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Exodus Chapter
Twenty-six
Exodus 26
Chapter Contents
The curtains of the tabernacle. (1-6) The curtains of
goats' hair. (7-14) The boards, sockets, and bars. (15-30) The vail of the holy
of holies, and for the entrance. (31-37)
Commentary on Exodus 26:1-6
(Read Exodus 26:1-6)
God manifested his presence among the Israelites in a
tabernacle or tent, because of their condition in the wilderness. God suits the
tokens of his favour, and the gifts of his grace, to his people's state and
wants. The curtains of the tabernacle were to be very rich. They were to be
embroidered with cherubim, signifying that the angels of God pitch their tents
round about the church, Psalm 34:7.
Commentary on Exodus 26:7-14
(Read Exodus 26:7-14)
The curtains of meaner materials, being made both longer
and broader, covered the others, and were defended by coverings of skins. The
whole represents the person and doctrine of Christ, and the church of true
Christians, and all heavenly things, which outwardly are mean, but inwardly,
and in the sight of God, are glorious and precious.
Commentary on Exodus 26:15-30
(Read Exodus 26:15-30)
The sockets of silver each weighed about 115 pounds; they
were placed in rows on the ground. In every pair of these sockets, a strong
board of shittim-wood, covered with plates of gold, was fitted by mortises and
tenons. Thus walls were formed for the two sides, and for the west end. The
wall was further held together by bars, which passed through rings of gold.
Over this the curtains were spread. Though movable, it was strong and firm. The
materials were very costly. In all this it was a type of the church of God,
built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself
being the chief Corner-stone, Ephesians 2:20,21.
Commentary on Exodus 26:31-37
(Read Exodus 26:31-37)
A vail, or curtain, separated the holy place from the
most holy place. It was hung upon pillars. This vail was for a partition
between the holy place and the most holy; which forbade any to look into the
holiest of all. The apostle tells what was the meaning of this vail, Hebrews 9:8. That the ceremonial law could not
make the comers thereunto perfect, nor would the observance of it bring men to
heaven; the way into the holiest of all was not made manifest, while the first
tabernacle was standing. Life and immortality lay hidden till they were brought
to light by the gospel; which was signified by the rending of this vail at the
death of Christ, Matthew 27:51. We have now boldness to enter
into the holiest, in all acts of worship, by the blood of Jesus; yet such as
obliges us to holy reverence. Another vail was for the outer door of the
tabernacle. This vail was all the defence the tabernacle had. God takes care of
his church on earth. A curtain shall be, if God please to make it so, as strong
a defence to his house, as gates of brass and bars of iron. With this typical
description of Christ and his church before us, what is our judgment of these
matters? Do we see any glory in the person of Christ? any excellence in his
character? any thing precious in his salvation? or any wisdom in the doctrine
of the cross? Will our religion bear examination? and are we more careful to
approve our hearts to God than our characters toward men?
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Exodus》
Exodus 26
Verse 1
[1]
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 curtains were to be embroidered with
cherubim, to intimate that the angels of God pitched their tents round about
the church, Psalms 34:7. As there were cherubim over the
mercy-seat, so there were round the tabernacle. There were to be two hangings,
five breadths to each, sewed together, and the two hangings coupled together
with golden clasps or tacks, so that it might be all one tabernacle, Exodus 26:6. Thus the churches of Christ, though
they are many, yet are one, being fitly joined together in holy love and by the
unity of the Spirit, so growing into one holy temple in the Lord. This
tabernacle was very strait and narrow, but at the preaching of the gospel, the
church is bid to enlarge the place of her tent, and to stretch forth her
curtains, Isaiah 54:2.
Verse 14
[14] And thou shalt make a covering for the tent of rams' skins dyed red, and a
covering above of badgers' skins.
Badger skins — So
we translate it, but it should rather seem to have been some strong sort of
leather, (but very fine) for we read of the best sort of shoes made of it. Ezekiel 16:10.
Verse 15
[15] And
thou shalt make boards for the tabernacle of shittim wood standing up.
Very particular directions are here given
about the boards of the tabernacle, which were to bear up the curtains. These
had tenons which fell into the mortaises that were made for them in silver
bases. The boards were coupled together with gold rings at top and bottom, and
kept firm with bars that run through golden staples in every board. Thus every
thing in the tabernacle was very splendid, agreeable to that infant state of
the church, when such things were proper to possess the minds of the
worshippers with a reverence of the divine glory. In allusion to this, the new
Jerusalem is said to be of pure gold, Revelation 21:18. But the builders of the gospel
church said, Silver and gold have we none; and yet the glory of their building
far exceeded that of the tabernacle.
Verse 31
[31] And
thou shalt make a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen
of cunning work: with cherubims shall it be made:
The veils are here ordered to be made, one
for a partition between the holy place and the most holy, which not only forbad
any to enter, but so much as to look into the holiest of all. Under that
dispensation divine grace was veiled, but now we behold it with open face. The
apostle tells us, this veil, intimated that the ceremonial law could not make
the comers thereunto perfect. The way into the holiest was not made manifest
while the first tabernacle was standing; life and immortality lay concealed
till they were brought to light by the gospel, which was therefore signified by
the rending of this veil at the death of Christ. We have now boldness to enter
into the holiest in all acts of devotion by the blood of Jesus; yet such as
obliges us to a holy reverence, and a humble sense of our distance. Another
veil was for the outward door of the tabernacle. Through this the priests went
in every day to minister in the holy-place, but not the people, Hebrews 9:6. This veil was all the defence the
tabernacle had against thieves and robbers, which might easily be broken through,
for it could be neither locked nor bared, and the abundance of wealth in it,
one would think, might be a temptation. But by leaving it thus exposed, 1. The
priests and Levites would be so much the more obliged to keep a strict watch
upon it: and, 2. God would shew his care of his church on earth, though it be
weak and defenceless, and continually exposed. A curtain shall be (if God
please to make it so) as strong a defence, as gates of brass and bars of iron.
──
John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Exodus》
26 Chapter 26
Verses 1-14
Curtains.
The curtains of the Tabernacle
I. That the glory
of God is hidden to all who stand outside Jesus Christ. Man cannot surprise God
and penetrate His secrets.
II. That in Christ
the glory of God is most brightly revealed.
1. There is such a thing as regarding Christ from the outside; and
then, as the Jews, we see no beauty in Him.
2. There is such a thing as knowing Christ as a great Teacher, a
great Example; “the goats’ hair curtains hooked with brass.”
3. But it is only when we believe in Christ as the Son of God, and
rest in Him as such, that we behold the fulness of His glory. The colours are
the symbols of the different names of God; blue signifies the special
revelation of God, being the colour of heaven and ether; red denotes the
highest dignity, majesty, and royal power; crimson is that which fire and blood
have in common, and symbolizes, therefore, life in its full extent. In Christ,
the love, the life, the beauty, the majesty of God are most brightly expressed.
III. That in Christ
is everlasting security and blessedness. (W. L. Watkinson.)
The curtains and the coverings
I. Let us look at
the beautiful curtains that formed the Tabernacle.
1. If we view the Tabernacle as an emblem of Christ in His
incarnation, the beautiful curtains of cunning work were emblematical of the
attributes and perfections of Jehovah, “In Him dwelleth all the fulness of the
Godhead bodily.” Here every perfection meets and shines.
2. These beautifully-wrought curtains were emblems of the perfect
graces which adorned the human nature of Jesus.
3. May we not see in this beautiful piece of tapestry the various
characters of Christ? Here by faith we behold the Priest and His sacrifice, the
King and His golden crown, the Prophet and His teaching, the Mediator and His
fulness. Here by faith we behold the Shepherd and His watchful care, the
Husband and His everlasting love, the Friend and His faithful counsel. Here in
a mystery of grace we may discover the Root and the tree, the Vine and the
branches, the Head and the members.
4. The curtains were the same in the holiest as in the holy place.
The Church triumphant and the Church militant have the same Christ.
5. These curtains were fastened together by blue loops and taches of
gold so as to form one Tabernacle. The loops and taches were exactly over the
vail (Exodus 26:33). This may teach us the
connection between Christ’s work in heaven and His work on earth.
6. These curtains were full of cherubim. May not these cherubim be
emblems of believers who are Christ’s mystical body? Christ and His members are
one.
7. These curtains are emblems of the Churches of Christ adorned with
the graces of the Holy Spirit.
8. The loops and golden clasps which united the curtains together
show us the place for little deeds of kindness and little deeds of love. Kind
words fitly spoken are golden clasps. There is far more power in kind words
than some people think. Kind words are very uniting.
9. The Tabernacle was divided into two parts, but it was only one
Tabernacle. The saints in heaven and the saints on earth make but one Church.
II. We may now look
at the tent of goats’ hair, which formed a covering for the Tabernacle. The
curtains of goats’ hair were emblematical of the righteousness of Christ, which
is the justification of the Church. These curtains were joined together by
clasps of brass. “And he made fifty taches of brass to couple the tent
together, that it might be one.” Brass is an emblem of strength. “In the Lord
shall one say, have I righteousness and strength.” “In the Lord Jehovah
“--Jehovah Tsidkenu--“is everlasting strength.” May we not have an emblem in
these two large goats’ hair curtains, of righteousness in its twofold aspect?
Christ’s righteousness imputed is our justification. Christ’s righteousness
imparted is our sanctification. We cannot have one without the other; they must
be in our experience “coupled together.” Jesus Christ is our Righteousness and
our Sanctification (1 Corinthians 1:30). Christ for us
is our perfect righteousness. Christ in us is our perfect
sanctification.
III. Over the tent
was a covering of rams’ skins dyed red. Beautiful emblem of the protecting
blood of Christ.
IV. Above the
covering of rams’ skins dyed red was a covering of badgers’ skins. These skins
were probably dyed blue. Perhaps a part were dyed purple. If so there would be
seen on the outside, as well as the inside, “the blue, purple, and scarlet.”
This outside covering teaches us that the Church is under the protection of
heaven. The blue skins were over the red skins. Heaven only protects the blood
marked. “Kept by the power of God.” (R. E. Sears.)
The beauty of holiness within
Observe:
1. As the outside of the Tabernacle was coarse and rough, the beauty
all lying within, so those in whom God dwells must labour to be better than
they seem to be. Hypocrites put the best side outward, like whited sepulchres,
but “the king’s daughter is all glorious within” (Psalms 45:13); in the eye of the world
black as the tents of Kedar, but in the eye of God comely as the curtains of
Solomon (Song of Solomon 1:5). Let our adorning be
that of the hidden man of the heart which God values (1 Peter 3:4).
2. Where God places His glory, He will create a defence; even on the
habitations of the righteous there shall be a covert (Isaiah 6:5-6). The protection of
Providence shall always be upon the beauty of holiness (Psalms 27:5). (A. Nevin, D. D.)
The curtains
The materials used in the manufacture of this fabric were
precisely the same as those which formed the vail; a different arrangement,
however, is adopted as to the “fine linen.” In the vail, the blue first meets
the eye; and the fine linen is last in the series. In these curtains, the fine
linen stands, first, succeeded by the blue and the other colours. The vail, we
know from Hebrews 10:20, was a type of the Lord
Jesus in the days of His flesh, and was rent when He yielded up the ghost. The
curtains, fastened together by golden taches, seem to foreshadow Christ in
resurrection. The same glorious display of God and man, wondrously united,
meets the eye of faith, whether the blessed Lord be contemplated when
sojourning on this earth or raised to the right hand of the Majesty on high.
Resurrection added to Him no new perfections; for He was, while on earth, the
Resurrection and the Life. He was ever perfect. (H. W. Soltau.)
Analogies
The beautiful and costly cherub-curtained habitation bears some
analogy to the believer, to the Church, to Christ, and to heaven.
I. To the
believer. God, who dwelt within these curtains, condescends to dwell graciously
in the heart of every true Israelite--“saints are an habitation of God through
the Spirit.” As the Tabernacle was more beautiful within than without, so are
God’s children. They are clothed with the spotless robe of Emmanuel’s
righteousness, and adorned with humility, love, holiness, and
heavenly-mindedness.
II. To the church.
Believers, of whom the Church is composed, although scattered among many sects
of professing Christians, are yet all one in Christ Jesus. As the curtains
though woven separately were afterwards sewed together and formed two great
curtains, which, when hung, were united into one by means of loops of blue and
clasps of gold, so God’s children are knit together by the silver ties of
affection and bound together by the golden clasps of love.
III. To christ. He
was the true Tabernacle, which “the Lord pitched and not man.”
IV. To heaven.
There angels and saints behold God-shining, not by a mere as symbol He did
within the cherub-curtains, but in the “face of Jesus Christ!” There are those
glorious beings who are mighty in strength (and whose perfections probably were
shadowed forth in the cherubs that stood upon the mercy-seat and adorned roof
and walls), even thousands and tens of thousands of holy angels, guardians of
the saints while on earth, and their companions and fellow-worshippers for ever
in the heavenly temple. (W. Brown.)
The golden and brazen taches
Fifty taches, or clasps of gold, linked together the innermost or
beautiful curtains of the tabernacle. Fifty taches of brass coupled the
goats’-hair curtains. By the former one tabernacle--by the latter one tent was
made. The vail, which divided the interior into two unequal portions, was hung
up under the taches. As long as that vail remained entire, there might be said
to be two tabernacles. At the same time, there was an intimation that the whole
interior was but one holy place, in the fact of the curtains that covered,
being connected by the taches, and forming one tabernacle, and one tent above
it. All priestly service is now conducted in the holiest. Heaven itself is the
place where Christ appears in the presence of God for us. The fifty taches of
gold may be so many distinct presentations of the glories of Christ, expressed
in His various names and titles, as seen crowned with glory and honour upon the
throne of God. The taches of brass may exhibit the same names and titles as
appertaining to Him when He was on earth, the Second Man, the Lord from heaven;
as it will be found that the brass is used as a type of the Lord on earth in
suffering and trial; while the gold has a resurrection aspect of the same
glorious One. He has, as risen from the dead, retaken His own glorious titles;
having, for the joy set before Him, endured the cross. The brazen taches seem
appropriately to knit together the curtains of goats’ hair, which proclaim to
us His sorrows and sufferings on the tree; while the golden taches, as
appropriately coupled together the beautiful curtains, which manifest Him as
received up in glory, because of the perfection of His labour and service in
suffering on earth. (H. W. Soltau.)
The coverings of the Tabernacle
The coverings of the Tabernacle were four in number, viz.,
badgers’skins, rams’skins dyed red, goats’hair, and the embroidered covering.
Much difficulty has been felt, and is still felt, as to the animal which in our
translation is called a badger. Some think it was a seal, and that the entire
Tabernacle, excepting the east end where the door was placed, was covered with
seals’skin. Others think that this covering was made of the skins of a species
of stag goat; but be this as it may, it is clear that the outer covering was
made of some hard and durable substance; so hard was it that shoes were
sometimes made of the same material (Ezekiel 16:10). In this covering there
was nothing beautiful or attractive. I can suppose a man to have stood at the
top of some high hill, and to have looked down on the long, dark, coffin-like
structure, and to have said, “Well, I have heard much about the Tabernacle as
being a very costly building, but I see no beauty at all in this long, dark
tent”; but the priests who had been within could tell of gold, and silver, and
the richest embroidery to be seen there. It was all glorious within, but rough
and unsightly without. This badger skin covering sets forth the humility of
Christ when on earth among men, who, judging of Him according to the outward
appearance, said, “He hath no form nor comeliness; there is no beauty in Him
that we should desire Him”; so they despised and rejected Him (Isaiah 53:2-3). But we know there was
much in Christ which did not meet the eye of men generally; and those who,
taught of the Father, knew Him as the Christ the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:16-17) were attracted to Him,
for He was to them the “chiefest among ten thousand and altogether lovely” (Song of Solomon 5:10; Song of Solomon 5:16). The rough badger
skin outside was as needful as was the beautiful covering underneath; and the
humility of Christ was as needful for us, and for the glory of God, as was His
exaltation. This covering of badgers’ skins was thick enough and hard enough to
be an effectual protection from the rain, dew, and fine sand of the desert, and
nothing could get through it to stain the fine linen or to dim the gold within.
This shadows forth to us the holy determination of Christ to stand as a
faithful and true witness for God on earth: the truth was in Him, and He kept
it to the end. (G. Rodgers.)
The rams’skins dyed red
This red covering was probably made of the skins of rams which had
been devoted to God, and had suffered death as burnt-offerings--not as
sin-offerings. The skin of the sin-offering was burnt to ashes outside the camp
(Leviticus 4:11-12), but the skin of the
burnt-offering belonged to the priest who offered it to God (Leviticus 7:8). If the badger-skin
covering sets forth the humility of Christ, this covering dyed red sets forth
the depth of His humility. This blood-red skin reminds me of Him who when
pressed, crushed, and distressed in the garden of Gethsemane, did “sweat as it
were great drops of blood.” (G. Rodgers.)
The goats’-hair covering
This was the only covering that was permitted to hang over any
part of the east end of the Tabernacle. The eleventh breadth, hanging over the
door, would meet the eye of the worshipper the moment he came within the gate
of the court. The spiritual teaching of this I think to be of the greatest
importance, as we shall see when we understand what particular aspect of our
blessed Jesus this covering was designed to teach. Observe, first of all, that
the sin-offering whose blood was carried into the holy of holies, and sprinkled
on the mercy-seat, and before the mercy-seat, to make an atonement for the
people of Israel, was a goat (Leviticus 16:15-16). This was “the blood
of sprinkling,” of which we read so much in the Bible. With this blood in his
hand, the high priest entered once a year, and stood in the presence of God.
This was the blood which he offered for the errors of the people, and which
made atonement for them. This was the blood at which God looked, and with which
He was satisfied; it had a voice, and spoke better things than the blood of
Abel. When it was sprinkled on the mercy-seat, which covered up the tables of the
law, it seemed to speak to God of punishment which had been borne and of a life
which had been given up. Observe again, the animal that bore away the sins of
the people into the wilderness, where they were found no more, was a goat. I
refer to the scapegoat, of which we read in Leviticus 16:1-34. This goat going away
with the people’s sins would show those outside of the Tabernacle what the
blood of the slain goat had done within the vail, viz., that it had put away
sin and had set them free; and as they gazed on the folded part of goats’-hair
cloth, as it hung over the east end of the Tabernacle, it would seem to preach
the gospel to them by reminding them how their sin was put away on the tenth
day of the seventh month. It would speak of abounding grace, telling them that
they had received double for all their sins. The first covering told us of the
humility of Christ; the next told us of the depth of His humility; this tells us
of the blessed results of His suffering and death, viz., that the sins of the
Lord’s people are put away, for ever put away. (G. Rodgers.)
Boards for the Tabernacle.
The Tabernacle boards and bars
I. That invincible
strength underlies the apparent weakness of the gospel.
II. That the
gospel, despite all its natural and human aspects, has a Divine character and
basis. Our faith rests in the power of God.
III. That out of the
strength of Christ spring the highest glory and joy (Exodus 26:29). Let the Church seek to
realize its full privilege in Christ. In character, we are often satisfied with
the bare boards of mere honesty and uprightness; in experience, we are content
with the boards and bars, a mere sense of safety; in hope, we rest content with
the bare expectation of pulling through in the judgment. The gilded boards of
the Tabernacle are eloquent illustrations of the New Testament doctrine that in
Christ we must rise to beauty, to brightness, to bliss.
IV. That Christ is
an everlasting dwelling-place to His people. Tabernacle built of boards of
acacia, a wood so durable it does not rot even in water. The strength of Christ
is everlasting. (W. L. Watkinson.)
The boards and bars
Each board of shittim wood, overlaid with gold, seems to pourtray
the Lord Jesus Himself, the Son of God, the Son of Man. The shittim wood,
incorruptible wood, being a shadow of that great truth, that He “partook of
flesh and blood”; “the seed of the woman”; “the Second Man”; “from heaven”; yet
“the Son of David”; “of the fruit of His loins”; and at the same time “the Son
of the Highest”; born of the Virgin, “the Man Christ Jesus”; made “in the
likeness of sinful flesh”; though, unlike any other man that ever lived on
earth, incorrupt and incorruptible; having a body prepared for Him by God, in
order that He might die; but without taint of mortality or death in Him. The
gold also presents the other great truth, that He is “the mighty God”; “the
brightness of God’s glory”; “the only begotten of the Father”; “the Son” from
everlasting, and to everlasting. The boards are like the ribs of truth, the
massive framework, without which no dwelling-place of God could be created; no
meeting-place between God and man provided. If the wood could corrupt, or if
the fine gold could become dim, if the taint of mortality, or mouldering flesh,
be connected, by human theory or speculation, with the glorious Emmanuel, the
Tabernacle of God must tremble and totter; the great truths of salvation are
shaken, and a mis-shapen mass of ruin takes the place of the divinely ordered
palace of the Most High. The massive framework of the golden boards and bars
formed a compact structure, over which the curtains and coverings were
suspended. They were to the curtains what the poles are to a tent. They upheld
and sustained the glorious display of the blue, purple, scarlet, and fine linen
cherubim, as also the goats’-hair curtains. Thus what the Lord Jesus Himself
was and is, viz., Son of God, Son of Man--that He has made manifest in
His life, and above all, in His death; and His blessed work there derives all
its unspeakable value and eternal efficacy from Himself. It is faith in Him
that is salvation. (H. W. Soltau.)
The boards of the Tabernacle
The Church of Christ is here seen in type as the dwelling-place of
God. It was set upon the earth and God dwelt in it. The Church of Christ is
composed of many persons separated from the world, and built upon the sure
foundation, which is Christ. And as those boards were covered with gold, so the
people of God are made partakers of the Divine nature (2 Peter 1:4); as they had been
separated, cut off from the place in which nature had placed them, so the
members of the true Church of Christ have been cut off from the place in which
they stood by nature, which was one of guilt and condemnation, and they have
been joined by living faith to the living Jesus. Nature provided no foundation
on which to build the Tabernacle, and nature has provided no foundation on
which the sinner can build his hope; but as God provided a foundation for the Tabernacle
in the redemption-money of the people, so now He has provided a foundation for
His people in the redemption which is in Christ Jesus. And as no board could be
a part of the Tabernacle without being built upon the silver foundation, so no
person can be any part of the true Church of God if he be not built by faith
upon Christ. (G. Rodgers.)
Believers typified by the boards
Were they golden boards? Every believer is a partaker of the
Divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). They are born from
above, and they are heavenly minded. Their affection is set on things above.
God’s people are a holy people. “The beauty of holiness” is the gold with which
God will beautify and adorn His people. The knots and grains of the wood were
all hidden from view beneath plates of pure gold. God hides all our
imperfections from view beneath the gold of His perfect righteousness. (R.
E. Sears.)
Sockets of silver.
The sockets
It is perhaps worthy of notice here that the whole of the
redemption money, amounting to 100 talents and 1775 shekels, was identified
with the supporting or bearing up of different parts of the Tabernacle. The 100
talents formed the foundations and supported the walls of gilded boards which were
the stay of the two sets of curtains and the two-fold skin roof; and the 1775
shekels (little more than half a talent) were used up in making silver hooks
for the court pillars, and in overlaying the capitals of these pillars and
their connecting rods (fillets) which rested on them, and from which the court
hangings were suspended. These odd shekels bore up the linen court walls, and
the 100 talents bore up the sanctuary. The hundred ransom silver sockets being
worth f40,000 sterling, constituted a very costly basis, from which, whether it
had a typical import or not, our thoughts not unnaturally rise to an infinitely
more valuable one, even to Him “who gave Himself a ransom for all.” Prophets
and apostles alike testify that He is that sure foundation on which the
spiritual edifice rests. Had the sockets not been made of the atonement money
as commanded (Exodus 30:16; Exodus 38:27), but of some other
material, God certainly would not have acknowledged the Tabernacle which rested
on them as His palace-temple. He never would have enthroned Himself invisible
symbol on the mercy-seat. In like manner, those who substitute their own good
works, or anything else in the room of the Redeemer, on which to build their
hope of salvation, are building on the sand, and cannot form a part of that
building which is an “habitation of God through the Spirit,” for “other
foundation can no man lay than is laid, which is Christ Jesus.” (W. Brown.)
Tenons.--
Tenons
Although thousands and tens of thousands are resting on the Rock
laid in Zion, it is able to bear the weight of countless millions more, and can
never by any possibility be overburdened. Those, however, who would build on
it, must do so in the way pointed out in the Scripture, or it will not avail
them. It was by means of the tenons (Hebrew “hands”) that the boards took hold
of, and rested on the silver bases. Faith is the hand by means of which sinners
lay hold of and rest on the Redeemer. Remember that the boards required to be
not merely on, but in their respective sockets, or they would not
have been upheld. In like manner sinners, in order to be saved, must not only
be on, but in the spiritual foundation. Unless they are by faith rooted in
Christ Jesus, as the boards by their tenons were rooted in the ransom money,
they cannot stand. (W. Brown.)
Bars.--
The bars
The bars were all overlaid with gold. One of the bars passed through
the centre of the boards from end to end; holes being made, no doubt for that
purpose. Thus the boards became one solid wall. But that they might be more
firmly united, each board had four gold rings fastened to it, and through these
rings the other four bars were passed.
1. There was a sevenfold bond of union. The five bars, the silver
sockets, and the corner boards. Paul gives us the gospel meaning of this in his
Epistle to the Ephesians (Ephesians 4:4-6).
2. The centre bar which passed through the boards from one end to the
other, was a lively type of the indwelling of the Godhead in all believers. All
the Three Persons of the Trinity are spoken of as dwelling in the renewed heart.
“Christ in you the hope of glory.” “Jesus answered and said unto him, if a man
love Me, he will keep My words; and My Father will love him, and We will come
unto him, and make Our abode with him.” “What! know ye not that your body is
the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are
not your own.” What a glorious bond of union is this! Christians of all
denominations are one here; for without the love of the Father, the grace of
the Son, and power of the Holy Ghost, no man can be a Christian.
3. These bars remind us of the encircling arms of love and mercy.
“Underneath are the everlasting arms.” “As the mountains are round about
Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about His people from henceforth even for
ever.” All Christians are one in the Divine protection. “All His saints are in
thy hand.”
4. All Christians are one in love to God.
5. Another bond of union is reverence for the Word of God. Christians
may differ in their interpretations of the Word. All may not have the same measure
of wisdom to understand its mysteries; but all Christians are one in their
esteem and love for the grand old Book! Is it not the one revelation of the
Divine will? (R. E. Sears.)
And thou shalt make a vail.
The Tabernacle vails
I. These vails
signify that the highest vision and fellowship of God are as yet denied to man.
God’s presence is fenced about from sinful man.
II. Whilst these
vails remove God from the approach of man, they give the promise of a fuller
revelation. The God of mercy, and love, and life, shines through the
obscuration.
III. That these
vails are taken away in Christ (Mark 15:38). In Christ we stand “within
the vail.” In Him we realize the presence and joy of God. (W. L. Watkinson.)
The vail of the holiest
1. It was glorious, of embroidered work: this faith guild signified
the body of Christ, filled with the fulness of God, or beautified with all the
most excellent graces of the Spirit.
2. It was replenished and wrought full of cherubim, noting thereby
that serviceable and ready attendance of the angels on Christ’s natural and
mystical body.
3. It was borne up by costly pillars, to show that the humanity of
Christ, especially in His sufferings, should be borne up by His Deity.
4. By the vail only, there was entry into the holiest place of all:
so by the vail, i.e., the flesh of Christ, which was rent, as it were,
upon the cross, a new and living way is made for us to the Father. (B.
Keach.)
The cherubims on the vail
The Tabernacle in the wilderness was divided into two
compartments--the holy place and the holy of holies--by a vail. That vail was
stretched upon four pillars of wood overlaid with gold. It consisted of one
huge screen of fine-twined linen, reaching from the roof to the floor, and from
one side to the other. On the ground-work of linen were spread, in various
ornamental patterns, the simple colours known to the ancients--blue, purple,
and scarlet. The holy of holies was shut in by this vail from every human eye.
No worship was carried on there. When first seen on earth, the cherubims were
placed at the gate of the Garden of Eden, to keep the way of the tree of life.
The flaming sword with which they were associated, which turned in every
direction, was the symbol of God’s judgment, the witness of the terrible
majesty of God’s holiness which had been insulted by man’s sin, telling our
fallen first parents that so long as the sin continued, the flaming sword would
shut up every avenue against their return to their original happy state. The
cherubims, on the contrary, were placed there as an image of mercy and hope, to
signify that for the creation that had become alienated from God was destined a
happy reconciliation. The same great truth was signified by the golden
cherubims that covered the mercy-seat with their wings, and between which God
met and communed with the high priest. Now, what I want to draw particular
attention to is the fact that, secluded as was the holy of holies of the
Tabernacle, and guarded by the most solemn prohibitions, its mystery was not
left altogether unknown. The most conspicuous feature of the vail--that which
at once arrested every eye--was the cherubims embroidered over its whole
surface, in such a way that it seemed to have been fashioned of nothing else.
Thus on the vail that concealed the awful shrine of Jehovah from mortal eye was
revealed one of the most characteristic and significant objects of that shrine.
In this way the priests, who were not permitted to enter the holy of holies,
could have some conception of what was within it. The cherubims pourtrayed on
the vail and on the curtains were no doubt faint and inadequate pictures of the
originals on the mercy-seat. They could not have been otherwise. They were a
flat representation of objects that stood out in the sacred shrine in the
clearest and fullest relief. They were an embroidery in perishing materials, at
comparatively slight cost of labour, of a work of the highest art, beaten out
in the purest gold, with the most unwearied industry and the most consummate
skill. But with all these necessary imperfections, the needlework of the vail
and of the curtains gave a fair idea of the cherubims which stood in the most
holy place, in their invisible and unapproachable glory. The Jewish priests and
worshippers were not left in complete ignorance. There were witnesses to
picture to them that which they could not see. They had shadows of the
realities behind the vail. Their faith had elements of sight to support it. I
wish to make use of this most interesting fact as a graphic illustration of the
great truth, which is true throughout the universe, that things concealed from us
have their shadows manifested in the things we see. The universe is a great
tabernacle divided by a vail and curtains into an outer and inner compartment,
as it were. From the inner we are shut out, and we cannot see with our bodily
eyes the things that are contained in it. And yet we have representations of
these hidden mysteries before our eyes every day, which give us a more or less
satisfactory idea of them. Here we see in part, and prophecy in part. The
horizon, for instance, is a vail that comes down to conceal from us what is
beyond. Many of us will never be able to visit foreign countries, and ascertain
with our own eyes what the nature of these countries and the mode of life in
them may be; and yet, within the horizon in which we spend our life we have
shadowy intimations of the most distant regions of the earth. Ships come to us
with their produce; our houses are full of objects brought from them; books
describe them to us; and letters from friends make us partakers of their larger
experience. Even the scenery around our homes is not so dissimilar to that of
foreign lands as we might suppose. Between us and the lofty summits of a great
mountain range there is a vail often woven of cloud and mist. Elevated far
above the busy common-place haunts of man, these sublime peaks seem to dwell
apart, to retire into a more awful solitude than exists on the surface of the
earth. And yet the lofty summit of the mountain sends down into the valley by
the streams that channel its flanks waifs of brilliant Alpine flowers, which
take root and grow among the common lowland plants: and thus the dweller at the
foot of the mountain knows what kind of vegetation abounds in the upper regions
as truly as if he had actually scaled the heights. Many who live far inland
have a vail of mountain ranges between them and the great ocean. They may never
be able to stand on its shore, gaze on its foaming billows, or listen to the
beating of its mighty pulse. And yet, up the reaches of the quiet inland river,
into the heart of the mountains, into the midst of shady woods, the ocean sends
its tidal waters, its fresh invigorating breezes, and its white-winged
sea-birds, so that the inland inhabitants may have some idea of the vast world
of waters that extends far beyond their horizon. The vail of daylight hides
from us the other worlds in space; and the darkness of night which brings out
the stars only increases their mystery. But the vail which conceals also
reveals. Spectrum analysis has made known to us the chemistry of the sun and stars,
the physical constitution of the most distant worlds. This wonderful science
shows to us that the substances of the stars are identical with those of our
own earth. Not a single new or unknown element has been discovered in the
remotest stellar ray subjected to its scrutiny. Upon the very vails that
separate us from the inmost and remotest sanctuaries of nature we see impressed
the images of the objects which they hide from our view. But it is not only
natural things that thus reveal themselves by that which conceals them; the
realities of the spiritual world are also manifested to us on the vail of
earthly things. We have numberless analogies in nature which make plain to our
understandings the mysteries of grace. Our Lord revealed to His disciples and to
the multitude what the Kingdom of Heaven was like by showing to them its
shadows on the vail of common objects and common processes, in His parables.
The Kingdom of Heaven is like everything we see and deal with. The youngest
person can see the meaning of the great truths of salvation in some degree and
measure by the help of the figure of them which his own experience presents to
him. The doctrine of the atonement is in remarkable keeping with the
sympathetic nature which God has imparted to children, by which they feel for
others, and can therefore understand how one person may carry his
loving-kindness to such an extent as to give up his life for his friend. The
forgiveness of God has a shadow of it in the sorrow which all truly sensitive
minds feel when they have offended one dear to them, and in the joy which the
sense of being reconciled and accepted by the one from whom their faults had
estranged them imparts. There is thus not a mystery of the holy of holies of
Divine truth but may be seen in dim yet true shape, embroidered, as it were,
upon the vail of natural objects around us, and of our own common instincts and
experiences. But I go on further to show that the realities of the eternal
world are manifested to us by the things of time. The vail of death, which no
human hand can lift, hides the scenes beyond from our view. The Bible speaks to
us of the existence of that happy land, and discloses its glory in forms which
far transcend our earthly imagination. It calls our future home a new heaven and
a new earth. The ascension of our Lord to heaven, with all the attributes of
perfect man, the resurrection of man in a body strictly identical with his
present body, prove beyond doubt that the scene of our translation, with all
its circumstances, must be accommodated to the nature of man. From the very
constitution of our nature, we form our anticipations of the future from our
past experiences. The objects and experiences of earth are preparations for
those which await us above. On the vail that hides our future home from us, we
see pictured the cherubims of glory. Yes; the cherubims of heaven are seen on
the vail of earth. Heaven is filled with objects long endeared to us, and with
pleasure which we have already enjoyed in part, and learned from the foretaste
to long for the full fruition. We have now the earnest of the purchased
possession--the first-fruits of the great harvest. Now, what is the practical
outcome of thoughts like these? Does it not teach us that we have no excuse for
sinful ignorance, seeing that God has brought within the range of our touch and
vision in earthly images His perfect heavenly things, and placed us so that we
can understand the things that belong to our Spiritual life by the things that
belong to our daily life? Do not these glimpses and foreshadowings of unseen
and eternal things also inspire us with a deeper interest in them? And more
than all, does not the fact of the cherubims upon the vail being the same as
those in the shrine show to us that our life is continuous here and
hereafter--that it is one history and one development? If you are to behold and
enjoy the glorious cherubims of the heavenly world, you must have them
represented, as it were, upon the vail of your earthly tabernacle. Your hearts
must be turned now to the heavenly harmonies. When certain conditions of light
are present, if you look through a window at a particular angle into the
street, you see a flame apparently outside, flickering strangely in the air. It
is only the reflection of the fire in the room on the window-pane. Is not the
heaven you see beyond the window of this life, the projected reflection of your
present experience? What you are now determines your future; and the heaven of
each man is just what he himself makes it, according as the fire of love and
holiness burns more or less brightly on the hearth of his heart. (H.
Macmillan, D. D.)
Significance of the cherubim in Exodus
Many have supposed that the Church is symbolized by the cherubim
in Exodus. But the fact of their forming the vail seems to preclude this
interpretation. As the vail shadows forth Christ in the flesh, we cannot
suppose that any type would be given representing the union of the Church with
Him then; as, before death, the corn of wheat abode alone: it must die, in
order to bring forth fruit. The union of the believer with Christ is in life,
quickened together with Him: seated in heavenly places in Him. He was the
Substitute in death; but He is the last Adam, the head of the new family, and
source of its existence in resurrection. The lion (one of the four faces of the
cherubim) is classed with the king, against whom there is no rising up., in Proverbs 30:30-31; and is also described
as going well, and being comely in going; and as strongest among beasts,
turning not away from any. Majesty, strength, and courage are therefore here
typified. The ox, in addition to its well-known character for patient enduring
labour, is also recognized in Scripture as knowing its owner; herein it may
prefigure the persevering resolution of Him who unflinchingly set His shoulder
to the arduous work committed to Him by His Father, and who always recognized
His Father’s will, and delighted to do it. The way of an eagle in the air is
alluded to in Proverbs 30:19, as too wonderful to be
known: referring probably to the astonishing extent and accuracy of its vision
as to things of earth, when poised aloft, and to its swiftness of flight when
the object of its search is discovered. Fit emblem this of Him, whose eyes
search the depths of the heart, and who is as rapid in discovering where the
lawful prey is, as in delivering it from the power of the destroyer. These
three faces, combined with the human face and form, completed the cherubim: for
all this power, labour, activity, and quickness of perception, were put forth
under the control and guidance of perfect wisdom and sympathy. Wings were also
spread abroad over the surface of the vail, proceeding from the cherubim;
denoting the heavenly origin and unearthly ways of the Son of Man, who was
“from above,” and who could say, even while here, “The Son of Man, who is in
heaven.” (H. W. Soltau.)
The pillars of the vail
The pillars of the vail were four in number. Unlike those on which
hung the curtain for the Tabernacle door, they had no capitals; thus they
lacked the ordinary completeness of a pillar. May not our thoughts be directed
by this, to the contemplation of those Scriptures, which speak of the Lord as cut
off? (see Isaiah 53:8; Psalms 102:23-24). And yet the very fact
of this seemingly abrupt termination of the life of the Lord Jesus, in the days
of His flesh, has made Him to be unto us “wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification, and redemption”; a fourfold perfection, meeting our fourfold
need; to which possibly the number of vail-pillars may allude. (H. W.
Soltau.)
The door of the tent.
The door of the Tabernacle
1. This was the only door of the Tabernacle; it must therefore have
been an emblem of Jesus Christ (John 10:9). There was only one entrance
into the court, only one door into the holy place, and only one way into the
holy of holies. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man cometh unto
the Father, but by Him. The curtain at the door of the Tabernacle was made of
blue, and purple, and scarlet. Here we have an emblem of the Saviour’s
threefold Name. Lord--Jesus--Christ. He is Lord of all power, majesty,
dominion, and glory. May not the “blue, and the purple, and the scarlet,” be
figurative of Jesus in His threefold office, as Priest, King, and Prophet? The
scarlet shows His priestly sacrifice. The purple His kingly dignity. The blue
His heavenly teaching as the prophet. It is only as we see Jesus in His
threefold office, that He is the Door. As the Priest, He is the sacrificial
Way. As the Prophet, He is the Truth. As the King, He reigns to give Life. As
Jesus, He is our saving Priest; as Christ, He is our anointed, instructing
Prophet; and as Lord, He is our ruling King. In Him these offices are united.
We may distinguish between them, but we must not separate them.
2. May not the five pillars which held up the curtains at the Door,
be emblems of gospel ministers, whose work it is to hold up Christ before the
people?
3. These pillars had sockets of brass. Brass being in Scripture an
emblem of strength, we may here see the servants of God strengthened for their
work. May we not see Jesus Himself in the sockets of brass? “His feet are like
fine brass.” Jesus upholds His servants with His own strength. “Lo, I am with
you alway, even unto the end of the world.” He who holds the stars in His right
hand, upholds His servants as pillars in the house of God. Were the pillars
beautiful So are ministers abounding in their work (Isaiah 53:7). (R. E. Sears.)
The door of the Tabernacle
The hanging, which formed the door, was made of the same
materials as the vail; the only difference being that in the former the colours
were skilfully intermixed, whereas in the latter a pattern of cherubim was
cunningly or ingeniously embroidered. The priests, who entered within the door
of the Tabernacle, alone beheld the cherubim of glory worked into the vail and
roof, whilst the worshippers in the court saw the same colours intermingled in
the door-curtain. May not this be intended to teach us, that every worshipper
of God recognizes the beauty and perfection of Christ, God manifest in the
flesh, as his eye rests upon the door-curtain. But the nearer we approach to
God as His priests, the more intimate our fellowship with Him in heavenly
places, the more shall we discern the glories of Jesus, and realize His power,
majesty, and strength. He will be the one object that fills our soul, and under
the shadow of His wings shall we abide. (H. W. Soltau.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》