Winter vision Week The Furniture of the Tabernacle December 28, 2015 January 2, 2016 Cleveland, Ohio
The content of this booklet was prepared by Titus Chu It is for use at the Winter Vision Week Training in Cleveland, Ohio, December 28, 2015 to January 2, 2016 2015, 2016 by Titus Chu Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version. 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Cover Art: Images of the showbread table, golden lampstand, and bronze altar are taken from the ESV Study Bible. 2001 by Crossway, Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Subject: The Furniture of the Tabernacle Introduction 4 Message One: 8 An Overview of the Furniture of the Tabernacle Message Two: 14 The Bronze Altar Message Three: 20 The Bronze Laver Message Four: 26 Entering the Holy Place Message Five: 36 The Showbread Table Message Six: 48 The Golden Lampstand Message Seven: 62 The Lampstands: Shining as God s Testimony in the Age of Grace
4 The Furniture of the Tabernacle Introduction
Our God is marvelous, attractive, and precious to the uttermost. He has an eternal plan with an eternal purpose, and this plan and purpose are according to His self-existing and eternal nature. He is omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient, with the power to create out of nothing or through anything. He designed and planned everything, not only with the utmost grandness but also with the most extensive detail. His desire for us is with His multifarious wisdom. 5 The Old Testament: Full of Speakings and Pictures It is impossible for anyone, even the wisest man, to know God according to Himself. It is impossible for anyone, even the greatest man, to express Him, to apply Him, to understand Him, or to enjoy Him. This is why God spoke to us in many portions and many ways in the Old Testament times. There is something very clear about who He is: He repeatedly said, I am Jehovah your God (e.g. Exo. 6:7; Num. 15:41). There are many speakings concerning His works, such as Let there be...and it was so (Gen. 1:6 7). There are many callings, such as when God told Abraham, Go forth! (Gen. 12:1). There are many promises, such as what God gave to Abraham concerning the land, the nation, and most importantly, the seed. Besides all these speakings, God also gave us pictures. He knows that many things cannot be understood by words, but rather need pictures. Among all of these pictures, the most crucial one is the tabernacle.
6 The Tabernacle: A Testimony Fully Aiming at God We should be extremely thankful that God took so much time to unveil the materials and the building up of the tabernacle. Such focus shows us how greatly God desires to have a testimony fully testifying and magnifying Himself as its center. In the tabernacle, we see both divinity and humanity God is with man, even blended with man. For that particular tabernacle, we praise the Lord. We praise Him even more, as the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us (John 1:14). The Tabernacle: A Picture of Christ, of Christ Growing in Us, and of Christ Testified Corporately through Us The tabernacle of God is Christ Himself. In other words, Christ is the reality of the picture of the Old Testament tabernacle. With the person of Christ (the tabernacle), we enjoy the divine life supplied in resurrection. With the person of Christ (the tabernacle), the very supply of His resurrection life becomes the source of our growth, our progress, and our development unto maturity. With the person of Christ (the tabernacle), the very growth of His life is not just individually, but also corporately. This growth does not only produce a few spiritual men, but also through them builds up the church the testimony that magnifies Christ.
All of this is through the accomplished work of Jesus Christ in His humanity. As a man, He fulfilled everything needed for us to experience Him in such a rich way today. 7 He testified, Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me (Heb. 10:5). By His dying on the cross, He became the real bronze altar for all of His lovers to partake of. When Christ died on the cross, blood and water came out from His side. Blood cleanses us from all our sins. Water gives us His eternal life. Together, they cause us to have a good conscience before God (1 Pet. 3:21). Not only are our sins forgiven by the blood of Christ, but the washing of life as water generates real peace and oneness between God and us. Today, through His own divine provision, we enjoy His beating work upon us, the Jesus-lovers, to produce the testimony of the church. When we consider the picture of the tabernacle in the Old Testament, all of it points to Christ and what He has been through. Yet, Christ desires that whatever He is and has experienced could also become ours, so that He can gain a testimony magnifying Himself. Praise the Lord! Christ is the true tabernacle, as He became a tabernacle to dwell among us Himself. In this reality, He desires that we would also partake of all the riches the tabernacle provides.
8 Message One An Overview of the tabernacle Below: The Tabernacle, from the ESV Study Bible. Above: An aerial view of the layout.
Before we come to each piece of furniture in the tabernacle, we need to know and consider the basic items and their setting. 9 The tent of meeting had three parts (see diagram on left): 1) The outer court 2) The Holy Place 3) The Holy of Holies The outer court was the area most Israelites could enter to offer their sacrifices. Only serving priests could enter the Holy Place, and only the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies once a year on the Day of Atonement. Entering the Gate: Experiencing Salvation to Enter the Tent of Meeting Everything in the tent of the meeting has spiritual significance for us today. The gate for the outer court points to salvation. Only those who are saved can be part of the tent of meeting. When offerers would come through the gate, the tabernacle would face them. In the tabernacle was where God s real testimony was. Yet between the offerer and the tabernacle were the first two pieces of furniture: the bronze altar and the bronze laver. 1. The Bronze Altar: Experiencing Total Consecration The first piece of furniture, the bronze altar, indicates that those
10 who desire to follow the Lord must first consecrate themselves totally to the Lord, realizing that their life is over it is only to become a sweet savor for the pleasure and satisfaction of God. 2. The Bronze Laver: Seeing Ourselves and Washing in the Water The second piece of furniture, the bronze laver, was made from the mirrors of the women who served at the gate of the tent of meeting (Exo. 38:8). This shows us that throughout our whole life of Christian growth, we must be unveiled to who we really are, and we must also enjoy the washing of the water of life and the Word. After experiencing the bronze altar and laver, a serving priest could enter the tabernacle, where the final four pieces of furniture were. 3. The Showbread Table: Enjoying Christ in the Church Life The third piece of furniture, the showbread table, was in the Holy Place. This typifies that we cannot go further unless we know how to enjoy Christ as our life supply with the saints and in the church life. 4. The Golden Lampstand: Experiencing God s Artistic Beating Work to Become a Light-Bearer with Other Light-Bearers The fourth piece of furniture, the lampstand, was a beaten work of pure gold. This piece of furniture indicates that all Jesus-lovers must have parallel experiences in following the Lord. On one side, they must enjoy Christ as their supply (the showbread table). On the other side,
they must also experience the beating work of God so that they can become a light-bearer with other Jesus-lovers, even bearing light while facing other lamps on the lampstand. 11 The lampstand is a marvelous and artistic piece of divine work. Each of the 6 branches had 3 almond blossoms (with their cups, bulbs, and flowers), and the branches supported the lamps that contained oil for the light. This is all very meaningful. 5. The Golden Incense Altar: Living a Life of Unceasing Prayer in the Lord s Presence After experiencing all these pieces of furniture, Jesus-lovers are comparatively mature. Yet they still need to be together with other Jesus-lovers as the golden incense altar, the fifth piece of furniture. On the one hand, the golden incense altar is set up in the Holy Place in front of the veil that separated the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place (Exo. 30:6). On the other hand, the golden incense altar is often spoken of in the Bible as belonging to the Holy of Holies, where the ark of testimony was (Heb. 9:4). Those who grow unto the golden incense altar must live continuously in the Lord s presence, praying unceasingly before God. 6. The Ark of Testimony: Where God s Desire and Presence Are Finally, the sixth piece of furniture was the ark of testimony in the Holy of Holies. This is where God s desire is. When God unveiled the furniture to Moses, the first piece was the ark of testimony. Eventually, the last piece He unveiled was the bronze
12 altar. This shows that in God s heart, the ark is the first and most important item of the tabernacle. In experience, however, the Israelites had to begin from the bronze altar to eventually come to the ark of testimony. In our experience, the ark is what we grow and mature unto. Above the ark were two cherubim of beaten gold, which covered the mercy seat. Within the ark of testimony were three things: 1) The two tablets, portraying who God is; 2) Manna in a golden pot, indicating that God will always be our food, our life supply; 3) Aaron s budded rod, speaking out that the life of resurrection becomes ours and is for us to partake of all the time. All three items were contained together in the ark of testimony, indicating that every step of our Christian growth is related to God and to His testimony. A Simple Yet Profound Picture: Bringing Us into the Reality of God The six pieces of furniture give us a picture that is truly marvelous! The picture is so simple it only consists of 6 items. The picture is so profound the furniture meets all the needs of man, as 6 is the number of man. Yet the furniture points to God, leads us to God, and eventually brings us into the reality of God. Only through experiencing the reality of all these pieces of furniture can we become the testimony of God.
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14 Message Two the Bronze Altar 3 cubits 5 cubits 5 cubits The bronze altar, from the ESV Study Bible
You shall make an altar of acacia wood, five cubits long and five cubits wide the altar shall be square and its height shall be three cubits. 2 You shall make its horns on its four corners; its horns shall be of one piece with it. And you shall overlay it with bronze. 3 Also you shall make its pans to receive its ashes, and its shovels and its basins and its forks and its firepans; you shall make all its utensils of bronze. 4 You shall make a grate for it, a network of bronze; and on the network you shall make four bronze rings at its four corners. 5 You shall put it under the rim of the altar beneath, that the network may be midway up the altar. 6 And you shall make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with bronze. 7 The poles shall be put in the rings, and the poles shall be on the two sides of the altar to bear it. 8 You shall make it hollow with boards; as it was shown you on the mountain, so shall they make it. (Exodus 27:1 8) 15 When we consider the furniture of the tabernacle, we can also include the bronze altar and bronze laver, even though they were in the outer court. Christ Himself first went through the altar. He came to become a sacrifice to satisfy God, to meet God s righteousness, and to become the Savior of mankind. Based on such a sacrifice, we can enter the gate of the tent of meeting and say, Praise the Lord we are saved! Now, like Christ, our first experience must be of the bronze altar. The Bronze Altar: The Beginning of Our Christian Life Our salvation is not just for something in the future, but also for a new life now. This is a new life of growth, a new life of richer enjoyment of God, and a new life with advancing oneness with God. The tabernacle portrays the three stages of this new life, which we can call the three steps of a Jesus-lover s growth:
16 The first is union with God (the outer court). The second is mingling with God (the Holy Place). The third is incorporation with God (the Holy of Holies). Each of these stages contains judicial and organic elements. There are judicial elements because in every stage of growth, blood is needed. There are organic elements because the divine life of Christ operates in every stage to give us a simple love unto Christ. In the first stage, the divine life operates in us to make us willing to live totally unto Christ to lay ourselves upon the altar to begin a romantic lifelong journey. We begin our journey with the altar. Sadly, however, almost few Christians are willing to have such a life. Most of us were saved by being self-centered; we were promised a rosy future called going to heaven, a place that will be good, peaceful, joyful, even beyond man s imagination. Very few realize No. We are saved, now our new life begins. The center of our life has changed. We don t live by ourselves, for ourselves, or unto ourselves according to our ambition and need. We live by God, according to God, and centered on God. We begin to have a pursuing life that we might gain Christ (Phil. 3:8), which really means that we grow in Christ. It is a new life of growing! The Necessary Focus of Those on the Altar: Living for God Alone and with God s Testimony in View We must properly understand the process of growth according to God s plan and desire. It should surprise us that God did not begin
unveiling the tabernacle from the fence of the tent of meeting, or even from the bronze altar as the first piece of furniture. No. God first unveiled four pieces of furniture, beginning with the ark of testimony, then the showbread table, then the golden lampstand, and finally the bronze altar (Exo. 25:10 27:8). 17 Isn t this surprising? When God unveils things, it is usually not according to our need. Rather, He unveils according to His need. Our Christian journey begins with the bronze altar, yet from the very beginning, God desires that we would focus on the ark of testimony. He declares, speaks, unveils, even shouts: Don t live for yourself! Live for Me! Even when you love Me, don t do things just according to your Christian desire, burden, ministry, and commitment. Rather, see what I want! If I provide you the altar, it is for you to come to My ark of testimony. If I give you the showbread table, it is for My ark of testimony! If I provide you with a golden lampstand (a golden church life), this is also for the ark of testimony! I am a God of purpose. I have My will. I know what is best for you, what is best for all Christians, even what is best for the universe. Don t just live according to the way you love the Lord. Rather, live with My testimony in view! Oh, this is marvelous! A Christian life can be so meaningful. Christians are saved and have the eternal life Christ, the complete triune God within them. More than this, their living becomes so meaningful when it is according to what the all-wise, omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient God desires. We should shout, Hallelujah! There is no life that can be more meaningful than what God has given to us to live now. We are one
18 with God to grow into and become His testimony to be incorporated with God. What a life this is! Alas, so few Christians see this. Most Christians take Christ as their support. Many take Him even as their entertainment. But so few are consecrated. For some reason, most of us refuse to be on the altar to satisfy God and to prepare ourselves for advancing. Rather, we jump on and off the altar. Even if we do stay on, we usually try to do something to make God happy. This is why there are many Jesus-lovers, but so few can say, My life is set. I am growing and advancing toward the ark of testimony. I am growing to be just like God (the tablets of testimony), to enjoy only God as the One who meets all my needs (the manna in a golden pot), and to walk in a realm of resurrection (the budded rod). I d like to eventually advance to be such a person: someone like God, whose supply is only God, and who anything can happen to, but at least I know what resurrection is. The Two Layers of the Bronze Altar: Dealing with Our Sinful Being and Unhealthy Self Overcoming Christians, the precious Jesus-lovers, begin their life on the bronze altar. They are focused and geared up, yet they also realize that they have a fallen nature and can go against God and His arrangements at any time. Yet, praise the Lord, there are two layers of the bronze altar (see Num. 16:37 40). The first layer is for our sinful being. The second layer is for our unhealthy self.
How good is this? As we are on the altar, we can be defeated, we can have problems, we can even cause problems, but we can be thankful. Even if we fail as Korah, on the altar we can still love the Lord and the house of God. We can know that no matter what happens to us and no matter what comes out of us, we will eventually be brought to the second piece of furniture: the bronze laver. 19
20 Message Three The Bronze Laver Two possibilities for the bronze laver. (L) Rose Guide to the Tabernacle; (R) Unknown
Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 18 You shall also make a laver of bronze, with its base also of bronze, for washing. You shall put it between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar. And you shall put water in it, 19 for Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet in water from it. 20 When they go into the tabernacle of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn an offering made by fire to the Lord, they shall wash with water, lest they die. 21 So they shall wash their hands and their feet, lest they die. And it shall be a statute forever to them to him and his descendants throughout their generations. (Exodus 30:17 21) 21 He [Moses] made the laver of bronze and its base of bronze, from the bronze mirrors of the serving women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. (Exodus 38:8) After the bronze altar, we advance to the bronze laver. It will surprise us that the laver follows right after the altar, and that both of them are in the outer court. The Water of the Laver: For More than Washing Away our Sin According to our human understanding, even if we are totally consecrated to the Lord, we are still sinful with weaknesses, with limitations, and with so many things that make us ashamed. Therefore, we think that if we desire to serve the Lord as a priest or if we desire to grow into the Holy Place (the place that has nothing but God Himself), then we need the cleansing, or washing, of the laver. However, the laver served two purposes when it was installed. First, priests needed to wash themselves with the water in the laver before offering sacrifices on the altar. Second, priests needed to wash from
22 the laver in order to go into the Holy Place. Both purposes do not seem to be related to sin or shortcoming. The laver seems to have a purpose that is much higher. In the New Testament, there is a Greek word that corresponds to the laver in the Old Testament: loutron. This word is used only twice, in Ephesians 5:26 and Titus 3:5. To understand the significance of the laver, we must consider these verses. We must also consider 1 Peter 3:21, where the apostle Peter describes the meaning of water. 1. Water according to 1 Peter 3:21: For Both Termination and Germination When we talk about water, we cannot avoid 1 Peter 3:21. In verse 20, the apostle Peter mentions the water of the flood in Noah s time. Then, in verse 21, he says, There is also an antitype which now saves us baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Most Bible scholars consider this one of the hardest verses to understand in the New Testament. Look at how John Darby described this verse: (The baptism of water) also now saves us, not a putting away of the filth of flesh, but the engagement and testimony as before God of a good conscience by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. What a marvelous verse! What a marvelous statement! The water of baptism once-for-all saves us, both judicially and organically. Judicially, we are no longer sinners, yet this is not the purpose of baptism. The purpose of the water of baptism is to engage us for our testimony of a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Dear brothers and sisters, do you realize that when you were baptized, you had both a termination and germination? 23 There was termination of you, the fallen you, the sinful you, the rebellious you, the world-loving you, the ambitious you. The very you who is against God and is void of God was terminated. What is more precious is that we also began to partake of resurrection. The very water of baptism engages us to bear a testimony that we have peace with God and that we are one with God. 2. Washing according to Ephesians 5:26: Producing the Glorious Church Ephesians 5:26 27 says, That He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing (Grk: loutron) of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. Christ loves the church and is cleansing her by the washing of the water in the word, that He should present her to Himself a glorious church. The washing of the water is extremely positive, even aggressive. It is much more than just washing away sin, which presents no glory. Rather, it has to do with the producing of the glorious church by Christ, by the life of Christ, by the operation of Christ, by the works of Christ, and by the enjoyment of the accomplished work of Christ. All these things become the element of the divine Word. Paul does not say the washing of blood, but rather, the washing of water by the word. Who is the Word? Tabernacled Christ!
24 Who speaks the Word? Tabernacled Christ! What is the content of His speaking? Only tabernacled Christ! This washing is a generating and vitalizing process through the life element of the Word, which dispenses all the riches of the content of the eternal life. With such vitalizing, we Christians become peaceful, restful, strengthened, enlightened, and satisfied that we match God. 3. Washing according to Titus 3:5: Regenerating Us to See Something More Titus 3:5 says, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing (Grk: loutron) of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit. Here is the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit. This is a lifelong applying experience. We may be saved, even fully consecrated, but we still need the washing of the water of regeneration. This does not mean we need to be born again (anagennao) again. Rather, the Greek word used here for regeneration is palingenesia, a word used to indicate the renewal of the natural world under Christ (see Matt. 19:28). In Titus 3:5, however, it is applied personally. What a regeneration this is! The experience of this washing of regeneration brings us into the renewing of the Holy Spirit and causes us to see a new stage, even a new age. Something is new through our advancement. We have to praise the Lord that the Christian life is like a tour. At every turn, we can see new sceneries, new views, new encouragements, new attractiveness, and also new challenges. In Titus 3:5, Paul tells us
that the Lord saved us according to His mercy, and in His mercy there is the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit for us to have the tour! 25 Without the Spirit, the washing does not mean much. But with the Holy Spirit, the washing becomes something so grand, so astonishing, and would even cause us to say, Wow, now I see. Now I see something more. Now I see something more heavenly and attractive! Now I m ready to go on to another stage in joy and encouragement! The Placement of the Laver: Showing the Christian Journey No one knows where the bronze laver was placed in the Old Testament. Was it directly between the altar and tabernacle? Was it off to the side (which would make it much easier for the priest to carry out his priestly service in offerings)? This is interesting. A Christian s journey is not as straight as we like to think. Many times, we cannot say what direction we should go, but we still go on. The Size of the Laver: Different Sizes for Different Ones in Different Stages Furthermore, there is no weight given or size measured for the laver. Why is this? This is because each new stage is unveiled differently to different ones. Believers who are saved for only one year may have a very small laver with only a little water, but they must have it. A servant of the Lord will have a much larger laver to contain much more water for him to partake of and enjoy and for him to see more glory and more heavenly things. Praise the Lord for this! Praise Him for the bronze laver!
26 Message Four Entering the holy Place
After the altar and the laver, a Jesus-lover may advance into the Holy Place to partake of the showbread table. However, there are three things demanded for such an advancement. 27 1) We must understand the realm of the Holy Place. 2) We must be a proper serving priest, wearing the proper clothing. 3) We must pass through the veil and the 5 pillars. 1. Understanding the Holy Place: A Realm of Only Christ First, we must understand the realm of the Holy Place. Holy Place actually means a place of only God. This is a solemn and heavenly calling. Christ is calling those who are consecrated, those who stay on the altar to live a life of consecration, and those who enjoy the laver. Such Jesus-lovers experience the righteousness of Christ, the supply of life to be one with Christ, and peacefulness in the presence of Christ. Truly, such Jesus-lovers are already marvelous Christians. Yet, Christ is still calling these ones to advance. Such an advance is into a realm with Christ and only Christ. This is very different than our thought may be. We may desire to love the Lord, pursue the Lord, serve the Lord, and even be mature and useful to the Lord. We may feel that our growth must cause us to gain Christ, possess Christ, live unto Christ, mature in Christ, and eventually become a blessing to His church, a blessing to His children, and even people who can uphold His testimony. All of this is true, but at the same time, Christ would like to add: Only Christ.
28 If we want to be a blessing to the church and to other Christians, the blessing must be from Christ, through Christ, and issuing out only Christ. What a life this is! Whosoever desires to advance beyond the outer court must take such a stand: Everything other than Christ is gone, whether physical, material, or spiritual. We are growing into a place of only Christ. Yes, amen, only Christ. Brothers, are you ready for this? Without such vision and consecration, the provision of the showbread table (Christ as our life supply) and the lampstand (the church life for us to partake of, to be in, and to organically be part of) will only be theory and nice talk. The reality of such furniture comes from a sober and solid realization: Yes, now I am advancing. Where am I advancing to? I am advancing to a place, a realm, where there is nothing left for me but Christ! 2. Being the Right Person: Being a Serving Priest with the Right Clothing Second, only a serving priest could enter into the Holy Place. If we desire to advance in our Christian growth, we must take a new stand. We must not only love the Lord and consecrate ourselves to Him, but we must also be people who have no other possession and no other living beside living unto Christ and serving Christ. This is who a priest is. We not only need to be priests, but we also need to put on the clothing of a serving priest. Exodus 28 says, For Aaron s sons you shall make tunics, and you shall make sashes for them. And you shall make hats for them, for glory and beauty. 41 So you shall put them on Aaron your brother and on his sons
with him. You shall anoint them, consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister to Me as priests. 42 And you shall make for them linen trousers to cover their nakedness; they shall reach from the waist to the thighs. 43 They shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they come into the tabernacle of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister in the holy place, that they do not incur iniquity and die. It shall be a statute forever to him and his descendants after him. 29 The priestly clothes are so simple, so practical, and are nothing attractive to man. Rather, they allow us to be ready to labor according to the need of God and the saints. There is a tunic (vest) made of fine linen, but this is not to show beauty. Rather, it is to dry the sweat. Additionally, we must be girded all the time with a sash (girdle), which means we are always ready to satisfy God in Christ and ready to meet the needs of man in Christ. Also, there is a hat, not a diadem. This is practical. Anyone who looks at a man dressed in such a way would say, Oh, what kind of person is this? What kind of appearance is this? But now, God would answer, This is for glory and this is for beauty. Finally, serving priests must also have trousers of fine linen that cover from the waist to the thighs. This shows that while we serve, living a simple life for God s testimony, we must take special care for our holiness. The trousers are for covering our nakedness, so that we would not show our flesh. We have to praise the Lord. When we become priests and dress ourselves with the clothing designed by God, people will have no respect for us. We will look like a person of hard manual labor. But God s view is different. He would say, You are glorious and you are beautiful.
30 3. Passing the Five Pillars and the Curtain: Becoming Responsible Unto God as a Healthy Priest Third, to enter the Holy Place, a serving priest needed to pass five pillars and one piece of a fine linen curtain, which was woven with lines of blue, purple, and scarlet threads. The number five means responsibility. Today, priests entering the Holy Place are facing the real five according to God, and realize that their life from this moment is different. They realize, Now, Lord, I only have You. You are responsible for all of my life. Now, I only pursue You. When I come into the place of God alone, the Holy Place, I will be responsible to You too. What a mutual responsibility! God is responsible to us, even responsible for our responsibility to Him, and we are responsible to God in His responsibility. The curtain of fine linen is woven with thread of three colors. This means that we must begin to live a life according to the divinity expressed in the humanity of Christ. Through the previous stage, many experiences help us know what is heavenly (blue), what is royal and glorious (purple), and the precious effectiveness of the redemptive work of Jesus Christ (scarlet). Such an effective redemptive work not only causes us to become holy, but also perfects us in life (Heb. 9:12, 10:14). This curtain shows us that if we truly want to be a priest (or, serving one), we need redemption, salvation, and to live with proper humanity. Nothing of self, nothing rough, nothing natural, and nothing fleshly can truly partake of Christ as the life supply (the showbread) and the church life (the lampstand) in full.
Entering the Holy Place: Having a Deep Realization of Only Christ 31 Entering the Holy Place is a simple statement, but a giant step. It is a process of growth, but this growth is with a great transfer. Oh, what a transfer! It is a transfer from I to Christ. Now, our life totally changes. This is not simply, I am saved, I desire to serve, I want to consecrate myself, even I want to be peaceful in the presence of God. Rather, Christ henceforth becomes the center and the reality of all spiritual things. It is no longer just about my consecration; rather, we aim at the ark of testimony in the Holy of Holies. We must have a deep realization: I am finished. Everything I planned is gone, even spiritual things. Nothing is left for me but Christ. There is no success, even spiritual success. There is no future, even a spiritual future. There is no accomplishment, even spiritual accomplishment. There is no attainment, even spiritual attainment. I have nothing but Christ. Christ is my realm the Holy Place. Christ is my supply the spiritual food to produce Christ. Christ is my transformation the beating work for the lampstand to shine out Christ. I am now in Christ, with Christ, enjoying Christ, applying Christ, growing in Christ, and maturing in Christ. My life is not idle I am mingled with Christ for the building up of His testimony. Eventually, I will be so transformed that I will become the golden incense altar facing the ark of testimony as Christ, ready to satisfy God. Yes, a Christian now begins to understand what mingling truly means: The life of Christ is being wrought in me. The nature of
32 Christ is beginning to operate in me. Now I, a Christian, a Jesus-lover, a pursuer, am beginning to understand what transformation really is through the gaining of Christ and His nature. Everything I wanted in my life is no longer my focus. I may still pursue a higher academic degree, a rewardable profession, a certain status among people, or success in a particular realm, but none of these are my life. I may even have a dream of becoming greatly used by the Lord, but this is not my purpose. I am satisfied, as the hymn writer said: Content to fill a little space, if Thou be glorified. Mingling: A Process of Growth unto Maturity We cannot divide union, mingling, and incorporation into three distinct stages. Very young Christians can sometimes live out a small amount of incorporation, while more mature Christians may occasionally exhibit only their union with Christ in life. Of these three stages, however, the major process is the matter of mingling. Mingling is an extremely rich and lifelong process of growth, even growth unto maturity. In this process there is replacement, repelling, changing in life and nature, and changing in manifestation. The apostle Paul wrote, When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things (1 Cor. 13:11). When did he grow up? We cannot point to a particular day, but there was surely a process of replacement, of repelling the things that were childish, and of beginning to enjoy the things that were according to the measure of maturity in life. For example, as we advance and grow, the definition of the world becomes very different. Therefore, Do not love the world (1 John 2:15) can mean different things:
Do not love the world the things of the world. 33 Do not love the world the things that are spiritual. Do not love the world the manifestation of a spiritual function. Do not love the world the status I have among Christians. One definition either coexists with or begins to replace another. How does this happen? It is by the transfusion and infusion of life. This is mingling! Our nature is being gradually changed, and we become mingled more with Christ. Mingling: Beginning to Manifest the Elements of Christ Through our mingling with Christ in nature, we become able to manifest all the elements of Christ. The Lord prayed, Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me... I said, Behold, I have come...to do Your will, O God (Heb. 10:5, 7). We become able to bypass all the nice spiritual service to stand firm for God s pure desire. We become willing to be despised, just as the Lord was on the earth. He was like a root out of dry ground, without any beauty to appreciate (Isa. 53:2). We become ready to give ourselves in the service of others always being clothed as a serving priest and ready to serve those in need. We begin to realize our own shortage, and desire to enjoy the bountiful supply of the Spirit as our help and nourishment.
34 We begin to love and appreciate the church life, and we would never dare to depart from the church life. The local churches, as a testimony of God, become our living and the place for our growth and functioning. Maturity in Mingling: The Golden Incense Altar For those who pass through such a process, there is a testimony of some who are mature in mingling with Christ. Such ones are as the golden incense altar, produced by being in the realm of only God (the Holy Place). They have a whole life of enjoying the life supply of Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit in and through the church life. They become most holy to the Lord (Exo. 30:10). As Christ had not yet accomplished His redemptive work in the Old Testament, the golden incense altar faced the ark of testimony and was the last piece of furniture in the Holy Place. Today, those who serve as the golden incense altar are people who never depart from the church life, who are still part of the church life, yet who stand on behalf of the church life before God for His satisfaction.
36 Message Five The Showbread Table 1.5 cubits 1 cubit 2 cubits The showbread table, from the ESV Study Bible
You shall also make a table of acacia wood; two cubits shall be its length, a cubit its width, and a cubit and a half its height. 24 And you shall overlay it with pure gold, and make a molding of gold all around. 25 You shall make for it a frame of a handbreadth all around, and you shall make a gold molding for the frame all around. 26 And you shall make for it four rings of gold, and put the rings on the four corners that are at its four legs. 27 The rings shall be close to the frame, as holders for the poles to bear the table. 28 And you shall make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold, that the table may be carried with them. 29 You shall make its dishes, its pans, its pitchers, and its bowls for pouring. You shall make them of pure gold. 30 And you shall set the showbread on the table before Me always. (Exodus 25:23 30) 37 The showbread table is one of the most attractive pictures of how God supplies us and how we grow in God s government and mercy. The table was made of acacia wood covered in pure gold, two cubits in length, one cubit in width, and one-and-a-half cubits in height. One cubit its width means that the unique God, in His grandness, will meet all our need. Two cubits shall be its length could mean that God Himself bears His own testimony for what He would do toward us. This is just like how God vowed Himself unto Abraham. A cubit and a half its height means that God would meet us according to our height, yet we must still fully consecrate ourselves to Him according to the degree of our maturity in life. This height is equal to the height of the ark of testimony.
38 The Frame of One Handbreadth 1. The Placement of the Frame Around the table, there was a frame of a handbreadth (Exo. 25:25). According to Bible scholars, there seem to be three different ways this frame could have been placed: 1) 90 on top of the table (Frame) (Table) 2) 45 on top of the table (Frame) (Table) 3) 90 under the table (Table) (Frame) Many Bible scholars have different views, but most think it should be the first or second option. This would indicate that the frame is for the protection of the bread, which is the life supply of Christ. However, Keil and Delitzsch indicate that it should be the third option, and that the frame was underneath the table to support its movement (the rings for the bars could be placed close to the frame). This seems the most interesting and proper way, as there are two moldings (Hebrew: crowns ): one surrounding the table and another surrounding the frame (vv. 24 25).
2. The Crowns: A Most Graceful Picture of God s Supply in His Government 39 A crown indicates authority and government. A crown of pure gold indicates how God supplies us in His government. Why are there two crowns, and which direction do they go? In principle, we think of crowns pointing upward. This is just common sense! However, with spiritual understanding we would be amazed and shout with joy that the crown on the table (which represents God) is actually placed downward, while the crown on the frame (which represents us) is placed upward, and the two join together. It is very hard to find a picture more moving, more effective, more graceful, and more merciful than this one. God supplies us according to His government in grace. We meet God s supply in our faithfulness and sincerity. This is exactly what Korah s sons expressed in Psalm 85: Mercy and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed (v. 10). 3. The Measurement of One Handbreadth : God s Work to Increase Our Capacity The frame of the table was a handbreadth in measurement. This measurement is extremely profound, as handbreadth is a word totally related to the operation of God in both His leading and blessing upon man. The word hand is used a lot in the Old Testament, but the particular Hebrew word translated handbreadth here, topach, is specifically used in the measurement of God s work (see Ezek. 40:1 5). Enjoying the bountiful supply of the showbread table, even the fullness of the supply of the divine life, is totally related to the measure of our receiving ability. God s supply is there, and it is
40 always there. It is always fresh and always able to supply our needs to the fullest. However, beneath the board is a frame that is the same as the breadth of a hand. This indicates that when we come to the Lord, He will bless us according to our receiving measure. As we (the frame) are growing, this particular measure is also growing, and this growth is the very increase and enlargement of the crown, which grows up to meet the crown produced by the showbread table itself. When our crown, which is developed according to the frame, is so small, the decent of God s grace can seemingly only go so far. However, the handbreadth can increase all of our pursuing life. Eventually, this growth comes to the measure God desires. 4. The Purpose of One Handbreadth : For the Building Up of His Testimony The measurement of a handbreadth is also used in Ezekiel 40. When the temple is finally built as the city (vv. 1 5), the measurement used is a cubit and a handbreadth. This indicates that the measurement of a handbreadth is for the purpose of building up the temple of God. In other words, it is for the purpose of building up the local churches, both as the golden lampstand we are in and the building up of the body of Christ organically. How marvelous! How heavenly this is! We should very much praise the Lord for these two things. First, every amount of our growth, of our development, even of our perfecting, no matter how small, is only for the building up of the temple of the Lord. No spirituality should ever be used for ourselves.
Second, the more we grow in width, the bigger the crown will develop. In turn, we will be more able to enjoy grace in the Lord s life supply, according to the measure we have. 41 The divine measurement dispenses life to us, satisfies us, and develops us. At the same time, it limits and confines us, even to the point of eliminating whatever is from our soul-life and self-life. Eventually, like Ezekiel, we come to the point we are just swimming in the riches of the divine stream. It is a marvelous divine work! Yet it also demands our proper correspondence. We should never despise a little faithfulness in experiencing God s measuring. We protect God s operation, while God is also protecting us in our protecting. 5. The Rings and Bars: Indicating God s Supply is for Those Who Advance The showbread table also had four rings of pure gold and two bars with which to carry it. This indicates that the enjoyment of the divine life is only for those who are advancing. The Showbread And you shall take fine flour and bake twelve cakes with it. Twotenths of an ephah shall be in each cake. 6 You shall set them in two rows, six in a row, on the pure gold table before the Lord. 7 And you shall put pure frankincense on each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, an offering made by fire to the Lord. 8 Every Sabbath he shall set it in order before the Lord continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant. 9 And it shall be for Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in a holy place; for it is most holy to him from the offerings of the Lord made by fire, by a perpetual statute. (Leviticus 24:5 9)
42 1. Two Tenth-Parts: Revealing That there is Always Something More Leviticus 24 tells us that each cake of bread was made from twotenths of an ephah of fine flour. However, this phrase is literally translated two tenth deals (YLT). In other words, this amount is two tenth-parts of God s measurement. It is very interesting that in the original Hebrew, the word ephah is not there. The Bible does not say what measurement ought to be used. According to the measurement at the time, it should be an ephah. However, God avoided using this word, and bothered Himself by saying two tenth-parts instead of two-tenths. This is very meaningful. Two tenth-parts means that God and man are both taking part for the bread of life to become reality. It also indicates that there is a lot more room for two tenth-parts to develop. No matter how much we enjoy, how richly we enjoy, and how satisfied we become, God would still say to us, Something more, something more! You are doing fine, BUT, something more. 2. Two Stacks of Showbread: Learning our Proper Place in the Church Life Leviticus 24:6 says set them in two rows, six in a row. A note in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia says: Most translators and commentators suggest that the loaves were placed in two rows of six loaves each. But the verbal root [of rows ] rk means simply arrange with no specific form of arrangement implied. Moreover, the size of the loaves, even if they were unleavened, makes this interpretation practically impossible. Twelve loaves of this size would require more surface area
than that provided by the table. Most likely the bread was arranged in two piles of six loaves each. 43 It is interesting that the Lord did not say exactly how the showbread should be properly laid out. On the contrary, the Hebrew word seems to imply that the loaves could be placed freely on the table. However, if they were all laid flat on the showbread table, there would not be enough room for them. Eventually Moses and Aaron would find out that the loaves needed to be laid in two stacks with six loaves in each stack. This is very interesting, and it matches our experience. When we first love the Lord and the church, we desire to serve, to enjoy the Lord, and even to become a supply of life for other saints. Yet our feeling is often that the church life (the table) is not big enough for us. We like to have many different burdens and want all of them to be applied. We want to preach the gospel; we want to have Bible studies; we want to have a good team of brothers to handle singing for the good elevation of life in the meetings; we want... But we feel there is not enough room for us to operate as a piece of life-supplying bread! We may even feel that the Lord Himself is not adequate for us. We want to touch Him, to receive Him, to enjoy Him, to experience Him, even to partake of Him in so many ways, but it seems that He is not sufficient to meet our needs. It is so marvelous eventually, we find out that in the church life, we do not exercise individuality. Rather, we learn coordination, we learn to have companions, and we learn to function with other brothers. Eventually, if we are not just wild and if we are pure unto the Lord, we will find six in our measure, no matter how great our six is. And we will find that we must have two stacks to satisfy both God and man.
44 Oh, how marvelous this is! Proper growth always brings us out of individualism, out of zealousness, and out of strong desire with a big eye. Through the church life and with our growth in life, we grow into the testimony of the Lord and we bear testimonies with other brothers. Eventually, we lose our self-life, our soul-life. Rather, we become a pursuer of Christ in the church life and a real blessing to the testimony of the Lord, to the church, and to the Lord Himself. Why? Because we are lost in the midst of other loaves. 3. Twelve Loaves: Christ and the Church Become Our Complete Satisfaction God desires to supply us with Christ, who is the showbread the bread of life. Leviticus 24 tells us that the showbread was placed on the table in two rows (stacks) of six loaves each, for a total of twelve loaves. Twelve is the number of completion in eternity. This completion is only fully realized today with Christ and with the church. Although the showbread is Christ Himself for us to partake of and enjoy, we also enjoy the same satisfaction, even more bountifully, in the church life. Christ is the bread of life and in the church life, we can find more bountifully this bread of life. In a good way, salvation is individual, and every Christian should have a testimony of two in their private life. They live before God privately. Yet they should also enjoy their Christian life by partaking of Christ in the church life. In the Old Testament, the twelve loaves indicated that the Lord met the needs of all twelve tribes of Israel. Today, this twelve means that Christ and the church are the complete satisfaction for all Christians.
4. The Showbread: A Most Holy Offering Among Fire Offerings to Jehovah 45 Leviticus 24:9 says, It shall be for Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in a holy place; for it is most holy to him from the offerings of the Lord made by fire, by a perpetual statute. This does not mean that the showbread was burned as a fire offering. In fact, the bread was never burned by fire! It was replaced every Sabbath day (v. 8) and the old loaves were taken out of the Holy Place for the priests to eat in a holy place (v. 9). Spiritually, we cannot say where a holy place is. However, we can testify that wherever we enjoy the showbread, that place is holy. The bread was not burned on the altar; it was eaten by the priests. Therefore, it should be to our surprise that God would count the showbread as a fire offering, even as most holy among the fire offerings unto Jehovah! On top of the stacks of bread was pure frankincense, indicating that the enjoyment of the life supply of Christ causes us to enjoy a life in resurrection. With the bread as our substance, we are in resurrection, and this life in resurrection becomes a fire offering most holy to God Himself. Christians should not be flat, bored, dull, common, routine, or concerned with carrying a religious thing. Healthy Christians enjoy the bread of life as priests, are full of vitality, are always girded, are always ready to enjoy heavenly things, and are always ready to carry out more offerings from the saints, all while partaking of more of the supply of the showbread. What is this living? This living is in a realm, a heavenly realm, a priestly realm. It is a realm for Christians to live a life according to God s supply, to live a serving life according to God s move, and to
46 live a life for others satisfaction according to the desire of Christ. This is counted as a fire offering before Jehovah. Now, we have two kinds of fire offerings. There is the offering on the altar, literally consumed by the fire. At the same time, there are the fire offerings as a priest eats the showbread, enjoying Christ to the full. Do you realize that we have the same experience? When we give ourselves to the Lord for Him to consume us, it is a fire offering on the altar. Yet we also live as a serving priest, enjoying Christ in a holy place and becoming totally satisfied. When we are so satisfied with Christ, then we will live Christ, outflow Christ, magnify Christ, and God will say, What a marvelous fire offering this is. 5. The Drink Offering that Accompanied the Showbread: A Marvelous Sequence of Satisfaction Whenever the bread was replaced, there was probably a drink offering that accompanied it. This is why there were pitchers for pouring (Exo. 37:16). This is a marvelous sequence: 1) We enjoy Christ so that we can become a fire offering. 2) As Christ is satisfying to us, we also give the best to God as a drink offering. What a mutual satisfaction in glory! What a showbread table.
48 Message Six The Golden Lampstand The traditional view of the golden lampstand, from the ESV Study Bible. The fourth almond blossom on the shaft could be at the top or bottom of the shaft.
Then you shall make a lampstand of pure gold. The lampstand and its base and its shaft are to be made of hammered work; its cups, its bulbs and its flowers shall be of one piece with it. 32 Six branches shall go out from its sides; three branches of the lampstand from its one side and three branches of the lampstand from its other side. 33 Three cups shall be shaped like almond blossoms in the one branch, a bulb and a flower, and three cups shaped like almond blossoms in the other branch, a bulb and a flower so for six branches going out from the lampstand; 34 and in the lampstand four cups shaped like almond blossoms, its bulbs and its flowers. 35 A bulb shall be under the first pair of branches coming out of it, and a bulb under the second pair of branches coming out of it, and a bulb under the third pair of branches coming out of it, for the six branches coming out of the lampstand. 36 Their bulbs and their branches shall be of one piece with it; all of it shall be one piece of hammered work of pure gold. 37 Then you shall make its lamps seven in number; and they shall mount its lamps so as to shed light on the space in front of it. 38 Its snuffers and their trays shall be of pure gold. 39 It shall be made from a talent of pure gold, with all these utensils. (Exodus 25:31-39, NASB) 49 Note: The literal translation of verse 37 is,...they shall light the lamps, that they may give light over against the space before its face. It may be that the lamps faced the space directly in front of the lampstand, or it may be that the lamps were turned to face one another, so the light could be given over against. This image is another option for how the branches and lamps were arranged.