(1) God the Father on the throne in a separate area which can only be approached through the first room;

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Emily Cummings
5 years ago
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1 Reading #202 The purpose of the tabernacle Last week we saw the setup of heaven in symbols:- (1) God the Father on the throne in a separate area which can only be approached through the first room; (2) God the Son as the Word and Bread on the table on the right hand; (3) and God the Spirit as the One who makes all things clear to the eyes. Thus heaven is seen as a ceaseless approaching to God the Father through Jesus the Son, illuminated by the Spirit. We can now go on to learn that EVERYTHING in and about the tent, and the building itself, teaches us something about Jesus our Saviour and Redeemer. As we do this, I need to remind you that what I see in the Scriptures may not be entirely accurate for I am a faulty human being like all of us and require constant teaching and reminding. And it certainly won t be the full truth for that unfolds and deepens from time to time as the Sun of righteousness rises in our lives. But I will attempt to share with you some of what God has shown me. If you have some revelations on the sanctuary please do the same for the rest of us. 1 Moreover you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined [white] linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet [materials]: with cherubims of cunning work [skilful embroidery] shall you make them. [All measurements are approximate.] 2 The length of one curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits [42ft, about 14 metres], and the breadth of one curtain four cubits [6ft, or 2 metres]: and every one of the curtains shall have one measure [all the same]. 3 The five curtains shall be coupled together one to another; and other five curtains shall be coupled one to another [for easy dismantling]. 4 And [this is how you can do it], you shall make loops of blue upon the edge of the one curtain from the selvedge in the coupling; and likewise shall you make in the uttermost edge of another curtain, in the coupling of the second. 5 Fifty loops shall you make in the one curtain [along the 42ft], and fifty loops shall you make in the edge of the curtain that is in the coupling of the second; that the loops may take hold one of another [match in position]. 6 And you shall make fifty taches [toggles] of gold, and 1

2 couple the [the two] curtains together with the taches [toggles]: and it [all the ten curtains] shall be one [covering for the] tabernacle. This innermost covering of the tabernacle which formed the visible ceiling was primarily white linen representing the pure righteousness within Christ. But there were sections of colour, and embroidered representations of ministering angels worked into it. See Hebrews 1: This composite curtain was laid on a wooden framework from north to south, right to left, but did not touch the ground on either side, for the curtains measured 28 cubits and the section of the tabernacle was 30 cubits. The ten curtains side by side covered 40 cubits on a 30 cubit building so there was ample material for overlaps on both sides of each section where the loops were, and a hangover front and back. 7 And you shall make curtains of goats' hair to be a covering upon the tabernacle: eleven curtains shall you make [one more than the white linen ones]. 8 The length of one curtain shall be thirty cubits [45 ft, about 15 metres, slightly longer than the white], and the breadth of one curtain four cubits: and the eleven curtains shall be all of one measure. 9 And you shall couple five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves, and shall double the sixth curtain in the forefront of the tabernacle. 10 And you shall make fifty loops on the edge of the one curtain that is outmost in the coupling, and fifty loops in the edge of the curtain which couples the second. 11 And you shall make fifty taches of brass [not gold], and put the taches into the loops, and couple the tent together, that it may be one [large covering]. 12 And the remnant that remains of the curtains of the tent, the half curtain that remains, shall hang over the backside of the tabernacle [as another fringe]. 13 And a cubit on the one side, and a cubit on the other side of that which remains in the length of the curtains of the tent, it shall hang over the sides of the tabernacle on this side and on that side, to cover it [the linen curtain]. These goatskin curtains were positioned over the white ones which were on the framework. Laid from side to side, from right to left looking from the front, and then from front to back. Because they were longer than the linen pieces, this covering reached from the ground to the ground over the frame. It was probably held in place with ropes and pegs but these are not mentioned. Half a curtain was doubled along its edge at the front to make a fringe, and half a curtain was doubled at the back. Because of the doubling front and back the seams of the 2

3 linen and the goats hair coverings did not coincide, helping to make the building watertight. 14 And you shall make a [third] covering for the tent of rams' [sheep] skins dyed red. This red curtain was completely covered above by the badger skins and below by the goat hair. Yet it is undoubted a very important one even if it couldn t be seen. The whole building, as well as its parts, represents the Son of God both as God and as Man. This dyed yet invisible curtain told the believing Hebrews details of the sacrifice of Christ, especially through the use of brass toggles instead of gold. A prophet who was very close to God tried to depict this covering one day from another angle. He asked some questions: Isaiah 63: 1 Who is this that comes from Edom [the land of the rejecters], with dyed garments from Bozrah [an important part of Edom]? This that is glorious in His apparel, travelling in the greatness of His strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. 2 Wherefore are You red in Your [glorious] apparel, and Your garments like Him that treads in the wine vat [splattered with blood]? 3 I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with Me: for I will tread them in My anger [at the cross?], and trample them in My fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon My garments, and I will stain all My raiment. 4 For the day of vengeance is in My heart, and the [jubilee] year of My redeemed is come. 5 And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore My own arm brought salvation to Me; and My fury [passion], it upheld Me. The above is an in-depth picture of Jesus on the cross which is backed up by the details written in the Psalms. The main difference between a sheep and a goat is 3

4 that the first is very much a part of a flock, while the latter thinks more individually and so by these two curtains we are shown two aspects of the character of the Son of God. And a [fourth and outer] covering above of badgers' skins. Just what animals these skins came from is not certain today, but there was nothing special about them. It is written: ***** Isaiah 53: 1 Who has believed our report? And to whom is the arm [strength] of the LORD revealed? 2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: He has no [great physical] form nor comeliness [beauty]; and when we shall see Him, there is no [outward] beauty that we should desire Him. ***** This was the outermost covering in the public view and typifies a very plain and unassuming person, which is how many saw the Son of man. He was a meek and lowly One, we are told. Matthew 11:29. Now the skeleton of the building is revealed. 15 And you shall make boards for the tabernacle of shittim wood standing up. 16 Ten cubits shall be the length of a board [15ft, about 5 metres, nearly twice the height of a normal room], and a cubit and a half shall be the breadth of one board [27 in, about 3/4 metre]. 17 Two tenons [pegs for a footing] shall there be in one board, set in order one against another [side by side]: thus shall you make for all the boards of the tabernacle. 18 And you shall make the boards for the tabernacle, twenty boards on the south side southward [45ft, about 15 metres]. 19 And you shall 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. 20 And for the second side of the tabernacle on the north side there shall be twenty boards: 21 and their forty sockets of silver; two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board. 4

5 22 And for the sides of the tabernacle westward [the back] you shall make six boards. 23 And two [other] boards shall you make for the corners of the tabernacle [to join] in the two sides. 24 And they shall be coupled together beneath, and they shall be coupled together above the head of it to one ring [with the long sides]: thus shall it be for them both; they shall be for the two corners. 25 And they shall be eight boards, and their sockets of silver, sixteen sockets; two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board [making the sanctuary about 15 ft wide, or 5 metres in total]. From the length and breadth of these boards, and the fact that they were goldplated to make a mirror finish for the interior, we can see that they must have been very thick to stand upright and support the weight of the four curtains. They also sat on foundation stones of silver, something similar to a concrete block with two hollow portions for the tenons to fit into. The two corner boards at the back were attached to the side walls by rings in a way that is not clearly explained. 26 And you shall make bars of shittim wood; five for the boards of the one side of the tabernacle, 27 and five bars for the boards of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the side of the tabernacle, for the two sides westward [at the back]. 28 And the middle bar in the midst of the boards shall reach from end to end [the others will be shorter]. 29 And you shall overlay the boards with gold, and make their rings [brackets] of gold for places for the [four] bars: and you shall overlay the bars with gold. 30 And you shall rear up the tabernacle according to the fashion thereof which was showed you in the mount. To make sure that the whole structure did not bend or collapse, the Son of God instructed Moses that there were to be four horizontal bars fitted through brackets on the back of each side board. Then a further longer bar went through the centre of each to make it even more secure. The boards at the back of the tent, the west side, were also secured in the same way. The front or east side was made up of a coloured curtain. Again no mention is made of the ropes or tent pegs yet they were there as it is written:- The pins of the tabernacle, and the pins of the court, and their cords... Exodus 35:18. 5

6 31 And you shall make a veil of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubims shall it be made. 32 And you shall hang it upon four pillars of shittim wood overlaid with gold: their hooks shall be of gold, upon the four sockets of silver. 33 And you shall hang up the veil under the taches, that you may bring in there within the veil the ark of the testimony: and the veil shall divide to you between the holy place [the first room] and the most holy [the second]. This is a description of the veil between the two rooms. Its posts stood in gold sockets for everything solid inside the tabernacle was made or covered with gold, representing faith like gold... tried in the fire See 1 Peter 1:7. It was this veil that was torn in two by the Spirit at the moment Christ died on the cross. Matthew 27: And you shall put the mercy seat upon the ark of the testimony in the most holy place [inside the veil]. 35 And you shall set the table without [outside] the veil, and the candlestick over against [opposite] the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the south: and you shall put the table on the north side. 36 And you shall make an hanging for the door of the tent, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework. 37 And you shall make for the hanging five pillars of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold, and their hooks shall be of gold: and you shall cast five sockets of brass for them. The Spirit brings us back to the heart of the sanctuary by referring to the mercy seat first, then the table and lampstand. After that Moses was to hang the entrance veil but this time the posts stood in brass sockets, for this is the metal used in the courtyard and represents humanity. After the settlement of the Hebrews in Canaan, the tabernacle was replaced by the temple of Solomon, which, though a permanent structure and upon a larger scale, observed the same proportions, and was similarly furnished. In this form the sanctuary existed - except while it lay in ruins in Daniel's time - until its destruction by the Romans, in A.D. 70. From that time on there has been no physical representation of heaven on earth. 6

7 What should we see in all this? Jesus came to the temple at the beginning of His ministry and cleansed it of the people who made religion a money-making affair. John 2: 13 And the Jews' passover was at hand [March/April, six months after His baptism], and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, 14 and found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: 15 and when He had made a scourge of small cords [a symbol of His power], He drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables; 16 and said to them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not My Father's house an house of merchandise. 17 And His disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of [for] Your house has eaten Me up. [Psalm 69:9.] 18 Then answered the Jews and said to Him, What sign [of authority] show You to us, seeing that You do these things? 19 Jesus answered and said to them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. 20 Then said the Jews, Forty-six years was this temple in building, and will You rear it up in three days? 21 But He spoke of the temple of His body. 22 When therefore He was risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said. In the cleansing of the earthly temple, Jesus was announcing His mission as the Messiah, and entering upon His work, for as He said, it represented Him. That temple, erected for the abode of the divine Presence, was designed to be an object lesson for Israel and for the world. From eternal ages it was God's purpose that every created being, from the bright and holy seraph to man, should be a temple for the indwelling of the Creator. 2 Corinthians 6:16. Because of sin, humanity ceased to be a temple for God. Darkened and defiled by evil, the hearts of men and women no longer revealed the glory of the Divine One. 1 Corinthians 3: But by the incarnation of the Son of God as the Son of man, the purpose of Heaven is fulfilled. That s why Jesus referred to His resurrected body as the rebuilding of the temple. God dwells in humanity again 7

8 by this action, and through saving grace the heart of each Christian becomes again His temple. God designed that the temple at Jerusalem should be a continual witness to the high destiny open to every soul. But the Jews had not understood the significance of the building they regarded with so much pride. They did not yield themselves as holy temples for the Divine Spirit. The courts of the temple at Jerusalem, filled with the tumult of unholy traffic, represented all too truly the temple of the natural heart, defiled by the presence of sensual passion and unholy thoughts. In cleansing the temple from the world's buyers and sellers, Jesus was announcing His mission to cleanse the hearts of willing ones from the defilement of sin, - from the earthly desires, the selfish lusts, the evil habits, that corrupt the soul. Malachi 3:1-3 The LORD, whom you seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, whom you delight in: behold, He shall come, says the LORD of hosts. But who may abide the day of His coming? [for He comes to cleanse (not forgive) you!] And who shall stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: and He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver. See you all next week, RonP 8

Message 3: The Tabernacle Its Building

Message 3: The Tabernacle Its Building Exodus 26 1 Now the tabernacle you shall make with ten curtains of fine twined linen and blue and purple and scarlet strands; you shall make them with cherubim, the