnt Offering was to be kept burning at all times.
A study of Leviticus will reveal that there were five main types of sacrificial offerings serviced at the Altar of Burnt Offering:
The burnt offering
The meal, or cereal offering
The peace offering
The sin offering
The trespass offering
The priests and Levites were busy all day, commencing with the morning sacrifice, which was a lamb offered each morning as a burnt offering. Many animals were sacrificed each day as the priests ministered to the needs of the tribes of Israel at the Altar of Burnt Offering.
The first five chapters of Leviticus describe the five main types of sacrificial offerings. The first offering, the burnt offering, was not a sin offering. It was an offering of consecration, just as we Christians offer our body to God as an offering of consecration.
Chapter One of Leviticus—the burnt offering, in which the whole animal, except for its skin, was consumed by fire. The burnt offering is especially important because it was mentioned first and because it is from this offering that the Altar derives its name. The idea of the burnt offering is that of a sweet, satisfying fragrance ascending to the Lord.
If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord. And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him. And he shall kill the bullock before the Lord: and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the blood round about upon the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And he shall flay the burnt offering, and cut it into his pieces. And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar, and lay the wood in order upon the fire: And the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall lay the parts, the head, and the fat, in order upon the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar: But his inwards and his legs shall he wash in water: and the priest shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord. (Leviticus 1:3-9)
The burnt offering brought to God’s remembrance the perfect consecration of His Son, the Lord Jesus; also, the dedication and offering of the lives of His saints (Romans 12:1,2). The burnt offering teaches us that every person who is called to be a servant of the Lord, as were the children of Israel, must keep on presenting his life to God as a burnt offering, always ready for the fire of God to come down and consume the offering.
Let us not draw back when God makes extraordinary demands on us. We have presented ourselves before God as servants of the Lord Jesus Christ so we may be perfectly obedient, not so we may be able to maintain our own stubborn will and desires against what God intends for us. The Lord Jesus Christ was the perfect burnt offering before God, completely obedient, completely consumed by the fire of God.
Chapter Two of Leviticus—the meal (cereal) offering of fine flour, oil and frankincense.
And when any will offer a meat offering unto the Lord, his offering shall be of fine flour; and he shall pour oil upon it, and put frankincense thereon: And he shall bring it to Aaron’s sons the priests: and he shall take thereout his handful of the flour thereof, and of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof; and the priest shall burn the memorial of it upon the altar, to be an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord: And the remnant of the meat offering shall be Aaron’s and his sons’: it is a thing most holy of the offerings of the Lord made by fire. (Leviticus 2:1-3)
The meal offering differed from the other four sacrifices in that the life of an animal, and blood, were not involved. The worshiper could not identify himself with his offering in the same manner that was true of the burnt offering, by laying both his hands on the head of the animal and then killing it.
Rather, the meal offering of fine flour, oil and frankincense
represented the work of the man’s hands. In the burnt offering the Israelite was offering himself as a burnt offering to the Lord. But in the meal offering he was offering the works of his hands, his possessions and accomplishments, to the Lord. A handful of his meal offering was burned on the Altar of Burnt Offering, and the remainder belonged to the priests for their food.
All of the frankincense was burned on the Altar because the frankincense was a holy perfume unto the Lord and it was not to be given to the priests.
The meal (grain) offering was made without yeast or honey, for yeast and honey were never to be burned as an offering to the Lord. Also, every grain offering was to be seasoned with salt.
A meal offering could be offered together with another kind of offering that did involve a slain animal (Leviticus 23:18).
Chapter Three of Leviticus—the peace offering.
And if his oblation be a sacrifice of peace offering, if he offer it of the herd; whether it be a male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the Lord. And he shall lay his hand upon the head of his offering, and kill it at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron’s sons the priests shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about. (Leviticus 3:1,2)
The peace offering was unique in that the worshiper was allowed to eat a portion of the meat that was offered. In the other four types of offerings, the priests would receive something—the skin of the animal of the sin offering and some of the meat of the other offerings. But in the case of the peace offering, the worshiper was directed to eat the flesh of his offering within a prescribed time (Leviticus 7:15).
As was true of the whole burnt offering, the worshiper laid both his hands on the head of his bull, or cow, or lamb, or goat, and then killed his animal at the door of the Tabernacle.
The peace offering was a sweet and satisfying odor to the Lord. It could be a thanksgiving for an answered prayer, or as part of a vow, or a freewill offering to the Lord. The Israelite had not sinned, nor trespassed, nor was he offering himself or his goods in consecration; rather, he was maintaining his peace with God much as we Christians do by giving thanks in everything each day. The worshiper who offered a peace offering was keeping himself in conscious fellowship with the Lord. We are able to keep in conscious fellowship with the Lord because the peace offering of the blood of the Lord Jesus always is being offered to God on our behalf.
Chapter Four of Leviticus—the sin offering.
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a soul shall sin through ignorance against any of the commandments of the Lord concerning things which ought not to be done, and shall do against any of them: If the priest that is anointed do sin according to the sin of the people; then let him bring for his sin, which he hath sinned, a young bullock without blemish unto the Lord for a sin offering. And if the whole congregation of Israel sin through ignorance, and the thing be hid from the eyes of the assembly, and they have done somewhat against any of the commandments of the Lord concerning things which should not be done, and are guilty; When a ruler hath sinned, and done somewhat through ignorance against any of the commandments of the Lord his God concerning things which should not be done, and is guilty; And if any one of the common people sin through ignorance, while he doeth somewhat against any of the commandments of the Lord concerning things which ought not to be done, and be guilty; Or if his sin, which he hath sinned, come to his knowledge: then he shall bring his offering, a kid of the goats, a female without blemish, for his sin which he hath sinned. (Leviticus 4:1-3,13,22,27,28)
As we study Chapter Four of Leviticus we observe two main aspects of the sin offering: (1) the sins of different classes of people were treated differently depending on their place of responsibility before God—it made a difference whether it was the anointed priest who sinned or one of the common people; and (2) all the sin offerings were for sin committed through error, or unwittingly.
There was no provision in the Lord’s offerings for willful sin. Any Israelite who knew God’s law and deliberately set out to break it was to be cut off from his people. God’s provision for atonement through animal sacrifice was for the person who sinned unintentionally.
Ye shall have one law for him that sinneth through ignorance, both for him that is born among the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them. But the soul that doeth ought presumptuously, whether he be born in the land, or a stranger, the same reproacheth the Lord; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Because he hath despised the word of the Lord, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off; his iniquity shall be upon him. (Numbers 15:29-31)
What does that say to us Christians about behaving in a manner we know to be sinful in the sight of God?
We know that God is merciful and that His great love guides us to repentance when we commit sin. But what about the Christian who, although he understands he is doing wrong, keeps on sinning in spite of being reproved by his conscience, by the Holy Spirit, by the Word of God, and by his fellow Christians?
For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, (Hebrews 10:26)
An important fact about the sin offering is that it especially represents Christ. Of the five offerings, the burnt, the meal or cereal ("meat" in King James), the peace, the sin, and the trespass, it seems the sin offering stands out as being central to the Gospel. Christ became sin for us. He takes away the sin of the world.
If the high priest sinned, he had to lay his hands on the head of a young bull and then slay it before the Lord. The priest had to sprinkle the blood before the Veil and put some on the horns of the golden Altar of Incense. Part of the bull was then burned on the Altar of Burnt Offering and part burned outside the camp.
If the entire congregation sinned, the elders of the congregation laid their hands on the head of a young bull and then the bull was killed. Again, the high priest sprinkled the blood before the Veil and put some on the horns of the Altar of Incense. Part of the bull was burned on the Altar of Burnt Offering and the rest burned outside the camp.
When a leader of Israel sinned unintentionally, he put his hands on the head of a male goat and then slew it. This time the blood was not sprinkled before the Veil but the blood was put on the horns of the Altar of Burnt Offering. The fat was burned on the Altar in the same manner as the fat of the peace offering.
When one of the common people sinned unintentionally, unwittingly, he had to lay his hands on the head of a male goat and then slay it. The priest put the blood on the horns of the Altar of Burnt Offering. The fat was burned on the Altar. Or, a common person could offer a female lamb. The result of the sin offerings was that the person breaking the law of God through ignorance or unintentionally was forgiven.
Again, let us stress the fact that there was no provision in the five sacrifices for the Israelite who, knowing God’s Law, set out to break it in defiance of God’s revelation through the Ten Commandments of His will concerning the governing of human conduct.
The Ten Commandments were God’s testimony concerning Himself and His will. The Ten Commandments were God’s covenant with Israel that they should do them and thus find favor with God. When they broke that law unintentionally there was provision for forgiveness.
Chapter Five through Chapter Six, verse seven, of Leviticus—the trespass offering.
And if a soul sin, and hear the voice of swearing, and is a witness, whether he hath seen or known of it; if he do not utter it, then he shall bear his iniquity. Or if a soul touch any unclean thing, whether it be a carcase of an unclean beast, or a carcase of unclean cattle, or the carcase of unclean creeping things, and if it be hidden from him; he also shall be unclean, and guilty. Or if he touch the uncleanness of man, whatsoever uncleanness it be that a man shall be defiled withal, and it be hid from him; when he knoweth of it, then he shall be guilty. Or if a soul swear, pronouncing with his lips to do evil, or to do good, whatsoever it be that a man shall pronounce with an oath, and it be hid from him; when he knoweth of it, then he shall be guilty in one of these. And it shall be, when he shall be guilty in one of these things, that he shall confess that he hath sinned in that thing: And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the Lord for his sin which he hath sinned, a female from the flock, a lamb or a kid of the goats, for a sin offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his sin. (Leviticus 5:1-6)
If a soul sin, and commit a trespass against the Lord, and lie unto his neighbour in that which was delivered him to keep, or in fellowship, or in a thing taken away by violence, or hath deceived his neighbour; Or have found that which was lost, and lieth concerning it, and sweareth falsely; in any of all these that a man doeth, sinning therein: Then it shall be, because he hath sinned, and is guilty, that he shall restore that which he took violently away, or the thing which he hath deceitfully gotten, or that which was delivered him to keep, or the lost thing which he found, Or all that about which he hath sworn falsely; he shall even restore it in the principal, and shall add the fifth part more thereto, and give it unto him to whom it appertaineth, in the day of his trespass offering. (Leviticus 6:2-5)
There doesn’t seem to be much difference between the sin offering and the trespass offering. However, one distinction is that the sin offering involves sinning against the commandments of the Lord, against one of the Ten Commandments; whereas the trespass offering seems to involve specific misconducts, perhaps not quite as serious in God’s sight as adultery or making a graven image.
The trespass offering makes an atonement for such things as refusing to testify, touching something unclean, violating the ceremonial law, behaving deceitfully or violently against one’s neighbor, lying about something that was lost, and so forth.
Sometimes restitution was involved. A lamb, or goat, or bird had to be offered on the Altar to make an atonement, and then the offender was forgiven.
Again, let us emphasize the fact that these animal sacrifices were for unintentional sin. There was no provision for the Israelite who, knowing God’s law and will, deliberately set out to disobey it.
So it is in the Christian walk. The blood of Christ forgives and cleanses us as soon as we confess a sin that the Holy Spirit has pointed out to us, a sin in which we were deceived, perhaps without being fully aware that we were offending God or man.
But if we accept Christ and then make no attempt to live a holy life, obeying instead the desires of our flesh and mind while hardening our heart against the Word of God and the conviction of the Holy Spirit, then we will die spiritually. We will not be able to participate in the first resurrection at the Lord’s return.
The blood of Christ does not cover willful sinning. God is merciful, and if we repent in time we can return to the Father’s House. But "he, who being often reproved hardens his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy" (Proverbs 29:1).
The sacrifices of the Lord performed on the Altar of Burnt Offering were for the purpose of accomplishing the several aspects of making of an atonement for sin. The term atonement is difficult to define because it includes so much. The principal meaning of making an atonement seems to be that of reconciling to God a person who has been cut off from God’s Presence and favor.
Included in the meaning of making an atonement are the following concepts: covering sin; forgiving sin; appeasing the wrath of God; peace with God; cleansing from the guilt of sin, from tendencies toward sin, and from the effects and consequences of sin; imputed (ascribed) righteousness, that is, the righteousness of Christ applied to our account while we still are in the bondage of sin; and also inwrought holiness and righteousness, that is, holiness and righteousness worked out in us so we think, speak and act in a holy and righteous manner.
Through the authority and power of the blood of Christ we are delivered from the authority and power of Satan. Through the authority and power of the blood of Christ we are able to maintain our fellowship with God.
Atonement includes the separating of the light of Christ that is in us from the darkness of sin that is in us. Atonement brings us from total chaos of spirit, soul and body all the way to conformity to the moral image of Christ; to perfect union with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; to the eternal indwelling of the Father in Christ through the Holy Spirit in us; and to absolute dominion over all things through Christ.
Making the Divine atonement brings a human being from the deepest Hell and lifts him to the throne of Christ. Making an atonement through Christ begins when we are the enemy of God and draws us until we are reconciled perfectly to God; until we are abiding in God and He in us; until we become bone of the bone of Christ and flesh of the flesh of Christ.
The four horns on the upper four corners of the Altar of Burnt Offering, which were used on occasion to tether the sacrificial animals, point to the four corners of the earth, reminding Israel that God’s salvation will one day reach out to include all nations.
The great Altar was kept burning all day and all night servicing the needs of the multitude of Israelites. Aaron and his sons and thousands of Levites attended to the work of the Altar. The smell of burning fat and meat filled the entire camp at all hours.
The Altar of Burnt Offering was much larger than the other vessels of the Tabernacle. The Altar of Burnt Offering dominated the Tabernacle and its services. Remember, the people could not see inside the Holy Place or the Holy of Holies because those two areas were covered. Only the priests could enter there. It was out in the Courtyard at the Altar of Burnt Offering that the people could see what was taking place and have their needs met directly.
When the peoples of the earth look at the Church they should see the Altar of Burnt Offering, so to speak. This Altar represents the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me."
People should hear of the crucified and resurrected Christ from the lips of the Church, and they should see the crucified and resurrected Christ in the lives of the members of the Church. They shall see Christ if we present our bodies a "whole burnt offering unto the Lord" (Romans 12:1,2).
When the Altar of Burnt Offering was to be prepared for moving, as Israel followed the cloud by day and the fire by night, the ashes were removed and a purple cloth was spread over the Altar. The "purple" cloth is a dramatic picture of the royal majesty of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Then the censers, forks, shovels, basins, and pots for ashes were put on the purple cloth. Next, a weatherproof covering of porpoises’ skins was spread over the whole, and the bronze-covered acacia-wood carrying poles were inserted into the receptacles of bronze.
After all this had been done, and the rest of the sanctuary and all its vessels had been covered by the priest, and the whole camp was ready to move forward, then the sons of Kohath were allowed to come and pick up the two carrying poles and place them on their shoulders. But the sons of Kohath under no conditions were to touch the seven holy furnishings (Numbers 4:13-15).
And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim wood shalt thou make it. A cubit shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof; foursquare shall it be: and two cubits shall be the height thereof: the horns thereof shall be of the same. And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, the top thereof, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns thereof; and thou shalt make unto it a crown of gold round about. And two golden rings shalt thou make to it under the crown of it, by the two corners thereof, upon the two sides of it shalt thou make it; and they shall be for places for the staves to bear it withal. And thou shalt make the staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold. And thou shalt put it before the vail that is by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee. And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it. And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations. Ye shall offer no strange incense thereon, nor burnt sacrifice, nor meat offering; neither shall ye pour drink offering thereon. And Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it once in a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonements: once in the year shall he make atonement upon it throughout your generations: it is most holy unto the Lord. (Exodus 30:1-10)
The Altar of Incense was located in the Holy Place, directly in front of the Mercy Seat. The Mercy Seat was in the Holy of Holies, and the Veil separated the Altar of Incense from the Mercy Seat.
The burning of incense on the Altar of Incense was one of the principal responsibilities of the high priest and there are several passages of Scripture that link the priesthood and the offering of incense. Typical of these passages are the following:
And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer upon mine altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? and did I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel? (I Samuel 2:28)
Again, in Deuteronomy 33:10:
They shall teach Jacob thy judgments, and Israel thy law: they shall put incense before thee, and whole burnt sacrifice upon thine altar.
The two altars of the Tabernacle of the Congregation, the Altar of Burnt Offering (the ascending of a sweet savor unto the Lord by burnt sacrifice) and the Altar of Incense (the ascending of a sweet smell unto the Lord from the holy incense) are listed fifth and sixth in order of the Tabernacle furniture in their first presentation by the Lord.
The two altars were especially the responsibility of the priests, particularly of the anointed (high) priest. The Altar of Burnt Offering had to be listed first of the two because no one can approach with praise unto the Lord God until he first has come by way of the cross of Christ and received the atonement made there for him.
The holy incense that was burned on the Altar of Incense was compounded from stacte, onycha, galbanum, and frankincense, seasoned with salt (King James—"tempered together"). This mixture was the only incense allowed in the Tabernacle, and if any person made perfume like it for his own use he was to be cut off from Israel.
It seems the holy incense was kept in cups on the ledge of the Table of Showbread and thrown on the hot coals of the Altar of Incense according to the specific directions of the Lord. The censers for use within the Tabernacle building were of pure gold, being made from the same refined gold as the Lampstand.
As we said, the burning of incense was a particular responsibility of the high priest of Israel. The incense burned continually, day and night, in the Holy Place of the Tabernacle. The high priest replenished the coals and the incense at sunrise and at sunset, twice in each twenty-four hour period, at the same time that he added oil to the seven lamps and adjusted the seven wicks (at sunrise) and lighted the lamps (at sunset).
One very important ceremony involving the holy incense occurred during the annual Day of Atonement.
And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the Lord, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the vail: And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not: (Leviticus 16:12,13)
It seems likely that the censer mentioned here is identical with the censer mentioned in Exodus 25:38, where the word "snuffdishes" should be translated censers. The high priest was to put some coals from the Altar of Incense into one of the golden censers from the Lampstand, and with his other hand bring a cup of incense from the Table of Showbread.
With these he went behind the Veil and stood before the Atonement Cover (the lid on the Ark). While standing there he poured the holy incense on the hot coals in the censer. Immediately a cloud of perfume filled the Holy of Holies, especially covering the Propitiatory (Mercy Seat).
To neglect covering the Mercy Seat with a cloud of the holy perfume was to run the risk of death.
Hebrews 9:4 places the Altar of Incense in the Most Holy Place with the Ark of the Covenant. However, it appears unlikely that anything except the Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy Seat remained all year within the Holy of Holies.
Perhaps the writer of Hebrews was referring to the Day of Atonement when only the high priest of Israel went within the sacred Veil, perhaps bringing the Altar of Incense with him. He then would take the golden censer from the Lampstand containing coals from the Altar of Incense and pour the holy incense on the glowing coals. All the other days of the year the golden censer would stay with the Lampstand, where it was employed to carry the coals that were placed twice each day on the Altar of Incense.
Another possibility is that the Holy of Holies had been empty for so many hundreds of years, the Ark having been captured by Nebuchadnezzar (about 586 B.C.), that by the time the Book of Hebrews was written the priests had moved the Altar of Incense into the Most Holy Place so the room would contain a holy vessel (the Altar of Incense) during the ceremony of the Day of Atonement.
The golden Altar of Incense was much smaller than the Altar of Burnt Offering, being only eighteen inches square and three feet high. It was, however, higher than the Ark and the Table of Showbread by nine inches.
The Altar of Incense had four horns, similar to the great Altar of Burnt Offering, showing that all the ends of the earth will one day offer praise and prayer to Almighty God. Also, the four horns pointed to the four divisions of Israelites camped around the Tabernacle, indicating that the Church is to offer prayer and praise to God without ceasing.
Acacia wood was used in the construction of the Altar of Incense. The wood was covered with pure gold, including the horns. There was the crown (rim, border) of gold around the top as in the case of the Ark of the Covenant and the Table of Showbread. It had its two golden receptacles for the carrying poles, the receptacles being located just under the crown on two opposite corners. The carrying poles were acacia wood overlaid with gold.
Only one kind of incense was to be burned on this smaller altar—the special holy incense. Animal sacrifice was never to be burned on the Altar of Incense, nor a cereal offering burned on it, nor a drink offering poured on the coals of it. It was for burning the holy incense and for that purpose alone.
In the case of certain sin offerings, blood was put on the horns of the Altar of Incense.
When Israel prepared to take up its journey, following the cloud by day and the fire by night, a cloth of blue was spread over the golden Altar of Incense. Then the protective cover of porpoises’ skins was wrapped over the blue cloth. Finally, the two gold-covered carrying poles were inserted in the two gold receptacles.
Any remaining utensils of ministry of the sanctuary that had not been prepared for moving as yet were put in a cloth of blue, then covered with porpoise skin and put on a frame for carrying.
There was no provision for removing the coals or incense when Israel was on the march. Perhaps the incense was to be kept burning perpetually, even while the Israelites were journeying through the wilderness, but this is unlikely. Keeping the incense burning on the march would present serious practical problems. Also, the incense was only for the Lord to smell.
The Altar of Incense was the fifth piece of furniture of the Tabernacle if one begins at the bronze Altar of Burnt Offering. The celebration of Trumpets was the fifth of the seven Levitical convocations (Leviticus 23:24).
The close relationship between the Altar of Incense and the convocation of Trumpets, each being number five in a series of seven, can be seen in Revelation 8:2-6.
And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets. And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand. And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake. And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. (Revelation 8:2-6)
It can be seen from this description that the Altar of Incense has great significance in the sight of God. It is associated with the Blowing of Trumpets and therefore with the judgments of God in the last days.
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Thou shalt also make a laver of brass, and his foot also of brass, to wash withal: and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein. For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat: When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the Lord: So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not: and it shall be a statute for ever to them, even to him and to his seed throughout their generations. (Exodus 30:17-21)
Less is said, as far as details of construction are concerned, about the bronze Laver than any other of the seven pieces of furniture. The size is not given. The way in which it was to be prepared for carrying is not described.
It appears that God has told us exactly what He wants us to understand, meditate on, and act on as far as the Tabernacle of the Congregation is concerned. Therefore, what is given is to be observed and what is omitted makes it possible for the Holy Spirit to work with the disciple in a variety of ways.
Since the Laver speaks to us of the manner in which God works with each person in the sanctifying of his or her life, perhaps the lack of detail tells us that there is wide room for differences among Christians when it comes to living a holy life. What the Holy Spirit demands of one person is not always true for another.
Sometimes the Spirit of God will speak to a Christian about giving up a certain behavior or performing a particular duty. That Christian is not to go out and bring his fellow Christians under the same obligation—it is just for him. It is his own sanctification. God has not required it of others.
In some aspects of the Christian walk, all are to share. Every one of us is to share in the body and blood of the Lord Jesus, for example. But in daily habits of life, of prayer, of Scripture reading, of liberties we may or may not have, the Holy Spirit adjusts these requirements to the spiritual needs of each saint depending on the responsibilities God has laid on that saint as far as the Kingdom of God is concerned, and also in terms of the believer’s level of maturity at that time.
Perhaps the lack of detail in the description of the Laver frees each of us to work out his own salvation as the Holy Spirit leads. We are not under someone else’s obligations and he is not under ours.
The Laver was located "between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar," which seems to indicate that the Laver was placed directly in front of the door of the Tabernacle between the Altar of Burnt Offering and the door of the Tabernacle.
The water in the Laver enabled the high priest and the other priests to wash their hands and their feet before they went into the Tabernacle to minister before the Lord. This reminds us of the words of Paul concerning the Church: "That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word" (Ephesians 5:26).
The Altar of Burnt Offering and the Laver stood out in the Courtyard of the Tabernacle, out in the sunlight. They seem to say, "Receive the atonement made by the Lamb of God, Christ, and be baptized in water, washing away your sins."
The source of the bronze for the Laver and its base is interesting.
And he made the laver of brass, and the foot of it of brass, of the lookingglasses of the women assembling, which assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. (Exodus 38:8)
God’s Word is a mirror. When we look into it we see ourselves. We can tell from a mirror if we are clean and neat or if there is dirt that needs to be washed away.
If we would minister in the holy things of the Lord we must wash daily through means of the Word of God.
As we read the Word, the Holy Spirit brings to our minds and hearts the things we are doing that are not right in God’s sight. Then we must confess our sins; and the Lord Jesus is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Scholars have differing ideas concerning the form of the Laver and the way it worked. As we have thought about this, two facts seem to stand out: first, when the Laver is mentioned, the foot (base) of the Laver is also mentioned, suggesting that there was something of special importance about the base; second, there were no receptacles in the Laver, no directions for covering or transporting it.
The lack of directions for transporting the Laver is striking indeed when we compare the elaborate precautions taken with the other six pieces of furniture. It seems as though God didn’t care whether the Kohathites carried the Laver, or if it was put in one of the carts, or if anybody standing around did with it as he wished.
However, the Laver was one of the holy objects of the Tabernacle, so we know it actually was covered and transported on the march with the greatest of care.
In addition to the emphasis on the base and the lack of directions for carrying the Laver, a third factor must be considered. The priests ministered all day in a dirty, bloody occupation. The Courtyard of the Tabernacle of the Congregation had some of the problems of a stockyard. The priest would not put his hands or feet into the water while it remained in the Laver. The water was poured on his hands and feet by servants.
Did you ever picture in your mind what it must have been like working all day in the midst of that much blood, bawling animals, people standing in line in the hot sun, the constant lifting of the heavy sides of beef and mutton? The priests would have become very sweaty and dirty. It is easy to understand why God required that the priest entering the Holy Place to minister before the Lampstand or Altar of Incense must first wash his hands and feet at the Laver.
A servant may have used a dipper to pour water on the hands and feet of the priest. An interesting design has been presented by Ben Uri, who has made a study of ancient water fixtures (described in The Tabernacle: Camping with God, Stephen F. Olford, Loizeaux Brothers, Neptune, New Jersey, 1973, p. 183). Ben Uri suggests a basin pivoting on a rod.
Putting together the lack of directions for carrying the Laver, the emphasis on the base, and the fact that the bronze from the mirrors of the women who ministered at the door of the Tabernacle may not have added up to much bronze, one could conclude that the Laver of the Tabernacle of the Congregation may have been quite small.
In fact, the Laver may have been a small basin of bronze placed on a bronze pedestal—too small to have receptacles and carrying poles, which might have made it look ridiculous if indeed it were of small size. Perhaps it was a low wash basin filled with water; and every time a priest washed it was picked up off the base, poured on the hands and feet of the priest, and then replaced on the base and refilled with water.
If this were the case, the Laver and its base may have been placed in the cloth of blue and carried on the frame with the small golden utensils of the Tabernacle. But, as seems more likely, it probably was placed on the purple cloth with the bronze utensils of the Altar of Burnt Offering and carried along with that altar.
It seems probable that the Laver was carried with the Altar of Burnt Offering, for three reasons:
The Laver was solid bronze, and the Altar was covered with bronze and its utensils were solid bronze.
The Laver is closely related in meaning and experience to the Altar of Burnt Offering—each has to do with the bondage of sin in our life. Accepting Christ as our atonement, and being baptized in water, go together. The Spirit, the water, and the blood bear witness in earth (I John 5;8).
The Laver being carried with the Altar of Burnt Offering provides a symmetry having to do with the overall design of the furnishings of the Tabernacle.
The symmetry is as follows: in the Holy of Holies there were two pieces of furniture that remained together on the march—the Mercy Seat and the Ark of the Covenant. The Mercy Seat was solid gold and was carried on top of the Ark of the Covenant, which was wood overlaid with gold; and the two pieces of furniture were closely related in meaning and experience.
In order to balance these two, thereby enhancing the symmetry of the arrangement of the seven holy furnishings, the two vessels out in the Courtyard also may be considered together. The Laver was solid bronze, the counterpart of the solid gold Mercy Seat; and it may have been carried on top of the purple cloth that covered the Altar of Burnt Offering, which was wood overlaid with bronze—the counterpart of the Ark of the Covenant which was wood overlaid with gold.
There were no directions for carrying the Mercy Seat—it accompanied the Ark of the Covenant. Perhaps the reason for there being no directions for carrying the Laver was that the Laver accompanied the Altar of Burnt Offering.
Interaction and Common Aspects of the Seven Furnishings
Have you ever thought about the common factors that linked the seven holy furnishings? First of all, the Altar of Burnt Offering and the Laver were together in the Courtyard of the Tabernacle, so they had placement in common—a common location. The Table of Showbread, the Lampstand and the Altar of Incense were together in the Holy Place. The Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy Seat were together in the Holy of Holies. Their common placement suggests that they tend to be grouped together in spiritual fulfillment.
There was much interaction among the seven furnishings. On occasion, the blood was taken from the sacrifice on the Altar of Burnt Offering and brought into the sanctuary, there to be sprinkled on the Mercy Seat or before the Veil; or perhaps put on the horns of the Altar of Incense, depending on the particular observance.
Because of the heavy work of sacrifice at the Altar of Burnt Offering the priests would become very sweaty and dirty. If a priest were then to go into the Tabernacle to minister at the Table of Showbread, the Lampstand, or the Altar of Incense, or the Mercy Seat, he first had to wash at the Laver.
We can see from these examples that there was much interaction among the seven holy furnishings of the Tabernacle. It is true today that the actions of the Holy Spirit in the Body of Christ are interrelated and depend on each other for the accomplishment of their purposes. This is why competition among Christian groups can never be more than the futile striving of ambitious people (I Corinthians 1:13).
The incense cups from the Table of Showbread were used to put incense on the Altar of Incense, and also on the golden censer during the Day of Atonement. The hot coals were picked up by means of the golden tongs from the Lampstand. The incense from the Altar of Incense covered the Lampstand and the Table of Showbread.
On the Day of Atonement the anointed priest slew a young bull at the Altar of Burnt Offering, bathed at the Laver, took a censer from the Lampstand, filled the censer with coals from the Altar of Incense, took a cup full of incense from the Table of Showbread, went behind the Veil and put the incense on the glowing coals in the golden censer he was carrying, and then sprinkled some of the blood of the young bull on the Mercy Seat and before the Mercy Seat.
The Day of Atonement was a most important observance of the Hebrew religious year. All the vessels of the Tabernacle worked together on that day. So it is that the Body of Christ is built up and operates by that which every part supplies.
There were other common factors among the seven holy vessels. For example: both the Altar of Burnt Offering and the Altar of Incense had four horns. This signifies that the sacrifice of Christ, and worship and supplication, are to go to the ends of the earth.
. . . so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations. (Isaiah 61:11)
Also, horns in the Scriptures mean power—power to push back an enemy. There is great power in the cross of Christ, power to overcome the enemy. There is tremendous power also in the prayer and praise of the Altar of Incense. Power is revealed by the four horns on these two altars.
The Ark, the Altar of Incense, and the Table of Showbread had crowns. The crowns speak to us of the lordship of Christ, and also of the crown awaiting each overcomer. The Mercy Seat and the Lampstand were both created from solid gold beaten into shape. These two furnishings in particular reveal the Persons and work of the Godhead.
Both the Altar of Burnt Offering and the Laver contained bronze. Bronze in the Scriptures represents the fire and strength of God’s judgment. The Mercy Seat, Lampstand, and the Laver were created from solid metal—no wood was included; this they had in common. The Mercy Seat, the Laver, and the Lampstand remind us of the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit of I John 5:7. The Altar of Burnt Offering, the Table of Showbread, and the Lampstand had in common that specific utensils were included with them. Perhaps these utensils, symbols of human service, were included with them because the three furnishings represent critical elements in the salvation of people.
If we include the Laver as part of the Altar of Burnt Offering, we have the primary aspects of salvation: (1) the atonement made by the offering of Christ—the Altar of Burnt Offering; (2) the cleansing of water baptism—the Laver; (3) the eating and drinking of the body and blood of Christ, the born-again experience—the Table of Showbread; and (4) the Holy Spirit through whom we are baptized into the Body of Christ—the Lampstand.
The remaining three holy vessels have more to do with our service toward God than they do with our own salvation. They meet God’s requirements rather than our needs, speaking broadly. The turning point between our needs and God’s needs is the fourth of the holy furnishings, the Lampstand. It is at the Lampstand that we begin to change from the saved person, occupied primarily with the meeting of his own needs, into the servant of the Lord who is intent on meeting God’s needs.
The Altar of Incense, the Lampstand, and the Altar of Burnt Offering were the three vessels that contained the Lord’s fire—a fire that was to be kept burning.
The Altar of Burnt Offering and the Laver had in common that they were lighted by the sun. The three vessels of the Holy Place were lighted (at night) by the Lampstand. The two vessels in the Holy of Holies were lighted by the Glory of God.
The seven holy furnishings had in common that they were carried on the shoulders of the Kohathite Levites rather than in wagons, as were the remaining parts of the Tabernacle of the Congregation.
There probably were many other characteristics held in common among two or more of the seven holy furnishings of the Tabernacle. But we will end for now our discussion of the physical characteristics of the seven pieces of furniture of the Tabernacle. How well can you remember the facts we have discussed?
The Tabernacle building had wooden walls on both sides and a wooden wall on the rear (western end) of the structure. There was a door on the front made of material hung on five pillars, or posts. The three walls were constructed of wide, thick boards standing on end, having two tenons inserted in heavy silver sockets. The sockets were placed on the ground.
This long, rectangular, barn-like building was about fifteen feet across, fifteen feet high, and forty-five feet in length. It was partitioned off by the cloth Veil into two rooms. The front (eastern) room was the Holy Place. It occupied two-thirds of the length, being about thirty feet long.
The Holy Place: Furnishings; Door; Walls; Ceiling; Veil; and Floor
The rear room on the western end, the Holy of Holies, was cubical in proportion, fifteen feet wide, high, and long. The roof was fine twisted linen protected by a tent of black goats’ hair wool, a covering of red leather over the black goats’ hair, and a final covering of porpoises’ skins over the red leather. There were five bars running horizontally through rings on the outside of the three wooden sides. Now, let’s look at some of these parts in more detail.
The north, south, and west walls were constructed from thick, heavy boards standing in sockets of silver placed on the wilderness floor. The floor of the Tabernacle, from the Holy of Holies to the outer court, was the desert ground.
God wants His saints to have their feet on the ground. When Moses and Joshua were at the beginning of their ministries, God made them take off their shoes. This means all our works are to be removed and taken out of the way when we come before the Lord.
All of our pretenses, facades, hypocrisy, conniving, self-centeredness and self-seeking, personal ambition and so forth must be stripped from us if we are to approach God.
No matter how ornate were the glorious and beautiful robes of the high priests; no matter how costly and gleaming the golden vessels of the sanctuary, the stunning blues, purples and crimsons of the Veil, the door of the sanctuary and the gate of the Court; the woven cherubim in the sparkling white linen; in spite of all of this spectacular glory and beauty the floor of the Tabernacle remained the dust of the earth. For man was made from the dust of the earth, and it is wholesome for people to recall this fact every once in a while.
And thou shalt make boards for the tabernacle of Shittim wood standing up. Ten cubits shall be the length of a board, and a cubit and a half shall be the breadth of one board. Two tenons shall there be in one board, set in order one against another: thus shalt thou make for all the boards of the tabernacle. (Exodus 26:15-17)
The thickness of the boards is not mentioned, but the other dimensions that are stated suggest one-fourth cubit (four and one-half inches) of thickness for each board, thereby forming the inside dimensions of symbolic significance for the Holy and Most Holy places.
The boards were fifteen feet long, twenty-seven inches wide, and perhaps four and one-half inches thick. Each board was anchored by means of two pegs, or tenons, in the lower end of the board, set into two sockets of silver estimated at one hundred twenty-five pounds apiece.
If you can visualize the picture, each of the forty-eight boards being of this massive size and anchored in a total of six tons of silver, and then covered with four layers of heavy material, you can see that the strongest wind blowing through the wilderness could not move the Tabernacle of the Congregation, just as the forces of Hell can do nothing against the Body of Christ once it has been built on Christ.
And thou shalt make the boards for the tabernacle, twenty boards on the south side southward. 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. And for the second side of the tabernacle on the north side there shall be twenty boards: And their forty sockets of silver; two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board. (Exodus 26:18-21)
The silver for the Tabernacle was obtained from an offering required of every Israelite man of twenty years and older. The half shekel of silver was an "atonement" for their souls (Exodus 38:25-28).
And for the sides of the tabernacle westward thou shalt make six boards. (Exodus 26:22)
This last verse (Exodus 26:22) contains the expression "sides of the tabernacle westward." It seems likely that there was only one side on the western end of the Tabernacle. The western end is the back wall of the Holy of Holies, and it is very unlikely that it was shaped like a blunt arrow, which is the only way there could have been two sides on the west end.
The Amplified Bible refers to it as the "west side." (The Amplified Bible, Old Testament. Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1965.) Rotherham translates it "the hinderpart of the habitation westward." (The Emphasized Bible, translated by Joseph Bryant Rotherham, Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, Michigan, reprinted 1971.) Apparently the Hebrew phraseology is difficult to convey in English, so we probably should ascribe this obscurity to problems within the translation of the Scripture from Hebrew into English. In any event, there seems to have been just one side on the west, and it was constructed from six boards.
And two boards shalt thou make for the corners of the tabernacle in the two sides. (Exodus 26:23)
Scholars have worked with the two corner boards in different ways. The solution appealing to us is that the two corner boards were ripped and mitered, and joined at right angles, forming two corner sections—one each for the northwest corner and the southwest corner.
This would make a better joint than just butting the corners, and would account for the inside dimensions of the room. Allowances had to be made for the thickness of the Veil and the thickness of the boards so the inside dimensions of the room would be exact.
Has it occurred to you as we have gone along that we have had to say several times, it must have been like this or it must have been like that?
It certainly would make our task a lot simpler if God would show us what the Tabernacle looked like. God showed the Tabernacle to Moses while Moses was up in Mount Sinai. God commanded Moses to make all things according to the pattern showed to him in the mountain. Moses did not have to rely on the written directions. He had seen the Tabernacle as God wanted it constructed.
So it is today. We cannot construct the Church of Christ solely from the directions in the New Testament. The Holy Spirit must assist us and give us the Spirit of revelation. If we do not have the current revelation of the Holy Spirit, and attempt to build just from what is written, too much will be left to human judgment. The result will be strife, arguing, divisions in the Body of Christ.
It is time now for the Holy Spirit to be put in charge (by us) of the building of the Body of Christ. The Holy Spirit must become much more prominent in church government and operation as we approach the coming of the Lord. "Saul’s day" is quickly coming to a close. It is time for our "King David" from Heaven, the Lord Jesus, to come into His own inheritance in the Church and the world.
Still speaking of the two corner boards, the Scripture states:
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. (Exodus 26:24)
This is speaking of the reinforcing of the corner sections with rings.
And they shall be eight boards, and their sockets of silver, sixteen sockets; two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board. And thou shalt make bars of Shittim wood; five for the boards of the one side of the tabernacle, 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. (Exodus 26:25-27)
Again we come to the statement "the two sides westward." The Amplified Bible renders this, "five bars for the boards of the rear end of the tabernacle, for the back wall to the west." (The Amplified Bible, Old Testament. ) Rotherham translates, "five bars for the boards of the side of the habitation, at the hinderpart westward." (The Emphasized Bible. )
Again, there apparently was only one side on the west. The problem seems to be merely one of translation of Hebrew into English. No writer on the Tabernacle whom we have studied indicates more than one side on the west.
And the middle bar in the midst of the boards shall reach from end to end. (Exodus 26:28)
There were five bars running horizontally around the three wooden sides of the Tabernacle, inserted in rings of gold. There has been some discussion about how these bars were placed, especially the middle bar. The opinion that seems reasonable to us is that the middle bar ran the whole length of each of the three sides, while the two bars above and the two bars below were somewhat shorter, but long enough to give the necessary added strength to the walls.
The long bar in the middle of the shorter bars presents the same design as the long branch of the Lampstand with the shorter branches on each side. We mentioned previously that the number five speaks of beginnings, especially in the sense of entrance. The Altar of Burnt Offering was five cubits square; five pillars supported the hanging for the door of the sanctuary; the Altar of Incense was the fifth of the seven holy furnishings and stood at the entrance to the Holy of Holies.
The fence around the Court of the Tabernacle was five cubits high. The fifth day of creation was the beginning of animal life. The fifth Levitical convocations was the Blowing of Trumpets, which marked the first day (New Year’s Day) of the Jewish civil, or agricultural year.
The Blowing of Trumpets symbolizes the beginning of spiritual warfare and the coming of the King, who is announced by trumpets. In the symbolism of the wilderness wanderings, the silver trumpets were made after Mount Sinai (after Pentecost, the fourth feast—Sinai and Pentecost are related in symbolic meaning) and reveal the organizing of the congregation of wandering sheep of Israel into the host of the Lord that always follows the Ark of the Covenant into battle against the enemies of God. The number five appears to speak of the beginning, the entrance into the Kingdom of God.
The five bars suggest to us that the Body of Christ, the fulfillment of the symbolism of the Tabernacle building, is held together, first of all, by Christ Himself—the long bar running around the outside of the building; just as Christ is shown by the long central branch of the Lampstand. Additional support is then given to the Body of Christ by the four ministries of Ephesians, Chapter Four: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the shepherd-teachers.
It is possible that the fifth bar, the one representing Christ, ran through holes drilled through the sides of the boards rather than being on the outside, and served to keep the boards in perfect alignment. This design would follow the concept that, while Christ Himself is invisible He is in the four apostolic ministries and keeps them in alignment.
There are four ministries and four Gospel accounts. Four is the number of the light of God, the communication of the Holy Spirit. But Christ is central to all. He Himself is the Center of the Christian Church.
We have said the number five indicates the entrance into the Kingdom of God. So it is that the Body of Christ, as symbolized by the Tabernacle building, is the beginning, after Christ, of the Kingdom of God in the earth. First came Christ, the King of the Kingdom. Next the entire Body of Christ will be brought to the fullness of perfection in the beauty of holiness. Finally the Presence of God in His Tabernacle will fill the whole earth and God will be all in all.
The long center bar represents Christ who is the Center and Circumference of all things. The other four bars reveal the "gifts to men," or the "gifts consisting of men" as Rotherham has it, of Psalms 68:18 (The Emphasized Bible ). The four ministries are the ascension gifts of Christ. The four ministries are the expressions of the resurrected Christ through spiritually-gifted people, people given by the Lord for the building of the Body of Christ.
The apostles are those who are sent from the side of Christ to establish the Church on the foundation, which is Christ. The evangelists are God’s heralds who go everywhere, bringing the good news of the Savior and of the Kingdom of God.
The prophets keep the Church in touch with the burden of the spirit realm. They hear from God the burden for the hour and bear witness of the immediate Word from the Lord. It always is the will of Christ that the Church know the Lord’s immediate thinking, not only what He said hundreds of years ago.
The apostles establish; the evangelists herald the good news; the prophets keep on announcing the present burden of the Holy Spirit, not only to the Church universal but also to particular groups of Christians.
The pastors and teachers work among the Christians, feeding them with the Word of God and guiding them as they begin to grow. The pastors and teachers remain on guard in case "wolves" enter in and attempt to harm the Lord’s sheep, or try to lead them off so the false apostles, prophets, and teachers can satisfy their own lusts.
When the four ascension ministries, the apostle, prophet, evangelist, and shepherd-teacher, are all moving in the Holy Spirit, the members of the Body of Christ will grow toward maturity—the standard of maturity being the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13).
There also were four basic ministries under the old covenant: the patriarch, the prophet, the administrator-warrior, and the priest-teacher. There was an intermingling of these ministries in people, as is true in the new covenant ministries as well.
Abraham and Job were patriarch-prophets. Moses was an administrator-prophet. David was an administrator-warrior-prophet. Daniel was an administrator-prophet. Ezekiel was a priest-prophet. There were some ministries more sharply defined, such as Elijah the prophet, Nehemiah the administrator, and Aaron who was a priest-teacher.
The five bars of the sides of the Tabernacle represent the ministries of Christ given to His Church. The one bar longer than the others is our Lord Jesus. The four shorter bars are the ascension gifts given to the Church so the Church may be founded on the Rock, Christ, and may be built up in Him. The four ministries are expressions of His resurrection life.
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. And thou shalt rear up the tabernacle according to the fashion thereof which was shewed thee in the mount. (Exodus 26:29,30)
We have seen, then, that the interior of the Holy Place was glorious to behold. The white linen, with its blue, purple, and scarlet colors was seen at the door, on the ceiling, and on the Veil. Also, in the ceiling and Veil were fashioned the cherubim. On the pillars and walls was the polished fine gold of the Tabernacle.
Within the Holy Place were the Table of Showbread, Lampstand and Altar of Incense. The room was lighted at night by the seven lamps of the Lampstand. The area was filled with the fragrance of the perfume from the Altar of Incense.
Every aspect of the room and its furnishings is symbolic of the Person and work of Christ; of the growth of the individual Christian into spiritual maturity; of the coming of the Body of Christ to the fullness of Christ; and of the setting up of the Kingdom of God on the earth. How great God is! How greatly to be praised in His holiness!
In contrast to the lavish interior was the floor of the Tabernacle. The floor was the earth, the wilderness ground. God does not want us to forget that we are creatures of the dust; and while He has elected to lift us to the throne of glory, yet it is none of our doing.
Adam was formed from the dust of the ground just as Christ was formed from God Himself. Adam was ground just as Christ is God, being of the Substance of God.
When a man is standing on the ground in his bare feet there is nothing between him and that from which he was formed—no invention, no covering, no device, no deception. God wants us to come to Him that way. He wants us to be absolutely honest, sincere, without pretense, invention, device of any kind. It is just God and I—not even another human being until we are ready for God-ordained relationships.
There are times when we must come to God that way. If we attempt to throw up a protective screen or pretense of any kind, God immediately strips it away so He and we can see exactly what we are in personality, in imagination, in motive, in word, in behavior.
The great acacia boards were completely covered with gold and then stood up on end. Each board had two tenons on the bottom. Each tenon was inserted in a silver socket having a weight of one hundred twenty-five pounds, making a total of two hundred fifty pounds of foundation for each of the forty-eight boards.
The Tabernacle building is a portrayal of the Body of Christ, the Anointed Deliverer, the Servant of the Lord. Every member stands upright in the Lord. Every member is the same height; there are no priests among the believers. Christ is our priest. Every member of the Body of Christ is a human being (acacia wood) covered with the Glory of God in Christ (gold). Each member of the Body of Christ is anchored immovably in the redemption (silver) of Christ.
The great weight of silver symbolizes the purchase price of our redemption, the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Each of us was sold into the bondage of sin and death through the disobedience of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. The blood of Christ is the purchase price of the mortgage that Satan has on the spirits, souls and bodies of mankind. The blood is the full price, and Christ has paid it for every person.
Thus the Body of Christ is anchored in the "silver" of Christ’s redemption. It is this "silver" that separates the Christian from the rest of the people of the earth, who still are in the bondage of sin and death.
The Holy Place of the Tabernacle was a rectangular room about fifteen feet wide, fifteen feet high, and thirty feet long. The dimensions are approximate but they give an idea of the actual size and shape of the Holy Place. The Veil separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies.
And thou shalt hang up the vail under the taches, that thou mayest bring in thither within the vail the ark of the testimony: and the vail shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy. (Exodus 26:33)
On the north side of the Holy Place was the Table of Showbread. On the south side of the Holy Place was the Lampstand. On the west side of the Holy Place, standing just before the Veil, was the Altar of Incense.
The door of the Tabernacle, on the east side, was constructed from material hung on five pillars, or posts.
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. 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. (Exodus 26:36,37)
And he made an hanging for the tabernacle door of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, of needlework; And the five pillars of it with their hooks: and he overlaid their chapiters and their fillets with gold: but their five sockets were of brass. (Exodus 36:37,38)
There were three hangings included in the Tabernacle of the Congregation. The first hanging was the gate of the Court leading into the area surrounded by the linen fence. The second hanging was the door of the Tabernacle, where so many events of significance occurred. The third hanging was the Veil that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies.
All three hangings were of the same colors: purple, scarlet, and fine twisted linen (white). The expression "wrought with needlework" implies that the colors were worked into the linen in a beautiful and detailed manner.
The material of the door of the Tabernacle was hung on five pillars, or posts, constructed from acacia wood. The wood was covered with gold. The hooks for the hanging and the other joinings were of gold. The pillars were crowned with ornamental gold capitals. The pillars stood in sockets of bronze.
The number five speaks, as we have said, of an entrance. In this case it is the entrance into the Body of Christ. By one Spirit we are baptized into the Body of Christ.
The pillars of gold-covered wood represent the victorious saints, who are "pillars in the temple of God." The gold capitals speak of the authority and power given to the saints through their Lord, Christ.
The sockets of bronze reveal that both Christ and His saints are rooted and established in God’s judgment. Those who stand at the entrance to the Temple of God have been through the fire with God and have had their senses exercised to judge between good and evil. They have chosen, in Christ, to love righteousness and hate sin. They have, through Christ, overcome the ancient dragon, the accuser of the brothers.
The glory within the Christian must be anchored in God’s Word of judgment. The golden pillars must be founded in the bronze of judgment. The fire of God must try every work, separating the light of Christ from any darkness in the individual.
The Israelite standing with his sacrifice at the door of the Tabernacle could gain some idea of the beauty of the interior from the gold, blue, purple, crimson and white of the door. For him to go into the Holy Place would have resulted in his death. But he could at least imagine what it looked like!
The door of the Tabernacle, or door of the Tent (both mean the same thing), was the place where God met Israel. The Altar of Burnt Offering was there, as was the Laver. It was the center of the activity of the Tabernacle. The door of the Tabernacle is mentioned several times in Scripture, in Leviticus and Numbers in particular. Be on the lookout for the door of the Tabernacle, or door of the Tent, as you study about the Tabernacle.
The interior walls of the Holy Place were the gold with which the acacia boards were covered.
The ceiling of the Holy Place was especially interesting. It was the linen curtain, the first piece of material thrown over the acacia-board sides. The acacia boards with the linen curtain constituted the Tabernacle proper. The second material, the black goats’ hair, was a tent over the Tabernacle. The third and fourth layers of material, the red leather and the porpoises’ skins, were coverings over the goats’ hair tent.
The ceiling was beautiful to behold. It was of sparkling white linen with colors of blue, purple, and scarlet. Figures of cherubim were worked in it. At the far end of the Holy Place was the Veil, also showing forth the blue, purple and scarlet hues skillfully worked, and cherubim woven into the material.
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: 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. And thou shalt hang up the vail under the taches, that thou mayest bring in thither within the vail the ark of the testimony: and the vail shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy. (Exodus 26:31-33)
We shall notice a little later that the first two layers of material that covered the Tabernacle boards, that is, the curtain of linen, and the curtain of goats’ hair that formed a tent over the curtain of linen, were each composed of two large pieces of material held together by clasps (taches—Authorized Version). The clasps were positioned directly over the four posts holding up the Veil.
The two large sections of the linen curtain were joined (clasped together) over the Veil, and the two large sections of the goats’ hair tent were joined over the Veil. Evidently the Lord wants us to regard the separation marked off by the Veil as a significant division, a line of demarcation.
The four posts were wood covered with gold, holding up the Veil on hooks of gold and resting in silver sockets, similar to the sockets of the boards that formed the sides and western end of the Tabernacle building. The Veil was about fifteen feet square, being fashioned from the same blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twisted linen as the door of the Tabernacle and the gate of the Court.
Figures of cherubim were woven in the material of the Veil. This was not true of the door of the Tabernacle or of the gate of the Court.
The only occasion on which anyone went beyond the Veil into the Holy of Holies was the annual Day of Atonement. On the Day of Atonement the high priest burned incense in a golden censer in the Holy of Holies and sprinkled blood upon and before the Mercy Seat. Otherwise, the Ark of the Covenant and the covering Mercy Seat remained invisible throughout the year.
It was the counterpart of this Veil in Herod’s Temple that was torn asunder when Christ was crucified (Mark 15:38).
In all the glory and beauty of the Tabernacle, God did not want the priests ever to forget they were only men made from the dust of the ground. They came before Him walking on their bare feet on the face of the earth, with nothing between them and the earth from which they were created. If they did wear sandals it was not recorded when their clothing was specified.
And these are the garments which they shall make; a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle: and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office. (Exodus 28:4)
The Holy of Holies
Behind the ornate Veil was the smaller room called the Holy of Holies (Most Holy Place). It was a cube, about fifteen feet on a side. The walls, ceiling and floor were identical to those of the Holy Place.
Located within the Holy of Holies was the Ark of the Covenant with its Mercy Seat (Atonement Cover) serving as the lid. It was here that God dwelled between the Cherubim of Glory. The light from the golden Lampstand did not enter this area. It was dark except for the light of the Glory of God.
Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the high priest dared to enter the Holy of Holies and make an atonement for himself and for the people. This was the most awesome day of the Jewish year and the anointed priest entered in danger of his life.
The Veil of the Temple of Herod was torn on the occasion of the crucifixion of Christ. Now, through His blood, every believer may come boldly to the Throne of God and find forgiveness, wisdom, and strength to help in time of need.
Only someone who had once stood trembling in awe and fear at the door of the Tabernacle, waiting for the high priest to emerge, still alive after having made an atonement before the Mercy Seat, could ever fully appreciate the fact that now every person—Jew and Gentile alike—who puts his trust in the Lord Jesus Christ may come before God, a privilege once reserved for the high priest, and him but once each year.
There is only one reason for this reversal: it is that the sacrifice of Christ was so perfect, so completely fulfilling of all that God requires, that what was once the fearful responsibility of one man in the whole world, the anointed priest of the nation of Israel, is now available to every man, woman, boy and girl on the face of the earth through the blood of God’s Offering, Christ. Each of us may come boldly at any time before the throne of grace that we may obtain help as we strive to overcome the forces of darkness.
The Two Curtains and Two Coverings
There were four layers of material placed over the forty-eight upright boards from which the sides of the Tabernacle building were constructed. The first layer was the linen curtain, which we have just discussed in connection with the Holy Place. The linen was sparkling white with hues of blue, purple and scarlet. Cherubim were wrought in the linen curtain as a design. The upright boards of the Tabernacle, with the fine linen that formed the ceiling and hung down over the outside of the boards, constituted the dwelling place of the Lord.
The second layer of material, which was placed over the fine linen, was the curtain of goats’ hair. The goats’ hair curtain apparently was black and woolen in texture. The goats’ hair curtain was a tent—it was the tent over the Tabernacle.
The Tabernacle, the place of God’s dwelling, was the gold and the fine linen. But there was a tent of goats’ hair material that covered the linen. The goats’ hair was placed over the linen curtain and covered the top and sides of the building.
The third layer of material, which covered the goats’ hair, was rams’ skins dyed red. It was a red leather covering. The fourth layer of material, which covered the rams’ skins dyed red, was the badgers’ skins, believed by modern scholars to have been the skins of dolphins, or porpoises. In any case, it was a rough, weatherproof outer covering over the first three layers of material.
Can you think of a more vivid picture of the Christian? In the heart of the Christian is the righteousness of God. There is no condemnation to those who are in Christ. This is the fine linen, pure and white.
Also in the heart of the believer is the blue, revealing that salvation comes down from Heaven; the purple of the lordship of Christ; and the crimson of the broken body and shed blood of Christ, the continual eating and drinking of which gives life to the disciple. The figures of the cherubim in the linen ceiling portray the spiritual power that governs the life of the disciple of Christ.
Next is the black goats’ hair curtain. This is the tent. The "tent" of the Christian is his body, and the Scripture states that the body of the Christian is "dead because of sin" (Romans 8:10). Covering the black tent (body of the Christian) is the protection of the blood of Christ, the atonement, the rams’ skins dyed red.
Over the entire structure is a tough hide. Christians do not make much progress until they develop a thick skin. Frail, wilting, timid people who are looking for an excuse to not serve the Lord will quickly find such an excuse. They will soon be offended, either by the world or by members of the churches. A Christian has to be strong and resilient to survive in this life.
Israel never did fully possess the land of Canaan (Judges 2:2). The tribes did not have enough faith to follow the Lord into the land of promise. We miss God’s gift when we do not have the faith to follow Christ where He leads us. We must keep on pressing along, day after day, week after week, year after year, and take many blows and discouragements without quitting.
Notice why the lazy servant buried his talent:
And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. (Matthew 25:25)
"I was afraid."
This is where the covering of porpoises’ skins comes into use. We must be able to survive all kinds of blows from the environment without letting trouble get past the outer covering into our heart where it can interfere with what God is doing within us.
It was necessary for the Tabernacle and its holy furnishings to have a weatherproof covering to protect them from the elements. It is necessary for us also to have a tough covering so we will not give up when the journey becomes difficult.
First, righteousness in the heart; next, the law of sin and death in the body; covering the sin of our body is the blood of the Lord Jesus; finally, a tough hide so we can persevere through whatever comes against us while God is dealing with our inner man. Meanwhile our spirit and soul are becoming strong enough to embrace holiness of word, deed, imagination and motive.
Moreover thou shalt make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with cherubims of cunning work shalt thou make them. 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. The five curtains shall be coupled together one to another; and other five curtains shall be coupled one to another. (Exodus 26:1-3)
This is a description of the linen curtain that constituted the Tabernacle proper, the other three layers being the Tent and the coverings. The linen curtain that formed the ceiling of the Tabernacle was made of ten smaller curtains. These were sewn together into two sections of five curtains each.
Each section was twenty-eight cubits (forty-two feet) long, and twenty cubits (thirty feet) wide. The two sections, each twenty-eight by twenty cubits in size, were fastened together over the Veil.
The total width was forty cubits. Twenty cubits covered the Holy Place. Then came the golden clasps that fastened to loops of blue. Of the remaining twenty cubits, ten covered the Holy of Holies and ten hung down over the back (western end) of the Tabernacle.
The length of the curtains was twenty-eight cubits. Since the Tabernacle was ten and one-half cubits wide (outside dimension) and ten cubits high, the linen curtains cleared the ground by about a cubit on each side.
There were fifty taches (clasps) of gold that held together the two sections of the linen curtain.
Next came the curtain of black goats’ hair, the "covering upon the tabernacle."
And thou shalt make curtains of goats’ hair to be a covering upon the tabernacle: eleven curtains shalt thou make. 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. 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. (Exodus 26:7-9)
The construction of the goats’ hair curtain was similar to that of the linen curtain. The eleven curtains, thirty cubits long and four cubits wide, were sewn into two large sections, one section having six curtains and one having five.
The two sections were made one whole curtain by means of fifty clasps of bronze. Being thirty cubits long instead of twenty-eight cubits, the goats’ hair curtain nearly reached the ground on either side. The two sections were joined over the Veil.
Forty cubits of the curtain covered the Holy Place, the Holy of Holies, and the western end.
However, the section that had six curtains instead of five had one of the four-cubit pieces left over. This piece came down over the front of the Tabernacle, over the door, and then doubled back, making a kind of band across the top of the door—"and shalt double the sixth curtain in the forefront of the tabernacle."
The third material was the first of the two outer coverings—the rams’ skins dyed red.
And thou shalt make a covering for the tent of rams’ skins dyed red, and a covering above of badgers’ skins. (Exodus 26:14)
The coverings were for the "tent," that is, for the goats’ hair curtain; whereas the goats’ hair curtain was a tent over the actual Tabernacle of the Lord, which consisted of the linen curtains and the gold-covered boards.
The final, outer covering was the badgers’ (porpoises’) skins.
The ram was the animal used for the consecration of the priests. When Aaron and his sons were consecrated, a ram was offered for a burnt offering. Another ram was termed the "ram of consecration," and its blood was put on the tip of Aaron’s right ear, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the great toe of his right foot; also on the sons of Aaron in the same manner (Leviticus 8:22-24).
No doubt God intends for us to view the rams’ skins covering of the Tabernacle as having to do with the priestly ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ, as well as portraying the covering of Christ’s blood over our sinful flesh.
There were two sets of fifty clasps directly over the Veil that separated the Most Holy Place from the Holy Place. One set of fifty gold clasps joined the two sections of the linen curtain. One set of fifty bronze clasps joined the two sections of the tent of goats’ hair.
The Holy Place speaks of the Church Age, and the Most Holy Place portrays the coming Kingdom Age.
The number fifty is symbolic of Pentecost, and also of the Year of Jubilee. The fifty bronze, and then fifty gold, reveal that the transition from the present Church Age to the Kingdom Age will include judgment and deliverance (redemption) in the earth. The great earth-wide redemption (Jubilee) will be accomplished by the fire and sword of God’s Word, which is the majesty and power of Christ (the fifty bronze clasps); and by a surpassingly great outpouring of the Holy Spirit (the fifty gold clasps).
The Kingdom Age will be a Millennial Jubilee, a period of time during which there will be extraordinary blessing and revelation, as the Glory of God covers the whole earth as the "waters cover the sea."
Following the Millennial Jubilee will be the eternal new heaven and earth reign of Christ. On the new earth will be the holy city, the new Jerusalem, which is the spiritual fulfillment of the Glory of God dwelling between the cherubim of the Lid of Atonement (Mercy Seat) of the Ark of the Covenant.
We meet our old friend, number five, the number that symbolizes entrance into the Kingdom of God, in the segments of the linen curtain and the goats’ hair tent. The five segments of the linen curtain covering the Holy Place speak of the righteousness of Christ that insures that the Church remains acceptable to God.
The five segments of the linen curtain that covered the Holy of Holies and hung down over the back of the Tabernacle reveal that the same righteousness of Christ that covers us now will continue to be necessary throughout the coming Kingdom Age. The blood will keep on protecting the Lord’s people until each is perfect.
Then on throughout eternity the spiritual being of each member of the Body of Christ will unfold and develop in the image of the Almighty God as the result of abiding in His Presence and beholding His Person and His Face.
Five segments of the goats’ hair curtain covered the Holy Place, showing that the mortal body of the Christian is being brought forward to the Day of Redemption, at which time the body of the saint will be redeemed. The sixth segment of the goats’ hair tent, that hung down over the door and was folded double, typifies the nature of man, which must be "doubled back" (circumcised) if he is to be received of God.
God always makes His covenant with people with fire, with the sword, and with blood. We must be circumcised in heart. There must be a point at which Christ "kills our flesh." We cannot abide in Christ and continue in our old self-seeking ways. The Lord brings us into death to self, and then renews us by means of His Spirit. Until we accept the deaths the Lord sends our way we can never experience the fullness of resurrection life.
The five segments of the goats’ hair tent that covered the Holy of Holies and hung down over the back of the building suggest to us that the fleshly nature of people will still be present during the Millennium. The "rod of iron" is necessary because mankind will continue to be capable of rebellion. The Scripture states that after the thousand-year Kingdom Age Satan is able to "deceive the nations" (Revelation 20:8).
The visions of the prophets show us that the thousand-year Kingdom Age will be a period when righteousness is learned by God’s people. The Spirit will be "poured upon us from on high," and the "work of righteousness shall be peace;" (Isaiah 32:1, 15-18; 40:11; 42:3,4; 54:13,14; Malachi 3:3). God will "cause righteousness and praise to spring forth" (Isaiah 61:11).
The ten cubits of goats’ hair that hung down over the back of the Tabernacle, the western end, reveal the fact that all sin in God’s creation will have been judged and put away by the end of the Kingdom Age. The new heaven and earth reign of Christ will be a new beginning—a new creation indeed!
The Holy Place of the Tabernacle, which is symbolic of the Body of Christ, is the means by which the Kingdom of God will enter the earth. The Church has the keys of the Kingdom. We are, as James says, a kind of firstfruits of God’s creatures. The Kingdom of God will be perfected during the Kingdom Age. Then the Kingdom of God will develop and expand forever, as God in Christ in the Body of Christ reigns over the new earth.
The Linen Fence—Its Pillars, Sockets, Gate, Joinings, Pins and Cords
And thou shalt make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward there shall be hangings for the court of fine twined linen of an hundred cubits long for one side: And the twenty pillars thereof and their twenty sockets shall be of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver. And likewise for the north side in length there shall be hangings of an hundred cubits long, and his twenty pillars and their twenty sockets of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver. And for the breadth of the court on the west side shall be hangings of fifty cubits: their pillars ten, and their sockets ten. And the breadth of the court on the east side eastward shall be fifty cubits. The hangings of one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits: their pillars three, and their sockets three. And on the other side shall be hangings fifteen cubits: their pillars three, and their sockets three. And for the gate of the court shall be an hanging of twenty cubits, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework: and their pillars shall be four, and their sockets four. All the pillars round about the court shall be filleted with silver; their hooks shall be of silver, and their sockets of brass. The length of the court shall be an hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty every where, and the height five cubits of fine twined linen, and their sockets of brass. (Exodus 27:9-18)
The Courtyard of the Tabernacle was a large area, rectangular in shape, enclosed by the linen fence. Its one gate faced the east as did the door of the Tabernacle. The material used for the fence was a high quality, pure white linen.
When someone standing on the outside viewed the Tabernacle arrangement, the first impression was the whiteness of the linen fence, seventy-five feet wide and one hundred fifty feet long, approximately. The same impression was true when standing on the inside and looking toward the linen fence. The viewer was surrounded by whiteness, reaching a height of seven and one-half feet.
Clean white linen, as used in the Scripture, symbolizes the righteous behavior of the saints (Revelation 19:8). It is the righteousness of God through Christ, first imputed (ascribed) to the Christian and then fashioned in his personality until he is able to act and think righteously. The conduct of the saint of God, the Christian disciple, must be free of the influence of unclean spirits.
There were one thousand five hundred square cubits (300x5) of material in the linen fence; two thousand cubic cubits of volume in the Holy Place (20x10x10); and one thousand cubic cubits of volume (10x10x10) in the Holy of Holies.
One thousand five hundred was the approximate number of years from the building of the Tabernacle to the first coming of Christ. Two thousand years, we believe, will be the period of time from the first coming of Christ until the second coming of Christ, although that time period may be cut short (Romans 9:28). According to the Book of Revelation there will be one thousand years from the second coming of Christ until the descent of the new Jerusalem to the earth.
How wise, knowing, and powerful God is that He can lay out four thousand five hundred years of history like that. Truly, God is God!
There was no roof over the Courtyard of the Tabernacle. It was lighted by the sun. The Altar of Burnt Offering and the Laver were located in the Courtyard, at the door of the Tabernacle building. It is believed that the Tabernacle building itself, under its tent and two coverings, was placed toward the western end of the Court.
The fine twisted linen fence of the outer Court was hung on pillars, or posts. It seems likely that the pillars were made from acacia wood. There were twenty pillars on the north side, twenty pillars on the south side, and ten pillars on the west side.
On the east side was the gate of the Court. There were three pillars on each side of the gate and four pillars holding up the gate material, making a total of ten pillars on the east side. There was a total of sixty pillars, making it necessary for there to be two posts (pillars) at each corner.
The fence was five cubits high and the number of pillars was five times twelve. Twelve represents the family of God. Five is the number of entrance to the things of God. The linen fence symbolically separates the Kingdom of God from outer darkness. All people within the fenced area, the Court of the Tabernacle, are within the righteousness of God in Christ. All who are outside of the linen fence are outside of God’s righteousness, outside of God’s family (Ephesians 3:15).
Each pillar of the fence was set in a socket of bronze. Bronze speaks of the judgment of God, that is, the Word of God expressing itself in the rewarding of righteousness and the destruction of sin.
A horrible situation exists when a person is living his life without reference to God’s judgment. The thoughts, motives, imaginations, words and deeds of the person are a chaos of righteousness and unrighteousness whether or not the person is a Christian. When God’s Word works in judgment in our lives, then we begin to be able to judge between the good and evil in what we think and do.
Little by little God separates the light from the darkness in us. Judgment always falls on sin wherever it may be found. That which has been accepted as righteous by the Lord always lives and cannot be destroyed. Therefore God’s judgment is a desirable force to have working in our lives, and we ought always to run to the Holy Spirit in order that all that we think and do may be brought into judgment.
The hooks of the posts, by means of which the linen was hung and the posts were tied to stakes driven into the ground, were of silver. Silver represents the price of redemption, the value exchanged that is necessary to set free a person who has been sold into slavery. The price must be paid if redemption is to occur. The price of our redemption was and remains the blood of Christ.
The joinings, or "fillets" as King James has it, may have been rods of silver connecting each pillar to the adjacent pillar, thereby running around the perimeter of the fence. Three purposes would have been served by such rods: as drapery rods to keep the curtain from sagging between posts; as additional strength to hold the posts upright; and as measuring rods to keep the posts the correct distance apart.
Such silver rods would symbolize the common bond of redemption that connects each believer to every other person who has been redeemed by Christ. The rods would support each pillar against the desert winds, helping each pillar to remain standing, to keep upholding God’s righteous ways, as typified by the white linen of the fence material.
The gate of the Court was the familiar blue, purple, crimson, and pure white linen found in the Veil, the linen curtain, and the door of the Tabernacle. The linen of the gate was intricately wrought with skillful needlework. There were four pillars holding up the gate materials, which were twenty cubits wide and five cubits in height. On each side of the gate were three pillars on which was hung the ordinary linen material of the fence.
Every Israelite who approached the gate of the Court, bringing his animal to be sacrificed at the Altar of Burnt Offering that stood within the Court area, saw the blue of Heaven, the purple of royalty, and the red blood of sacrifice portrayed on the gate material through which he passed with his sacrifice.
He had to walk between two of the four pillars on which the gate was hung, the four pillars suggesting to us the four Gospel accounts, and also the four ascension gifts of Christ—the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastor-teachers.
Each acacia-wood pillar was topped with an ornamental silver cap, reminding us again of our need to be redeemed through the blood of Christ. Every man, woman, boy and girl in the world, until he or she has been redeemed, is in the possession of Satan. We were sold into the slavery of sin and death when Adam and Eve chose to disobey God. No man, no woman, no girl, no boy, has in his or her possession the price of his redemption. We are spiritually destitute.
But then comes our "kinsman," the One who chose to call Himself the Son of Man. He gave His body and blood as the payment—to pay off the mortgage Satan holds on our spirit, soul and body. Christ paid off the mortgage. Now we have been set free to choose to obey righteousness, to enter the Kingdom of God.
Before Christ paid our redemption we did not have the ability to choose to live righteously. We belonged to the kingdom of darkness. Only the blood of Christ has the value needed to pay the price of our redemption. All the righteous deeds of the most law-abiding, moral person cannot, under any circumstance, add up to the purchase price of his redemption. Only the body and blood of Christ can provide redemption for human beings.
The pillars were held upright against the wilderness winds just as a tent post is held up today. There were cords fastened to silver hooks on the pillars and then tied down to bronze pegs, or pins, driven into the wilderness ground. It does not specify what material the cords were made of. Perhaps they were leather thongs taken from the same material as the red leather covering of the Tabernacle building.
There were three basic areas of the Tabernacle of the Congregation: (1) the Courtyard area; (2) the Holy Place; and (3) the Holy of Holies.
One important way in which these three areas differed from one another was in the manner in which they were lighted. The Courtyard was lighted by the sun. The Holy Place was lighted (at night) by the Lampstand. The Holy of Holies was lighted by the Glory of God.
When we first come to Christ and accept the redemption made for us on the cross, we do so in the light of day, as it were. Christ was crucified in plain view of the world; not in a church building but outside in the daylight for all people to see. However, when we enter the mysteries of the Body of Christ we pass from sunlight to the supernatural ministries and gifts of the Holy Spirit—to the light of the Lampstand, to speak symbolically.
As the disciple presses into Christ each day he learns more and more to discern the guidance of the Holy Spirit and leans less and less on his own understanding.
During the Kingdom Age we will pass from the light of the ministries and gifts of the Spirit to the light of Christ Himself. Christ always walks in the fullness of the Glory of God, not in ministries and gifts. Paul explains this transition in I Corinthians, Chapter 13 when he indicates that the gifts of the Spirit are temporary, incomplete in the ability to reveal God, and are not a sign of maturity. Rather, they bring us to what is perfect, which is the fullness of the Glory of God in us.
The Lampstand was lighted at night. This tells us that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are for the "evening" of the Day of the Lord, which is the two-thousand year Church Age. During this period we see through a glass dimly. When we come to the "third day," the Kingdom Age, we shall be in the "morning" of the Day of the Lord. Then the gifts, the flashes of light from the darkness, no longer will be needed. We shall have that which is perfect.
We notice the transition from the partial ministry, in the following verse:
And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected. (Luke 13:32)
During "to day and to morrow," the two "days" of the Church Age, we experience the casting out of devils and the curing of illnesses. These are works of partial redemption. But during the "third day," the Kingdom Age, the Body of the Lord will be brought to perfection. The emphasis of the third day (and it is beginning already) will be the perfecting of the Bride of the Lamb in preparation for receiving the fullness of the Bridegroom.
However, this is not to discredit the need we all have for ministries and gifts of the Holy Spirit. In fact, it is our opinion that one of the greatest needs of the Body of Christ in the present hour is the restoration of all the ministries and gifts of the Holy Spirit; for it is through the ministries and gifts that we all shall come to maturity as measured by the fullness of Christ.
It is good, however, to keep our eyes fastened on the goal, which is the fullness of God’s Glory through the Lord Jesus Christ. The fullness will come to us when the Lord Jesus returns from Heaven to the earth, bringing with Him our eternal houses.
The Setting Up of the Tabernacle
In the fortieth chapter of Exodus we read of the setting up of the "tabernacle of the tent of the congregation." The Tabernacle was erected on the first day of the first month of the second year of the forty years in the wilderness.
And Moses reared up the tabernacle, and fastened his sockets, and set up the boards thereof, and put in the bars thereof, and reared up his pillars. And he spread abroad the tent over the tabernacle, and put the covering of the tent above upon it; as the Lord commanded Moses. And he took and put the testimony into the ark, and set the staves on the ark, and put the mercy seat above upon the ark: And he brought the ark into the tabernacle, and set up the vail of the covering, and covered the ark of the testimony; as the Lord commanded Moses. And he put the table in the tent of the congregation, upon the side of the tabernacle northward, without the vail. And he set the bread in order upon it before the Lord; as the Lord had commanded Moses. And he put the candlestick in the tent of the congregation, over against the table, on the side of the tabernacle southward. And he lighted the lamps before the Lord; as the Lord commanded Moses. And he put the golden altar in the tent of the congregation before the vail: And he burnt sweet incense thereon; as the Lord commanded Moses. And he set up the hanging at the door of the tabernacle. And he put the altar of burnt offering by the door of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation, and offered upon it the burnt offering and the meat offering; as the Lord commanded Moses. And he set the laver between the tent of the congregation and the altar, and put water there, to wash withal. And Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet thereat: When they went into the tent of the congregation, and when they came near unto the altar, they washed; as the Lord commanded Moses. And he reared up the court round about the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the hanging of the court gate. So Moses finished the work. (Exodus 40:18-33)
All things were done "as the Lord commanded Moses." Moses was very careful to do exactly as God had commanded—no more and no less. He was obedient to the Lord.
Numbers 4:16 states that Eleazar, the son of Aaron, had considerable responsibility in the work of the Tabernacle:
And to the office of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest pertaineth the oil for the light, and the sweet incense, and the daily meat offering, and the anointing oil, and the oversight of all the tabernacle, and of all that therein is, in the sanctuary, and in the vessels thereof.
Anointing the Tabernacle with Oil
All the parts of the Tabernacle had to be anointed with the holy anointing oil, just as it is true today that every person and activity of the Christian Church must have the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Apart from the anointing of the Holy Spirit, nothing of eternal value is accomplished in the Kingdom of God.
And thou shalt make it an oil of holy ointment, an ointment compound after the art of the apothecary: it shall be an holy anointing oil. And thou shalt anoint the tabernacle of the congregation therewith, and the ark of the testimony, And the table and all his vessels, and the candlestick and his vessels, and the altar of incense, And the altar of burnt offering with all his vessels, and the laver and his foot. And thou shalt sanctify them, that they may be most holy: whatsoever toucheth them shall be holy. And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office. (Exodus 30:25-30)
The Lord’s Fire Consumes Our Offering
At the first consecration of the priests, Aaron and his four sons, the fire of God consumed the burnt offering:
And there came a fire out from before the Lord, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces. (Leviticus 9:24)
If we hold up our body as a whole burnt offering on the bronze altar of our soul, in due time the Lord will pass by and accept our offering. We have need of patience when presenting ourselves to the Lord. Sometimes the Lord waits to see what we are going to do. If we hold steady and keep on presenting our life to Him, in His time and in His manner He will accept our offering. He will consume our sacrifice in the fire of His holiness and love.
The Morning and Evening Sacrifice
Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar; two lambs of the first year day by day continually. The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer at even: And with the one lamb a tenth deal of flour mingled with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil; and the fourth part of an hin of wine for a drink offering. And the other lamb thou shalt offer at even, and shalt do thereto according to the meat offering of the morning, and according to the drink offering thereof, for a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the Lord. This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord: where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee. And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory. (Exodus 29:38-43)
There were several ceremonies that the priests were commanded to observe twice daily, at sunrise and at sundown. First, as we have seen, there were the morning and evening lambs—burnt offerings to the Lord. Then a drink offering of strong wine was poured out in the Holy Place, by the Table of Showbread, on each occasion of the offering of the morning and evening lambs.
And the drink offering thereof shall be the fourth part of an hin for the one lamb: in the holy place shalt thou cause the strong wine to be poured unto the Lord for a drink offering. (Numbers 28:7)
The Altar of Incense was replenished twice each day, at the time the seven lamps were refilled and the wicks were trimmed.
And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it. And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations. (Exodus 30:7,8)
The high priest had four major responsibilities to be performed twice each day, including the Sabbath day: (1) the morning and evening lambs; (2) the drink offerings; (3) filling and trimming the wicks of the Lampstand in the morning and lighting the lamps in the evening; and (4) replenishing the Altar of Incense.
What a picture of Christ was portrayed twice each day! First the lamb was offered as a burnt offering, a sweet savor unto God—the perfect offering of Christ. Next, the blood of Christ was shed, in type, in the pouring out of the drink offering adjacent to the twelve loaves of showbread—the showbread being the type of the broken Body of Christ.
The seven lamps were trimmed and filled, and then lighted in the evening showing, in type, that the revelation of Christ through the Holy Spirit in ministries and gifts is to be kept blazing through the Christian Church during the dark night of the Church Age. The ministries and gifts are expressions in the earth of the resurrected and ascended Christ.
Finally, the holy incense was burned on the coals, bringing up before God the sweet smell of His beloved Son, the Perfect One, the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. This aroma comes from the unceasing prayers of those who are dying to their self-will and are worshiping God in faith and obedience.
Following the Glory of the Lord
The Tabernacle of the Congregation was the Glory of God to the Israelites, just as Christ is the Glory of God to us. They were to stop with the Tabernacle and move with the Tabernacle, just as we are to follow Christ through the Holy Spirit each day, stopping when He stops and moving when He moves.
Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward in all their journeys: But if the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not till the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys. (Exodus 40:34-38)
The cloud over the Israelites would shade them from the burning heat of the desert sun. So it is that we are protected when we are following the Lord closely.
Also, clouds are associated with rain, for clouds actually are water vapor. Water is life when one is in the wilderness of Sinai. Following the cloud is symbolic of following the protection and blessing of Christ. But there come times when it is not as apparent that we are experiencing the blessings of the Lord. During such periods we are to follow the fire.
We follow the fire at night, that is, when we cannot see the way we are going. To follow the Lord’s fire at night means to adhere to His Word in the Scriptures during seasons of fiery trial. All of us must experience the refreshing blessing of the Spirit, and all of us must experience the fire of God’s judgment on our behavior, if we are to be healthy, strong Christians.
The Work of the Priests and Levites
The high (anointed) priest, the common priests, and the Levites performed the work and service of the Tabernacle of the Congregation.
Jacob, the son of Isaac, had twelve sons, one of whom was Levi. Levi had three sons—Gershon, Kohath and Merari.
The oldest son of Kohath was Amram. Amram had two sons, Aaron and Moses. All the priests of Israel, without exception, were descendants of Aaron. It was the Aaronic priesthood. So we see that the priests were a special branch of Levi through Kohath. The priests were of great importance to the service of God, so we will discuss them first. Then we will mention the Levites.
The main task of the priests was to perform the animal sacrifices that made an atonement for Israel; also to minister at the Altar of Incense, at the Lampstand, and at the Table of Showbread. The priests waited on the Altar of Burnt Offering, performing the ordinances associated with the burnt offerings, the meal offerings, the peace offerings, the sin offerings, and the trespass offerings.
Although the Levites were appointed to assist them, it was the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who were to minister before the Lord in the making of an atonement through the slain animals and in the golden furnishings of the Holy Place.
The Altar of Burnt Offering was placed in front of the door of the Tabernacle building, the location also of the Laver. There the blood ran continually as the Israelites made peace with God through the ordinances of sacrifice God had ordained through Moses, and that the priests administered.
The priests carried the ashes from the Altar of Burnt Offering. They pronounced judgments concerning leprosy. They ate of the sacrifices of Israel. They taught the Law to the people. The priests officiated in the rites of purification. It was the responsibility of the priests to minister in the Holy Place.
Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the high priest went inside the Holy of Holies, having the golden censer and the holy incense. He threw the incense on the coals of fire in the censer. A cloud of incense filled the Holy of Holies. The high priest then sprinkled the blood of a young bull and of a goat on the Mercy Seat and in front of the Mercy Seat.
The high priest had charge of the Altar of Incense that was located in the Holy Place in direct line with the Ark of the Covenant, the Ark being on the other side of the Veil. The incense was to be kept burning day and night just as the prayers of God’s saints are to ascend to Him continually. The high priest bore on himself the sins of Israel and their needs before the Lord. On the Day of Atonement he confessed the sins of Israel and placed them on the head of the scapegoat (Leviticus 16:21).
In the fourth chapter of Numbers we find the furnishings of the Tabernacle had to be wrapped carefully by the high priest and the other priests before the Kohathite Levites were allowed to approach the holy vessels and pick up the carrying poles inserted in the receptacles of the vessels.
Aaron and his sons were chosen by the Lord to minister before Him, and their priesthood lasted until Christ, the Lamb of God, was offered for the sin of the world. A careful study of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers will give the student an understanding of the Aaronic priesthood. A modern translation is useful in this kind of study.
The Levites were given to the priests as helpers, and the priests directed their activities. The Levites assisted in the multitude of duties associated with the Altar of Burnt Offering; but they were not allowed into the sanctuary, the Holy Place, under penalty of death.
As you can imagine, with two or three million people engaged in offering animal sacrifices for their sins, the Altar of Burnt Offering was a center of activity. The priests and Levites were busily engaged, attempting to keep up with the needs of the Israelites who were waiting their turn within the Courtyard.
One of the main tasks of the Levites was setting up, taking down and transporting the Tabernacle. The sons of Gershon had charge of the curtains, the coverings, the linen of the fence, the gate of the Courtyard, the door of the Tabernacle, and the necessary cords. They carried these parts in two wagons when Israel was on the march.
The sons of Kohath were in charge of the seven furnishings of the Tabernacle: the Altar of Burnt Offering, the Laver, the Table of Showbread, the Lampstand, the Altar of Incense, the Ark of the Covenant, and the Mercy Seat. They carried these on their shoulders by means of carrying poles.
The sons of Merari were responsible for the hardware of the Tabernacle—the great boards, the bars, the posts (or pillars as they were called), the silver sockets, the bronze sockets and pins, and the cords that accompanied the hardware. These were transported in four wagons.
To give some idea of this mass of material, just think about the fact that one of the acacia boards, of the forty-eight boards that made up the Tabernacle building, was fifteen feet tall, twenty-seven inches wide, and perhaps four or five inches thick. The silver used in the sockets is estimated at six tons.
God is particular about who does what in His Kingdom, and He made abundant provision for the care of the Tabernacle. There were 7,500 Gershonite Levites to take care of the coverings, curtain, and hangings; 6,200 Merarite Levites in charge of the boards, pillars and other hardware; and 8,600 Kohathite Levites to attend to the seven holy vessels.
It must have been thrilling to see Israel on the move after the tribes left the Sinai area and started toward Kadesh Barnea. At the forefront went the great Divine cloud by day and the blazing pillar of fire by night. Following the Lord came Judah, then Issachar, then Zebulun.
Following the tribe of Zebulun were the Gershonite Levites with two wagons carrying the skins and cloths that composed the coverings, curtains, hangings, the gate of the Courtyard, the door of the Tabernacle, and the cords that went with these materials.
Following the Gershonite Levites were the Merarite Levites with four wagons full of the hardware of the Tabernacle, the boards, bars, silver sockets, wooden pillars, bronze pins, and the cords that held up the pillars of the Court.
Following the four wagons of the Merarites were the tribes of Reuben, Simeon and Gad. Next came the Kohathite Levites carrying the Ark of the Covenant and its Mercy Seat lid, and the remaining five holy furnishings of the Tabernacle. These were not to be put in wagons but carried on the shoulders of the Kohathite Levites.
Following the holy furnishings were the rearguard tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, Benjamin, Dan, Asher and Naphtali.
The sounds and sights of the procession, as the priests blew the silver trumpets and the mighty army of God took up its march—mighty because Almighty God was in their midst—truly must have been one of the greatest sights ever witnessed in the history of man on the earth. The more so because of the contrasting appearance of the desolate countryside through which they were marching.
It is possible that there will never be seen the like again until the Lord Jesus Christ returns to the earth at the head of His army (they being clothed in the pure white linen that is the righteous behavior of the saints), having the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God.
History of the Tabernacle of the Congregation
The Tabernacle of the Congregation was set up on the first day of the first month, in the second year of the wilderness wanderings (Exodus 40:17). God had directed that the history of His people should begin with the first Passover (Exodus 12:2). Some believe the work on the Tabernacle was begun six months after the exodus from Egypt and that it required six months for its completion. Thus it was set up at the beginning of the second year.
At the time of the consecration of the priests, the fire of God came forth in the Tabernacle area and consumed the offering on the bronze Altar of Burnt Offering (Leviticus 9:24). The fire of the Altar of Burnt Offering and the perfume arising from the Altar of Incense were maintained day and night. In addition, there always were twelve loaves on the Table of Showbread—even on the march.
It appears, although scholars differ somewhat, that the Tabernacle was set up about 1445 B.C. and was incorporated in Solomon’s Temple around 959 B.C. So the Tabernacle of the Congregation was in existence nearly 500 years.
In fact, I Kings 6:1 informs us that it was four hundred eighty years from the first Passover until the time when Solomon began building the Temple. Since the Temple was seven years in building, and dedicated eleven months after the structure was completed, it seems a little more than four hundred eighty years transpired from the time the Glory of God first filled the Tabernacle of the Congregation, as described in Exodus, Chapter 40 until the Ark and the remainder of the Tabernacle were placed in the Temple of Solomon, at the dedication of the Temple (I Kings, Chapter Eight).
What happened to the Tabernacle of the Congregation during those four hundred eighty years? After the Tabernacle was erected Israel traveled north to Kadesh-Barnea where the spies were sent out (Numbers, Chapter 13). Because of the unbelief of these scouts, and of the people to whom they reported, Israel was condemned to turn back into the wilderness until forty years of wanderings were fulfilled.
For thirty-eight years Israel journeyed from one camp to the next, in the wilderness region between Kadesh-Barnea and Elath. The Tabernacle was set up, taken down, carried, and set back up as Israel went from place to place.
When the time came to cross the Jordan River into the land of promise, the Ark of the Covenant became prominent in the crossing and in the battle of Jericho. But the Tabernacle itself is not mentioned very much in the account of Joshua. However, you might want to study the following Scripture references: Joshua 6:24; 9:23; 18:1; 19:51; 22:19,29; and 24:26. It appears that Joshua had a camp at Gilgal (Joshua 9:6; 10:43), and it is possible that the Tabernacle was maintained for a while at that camp. However, the main location of the Tabernacle was at Shiloh, although it may have had a temporary location at Shechem (Joshua 24:1-26).
Joshua 18:1 is especially informative because we find the Tabernacle was set up at Shiloh where it remained for more than three hundred years. In fact, the Tabernacle was still at Shiloh when the Ark was removed from the Most Holy Place by Hophni and Phinehas and then captured by the Philistines (I Samuel, Chapter Four).
Shiloh, which means rest, was a city a little more than twenty miles north of Jerusalem, twelve miles north of Bethel, and ten miles south of Shechem. Shiloh was a central location for the tribes of Israel.
Joshua 19:51 indicates that the land of promise was divided among the tribes by means of Joshua and the elders casting lots at the door of the Tabernacle. In the Book of Judges, the Tabernacle was located at Shiloh and was referred to as the "house of God" (Judges 18:31; 19:18; 20:18; 21:2; for example).
We come now to the birth of Samuel, about 1105 B.C. In the first three chapters of I Samuel we find the story of the boy, Samuel, who used to sleep in one of the tents outside the Tabernacle building near the high priest, Eli.
One night, just before dawn, Samuel heard the voice of the Lord. By this time the Tabernacle was called the "Temple," not to be confused with Solomon’s Temple, which came about one hundred thirty-five years later. Also, it appears that doors had been put on the Tabernacle building in place of the hanging that God had commanded Moses.
We note in many places in the Scripture that the Israelites changed the specific directions that God gave Moses, perhaps to adjust to "practical requirements." So it has been true that throughout the two thousand years of the history of the Christian Church there have been many adjustments because of "practical considerations."
It is the opinion of this author that if we would wait on the Lord and do exactly what He says, without attempting to be "creative," we would take a huge step forward in the Kingdom of God.
About 1075 B.C. the Ark of the Covenant was removed from the Most Holy Place of the Tabernacle, as described in I Samuel, Chapter Four, and it was never returned as long as the Tabernacle was in existence—another hundred years or so.
When David was fleeing from Saul, about 1020 B.C., the Tabernacle was located at Nob (I Samuel 21:1). Nob was a small town in the vicinity of Jerusalem. From there the Tabernacle was removed to the idolatrous "high place at Gibeon," its last stop before being placed in the Temple of Solomon at the dedication of the Temple (about 959 B.C.).
As we said, the Ark of the Covenant had been removed from the Most Holy Place around 1075 B.C., as described in I Samuel, Chapter Four. The Ark was taken to Ashdod and Ekron, two cities of the Philistines, and then started on its journey back through Israel, going from Bethshemesh to Kirjath-Jearim, a short trip to Gibeah, then back to Kirjath-Jearim to the house of Obed-Edom.
It was then brought by King David to his city, Zion, a suburb of the larger city of Jerusalem. The Ark arrived in Zion about 1000 B.C. Therefore, the Ark was taking this circuitous journey from the Tabernacle at Shiloh back to Zion over a period of seventy-five years or so. Remember, these dates and times are approximate.
From around 1075 B.C. until it was folded up and incorporated in the Temple of Solomon (about 959 B.C.), the Tabernacle of the Congregation was without its most important furnishing—the Ark of the Covenant with the Mercy Seat (Atonement cover). The remaining five sacred furnishings, the Altar of Incense, Lampstand, Table of Showbread, Laver, and Altar of Burnt Offering, were still in the Tabernacle. But the moral law had departed along with the Ark.
To add to the confusion, the Tabernacle was set up at the great high place at Gibeon, a center of idolatrous heathen worship. The native tribes of Canaan practiced the worship of demons on top of hills.
Gibeon, it may be recalled, was the tribe that outwitted Joshua and saved their lives. As God had warned, the idol-worshiping Gibeonites proved to be a snare to Israel, and the Tabernacle of the Congregation was erected at the abominable high place at Gibeon.
And Zadok the priest, and his brothers the priests, before the tabernacle of the Lord in the high place that was at Gibeon, To offer burnt offerings unto the Lord upon the altar of the burnt offering continually morning and evening, and to do according to all that is written in the law of the Lord, which he commanded Israel; (I Chronicles 16:39,40)
While the Tabernacle remained at Gibeon, David brought trouble on himself and Israel by numbering the people. As an outcome of this sin and its consequences, the Lord directed David to set up an altar for offering on the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite, on Mount Moriah.
This was a very unusual command, because the Lord had stated previously that offerings were to be made only at the Altar of Burnt Offering at the door of the Tabernacle, this being one of the strictest of the Levitical injunctions. In obedience to the Lord, and contrary to all that the Lord had spoken to Moses, David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings at the new site (I Chronicles 21:26). God answered David by fire on this altar.
At that time when David saw that the Lord had answered him in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite, then he sacrificed there. (I Chronicles 21:28)
Then David said, This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar of the burnt offering for Israel. (I Chronicles 22:1)
David knew now for certain that God was indicating to him that the Temple of God was to be built on the site of the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. The Temple was not to be established at Zion, where the Ark was, nor at Gibeon, where the rest of the Tabernacle was, but at the new location.
The change in site typifies that at the end of the thousand-year Kingdom Age (the Kingdom Age being symbolized by David’s Tabernacle at Zion) God will create a new heaven and a new earth. All the ministries and operations of the Spirit in the Church and in the world by that time shall have brought forth the end God has in mind. The Church will be in a state of total reconciliation to God, and God and the Lamb will be dwelling in the Church in perfect love and harmony of being.
In that day there will be no more temporary tabernacles. The entire Christian Church will be the new Jerusalem, the Wife of the Lamb—the spiritual fulfillment of the Temple of Solomon. The Throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it forever.
We find just before David’s death he gave specific instructions for the offices of the priests and Levites, in preparation for the building of the Temple (I Chronicles 23-26). David’s charge concerning the building of the Temple of God is found in I Chronicles, Chapters 28 and 29.
Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on the bronze Altar of Burnt Offering at the high place at Gibeon (I Kings 3:4), and the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream. Solomon then went to Jerusalem, to the place of the Ark of the Covenant in the city of Zion, and stood before the Ark of the Covenant and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, followed by a feast for his servants.
There was some kind of altar of sacrifice at the site of the Ark in Zion.
So they brought the ark of God, and set it in the midst of the tent that David had pitched for it: and they offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings before God. (I Chronicles 16:1)
We can see that by this time, with the Ark at Zion, the remainder of the Tabernacle at Gibeon, and the newly-designated site of the Temple at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, the Divine commandment concerning the Tabernacle of the Congregation was being withdrawn in order for the Presence of God to be associated with the coming Temple.
Solomon now undertook to build the Temple of God, and it was seven years in the process of building. Eleven months after it was completed the Temple of Solomon was dedicated with great ceremony. Part of the ceremony was the bringing of the Ark of the Covenant from Zion, and the remainder of the Tabernacle from the high place at Gibeon, and the incorporating of them in the new Temple.
This event marks the formal conclusion of God’s use of the Tabernacle of the Congregation.
Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is Zion. Wherefore all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto the king in the feast which was in the seventh month. And all the elders of Israel came; and the Levites took up the ark. And they brought up the ark, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, these did the priests and the Levites bring up. Also king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel that were assembled unto him before the ark, sacrificed sheep and oxen, which could not be told nor numbered for multitude. And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord unto his place, to the oracle of the house, into the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims: For the cherubims spread forth their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above. And they drew out the staves of the ark, that the ends of the staves were seen from the ark before the oracle; but they were not seen without. And there it is unto this day. There was nothing in the ark save the two tables which Moses put therein at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of Egypt. (II Chronicles 5:2-10)
It is sad to think of the coming to an end of the glorious history of almost five hundred years of service of the Tabernacle of the Congregation to the children of Israel. Yet it was not an end, for the elements of the Tabernacle found their permanent rest in the Temple of Solomon.
The swallowing up of the Tabernacle of the Congregation by the Temple of Solomon is typical of our own mortal body being swallowed up by our house of resurrection life, which will descend on us from Heaven at the glorious appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.
In the kingdom-wide interpretation of the Tabernacle, the incorporating of the parts of the Tabernacle in the Temple of Solomon typifies the gathering together of all the members of the Body of Christ in the holy city, the new Jerusalem.
We are sad to leave, speaking figuratively, the Altar of Burnt Offering, the Table of Showbread, the Lampstand, the Ark of the Covenant—all the parts that have been so precious to us as we have plodded our way through the wilderness of this life, learning our lessons from God, gaining victories over all obstacles through His strength and wisdom.
But then we rejoice, because none of these has been lost to us. They have been brought to an eternal glorified state in the new Jerusalem, the holy city, where we shall reign with God and see His glorious Face forever.
Speaking of the Tabernacle of David, that is, of the tent David pitched for the Ark in his city of Zion while the rest of the Tabernacle remained at the idolatrous high place at Gibeon, James comments:
After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things. (Acts 15:16,17)
James was quoting from Amos 9:11,12. When we study Amos 9:11-15 we notice that this passage refers to the glories of the Kingdom Age that are yet ahead of us. No doubt we are in the days when the Ark is at the house of Obed-Edom, to speak symbolically, and our heavenly King David, the Lord Jesus Christ, is even now preparing to set up the Ark in the heavenly Mount Zion. Then the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ, and He shall reign forever (Revelation 11:15-19).
History of the Ark of the Covenant
The history of the Ark of the Covenant was closely identified with that of the entire Tabernacle of the Congregation until the fateful day when the two wicked sons of Eli, the high priest, removed the Ark of the Covenant from the Most Holy Place (I Samuel, Chapter Four).
The Ark of the Covenant was established in the Most Holy Place when the Tabernacle was first erected (Exodus 40:21). When Israel went on the march toward Kadesh-Barnea, after receiving the Law on Mount Sinai and setting up the Tabernacle, the Ark was wrapped in the Veil and carried on the shoulders of the Kohathite Levites in the center of the line of march (Numbers 10:21).
On one occasion the Lord evidently directed Moses to put the Ark at the head of the line of march, to "seek out a resting place" for Israel (Numbers 10:33). The cloud hovered over them while the Ark led the way. It must have been a great blessing to have the cloud of the Lord’s Presence over them because the sun burns with terrible heat in that wilderness area.
Israel wandered for thirty-eight years in the desert between Kadesh-Barnea and Elath. No doubt the Levites had plenty of practice setting up the Tabernacle and taking it down.
The next time we see the Ark out of its customary position, in the center of the marching order, is at the end of the wilderness wandering when Israel was getting ready to cross over Jordan into the land of promise. In the third chapter of Joshua we read that the Kohathite Levites stood in the Jordan River, and God held back the Jordan until the children of Israel passed over.
The Ark was prominent in the assault on Jericho (Joshua, Chapter Six). The Ark at the battle of Jericho represented the Presence of the Lord of Hosts as the Israelites fought their way into this, the first of the cities of the land of promise (see Joshua 8:33).
The Ark contained the Ten Commandments on two tables of stone (the testimony; the covenant). It was the holy Law that was coming against the ungodly lusts and worship of demons that prevailed among the Amorites, the Philistines, the Jebusites, and the other tribes who lived in Canaan.
The Ark of the Covenant remained in the Most Holy Place of the Tabernacle of the Congregation while the Tabernacle was located in Shiloh, until the days of Samuel. During a battle with the Philistines the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, brought the Ark to the Israelite camp at Ebenezer at the request of the elders. The Philistines captured the Ark and brought it to Ashdod, one of their own cities, and then moved it to Ekron.
When the Philistines had their fill of the plagues the Lord sent on them because of the Ark, they sent the Ark back to Israel. The Ark came first to the Israelite village of Bethshemesh, where the Lord slew many people for looking into the Ark. Then the Ark was brought to the house of Abinidab at Kirjath-Jearim. After a side trip to Gibeah it was returned to Kirjath-Jearim and remained there until David went after it (II Samuel 6:2).
The Ark had been at Kirjath-Jearim for fifty years or more at the house of Abinidab. Abinidab’s two sons, Uzzah and Ahio, drove a new cart with the Ark in it toward Jerusalem. Uzzah reached forth his hand and took hold of the Ark because the oxen were restive. Uzzah died there by the Ark, struck down by the hand of the Lord.
The Ark was then brought to the house of Obed-Edom. After three months David went after it again, this time having it carried on the shoulders of the Levites as the Lord had commanded Moses. In this manner the Ark was brought safely to the tent David had pitched for it in Zion, David’s fortress city within the area of Jerusalem. The remainder of the Tabernacle of the Congregation was by now at the high place at Gibeon.
From the time Hophni and Phinehas removed the Ark from the Tabernacle during the battle with the Philistines at Ebenezer, until the Ark and the Tabernacle were placed within the Temple of Solomon, the Tabernacle was without its Glory. The Presence of the Lord had departed from the Most Holy Place.
The Veil still partitioned off the cubical room ten cubits on a side, but the room was empty. There was nothing to sprinkle the blood on during the Day of Atonement. The walls and ceiling were still there but the authority and power had departed from the Most Holy Place. There was a form of godliness but no power. The rituals were still observed, but the Glory of God, the Ark of His Covenant, in particular the Ten Commandments, was gone.
The Ark never returned to the Tabernacle. David kept the Ark at Zion all through his reign, setting up the ministry of Levites to minister before the Ark (I Chronicles 16:4). There were praisers, singers, porters and musicians. David also assigned priests, musicians and porters to minister at the Tabernacle of the Congregation at Gibeon (I Chronicles 16:40), for the bronze Altar of Burnt Offering was located there.
The Ark of the Covenant remained in the Tabernacle of David in Zion until the Temple of Solomon was completed. Then, at the dedication ceremonies of the Temple, the Ark was placed within the Most Holy Place in the Temple of Solomon. This occurred about 959 B.C., as we have stated previously.
A little over three hundred fifty years later, when King Jehoiachin surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar II, all the vessels of gold in the Temple of Solomon were cut in pieces (II Kings 24:13). The Ark of the Covenant was never again seen on the earth as far as we know.
For eight hundred fifty years the Ark of the Covenant had been the most holy possession of Israel, being the place of the testimony—the Ten Commandments on two tables of stone. But Babylon succeeded in destroying the testimony of God, just as the forces of darkness of the days immediately preceding the victorious return of our Lord and Savior Christ will succeed in crushing the testimony of the saints (Daniel 12:7; Revelation 13:7).
Nearly six hundred years passed after the carrying away into Babylon, and then we see Jesus, the Word of God, the Ark of God from Heaven. He Himself is the testimony, the Law of God in human flesh. Jesus is the true Ark of God, the place of atonement.
But the Ark of the Covenant will be seen again, and its appearance is of the greatest significance imaginable.
And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. (Revelation 11:15)
And then, four verses later:
And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail. (Revelation 11:19)
No doubt the appearance of the Ark of the Covenant ("ark of his testament") symbolizes the restoration of David’s Tabernacle, of which James spoke (Acts 15:16), revealing the glorious work of God during the Kingdom Age in making the kingdoms of this world the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ.
The separation of the Ark of the Covenant from the Tabernacle of the Congregation seems to us to portray the moving of God on His saints in preparation for the return of our Lord from Heaven. As soon as the firstfruits of the Bride have been fully prepared for total reconciliation to God in Christ (which is the marriage of the Lamb), then our Lord Jesus will return, fulfilling spiritually the Old Testament event of the return of the Ark of the Covenant to Zion.
There is much praise and rejoicing in the churches in the present hour because the Ark is getting close to its resting place in Zion, to speak figuratively; and King David, our Lord Jesus, is dancing and rejoicing before it.
Finally, in Revelation, Chapters 21 and 22 we see the time portrayed by the Temple of Solomon when God Himself, now dwelling in His fullness in the perfected Wife of the Lamb, comes to the earth to rule forever over His creation. This is the fulfillment of the prophecy of Jeremiah:
And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the Lord, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the Lord: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more. At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart. (Jeremiah 3:16,17)
If one had stood back and viewed the Tabernacle as a whole, there were at least three major impressions that would have come to the onlooker.
First of all, the whole layout, including the Tabernacle and the Courtyard, plus the appearance and actions of the priests and Levites, illustrated that this structure had to do with the worship of a holy, living God. His Presence could be seen in the cloud and in the pillar of fire.
The whiteness of the fence, the constant washing of the priests, the attitude and appearance of every person and object associated with the Tabernacle of the Congregation, gave the impression of a holy God whose Nature is as high above flesh and blood as Heaven is high above the earth; One who requires the same holiness of those who would approach Him. We must always remember that the Spirit of God is the Holy Spirit, and that the new Jerusalem is referred to as the holy city.
Second, the entire Tabernacle spoke of righteousness, that is, of the observance of equitable law. The Mosaic Law working together with the animal sacrifices proclaimed the necessity for maintaining the perfect balance of the scales of the Divine Justice.
As far as sin between man and man was concerned, the Mosaic law stipulated that the loss of an eye would be the punishment for a blinded eye and the loss of a tooth would be the punishment for a tooth that had been knocked out. There was no hesitation in the judgment of crime. You had to treat other people in an equitable fashion. If you did not, justice swift and certain was executed upon you.
Relationships between person and person were set forth in writing. If you injured someone, or a charge was made against you, you were brought before Moses or the elders for judgment. Sometimes the Lord Himself was sought in order to insure that justice was carried out. If you lived honestly and decently you were protected against those who would attempt to take advantage of you. The laws of God were just, and when people observed them there was peace in the camp.
As far as sin between man and God was concerned, the onlooker would be impressed with the constant shedding of blood and with the offering up of the sacrificial animals. Here was a God whose laws were being broken constantly and who required that He be appeased by the shedding of innocent blood. Animal life was being offered in order to save human life—human life that was in jeopardy because of violated Divine Law.
Jesus did not find fault with the Mosaic statutes. How could He? He Himself gave those statutes, He being the Word of God from the beginning. Rather, He brought to us the mercy of God that works side by side with the justice of God.
The Lord was merciful and compassionate under the old covenant and He is merciful and compassionate under the new covenant. His endless mercies have been revealed to us by the grace that has come to us through Christ.
In some instances today we find Christian people are under a misconception concerning the relationship of sin to the grace given to us under the new covenant. Christ has never changed as far as the application of Divine Law is concerned. Grace does not do away with Divine Law nor does grace turn a lie into the truth; lust into cleanliness; murder into love.
When a Christian sins the judgment of God is upon him (I Peter 1:17).
While grace in no manner alters the standard of Divine equity, it does make marvelous provisions for human beings to become reconciled to God. Grace comes to us as the Word of God, as the body and blood of Christ, and as the resurrection Life of the Holy Spirit. These are three aids to perfect reconciliation to God Almighty.
We can become one with God in Christ if we so choose, no matter how deep may be the pit in which we may find ourselves at this moment. But to continue in sin under the assumption that the Law of Sinai has given way to a more elastic set of rules, or that the Lord has changed His Divine Nature, or that there is some way to please God other than by doing His will, is to turn the grace of God into an excuse for lust and rebellion.
Third, the whole arrangement announced that the Tabernacle had its origin in Heaven. The gorgeous colors, the gold, the silver, the unearthly beauty of the building, the fragrance of the holy anointing oil and the perfume of the burning incense—all declared that this was a portrayal of the throne of God set up in a wilderness area of the earth. The Tabernacle came from Heaven, as anyone could see at first glance.
We understand, then, that the Tabernacle spoke of the holiness of God Almighty; of equitable law governing the conduct of people, necessitating the shedding of atoning blood when that law was violated; and of the Divine origin of the pattern of the structure. Such was the overall impression that a person would gain when viewing the Tabernacle of the Congregation for the first time.
Four Major Types of Redemption
There are four major types in the Scripture of God’s plan of redemption through Christ. Redemption is restoring to the rightful owners of what was stolen from them, or what they forfeited for some reason, or what was taken from them by force.
The natural right of mankind is to be in God’s image, to be in union with God, to be fruitful, and to have rulership over God’s handiwork. These original rights were taken from mankind by evil, unclean spiritual forces in the heavenlies. Through Christ, God has set in operation a complete plan that will totally redeem His obedient children and restore all that was taken from them by the ancient adversary, who seeks their ruin.
The four great types of redemption, or salvation, are as follows:
The seven days of creation described in Genesis, Chapter One.
The journey of the Israelites from Egypt to the land of promise.
The Tabernacle of the Congregation.
The feasts of the Lord listed in Leviticus, Chapter 23. Each of the four types of redemption has seven aspects, seven being the number that symbolizes the fullness of the plan of redemption. It should be kept in mind as we study the seven aspects of redemption that they do not represent levels of attainment, such as grades of progress through school. Rather, they are seven facets of the one salvation in Christ.
Time and sequence are not the main considerations. Growth in Christ is somewhat like an ascending spiral in that we keep coming back to the same aspect of grace but at an increasingly mature plane of growth and achievement.
The seven days of creation are an important symbolic portrayal of the redemption that is in Christ as well as being a factual record of the creation of the material universe. The days may have been twenty-four hour periods, or seven minutes, given the power of God. On the other hand, the seven days of creation may have little reference to time as we know it. God’s days are periods of significant accomplishment. A day with the Lord is as a thousand years. God is quite able to work independently of time.
The first of the types is the days of creation. The days of creation were seven in number:
Day one—the creating of light, the dividing of the light from the darkness, and the naming of the light and the darkness.
Day two—the placing of a firmament in the midst of the waters, and the use of the firmament to divide the waters that were under the firmament from the waters that were above the firmament.
Day three—the pulling back of the waters under the firmament to allow dry land to appear, the naming of the land and the waters under the firmament, and the creating of vegetation on the dry land.
Day four—the creating of the sun, moon and stars in the firmament to give light on the earth, to rule over the day and night, to divide the light from the darkness, the day from the night, and for signs.
Day five—the creating of fish in the water, and birds to fly in the firmament.
Day six—the creating of animal life on the earth, and of man in the image of God, male and female, and the assigning to mankind of fruitfulness, and of dominion over all the works of God’s hands.
Day seven—the ending of God’s work, and His rest.
The second of the four major types of redemption is the journey of the Israelites from Egypt to the land of promise.
There were seven episodes during the pilgrimage of the children of Israel:
The Passover, and the judgment on the gods of Egypt.
The passage through the Red Sea.
The safe arrival on the east bank of the Red Sea, and the beginning of life in the wilderness.
The giving of the Law on Sinai, the ordinances, and the directions for the construction of the Tabernacle of the Congregation.
The organizing of Israel into an army, and skirmishes under the leadership of Moses.
The crossing of the Jordan, and the battle against the inhabitants of Canaan.
Rest in the land of milk and honey.
The third of the major types of redemption is the seven articles of furniture of the Tabernacle of the Congregation. These seven were carried by the Kohathite Levites while Israel was on the march.
Altar of Burnt Offering.
Laver.
Table of Showbread.
Lampstand.
Altar of Incense.
Ark of the Covenant.
The Mercy Seat, the Cherubim, and He who dwelled between the Cherubim.
The fourth of the four major types of redemption is the seven Levitical convocations, or feasts of the Lord as they are sometimes called (Leviticus, Chapter 23):
Passover.
Unleavened Bread.
Firstfruits.
Pentecost.
Trumpets.
Day of Atonement.
Tabernacles.
We see, then, four great types of God’s plan of redemption. The number four is symbolic of the communication of the knowledge and Glory of God to mankind—the bringing of light. Each of the four types is divided into seven dimensions, seven being the number of God’s work of redemption, or salvation.
There are seven dimensions of the one plan of salvation in Christ. We shall see later that the seven have been grouped by the Lord into three platforms of salvation and three aspects of the establishment of the Kingdom of God on the earth. But for now, let us look at each of the seven separately.
By grouping the four types together you will see that each of the types has something unique to reveal about a particular aspect of redemption, and also the four types have much in common.
Before we start with the seven dimensions, or aspects, of salvation, we might note that the unredeemed human being is graphically illustrated in Genesis 1:1,2 ("without form and void"), and also by the condition of bondage of the Israelites in Egypt. Chaos and Egyptian slavery are types of the unsaved person.
The "heavens and the earth" are present in each person, to speak in a figure, but the person is "without form and void" and he or she lives in spiritual darkness. The unsaved person is in a chaotic condition of spirit, soul and body, being one mass of confused elements. Slavery to the Pharaoh in Egypt is another type of the unredeemed person.
This is the way it was before Christ came into our lives. We were in personal chaos, at least in the spirit realm. We were in slavery to the powers of darkness. But then the Lord Jesus Christ came to us with His perfect program of redemption for spirit, soul, and body.
Phase One. Taking the first element of each of the four types, we have as follows: the creating of light, the dividing of the light from the darkness, the naming of the light and the darkness; the Passover, and the judgment on the gods of Egypt; the Altar of Burnt Offering; and the feast of Passover. Do you see how we have placed together the first aspect of each of the four types of redemption?
The points that stand out are the division between light and darkness; judgment on the gods of the world; the blood of the Lamb as our protection from judgment; and the making of an atonement for our sinful condition through the shedding of blood.
The first step, then, in the plan of redemption, is the bringing to us the consciousness of the existence of good and evil, light and darkness. God makes us aware that we are to come out of the world, out of the land in which we have been held in slavery.
For the first time in our lives, perhaps, we learn that we are dwelling in spiritual darkness. Immediately God makes provision for us through the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus on the cross of Calvary. This marks the first step in our journey toward complete redemption.
Phase Two. The placing of a firmament in the midst of the waters, and the use of the firmament to divide the waters under the firmament from the waters above the firmament; the exodus from Egypt and the passing through the Red Sea; the Laver; and the feast of Unleavened Bread.
The main elements are the separation of the lower and upper waters by the firmament of heaven; passing through the Red Sea; the washing of the priests in the bronze Laver; and the removal of leaven from the bread of the children of Israel.
Phase Two portrays the various concepts involved as we descend into water baptism. Our first personality is assigned by faith to the death of Christ on the cross. Heaven enters us, as it were, and divides between our natural, soulish life (the waters under the firmament), and our born-again spiritual nature (the waters above the firmament—the waters of spiritual life and blessing in the Presence of God).
The body of the Christian is dead because of sin but his life is hidden with Christ in God. The redeemed person is divided into the natural man and the spiritual man, which is not true of the unredeemed person.
We leave Egypt, the world, in water baptism, putting away the filth of the flesh that we may be separated unto the Lord God and received of Him. The old leaven of malice and wickedness is thrown out and the new bread of sincerity and truth is brought in.
Phase Three. The pulling back of the waters under the firmament to allow dry land to appear, the naming of the land and the waters under the firmament, and the creating of vegetation on the dry land; the safe arrival of Israel on the eastern bank of the Red Sea and the beginning of life in the wilderness; the Table of Showbread; and the feast of Firstfruits.
The main thoughts are the appearing of the land and vegetation; the beginning of life in the wilderness; the twelve loaves of the Presence together with the drink offering of strong wine; and the offering to the priest of the first sheaf of the barley harvest.
These speak to us of coming up out of the waters of baptism. We now enter resurrection life in the Lord Jesus Christ and it is a wilderness of trials to us. The dry land is the emergence of the Life of Christ in us, the waters of our soulish life pulling back enough that Christ can be revealed. Also, the vegetables and fruit indicate that the first signs of Christian behavior have appeared.
The twelve loaves of the showbread [bread of the Presence] and the accompanying drink offering speak of the Communion table and the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are born again into the Kingdom of God, and our new life is sustained through feeding on the body and blood of Christ. We now are free to choose to live righteously, no longer being under the authority of "Pharaoh."
The authority of darkness was judged at the Passover, and the legions of Hell were drowned in the Red Sea as we came up out of the waters of baptism. They could not follow us through those waters because the waters of baptism represent the death of Christ on the cross, and emerging from the waters signifies our sharing in the resurrection of Christ.
The waving of the barley sheaves in the feast of Firstfruits reminds us that when we are born again a firstfruits of our personality, our reborn inner nature, ascends to the right hand of God in Christ. This is the first reaping of our personality, and because the firstfruits is holy our entire personality is holy to the Lord.
The first three phases speak of what we term "salvation." We are saved through the blood, baptized in water, born again, and partake of the Lord’s table. We are made one with the death and resurrection of Christ, being raised to sit in heavenly places together with Him. We are accepted of God through the reconciling authority of the blood of Christ. We begin to think, speak and act like a Christian.
Phase Four. The fourth aspect of the plan of redemption is of special significance in that four is halfway between one and seven. In all three scriptural orderings of the seven furnishings of the Tabernacle, the Lampstand is always number four.
In the seven Levitical feasts, Pentecost was observed by itself apart from any of the other six observances. It is at Pentecost, or at the Lampstand if you will, that we begin to grow past the aspects of redemption that are limited to our personal benefit, our salvation from destruction, and move into the areas of grace in which we become the servant of the Lord.
After we move past number four, in the typology of Scripture, we grow beyond what merely is of benefit to us and press into the areas of redemption that fulfill the purposes of God in creating mankind.
Some of the purposes of God in creating mankind are as follows:
The creation of a bride for the Lamb (Revelation 21:9).
The creation of a living temple for God (Ephesians 2:22).
The creation of the Body of Christ, the Servant of the Lord (Isaiah 42:1; I Corinthians 12:12).
The creation of a vehicle for the end-time revival (Isaiah 60:1,2).
The creation of people who can restore Paradise on the earth (Romans 8:21).
The creation of a royal priesthood (I Peter 2:9).
The creation of witnesses of God (Isaiah 43:10).
The creation of sons of God (Revelation 21:7).
The creation of brothers of Christ (Romans 8:29).
The creation of overcomers of the accuser (Revelation 12:11).
The creation of governors for the saved nations (Revelation 2:26,27).
The creation of judges of men and angels (I Corinthians 6:2,3).
The creation of a wall of defense around the Glory of God (Revelation 21:14).
The creation of the revelation of Himself—God in Christ in the saints (Revelation 3:12).
The creation of nations of saved people to serve as an inheritance for the Lamb and His Wife (Revelation 21:24).
Taking the fourth element of each of the four major types of redemption we have as follows: the creating of the sun, moon and stars in the firmament of heaven to give light on the earth, to rule over the day and night, to divide the light from the darkness and the day from the night, and for signs; the giving of the Law on Sinai with the Levitical statutes and ordinances, and the directions for the construction of the Tabernacle of the Congregation; the solid-gold Lampstand with its seven lamps; and the feast of Pentecost.
The main elements are the creating of the sun, moon and stars; the Law from Sinai and the design and construction of the Tabernacle of the Congregation; the Lampstand; and the waving of the two loaves of wheat (the feast of Pentecost) signaling the end of the wheat harvest.
Here we find the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Church, and on us as individuals; also, our baptism into the Body of Christ. We begin to understand that the Head and Body of Christ, the Servant of the Lord (Isaiah, Chapter 42) will show the light of the knowledge of the Glory of the Lord to the farthest reaches of the earth.
The two leavened wave loaves of the feast of Weeks (Pentecost) speak to us of the double portion of God’s Spirit that will be poured on the earth in the days to come.
The Lord Himself has sworn that the knowledge of the Glory of God will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. The Glory of God and of the Lamb will light the new Jerusalem so the holy city will have no need of the sun or moon.
It must have been the Glory of God and the Lamb that lighted the heaven and the earth at the beginning, for there were no sun, moon or stars during the first three evenings and mornings of the creation.
When discussing the four major types of redemption we are not suggesting that these elements did not exist exactly as recorded in the Scripture. The history of the creation found in the first chapter of Genesis, for example, is accurate in every detail.
What we are claiming, however, is that all these real things and people of the Scripture have symbolic meaning for God’s plan of salvation in Christ. They were written for our admonition on whom the end of the age has come and were freely used by Christ and the Apostles as symbols and illustrations having to do with the Church of Christ.
Jesus Himself is the "Lamb" who was slain before the creation of the world, and all persons, circumstances and things in the Scriptures have reference to Him and to the redemption that is in Him, by Him and through Him. Christ retains all preeminence forever, ages without end.
The sun, of the fourth day of creation, represents Christ Himself. The moon is the Church. The stars are the saints of all ages whose lives have guided Christians throughout the long night that is the beginning of the Day of the Lord.
The heaven was an empty blue vault prior to the fourth day of creation. So it is that before we receive the baptism with the Holy Spirit we do not have the insight into the spirit realm that comes with the baptism.
Up to heaven we go for the fourth day of creation. Back down to earth we come for the remaining days; for they speak to us, among other things, of the setting up of the Kingdom of God on the earth.
Phase Five. The creating of fish in the water and birds to fly in the firmament; the organizing of Israel into an army, and skirmishes under the leadership of Moses; the Altar of Incense; and the Blowing of Trumpets.
The points that stand out are the beginning of animal life in the waters under the firmament, and the creating of birds to fly in the firmament; organizing for spiritual warfare; perfume from the burning of incense; and the festival of Trumpets announcing the first day of the new agricultural year.
The fifth aspect of the plan of redemption should be of great interest to us because it is the next step after the Pentecostal, or charismatic experience. The creation of fish symbolizes the soul-winning activities that should follow the baptism with the Holy Spirit. We are to receive power to bear witness of Christ after the Holy Spirit comes upon us. We become fishers of men.
It is not being stated here that every Christian has the same type of ministry, for the Scripture teaches that the Holy Spirit provides a variety of ministries and gifts in the Body of Christ. There are many kinds of "fish." Each of us has a part in the revelation of Christ through the Holy Spirit. We share what we have.
The appearing of birds reminds us that after we are born again our new nature is seated with Christ at the right hand of the Father. Our life from now on consists of heavenly preparations for an earthly Kingdom, just as birds fly between the earth and the heaven.
The creation of birds symbolizes also the angelic activity that becomes increasingly pronounced as we grow toward maturity. Angels participated in the ministry of Jesus and the Apostles, were active throughout the events described in the Book of Acts, and will be prominent as we approach the end of the age, as revealed in Revelation.
The fifth day of creation is a backdrop for the crowning work of God—the creating of mankind in the image of God.
The fifth day is the beginning of serving God in the earth, and also the concept of getting ready for the conflict of the ages and entering the land of promise. This is the last experience we will have under the ministry of Moses, so to speak, for we are getting ready for a change in the style of leadership.
The Altar of Incense (the fifth of the seven pieces of Tabernacle furniture) is related in spiritual significance to the blowing of Trumpets (the fifth of the seven feasts of the Lord), as we may observe in Revelation 8:2-6. It is the time of entrance into the Day of the Lord and of war against the enemies of God.
The holy perfume that arises to God from the incense is the blending of the Person of Christ through the Holy Spirit with the prayers of all saints. It is the contact of humans with Almighty God, through Christ, rising in unprecedented power and anointing in the days just before the return of Christ, that will move the Father to command the seven angels to sound their trumpets. The seventh angel will announce the return of Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords to take over His rightful place as ruler of the kingdoms of the world.
Phase Six. The creating of animal life on the earth, and of man in the image of God, male and female, and of the assigning of fruitfulness and dominion to man; the crossing of the Jordan River and the battles against the inhabitants of Canaan; the Ark of the Covenant; and the Day of Atonement.
The principal elements are the appearance of animal life on earth, and then man, male and female, in the image of God; warfare against the inhabitants of the land of promise; the Ark; and the sprinkling of the blood of reconciliation upon and before the Mercy Seat.
A little thought will reveal that the works of God during the first five days of creation were for the purpose of bringing about the creation of man in God’s image on the sixth day.
The Day of Atonement was the most critical of the seven feasts of the Lord, because the decision was made on this day whether or not God would accept His people, Israel. Access to the Ark of the Covenant and the covering Mercy Seat was available to Israel only on the Day of Atonement.
The purpose of the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, and of the multitude of trials they experienced in the wilderness, was to bring them into rest in the land of promise. Israel was not called of God to leave Egypt and dwell in the scorching Sinai desert. Israel was called of God to settle permanently in a well-watered land, there to enjoy the Lord in the abundance of peace and material abundance.
We see, therefore, that the sixth aspect of the four major types of redemption brings into view the purpose of God and the climax of salvation. We have been sealed by the Holy Spirit to the day of redemption, of salvation, that is yet ahead of us.
In the sense in which we are now speaking, we haven’t been fully redeemed as yet. We have been sealed. God has put His mark on us so when sin and righteousness come to maturity in the last days, and the wrath of God (which has been kept in reserve since the time of the rebellion in Heaven) is poured on the rebellious and disobedient, we shall not be destroyed but shall be saved to enter the fullness of eternal life.
We have been "saved" by accepting the Lord Jesus. But the fullness of salvation is yet ahead of us, just as the days of creation looked toward the sixth day; the pilgrimage of the Israelites looked toward the invasion of the land of promise; the furnishings of the Tabernacle looked toward the Ark of the Covenant; and the feasts of the Lord looked toward the solemn Day of Atonement—the day when God either accepted or rejected the priesthood, the Tabernacle, and the twelve tribes of Israel.
In order for the Church to realize the fullness of the Glory of God, and to serve as the light of the world, we first shall have to go to war with Christ against all who oppose Him as King of kings and Lord of lords. The Ark of the Covenant represents the Glory of God that will return to the earth with the Lord Jesus Christ and establish the rule of the Kingdom of God.
Christ will see the travail of His soul and be satisfied, as the Spirit of God extends redemption to the farthest reaches of our planet. Christ will receive the nations for His inheritance and the ends of the earth for His possession. All the sin of the earth will be led away (not only the guilt of the sin, but the sin itself), just as the scapegoat was led out of the camp and left in the land of separation (Leviticus, Chapter 16).
Salvation is deliverance from both the guilt and the power of sin.
It is during the sixth aspect of salvation that we reach the fullness of redemption, of reconciliation to God. During the Millennial Jubilee, the thousand-year Kingdom Age that is to come, the authority of the blood of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit will flow to every saved person of the nations of the earth.
All the peoples of the earth will be touched with the Life of Christ. The entire earth will be brought under the personal rule of Christ and will learn righteousness. The Church will mature into the Wife of the Lamb. The prayer of Christ in John, Chapter 17 will be answered to the smallest detail.
Before the new heaven and the new earth are created and brought into view, the work of redemption will be finished in every respect.
We are not teaching that every person ultimately will be redeemed. Hell is as real as Heaven and we know of no indication that the Lake of Fire is redemptive. If we refuse the gentle Savior we will face the wrath of the fiercest of emperors. To believe otherwise is to reject the Word of God.
The firstfruits of the Bride, God’s remnant, is now coming into the spiritual fulfillment of the blowing of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement. It is a time of the most intense conflict as the Holy Spirit prepares the Church of Christ for the total overthrow of all the works of darkness. It is the day of victory! Perfect victory is ahead. Christ is coming as King over the nations of the earth.
God’s people who are at "Pentecost," so to speak, must listen to the Holy Spirit as He teaches us how to fight in the spirit realm. We now are preparing to bring judgment and liberation to the earth. We are nearing the redemption of the creation, the conquest of the power of sin and death. The death on the cross and the resurrection of Christ are the basis for total victory over the enemy.
The Blowing of Trumpets, the fifth feast, announces the Day of Atonement, which is the sixth feast. The trumpets herald the Day of Atonement, the Day of the Lord.
In the kingdom-wide interpretation of the feasts of the Lord, the celebration of Trumpets (Leviticus 23:24) portrays the sounding of the seven trumpets of God (Revelation, Chapter Eight). At the sounding of the last of the seven trumpets, the kingdoms of this world will become the Kingdom of our Lord and His Christ. It is the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with His saints to destroy rebellious spirits and their sins out of the earth. This coming is the spiritual fulfillment of the Day of Atonement.
On the sixth day of creation man was made in the image of God. Man was not created as an independent entity but male and female. Christ has chosen to be Male with reference to His Bride so not only He but she also will be in the glorious image of the invisible God. Christ and His Bride are one. All that He is, she inherits.
The battles against the cities of Canaan portray in type our struggle in the Spirit against our fleshly nature, the devil and his hordes, and the spirit of the age in which we live. We must overcome, through the Holy Spirit, every spirit, every circumstance, every thing, every desire that stands between us and perfect reconciliation to the will of God.
It is God’s will in Christ that we overcome every hindrance to our perfect rest in God. We are to be in the image of Christ in spirit, soul and body. We are to be perfectly obedient to the will of God, giving thanks to Him for all situations. We are to become the dwelling place of the Father and the Son through the Holy Spirit.
The Ark of the Covenant, the sixth of the furnishings of the Tabernacle of the Congregation, portrays Christ—Head and Body. It is perfect Man. The three elements within the Ark speak of the character that is formed in the Servant of the Lord. When we have been completed as an integral part of the Ark of the Covenant, the Glory of God will rest upon us.
If we remain faithful to Christ through every trial we will receive authority and power over the nations and the entire material creation. The sons of God are destined to serve God in His Presence and to govern the works of His hands (Hebrews 2:8).
When the victory of holiness, righteousness, and obedience has been won by the saints of God it will spread to the whole earth until sin has been destroyed from every part of God’s creation.
The Day of Atonement is the day of reconciliation to God of all that has been alienated from Him through wickedness, treachery, deceit, perversity, and every other sin.
It appears that the thousand-year Kingdom Age, the "third day" in which Christ "walks," is the period when mankind finally will be made in God’s image and the warfare of Jerusalem will be finished in the spiritual and physical realms.
Phase Seven. The ending of God’s work, and His rest; rest in the land of milk and honey; the Mercy Seat, covering cherubim, and He who dwelled between the cherubim; the feast of Tabernacles.
The main elements are the completion of God’s efforts, His rest and joyous contemplation of His handiwork; possession of the land of abundance of good things; the solid-gold Atonement Cover (Mercy Seat) and He who dwells between the Cherubim of Glory; and the completion of the harvesting of all things grown in the earth, as celebrated in the feast of Tabernacles.
The end of a successful battle against sin and rebellion is rest, peace, and the possession of good things and circumstances. In the days to come there will be battles until every rebellious spirit is destroyed out of me and you, out of the heavenlies, and out of the entire earth. Sin will be conquered in all persons everywhere. The result will be children of God who are in His image.
Quietness, peace, and perfect rest and joy will prevail throughout the creation of God. The presence of Satan brings unrest, striving, tension, pressure, sickness, weakness, confusion, disorganization, heartache, worry, frantic activity, despair, gloom, pessimism, and every other evil work. But the Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
The rule of Christ will result in righteous conduct on the part of the inhabitants of the earth. Righteous conduct on the part of the inhabitants of the earth will bring peace. Peace will bring joy—the joy of the Lord. This is the kingdom that is coming. The only manner in which peace can be brought into the earth is by means of Christ’s rule with the rod of the iron of God’s strength.
It is God’s will that the meek inherit the earth, and so they shall. Yet a little while and the King will return. This time He will not be the helpless baby of the manger, the boy asking questions in the Temple, or the meek and lowly Lamb that men can abuse as they will. Christ is coming as the Lion of Judah, as King of kings and Lord of lords, to destroy out of the earth all who oppose Him.
The entire realm of nature—people, animals, the vegetable and mineral creation—everything will be reconciled to God during the thousand-year Jubilee. Every crop God has sown in the earth will bear fruit, and the fruit will be harvested and processed by the Lord Jesus.
The seventh aspect of the plan of redemption is described in Revelation, Chapters 21 and 22. We see the Wife of the Lamb, the new Jerusalem, coming to rest on a great high mountain of the new earth. She is perfect in every detail and the Throne of God and of the Lamb is in her.
The new Jerusalem is the Church, the holy city, the center of government for the whole earth. It is the dwelling place of God, the light of the world. God has finished His work and is now at rest. The descent of the holy city marks the end of the plan of redemption, the restoration of every particle of inheritance that has been tricked, stolen, taken by violence, or otherwise wrested from Adam and Eve and their descendants.
After the celebration of the seven days of Tabernacles, to speak symbolically, the "eighth day" will begin. It appears to us that when the new heaven and the new earth are brought into view, and the holy city descends to the earth, every creature having found his assigned place in God’s economy, there then will be a period of unimaginable rejoicing over what God has brought forth; of giving glory and praise to Him because of His endless love and mercy; of taking in all the sights, sounds, feelings and other experiences of the new creation.
There will be nothing lost except those spirits and people who have rebelled against Christ. Every person and every thing of the creation that we have known and cherished, and that is worthy of the Kingdom of God, will be brought forward in a glorified state, because God knows every detail concerning each of us.
How long will it take you to praise God for His almighty goodness when you stand in your place and see what God has done in keeping intact all you hold dear? Will you ever have time enough to give Him your love and praise?
The rejoicing will continue as long as is necessary for every soul to rejoice in God’s goodness and to give thanks to Him for all He has accomplished in us and for us, as typified by the seven days of the feast of Tabernacles.
There was an eighth day of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:36). The eighth day symbolizes the first day of the week of eternity, the week that has no end. After we all have had the opportunity to love and praise God and Christ for their goodness to us, and for the astonishing wisdom, power and love that has brought into being the reconciliation of the creation to God, we shall pass into the eighth day, the first day of eternity and settle down to our endless life of serving God and Christ forever.
We have just described the kingdom-wide fulfillment of the feast of Tabernacles. There is a personal fulfillment of Tabernacles at hand for the Church of Christ. After we have been reconciled to God by the blood of the cross, by the overcoming of sin through the wisdom and power of the Holy Spirit, and by our obedience to God during problems and sufferings, continuing each day in obedience to the Word of God, then God and Christ will come to us and take up their abode with us to a much greater extent than we have experienced thus far (John 14:23).
Christ dwells in our heart when we first receive salvation. Christ is formed in us as we continue being ministered to and ministering to others.
But there is coming to each victorious Christian a far greater indwelling of the Father and the Son, the indwelling typified by the feast of Tabernacles. In that day the Lord will be dwelling in the Church just as the Father dwells in Christ.
The Father and the Son are coming to dwell eternally in us. This is a personal coming, not the visible second coming of the Lord to the earth.
The Lord Jesus will return to the earth exactly as promised, descending just as He ascended—in the sight of all people. The second coming of the Lord to the earth is for the purpose of setting up His Kingdom on the earth, to assume the rulership of the nations of the earth.
Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. (Revelation 1:7).
The coming of our Lord in that day will not be primarily to the Church, although the Church will rise from the earth in transformed bodies to meet the Lord in the air. The Lord Jesus will be coming to the earth, appearing to the world in and with His saints.
When Christ who is our life appears from Heaven we shall appear with Him. The second coming of Christ will be the kingdom-wide fulfillment of the feasts of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement, and the completion of the personal fulfillment of Tabernacles in the saints in that they will receive the redemption of their bodies.
However, before that great Day of the Lord arrives there will be an inner tabernacling of God and Christ in the saints. In order for such tabernacling to occur, we Christians must come to a more perfect reconciliation to God than has been true of us. That reconciliation is in process now as the Holy Spirit begins to deal with us concerning the sins of our flesh, and as God brings us into tribulation that works an ever-deepening righteousness, holiness and obedience in us (I Peter 4:1,2).
The saints will experience a personal fulfillment of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement (Day of Reconciliation), and Tabernacles before these three feasts are fulfilled throughout the world in the kingdom-wide manifestation.
The tares of wickedness are coming to maturity in our day. The personal fulfillment of the last three feasts of the Lord represent the coming to maturity of the wheat of righteousness. Whoever would survive and bear fruit during the age of moral horrors that is on the horizon must enter the spiritual fulfillment of the last three feasts. Apart from an increase in the Presence of God none of us will be able to stand during the days that are ahead.
The resurrection and ascension of the Church to meet Christ in the air is part of the kingdom-wide fulfillment of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement. It will occur at the second coming of Christ, the Day of Christ. It is a climactic expression of the work of redemption that has preceded it.
What is important now is the preaching of the Kingdom of God to the ends of the earth, accompanied by mighty signs and wonders, in preparation for the return of Christ to the earth. Occurring simultaneously with the great end-time witness of the Church is the perfecting of the reconciliation of God’s saints to Himself, and the dwelling of the saints with the Father and the Son in individual fulfillment of the feast of Tabernacles (John 17:21-23).
The fact that God could so perfectly portray His plan of salvation by means of these complicated and vast undertakings, such as the seven days of creation, the journey of several million people through the wilderness, the Tabernacle of the Congregation and its history, and the seven feasts of the Lord, reveals the absolute knowledge, wisdom, authority and power of God Almighty.
Truly, God is God. All persons, events, and objects are always and forever in His perfect control.
We have outlined the four types of redemption. We trust that the Holy Spirit will make this knowledge a blessing to you as you follow the Lord Jesus Christ in daily discipleship. This is our prayer for you.
Five Areas of Interpretation of the Tabernacle
At the beginning of our discussion of the Tabernacle of the Congregation we stated that there are at least six areas of study associated with the Tabernacle.
The physical description of the parts, furnishings and details of the Tabernacle.
The Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The history of the Christian Church.
The redemption of the believer.
The Body of Christ.
The Kingdom of God.
We have just finished the physical description, adding a bit of the spiritual symbolism, and hope you now have in mind what we are speaking of when we refer to various aspects of the Tabernacle. We followed this with a brief history, and then gave an outline of the fulfillment in the Kingdom of God of the Tabernacle and of the other three major types of redemption.
We may be ready to go on to five interpretations of the Tabernacle: The Lord Jesus Christ Himself; the history of the Christian Church; the redemption of the believer; the perfecting of the Body of Christ; and the setting up of the Kingdom of God on the earth.
We will present an overview of the five areas of interpretation, and then discuss each in more detail.
1. The Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Tabernacle of the Congregation is one grand illustration of the Lord Jesus Christ and His work of redemption. From the bronze Altar of Burnt Offering to the golden Mercy Seat, the Tabernacle reveals Christ as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world; as the great High Priest who fulfills all the requirements of God; and as the coming King of kings who one day will rule over the nations of the earth. Christ is demonstrated to be All in all.
2. The history of the Christian Church. The order in which the Tabernacle and the priesthood are first presented in the Book of Exodus seems to reveal in symbolic form a general history of the manner in which the Christian Church was instituted in the earth, and takes us on through the glorious ministry of the Church during the ages to come.
3. The redemption of the believer. Here we find the spiritual pilgrimage of the Christian from his beginning in total chaos of spirit, soul, and body all the way through to his transformation into the image of Christ in spirit, soul and body; to his becoming the Temple of God; and to his receiving, through Christ, abundant fruitfulness and dominion over the works of God’s hands.
The redemption of the believer follows the order of the seven furnishings of the Tabernacle, beginning with the Altar of Burnt Offering and finishing with the Mercy Seat and Him who dwells between the Cherubim of Glory.
4. The Body of Christ. The Christian Church starts out as small and large collections of believers: some very devout and fervent; some indifferent but who still attend church; some of one doctrinal persuasion and some of another.
When God has finished with the Christian Church it will be the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, the Wife of the Lamb. The Church will be absolutely holy, absolutely in unity, perfect and complete to the last detail. The Church will be as Eve from Heaven, built on the body and blood of Christ, having the Glory of God, loved by the Father with the same love He has for His firstborn Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is God’s will that the Body of Christ be built up in the day in which we are living. It is certain that the Church of Christ will attain much more maturity in the future than it has today; otherwise the prayer of Christ in John, Chapter 17 would never be answered.
It is our point of view that the Church, the Body of Christ, the Wife of the Lamb, will make spiritual progress during the age to come. The thousand-year Kingdom Age is the sixth day of creation, to speak symbolically, and it is during the sixth day that man is made in God’s image—male and female.
The Divine Man is the Lord Jesus Christ, who is in the image of the Father and who was made perfect through suffering.
The heavenly Eve, the perfect helpmate for the heavenly Adam, is being formed now on the body and blood of her Lord. Do we see her ready now? Not nearly! But we know from the Scripture that she will be mature one day, for she will descend from Heaven in perfection (Revelation, Chapters 21 and 22).
It is our understanding that the Church, the Body of Christ, the Wife of the Lamb, will be formed and perfected over a period of "three days." The "third day" is the thousand-year Kingdom Age. The Kingdom Age, in some respects, may not prove to be as drastic a change for us as we once had supposed.
It is not true that the saints will be taken to live in Heaven while Satan inherits the earth. This is not scriptural.
There will be the fierce battle of Armageddon, the war between Christ and His saints and the devil and his forces. Then Christ shall take over the rule of the nations of the world and shall exercise His will with and through the saints. But the flow of Christian teaching and the developing of the Church will continue without interruption, although greatly enhanced by the absence of the devil and by the full outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the earth.
The expression of the authority and power of the redemption made on the cross of Calvary will be increased many times over, and the laws of the Kingdom of God will be taught to every nation in a greater way than ever before (Isaiah 2:2-4; Micah 4:1-4).
In Luke 13:32 we find these words:
And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.
We find the same thought expressed in Hosea 6:2,3:
After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we will live in his sight. Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.
It appears that Christ, in Luke, was referring primarily to the fact that He would cast out devils and heal people for a period of time, and then He would be crucified and resurrected. We believe there also is a symbolic meaning. It seems the Kingdom Age will be the "third day" of Luke 13:32 and Hosea 6:2, and that Christ will raise us up on that day and we will go on to perfection. Since we are His Body, He uses the expression, "I shall be perfected," referring to His Body.
The coming of Christ signals our redemption, and so we lift up our heads. He, our Redeemer, will come to bring us salvation and glory and we shall reign with Him on the earth.
Then shall the nations of the earth be blessed and every person will have his Divine inheritance restored to him. It is the thousand-year Jubilee, the Day of Atonement, of redemption, of salvation. It is the last step before the coming of the Sabbath day rest of God, which is the new heaven and the new earth, and the descending of the Tabernacle of God to be among men forever.
5. The Kingdom of God. The plan of redemption and the perfecting of the Body of Christ follow the order of the Tabernacle furnishings, from the Altar of Burnt Offering to the Mercy Seat and to Him who dwells between the Cherubim of Glory. It appears, however, that the setting up of the Kingdom of God in the earth reverses this order. It begins with Him who dwells between the cherubim and proceeds out to the Altar of Burnt Offering.
Have you ever noticed that God is economical? He makes full use of every scrap of material. He never wastes anything and commands us to gather up the fragments that nothing be lost. He uses one set of types and shadows to symbolize several different (although related) spiritual realities.
The setting up of the Kingdom of God in the earth has three major dimensions, phases, levels, however one wishes to think of them. The three aspects are important very significant and may be observed in the design of the Tabernacle of the Congregation commencing with the Holy of Holies, moving to the Holy Place, and finally to the Courtyard of the Tabernacle.
The Kingdom of God is the keeping of the laws of God—the laws that were described by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. The Kingdom of God is the doing of the will of God, particularly in the earth.
The first stage of the setting up of the Kingdom of God in the earth is portrayed by the Holy of Holies of the Tabernacle. This is the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ to the earth the first time. Christ came as the King of the Kingdom, announcing the laws of the Kingdom. Then He died, and by His death paid the price for the Kingdom, wresting from the enemy every bit of authority over the creation.
The second stage of the setting up of the Kingdom of God in the earth is portrayed by the Holy Place of the Tabernacle. The Holy Place represents the Church, the Body of Christ. It is God’s will that the Church keep the laws of the Kingdom of God, be a helpmate for the Lord Jesus Christ, and teach the laws of the Kingdom to the nations of the earth.
Thus far in history the Church (with some notable individual exceptions) has been unable to accomplish the will of God. The laws of the Kingdom of God are not, generally speaking, being observed by God’s people. The Church is a very imperfect helpmate for the Lord Jesus. The Church, in numerous instances, has been more occupied with serving its own interests that it has with teaching by doctrine and example the laws of the Kingdom of God to the nations of the earth.
God cannot be prevented from carrying out His will and so we know the Church is moving toward better things.
At the present time God Almighty is sending the Holy Spirit for the purpose of building the Body of Christ. There is being formed in the Church the Divine Nature and Substance of Christ. The Nature of Christ causes us to judge and overcome sin and to obey God through fiery trials. The victorious saints shall rule with Christ and shall help all Christian people enter the perfect will of God.
Praise the Lord for those who are strong in the Lord and who help us to know God better and to do His will more perfectly! (Hebrews 12:12,13; Romans 15:1,2).
As soon as the Church begins to keep the laws of the Kingdom of God, or perhaps we should say while the Church is growing in the ability to act righteously, the Church will be preparing itself to bring the laws and blessings of God to the third stage of the Kingdom of God—the Courtyard of the Tabernacle, representing the nations of saved peoples of the earth.
The day finally will come, as we observe in Revelation, Chapters 21 and 22, when the Church is established on a high mountain, shedding forth the glorious light of Christ to the nations of the earth. The saved people on the earth will then be walking in the laws of the Kingdom of God with the blessing of God on each individual.
So far in our study of the Tabernacle of the Congregation we have discussed the physical details of the Tabernacle; we have mentioned some of the meanings of these symbols, or types as they are sometimes termed; and we have indicated that we will examine the interpretation of the Tabernacle along five lines:
As Christ Himself.
As the history of the Church.
As the progress of the plan of redemption in the life of the believer.
As the perfecting of the Body of Christ.
As the setting up of the Kingdom of God on the earth.
We are ready now to go on to the first area of interpretation, which is the Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
CHAPTER III THE PERSON AND WORK OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
Quite a few books have been written on the subject of the Tabernacle of the Congregation, and all that we have read do an excellent job of portraying the Person and work of our Lord and Savior, Christ. Christ comes forth from these portrayals as the King of kings and Lamb of God that He is. They leave no doubt that Christ is Lord of all and that He alone is the Redeemer of all people, the Savior of the world.
The portrayal of the Lord Jesus as the fulfillment of the Tabernacle symbolism has been covered so thoroughly, so devoutly, that we will only touch on it.
In our view, the Tabernacle of the Congregation reveals Christ more perfectly than does any other type in the entire Scripture. The seven furnishings, and all the other parts and details seen individually and as a whole, present the Lord Jesus in His majesty and His redemptive work. The interpretation that views the Tabernacle of God Almighty as representing Christ is particularly accurate because Christ is the eternal dwelling place of the Father.
As we behold the holiness, the glory, the beauty of the Tabernacle in its bleak surroundings in the wilderness of Sinai, the Lord Jesus Christ steps forth as the holy Son of God in the dark world in which we exist. The construction and the priestly ordinances teach us that Christ is utterly holy.
The Glory of the Presence of God resting on the entire structure, especially on the Holy of Holies, portrays the Glory of the Almighty God that abides on Christ without measure. The breathtaking beauty of the blue, the royal purple, the crimson, and the sparkling-white linen states that here is the King of kings, mighty in authority and power, righteous in all His judgments.
Standing out boldly against the backdrop of this heavenly array of color and beauty is the Altar of Burnt Offering with its basins of blood and its burning sacrifices. Then we discover that the King is also the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
The extraordinary vision is before us of One who redeemed us out of slavery through means of His obedience, suffering, and death but who now rules with all authority and power in Heaven and on the earth. The Lamb who was slain is also the Lion of the tribe of Judah.
The Ark of the Covenant, with its atonement cover, the Mercy Seat, speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ. The wood of the Ark represents the Son of Man and the gold portrays the Son of God. The Mercy Seat and the Cherubim of Glory reveal that the fullness of the Glory of God abides on Christ eternally.
The Table of Showbread, including its cups for the drink offering, is a portrayal of the body and blood of the Lord Jesus. The Lampstand is the seven-fold Holy Spirit who abides on Christ without measure.
The Altar of Burnt Offering is His death on the cross of Calvary. The perfume arising from the burning incense on the Altar of Incense is the fragrance of Christ that must be mixed with the prayers of the saints through the Holy Spirit if our prayers are to be acceptable to God.
The water of the Laver is the Word of God (Christ) that comes to us in instruction, teaching us to put away the filthiness of the flesh and spirit.
The covering of rams’ skins dyed red speaks of the blood of Christ that is the covering on the sins of our flesh so we may be accepted of the Father.
The Veil separating the Most Holy Place from the Holy Place is the flesh of Christ that was broken for us so we may be able to enter with boldness into the Presence of God and find strength and wisdom to help us in our struggle against sin.
The morning and evening lambs offered as burnt offerings, continually bring to our remembrance the offering of the Lamb of God, whose perfect consecration and innocent life made it possible for Him to please the Father on behalf of mankind.
The high priest was a figure of the Lord Jesus Christ, as the priest ministered at the Altar of Burnt Offering, at the Altar of Incense, the Lampstand, and the Table of Showbread. The high priest especially revealed Christ on the annual Day of Atonement as he, with the blood of animals, made an atonement (reconciliation) for the Tabernacle and the nation of Israel. Christ is our High Priest who bears each of His people on His heart and continually makes intercession for us before the Father in Heaven.
Everywhere we turn in the Tabernacle the royal authority and power of Christ, and the atonement made by Christ for us, are pictured in the colors, the material, the design, and the activities. The Lamb of God was slain obtaining eternal redemption for us; and so there was much silver, signifying redemption, in the Tabernacle.
Christ is able to redeem to the uttermost those who come to God through Him. He rose triumphantly from the grave, leading captivity captive. He is coming again soon as King of all kings and Lord of all lords. However, to the saint He already is King and Lord.
The Tabernacle of the Congregation proclaims: "Christ died for your sins and you are saved by His blood. Repent, and believe the good news. The King has come down from Heaven and redeemed you. Now you are free to serve Him forever.
"He is absolutely holy and righteous, and He has made provision for you that you may partake of His holiness and righteousness to the salvation of your soul. He who believes and is baptized shall be saved. He who refuses so great a salvation shall be judged."
CHAPTER IV THE HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
The order in which God gave to Moses the directions for the construction of the Tabernacle, for the establishing of the Aaronic priesthood, and for the related necessities pertaining to the Law of God, the Tabernacle, and the services of the priests and Levites, seems to be generally symbolic of the history of the construction of the Christian Church and of the Church’s ministry. This order is found in Exodus, Chapters 25-31. God looked down on the drab wilderness called the earth. He then determined to build for Himself a sanctuary in order that He might dwell among men.
His first step was to designate the materials to be used for His sanctuary; and since God’s temple is to be a living temple made from people, the first requirement was the setting aside of all the various humans in whose personalities the Holy Spirit would place the "blues," "purples," "scarlets," and "linens."
Some of the materials come from Heaven and some from the earth. Thus we have the creation of the Church, the ekklesia, the called-out from the peoples of the earth—called out to be the Church, the Temple of God.
Therefore the first step in the history of the Christian Church, as symbolized by the account in Exodus, was the setting aside of the materials—the election of those who are to compose the Temple (Exodus 25:3-7; Romans 9:11; II Timothy 1:9).
In order for an edifice to be constructed there must be a cornerstone and a foundation. Since the building is to be the everlasting temple of God Almighty, exceeding care must be taken that the cornerstone and the foundation are laid with the greatest of precision. Therefore the second step was the designing of the Ark of the Covenant.
The Lord Jesus Christ Himself is the Ark of the Covenant—the cornerstone and foundation of the Church (Exodus 25:10). In Him is the Law of God (the Ten Commandments); resurrection life (Aaron’s rod that budded); and the Divine body and blood that are the life of every person who will be saved (the memorial jar of manna) These are the contents of the Ark of the Covenant).
The Mercy Seat (atonement cover; lid of atonement, or reconciliation) was placed on Christ, with the Cherubim of Glory (Exodus 25:17). The fullness of the Glory of God rests on Him who was born of a virgin in a manger so many centuries ago; who grew up in Nazareth, and then ministered for three short years. Three short years; but the history of the earth is measured in the years before and after His birth.
The Table of Showbread was set forth next (Exodus 25:23), because Christ gave His precious body and blood for the life of the world. Apart from His body and blood no man, woman, boy or girl on the earth has any eternal life whatever. This world is the valley of the shadow of death. We are surrounded by those who are living in spiritual death. But those who choose to partake of Christ have eternal life already.
The golden Lampstand was fourth in order (Exodus 25:31). The Holy Spirit was poured out on the first Pentecost, and from that point the disciples were filled with the Divine Life shed forth by Him who has ascended to the Father, His blood having made the eternal atonement upon and before the Mercy Seat in Heaven.
The curtains and coverings followed, in the description in Exodus, because they portray the grace of God that abides on the Christian believer (Exodus 26:1-14). The linen curtain speaks as follows: "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ, who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ hath made me free from the law of sin and death."
The black goats’ hair curtain declares: "The body is dead because of sin."
The covering of rams’ skins dyed red replies: "God hath set forth Christ to be a propitiation [appeasement; atoning sacrifice] through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission [forgiveness] of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God."
The covering of badgers’ (porpoises’ skins) answers: "Endure hardness, as a good soldier of Christ."
This is the Christian disciple—born again and having the righteousness and Life of Christ in his inner man; still in a mortal body of sin and death but having the sin and death covered by the blood of Christ. The saint himself is protected by the whole armor of God: truth, righteousness, the preparation of the good news of peace, the helmet of salvation, the Word of God, and Spirit-filled prayer (Ephesians, Chapter Six).
The boards were described next, portraying the fellowship of believers standing shoulder to shoulder, the Body of Christ (Exodus 26:15). The members of the Body of Christ are all the same "height"; and while there are anointed ministries among them, yet in the Body of Christ they are all equal brothers in the Lord. There is no priest among them, or master. God is the Father of each, and only Christ is exalted as Lord and Master of the Church, the Body of Christ.
The five bars that served to strengthen and align the sides of the Tabernacle reveal the resurrected and ascended Lord Jesus plus the four major types of ministry to the Body that flow from Him—the apostle, the prophet, the evangelist, and the pastor-teacher (Exodus 26:26). The purpose of the ministries of the Church is to build the Body of Christ (Ephesians, Chapter Four), just as the purpose of the five bars was to bind together in strength the boards that formed the sides of the Tabernacle of the Congregation.
The partitioning Veil, forever rent because of the offering of Christ, speaks to us that by prayer we now have access to the Throne of God (Exodus 26:31). The piercing of the flesh of Christ opens the way for us into the holiest of all. By His broken body and shed blood, each person who will believe may enter boldly into the Presence of God and find forgiveness, Divine Virtue, strength, and wisdom to help in time of need, as he struggles against sin, seeking to obey God in all matters.
The "door of the tent" signifies the entrance that we have into the holy elements of the Church, the Body of Christ. Within are the Communion service—the body and blood of Christ; the manifestation of the gifts and ministries of the Holy Spirit; and the Spirit-empowered prayer and praise that bring us into the Presence of the Father (Exodus 26:36).
The fence and the gate of the Courtyard are described next in order, portraying the boundaries of the Kingdom of God (Exodus 27:9-19). Every person who will enter through the gate, which is the Lord Jesus Christ, is redeemed (the silver on the fence pillars) and has the righteousness of God (the white linen of the fence).
Everyone outside the gate is lost in the darkness and bondage of sin and death. Everyone inside is saved, redeemed, having God’s own righteousness applied to him. The good news of the Kingdom is to be preached in every place throughout the world so multitudes can be brought into the Courtyard of the Tabernacle. The only way to God is through Christ on the cross.
The olive oil, the fuel for the Lampstand, is mentioned at this point because it is by the Holy Spirit abiding in each believer that the testimony of Christ is presented to the world and people are brought into the Kingdom—into the Courtyard, to speak figuratively (Exodus 27:20). The Holy Spirit is the One who brings the knowledge of God to the earth. He is the Spirit of truth. He always testifies of Christ and shows to us the things of Christ (John 15:26; 16:7-15). The Holy Spirit, the olive oil of the Lampstand, dwells in the members of the Body of Christ (John 14:16,17).
The passages that follow in Exodus describe in detail the garments of the high priest, and the consecration of Aaron and his sons (Exodus 28 and 29). Christ is our great High Priest and He is revealed in His glory and beauty by the high priest of Israel, showing forth the holiness and Glory of God Almighty to Israel, and bearing on himself all of Israel before the Lord God.
Christ sanctified Himself for our sakes, and we are enabled by His virtue to sanctify ourselves so we also may serve as priests, bringing the Glory of God to people and bearing them up in intercession before the Lord.
The Altar of Incense comes next, in the Exodus account, and it has to do with the power in prayer of the saints as they prepare the way for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ to the earth (Exodus 30:1; Revelation 8:5). As the Life of Christ is being created in the believers the Holy Spirit is coming upon them; and the authority, power and intensity of the cry coming up from the earth to the God of Heaven will finally attain the degree of purity and strength needed to bring back the King.
God has been waiting for this moment since the day when He had to withdraw from mankind because of sin in the earth (Genesis 4:26). In the last days, the Spirit-empowered supplication and adoration of the saints, thoroughly mixed with the incense of Christ Himself, will ascend to the Throne of God with such compelling holiness, righteousness, and persistence that God will command the seven angels to sound. When the last trumpet sounds the kingdoms of this world will become the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever.
And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. (Revelation 11:15).
Continuing with the order of presentation in Exodus, the tribute silver is mentioned (Exodus 30:12). The collecting of the tribute money from each Hebrew male informs us that the great strength of the Church of Christ comes from the authority and power of the redemption of Christ in each believer, in that the silver was used for the foundation of the Tabernacle boards and also for the hooks and supporting rods of the fence.
Each member of the Church makes his or her own contribution to the Body of Christ and to the Kingdom of God. We are built up by that which "every joint supplies." Each believer will add to the whole Temple of God the strength and beauty of the redemption given to him by the Lord. The silver speaks to us also of the redemptive Jubilee that will come to us with the appearing of our Lord from Heaven.
The Laver is now presented, representing our cleansing by the Word of God, and also the glorious appearing of the Lord Jesus who shall appear the second time without sin unto salvation (Exodus 30:18). The Lord is judging and washing His people. He will, at His coming, complete the work of removing sin from His Church, and then through the Church will judge and remove the power and effects of sin from the entire earth.
The holy anointing oil reminds us that the Holy Spirit must be on every part of the Church of Christ, or else that activity, person or thing will not be accepted in the work of the Lord (Exodus 30:25). All that we are, all that we do, and all that we say must have the anointing of the Lord, or nothing of eternal value can be accomplished in the Kingdom of God.
Music has played a large role in the Christian worship services. Some of this music may be anointed. The part that is not anointed is useless as far as the creation of the Kingdom of God is concerned. It pleases the soul and flesh but does not build up Christ in the listeners.
The holy anointing oil brings to our minds also the exceedingly great outpouring of the Holy Spirit that is to take place during the Day of the Lord. The Holy Spirit in that day will anoint each Christian so he can bring the unsearchable riches of Christ to the ends of the earth. The thousand-year Jubilee will witness an unprecedented outpouring of God’s Spirit that will increase until the Glory of the Lord covers the earth.
The incense is the Personality of Christ (Exodus 30:35). It is to be "seasoned with salt" and "beat very small," meaning that the Nature of the Lord Jesus will be worked into the nature of each member of the Body of Christ. Then the saint will be able to call on God, through the Holy Spirit, and the fragrance of God’s beloved Son will be in the prayer and worship as it ascends before the Throne of God Almighty.
Bezaleel and Aholiab were mentioned next (Exodus 31:2,6). It seems as though these two men should have been mentioned earlier in the order of presentation, not at the end of this symbolic pattern. It may be noticed, in connection with the placing of the names of the two builders toward the end of the order presented in Exodus, that the construction of the Tabernacle was presented in two sections: (1) Exodus, Chapters 25-31, in which God laid out all the things to be done; and (2) Exodus, Chapters 34-40, in which the covenant was renewed and the work begun on the Tabernacle.
Perhaps the order of presentation reveals to us that the current era of Church history is, to a great extent, a time of gathering materials and giving the directions for the "Tabernacle" (the Christian Church, the Temple of God). It may be true that the actual work of putting together the Temple of God will begin in earnest when the Lord Jesus returns.
If it is true that the coming into full maturity and unity of the Church, the Body of Christ, has not occurred as yet, and is associated with the return of the Lord, then we would expect to find Bezaleel and Aholiab, the symbols of the actual construction of the Tabernacle, appearing toward the end of this particular order—which is, in fact, where they do appear in the Exodus account.
The last direction to be given is that concerning the Sabbath day (Exodus 31:13). The entire thousand-year Kingdom Age will be a Sabbath, a holy period, in which the Lord will bring to maturity His work in the earth. It will be a time of redemption and restoration of inheritances, especially for the Church of Christ, but also for all the peoples of the earth who will receive Christ as King and Lord.
The new heaven and new earth, which will appear after the final judgment, will be the ultimate fulfillment of the Sabbath covenant. God will have His perfect rest in the earth through His tabernacle, the new Jerusalem, the wife of the Lamb. Each member of the Body of Christ will celebrate eternally his own rest in the Presence of the Father and of the Lamb. Every person living on the earth will abide under his vine and under his fig tree, so to speak, living a happy, fruitful life under the rulership and priestly ministry of God in Christ in the Church.
CHAPTER V THE REDEMPTION OF THE BELIEVER
Before we present our interpretation of the bronze Altar of Burnt Offering we shall provide an overview of the interpretation of each of the seven furnishings of the Tabernacle in terms of the redemption of the believer. The seven main furnishings portray the development of the Christian from the time he approaches Christ initially until he arrives at the full salvation of God.
Altar of Burnt Offering.
Laver.
Table of Showbread.
Lampstand.
Altar of Incense.
Ark of the Covenant.
Mercy Seat.
The interpretation of the seven furnishings, in terms of the redemption of the believer, is as follows:
Altar of Burnt Offering. The crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary, brought to our minds continually in the sacrament of Communion; the atonement that Christ has made for our sins; our Passover Lamb.
Laver. Separation from sin and the world by our crucifixion with Christ, established by water baptism; purification from the filth of the world as we keep ourselves holy by confession, repentance, resistance to sin, obedience to God’s will, the blood of Christ, the power of the Holy Spirit, and the Word of God; the washing from our sins that comes about by receiving and obeying the Word of God.
Table of Showbread. The continual presentation of the living Word of God, Christ, the eating of whom builds up Christ within the believer; the receiving of the body and blood of the Lord in the Communion service; Christ, the Bread from Heaven; the born-again experience.
Lampstand. The baptism with the Holy Spirit into the Body of Christ; the Divine testimony; the various ministries and gifts of the Holy Spirit; anointing for Christian ministry and service; the law of the Spirit of life; Pentecost; the Head and Body of Christ, who is the Anointed Deliverer, the Servant of the Lord.
Altar of Incense. The life and Person of the Lord Jesus worked into the life and person of the believer by the Holy Spirit so the believer’s prayers and worship bring the fragrance of His beloved Son before the face of the Father in Heaven; death to self-love and self-will.
Ark of the Covenant. The saint of God who is overcoming sin in his daily walk and who is learning perfect obedience to the Father. In his heart are the following three graces: (1) the Ten Commandments—the Law of God wrought in his character; (2) the memorial jar of manna—daily strength from Christ; the body and blood of Christ, our daily Bread from Heaven; the trait of depending continually on Christ each moment of the day for all matters great and small; and (3) Aaron’s rod that budded—the power of eternal resurrection life that operates in the priesthood God has chosen.
The moral law, the Ten Commandments, is created in the saint’s personality by the working of the Lampstand. The memorial jar of manna is wrought in the saint by the working of the Table of Showbread. Aaron’s rod that budded, life from death, is fashioned in the disciple by the working of the Altar of Incense.
Mercy Seat. The fullness of the Glory of God in Christ through the Holy Spirit; the image of Christ created in spirit, soul and body; authority and power through Christ over all things; the abiding of the Persons of the Godhead in the Christian in total, untroubled union.
These are the seven holy furnishings of the Tabernacle of the Congregation.
The Altar of Burnt Offering brings to our mind the Lord Jesus who was slain for us. Redemption always works through the blood of Christ. Christ is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. God meets man only at the cross.
The Laver speaks of the washing away of the uncleanness of the spirit of the age in which we live. The concept and practice of departing from the filthiness of the world, of our flesh, and of our spirit is commenced in the act of water baptism and is carried on each day as we wash our robes and make them white in the blood of Christ by continual confession, repentance, and resistance to sin.
The Table of Showbread brings to us the body and blood of the Lord Jesus, which is the only eternal life available to mankind. All persons are spiritually dead until Jesus comes. If any person will receive Him and eat His flesh and drink His blood he will live forever. But apart from Christ there is only death. He is the tree of life. When we eat His flesh and drink His blood we are born again and live spiritually.
We are born of the water when we are born of a woman, born physically. We are born of the Spirit when the Holy Spirit of God receives and renews our spirit, thereby making us alive and lifting up our spirit to abide in Christ in heavenly places. We are born of the Word of God when we eat the flesh of Christ and drink His blood so He Himself begins to be formed in us.
The Christian is to be a branch of the Lampstand, a member of Christ who is the Light of the world. The Holy Spirit is the oil that burns giving light. We are the wick, so to speak. The Holy Spirit has distributed ministries and gifts throughout the Body of Christ so each member has a contribution to make to the Body. The six branches of the Lampstand were lighted when the Holy Spirit fell on the first Christian Pentecost (Acts 2:3).
The Altar of Incense symbolizes the next step after Pentecost. It represents Holy Spirit-empowered prayer—prayer that carries with it the fragrance of Christ. It is at the Altar of Incense that we bow in death to self-love, giving ourselves in total obedience to the Father. As our soul experiences the crucifixion of death to self, the fragrance of Christ arises before the Father. Only as we bow in the death of perfect obedience can we pass through the Veil into the fullness of the Glory of God.
The Holy Spirit comes down on the Church of Christ until the Church begins to communicate with God at the level of authority and power required to move the hand of God against His enemies—the destroyers of the creation. Included in the communication is supplication, travail of spirit, intercession, battle against evil forces, petition, praise, adoration, giving of thanks, love, faith, and hope.
The power of the Holy Spirit will increase in our lives until our whole personality, spirit, soul and body, is crying out to God night and day. When we give ourselves to God without reservation we shall be heard!
The Ark of the Covenant typifies our Lord Jesus Christ. It reveals also the character of the overcoming saint. The Ark was wood (humanity) covered with gold (Divinity). It is the will of Christ that we press forward in Him until we become so much a part of Him we reflect the attributes and workings of the Ark of the Covenant.
The victorious saints, according to Revelation, Chapters Two and Three are those persons in the churches who will give themselves over wholly to serving the Lord Jesus. If anyone will do that his reward in Christ will be great and he will rule with Christ over the nations of the earth.
The Mercy Seat (Atonement Cover) is the Glory of God. If we will allow Christ to work fully in our lives, the fullness of the Glory of God will come to us and we will find our rest in the rest of God. The glory that God gave to Christ is to be given to us that we may be one in the Father and in the Son, according to the seventeenth chapter of the Gospel of John. God loves each of His elect with a very great love.
The seven furnishings of the Tabernacle of the Congregation show redemption to be a progressive work that commences at a definite point—the crucifixion of Christ and our acceptance of that atonement; and is brought to fullness at a definite point—our being received completely into the Life of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
The cross of Christ stands at the entrance to the salvation God has provided for mankind. The Body of Christ always must point to Christ on the cross for the world to see and for itself to see. There is no other way through which people can approach God.
The redemption of the believer commences when he or she is in total chaos of spirit, soul and body, without Christ, without hope, in the bondage of sin and death, and under the authority and power of Satan.
The story of creation in the first chapter of Genesis is one of the major types of the Scripture. It reveals that we start out as individuals "without form and void." We are out of harmony with God, with other people, and with ourselves. Sin has brought us personal confusion, friction, frustration, and grief—anguish of body and mind.
But Christ has made an atonement for us. The atonement takes us from our personal chaos of spirit, soul and body, completely destroyed by sin; and by the grace of God in Christ brings us all the way to the express image of Christ in spirit, soul and body, to our being made the Temple of God, and to authority and power through Christ over all things.
The entire process, from beginning to end, is the plan of salvation, or atonement, or reconciliation, or redemption—however you wish to refer to it. It all takes place in and by the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Author and the Finisher of our faith.
The Altar of Burnt Offering was placed in front of the door of the Tabernacle. As soon as an Israelite came through the colorful gate of the Court he was faced with the bronze Altar. God always meets people at the cross, at the place of the shedding of blood. The first step in the redemption of the believer is coming to Christ on the cross. Without the shedding of blood there is no remission (forgiveness) of sin. One cannot come to God any other way. This is the alpha of salvation.
Since this altar stood at the door of the Tabernacle, the Hebrew worshiper was reminded continually that God must be approached through a blood sacrifice. The believer cannot come to God in his own righteousness. The scales of Divine equity must be balanced. There must be the offering of a substituted life or else God will not accept the person of the worshiper.
The sinfulness of the worshiper is underscored by the need for the death of the animal. The significance of Jesus’ death on the cross was demonstrated under the old covenant by the constant shedding of blood at the Altar of Burnt Offering.
All the needs of the redeemed are illustrated by the various types of sacrifices. Not only was there the sin offering, which we need in order to approach God; but there also were the offerings of consecration, of fellowship, of peace, of thanksgiving, for minor trespasses, for every need of the believer.
We are to come to God constantly through the blood of the Lord Jesus. We overcome the world, the accuser, and our own fleshly nature every moment of every day by the blood of the cross. If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves. If we are walking in the light of God’s perfect will, the blood of Christ is cleansing us from all sin. We need the redeeming authority and power of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ at every moment!
By the time of the Temple of Solomon, thousands of gallons of blood were pouring annually from the sacrificial animals. But the offering of Christ on the cross is the one blood sacrifice that eternally redeems all mankind.
And he is the propitiation [appeasement; atoning sacrifice] for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. (I John 2:2).
Not that all men will be saved, unfortunately. Some will not accept the redemption offered freely by Christ. Those who believe Jesus was a righteous teacher who offered his life rather than sacrifice his principles, or who offered his life to emphasize his sincerity and prove his love, are making a dreadful mistake. Christ was a sacrificial blood offering to God the Father!
Life must go for life in order to balance the scales of Divine justice. The blood of Jesus was His life and it was offered to God in place of our life. The soul who sins must die, and each of us has committed many sins during his or her lifetime. Christ died for our sins; therefore, the scales are balanced and our iniquity can be forgiven.
Whether our iniquity is minor or horrible by human standards is not the issue. The only considerations are what God’s law states and the adequacy of the sacrifice on Calvary. Since the offering consists of the life’s blood of God’s Son, the sacrifice is perfect and absolutely adequate for every person.
All persons have sinned and all must come to God through the blood of the righteous Jesus. Any person who attempts to come to God in his or her own righteousness is doomed already.
The Laver stood between the Altar of Burnt Offering and the door of the Tabernacle, out in the Courtyard area.
The bronze Laver signifies the cleansing of the believer from the filth of the world, just as the blood of the bronze Altar of Burnt Offering signifies the canceling of the guilt of sin.
The Laver shows that the Christian must remain pure while he walks through this sinful world (John 17:15). In fact, all the elements and rituals of the Tabernacle of the Congregation emphasize to us that God expects us, while we are in the world, to live a life of holiness and dedication to Himself (John 17:15). The Kingdom of God is a holy kingdom. Holiness is one of several principal messages that the Tabernacle has for us.
The heart of the Christian, though he may occupy a place of significance and service in his local community, though he may be working busily in the mainstream of civic life, must remain as holy as separated to God as was the Tabernacle.
It is possible to be a dedicated Christian and at the same time to be a person of competence in secular affairs. Many Christians of deep personal consecration have demonstrated that a victorious Christian can do a superior job in the world’s business, having the commendation of Christians and non-Christians alike. Joseph and Daniel are scriptural examples of devoutness toward God coupled with secular competence.
It is possible that the reader will take the preceding words and use them as an excuse to become heavily involved in the world. We must keep in mind that not many mighty, not many noble, are "called." Joseph and Daniel were exceptions to the rule. In the majority of cases, the Gospel is to the poor. It is the poor, rich in faith, who finally will inherit the Kingdom of God.
No man can serve God and money. He will love the one and hate the other. One of the quickest routes to spiritual death is to possess more material goods than actually are required in one’s life.
Water baptism. The Hebrew Laver and Christian water baptism are related in meaning. Water baptism represents the fact that the new Christian has agreed to die to the world and the filthy lusts thereof. After a person accepts the blood of the cross as the redemption-payment for his sins, he must be baptized in water to show that he is willing for his old unclean nature to be crucified with Christ.
The convert must renounce completely in his heart the world, giving up all for Christ, being ready and willing to die physically for the faith if necessary. Such renunciation of the demands of the world was true of the adoption of the Christian faith by the person of the first century and it remains true for the twentieth century. Christ and His Gospel never change.
Water baptism means this: the believer does now, without reservation, finally and totally forsake and renounce the world that he may cleave to Christ with his whole heart.
There are few things as final as death, and water baptism means death to our first personality.
Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:4).
And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord. (Acts 22:16).
Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. (II Corinthians 7:1).
Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. (Ezekiel 36:25).
Cleansing for priestly service. The Laver signifies the cleansing of the believer that he may minister as a priest before God. The position of the Laver at the entrance to the Tabernacle shows that every person who would minister to God must be spiritually clean.
For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat: When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the Lord: (Exodus 30:19,20).
Perhaps washing is an appropriate concept for us Christians to consider today. The priests had to wash their hands (symbolizing deeds) and their feet (symbolizing the path of life) whenever they went into the Holy Place to minister to the Lord. Since each of us Christians is to be a minister to the Lord we need to keep in mind that our thoughts, words, and actions must be holy at all times.
Such holiness requires constant prayer, constant vigilance and continuing sensitivity to the rebukes and encouragements of the Holy Spirit. Every time the Holy Spirit reproves us of a sinful thought, word or action we must be quick to confess our sin (I John 1:9).
The Laver, then, portrays the cleansing of the Christian in preparation for priestly service. The believer first is cleansed in water baptism. Our original personality by faith is assigned to the cross with Christ so the Holy Spirit may render powerless our sinful nature. We then by faith rise with Christ so we may walk in a new life of righteous conduct.
For the first time we have the power to choose to be a servant of righteousness. Prior to our baptism in water we were under the authority of darkness and had to serve sin whether we wanted to or not. But now that our old life has been assigned to the cross with Christ we are free to choose to serve God.
We must keep ourselves clean each day. The reading of the Scriptures will help greatly ("Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee."—Psalms 119:11). When the New Testament tells us to put off adultery, fornication, filthy speech, lying, hatred, bitterness, unforgiveness, then we must cease doing these things.
Time must be spent in prayer each day, and in addition there must be a continuing attitude of prayer on our part. We need help from the prayers, counsel and ministry of other Christians. We are to put aside as unclean the fleshly lusts that war against our soul. We must confess our sins to God as the Holy Spirit points them out to us. Sometimes we have to ask forgiveness of other people, or make restitution if we have harmed someone.
A dirty Christian will be taken and washed by the Lord if he will not wash himself! (I Corinthians 11:31,32; I John 3;3).
Every Christian is called to be a priest of the Lord. We are the "royal priesthood." The Holy Spirit will lead us in a ministry of the Spirit’s own choice. There is no Christian who does not have a place of ministry, be it great or small in the eyes of people. The Holy Spirit expects faithful service in the assigned responsibilities. In order for the Christian to be effective in his ministry he must keep himself absolutely clean, just as was true of an Old Testament priest.
It is our Christian duty to keep ourselves pure, always remaining in an attitude of prayer so our service to God will be acceptable.
God requires of His priests that they be holy in deed, word and thought and that their heart and mind be stayed on Him at all times, day and night. The success of our own ministry will depend to a great extent on our willingness to keep ourselves set apart (sanctified) to the Lord so our priestly intercession and ministry is always acceptable to Him.
The Table of Showbread represents Christ, the living Word of God.
And thou shalt set upon the table shewbread before me alway. (Exodus 25:30).
Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the Lord continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant. (Leviticus 24:8).
But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:4).
I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. (John 6:51).
Christ, the living bread. Christ is the bread from God we must eat if we would live. Christ is being formed in us continually, and that new life must be nourished continually by contact with the living bread.
What does Jesus mean by the sayings recorded in John, Chapter Six? How do we eat Christ ? First of all, we must realize Christ is alive today—right now. He is the Divine Nature, the Substance of the Godhead.
Eating Christ means eating the living, Divine Nature. Eating Christ means eating Christ. To eat Christ is to partake spiritually of the living Word of God. It is a spiritual process and is quite different from the mental process of gaining knowledge from the reading of the words of a book.
Strengthening the inner man. Christ, the incorruptible Seed within us, must be renewed continually by contact with the external Christ—with Him who is at the right hand of the Father. Sometimes Christ comes to us through our Scripture reading. Sometimes He comes while we are in supplication or worship; sometimes in the sacrament of Communion. On other occasions, Christ comes to us as we read Christian literature or as we go about our tasks each day.
When we make an effort to contact Him, and keep ourselves in a spiritual condition in which He can communicate with us, He does come to us. He, Christ, the living Word, comes to us through the Holy Spirit. He feeds us with His body and gives us to drink of His blood.
Christ takes of Himself and feeds the Life of Christ that is being formed in us. The new man of our heart takes of the Substance of Christ as a plant takes sunshine, water and minerals. The Life of Christ that is being formed in us must have continual contact with Christ who is at the right hand of God in Heaven.
We Christians must use our will and judgment to insure that we keep ourselves in the place where our Beloved can come to us and feed us with the Living Bread from Heaven. This is the meaning of the showbread in the Holy Place. It typifies the flesh of Christ that He gives for the life of the world.
The Apostles felt the need to give themselves to "prayer, and to the ministry of the word" (Acts 6:4).
The Word feeds the inner man of the Christian.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. (John 1:1,2).
The enormous creative energies of the Word are described in the next verse of John:
All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. (John 1:3).
There is no life apart from the Word. Mankind is dependent absolutely on the Word, Christ.
In him was life; and the life was the light of men. (John 1:4).
The Word of God became the flesh of the Body of Christ.
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. (John 1:14).
If we would live we must eat the Word—eat the flesh of Jesus and drink His blood.
Then Jesus said to them, Verily, verily, I say to you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. (John 6:53,54).
Christ is alive today. When we prepare our heart to receive Him, whether in the Communion service, or in prayer, or when meditating in the written Word, or while being exposed to the manifestation of the Holy Spirit in another Christian or in ourselves, Christ comes to us and feeds us with Himself. He takes of His own body and blood, blesses it, and nourishes the incorruptible Seed that is in us.
How can He keep feeding the multitudes of Christians with the one body and blood? He does it in the same manner in which he fed the multitude of followers with the loaves and fish.
Every man, woman, boy, and girl who walks this planet will eat the body and drink the blood of Christ or he or she will dwell in darkness and death. There is no other "bread" that a person can eat and thereby receive eternal life and light. Everything else is an imitation.
We always must keep in mind that Christ is Divine, that He is the Son of God. We are like Him in many ways and are coheirs with Him, being formed during our discipleship in the image of God.
But Christ remains unique, whether in Heaven or on the earth. He moves on the earth and in Heaven at the same time. He is Jacob’s ladder that bridges Heaven and earth. The holy angels of God ascend and descend on Him and on no other.
His fleshly body and blood were the Word of God in human form. Even though we may not understand all the details, the sixth chapter of John states we are to eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ.
We are "born again" by receiving into ourselves the Word of God.
Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. (I Peter 1:23).
We grow by drinking the Word:
As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: (I Peter 2:2).
We grow by eating the Word:
But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. (Hebrews 5:14).
The Word meets a need. The presentation of the living Word is in response to specific needs. When Jesus proceeds from God to supply a specific need with the living Word, He is moving with the resurrection Life from God directed toward a certain point.
If we would present the living Word we also must be in the place where we can flow with that same flowing of resurrection life. The entire activity is a dance in which Christ does the leading and we do the following. It is a graceful act of ministry, balanced, harmonious, bringing glory to God.
We, more than anyone else, realize it is God who is active in every detail of our ministry. We are a vessel for the moment. We are as an organ pipe that sounds appropriately as Jesus plays the music God has composed.
Christ communes with an individual and gives him the living bread to bring to a person or group of people. The living bread is the new covenant fulfillment of the showbread of the Holy Place. It must be fresh. It must be renewed frequently and regularly. It is the Bread of the Presence of the Lord.
The person doing the ministering must not feed the people moldy food he was given years ago. An older Christian can share with younger Christians his experiences and the lessons he has learned throughout his life in Christ. But in order to present the living bread, which is Christ, the ministering Christian must be in vital contact with the Lord.
The only time the bread of God is available to us is when the living Lord Jesus Christ—not the record of history but He who is alive now—comes in the Holy Spirit to meet some kind of need in mankind. The need may be milk for a young Christian or strong meat for a saint. It may be strength for someone in despair or wisdom for a perplexed soul.
When the prayer ascends to the Father He sends the Son in the power of the Holy Spirit. God opens His hand and satisfies the desire of every living thing (Psalms 145:16).
Living bread comes through human ministry. It is pleasing to the Father that the needed help come through human ministry. In this way He binds people together in love, for God especially is pleased when people dwell together in harmony and love. So in terms of the need of the moment, Christ looks about for a believer, a member of His Body, through whom He can meet the specific need.
If Christ can find a suitable vessel He will give him of His own body and blood to meet the spiritual or physical need. His body and blood are eternal life (John 6:27-58 is clear on this point). In bringing the body and blood a member of the Body of Christ is holding forth the Bread of God for the life of the peoples of the earth. He is ministering the fruit and leaves of the tree of life that bring everlasting life and healing to mankind.
This is the showbread. There is no eternal life in the world apart from the body and blood of Christ.
Each member of the Body of Christ has something to give (I Corinthians 12:4-31). In fact, there are times when a Christian needs to remind the Lord in a most vigorous manner that he (the Christian) must receive from the Lord in order that he may have something to give to those in need (Luke 11:5-13; I Corinthians 12:31).
But we do not intend to bring a heavy feeling of duty on the believer. The things of the Spirit are joyous. There is the widest variety imaginable in the gifts and ministries of the Body of Christ, in their operations, in every aspect of their possession and presentation.
We present the showbread when we give the living Word of God. The living Word of God is the Divine Substance, not just the rote words from the Scriptures. The Scriptures are the Divinely-inspired record of the Word of God and are essential to our Christian life.
But the living Word of God is the Substance of Christ Himself brought to us in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Spiritually speaking, we must drink the blood of Christ as we eat His flesh. Jesus declared, "Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, you have no life in you" (John 6:53). It was not long after this statement that "many of his disciples went back and walked no more with him."
As we read the seventeenth chapter of Leviticus we find the drinking of blood is sternly prohibited:
And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood; I will even set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people. (Leviticus 17:10).
It is not surprising that some of Jesus’ disciples left.
Leviticus teaches us that the life of the flesh is in the blood.
For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore I said to the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whoever eateth it shall be cut off. (Leviticus 17:14).
Jesus speaks to us that we must eat His flesh and drink His blood or we have no life in us. His body and blood are eternal life in us. Whoever eats the flesh of Christ and drinks His blood dwells in Christ and lives by Christ, and Christ dwells in him. The life of the flesh of Christ is the blood of Christ. We must eat His flesh and drink His blood if we wish to share in His eternal life.
The Communion service represents and calls attention to the fact that the Christian believer must partake of the body and blood of Christ. By means of the sharing of the common body and blood the believers are made one through Him and in Him.
Christ is the great High Priest over the household of God. We of the Body of Christ also are priests. Only the priests were allowed into the Holy Place where the Table of Showbread was. We Christians are priests, the members of the Body of Christ, and bear witness of that Bread:
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked.
upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew to you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested to us;) (I John 1:1,2).
Concept of freshness. The showbread was kept fresh. The concept of freshness is an important one for us to consider.
The quality of freshness of the showbread is not in the dimension of time. God moves in the past, present, and future. Time is not the consideration.
The quality of freshness has to with contact with Christ. It is the communication of resurrection life with which we are concerned. Eternal life either is present in our experience and testimony or it is not.
What matters is this: is resurrection life present at the point of immediate concern? The absence of resurrection life is an invitation for the forces of decay and death to move in. We must keep our experience fresh by maintaining contact with the Life of the Spirit of God. Contact is maintained by faith, obedience and prayer.
We have mentioned that the Table of Showbread represents Christ, the living Word. The Table of Showbread is on the right (north) as we enter the Holy Place of the Tabernacle.
Directly ahead is the Altar of Incense. On the left (south) is the golden Lampstand, the symbol of Jewry from ancient times. What does the Lampstand signify?
And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of the same. And six branches shall come out of the sides of it; three branches of the candlestick out of the one side, and three branches of the candlestick out of the other side: (Exodus 25:31,32).
And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always. (Exodus 27:20).
Lighted during the night. The Lampstand represents the manifestation of the Holy Spirit, as described in I Corinthians, Chapters 12 and 14. The Courtyard of the Tabernacle, the location of the Altar of Burnt Offering and of the Laver, was illuminated by sunlight. The part of the Christian experience typified by the Altar of Burnt Offering and by the Laver, that is, the accepting of Christ’s death on the cross and water baptism, is conducted while we still are walking in natural light, so to speak.
But once we enter the Holy Place of the Tabernacle there is little sunlight, little "natural" light. The Holy Place is lighted by the Lampstand at night. The seven lights of the Lampstand represent the gifts given by the ascended Christ during the "evening of the Day of the Lord," that is, during the two thousand years of the Church Age.
We accept Christ and are baptized while we still are in the world. Receiving Christ brings us into the area of redemption, into the Kingdom of God. But God intends for us to keep on pressing in, to "come into the Holy Place," to learn to walk in the Spirit of God.
The "Pentecostal" experience. The Courtyard was dominated by the Altar of Burnt Offering, signifying that the death and resurrection of Christ must always be preeminent when a person approaches the Kingdom of God.
The Holy Place was dominated by the golden Lampstand, revealing that the Holy Spirit is the One who empowers the testimony of the Church. The Holy Place of the Tabernacle represents the Church, the Body of Christ, the Body of Christ, the light of the world, the revelation of God to mankind.
The Holy Spirit has the responsibility for creating and perfecting the Church and for presenting the Church to the Lamb as His Bride. The Holy Spirit is the "other Comforter" who has been sent down to us because the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, has returned to the Father in Heaven.
There are two major works the Holy Spirit always is performing in the Church of Christ. These two works constitute the testimony being wrought in each member of the Body of Christ. The first work is the assigning, directing, and empowering of gifts and ministries. The gifts and ministries given to the saints are ways in which the Holy Spirit is revealed. The second work is the result of the first work. It is the forming of Christ in the saints—the bringing of each of us to the standard of maturity, which is the fullness of Christ.
The first work is that of giving and directing the gifts and ministries of the Spirit. The second work consists of bringing forth the fruit of the Spirit in the believer’s personality.
The Holy Spirit assigns the gifts and ministries of supernatural wisdom and power and then directs their use. The Holy Spirit also is the "law of the Spirit of life" and is the One who provides the wisdom and power to enable us to put to death the deeds of our flesh.
The expression "Body of Christ" means Body of the Anointed One, the One anointed with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is sent down from Heaven in order to work the works of the Kingdom of God.
Christ has the Spirit of God without measure. The same anointing will one day rest on the Body of Christ (Psalms 133:2; Isaiah, Chapter 60). But for now we have been given gifts by the Holy Spirit so we may do the work of the Spirit in building the Body of Christ, the Body of the Anointed One.
We Christians are to be coming each day into increased subjection to the Spirit of God. For nearly two thousand years the majority of the Christian churches have spoken of Christ and have attempted to do the works of Christ. But in many instances the Holy Spirit has not been allowed to supervise and empower their efforts.
The work of the Kingdom has been performed by the wisdom and strength of human beings. As a result there has not been the supernatural wisdom and power that always must accompany the Body of the Anointed One. The results of such fleshly endeavor have been disappointing. The world has not seen Jesus to the extent we desire, and it is not seeing Jesus today to the extent we desire.
Now it is time for the Church of Christ to give back to the Holy Spirit the responsibility that is His—that of perfecting and empowering the testimony of Christ in the earth. The Spirit of God is God! He is able to perform all the operations and tasks of the Kingdom of God. Our job is to bring ourselves into subjection to the Spirit of God. Will we do this?
One of the main concerns of the Holy Spirit is the holiness of the members of the Body of Christ. The Holy Spirit always is guiding us toward increased holiness and obedience to God. Further on in this book we will be discussing the importance of holiness in the Kingdom of God. It is the Holy Spirit and only the Holy Spirit who has the wisdom and power to create holiness in the members of the Body of Christ.
The Lampstand was solid gold, signifying that the testimony of Christ is Divine in Substance. We humans can tell others about the testimony, but the testimony itself cannot be brought into being by human wisdom or energy. Gold represents Divinity.
The Table of Showbread and the Altar of Incense—even the Ark of the Covenant itself—contained wood, the symbol of humanity.
But the Lampstand, the testimony of God to the earth, was pure gold. Only the wicks resting in the seven lamps were not gold. The wicks symbolize people, the channels through which the oil of the Holy Spirit flows.
It is the Holy Spirit who enables us to bear witness of the crucified and resurrected Lord Jesus.
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come on you: and ye shall be witnesses to me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and to the uttermost part of the earth. (Acts 1:8).
As we mentioned before, the Lampstand of the Tabernacle of the Congregation corresponds to the Levitical feast of Pentecost (Leviticus 23:16). Each is item number four in a series of seven elements. The seven elements portray, among other things, the development of Christ in the believer. They teach us that Pentecost, for all of its glory and power, is not the fullness of the development of Christ in the believer. There is more for us to press into, as Paul reminds us in Philippians 3:14. Since four is midway between one and seven, both the Lampstand and the feast of Pentecost may be interpreted as symbols of a midpoint experience, a turning point in our Christian experience. The person who has come thus far with Christ has "tasted the good Word of God, and the powers of the world to come." He is fully at rest neither in the soulish realm nor in the spirit realm. He is torn between the world and the fullness of resurrection life in Christ.
When we are referring to the Lampstand (Pentecostal) experience of receiving the Spirit, with the accompanying speaking in tongues, as being a midpoint in Christian growth, we are speaking of a certain amount of experience at this stage of the life in the Spirit. A person can accept Christ, be covered with the Passover blood, be healed in his body, be baptized in water, be born again, be baptized in the Holy Spirit, prophesy, share in the Lord’s Supper—all in one evening. He also can reject his experience the next day. It would not be true that this person had come to a midpoint place in Christian development even though he had been baptized with the Spirit of God.
So when we are associating the Lampstand with a halfway experience in Christ we mean after the believer has had the opportunity to live for a while on the Pentecostal level of Christian growth.
Each of the elements of the Tabernacle of the Congregation and their counterpart in our Christian life may be thought of as being a concept on a particular level on an ascending spiral. We keep working at that concept on that level the Holy Spirit is stressing to us personally at a given moment. We may then leave that lesson and go on to another. Later we may come again to that particular concept, but this time it is on a higher level.
The Lampstand (Pentecostal) experience is like that. Although we may attend a "Pentecostal" church and have been doing so for many years, this is no guarantee that we have learned all there is to know about how to live in obedience to the Spirit of God.
The development of Pentecost in our lives means we have received the baptism in God’s Holy Spirit and are ministering, in whatever capacity Christ has assigned to us, with the anointing of God on our life. It also means we are coming under the control of the law of the Spirit of life and are learning to live twenty-four hours of each day in obedience to the Spirit of the Lord.
Keeping in mind the idea of having a few years of "Lampstand experience, Pentecost can be likened to a halfway point, a spiritual "adolescence." The believer no longer is a "child." Perhaps he is not a battle-wise saint as yet.
He may find that he no longer is content to remain on the plane of the happy spiritual lamb whose Christian experience is bound up in lilting choruses and good times in church social activities (although musical and social activities may prove to be necessary stages in his growth and development into the full stature of Christ, and he may continue to enjoy them throughout his life).
There is a proper time for the elementary level of spirituality just as there is a proper time for physical childhood. The youthful stages of both the physical and the spiritual life are essential to further development. The Lord does not dislike us because we are children!
In due time the healthy spiritual (and physical) adolescent should be growing toward adulthood and will proceed along a satisfying and fruitful course when he is in contact with Christ. Growth to a higher development should be neither forced nor delayed, or else the process may get out of harmony with God’s plan.
Growing up spiritually can prove to be a frightening experience. The person senses in himself the ever-deepening consecration and death to the self life which necessarily accompanies the increasing development of resurrection life. He has been called, like Abraham, to leave the familiar and to wander in a strange country.
There is a deep appeal in the call of the Spirit toward the fullness of the life lived in the Presence and power of God. There is a heavenly joy that accompanies total consecration. But there are transitional pangs as one is crossing from the life of the soul to the life lived in the Spirit of God. The transition means death to the "old man." Death is not a condition into which a healthy person rushes with joy.
He who would follow God with a perfect heart, as did Abraham, must be prepared to be fully obedient, as was Abraham. He must be faithful in the things of God (Hebrews 3:3-6).
From our point of view, we "Pentecostal" people are in just such a transition today. On the one hand, we may attempt to go back and recapture the "fun" we had during our "Courtyard" days: the musical programs, the "old campground" atmosphere, the Christian games and contests, the good times with others of the newly-saved, the reminding of each other that we have been born again, the lively testimony meetings. Surely these all are profitable activities for Christian people.
On the other hand, we may have come in contact with teachers of the deeper life who call back to us from a place farther out in the spirit realm. We begin to think about "higher planes" and "passing through the veil." The Spirit of God in us testifies to our spirit that there is a land of promise out there where the spiritual grapes are ripe and abundant; where the good things of the Spirit can be harvested—no more of this light "manna" coming down each day! There is a place where the Father and the Son live in and commune with the Christian believer in a far more satisfying manner than we have known (John 14:23; I Corinthians 13:10).
We stand at Sinai, as it were. We turn and look longingly back toward Egypt (the world), for there God wrought miracles for us—wondrous deeds the world does not understand. We look up at this Sinai and wonder if we will be able to live with the dread Lawgiver who rumbles and thunders in His holiness until "we be all dead men."
Then we turn and look northward toward the land of promise, a place where we have never been. There are no familiar faces, no friends, no relatives. God has said we will be happy there, but we do not know... we just do not know!
We can’t stay where we are. The Sinai desert is a frightening wilderness. The only reason we do not have to fight to hold our ground at Sinai is that no other tribe wishes to live in such a barren furnace. We are God’s own people, down here at Sinai, but it is no place to stay after God moves on. The only neighbors are the wild animals.
There is a major problem with going forward and occupying the land of promise. It is inhabited already—and with fierce warriors! The Egyptians are occupying the land of Egypt, and the Canaanites are warlike people and resolute concerning their possessions. Perhaps we should unpack and live in the Sinai desert. Nobody will bother us in this area. It is a good place for people who have no heart for a fight.
But God will not take this attitude or remain here with us. God will find His Joshuas and His Calebs and will bring them up into His promised land, His rest and inheritance.
The way of God is a supernatural way. This is underscored by the fact that the Holy Place was lighted by the Lampstand. When we come into the Holy Place with God we are one step removed from the life and understanding possessed by the world. Not that we no longer are of service to the world. Paradoxically, the deeper one goes with God the richer one’s service to the world becomes. Service to mankind is a fruit of obedience to God.
The promise of God to Abraham was that in his seed all the nations of the earth will be blessed. The promise was given after a terrible act of obedience. The best way to serve and bless mankind is to seek God with the whole heart as did Abraham.
No other man has ever served mankind in as effectively as did Jesus of Nazareth. Yet, He is the embodiment of holiness and total consecration to God. He is the living fulfillment of the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place.
If we desire to move past the first steps of salvation we must enter the Holy Place. When we go past the heavy curtain of the door of the Tabernacle we leave the world and most of the daylight (direction by the human mind) outside. Not that we ever forsake our common sense, but we do learn to commit our way to the Lord and to lean not to our own understanding.
As we enter by the door, during the "evening of the Day of the Lord," we find ourselves in the Holy Place. The light shining from the golden Lampstand (the manifestation of the Holy Spirit) is revealing the Table of Showbread (Christ, the living Bread from Heaven). We are close to the Presence of the Holy One of Israel. There is no place here for the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, or the pride of life. We have left those things with the world.
The Lampstand in the Holy Place represents the communication of God to mankind through the Holy Spirit of God. The twelfth and fourteenth chapters of First Corinthians describe the spiritual counterpart of the Lampstand of the Tabernacle, as far as gifts and ministries are concerned.
Christ Himself, the Servant of the Lord, is the Lampstand. In this sense the four Gospels are pictures of the Lampstand in action. In the Epistles of the Apostles to the churches we begin to understand how we as individuals can enter and become part of the shining of the great Lampstand of God.
The cups, fruit and flowers.
And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of the same. (Exodus 25:31).
The three ornaments of the Lampstand and its six side-branches were the "bowls," the "knops" and the "flowers."
The "bowls" were designed from the calyx of a flower. The calyx of a flower is made up of sepals that are joined together in the form of a cup. The cup is a symbol of suffering and death.
The "knops" (knobs) were somewhat spherical (ball-shaped), similar to an apple, pomegranate, or bulb.
The "flowers" may have been like the lily in appearance.
The cup represents the death that results from a pouring out. The knob represents fruit—that which yields food to the hungry and seed to the sower. The flower portrays beauty, the beauty of the image of Christ, the beauty of holiness to the Lord.
The Christian life consists of a pouring out, of fruit, and of beauty.
The cup is related to the Altar of Incense. The fruit is related to the Table of Showbread. The flower is related to the Lampstand itself.
The cup speaks of what is poured out in death, thereby yielding to the Father the sweet perfume of Christ and of the wholly consecrated Christian life.
Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. (Luke 22:42).
The cup corresponds to the Altar of Incense. Twice each day a cup was taken from its place on the Table of Showbread, filled with the holy incense, and poured on the coals of the Altar of Incense. The Holy Place was always filled with the perfume of the burning incense, and the Most Holy Place was permeated with incense on the Day of Atonement.
The must be death before there can be fruit.
Verily, verily, I say to you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. (John 12:24).
There are three deaths the Christian dies in the process of bringing forth the fruit—Christ. The three deaths are portrayed by the three cups in each of the six side-branches of the Lampstand. The three deaths bring forth Christ in the disciple, and also in other people to whom the disciple ministers and whom he influences.
The first death is death to the world. The second death is death to sin. The third death is death to self.
In the first death, the world is poured out of the cup of the Christian and Christ (resurrection life) is poured back into his cup in return.
In the second death, the bondage of Satan is poured out of the cup of the Christian and Christ is poured back into his cup.
In the third death, self is poured out of the cup of the Christian and Christ is poured back into his cup.
The end result of the three deaths is that the Christian comes into the image of Christ; he enters eternal union with the Father through the Son; he receives the fullness of fruitfulness and dominion promised to mankind; and he becomes a blessing to the nations of the earth in that he is able to bring the glorious liberty of the children of God to all who will believe.
We receive forgiveness of sins through the first death. We receive freedom from sinful practices through the second death. We receive the abiding Presence of the Father and Christ through the third death.
The sixth chapter of Romans teaches us that our first death, represented in water baptism, is a complete separation from the world. Our "old man," our first personality, is crucified with Christ. This is the end of the world for us. We pour the world out of our cup when we are baptized in water. In exchange, Christ’s resurrection is poured into our cup. We die to the world but we come alive in Christ.
Because we no longer are "alive in the world" the law of Moses no longer has dominion over us. Now we are not just free, as is so often taught; rather, we are free to be married to Christ. Our marriage to Christ brings forth "fruit unto God." The fruit is Christ in us and the righteous behavior that results from our having Christ in us.
We are free from all guilt—absolutely without condemnation—because of the blood of Christ that has been applied to us through our death with Him on the cross.
Now we are dead to the world—crucified as far as the world is concerned. Christ, the fruit, is born in us and grows in us.
We receive freedom from the control of sin by means of the second death (not the second death of the Lake of Fire but death to the lusts of sin). The second death is described as follows:
For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye by the Spirit do mortify [put to death] the deeds of the body, ye shall live. (Romans 8:13).
The first death is accomplished by our association with Christ on the cross of Calvary. The second death (not referring to the "second death" of Revelation 20:6) is accomplished by our cooperation with the Holy Spirit as He brings to us the wisdom and strength necessary for total victory over the sins we keep on practicing.
The first death is instantaneous. The second death requires a period of time, at least during the present working of Christ in the Church. The Spirit of God does not break every bondage in us at once. Little by little the bondages are dealt with and little by little the fruit of Christ takes their places.
The Spirit points up our envying of others. We confess the envying and then, with the help of the Spirit, resist the tendency to envy others who appear to be more successful than we. In place of the envy comes the contentment of Christ.
The Spirit reveals that we are stealing, or lying, or hating, or using profanity. We confess the sinful practice, receive the cleansing of the blood of Christ, and then, through the Spirit of God, resist such sins in the future.
The second death requires a long period of time—perhaps our whole lifetime. We maintain our joy, peace and poise while the Spirit is dealing with the sins of our flesh. The process is a war, a definite, specific overcoming of the sins to which we are prone.
The bondages of sin are poured out of our cup. In their place is formed the freedom from sinful practices that always is true of the Nature of Christ. Christ destroys the works of the devil. The Divine Seed cannot sin (I John, Chapter Three).
Death to the world and death to sinful behavior bring us toward the image of Christ and toward our rightful inheritance of fruitfulness, dominion and service to God. Yet, there still is the need for the inwrought obedience produced by the third death—death to self.
The third death brings us to the place where the purposes of God can be established in the heavens and on the earth. It is death to self.
The difference between sin and self is described in Romans 7:20:
Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Can you see, in the above verse, the difference between "I" and "sin?"
After God begins to bring the sin in us under control, then He works with the "I." The "I," as Romans, Chapter Seven points out, is quite willing to perform the righteous acts of the Law of God, but on its own terms, in its own way. When God deals with the "I" He is not emphasizing sin, the question concerns stern obedience to the Father.
Abraham, Job and Joseph were righteous men. But God brought them low in order to test their obedience. Christ Himself was perfected in obedience while He was on the earth. Sin is not the issue here. It is the being, the identity, the self of the believer that must be poured out in complete consecration.
We may be as a beautiful flower blooming before the Lord. But then the Lord requires that we be poured out to death. He calls for the "alabaster box" of the perfume of our soul that it may be poured out on Himself.
Our "Isaac," that which God Himself has given to us, must be returned to God as an offering. We must receive our "Isaac" back from the dead if we are to inherit him. Only by such a pouring out of what God has given can there be dominion over the enemies of Christ, blessing for the nations of the earth, and the filling of the heavens and the earth with the fruit—Christ.
The third death (death to self) is accomplished by self-denial, as we become willing to make Christ the absolute Lord of our life. We have spoken of Abraham, of Joseph, of Job. These were righteous men who were tested concerning their willingness to love and serve God even though "unreasonable" demands were placed on them. We could mention Jeremiah, Paul, Peter, and a host of others who bore an abundance of fruit because they were willing to deny themselves and follow Christ.
We can be saved and walking in holiness. But God requires further that we give over to Him all of our rights and privileges as creatures of God, as human beings. We are to maintain unswerving faithfulness to death. It is impossible to be an overcomer unless we are willing to love not our lives to the point of death.
We must deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Christ wherever and whenever He may lead. We sometimes are required to go places that are not of our choosing, to do things that are unpleasant; and to do so without complaining against God or people.
We may be called on to suffer the loss of all things (Philippians 3:8). The rich young ruler was keeping the Law but Christ demanded the "unreasonable" of him. "Sell your possessions and give away the proceeds."
The young heir turned away in sorrow (Matthew 19:22). He traded the everlasting Kingdom of God for the wealth of his hour—a wealth that today is rotting along with his bones under many feet of accumulated dirt. Meanwhile, the Kingdom of God—that in which he could have had eternal treasure—is approaching in unrivaled glory and splendor.
We are to love not our life. We are not discussing here the pouring out of our sin, we are referring to the pouring out of our life! All that we are or hope to be!
We present our body a living sacrifice. We present it. We lay it on the Altar of Burnt Offering. We watch our loves and ambitions ascend to God in the flame as a sweet-smelling savor to our Creator. Can we offer less?
We drink the cup of death to self and pour out our life before God as an offering. Christ becomes Lord of our life—Lord in truth, in fact, in reality.
The will of God is ground into our will, as the holy incense of the Tabernacle was compounded of different spices, until the two wills are indistinguishable. Then the incense is ready to be poured on the consuming fire of God. When God "smells" that perfume He is blessed.
Then God’s love and blessing pour from the throne and the result is the fullness of fruitfulness, of dominion, of blessing. In the process we ourselves are changed from the "self-seeker" to the "prince who has power with God and with men" (Genesis 32:28).
The Divine Fruit—Christ—is created when a believer is willing to become a cup. When a Christian is willing to lay down his life to the Lord, then Christ is formed in other human beings.
The fruit (knop, knob) portrayed in the Lampstand in its six side-branches represents Christ who is the Fruit of God. The fruit is related to the Table of Showbread in that both portray Christ, who Himself is the true Bread from Heaven.
Christ alone can give eternal life to the eater. In the Substance of Christ is the Divine Seed. The Divine Seed is incorruptible. It cannot sin. It reproduces, bringing forth the image and likeness of God, filling the heavens and the earth with the Substance and beauty of Christ.
It is the will of God that the Body of Christ bear the Divine Fruit of Christ, first building itself up to the fullness of stature and then spreading its influence as a vine that fills the heavens and the earth.
Christ Himself is the true Vine of God, and the Father is the Farmer (John, Chapter 15). The Lord directs us to "abide in the vine." As we keep ourselves in Christ, by the graces and practices outlined in the Scriptures, the Divine Fruit—Christ—is formed in us. It is not merely that we become righteous people. It goes far deeper than that. Rather it is that the Divine Substance—Christ—is created in us. As Christ is created in us, righteous behavior begins to follow.
As we remain in Christ, being obedient to the Lord in all things, the fruit being created in us touches other people, other lives. The result is that they too experience a transformation. Christ is formed in them. They are healed and released. It is the will of God that each Christian bear much fruit, bringing forth in abundance the image and likeness of God.
He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit. (Isaiah 27:6).
The Seed, Christ, is singular in number. But God’s promise to Abraham is that the Seed shall be as the stars of heaven and as the sand on the seashore. The singular Seed is to be large in number. This is because there is only one fruit that is acceptable to God—Christ, and God has determined Christ shall be multiplied in and through the members of the Body of Christ.
The good works of men accomplish useful deeds in the world. But the eternal Seed is Christ. Christ shall fill all the creation. The Church is the fullness of Him who fills all in all (Ephesians 1:23).
The grace that comes to us by the Gospel of Christ is for the purpose of bringing forth the righteous Seed.
. . . that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified. (Isaiah 61:3).
The Divine edict has gone forth! Christ shall be formed in the Church:
For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations. (Isaiah 61:11).
Our marriage to Christ is destined to bring forth fruit. For some Christians, a long period of time passes before the desired fruit is produced. This is because God has in mind to produce in them fruit of special quality and quantity. The Scripture has quite a bit to say about barrenness and fruitbearing. Sarai, Rachel, Hannah, and Elizabeth were barren women. But when their desire came it was a tree of life.
Some Christians are used of God almost from the moment of their conversion. Others love God just as fervently but God deals with them by delay as he did with Sarai, with Hannah, with Elizabeth. "Known unto God are all his works from the creation of the world" (Acts 15:18). When a particularly rich fruit is to be formed a particularly prolonged death may be required.
The experience of Abraham and Sarah is known to most Christians. They wanted a child, and the Lord promised them a child. But waiting for God proved to be more than they could bear. The "death" that the Lord required was too prolonged.
The attempt of Abraham and Sarah to bring forth fruit by human ingenuity resulted in an abundance of confusion and conflict. Instead of the promised fruit they brought forth a wild man (Genesis 16:12). We always bring forth a "wild man" when we attempt to fulfill God’s promises apart from abiding in Christ.
Abraham and Sarah were tested by the delay of what God had promised. When the promise was fulfilled, the gift of God far exceeded in glory and abundance anything Abraham and Sarah possibly could have imagined. Abraham became the father of us all.
Sarah became the recipient of the promise:
He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the Lord. (Psalms 113:9).
Sometimes those who wait on the Lord are cut off from every opportunity for fruit-bearing. They may then be in line for the abundance of God.
Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord. (Isaiah 54:1).
As we study the fifty-fourth chapter of Isaiah, which is written to those whom God draws aside to Himself so their fruit-bearing may be exclusively of Him, we find we soon get into the description of the holy city, the new Jerusalem.
O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires. (Isaiah 54:11).
God is good to those who wait only on Him. The new Jerusalem is the perfected Bride of the Lamb. Her fruitfulness will fill all things. All her children shall be taught of the Lord, and great shall be the peace of her children (Isaiah 54:13).
It is the Lord’s will that each Christian bear fruit—the Substance and Nature of Christ. Some are blessed immediately. Others not so quickly or obviously. God looks for perfect faithfulness and obedience. Then the fruit-bearing is as certain as the Word of God. The fruit will be perfect in quality and very great in quantity.
We have discussed the cup and the fruit. The third ornament of the Lampstand was the flower. The flower is thought to have resembled the lily.
The flower is the beauty of the Bride of Christ, the beauty of holiness to the Lord. It is the beauty of Christ Himself. It is the image and likeness of Christ.
The flower is associated with the Lampstand. The Lampstand was by far the most ornate of the furnishings of the Tabernacle of the Congregation. It was an article of great beauty.
We understand from Revelation 1:20 that the Lampstand portrays the Church of Christ. The Lampstand is the Body of Christ, the Wife of the Lamb, the Light of the world.
The Holy Spirit has been charged with perfecting the beauty of the Bride of the Lamb. To this end He, the Holy Spirit, has given the gifts of anointing. They are the Life of Christ given by the Spirit for the purpose of perfecting the Bride.
The Song of Solomon describes the beauty of Christ and also the beauty of the Bride of the Lamb, which we know to be the beauty of Christ Himself.
In describing Christ:
My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand. (Song of Solomon 5:10).
In describing the Bride:
As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters. Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee. Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck. (Song of Solomon 2:2; 4:7,9).
There are many such passages in the Song of Solomon.
The Bride’s ability to work and her capacity for bearing children are important. In addition, Christ is concerned with the beauty of His Bride. That beauty is His own image that He sees in her.
So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord; and worship thou him. (Psalms 45:11).
Christ is beautiful in the sight of God, the Father. Christ is the image of God. In Christ, God beholds the expression of Himself—His holiness, His strength, His majesty, His compassion, His faithfulness.
The express image of Christ is being created in the Bride: His Divine attributes, His holiness, His strength, His majesty, His compassion, His faithfulness. The Bride is the expression of Christ Himself just as Christ is the expression of God Almighty.
We do not see the beauty being created in us because we do not see with Divine eyes. The Word of God tells us that Christ is ravished with the beauty of His Bride. The Bride is never the means to an end as far as Christ is concerned. She is the end of the workings of God, the result of thousands of years of travail. She is the "choice one."
Christ must never become a means to an end to us. He Himself is the end of all our desires. The Holy Spirit is creating a Bride with whom Christ is joyful. Let us be joyful in Christ. He is our Lord. Let us worship Him.
If we become wholly occupied with Christ, and He is with us, the result will be the Divine Fruit—children in the image of Christ who will fill the universe with the Glory of God. This is the eternal purpose of God toward which all of the creation is moving.
The cup, the fruit, the flower: here is the true Christian life. We receive Christ (the fruit) because someone was willing to be poured out to death (the cup). As Christ grows in us, under the ministration of the Holy Spirit of God, the beauty of the Lord is wrought in us (the flower).
Is the fruit—Christ—being formed in you? Is the beauty of the Lord coming forth in your life? Do not be astonished, then, when God comes down to savor the perfume that will flow from your total consecration to Him—consecration that must pass through fiery trials. Trust Christ. The inheritance of fruitfulness and dominion you desire is possible only as you are willing to become a cup that the Lord Jesus, the High Priest of God, pours on the fires of the Altar of Incense.
The invisible and the visible. The reader may have noticed that every day there was a considerable amount of activity in the Holy Place, particularly the work necessary for the proper operation of the Lampstand and the Altar of Incense. Also, the Bread of the Presence had to be kept on the holy Table. And then there were the ceremonies pertaining to the Day of Atonement, that occurred once each year.
It is significant that most of the priestly routines were not visible to the Israelites for they occurred inside the Tabernacle building. They were holy and not seen even by the Levites.
The same is true concerning the work of Christ in the human being. Most of what takes place, in a healthy Christian development, is not visible to the world. The outer activity which can be seen is the result of holy internal procedures understood primarily by the Lord, to a lesser extent by the person, and not at all by the world.
The work of redemption in the individual is holy. It is not for the world to observe.
The same is true also of church activities. The holy worship and spiritual operations of the assembly of believers are not for the world to observe. They are a service to God.
In our local assembly we worship with banners, tambourines, marching, dancing, and hand and body expression of worship in keeping with the music. There also are mime presentations. Sometimes while the musicians are playing someone will sing in prophecy with the music serving as a background.
All of this activity is holy to the Lord. Those who participate are reminded continually that we are not putting on a show for people but are looking always to the Lord to please and worship Him.
Those with a strong bent for evangelism sometimes complain that we are not reaching out to people enough. Some go so far as to suggest that we should conduct such worship activities out in the street where people can "see them and be saved."
Our response is that this is to throw that which is holy to the dogs. We believe if we worship God with pure, upright hearts He will insure that those with the calling of the evangelist will be strengthened and guided in their ministry.
As we see it, there has been altogether too much stress on bringing the local community into the assembly of the saints. We recognize there may be times when the Lord prompts the leadership to reach out to the local community. But ordinarily there should be services conducted for the edifying of the saints that are not directed toward the salvation of the lost.
The various ministries of the Hebrew priests inside the Tabernacle were not visible to the Israelites. The showbread existed to please the Lord. The light of the Lampstand was for the Lord to see. The Altar of Incense was for the Lord to smell.
God grant that in our day we will turn away from our attempts to haul the unsaved into the assemblies, thus insuring that God’s Presence will be minimal, and concentrate on worshiping and pleasing the Lord. As we said there will be exceptions to this. But until there exists a part of the local assembly that is obeying God implicitly and holding up holy hands before Him in prayer and praise, the awe of God will not be present in anywhere near the intensity that we desire.
There isn’t much said in the Epistles about inviting unsaved people into the assembly of the saints. But there is a great deal said about holiness and righteousness on the part of the saints.
The Altar of Burnt Offering and the Laver, representing salvation through the blood of Jesus and water baptism, were placed outside in the Courtyard where they could be seen. So it is that the preaching of the cross and water baptism are to be conducted in the sight of the world. If Christ is lifted up on the cross all will be drawn to Him.
When we enter the Tabernacle, beginning with the Table of Showbread representing the born-again experience, the activities no longer are visible to those on the outside. This is why we do not find, in the Book of Acts, the Apostles crying out to people that they must be born again. Instead they preached repentance and the forgiveness of sins through Christ.
The Altar of Incense stood just before the Veil, in direct line with the Ark of the Covenant and the covering Mercy Seat.
And thou shalt put it before the vail that is by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee. (Exodus 30:6).
The Altar of Incense should be of particular interest to Christians of the Pentecostal experience because the Altar of Incense is a type of the aspect of redemption that follows the Pentecostal expression of speaking in tongues, and other manifestations of the Holy Spirit.
The Altar of Incense is the fifth of the seven furnishings. You may recall that the number five symbolizes entrance into the Kingdom of God. The bronze Altar of Burnt Offering was five cubits square and typifies our entrance into the plan of redemption in Christ. There were five pillars at the entrance to the Holy Place, representing our entrance into the Body of Christ. The Altar of Incense was the fifth furnishing and it typifies our entrance into the rest of God.
On the fifth day animal life first appeared in the creation—fish in the waters and birds in the firmament. The fifth episode of the wilderness wandering was the first organization of Israel into a fighting force, preparing the way for entrance into the land of promise (Numbers, Chapter 10).
The march toward the land of promise was directed by the priests blowing silver trumpets The fifth Levitical feast was the blowing of trumpets. Trumpets signaled New Year’s day (Rosh Hoshanah ) of the civil, or agricultural, year of the Hebrews; and also called attention to the nearness of the Day of Atonement and the feast of Tabernacles.
The Blowing of Trumpets typifies the establishing of the rule of God on the earth.
It is at the fifth stage of the plan of redemption that the Christian matures past the place of being a saved human being waiting to go to Heaven, and is formed into a servant of the Lord. It is then that we enter the purposes of God. Prior to this, the grace of God toward us is perceived by us as being primarily for our benefit. From the Lampstand forward we understand that we are being prepared for the war of God against the Kingdom of darkness.
It may be difficult for us to conceive of something that exists for God’s purposes and not just for us. We have for so long tried to use God as a means of our salvation, of our health, of problem solving, and of getting whatever it is we need or want, that we may never have grasped the fact that God has some purposes of His own and that we have been called according to these purposes.
During the beginning stages of our redemption we are quite self-centered. As we move past the golden Lampstand we pass from self to God. What becomes important to us then is God Himself, and the eternal plan of God to rid the creation of evil.
Proceeding past the Lampstand means death to self, to our purposes, to our plans to use God to help us pursue our own desires. For the first time, perhaps, we become conscious of the eternal plan of God. We groan, as did the Apostle Paul, for the fullness of victory, the redemption of our body, that we may be able to move ahead with Christ in bringing justice and peace to the nations of the earth.
The holy incense that was burned on the Altar of Incense was compounded from four ingredients seasoned with salt. The ingredients were ground together until the mixture was uniform.
Christ became perfect by the things He suffered. As we suffer, the Person of Christ is ground into us, beaten into us by the circumstances into which the Holy Spirit leads us, until the mixture is fine and uniform. We do not enjoy the process, but when we are "thrown on the fire of God" the perfume that arises moves God as few things do.
The Presence of God was lost from the earth because of disobedience. Ever since those first days of mankind, people have prayed to God to return to the earth with blessing. Once God is offended and withdraws it is not a simple matter to persuade Him to return.
When the Christian moves past the Lampstand, to speak figuratively, being filled with the Holy Spirit, has partaken consistently of the body and blood of Christ, has obeyed the other requirements of the Christian life, and then has the Life of Christ ground into him by suffering, he comes into the place of effective communication with God. "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."
By the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and often intensified by suffering, the saint begins to cry mightily to God night and day for God to meet the needs of the hour. God hears. God smells the perfume of His beloved Son, the Lord Jesus. God begins to rouse Himself to the great purposes yet ahead. One person crying out to God under the burden of the Holy Spirit can bring about wonders.
When a group of people call on God in this manner, giving thanks for all things and letting their requests be made known to God, we have the formula for earth-shaking revival.
Just before the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, the prayers of all saints will be blended with the holy perfume from the Altar of Incense, which is the fragrance of Christ. God will be so moved He will command the seven angels to commence blowing their trumpets. At the sounding of the seventh angel, the kingdoms of this world will become the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ.
The saints who are pressing forward in the overcoming life should attend to the leading of the Holy Spirit in the matter of prayer, intercession, supplication, petition, breaking of unclean bondages, adoration, praise, and thanksgiving. Their communication with God should become stronger each day as the substance of Christ is being ground uniformly throughout their personality.
We trust that God will move on many of His people in these days to keep seeking the Lord until He makes His Church a praise in the earth, and sends the Lord Jesus Christ to earth as King of all kings and Lord of all lords (Isaiah 62:1).
He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. (Revelation 22:20).
As we have stated, the next move of God after Pentecost is the Spirit-empowered, holy communication with God that will bring down from Heaven an earth-wide revival of the preaching of the Word of God—the Gospel of the Kingdom—with unprecedented authority, power, and glory. The amplifying and maturing of the prayer and praise ascending from the Body of Christ will be a sweet fragrance in the Face of God. The holy perfume arising from obedient saints will move Him to command the seven angels to sound, the final result of which will be the return to earth of our Lord Jesus.
The seven trumpets are the heavenly fanfare that announces the Presence of the Lord. This is why the Altar of Incense is mentioned by the Holy Spirit as standing before the Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy Seat—it announces the Presence of the Lord.
The next move of God, in conjunction with the earth-wide revival of prayer and praise, will be the preaching of the Gospel with spiritual power never before witnessed on the earth, except for the ministry of Christ Himself. The end-time revival may well be the fulfillment of the "two witnesses" of Revelation, Chapter 11. Here is the double portion of Elisha that will go before the Lord to prepare His way and to make ready a people for the Lord.
Every valley (depressed person) will be exalted (brought up to spiritual victory), and every high place (a person who has exalted himself) will be brought down (to the place where God can commune with his spirit). The crooked places (realms of deception) will be made straight. The rough places (areas of sin and rebellion in God’s people) will be smoothed out, and the hearts of the parents reconciled to the children and the children to the parents (family relationships established firmly).
The above acts of preparation are the kinds of reconciliation to God that must be made before Christ can dwell in the Church. Zion, the Body of Christ, today is characterized by depression, defeat, self-exaltation, deception, sin, rebellion, self-seeking stubbornness, and every other evil work.
God and Christ cannot come and be made one with such uncleanness and confusion. Family relationships must be restored. Our lives must be brought into harmony with God’s Holy Spirit. Only then can the Lord Jesus Christ come to be glorified in His saints.
As soon as the saints have been made ready, the way of the Lord being thus prepared, then He, Christ, will come and feed His flock as the Good Shepherd. To the wicked of the earth He will be the avenging Lamb who will come with His saints to destroy sin out of the earth.
On certain occasions blood was placed on the horns of the Altar of Incense, signifying that our prayers to God must be presented through the blood of the Lord Jesus.
The four horns of the Altar of Incense reveal the fact that this altar, as well as the Altar of Burnt Offering, contains the power of God to overcome the world, our fleshly nature, and the accuser. Horns, in Scripture typology, indicate the power to overcome resistance. We overcome by the blood of the Lamb, and also by bowing in worship and obedience to the point of the death of the old adamic nature.
Our prayer and praise before the Lord God must increase in frequency, consistency, faith, hope, love, thanksgiving, and single-minded unswerving petition. Our prayer and praise must become filled increasingly with the holy Life of Christ and the anointing of the Holy Spirit. As our prayer and praise grow stronger our testimony becomes more effective. Power with God brings power with men. A weak prayer life results in a weak testimony.
We overcome the accuser of the brothers by the blood of the Lamb (Altar of Burnt Offering); by the word of our testimony (Lampstand—the gifts and fruit of the Spirit); and by loving not our lives to the death (the Veil, opening into the Most Holy Place). When we move past the Altar of Incense we come to the Veil.
Hanging directly behind the golden Altar of Incense was the ornate Veil, with its beautiful colors and cherubim, serving as a partition between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place.
Thou shalt make a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubims shall it be made: Thou shalt hang it on four pillars of Shittim wood overlaid with gold: their hooks shall be of gold, on the four sockets of silver. Thou shalt hang up the vail under the taches, that thou mayest bring in thither in the vail the ark of the testimony: and the vail shall divide to you between the holy place and the most holy. (Exodus 26:31-33).
It is written that the Veil symbolizes the flesh of Christ.
Having therefore, brothers, boldness to enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, by the veil, that is to say, his flesh; (Hebrews 10:19,20).
At the time Jesus died the Veil was torn apart, revealing that the way into the Most Holy Place is now open.
And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; (Matthew 27:51).
As far as our individual redemption is concerned, both the River Jordan and the Veil of the Tabernacle symbolize the same thing—death to self. It is impossible to enter the battles of the Lord when one is still being led about by self-will and self-direction.
The demolishing of our self life is a lifelong program, and God knows exactly how to point His finger at the sources of our problem with self. Our task is to be patient with God until we find rest in Him. Later on in our spiritual development we shall receive more understanding concerning the various tunnels and prisons we were and are called on to endure.
The Veil of the Tabernacle and the River Jordan typify the death to self of which we have been speaking. During our "wilderness wanderings" we learn how to bring ourselves under the discipline of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes we are "pressed out of measure"; but we have "the sentence of death" in ourselves that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead.
When we go into spiritual battle we must commit our safety and well-being into the hands of God. The struggle is between God and Satan and we are not able to cope with supernatural wisdom and power. Sometimes we ourselves are the battleground.
By stating that the "struggle is between God and Satan" we are not implying that Satan is equal to God. It is not a struggle of power against power, for God has all power. In addition, every vestige of Satan’s authority over the Christian was stripped from him on the cross of Calvary.
Rather it is true that in the arena of Christian conflict the Lord God is demonstrating to the heavens and the earth the dreadful consequences of rebellion against the Most High and at the same time showing that the Seed, Christ, growing in a human being, will enable him or her to overcome sin and rebellion under the most difficult circumstances.
Meanwhile, Christ is resting in God, waiting patiently until every one of His enemies becomes His footstool.
The battle against self-will and sin is real in each of our lives. When we enter spiritual combat, if there is any sin on our part, any weakness, any fear, any timidity, any lust, any saving of our life, then we falter and God has to stop and deal with our problems so we will not be destroyed.
If we are to see the battle through to glorious victory we must do so by abiding in absolute trust as the Holy Spirit conquers self-love in us. Our death and resurrection in and with Christ can be described easily in a few words. But the actual experiencing of the transition from self life to Divine Life consists of a prolonged series of trials. Our patience and faith are severely tested. Sometimes a considerable period of time goes by before God brings to our attention the exceedingly great wisdom of His strategies in our life.
If we are willing to remain under the hand of God during times of trial and suffering, God’s wisdom and power will be revealed in our life and the complete victory will come in precise timing. If we reassert our own wisdom and desires, God may draw back for a season and teach us the same lessons in a different situation.
The beautiful Veil that represents the death of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the supreme example of the kind of victory through death we have just mentioned, represents also our own death in the Lord. The Veil is our death. It is only in our death that we will be able, through the Holy Spirit, to conquer the enemies who at the present time are living in our land of promise. Self must wither and die and Christ must be formed in us, if we are to enter the rest of God.
Our land of promise consists of all the promises of God to us. Chief among these promises is that we are being made a royal priesthood to God and that we will serve God throughout His creation forever. Christ will receive, because of the directive of the Father, the nations for His inheritance and the farthest reaches of the earth for His possession. We Christians are coheirs with Him.
They shall make an ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof. (Exodus 25:10).
The Ark of the Covenant was a wooden chest. The wood used in its construction, acacia (called shittim, Hebrew pronunciation shi-TEEM, a derivative of sho-TATE, to pierce, referring to the thorns of the acacia tree), was from a thorny tree native to the wilderness in which Israel wandered.
Ours is a "thorny" experience while we are being fashioned. People around us get "stuck" while we are in process. We ourselves feel a "thorn in the flesh" once in a while.
It is significant that so much of the Tabernacle was constructed from wood. Many Scriptures scholars believe wood, as used in the Old Testament typology, symbolizes humanity. We find the Ark itself, to speak in a figure, will be fashioned from people (wood).
The new covenant fulfillment of the old covenant Ark is the Throne of God. It is the secret place in the bosom of the Father in which Christ dwells. It is the plan of salvation that the heart of the Christian saint be fashioned into the Throne of God.
The Ark of the Covenant was overlaid "within and without" with gold (Divinity), indicating that people (wood) will endure a process that will make them partakers of the Divine Nature.
Thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make on it a crown of gold round about. (Exodus 25:11).
Acacia wood is thorny, hard, and durable. It is suitable for cabinet work in that it can be polished. God’s elect are like this. They are thorny, hard, durable, and will "take a polish," so to speak.
The saints often are difficult to work with and to shape into the desired form. Once God gets them cut into shape, covers them with Christ on the inside and the outside, and carefully and patiently polishes them, the result is an enduring and beautiful piece of furniture for God’s dwelling place.
The wood (humanity) was covered outside and inside the Ark with gold, pointing toward the day when the victorious saints will have Christ dwelling in them to the full and they will be dwelling in Christ to the full. Humanity totally eclipsed by Divinity. Mortality swallowed up by immortality.
Don’t give up, Christian. We will reap one day if we do not faint along the way. The goal of our life is to be re-created in the express image of Christ, God’s Son, in spirit, soul and body in order that we may be filled with all the fullness of God.
The Ark of the Covenant was the sixth item of furniture. The number six is believed to symbolize mankind since man was created on the sixth day. Man was created in the image of God during the sixth day of God’s workings.
Man, passing through the Veil and being fashioned into the Ark of the Covenant, into the throne of God, becomes at that time the image of God.
Human character is transformed by continued exposure to the Glory of God in the face of Christ until the believer can claim: "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me."
Blessed be the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who is working until we have been fashioned into the exact image of His Son in spirit, in soul, and in body.
The Ark of the Covenant was constructed from acacia wood, showing that human beings are to be made the resting place of the almighty God. God is preparing a living temple in which He can settle down to rest. The Mercy Seat was beaten into shape from refined gold and placed on top of the Ark. The Ark and the Mercy Seat go together, demonstrating the mutual, interdependent rest of God and the believer (Hebrews 4:3).
Therefore the Ark portrays the completion of the process of redemption. The Ark is the omega of the work of salvation in human beings. The Christian who has been created in the image of Christ in spirit, soul and body, who has been filled with the fullness of the Father and the Son through the Holy Spirit, and who has been anointed with the fullness of the Holy Spirit for ministry, has an eternity of eternities in which to dwell in the bosom of the Father, to serve Him throughout His creation, and to come to know Him ever more fully.
The Ark of the Covenant contained three items: (1) Aaron’s rod that budded; (2) the jar of manna; and (3) the two stone slabs inscribed with the Ten Commandments.
Aaron’s rod. The three elements in the golden chest, the Ark of the Covenant, portray the fully-developed Christian character. Aaron’s rod that budded shows that the Christian has learned to flow with the resurrection life that proceeds from the Father—the Life of the Holy Spirit of God. "That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection."
Flowing in and with eternal resurrection life is one of the principal aspects of the rest of God.
In the seventeenth chapter of Numbers the story is told of the manner in which God demonstrated that the tribe of Levi in general, and Aaron and his descendants in particular, were chosen to lead Israel in the service of God. Of twelve rods left by Moses overnight before the Ark of the Covenant, one rod for each of the tribes of Israel, Aaron’s rod alone came to life.
By a miracle, buds, blossoms and almonds appeared on the rod of Levi on which Aaron’s name had been written. This demonstration was brought about because of the rebellion of Korah, of the tribe of Levi, of the family of Kohath.
The family of Kohath was the branch of the Levites chosen to carry the holy furnishings. Korah’s father was Izhar, making Korah a first cousin of Aaron, Moses, and Miriam. Perhaps Korah was envious of the special favor of God shown toward Moses and Aaron. Dathan and Abiram of the tribe of Reuben also participated in the rebellion against Moses and Aaron.
The appearing of the buds, blossoms and almonds on the rod of Levi is an outstanding picture of resurrection life. In the first chapter of Romans, Christ is declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead.
Of all the dead bodies lying in the ground from the time of Adam, Jesus’ alone came forth. Of all the religious teachers who claimed to be able to lead people to salvation, whose flesh has long since rotted away and whose bones being the only reminder that they once taught on the earth, only Jesus returned from the land of the dead in stupendous triumph, laughing at His enemies, with the keys of Hell and death in His powerful grasp.
The rebellious scheming of men, even of personalities in the high place of religion and spiritual matters, are brought to nothing because Jesus is the only One who has resurrection life. All other leaders and teachers are dead while they yet live unless they are found in Him.
Each of God’s saints must come to know the power of Christ’s resurrection. Also, each must come to experience the fellowship of His sufferings. The resurrection Life of Christ flows out from our crucifixion with Him.
It is the resurrection life that proves Jesus to be the Son of God. It is the power of endless life that makes both Melchizedek and Jesus the priests of God. It is the power of eternal life that proves the saints have been chosen of God. All who envy the spiritual authority and power of the members of the Wife of the Lamb will be brought to nothing. It is life—God’s Life—that proves who has been chosen of God.
Who is made, not after the law of a fleshly commandment, but after the power of an endless life [an indestructible life]. (Hebrews 7:16).
There is no other way. God’s power works through our confusion, our weakness, our helplessness. Every day we are brought in some manner to the dying of the Lord Jesus so His living power may have opportunity to come forth according to the needs of the moment.
Resurrection life cannot be gained merely by an assent to correct doctrine, although there is a place for correctness of doctrine. The resurrection force of God works in the spirit, soul and body of people because it is in the deepest parts of the personality that God creates eternal truth. God perseveres with us until the instincts of our nature are righteous rather than rebellious and self-centered.
Death, and life! Death, and life! Death, and life! The process goes on day by day. We have been crucified with Christ and our new life is His resurrection Life. That much we understand mentally from studying the sixth chapter of Romans.
God presses us on the hot mold of circumstances so the crucifixion with Christ and the resulting resurrection with Christ are of substance in us. Death with Christ and resurrection with Christ are wrought in us while we are subject to the problems of the material world. Our "wilderness wanderings" produce eternal virtue in us.
Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. We which live are alway delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. (II Corinthians 4:10,11).
God is bringing us into the death of Christ so His resurrection life may be revealed in us. The eternal life being created in us is communicated to other people.
The resurrection Life of Jesus that flowed from Paul’s many afflictions, trials, imprisonments, sufferings, found expression in Paul’s epistles—a source of Divine Life for multiplied millions of people. Paul’s willingness to follow Christ into the fullness of death has resulted in the fullness of the Life of Jesus being brought to the nations of the earth for two thousand years.
In the Day of the Lord, resurrection life will clothe our mortal body. We then shall be redeemed completely. In view of our coming total redemption, which will include the redemption of our mortal body that gives us so much trouble at the present time, we need to be sowing to the Spirit of God and not to the lusts of our flesh.
If we Christians sow to our flesh, living all the time to appease the desires of our flesh and fleshly mind, we will die spiritually—Christian or not. If we keep a strong hand of discipline on the inclinations of our fleshly body and give ourselves to the things of Christ, we will reap eternal life in spirit, soul, and body.
Paul left everything that seemed to be of value to him in order to come to know Christ, the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings. If we would have the buds, blossoms and almonds of resurrection life appear on our personalities we must allow God to place us as He will "before the Ark of the Covenant," before His Presence.
Waiting on God does not mean waiting for God. It does not mean ceasing to seek God each day in a determined manner. It does not refer to giving ourselves over to our flesh and the world with the thought in mind that some day—maybe!—God will dump revival on our head. We find God in the day that we seek Him with all of our heart.
If our "waiting on the Lord" is a passive affair, with no time being given each day to prayer and meditation in God’s Word, nothing of eternal value will spring forth in our life. "Aaron’s rod" will not bloom, as it were.
Waiting on God is the first business of the Christian discipleship, and it requires that we give time to seeking the Lord each day—seeking Him in single-mindedness of heart. It requires also we do not run ahead of God, attempting to build the Kingdom of God by our own wisdom, strength, and desires.
If you find yourself at this time in a place of indecision and it seems impossible to find the right way to walk in God, ask the Lord Jesus to place all your alternatives in the Presenc