Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel, that they take an offering for me. From everyone whose heart makes him willing you shall take my offering. This is the offering which you shall take from them: gold, silver, bronze, blue, purple, scarlet, fine linen, goats’ hair, rams’ skins dyed red, sea cow hides, acacia wood, oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense, onyx stones, and stones to be set for the ephod and for the breastplate. Let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. According to all that I show you, the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all of its furniture, even so you shall make it.
“They shall make an ark of acacia wood. Its length shall be two and a half cubits, its width a cubit and a half, and a cubit and a half its height. You shall overlay it with pure gold. You shall overlay it inside and outside, and you shall make a gold molding around it. You shall cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in its four feet. Two rings shall be on the one side of it, and two rings on the other side of it. You shall make poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold. You shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry the ark. The poles shall be in the rings of the ark. They shall not be taken from it. You shall put the covenant which I shall give you into the ark. You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold. Two and a half cubits shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its width. You shall make two cherubim of hammered gold. You shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub at the one end, and one cherub at the other end. You shall make the cherubim on its two ends of one piece with the mercy seat. The cherubim shall spread out their wings upward, covering the mercy seat with their wings, with their faces toward one another. The faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat. You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the covenant that I will give you. There I will meet with you, and I will tell you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the covenant, all that I command you for the children of Israel.
“You shall make a table of acacia wood. Its length shall be two cubits, and its width a cubit, and its height one and a half cubits. You shall overlay it with pure gold, and make a gold molding around it. You shall make a rim of a hand width around it. You shall make a golden molding on its rim around it. You shall make four rings of gold for it, and put the rings in the four corners that are on its four feet. the rings shall be close to the rim, for places for the poles to carry the table. You shall make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold, that the table may be carried with them. You shall make its dishes, its spoons, its ladles, and its bowls to pour out offerings with. You shall make them of pure gold. You shall set bread of the presence on the table before me always.
“You shall make a lamp stand of pure gold. The lamp stand shall be made of hammered work. Its base, its shaft, its cups, its buds, and its flowers shall be of one piece with it. There shall be six branches going out of its sides: three branches of the lamp stand out of its one side, and three branches of the lamp stand out of its other side; three cups made like almond blossoms in one branch, a bud and a flower; and three cups made like almond blossoms in the other branch, a bud and a flower, so for the six branches going out of the lamp stand; and in the lamp stand four cups made like almond blossoms, its buds and its flowers; and a bud under two branches of one piece with it, and a bud under two branches of one piece with it, and a bud under two branches of one piece with it, for the six branches going out of the lamp stand. Their buds and their branches shall be of one piece with it, all of it one beaten work of pure gold. You shall make its lamps seven, and they shall light its lamps to give light to the space in front of it. Its snuffers and its snuff dishes shall be of pure gold. It shall be made of a talent of pure gold, with all these accessories. See that you make them after their pattern, which has been shown to you on the mountain.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 11, 12, 16, 17, 22, 25, 29, 31, 39 After the moral and judicial law he giveth them…
After the moral and judicial law he giveth them the ceremonial law that nothing should be left to man’s invention.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 37, 38, 39, 40 Exo 25:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Exo 25:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Ver. 1. And the Lord spake unto Moses.] Gave him the ceremonial law also - as before he had done the moral and judicial - which was their gospel.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 27, 29, 30, 31, 32, 34, 35, 37, 39 Having delivered the moral and judicial laws, he now…
Having delivered the moral and judicial laws, he now comes to the ceremonial law, wherein he sets down all things very minutely and particularly, whereas in the other laws he was content to lay down general rules, and leaveth many other things to be by analogy deduced from them. The reason of the difference seems to be this, that the light of reason implanted in all men, gives him greater help in the discovery of moral and judicial things than in ceremonial matters, or in the external way and manner of God’s worship; which is a thing depending wholly upon God’s institution, and not left to man’s invention, which is a very incompetent judge of those things, as appears from hence, because the wittiest men, destitute of God’s revelation, have been guilty of most foolery in their devices of God’s worship.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On vv1, 10, 23, 31 We may suppose that when Moses went into the…
We may suppose that when Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and abode there so long, where the holy angels attended the shechinah, or divine Majesty, he saw and heard very glorious things relating to the upper world, but they were things which it was not lawful nor possible to utter; and therefore, in the records he kept of the transactions there, he says nothing to satisfy the curiosity of those who would intrude into the things which they have not seen, but writes that only which he was to speak to the children of Israel. For the scripture is designed to direct us in our duty, not to fill our heads with speculations, nor to please our fancies.
In these verses God tells Moses his intention in general, that the children of Israel should build him a sanctuary, for he designed to dwell among them (Exo 25:8); and some think that, though there were altars and groves used for religious worship before this, yet there never was any house, or temple, built for sacred uses in any nation before this tabernacle was erected by Moses, and that all the temples which were afterwards so much celebrated among the heathen took rise from this and pattern by it. God had chosen the people of Israel to be a peculiar people to himself (above all people), among whom divine revelation, and a religion according to it, should be lodged and established: he himself would be their King. As their King, he had already given them laws for the government of themselves, and their dealings one with another, with some general rules for religious worship, according to the light of reason and the law of nature, in the ten commandments and the following comments upon them. But this was not thought sufficient to distinguish them from other nations, or to answer to the extent of that covenant which God would make with them to be their God; and therefore,
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I. He orders a royal palace to be set up among them for himself, here called a sanctuary, or holy place, or habitation, of which it is said (Jer 17:12), A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary. This sanctuary is to be considered,
1. As ceremonial, consonant to the to the other institutions of that dispensation, which consisted in carnal ordinances (Heb 9:10); hence it is called a worldly sanctuary, Heb 9:1. God in it kept his court, as Israel's King. (1.) There he manifested his presence among them, and it was intended for a sign or token of his presence, that, while they had that in the midst of them, they might never again ask, Is the Lord among us or not? And, because in the wilderness they dwelt in tents, even this royal palace was ordered to be a tabernacle too, that it might move with them, and might be an instance of the condescension of the divine favour. (2.) There he ordered his subjects to attend him with their homage and tribute. Thither they must come to consult his oracles, thither they must bring their sacrifices, and there all Israel must meet, to pay their joint respects to the God of Israel.
2. As typical; the holy places made with hands were the figures of the true, Heb 9:24. The gospel church is the true tabernacle, which the Lord hath pitched, and not man, Heb 8:2. The body of Christ, in and by which he made atonement, was the greater and more perfect tabernacle, Heb 9:11. The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, as in a tabernacle.
II. When Moses was to erect this palace, it was requisite that he should first be instructed where he must have the materials, and where he must have the model; for he could neither contrive it by his own ingenuity nor build it at his own charge; he is therefore directed here concerning both.
1. The people must furnish him with the materials, not by a tax imposed upon them, but by a voluntary contribution. This is the first thing concerning which orders are here given.
(1.) Speak unto the children of Israel that they bring me an offering; and there was all the reason in the world that they should, for (Exo 25:1), [1.] It was God himself that had not only enlarged them, but enriched them with the spoils of the Egyptians. He had instructed them to borrow, and he had inclined the Egyptians to lend, so that from him they had their wealth, and therefore it was fit they should devote it to him and use it for him, and thus make a grateful acknowledgement of the favours they had received. Note, First, The best use we can make of our worldly wealth is to honour God with it in works of piety and charity. Secondly, When we have been blessed with some remarkable success in our affairs, and have had, as we say, a good turn, it may be justly expected that we should do something more than ordinary for the glory of God, consecrating our gain, in some reasonable proportion of it, to the Lord of the whole earth, Mic 4:13. [2.] The sanctuary that was to be built was intended for their benefit and comfort, and therefore they must be at the expense of it. They had been unworthy of the privilege if they had grudged at the charge. They might well afford to offer liberally for the honour of God, while they lived at free quarters, having food for themselves and their families rained upon them daily from heaven. We also must own that we have our all from God's bounty, and therefore ought to use all for his glory. Since we live upon him, we must live to him.
(2.) This offering must be given willingly, and with the heart, that is, [1.] It was not prescribed to them what or how much they must give, but it was left to their generosity, that they might show their good-will to the house of God and the offices thereof, and might do it with a holy emulation, the zeal of a few provoking many, Co2 9:2. We should ask, not only, "What must we do?" but, "What may we do for God?" [2.] Whatever they gave, they must give it cheerfully, not grudgingly and with reluctance, for God loves a cheerful giver, Co2 9:7. What is laid out in the service of God we must reckon well bestowed.
(3.) The particulars are here mentioned which they must offer (Exo 25:3-7), all of them things that there would be occasion for in the tabernacle, or the service of it. Some observe that here was gold, silver, and brass, provided, but no iron; that is the military metal, and this was to be a house of peace. Every thing that was provided was very rich and fine, and the best of the sort; for God, who is the best, should have the best.
2. God himself would furnish him with the model: According to all that I show thee, Exo 25:9. God showed him an exact plan of it, in miniature, which he must conform to in all points. Thus Ezekiel saw in vision the form of the house and the fashion thereof, Eze 43:11. Note, Whatsoever is done in God's service must be done by his direction, and not otherwise. Yet God did not only show him the model, but gave him also particular directions how to frame the tabernacle according to that model, in all the parts of it, which he goes over distinctly in this and the following chapters. When Moses, in the beginning of Genesis, was to describe the creation of the world, though it is such a stately and curious fabric and made up of such a variety and vast number of particulars, yet he gave a very short and general account of it, and nothing compared with what the wisdom of this world would have desired and expected from one that wrote by divine revelation; but, when he comes to describe the tabernacle, he does it with the greatest niceness and accuracy imaginable. He that gave us no account of the lines and circles of the globe, the diameter of the earth, or the height and magnitude of the stars, has told us particularly the measure of every board and curtain of the tabernacle; for God's church and instituted religion are more precious to him and more considerable than all the rest of the world. And the scriptures were written, not to describe to us the works of nature, a general view of which is sufficient to lead us to the knowledge and service of the Creator, but to acquaint us with the methods of grace, and those things which are purely matters of divine revelation. The blessedness of the future state is more fully represented under the notion of a new Jerusalem than under the notion of new heavens and a new earth.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv1–37 And the Lord spake unto Moses,.... When on the…
And the Lord spake unto Moses,.... When on the mount, and in the midst of the cloud with him:
saying; as follows.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 17, 18, 23, 31 At this chapter begins an account of the instructions…
At this chapter begins an account of the instructions God gave Moses for erecting and furnishing the tabernacle. Here are,
I. Orders given for a collection to be made among the people, ver. 1-9.
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II. Particular instructions,
1. Concerning the ark of the covenant, ver. 10-22.
2. The table of shew-bread, ver. 23-30.
3. The golden candlestick, ver. 31-40.
Doubtless when Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and abode there so long, he saw and heard glorious things, but they were things which were not lawful or possible to utter; and therefore, in the records he kept of the transactions there, he saith nothing to satisfy curiosity, but writes that only which he was to speak to the children of Israel. Probably there never was any house or temple built for sacred uses, before this tabernacle was erected by Moses. In this God kept his court, as Israel's king, and it was intended for a sign or token of his presence, that while they had that in the midst of them they might never again ask, Is the Lord among us or not? And because in the wilderness they dwelt in tents, even this royal palace was ordered to be a tabernacle too, that it might move with them. And these holy places made with hands were the figures of the true, Heb. ix, 24. The gospel-church is the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched, and not man, Heb. viii, 2. The body of Christ, in and by which he made atonement, was the greater and more perfect tabernacle, Heb. ix, 11. The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, as in a tabernacle.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 15, 16, 17, 18, 22, 23, 29, 30, 31, 39, 40 The Lord addresses Moses out of the Divine glory,…
CHAPTER XXV
The Lord addresses Moses out of the Divine glory, and commands him
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to speak unto the Israelites, that they may give him free-will
offerings, 1, 2.
The different kinds of offerings, gold, silver, and brass, 3.
Purple, scarlet, fine linen, and goats' hair, 4.
Rams' skins, badgers' skins, (rather violet-coloured skins,)
and shittim wood, 5.
Oil and spices, 6.
Onyx stones, and stones for the ephod and breastplate, 7.
A sanctuary is to be made after the pattern of the
tabernacle, 8, 9.
The ark and its dimensions, 10.
Its crown of gold, 11.
Its rings, 12.
Its staves, and their use, 13-15.
The testimony to be laid up in the ark, 16.
The mercy-seat and its dimensions, 17.
The cherubim, how made and placed, 18-20.
The mercy-seat to be placed on the ark, and the testimony to be put
within it, 21.
The Lord promises to commune with the people from the mercy-seat, 22.
The table of shew-bread, and its dimensions, 23.
Its crown and border of gold, 24, 25.
Its rings, 26, 27.
Staves, 28.
Dishes, spoons, and bowls, 29.
Its use, 30.
The golden candlestick; its branches, bowls, knops, and
flowers, 31-36.
Its seven lamps, 37.
Tongs and snuffers, 38.
The weight of the candlestick and its utensils, one talent of
gold, 39.
All to be made according to the pattern showed to Moses on the
mount, 40.
NOTES ON CHAP. XXV
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv2, 4, 8, 9, 10, 17, 18, 23, 30, 31 Exo 25:2. Speak unto the children of Israel —…
Exo 25:2. Speak unto the children of Israel — Doubtless when Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and abode there so long, he saw and heard glorious things, but they were things which it was not lawful or possible to utter, and therefore in the records which he kept of the transactions there, he saith nothing to satisfy curiosity, but writes that only which he was to deliver to the people. And God, having now solemnly ratified his covenant with Israel to be their God, and that they should be his subjects and servants, gives orders next concerning a place for his solemn worship, where by visible symbols of his divine presence he might reside among them as their Deliverer, Protector, and the great object of their worship, and might keep his court as their King, that while they had that place in the midst of them they might never again ask, “Is the Lord among us or not?” And because in the wilderness they dwelt in tents, even this royal palace was to be a tabernacle too, a kind of portable temple suitable to their travelling condition, that it might move with them. Probably there never was any house or temple built for sacred uses before this tabernacle was erected by Moses. And the frame, fashion, utensils, ministers, and services of it were to be such as would be a model of that more magnificent temple, its furniture and service, which was to be afterward erected in the land of Canaan, even as that temple itself, with its whole economy, was to be but a figurative resemblance of a more complete and spiritual dispensation under the Messiah. For these holy places made with hands were the figures of the true, Heb 9:24. The gospel church is the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched, and not man, Heb 8:2. And the body of Christ, in and by which he made atonement, was the greater and more perfect tabernacle, Heb 9:11. The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us as in a tabernacle. That they bring me an offering — This offering was to be given willingly, and with the heart. It was not prescribed to them what or how much they must give, but it was left to their generosity, that they might show their good-will to the house of God, and the offices thereof.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv1, 10, 17, 23, 31 Yahweh had redeemed the Israelites from bondage. He had…
Yahweh had redeemed the Israelites from bondage. He had made a covenant with them and had given them laws. He had promised, on condition of their obedience, to accept them as His own “peculiar treasure,” as “a kingdom of priests and an holy nation” Exo 19:5-6. And now He was ready visibly to testify that He made his abode with them. He claimed to have a dwelling for Himself, which was to be in external form a tent of goats’ hair Exo 19:4, to take its place among their own tents, and formed out of the same material (see Exo 26:7 note). The special mark of His presence within the tent was to be the ark or chest containing the Ten Commandments on two tables of stone Exo 31:18, symbolizing the divine law of holiness, and covered by the mercy-seat, the type of reconciliation. Moses was divinely taught regarding the construction and arrangement of every part of the sanctuary. The directions which were given him are comprised in Exo. 25:1–31:11. The account of the performance of the work, expressed generally in the same terms, is given Exo. 35:21–40:33.
Moses is commanded to invite the people to bring their gifts for the construction and service of the sanctuary and for the dresses of the priests.
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Exo 25:2
An offering - The word is used here in its general sense, being equivalent to korban, κορβᾶν korban, (compare Mar 7:11). On the marginal rendering “heave offering,” see the note at Exo 29:27.
That giveth it willingly with his heart - The public service of Yahweh was to be instituted by freewill offerings, not by an enforced tax. Compare 1Ch 29:3, 1Ch 29:9,1Ch 29:14; Ezr 2:68-69; 2Co 8:11-12; 2Co 9:7. On the zeal with which the people responded to the call, see Exo 35:21-29; Exo 36:5-7.
Exo 25:3
Gold, and silver, and brass - The supply of these metals possessed by the Israelites at this time probably included what they had inherited from their forefathers, what they had obtained from the Egyptians Exo 12:35, and what may have been found amongst the spoils of the Amalekites Exo 17:8-13. But with their abundant flocks and herds, it can hardly be doubted that they had carried on important traffic with the trading caravans that traversed the wilderness, some of which, most likely, in the earliest times were furnished with silver, with the gold of Ophir (or gold of Sheba, as it seems to have been indifferently called), and with the “brass” (the alloy of copper and tin, called bronze) of Phoenicia and Egypt. Compare Exo 38:24 note.
Exo 25:4
Blue, and purple, and scarlet - i. e. the material dyed with these colors. The Jewish tradition has been very generally received that this material was wool. Compare Heb 9:19 with Lev 14:4, Lev 14:49, etc. When spun and dyed by the women, it was delivered in the state of yarn; and the weaving and embroidering was left to Aholiab and his assistants, Exo 35:25, Exo 35:35. The “blue” and “purple” dye are usually thought to have been obtained from shell-fish, the “scarlet” from the cochineal insect of the holm-oak.
Fine linen - The fine flax or the manufactured linen, for which Egypt was famous Eze 27:7, and which the Egyptians were in the habit of using for dresses of state Gen 41:42. It was used as the groundwork of the figured curtains of the tabernacle as well as of the embroidered hangings of the tent and the court. See Exo 35:35.
Exo 25:5
Rams’ skins dyed red - Skins tanned and colored like the leather now known as red morocco.
Badgers’ skins - Rather, leather, probably of a sky-blue color, formed from the skins of the תחשׁ tachash (a general name for marine animals), which was well adapted as a protection against the weather.
Shittim wood - The word שׁטים shı̂ṭṭâm is the plural form of שׁטה shı̂ṭâh, which occurs as the name of the growing tree, Isa 41:19. The tree is satisfactorily identified with the Acacia seyal, a gnarled and thorny tree, somewhat like a solitary hawthorn in its habit and manner of growth, but much larger. It flourishes in the driest situations, and is scattered more or less numerously over the Sinaitic Peninsula. It appears to be the only good wood produced in the wilderness. No other kind of wood was employed in the tabernacle or its furniture. In the construction of the temple cedar and fir took its place 1Ki 5:8; 1Ki 6:18; 2Ch 2:8.
Exo 25:6-7
See the notes to Exo. 27; 28; 30,
Exo 25:8
sanctuary - i. e. a hallowed place. This is the most comprehensive of the words that relate to the place dedicated to Yahweh. It included the tabernacle with its furniture, its tent, and its court.
That I may dwell among them - The purpose of the sanctuary is here definitely declared by the Lord Himself. It was to be the constant witness of His presence among His people. Compare the marginal references.
Exo 25:9
According to all that I shew thee - The tabernacle and all that pertained to it were to be in strict accordance with the ideas revealed by the Lord to Moses (compare Exo 25:40; Exo 26:30; Act 7:44; Heb 8:5). The word here translated “pattern” is also used to denote the plans for the temple which were given by David to Solomon 1Ch 28:11-12, 1Ch 28:19; it is elsewhere rendered “form, likeness, similitude,” Deu 4:16-17; Eze 8:3, Eze 8:10.
The tabernacle - The Hebrew word signifies the “dwelling-place.” It here denotes the wooden structure, containing the holy place and the most holy place, with the tent which sheltered it. See Exo 26:1 note.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 14, 16, 17, 18, 23, 25, 29, 30, 31, 33, 37, 38 First-fruits: offerings, of some of the best and choicest…
First-fruits: offerings, of some of the best and choicest of their goods. (Challoner) --- This was the first time such a voluntary offering was made by the Hebrews. (Menochius) --- It is a lesson for Christians to be liberal for God’s service. (Worthington)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain On v1 I. Prerequisites: the materials; the assessments. Exo_25:1-9
I. Prerequisites: the materials; the assessments. Exo_25:1-9
As the real temple of God must consist in believing hearts which offer themselves and build themselves into a temple of the Spirit of God, so the typical sanctuary must be built of voluntary offerings of the people of God: “Every one whose heart maketh him willing.”
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On the assessments for the building (תְּרוּמָה, heave-offering), the blue purple (תְּכֵלֶת), the purple proper, the white cloth (שֵׁשׁ, βύσσος, fine linen), etc., comp. Keil, II., p. 163. There is dispute concerning the Tahash skins (תַּחַשׁ according to some, the seal; according to others, the badger), the shittim wood (probably acacia; see Keil’s note, p. 164), the Shoham stone (beryl, or onyx), the garment for the shoulder (ephod), and the breastplate. The materials were: (1) The metals. Vid. Knob., p. 257. Iron came into use later.4 (2) The materials for cloths. (3) The woven fabrics (brocades, variegated cloths, plain cloths). (4) Skins. (5) Wood. (6) Oil. (7) Spices. (8) Precious stones. These materials were to be made into the sanctuary, Jehovah’s dwelling-place, in which He is to dwell in the midst of His people, and meet with them.—“According to all that I show thee;” not, “have shown thee.” The ideal significance of the pattern is contested by Keil in such a way as really leaves only a meaningless model for a meaningless structure; though afterwards this view is modified, II., p. 165.
II. The Building Itself. Exo_25:10 to Exo_27:19.
1. The Ark. Exo_25:10-22
The Holy of holies in the strictest sense—the essential, principal thing in it. Three items are here to be considered: (1) The Ark; (2) The Mercy-seat; (3) The Cherubim. In other words: the preservation of the law as expressing the divine will in its special demands; the altar in its highest form, viz., the mercy-seat (kapporeth), as a symbol of God’s gracious willingness to accept expiation as such a fulfilment of His general will as covers and removes the demands imposed by the law, or the special will, on account of guilt; finally, the two cherubim as symbols of God’s righteous dominion in the world, proceeding out of God’s gracious will and the law, in order to the maintenance of the justice which is represented by the union of the ark and the cover [the mercy-seat]. The whole is accordingly the place where God reveals Himself in His glory under the conditions according to which the high-priest is to appear before Him. For a description of the ark vid. Keil, II., p. 167.—Why are the tables of the law which are to be put in it called the testimony (so Exo_31:18; Exo_34:29)? Because they are to be a witness of the foundation of the covenant which Jehovah has made with Israel,—the original records, therefore, of the exact phraseology of the covenant. So, too, they might become a witness for Jehovah against Israel.—Why is the lid called כַּפֹּרֶת? Certainly not simply because it covers the ark. But when Keil (p. 168) denies that the religious significance of the term originated with that of covering, on the ground that this older meaning cannot be substantiated, the literal sense of כָּפַר in Gen_6:14 is against him; and when in 1Ch_28:11 the Holy of holies is called בֵּית הַכַּפֹּרֶת, that may indeed not mean “lid-house,” but it does not therefore for that reason mean house of expiation, but house of the kapporeth, of the lid of expiation. The transition, too, from the first meaning to the second is very natural. The covering up of the demands of specific law formulated in commandments, and the covering up of guilt itself are reciprocal notions. The verb כִּפֵּר, when relating to guilt, is construed with the Accus., Psa_78:38; also with עַל, Jer_18:23. The word in relation to persons is construed with לְ, with עַל, and with בְּעַד, all in the general sense of “for.” From the last preposition [“in behalf of”] it clearly follows that the senseless explanation which makes כִּפֵּר denote a covering (concealing) of the sinful person himself from the eyes of Jehovah, an explanation which aims to invalidate the doctrine of the atonement, is entirely untenable. The transaction indicated by כִּפֵּר is performed by the priest both on the part of man and on the part of Jehovah.—Examples of the full construction, Lev_5:18; Lev_4:26.—On the ἱλαστήριον see Commentary on Romans 3.—The symbol of the cherubim was gradually developed out of the passage Gen_3:24; vid. Comm. On Genesis, p. 241. Here there are as yet only two forms, as also in 2Ch_3:13; the full development is found in the symbol of Ezekiel, ch, 1. From Ezekiel we might be led to conjecture that the first two forms were the face of a man and that of a lion; but it is of chief importance to maintain that the central thought is not that of representative forms of animal life, but only of representative mundane forms symbolizing the divine sovereignty as protecting the ark of the covenant; they are forms which come forth out of the substance of the mercy-seat. On these forms see Keil, p. 168, the lexicons, and works on archæology. On the staves see Knobel, who without reason denies that by “testimony” the two tables are meant. These, he says, were already prepared; but the context disproves this. That the images of the cherubim are to be conceived as hollow, does not agree with the representation that they are of beaten work, of one piece with the mercy-seat.—Finally, the tent under the designation אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, “tent of meeting,” means somewhat more than that Jehovah therein has a fixed place of meeting with Moses and Israel, just as מִשְׁכַּך הָעֵדוּת cannot mean tabernacle of attestation, i.e., God’s place of revelation, but tabernacle of the testimony; for Jehovah’s revelation was not confined to this place in Israel.
2. The Table. Exo_25:23-30
The symbol of communion between Jehovah and His people. See Revelation of John. On the two crowns (rims) of the table see Keil. The vessels belonging to the table were plates for the shew-bread, bowls for the incense (Lev_24:7), pitchers to hold the wine, and goblets for the drink-offering.—The “bread of the face,” or shew-bread, is, according to Keil, “symbol of the spiritual food which Israel was to produce,” referring to Joh_6:27, and doubtless also to Hengstenberg. But what spiritual food was Israel, according to Joh_6:27, to produce? A food which the Son of God would give them, the bread which came from heaven. We must also avoid confounding, with Keil, the shew-bread with the bloodless offerings, vid. Leviticus 2. The shew-bread was one of the permanent institutions of the temple, not one of the special offerings of the people. “The table,” says Knobel, “stood in the holy place on the north side (Exo_26:35), while the candlestick belonged on the south side (Exo_25:35), and the altar of incense in the middle (Exo_30:6).” Archæological observations vid. in his Comm, p. 266, especially on the dishes. On the use to which the pitchers and the goblets or bowls were put, Keil and Knobel come to opposite conclusions, the latter with grammatical proofs.5
3. The Golden Candlestick. Exo_25:31-40
First is to be considered the form of the golden candlestick; next, its use; finally, its significance. The candlestick has been often described and pictured (vid. Thenius, Bücher der Könige, Tab. III., 11). Comp. Winer, Reallexicon; Zeller’s Wörterbuch, and the Commentaries. [More especially, Reland, de Spoliis templi Hierosolymitani in arcu Titiano, Tr.]. On the base, which mast necessarily have had feet, stood the candlestick, first as a single thing. It extended upwards in the form of a middle shaft, which had on each side three shafts in one plane, bending around in the form of quarter-circles,—a unit, therefore, branching out into the sacred number, seven.
The general form is easily pictured: a base; a perpendicular central shaft, the trunk, as it were, of the luminous tree; and proceeding out of it at regular distances three branches on either side. The description is made obscure or difficult by the ornaments. The principal feature of the ornamentation is the almond-shaped cup; it is divided into the knob, or apple, and the flower. The main shaft has four such cups; out of the lowest proceeds the shaft itself, as well as the first pair of branches. Out of the second proceeds the second pair of branches; out of the third, the third; its fourth cup is its top. The six branches, or side shafts, have each three cups. The one forms the top; the second may have been in the middle of the curve of the branch; the third seems to have lain against one of the three divisions, or cups, of the main shaft. The seven cups which form the top stand in a horizontal line; the lamps are set up into their flowers. But the explanations of the difficult passage are various.6
But the main shaft is distinguished by having four cups. So the one unit branches into the three, the three into the seven, and the seven into the twenty-two. “The golden candlestick was placed on the south side in the holy place of the tabernacle. For the south is the direction from which the light comes, and is therefore called also דָּרוֹם. The seven lamps of the candlestick were set up every evening at the time of the evening incense offering, and were kept burning until morning” (Knobel). They lighted the whole sanctuary, but cast their light especially northwards towards the altar of incense and the table of shew-bread; for the life of prayer and the communion of salvation are conditioned on the light of revelation, enlightenment. Keil’s explanation of the candlestick is, in our opinion, as mistaken as that of the table: “In the shining lamps, as receivers, bearers of light, Israel is to present itself continually to Jehovah as a people that lets its light shine in the night of this world.” Did the nocturnal darkness of the sanctuary symbolize “the night of this world?” Israel is indeed appointed to bear light, but the light which it is to diffuse is the light of the revelation of Jehovah, and the bearers of the light are primarily the select ones, the prophets of God. Keil himself urges that the oil is a symbol of God’s Spirit, as also the olive-tree described in Zechariah 4, and the seven candlesticks in Rev_1:20. The significance of the sacred numbers, as well as that of the pure gold, is obvious. On the almond flowers, comp. Keil and Knobel. On the appurtenances of the candlestick see Knobel.
Footnotes:
[4][So Knobel says. But the use of iron is ascribed to Tubal-cain (Gen_4:22), and iron instruments are referred to in Num_35:16, to say nothing of the frequent mention of iron in Deuteronomy and Joshua.—Tr.]
[5][Their conclusions are different only as regards the קְשָׁוֹת and מנַקִּיֹּת, Keil making the first mean the bowls from which the wine was poured out as a drink-offering; the second, the pitchers in which the wine stood on the table. Knobel reverses this relation, arguing that מְנַקִּית is derived from נִקָּה, to pour out. With him agree Gesenius and Fürst.—Tr.].
[6][According to some (e.g., Philippson) the line connecting the seven lamps formed a curve, not a straight line. It would seem probable that the ornamental flowers were not crowded together on the central shaft, as Lange conceives, but put at equal intervals from one another. It is also probable that there were three flowers on each branch between the main shaft and the lamp, and that the fourth flower of the main shaft was between its lamp and the upper branch.—Tr.].
H.—The vision or the ideal of the tabernacle. The ordering of the ark and of the house of the covenant; of the living presence of the law and of the dwelling-place of the law-giver
Exodus 25-31
I. Contributions for the Building. Preliminary Condition
1And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, 2Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart 3[whose heart maketh him willing] ye shall take my offering. And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass, 4And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair, 5And rams’ skins dyed red, and badgers’ [seals’] skins, and shittim [acacia] wood, 6Oil for the light, spices for anointing [the anointing] oil, and for sweet [the sweet] incense, 7Onyx stones, and stones to be set in [set, for] the ephod, and in [for] the breast-plate. 8And let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them. 9According to all that I shew thee, after [thee,] the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments [furniture] thereof, even so shall ye make it.
II. The Structure itself. The Place of Worship
1. The Ark
10And they shall make an ark of shittim [acacia] wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof. 11And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown [moulding] of gold round about. 12And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in the four corners [feet] thereof; and two rings shall be in [on] the one side of it, and two rings in [on] the other side of it. 13And thou shalt make staves of shittim 14[acacia] wood, and overlay them with gold. And thou shalt put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, that the ark may be borne with them [to bear the ark with]. 15The staves shall be in the rings of the ark: they shall not be taken from it. 16And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee. 17And thou shalt make a mercy-seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof. 18And thou shalt make two cherubims [cherubim] of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them in [at] the two ends of the mercy-seat. 19And make one cherub on [at] the one end, and the other cherub on [at] the other end: even of [of one piece with] the mercy-seat1 shall ye make the cherubims [cherubim] on [at] the two ends thereof. 20And the cherubims [cherubim] shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy-seat with their wings, and their faces shall look [with their faces] one to another: toward the mercy-seat shall the faces of the cherubims [cherubim] be. 21And thou shalt put the mercy-seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. 22And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy-seat, from between the two cherubims [cherubim] which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.
2. The Table
23Thou shalt also make a table of shittim [acacia] wood: two cubits shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof. 24And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, and make thereto a crown [moulding] of gold round about. 25And thou shalt make unto it a border of an [a] hand breadth round about, and thou shalt make a golden crown [moulding] to the border thereof round about. 26And thou shalt make for it four rings of gold, and put the rings in [on] the four 27corners that are on [belong to] the four feet thereof. Over against [Close by] the border shall the rings be for places of [for] the staves to bear the table. 28And thou shalt make the staves of shittim [acacia] wood, and overlay them with gold, that the table may be borne with them. 29And thou shalt make the dishes [plates] thereof, and spoons [the cups] thereof, and covers [the flagons] thereof, and bowls [the bowls] thereof, to cover [pour out] withal: of pure gold shalt thou make them. 30And thou shalt set upon the table shew-bread before me alway.
3. The Candlestick
31And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers shall be of the same [of beaten work shall be made the candlestick, its base and its shaft: its cups, its knobs, and its flowers shall be of one piece with it].2 32And six branches shall come out [coming out] of the sides of it: three branches of the candlestick out of the one side [one side of it], and three branches of the candlestick 33out of the other side [side of it]: Three bowls [cups] made like unto almonds [almond-blossoms] with a knop and a flower in one branch [in one branch, a knob and a flower]; and three bowls [cups] made like almonds [almond-blossoms] in the other branch, with [branch,] a knop [knob] and a flower: so in 34[for] the six branches that come out of the candlestick. And in the candlestick shall be four bowls [cups] made like unto almonds, with [almond-blossoms,] their 35[its] knops [knobs] and their [its] flowers. And there shall be a knop [knob] under two branches of the same [of one piece with it], and a knop [knob] under two branches of the same [of one piece with it], and a knop [knob] under two branches of the same [of one piece with it], according to [for] the six branches that proceed 36[come] out of the candlestick. Their knops [knobs] and their branches shall be of the same [of one piece with it]: all it [all of it] shall be one beaten work of pure gold. 37And thou shalt make the seven lamps thereof; and they shall light [set up] the lamps thereof, that they may give light over against it. 38And the tongs [snuffers] 39thereof, and the snuff-dishes thereof, shall be of pure gold. Of a talent of pure 40gold shall he make it [shall it be made], with all these vessels [instruments]. And look [see] that thou make them after their pattern, which was shewed thee in the mount.
4. The Dwelling (the Tent)
Exo_26:1. Moreover thou shalt make the tabernacle with ten curtains of [curtains: of] fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with [scarlet, with] cherubims [cherubim] of cunning work [the work of a skilful weaver] shalt thou make them. 2The length of one [each] curtain shall be eight and twenty cubits, and the breadth of one [each] curtain four cubits: and every one of the 3[all the] curtains shall have one measure. The five [Five of the] curtains shall be coupled together one to another; and other [the other] five curtains shall be coupled one to another. 4And thou shalt make loops of blue upon the edge of the one [first] curtain from the selvedge [at the border] in the coupling [the set of curtains]; and likewise shalt thou make in [so shalt thou do with] the uttermost edge of another curtain [the edge of the outmost curtain] in the coupling of the second [in the second set of curtains]. 5Fifty loops shalt thou make in the one curtain, and fifty loops shalt thou make in the edge of the curtain that is in the coupling of the second [in the second set of curtains]; that the loops may take hold one of [the loops shall be opposite one to] another. 6And thou shalt make fifty taches [clasps] of gold, and couple the curtains together [one to another] with the taches [clasps]; and it shall be one tabernacle [the tabernacle shall be one]. 7And thou shalt make curtains of goat’s hair to be a [for a] covering [tent] upon [over] the tabernacle: eleven curtains shalt thou make. 8The length of one [each] curtain shall be thirty cubits, and the breadth of one [each] curtain four cubits: and [cubits:] the eleven curtains shall be all of [shall have] one measure. 9And thou shalt couple five curtains by themselves and six curtains by themselves, and shalt double [fold together] the sixth curtain in the forefront [front] of the tabernacle [tent]. 10And thou shalt make fifty loops on the edge of the one curtain that is outmost in the coupling [first set of curtains], and fifty loops in the edge of the curtain which coupleth the second 11[is the second set]. And thou shalt make fifty taches [clasps] of brass, and put the taches [clasps] into the loops, and couple the tent together, that it may [and it shall] be one. 12And the remnant [excess] that remaineth of the curtains of the tent, the half curtain that remaineth, shall hang over the back-side [back] of the 13tabernacle. And a [the] cubit on the one side, and a [the] cubit on the other side of that which remaineth in the length of the curtains of the tent, it [tent,] shall hang over the sides of the tabernacle on this side and on that side, to cover it. 14And thou shalt make a covering for the tent of rams’ skins dyed red, and a covering above of badgers’ skins [of seal-skins above]. 15And thou shalt make boards 16[the boards] for the tabernacle of shittim [acacia] wood standing up. Ten cubits shall be the length of a board, and a cubit and a half shall be the breadth of one 17[each] board. Two tenons shall there be in one [each] board, set in order one against [equally distant from one] another: thus shalt thou make for [do unto] all the boards of the tabernacle. 18And thou shalt make the boards for the tabernacle, twenty boards on [for] the south side southward. 19And thou shalt make forty sockets of silver under the twenty boards; two sockets under one board for his [its] two tenons, and two sockets under another board for his [its] two tenons. 20And for the second side of the tabernacle on [for] the north side there shall be twenty boards: 21And their forty sockets of silver; two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board. 22And for the sides [rear] of the tabernacle westward thou shalt make six boards. 23And two boards shalt thou make for the corners of the tabernacle in the two sides [in the rear]. 24And they shall be coupled together [be double] beneath, and they shall be coupled together3 above the head of it unto one ring [and together they shall be whole up to the top of it, unto the first ring]: 25thus shall it be for them both; they shall be for the two corners. And they [there] shall be eight boards, and their sockets of silver, sixteen sockets; two sockets under one board and two sockets under another board. 26And thou shalt make bars of shittim [acacia] wood; five for the boards of the one side of the tabernacle, 27And 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 [the rear] westward. 28And the middle bar in the midst [middle] of the boards shall reach [pass through] from end to end. 29And thou shalt overlay the boards with gold, and make their rings of gold for places for the bars: 30and thou shalt overlay the bars with gold. And thou shalt rear [set] up the tabernacle according to the fashion thereof which was [hath been] shewed thee in the mount.
5. The Veil
31And thou shalt make a veil of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubims [linen: with cherubim, the work of a skilful workman] shall it be made. 32And thou shalt hang it upon four pillars of shittim [acacia] wood overlaid with gold: their hooks shall be of gold, upon four sockets of silExo Exo_25:33 And thou shalt hang up the veil under the taches [clasps], that thou mayest bring [and shalt bring] in thither within the veil the ark of the testimony: and the veil shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy [the holy of holies]. 34And thou shalt put the mercy-seat upon the ark of the testimony in the most holy place [holy of holies]. 35And thou shalt set the table without the veil, and the candlestick over against the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the south: and thou shalt put the table on the north side. 36And thou shalt make an hanging [a screen] for the door of the tent, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needle-work 37[the work of the embroiderer]. And thou shalt make for the hanging [screen] five pillars of shittim [acacia] wood, and overlay them with gold; and their hooks shall be of gold: and thou shalt cast five sockets of brass for them.
6. The Altar of Burnt-offering
Chap. Exo_27:1 And thou shalt make an [the] altar of shittim [acacia] wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be four-square: and the height thereof shall be three cubits. 2And thou shalt make the horns of it upon the four corners thereof: his [its] horns shall be of the same [of one piece with it]: 3and thou shalt overlay it with brass. And thou shalt make his [its] pans [pots] to receive his [to take away its] ashes, and his [its] shovels, and his [its] basins, and his [its] fleshhooks, and his [its] firepans: all the vessels thereof thou shalt make of brass [copper]. 4And thou shalt make for it a grate [grating] of network of brass [copper]; and upon the net shalt thou make four brazen [copper] rings in 5[on] the four corners thereof. And thou shalt put it under the compass of the altar beneath [below, under the ledge of the altar], that the net may be even to the midst [and the net shall reach up to the middle] of the altar. 6And thou shalt make staves for the altar, staves of shittim [acacia] wood, and overlay them with brass [copper]. 7And the staves [staves thereof] shall be put into the rings, and the staves shall be upon the two sides of the altar, to bear it [in bearing it]. 8Hollow with boards shalt thou make it: as it was [hath been] shewed thee in the mount; so shall they make it.
7. The Court
9And thou shalt make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward there shall be hangings for the court of fine-twined linen of an hundred [linen a hundred] cubits long for one side: 10And the twenty pillars thereof and their twenty sockets shall be of brass [copper]; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets [rods] shall be of silExo Exo_25:11 And likewise for the north side in length there shall be hangings of an hundred [hangings a hundred] cubits long, and his [its] twenty pillars and their twenty sockets of brass 12[copper]; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets [rods] of silver. And for the breadth of the court on the west side shall be hangings of fifty cubits [hangings fiftycubits long]: their pillars ten, and their sockets ten. 13And the breadth of the court on the east side eastward shall be fifty cubits. 14The hangings of one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits [Fifteen cubits of hangings shall be on one side of the gate]: their pillars three, and their sockets three. 15And on the other side shall be hangings fifteen cubits [fifteen cubits of hangings]: their pillars three, and their sockets three. 16And for the gate of the court shall be an hanging [a screen] of twenty cubits, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine-twined linen, wrought with needle-work [linen, embroidered work]: and their pillars shall be four, and their sockets four. 17All the pillars round about the court [of the court round about] shall be filleted with silver [joined with rods of silver]; their hooks shall be of silver, and their sockets of brass [copper]. 18The length of the court shall be an [a] hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty everywhere, and the height five cubits, of fine-twined linen, and their sockets of brass [copper]. 19All the vessels [furniture] of the tabernacle in all the service thereof, and all the pins thereof, and all the pins of the court shall be of brass [copper].
III. The Persons and Things occupying the Building. The Ritual Worship
1. The Oil for the Lamp
20And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten [beaten olive oil] for the light, to cause the [a] lamp to burn always [continually]. 21In the tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting] without the veil, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order [trim] it from evening to morning before Jehovah: it shall be a statute forever unto [throughout] their generations on the behalf of [on the part of] the children of Israel.
2. The Clothing of the Priest and of his Sacerdotal Assistants
Exo_28:1 And take thou [bring thou near] unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office [that he may be a priest unto me], even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons. 2And thou shalt make holy [sacred] garments for Aaron thy brother for glory [honor] and for beauty. 3And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise-hearted [all the skilful-hearted], whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom [skill], that they may make Aaron’s garments to consecrate [sanctify] him, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office [that Hebrews 4 may be a priest unto me]. And these are the garments which they shall make: a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered [checkered] coat, a mitre [turban], and a girdle: and they shall make holy [sacred] garments for Aaron thy brother, and [and for] his sons, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office 5[that he may be a priest unto me]. And they shall take gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen. 6And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, and of purple, of scarlet, and fine-twined linen, with cunning work [linen, the work of askilful weaver]. 7It shall have the two shoulder-pieces thereof joined at [have two shoulder-pieces joined to] the two edges thereof: and so it [and it] shall be joined together. 8And the curious girdle of the ephod [the embroidered belt for girding it], which is upon it, shall be of the same [same piece], according to the work thereof; even of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine-twined linen. 9And thou shalt take two onyx stones and grave [engrave] on them the names of the children of Israel: 10Six of their names on one stone, and the other six names of the rest [and thenames of the six remaining ones] on the other stone, according to their birth. 11With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, shalt thou engrave the two stones with [according to] the names of the children of Israel: thou shalt make them to be set [inclosed] in ouches [settings] of gold. 12And thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulders [shoulder-pieces] of the ephod for stones of memorial unto [as memorial stones for] the children of Israel: and Aaron shall bear their names before Jehovah upon his two shoulders for a memorial. 13And thou shalt make ouches [settings] of gold; 14And two chains of pure gold at the ends; of wreathen work shalt thou make them [pure gold; like cords shalt thou make them, of wreathen work]: and fasten [and thou shalt put] the wreathen chains to the ouches 15[on the settings]. And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment, with cunning work [the work of a skilful weaver]; after [like] the work of the ephod thou shalt make it; of gold, of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine twined linen, shalt 16 thou make it. Four square it shall be being doubled [It shall be square and double]; a span shall be the length thereof, and a span shall be the breadth thereof. 17And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones: the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be [stones: a row of sardius, topaz, and emerald shall be] the first row. 18And the second row shall be an emerald, [carbuncle], a sapphire, and a diamond. 19And the third row a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst. 20And the fourth row a beryl [chrysolite], and an onyx, and a jasper: they shall set in gold in their inclosings. 21And the stones shall be with [according to] the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like [names: like] the engravings of a signet; every [signet, every] one with [accordingto] his name shall they be according to [be for] the twelve tribes. 22And thou shalt make upon the breast-plate chains at the ends [like cords] of wreathen work of pure gold. 23And thou shalt make upon the breast-plate two rings of gold, and shalt put the two rings on the two ends of the breast-plate. 24And thou shalt put the two wreathen 25chains of gold in [on] the two rings which are on the ends of the breast-plate. And the other two ends of the two wreathen chains thou shalt fasten in the two ouches [put on the two settings], and put them on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod before it [onthe front of it]. 26And thou shalt make two rings of gold, and thou shalt put them upon the two ends of the breast-plate, in [on] the border thereof which is in [toward] 27the side of the ephod inward. And two other rings of gold thou shalt make, and shalt put them on the two sides [shoulder-pieces] of the ephod underneath, toward [on] the fore-part thereof, over against [close by] the other coupling [the coupling] thereof, above the curious girdle of the ephod [the embroidered belt of theephod]. 28And they shall bind the breast-plate by the rings thereof unto the rings of the ephod with a lace [cord] of blue, that it may be above the curious girdle [the embroidered belt] of the ephod, and that the breast-plate be not loosed from the ephod. 29And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breast-plate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place, for a memorial before Jehovah continually. 30And thou shalt put in the breast-plate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron’s heart, when he goeth in before Jehovah: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before Jehovah continually. 31And thou shalt make the robe of the ephod all of blue. 32And there shall be an hole in the top of it, in the midst thereof [And its opening for the head shall be in the middle of it]: it shall have a binding of woven work round about the hole of it [its opening], as it were the hole 33of an habergeon [like the opening of a coat of mail], that it be not rent. And beneath upon [And upon] the hem of it [its skirts] thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the hem [skirts] thereof; and bells of gold between them round about: 34A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem [skirts] of the robe round about. 35And it shall be upon Aaron to minister [for ministering]: and his sound [the sound thereof] shall be heard when he goeth in unto [goeth into] the holy place before Jehovah, and when he cometh out, that he die not. 36And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave [engrave] upon it, like the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO JEHOVAH. 37And thou shalt put it on a blue lace [cord], that it may be [and it shall be] upon the mitre [turban]; upon the forefront [front] of the mitre 38[turban] it shall be. And it shall be upon Aaron’s forehead, that Aaron may [and Aaron shall] bear the iniquity of the holy [sacred] things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy [sacred] gifts; and it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before Jehovah. 39And thou shalt embroider [weave] the coat of fine linen, and thou shalt make the mitre [turban] of fine linen, and thou shalt make the [a] girdle of needle-work [embroidered work]. 40And for Aaron’s sons thou shalt make coats, and thou shalt make for them girdles, and bonnets [caps] shalt thou make for them, for glory [honor] and for beauty. 41And thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him; and shalt anoint them, and consecrate [ordain] them, and sanctify them, that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office [and they shall be priests unto me]. 42And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their [the flesh of their] nakedness; from the loins even unto [loins unto] the thighs they shall reach: 43And they shall be upon Aaron, and upon his sons, when they come in unto [come into] the tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting], or when they come near unto the altar to minister in the holy place; that they bear not iniquity, and die: it shall be a statute for ever unto him and his [and unto his] seed after him.
3. The Consecration of the Priests
Exo_29:1 And this is the thing that thou shalt do unto them to hallow them, to minister unto me in the priests’ office [to be priests unto me]: Take one young bullock, and two rams without blemish, 2and unleavened bread, and cakes unleavened tempered [mingled] with oil, and wafers unleavened anointed with oil: of wheaten flour shalt thou make them. 3And thou shalt put them into one basket, and bring them in the basket, with the bullock and the two rams. 4And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting], and shalt wash them with water. 5And thou shalt take the garments, and put upon Aaron the coat, and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breast-plate, and gird him with the curious girdle [embroidered belt] of the ephod. 6And thou shalt put the mitre [turban] upon his head, and put the holy crown upon the mitre [turban]. 7Then shalt thou [And thou shalt] take the anointing oil, and pour itupon his head, and anoint him. 8And thou shalt bring his sons, and put coats upon them. 9And thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and put the bonnets [bind caps] on them: and the priests’ office [priesthood] shall be theirs for [by] a perpetual statute: 10and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons. And thou shalt cause a bullock to be brought [bring the bullock] before the tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting]: and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the bullock. 11And thou shalt kill the bullock before Jehovah, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting]. 12And thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger, and pour all the blood beside the bottom [at the base] of the altar. 13And thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul that is above [lobe above] the liver, and the two kidneys and the fat that is upon them, and burn themupon the altar. 14But the flesh of the bullock, and his skin, and his dung, shalt thou burn with fire without the camp: it is a sin-offering. 15Thou shalt also take one [the one] ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put [lay] their hands upon the head of the ram. 16And thou shalt slay the ram, and thou shalt take his blood, and sprinkle it round about upon the altar. 17And thou shalt cut the ram in pieces, and wash the inwards of him [his inwards], and his legs, and put them unto his pieces, and unto his head. 18And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it is a burnt-offering unto Jehovah: it is a sweet savor, an offering made by fire [a fire-offering] unto Jehovah. 19And thou shalt take the other ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put [lay] their hands upon the head of the ram. 20Then shalt thou kill the ram, and take of his blood, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and upon the tip of the right ear of his sons, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about. 21And thou shalt take of the blood that is upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon the garments of his sons with him: and he shall be hallowed, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons’ garments with him. 22Also thou shalt take of the ram the fat and the rump [the fat tail], and the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul above [lobe of] the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon upon them, and the right shoulder; for it is a ram of consecration: 23And one loaf of bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer out of the basket of the unleavened bread that is before Jehovah: 24And thou shalt put all [the whole] in the hands of Aaron, and in the hands of his sons; and shalt wave them for a wave-offering before Jehovah. 25And thou shalt receive [take] them of [from] their hands, and burn them upon the altar for a [upon the] burnt-offering, for a sweet savor before Jehovah: it is an offering made by fire [a fire-offering] unto Jehovah. 26And thou shalt take the breast of the ram of Aaron’s consecration [of Aaron’s ram of consecration], and wave it for [as] a wave-offering before Jehovah: and it shall be thy part. 27And thou shalt sanctify the breast of the wave-offering, and the shoulder of the heave-offering, which is waved, and which is heaved up, of the ram of the [of] consecration, even of that which is for Aaron, and of that which is for his sons: 28And it shall be Aaron’s and his sons’ by a statute for ever from the children of Israel; for it is an [a] heave-offering: and it shall be an [a] heave-offering from the children of Israel of the sacrifice of their [Israel of their] peace-offerings,even their heave-offering unto Jehovah. 29And the holy garments of Aaron shall be 30his sons’ after him, to be anointed therein, and to be consecrated in them. And that son that is priest in his stead shall put them on seven days [Seven days shall he of his sons who is priest in his stead put them on], when he cometh into the tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting] to minister in the holy place. 31And thou shalt take the ram of the [of] consecration, and seethe [boil] his flesh in the 32[a] holy place. And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation [tentof meeting]. 33And they shall eat those things wherewith the [wherewith] atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them; but a stranger shall not eat thereof, 34because they are holy. And if aught of the flesh of the consecrations [consecration], or of the bread, remain unto [until] the morning, then thou shalt burn the remainder with fire: it shall not be eaten, because it is holy. 35And thus shalt thou do unto Aaron and to his sons, according to all things which [all that] I have commanded thee: seven days shalt thou consecrate them.
4. Consecration and Design of the Altar of Burnt-offering
36And thou shalt offer every day a bullock for a sin-offering for atonement: and thou shalt cleanse the altar, when thou hast made an [by making] atonement for it, and thou shalt anoint it, to sanctify it. 37Seven days thou shalt make an [make] atonement for the altar, and sanctify it; and it shall be an altar most holy: whatsoever 38toucheth the altar shall be holy. Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar: two lambs of the first year [a year old] day by day continually. 39The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer at even: 40And with the one lamb a tenth deal [part] of flour mingled with the fourth part of an [a] hin of beaten oil; and the fourth part of an [a] hin of wine for a drink-offering. 41And the other lamb thou shalt offer at even, and shalt do thereto according to the meat-offering of [shalt offer with it the same meal-offering as in] the morning, and according to the drink-offering thereof [and the same drink-offering], for a sweet savor, an offering made by fire [a fire-offering] unto Jehovah. 42This shall be a continual burnt-offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting] before Jehovah; where I will meet [meet with] you, to speak there unto thee. 43And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle [and it] shall be sanctified by my glory. 44And I will sanctify the tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting], and the altar: I will sanctify also both Aaron and his sons, to minister to me in the priest’s office 45[to be priests unto me]. And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God. 46And they shall know that I am Jehovah their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may [might] dwell among them: I am Jehovah their God.
5. The Altar of Incense
Exo_30:1 And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim 2[acacia] wood shalt thou make it. A cubit shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof; four-square shall it be: and two cubits shall be the height thereof: the horns thereof shall be of the same [of one piece with it]. 3And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, the top thereof, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns thereof; and thou shalt make unto [for] it a crown of gold round about. 4And two golden rings shalt thou make to [for] it under the crown of it, by the two corners [upon the two flanks] thereof, upon the two sides of it shalt thou make it; and they shall be for places for the staves to bear it withal [with]. 5And thou shalt make the staves of shittim [acacia] wood, and overlay them with gold. 6And thou shalt put it before the veil that is by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy-seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee. 7And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth [trimmeth] the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it. 8And when Aaron lighteth [setteth up] the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it [burn it], a perpetual incense before Jehovah throughout your generations. 9Ye shall offer no strange incense thereon, nor burnt-sacrifice [burnt-offering], nor meat-offering [meal-offering]; neither shall ye pour [and ye shall pour no] drink-offering thereon. 10And Aaron shall make an [make] atonement upon [for] the horns of it once in a [the] year with the blood of the sin-offering of atonements: once in the year shall he make atonement upon [for] it throughout your generations: it is most holy unto Jehovah.
6. The Contributions for the Sanctuary (Poll-tax)
11And Jehovah spake unto Moses saying, 12When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel after [according to] their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto Jehovah, when thou numberest them; that there be [maybe] no plague among them, when thou numberest them. 13This they shall give, every one that passeth among [over unto] them that are numbered, half a shekel after [according to] the shekel of the sanctuary: (a shekel is twenty gerahs): an [a] half shekel shall be the offering of [unto] Jehovah. 14Every one that passeth among [over unto] them that are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering unto Jehovah [Jehovah’s offering]. 15The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a [the half] shekel, when they give an offering unto Jehovah [give Jehovah’s offering], to make an [make] atonement for your souls. 16And thou shalt take the atonement money of [from] the children of Israel, and shalt appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting]; that it may be [and it shall be] a memorial unto [for] the children of Israel before Jehovah, to make an [make] atonement for your souls.
7. The Laver
17And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, 18Thou shalt also make a laver of brass [copper], and his foot also of brass [its base of copper], to wash withal [in]: and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting] and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein. 19For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat [from it]: 20When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting], they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire [afire-offering] unto Jehovah: 21So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not: and it shall be a statute for ever to them, even to him and to his seed throughout their generations.
8. The holy Anointing Oil
22Moreover Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, 23Take thou also unto thee principal spices [the chief spices], of pure [flowing] myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and fifty shekels, and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty shekels, 24And of cassia five hundred shekels, after [accordingto] the shekel of the sanctuary, and of oil olive an [olive oil a] hin: 25And thou shalt make it an oil of holy ointment [a holy anointing oil], an ointment compound [compounded] after the art of the apothecary [a perfumed ointment, the work of theperfumer]: it shall be an [a] holy anointing oil. 26And thou shalt anoint the tabernacle of the congregation therewith [therewith the tent of meeting], and the ark of the testimony, 27And the table and all his vessels [its furniture], and the candlestick and his vessels [its furniture] and the altar of incense, 28And the altar of burnt-offering with all his vessels [its furniture], and the laver and his foot [its base]. 29And thou shalt sanctify them, that they may be most holy: whatsoever [whosoever] toucheth them shall be holy. 30And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office [to be priests unto me]. 31And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, This shall be an [a] holy anointing oil unto me throughout your generations. 32Upon man’s flesh shall it not be poured, neither shall ye make any other like it, after the composition of it [and ye shall make none like it with its33proportions]: it is holy, and it shall be holy unto you. Whosoever compoundeth any like it, or whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger, shall even [he shall] be cut off from his people.
9. The Incense
34And Jehovah said unto Moses, Take unto thee sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum; these sweet spices with pure frankincense: of each shall there be a like weight [an equal part]: 35And thou shalt make it a perfume, a confection, after the art of the apothecary, tempered together [make of it an incense, a perfume, thework of the perfumer, salted], pure, and holy: 36And thou shalt beat some of it very small [it fine], and put of it before the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting], where I will meet with thee: it shall be unto you most holy. 37And as for the perfume [And the incense] which thou shalt make, ye shall not make to [for] yourselves according to the composition [with its proportions]: it shall be unto thee holy for [unto] Jehovah. 38Whosoever shall make [make any] like unto that, to smell thereto [thereof], shall even [he shall] be cut off from his people.
IV. The Architects. The Master-workman Bezaleel and his Vocation. Sacred Art
Exo_31:1, And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, 2See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: 3And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner [kinds] of workmanship, 4To devise cunning [skilful] works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass [copper], 5And in cutting of stones, to set them [stones for setting], and in carving of timber, to work in all manner [kinds] of workmanship. 6And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan: and in the hearts of all that are wise-hearted I have put wisdom, that they make all that I have commanded thee: 7The tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting], and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy-seat that is thereupon, and all the furniture of the tabernacle [tent], 8And the table and his [its] furniture, and the pure candlestick with all his [its] furniture, and the altar of incense, 9And the altar of burnt-offering with all his [its] furniture, and the laver and his foot [its base], 10And the cloths [garments] of service, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest’s office [aspriests], 11And the anointing oil, and sweet incense for the holy place: according to all that I have commanded thee shall they do.
V. The Condition of the Vitality of the Ritual. The Sabbath
12And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, 13Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am Jehovah that doth sanctify you. 14Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore [And ye shall keep the sabbath]; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth [profaneth] it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. 15Six days may work be done; but in [on] the seventh is the [a] sabbath of rest, holy to Jehovah: whosoever doeth any work in [on] the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. 16Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations for [as] a perpetual 17covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days Jehovah made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed. 18And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing [speaking] with him upon mount Sinai, two [the two] tables of [of the] testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.
TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL
[Exo_25:19. מִן־הַכַּפֹרֶת, etc. Literally, “From the mercy-seat shall ye make the cherubim.” This is understood by some to mean: “rising up from the mercy-seat.” But the simple מִן hardly conveys that notion; it has, perhaps, somewhat of its original import, “part,” so that the direction is to make the cherubim a part of the mercy-seat, i.e., of one piece with it.—Tr.]
[Exo_25:31. The change proposed in the punctuation is one required by the Masoretic accentuation, as well as by the sense, though adopted by only a few commentators (Knobel, Do Wette, Bunsen). When it is said, “its base and its shaft, etc., shall be made of the same,” the question arises, the same with what? For the several specifications include the whole of the candlestick. The direction thus would be to make all the several parts of the candlestick of the same piece with the candlestick—which is senseless.—Tr.]
[Exo_26:24. The A. V. rendering (favored also by Kalisch, Gesenius, Glaire, De Wette, Fürst, and Canon Cook) assumes תִּמִּים to be a contracted form of תֹּאֲמִים. But it is singular (if this is the case) that both forms should occur in the same verse, and more singular still that there should be the same conjunction of the two forms in the parallel passage Exo_36:29. So long as at the best the obscurity of the description is not relieved by such an assumption, it seems much more reasonable to take תַּמִּים in its natural sense of “perfect,” “whole,” and elucidate the meaning, if possible, on that assumption.—Tr.]
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
The origin of the tabernacle is twice recorded in Exodus: first, (considered from its divine side) as a command of God, or (considered from its human side) as a vision or ideal (the tabernacle which God showed Moses on the mount), 25–31; secondly, as the historical fact of the execution of the building of the work commanded by Jehovah, but interrupted by the history of the golden calf, 35–40.
The tabernacle is not merely a place of worship; but, as being the house of the ark of the covenant or of the tables of the law, and as being the house of the Lord of the covenant who manifests Himself in the Holy of holies, it is first of all the centre of the whole legislation and the residence of the lawgiver Himself, who holds sway between the cherubim over His law, and will not let it become a dead ordinance, but makes sure that from out of the Holy of holies it shall grow into a living power. Hence, therefore, the history of this institution properly stands in Exodus, not in Leviticus. Jehovah has redeemed His people out of the house of bondage, and brought them to His holy house, which is at once palace, temple, and court-house, or public gathering-place—the house in which Jehovah meets with His people.
The tabernacle has been called a nomadic temple. It is indeed the preliminary form of the temple, but itself continued, after the people ceased their wanderings, for a long time to change its location in Israel until Solomon’s temple was built. As the prototype and opposite of garish heathen temples; as the historical model of the Israelitish temple in its three principal historical forms (temples of Solomon, Zerubbabel, and Herod); as the religious model, or outline, the type of Christian places of worship; and as the symbol of the proportions of the kingdom of God, both outwardly and inwardly considered; accordingly, as the fundamental form of every real sanctuary, the tabernacle preserves an imperishable significance—almost more significant in its naked simplicity than with its ornamentation and wealth. When the outward glory of the temple is gone, God will rebuild the tabernacle of David (Amo_9:11-12).
The tabernacle as Moses’ idea, which indeed he owes to divine revelation, characterizes Moses as also a great and original man in Hebrew art. Bezaleel was only the artist or master-workman who carried out the idea, working according to Moses’ plan; and even Michel Angelo, who chiselled the figure of Moses, worked, as architect, according to the theocratic outline which had been introduced into the world through Moses.
Of the numerous treatises on this sanctuary comp. besides Bähr (Symbolik des mosaischen Kultus I. p. 53 sqq.) and Keil (Bibl. Archäologie 1, § 17 sqq.), especially Leyrer in Herzog’s Real-Encyklopädie, Art. Stiftshütte, which gives a condensed view of all the opinions and conjectures which have been propounded respecting its structure and significance. The latest monograms are: Wilh. Neumann, Die Stiftshütte in Bild und Wort gezeichnet, Gotha, 1861 (rich in fantastic hypotheses derived from the discoveries at Nineveh), and C. J. Riggenbach, Die mosaische Stiftshütte mit drei lithogr. Tafeln. (Basel, 1862–4). Vid. Knobel, Commentary, pp. 249–257. Popper, Der biblische Bericht über die Stiftshütte, etc. (Leipzig, 1862). Wangemann, Die Bedeutung der Stiftshütte. Wissenschaftlicher Vortrag, etc. (Berlin, 1866). Also Winer’s Reallexicon and Zeller’s Biblisches Wörterbuch. [To these may be added, besides Smith’s Bible Dictionary and Kitto’s Cyclopedia, Kurtz, Sacrificial Offerings of the O. T.; Haneberg, Die religiösen Alterthümer der Bibel (Munich, 1869); T. O. Paine, Solomon’s Temple (Boston, H. H. & T. W. Carter, 1870); and E. E. Atwater, History and Significance of the Sacred Tabernacle of the Hebrews (Dodd & Mead, New York, 1875).—Tr.]
I. General view of the ideal plan of the building. Exo_25:1 to Exo_31:11
External Prerequisites. Building Materials. Assessments for the Building. Exo_25:1-9.
a. The Divine Side of the Dwelling
1. The Ark of the Covenant, with the Mercy-seat and the Cherubim, as the chief thing in the whole Building, Exo_25:10-22. Object of it: the continual, living Revelation of God. Exo_25:22. The Holy of Holies.
2. The Table of Shew-bread (of Communion with God, consecrated to God, Exo_25:30), and the Candlestick with its Appurtenances (the Divine Illumination in accordance with the Ideal, Exo_25:40), Exo_25:23-40.
3. The Sanctuary. Divine and Human. The Tent, or the Dwelling itself, Exo_26:1-30. Conformed to the Ideal, Exo_26:30.
4. The Veil to distinguish and divide the Holy of Holies from the Sanctuary, Exo_26:31-37.
b. The Human Side of the Dwelling
1. The Altar of Burnt-offering. Chap. Exo_27:1-8. Conformed to the Ideal, Exo_27:8.
2. The Court, Exo_27:9-19.
c. Functions Connected with the Building
1. Bringing of the holy Oil, and the Preparation of the Candlestick, Exo_27:20-21.
2. Equipment of the Priest, the High priest and his Assistants, Exo_28:1-43. Object of it, Exo_28:35; Exo_28:43.
3. Consecration of the Priests and the Sacrificial Functions of the Priest, Exo_29:1-46. Object, Exo_29:43-46.
4. Altar of Incense, and its Use, Exo_30:1-10.
5. Assessment for the Sanctuary as a Continual Memorial for the People, Exo_30:11-16.
6. The Brazen Laver in the Court for the Priests to wash from, Exo_30:17-21.
7. The Anointing of the Holy Things. The most holy Ointment, Exo_30:22-33.
8. The Most Holy Incense, Exo_30:34-38.
d. The Master-workmen
Exo_31:1-11.
*****Conclusion.—The fundamental condition on which the meeting between Jehovah and His people ideally rests: the Sabbath, Exo_31:12-17. The addition of the Directions concerning the Tabernacle to the completed written Law, Exo_31:18.
II. General view of the actual construction of the building
Foundation: The Sabbath as Prerequisite to the Tabernacle. Exo_35:1-3 (Exo_31:14-17).
1. The Assessments for the Building, and the Preparation of the Material made under the direction of the Master-workmen, Exo_35:4 to Exo_36:7 (Exo_25:1-9; Exo_31:1-11).
2. The Work on the Dwelling, Exo_36:8-38 (Exo_26:1-37).
3. The Ark of the Covenant, the Mercy-seat, and the Cherubim, Exo_37:1-9 (Exo_25:10-22).
4. The Table, with its Appurtenances, Exo_37:10-16 (Exo_25:23-30).
5. The Candlestick, Exo_37:17-24 (Exo_25:31-40).
6. The Altar of Incense, the Incense, and the Anointing Oil, Exo_37:25-29 (Exo_30:1-10; Exo_30:23-38).
7. The Altar of Burnt-offering, Exo_38:1-7 (Exo_27:1-8).
8. The Brazen Laver, and the Court, Exo_38:8-20 (Exo_27:9-19).
9. The Reckoning of the Material used, Exo_38:21-31.
10. The official Garments of the Priests, Exo_39:1-31 (Exo_28:1-43). The Consecration of the Priests, and the Ordinance of the Sacrifices, Exo_29:1-46.
11. The Presentation of the Constituent Parts of the Dwelling, Exo_39:32-43.
12. The Erection of the Dwelling, and the Heavenly Consecration of it by means of the Pillar of Cloud and Fire, the Sign of the Veiled Presence of the Glory of the Lord, chap. 40.
Knobel calls attention “to the exact reckoning in Exo_38:21 sqq. and the extraordinary circumstantiality and diffuseness which is found in no other narrator to the same degree. So extended a repetition does not occur elsewhere in all the Old Testament.” As to the diffuseness, the O. T. everywhere gives details when the sanctuary is concerned, as becomes the symbolical significance of the sanctuary and the religious spirit of the Israelites, vid. 1 Samuel 4-7; 1Ki_5:1 to 1Ki_9:15; 2 Kings 12; 2 Chronicles 2-7; Ezekiel 40-47; the whole of Haggai; Zechariah 3, 4. It is taken for granted that here in every individual feature there is to be recognized the reflection of a religious thought. As to the repetition, however, stress is to be laid on the general consciousness of connection between ideal and real worship, as well as the special consciousness that the real tabernacle was built exactly according to the idea of it. Moreover, the second account is not a mere repetition of the first. In the presentation of the idea, the master-workmen come at the end; in the narrative of the actual erection of the building, at the beginning,—quite in accordance with the relations of real life. In the execution of the work of the tabernacle the sacerdotal garments are described, and even the calculation of the cost of the building—the church account, so to speak. So the denunciation of a severe penalty on the manufacture, for private use, of the holy anointing oil and of the incense, is one of the means used to prevent the profanation of a legally prescribed system of worship. Even the hinderance in the execution of the work prescribed in the mount, occasioned by the golden calf, is not without meaning. How often it is a golden calf which hinders the execution of pure ideal ecclesiastical conceptions! Here, however, is everywhere manifested this feature of revelation, that the idea must become fact, and that the fact must answer to the idea.
We make five general divisions in the things commanded: I. The Prerequisite—the Materials. II. The Precept concerning the Structure itself. III. The Persons and Things occupying the Building. IV. The Architects and their Work. V. The Condition of the Vitality of the Institution—the Sabbath.
Footnotes:
[1][Exo_25:19. מִן־הַכַּפֹרֶת, etc. Literally, “From the mercy-seat shall ye make the cherubim.” This is understood by some to mean: “rising up from the mercy-seat.” But the simple מִן hardly conveys that notion; it has, perhaps, somewhat of its original import, “part,” so that the direction is to make the cherubim a part of the mercy-seat, i.e., of one piece with it.—Tr.]
[2][Exo_25:31. The change proposed in the punctuation is one required by the Masoretic accentuation, as well as by the sense, though adopted by only a few commentators (Knobel, Do Wette, Bunsen). When it is said, “its base and its shaft, etc., shall be made of the same,” the question arises, the same with what? For the several specifications include the whole of the candlestick. The direction thus would be to make all the several parts of the candlestick of the same piece with the candlestick—which is senseless.—Tr.]
[3][Exo_26:24. The A. V. rendering (favored also by Kalisch, Gesenius, Glaire, De Wette, Fürst, and Canon Cook) assumes תִּמִּים to be a contracted form of תֹּאֲמִים. But it is singular (if this is the case) that both forms should occur in the same verse, and more singular still that there should be the same conjunction of the two forms in the parallel passage Exo_36:29. So long as at the best the obscurity of the description is not relieved by such an assumption, it seems much more reasonable to take תַּמִּים in its natural sense of “perfect,” “whole,” and elucidate the meaning, if possible, on that assumption.—Tr.]
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18, 22, 23, 24, 29, 30, 31, 33, 37, 38, 39, 40 bring me an offering of every man that giveth…
bring me an offering of every man that giveth it willingly, &c.--Having declared allegiance to God as their sovereign, they were expected to contribute to His state, as other subjects to their kings; and the "offering" required of them was not to be imposed as a tax, but to come from their own loyal and liberal feelings.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, 18, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38 OFFERINGS FOR THE SANCTUARY, Exo_25:1-9.
OFFERINGS FOR THE SANCTUARY, Exo_25:1-9.
2. Bring me an offering — Hebrews, take for me a terumah. The terumah (תרומה) was thought of as a gift or offering that was lifted up to the honour of God. The word is often translated heave offering, as in the margin. Comp. Exo_29:27-28; Lev_7:14; Lev_7:32; Num_15:19-20; Deu_12:6; Deu_12:11; Deu_12:17. Here it is used in the general sense of offering, or oblation, and what every man contributed toward the sanctuary was to be given willingly with his heart. No compulsory oblations were to be accepted for this new house of Jehovah, but only such as each man’s heart impelled him to bestow. And so in typical form it was indicated that God builds his spiritual house of willing souls. Comp. Rom_12:1; 1Pe_2:5. How willingly the people responded is seen in Exo_35:21-29; Exo_36:5-7.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, 37, 38, 39, 40 1–9. Contribution of materials for a sanctuary (cf. Exo_35:20-29).…
1–9. Contribution of materials for a sanctuary (cf. Exo_35:20-29). All liberally-minded Israelites are invited to contribute the materials necessary for the construction and equipment of a sanctuary—its fabric, its sacred vessels, and (ch. 28) the vestments of its priests. The materials are to include metals, textile fabrics, skins, wood, oil, spices, and precious stones. The sanctuary, when completed, is to form an abode in which Jehovah may dwell in the midst of His people (v. 8).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31, 33, 34, 37, 38, 39, 40 (2) Speak unto the children of Israel that they…
XXV.
THE GIFTS WHICH MIGHT BE GIVEN FOR THE TABERNACLE AND THE PRIESTS’ DRESSES.
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(2) Speak unto the children of Israel that they bring me an offering.—God, being about to command the construction of a dwelling for Himself, such as the circumstances of the case allowed, prefaced His directions concerning its materials and form by instructing Moses to invite the people to contribute from their stores, as an offering to Himself, the various substances which were suitable for the dwelling and its appurtenances. The erection of sanctuaries is one of the fittest occasions for man to shew his gratitude to God by giving to Him of His own, largely and liberally.
Of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart.—Heb., of every man whose heart impels him. Unless gifts come from the heart, they are an offence to God. He “loveth a cheerful giver.” When the time came, a noble and liberal spirit was not wanting. (See Exo_35:21-29; Exo_36:3-7.)
My offering.—Literally, my heave-offering. But the word seems to be intended in a generic sense.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. H. Mackintosh 1880 · Public Domain On v1 Exodus 25
Exodus 25
This chapter forms the commencement of one of the richest veins in Inspiration’s exhaustless mine - a vein in which every stroke of the mattock brings to light untold wealth. We know the mattock with which alone we can work in such a mine, namely, the distinct ministry of the Holy Ghost. Nature can do nothing here. Reason is blind - imagination utterly vain - the most gigantic intellect, instead of being able to interpret the sacred symbols, appears like a bat in the sunshine, blindly dashing itself against the objects which it is utterly unable to discern. We must compel reason and imagination to stand without, while, with a chastened heart, a single eye, and a spiritual mind, we enter the hallowed precincts and gaze upon the deeply significant furniture. God the Holy Ghost is the only One who can conduct us through the courts of the Lord’s house, and expound to our souls the true meaning of all that there meets our view. To attempt the exposition, by the aid of intellect’s unsanctified powers, would be infinitely more absurd than to set about the repairs of a watch with a blacksmith’s tongs and hammer. "The patterns of things in the heavens" cannot be interpreted by the natural mind, in its most cultivated form. They must all be read in the light of heaven. Earth has no light which could at all develop their beauties. The One who furnished the patterns can alone explain what the patterns mean. The One who furnished the beauteous symbols can alone interpret them.
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To the human eye there would seem to be a desultoriness in the mode in which the Holy Ghost has presented the furniture of the tabernacle; but, in reality, as might be expected, there is the most perfect order, the most remarkable precision, the most studious accuracy. From Ex. 25 to Ex. 30, inclusive, we have a distinct section of the Book of Exodus. This section is divided into two parts, the first terminating at Ex. 27: 19, and the second as the close of Ex. 30. The former begins with the ark of the covenant, inside the veil, and ends with the brazen altar and the court in which that altar stood. That is, it gives us, in the first place, Jehovah’s throne of judgement, whereon He sat as Lord of all the earth; and it conducts us to that place where He met the sinner, in the credit and virtue of accomplished atonement. Then, in the latter, We have the mode of man’s approach to God - the privileges, dignities, and responsibilities of those who, as priests, were permitted to draw nigh to the Divine Presence and enjoy worship and communion there. Thus the arrangement is perfect and beautiful. How could it be otherwise, seeing that it is divine? The ark and the brazen altar present, as it were, two extremes. The former was the throne of God established in "justice and judgement." (Ps. 89: 19) The latter was the place of approach for the sinner where "mercy and truth" went before Jehovah’s face. Man, in himself, dared not to approach the ark to meet God, for "the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest." (Heb. 9: 8) But God could approach the altar of brass, to meet man as a sinner. "Justice and judgement" could not admit the sinner in; but "mercy and truth" could bring God out; not, indeed, in that overwhelming brightness and majesty in which He was wont to shine forth from between those mystic supporters of His throne - "the cherubim of glory" - but in that gracious ministry which is symbolically presented to us in the furniture and ordinances of the tabernacle.
All this may well remind us of the path trodden by that blessed One, who is the antitype of all these types - the substance of all these shadows. He travelled from the eternal throne of God in heaven, down to the depths of Calvary’s cross. He came from all the glory of the former down into all the shame of the latter, in order that He might conduct His redeemed, forgiven, and accepted people back with Himself, and present them faultless before that very throne which He had left on their account. The Lord Jesus fills up, in His own person and work, every point between the throne of God and the dust of death, and every point between the dust of death and the throne of God. In Him God has come down, in perfect grace, to the sinner; in Him the sinner is brought up, in perfect righteousness, to God. All the way, from the ark to the brazen altar, was marked with the footprints of love; and all the way from the brazen altar to the ark of God was sprinkled with the blood of atonement; end as the ransomed worshipper passes along that wondrous path, he beholds the name of Jesus stamped on all that meets his view. May that name be dearer to our hearts! Let us now proceed to examine the chapters consecutively.
It is most interesting to note here, that the first thing which the Lord communicated to Moses is His gracious purpose to have a sanctuary or holy dwelling place in the midst of His people - a sanctuary composed of materials, which directly point to Christ, His Person, His work, and the precious fruit of that work, as seen in the light, the power, and the varied graces of the Holy Ghost. Moreover, these materials were the fragrant fruit of the grace of God - the voluntary offerings of devoted hearts. Jehovah, whose majesty, " the heaven of heavens could not contain," was graciously pleased to dwell in a boarded and curtained tent, erected for Him by those who cherished the fond desire to hail His presence amongst them. This tabernacle may be viewed in two ways: first, as furnishing "a pattern of things in the heavens;" and, secondly, as presenting a deeply significant type of the body of Christ. The various materials of which the tabernacle was composed will come before us, as we pass along; we shall, therefore, consider the three comprehensive subjects put before us in this chapter, namely, the ark; the table; and the candlestick.
The ark of the covenant occupies the leading place in the divine communications to Moses. Its position, too, in the tabernacle was most marked. Shut in within the veil, in the holiest of all, it formed the base of Jehovah’s throne. Its very name conveys to the mind its import. An ark, so far as the word instructs us, is designed to preserve intact whatever is put therein. An ark carried Noah and his family, together with all the orders of creation, in safety over the billows of judgement which covered the earth. An ark, at the opening of this book, was faith’s vessel for preserving "a proper child" from the waters of death. When, therefore, we read of "the ark of the covenant," we are led to believe that it was designed of God to preserve His covenant unbroken, in the midst of an erring people. In it, as we know, the second set of tables were deposited. As to the first set, they were broken in pieces, beneath the mount, showing that man’s covenant was wholly abolished - that his work could never, by any possibility, form the basis of Jehovah’s throne of government. "Justice and judgement are the habitation of that throne," whether in its earthly or heavenly aspect. The ark could not contain within its hallowed enclosure, broken tables. Man might fail to fulfil his self-chosen vow; but God’s law must be preserved in its divine integrity and perfectness. If God was to set up His throne in the midst of His people, He could only do so in a way worthy of Himself. His standard of judgement and government must be perfect.
"And thou shalt make staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold. and thou shalt put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, that the ark may be borne with them." The ark of the covenant was to accompany the people in all their wanderings. It never rested while they were a travelling or a conflicting host. It moved from place to place in the wilderness. It went before them into the midst of Jordan; it was their grand rallying Point in all the wars of Canaan; it was the sure and certain earnest of power wherever it went. No power of the enemy could stand before that which was the well-known expression of the divine presence and power. The ark was to be Israel’s companion in travel, in the desert; and "the staves" and "the rings" were the apt expression of its travelling character.
However, it was not always to be a traveller. "The afflictions of David," as well as the wars of Israel, were to have an end. The prayer was yet to be breathed and answered, "Arise, O Lord, into thy rest: thou and the Ark of thy strength." (Ps. 132: 8) This most sublime petition had its partial accomplishment in the palmy days of Solomon, when "the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord unto his place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims. For the cherubims spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark, and the staves thereof above. And they drew out the staves, that the ends of the staves were seen out in the holy place before the oracle, and they were not seen without: and there they are unto this day." (1 Kings 8:6-8) The sand of the desert was to be exchanged for the golden floor of the temple. (1 Kings 6: 30) The wanderings of the ark were to have an end; there was "neither enemy nor evil occurrent," and therefore, "the staves were drawn out."
Nor was this the only difference between the ark in the tabernacle and in the temple. The apostle, speaking of the ark in its wilderness habitation, describes it as "the ark of the covenant, overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant." (Heb. 9: 4) Such were the contents of the ark in its wilderness journeyings - the pot of manna, the record of Jehovah’s faithfulness, in providing for His redeemed in the desert, and Aaron’s rod, "a token against the rebels," to "take away their murmurings.’’ (Compare Ex. 16: 32-39; and Num. 17: 10) But when the moment arrived in which "the staves" were to be "drawn out," when the wanderings and wars of Israel were over, the "exceeding magnifical" house was completed, when the sun of Israel’s glory had reached, in type, its meridian, as marked by the wealth and splendour of Solomon’s reign, then the records of wilderness need and wilderness failure were unnoticed, and nothing remained save that which constituted the eternal foundation of the throne of the God of Israel, and of all the earth. "There was nothing in the ark, save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb." (1 Kings 8: 9)
But all this brightness was soon to be overcast by the heavy clouds of human failure and divine displeasure. The rude foot of the uncircumcised was yet to walk across the ruins of that beautiful house, and as faded light and departed glory were yet to elicit the contemptuous "hiss" of the stranger. This would not be the place to follow out these things in detail; I shall only refer my reader to the last notice which the Word of God affords us of "the ark of the covenant," - a notice which carries us forward to a time when human folly and sin shall no more disturb the resting-place of that ark, and when neither a curtained tent, nor yet a temple made with hands, shall contain it. "And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ: and he shall reign for ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, saying, We give thee thanks, 0 Lord God almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou has taken to thee thy great power and hast reigned. And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldst destroy them which destroy the earth. And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of His covenant: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail." (Rev. 11: 15-19)
The mercy-seat comes next in order. "And thou shalt make a mercy-seat of pure gold; two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof. And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy-seat. And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end; even of the mercy-seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof. And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy-seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy-seat shall the faces of the cherubims be. And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark shalt thou put the testimony that I shall give thee. And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy-seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel."
Here Jehovah gives utterance to His gracious intention of coming down from the fiery mount to take His place upon the mercy seat. This He could do, inasmuch as the tables of testimony were preserved unbroken beneath, and the symbols of his power, whether in creation or providence, rose on the right hand and on the left - the inseparable adjuncts of that throne on which Jehovah had seated himself - a throne of grace founded upon divine righteousness and supported by justice and judgement. Here the glory of the God of Israel shone forth. From hence He issued His commands, softened and sweetened by the gracious source from whence they emanated, and the medium through which they came - like the beams of the mid-day sun, passing through a cloud, we can enjoy their genial and enlivening influence without being dazzled by their brightness. "His commandments are not grievous," when received from off the mercy-seat, because they come in connection with grace, which gives the ears to hear and the power to obey.
Looking at the ark and mercy-seat together, we may see in them a striking figure of Christ, in His Person and work. He having, in His life, magnified the law and made it honourable, became, through death, a propitiation or mercy-seat. for every one that believeth. God’s mercy could only repose on a pedestal of perfect righteousness. "Grace reigns through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord." (Rom. 5: 21) The only proper meeting place between God and man is the point where grace and righteousness meet and perfectly harmonise. Nothing but perfect righteousness could suit God; and nothing but perfect grace could suit the sinner. But where could these attributes meet in one point? Only in the cross. There it is that "mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other." (Ps. 85: 10) Thus it is that the soul of the believing sinner finds peace. He sees that God’s righteousness and his justification rest upon precisely the same basis, namely, Christ’s accomplished work. When man, under the powerful action of the truth of God, takes his place as a sinner, God can, in the exercise of Grace, take His place as a Saviour, and then every question is settled, for the cross having answered all the claims of divine justice, mercy’s copious streams can flow unhindered. When a righteous God and a ruined sinner meet, on a blood-sprinkled platform, all is settled for ever - settled in such a way as perfectly glorifies God, and eternally saves the sinner. God must be true, though every man he proved a liar; and when man is so thoroughly brought down to the lowest point of his own moral condition before God as to be willing to take the place which God’s truth assigns him, he then learns that God has revealed Himself as the righteous Justifier of such an one. This must give settled peace to the conscience; and not only so, but impart a capacity to commune with God, and hearken to His holy precepts in the intelligence of that relationship into which divine grace has introduced us.
Hence, therefore, "the holiest of all" unfolds a truly wondrous scene. The ark, the mercy seat, the cherubim, the glory! What a sight for the high-priest of Israel to behold as, once a year, he went in within the veil! May the Spirit of God open the eyes of our understandings, that we may understand more fully the deep meaning of those precious types.
Moses is next instructed about "the table of showbread," or bread of presentation. On this table stood the food of the priests of God. For seven days those twelve loaves of "fine flour with frankincense" were presented before the Lord, after which, being replaced by others, they became the food of the priests who fed upon them in the holy place. (See Lev. 24: 5-9) It is needless to say that those twelve loaves typify "the man Christ Jesus." The "fine flour," of which they were composed, mark His perfect manhood, while the "frankincense’’ points out the entire devotion of that manhood to God. If God has His priests ministering in the holy place, He will assuredly have a table for them, and a well-furnished table too. Christ is the table and Christ is the bread thereon. The pure table and the twelve loaves shadow forth Christ, as presented before God unceasingly, in all the excellency of His spotless humanity, and administered as food to the priestly family. The "seven days" set forth the perfection of the divine enjoyment of Christ ; and the "twelve loaves" the administration of that enjoyment in and by man. There is also, I should venture to suggest, the idea, of Christ’s connection with the twelve tribes of Israel, and the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
The candlestick of pure gold comes next in order, for God’s priests need light as well as food: and they have both the one and the other in Christ. In this candlestick there is no mention of anything but pure gold. "All of it shall be one beaten work of pure gold." "The seven lamps" which "gave light over against the candlestick," express the perfection of the light and energy of the Spirit, founded upon and connected with the perfect efficacy of the work of Christ. The work of the Holy Ghost can never be separated from the work of Christ. This is set forth, in a double way, in this beautiful figure of the golden candle stick. "The seven lamps" being connected with "the shaft" of "beaten gold," points us to Christ’s finished work as the sole basis of the manifestation of the Spirit in the Church. The Holy Ghost was not given until Jesus was glorified. (Comp. John 7: 39 with Acts 19: 2-6) In Revelation 3, Christ is presented to the Church of Sardis as "having the seven spirits." It was as "exalted to the right hand of God" that the Lord Jesus "shed forth" the Holy Ghost upon His church, in order that she might shine according to the power and perfection of her position, in the holy place, her proper sphere of being, of action, and of worship.
Then, again, we find it was one of Aaron’s specific functions to light and trim those seven lamps. "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Command the children of Israel that they bring unto thee pure oil olive, beaten for the light, to cause the lamps to burn continually. Without the veil of the testimony, in the tabernacle of the congregation, shall Aaron order it, from the evening unto the morning, before the Lord continually: it shall be a statute for ever in your generations. He shall order the lamps upon the pure candlestick before the Lord continually." (Lev. 24: 1-4) Thus we may see how the work of the Holy Ghost in the Church is linked with Christ’s work on earth and His work in heaven. "The seven lamps" were there, no doubt; hut priestly energy and diligence were needed in order to keep them trimmed and lighted. The priest would continually need "the tongs and snuff-dishes" for the purpose of removing ought that would not be a fit vehicle for the "pure beaten oil." Those tongs and snuff-dishes were of "beaten gold" likewise, for the whole matter was the direct result of divine operation. If the Church shine, it is only by the energy of the Spirit, and that energy is founded upon Christ, who, in pursuance of God’s eternal counsel, became in His sacrifice and Priesthood, the spring and power of everything to His Church. All is of God. Whether we look within that mysterious veil, and behold the ark with its cover, and the two significant figures attached thereto; or if we gaze on that which lay without the veil, the pure table and the pure candlestick, with their distinctive vessels and instruments - all speak to us of God, whether as revealed to us in connection with the Son or the Holy Ghost.
Christian reader, your high calling places you in the very midst of all these precious realities. Your place is not merely amid "the patterns of things in the heavens," but amid "the heavenly things themselves." You have "boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus." You are a Priest unto God. "The showbread" is yours. Your place is at "the pure table," to feed on the priestly food, in the light of the Holy Ghost. Nothing can ever deprive you of those divine privileges. They are yours for ever. Let it be your care to watch against everything that might rob you of the enjoyment of them. Beware of all unhallowed tempers, lusts, feelings, and imaginations. Keep nature down - keep the world out keep Satan off. May the Holy Ghost fill your whole soul with Christ. Then you will be practically holy and abidingly happy. You will bear fruit, and the Father will be glorified, and your joy shall be full.
C. H. Mackintosh, Notes on the Pentateuch — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 27, 29, 30, 31, 38, 39, 40 Vers. 1-7. THE TABERNACLE AND THE GIFTS FOR IT.…
INSTRUCTIONS CONCERNING THE TABERNACLE AND ITS FURNITURE, INCLUDING THE PRIESTLY ATTIRE.
Vers. 1-7. THE TABERNACLE AND THE GIFTS FOR IT. The great principles of the moral law had been given in the Ten Commandments uttered by God amid the thunders of Sinai. The "Book of the Covenant," or short summary of the main laws, civil, political, and social, had been communicated to Moses, and by him reduced to a written form. (Exo_24:4) A solemn league and covenant had been entered into between God and his people, the people undertaking to keep all the words of the Lord, and God to be their Protector, Guide, and King. But no form of worship had been set up. Abstract monotheism had been inculcated; and worship had been so far touched upon that an "altar" had been mentioned, and certain directions, chiefly negative, had been given with respect to it. (Exo_20:24-26) It remained that the abstract monotheism should be enshrined in forms, obtain a local habitation, and be set forth before the eyes, and so fixed in the heart and affections of the people. God was now about to declare to Moses what the character of the habitation should be, its size, form, and materials. But before doing this, as a first and fitting, if not necessary, preliminary, he required of the people to bring of the best of their possessions for the service which he was about to institute, enumerating the substances which he would condescend to receive at their hands, and especially enjoining upon them that all should be offered willingly and from the heart (ver. 2).
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Vers. 1-7. The law of acceptable offerings.
For offerings to be acceptable to God, it is necessary
I THAT THEY BE FREELY OFFERED BY A WILLING HEART. Offerings were to be taken of those "whose heart drove them to it" (compare Tennyson own heart drove him, like a goad"), not of others. There was to be no tax no church rate. The entire tent-temple was (with one unimportant exception) to be the produce of a free offertory. Thus was generosity stirred in the hearts of the people, and emulation excited. They gave so liberally that they had to be "restrained from bringing". (Exo_36:6) This is noble and acceptable service, when no exhortation is required, no persuasion, no "pressing but each man stirs himself up, and resolves to do the utmost that he can, not seeking to obtain the praise of men, but desirous of the approval of God. A like spirit animated those who lived in David"s time; (1Ch_29:6-9) and again those who returned from the Babylonian captivity with Zerubbabel. (Ezr_2:68, Ezr_2:69; Neh_7:70-72)
II THAT THEY BE OF THINGS EXCELLENT IN THEIR KIND, AND THE BEST THAT WE POSSESS OF EACH. All that is rich and rare, all that is lovely and beautiful, all that is expensive and magnificent, is suitable for an offering to God. We must not "give to Into of that which costs us nothing." We must not offer "the blind, and the lame, and the (Mal_1:8) to him. Things excellent in their kind befit his service. Gold and silver, of metals; of fabrics, silk, and velvet, and fine linen; of woods, cedar, and acacia, and olive, and sandal-wood; of stones, ruby and diamond, and emerald; of spices, myrrh, and cinnamon, and cassia, and frankincense. Each, however, can only give what he has. Cedar, and olive, and sandal-wood were unattainable in the desert, and so acacia sufficed; silk and velvet were unknown, wherefore God accepted linen and woollen fabrics, and goat"s hair; rubies and diamonds were uncut, so God was content with emeralds and sapphire, and onyx. The widow"s mite pleases him, as much as the alabaster box of spikenard very precious, or the price of an estate brought and laid at the apostles" feet. If men "have little," he is content when they "give gladly of that little," provided still that they give him of their best. And this is true of other offerings besides material ones. The best of our time should be his the fair promise of youth the strength of manhood not the weakness of decrepitude. The best of our powers should be his our warmest affections, our intensest thoughts, our highest aspirations not the dull tame musings of an exhausted and jaded spirit. Each man should seek to consecrate to God"s service the best that he possesses in intellect, in knowledge, in fortune.
III THAT THEY BE SUCH IN KIND AS HE HAS DECLARED HIS WILLINGNESS TO ACCEPT. There were "unclean animals" which were an abomination if offered to God. There are gifts of intellect, valuable in their way, which are unsuitable for the service of the sanctuary. Many a picture of the highest power, and exhibiting the greatest genius, would be out of place in a church. God points out with sufficient clearness in his holy word, the kinds of gifts with which he is pleased. It will be well for man to "do all things after the pattern showed him in the mount to avoid "willworship and even in his offerings, to follow in the line of precedent, and see that he has a warrant for what he proposes doing in God"s honour.
HOMILIES BY D. YOUNG
Vers. 1-7. The materials for the sanctuary.
I GOD REQUIRED THESE FROM THE PEOPLE. It might have been thought that in order to make this holy habitation, this tent for God travelling along with his people, God himself would have in some way supplied the material. Even as he gave Moses the stones on which the law was written (in the first instance at all events), so he might have made a sanctuary to descend in marvellous manner into the midst of Israel. But it pleased him, who we may be sure always does the wise and fitting thing, to act differently. He required the materials for this sanctuary from the people. They could not provide food for themselves but they could provide such a dwelling-place for Jehovah as he would approve and accept. These people who had required so many interventions of God to deliver and secure them had yet been carrying with them in the midst of all their helplessness the great store of wealth indicated in this passage. It is somewhat perplexing to consider the revelation thus afforded of the Israelite condition. In their hearts these people were sinful, idolatrous, unbelieving, unstable it is humiliating to gaze on the sad exhibition of human nature they present and yet they had managed to surround themselves with these treasures. They were those who had been laying up treasures on earth; and so far these treasures had been of little use; for what will it profit a man to have all this store of gold and silver, and brass and fine linen, and what not, if he lack the daily bread? all the efforts of the people, all their scraping, had ended in the bringing of these things into the wilderness where they seemed of no use. Even gold and silver would not buy bread in the wilderness. But now, behold how God can take this gold and silver and show how to make a profitable and acceptable use of it. When we begin to look regretfully on the results of our natural efforts as if those efforts had been wasted, he comes in to overrule our ignorance and folly. By his consecrating and re-arranging touch, the treasures upon earth can be transmuted into treasures in heaven.
II THE WILLINGNESS THAT MARKED THESE GIFTS. These materials, valuable as they were, yet yielded in respect of worth to an element more valuable still These rare and...beautiful materials, workable into such beautiful forms, could have been gotten without human intervention at all, if that had been the whole of the necessity. As not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed like one of the lilies, so nothing man can make with his utmost art is so beautiful as the handiwork of God. Nor is the question altogether one as to what is beautiful to the outward eye. The value of beautiful forms is a thing only too easily exaggerated. But no one can exaggerate the beauty of a spiritual action, the beauty of a gift where the willingness and devotion of the whole heart are manifest. This tabernacle might be a very inferior structure, when measured by such principles as dictated Grecian art; but this was a thing of no consequence when compared with the higher consideration that its materials were freely brought. There was none of that extortion and slavish toil, such as we read of in connection with some of the huge fabrics of ancient civilisations. What blood and tears, what reckless expenditure of human life, for instance, in the construction of buildings like the pyramids! When we look at the great buildings aqueducts, roads, of ancient times we must not look at the outward appearance only. These Israelites doubtless had helped in the building of splendid structures; but the foundation of these structures was laid in oppression, and therefore on their topstone rested a destroying curse. There was nothing about all the tabernacle more beautiful than the willingness that marked the gift of the materials. There was no specific demand on any particular person. Let everyone consider for himself whether he will give, and how much. A free-will offering of the inferior brass would be of ever so much more value than an extorted one of gold or silver, or precious stones.
III THE MATERIALS OF THE GIFTS. Evidently such things were taken as the people had by them; but of these things the very best were taken. Being already in the possession of the people, and valued by them, they were exactly the things to test the willingness of their disposition. When God asks us to give, he asks us to give of our best. All this gold and silver symbolised what was most precious in the heart within. One is reminded of Paul"s words with respect to the materials that might be laid upon the foundation given in Christ. (1Co_3:12) We must not bring to God just what we do not want ourselves. The value of the gifts constituted a most searching test of willingness, and willingness was the particular quality that needed to be tested at this time. Men willing to give gold and silver, might be reasonably supposed as willing to give anything else within their power. Then there was a test also in the variety of the gifts. The man without gold and silver would not escape the responsibility of considering what he could do in the way of another gift. For the needs of the tabernacle God required a large diversity of materials; and probably there were few in Israel but could do something towards the supply if only they were so disposed. Y.
HOMILIES BY G. A. GOODHART Vers. 1, 2. God loveth a cheerful giver.
A message to the people. Like messages are often sent, but seldom welcomed. Even when God demands an offering, many people grudge to give it; they yield, as to a kind of heavenly highwayman, of necessity if at all. Consider here:
I THE OFFERING REQUIRED.
1. Purpose. Jehovah will give the people a visible sign of his presence in their midst. He will have a home amid their homes, a tent dwelling like in character to their dwellings. More than this he will be their guest. They shall provide for him the sacred tent. If we count it an honour for a town to receive and entertain a member of our royal family, how much greater an honour to be permitted to entertain the head of the royal family of heaven!
2. Materials. All manner of things required (vers. 3-7), so that all can share the privilege of providing them. Some may give a few gold ornaments; even a poor man may yet find some goat"s hair for cloth. Not a member of the nation but can do his part in helping to rear the tabernacle for God. All gifts can be used, so that each may have a share in the work.
3. A precedent for ourselves. God treats us as he treated Israel. He asks our help in building for him a spiritual temple, a dwelling-place in which men are the living stones. Some can give personal effort; some can give money to assist the actual workers; no one so poor but that he can give something. Surely the opportunity of helping God is one which ought not to be undervalued.
II THE CONDITION OF ACCEPTANCE. All may help, but on one condition they must help "willingly," with the "heart." The offering is valued not on its own account, but as a symbol of that which is more valuable. Gifts to God are a kind of human sacrament, which God deigns to receive at the hands of man: they are acceptable as outward and visible signs of an inward and spiritual grace. If the grace be wanting, the gifts are worthless. God is good enough to make needs for himself that his creatures may have the privilege of satisfying them; if they degrade the privilege into a tax, he would rather be without their assistance. How often is this forgotten! We give to God, when asked, for many reasons. It is the proper thing to do, and respectability requires it; or it will get our name into some subscription list; or we may have an uneasy feeling that we ought to give, and to soothe our uneasiness we must do something. "Grudgingly and of necessity" is the epitaph which must be written above such wasted offerings. God cannot accept as gifts offerings which are never truly given. He may use them, for they are his in any case to do as he wills with them; he cannot, however, enter them in his inventory as received from the giver who nominally presents them. Only he who gives with his heart has his name set down in the inventory of God. The two mites of the widow are remembered; the talents of the ostentatious tax-payer are forgotten.
III THE RESPONSE MADE. The people of Israel realised their privileges. They remembered what God had done for them, and were eager to manifest their gratitude. They gave even more than enough. (Exo_36:6, Exo_36:7) Their hearts stirred them up, and their spirits made them willing; (Exo_35:21) so that they even had to be restrained. What an example for us! Church debts, fettered missionary enterprise, ministers of the Gospel converted into persistent yet unsuccessful beggars; what are the Lord"s people doing when such phenomena abound? Do we not need to be reminded of the privilege offered us, which is so fearfully profaned? Do we not need to stir up our hearts, and to take active measures to make our spirits willing? The roused heart loosens the purse-strings; only the willing spirit can offer the willing and generous gift. G.
HOMILIES BY J. URQUHART Vers. 1-9. The rearing of the Lord"s sanctuary.
I FROM WHAT IT IS FORMED.
1. Of material supplied by his redeemed. To them only request anddirection come Let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them." This is still our high calling, to make God a dwelling-place in the earth. Are we obeying? Is God being glorified by us?
2. Of their free-will offerings. There is no constraint; everything is free andspontaneous the loving gifts of children, not the forced labour of slaves.
3. Of their choicest and best, and yet,
4. of things named by God himself. Even here we are not left to impose burdens upon ourselves. God"s word and the Spirit"s voice in the heart will direct us.
II GOD IS THE ARCHITECT OF HIS OWN SANCTUARY. The building and furniture are to be in every particular according to his own plan (ver. 9). We may not bring into God"s worship or service our own devices. The stepping aside from the simplicity of God"s ordinances is disservice. It is contempt of God or open rebellion to his authority. U.
HOMILIES BY J. ORR Vers. 1-10. The command to build a sanctuary.
The covenant being now ratified, everything was prepared for Jehovah taking up his abode with the people. He would dwell among them as their King. In keeping with the genius of the dispensation, commands are given for the erection of a visible sanctuary. It is here called "mikdash, or sanctuary (ver. 8), and "mishkan," or dwelling-place (tabernacle, ver. 9), the latter being the name most commonly applied to it. Considering the purpose which the sanctuary was to serve, and the "plenitude of meaning" designed to be conveyed by its symbolism, it was necessary that the whole should be constructed under immediate Divine direction. A plan of the tabernacle, embracing minute details, was accordingly placed before the mind of Moses on the mount (ver. 9). It was presented in its completeness to his inner eye, before any part of it was set up on earth. The ark of Noah, the tabernacle of Moses, and the temple of Solomon, (cf. 1Ch_28:11, 1Ch_28:12, 1Ch_28:19) are probably the only buildings ever erected from plans furnished by direct revelation. In the building of the spiritual temple the Church God is himself not merely the architect, but the builder; and the beauty and symmetry of the structure will be found in the end to be perfect. (cf. Re 21) Consider
I THE MATERIALS OF THE TABERNACLE. These were ordered to be collected before the work began. They were to be
1. Costly and various representing
(1) every department of nature (mineral, vegetable, animal);
(2) the richest products of each, so far as accessible in the desert (gold, silver, fine linen, dyed skins, precious stones, etc.);
(3) all varieties of human skill. The design was to make a palace for Jehovah: a beautiful and glorious house.
1. Abundant. There was to be no stint in the gifts. Profuse liberality befitted the occasion. Grudging in our gifts to God betrays an unworthy spirit.
2. Free-will offerings (ver. 2). This point is put in the foreground. The people were to bring an offering every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering." Observe in this
(1) The people first offered themselves to God, (Exo_24:7) then their gifts. This is the true order. Compare what is said of the Macedonian believers. (2Co_8:1-6)
(2) The giving of themselves to God was followed by the devotion to his service of the best of their possessions. The consecration of self, as formerly remarked, includes all other consecrations. If we are God"s, then all is God"s that is ours. He has the first claim on everything we have. Our best ought cheerfully to be dedicated to him.
(3) God values only such gifts as come from a willing heart. He loves the cheerful giver. (2Co_9:7) He puts no value on givings which are not cheerful.
(4) Free-will offerings are necessarily various in kind and amount. Not all could give gold, or silver, or precious stones. Some, whose means were small, could probably give only their labour in working up the gifts of the wealthier. Each gave as he was able, and according to the kind of material in his possession. So far, however, as the gifts were offered willingly, they met with God"s acceptance. The giver was accepted in his gift, not according to its absolute amount, but according to his ability, and to the spirit in which he gave. (cf. 2Co_8:12) And all the gifts were needed. The variety which they exhibited was part of their appropriateness. What one could not furnish another could. Many kinds of gifts are required in Christ"s service, and there is none so poor but he can furnish something which others have not at command. The Lord accepts, and will use, all.
(5) God"s dwelling with his people must rest on a voluntary basis. They must wish him to dwell among them, and must prove their wish by voluntarily providing the materials for his sanctuary. A living Church will show its desire for God"s presence, and will evince its gratitude, and its sense of obligation to him, by large and willing gifts in his service. These, indeed, are not conclusive as proofs of genuine spiritual interest; but the absence of them speaks with sufficient plainness of spiritual coldness.
(6) The ideal state in the Church is that in which "ordinances of Divine service" are freely supported by the gifts of the people. This principle found distinct expression, not simply in the freewill offerings for the making of the tabernacle, but in the general arrangements of the Jewish economy. The law prescribed amounts commanded tithes, etc., but the fulfilment of the obligation was left to the individual conscience. It was not enforced by legal means. What was given had to be given freely.
II THE IDEA OF THE TABERNACLE. Some remarks on this subject seem called for before entering on the study of details. A firm grasp of the central idea is essential to a right understanding of the parts. The tabernacle may be considered
(1) Actually, as the literal dwelling-place of Jehovah with his people;
(2) symbolically, as in its different parts and arrangements symbolical of spiritual ideas; and
(3) typically, as prophetic of better things to come. The typical treatment, however, will best be connected with what is to be said under the two former heads.
1. Actually, the tabernacle was the place of Jehovah"s dwelling with his people (ver. 8). This is to be viewed as, on the one side, a privilege of the Church of Israel; but, on the other, as a step towards the realisation of the great end contemplated by God from the first, as the goal of all his gracious dealings with our race, namely, the taking up of his abode among them. God seeks an abode with men. He cannot rest with perfect satisfaction in his love to them till he has obtained this abode. (Psa_132:13, Psa_132:14) He wishes to dwell with them. The history of revelation may be viewed as but a series of steps towards the realisation of this idea. The steps are the following
(1) God dwelling with men in the visible sanctuary of the Jews the tabernacle and temple. This served important ends. It brought God near to men. It enabled them to grasp the reality of his presence. It was, however, but a very imperfect stage in the realisation of the truth. It would not have suited a universal religion. There was, besides, no congruity between the nature of the spiritual Deity and a building "made with hands." It was but an outward, local presence which this visible sanctuary embodied. The union between the dwelling and the Dweller was not inherent or essential; it could at any moment be dissolved. Higher realisations of the idea wore possible.
(2) God dwelling with men in Christ. Christ pointed to himself as the antitype of the temple. (Mat_12:6; Joh_2:19-22) He was Immanuel, God with us. (Mat_1:23) The fulness of the Godhead dwelt in him. (Joh_1:14; Col_1:15 Col_2:9) The temple in this case is not a mere material structure, but a holy, and now perfected, humanity. The union is personal and indissoluble. The revelation of God, through the medium of humanity, cannot rise higher than it has done in Christ. The life of God in the individual and in the Church is but the unfolding of the fulness already contained in him. (Joh_1:16) This unfolding, however, is necessary, that the temple-idea may reach its complete fulfilment. A third stage, accordingly, is
(3) God dwelling in the soul of the believer. Rather, we should say, in the humanity of the believer body, soul, and spirit forming, unitedly, a habitation for God through the Holy Ghost. (1Co_6:19) In this tabernacle, as in the former, there is the innermost shrine the holy of holies of the spirit, the "inner man" in which is deposited the law of the; (Eph_3:16) a holy place the soul or mind, with its lamps of understanding, etc.; and an outer court the body the external side of the being, open and visible to all. The individual, however, taken by himself, is but a fragment. The full idea is realised
(4) in the Church as a whole the whole body of believers, in heaven and on earth, with Christ as Head. This is the true and the living temple. (Eph_2:21, Eph_2:22) Realised in part on earth, and wherever a portion of the Church of Christ exists, the perfection of the manifestation of the idea is reserved for the future and for glory. Cf. Rev_21:3 tabernacle of God is With men," etc.
The idea of the Jewish tabernacle thus finds its fulfilment
(1) in the body of Christ;
(2) in the body of the believer;
(3) in the body of the Church.
2. Symbolically the tabernacle figured out, in its structure, its contents, and its arrangements, various spiritual truths.
(1) On the ark and its symbolism, see next homily.
(2) The separation into two apartments had as its basis the twofold aspect of God"s fellowship with man. The holy of holies was God"s part of the structure. Its arrangements exhibited God in relation to his people. The outer apartment the holy place exhibited in symbol the calling of the people in relation to God. The shew-bread and the lighted lamps, with the incense from the golden altar, emblematised aspects of that calling. See next homily.
(3) The arrangements of the tabernacle had further in view the symbolising of the imperfect condition of privilege in the Church under the old economy. A veil hung between the holy place and the holy of holies. Into this latter the high priest only was permitted to enter, and that but once a year, and not without blood of atonement. The mass of the people were not allowed to come nearer than the outer court. They could enter the holy place only in the persons of their representatives, the priests. All this spoke of distance, of barriers as yet unremoved, of drawbacks to perfected communion. The arrangements were of such a nature as studiously to impress this idea upon the mind. Accordingly, at the death of Christ, the removal of these barriers, and the opening of the way for perfected fellowship between God and man, was signified by the striking circumstance of the rending of the veil. (Mat_27:51) It is implied in the teaching of Scripture that a like imperfection of privilege marked the condition of the departed just, and that this also was removed by Christ, who, passing into the highest heavens, made manifest, both for them and for us, the way into the holiest of all. (cf. Heb_9:6-13 Heb_10:19, 20 11:39, 40 12:23) J.O.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv1, 10, 17, 23, 31, 40 Make Me a sanctuary:
Exo_25:1-9
Make Me a sanctuary:
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God dwelling with men
I.
The dwelling of God among us in Christ Jesus, when it is a reality, and not merely an idea or a phrase, imports and of necessity secures the passing away from us of the things we have most reason to fear. When God comes to dwell among us, which can only be by dwelling in us individually, sin goes from us, in its guilt and its predominating power.
II. God comes thus to dwell with men, for the development of character, and for the nourishment of all goodness. The putting away of sin is but the negative part of salvation. The presence in its place of truth and duty and love and obedience--this is what makes a saved man.
III. For how long does God dwell with men? Deep philosophy as well as high faith sanctions the conclusion that the God of grace, who makes covenant with man and dwells with him, is our God for ever and ever, and that He will never leave us or forsake us. (A. Raleigh, D. D.)
The holy tent
I. We should mark that God makes himself dependent on the will of man. Let them make Me. This is true, not only of material wealth, but of mans nature.
1. God wants human nature, He seems to covet to have the affection of our life, and yearns to be looked to by the creature He has made. Let us not cheat Him, for we shall rob ourselves most of all.
2. God may be thwarted by man.
II. In this Divine conception of the Church, there is a place for the rich. It is not impossible for rich men to be good men. It is not easy, but still it can be done. God has given them a place. This is the offering which ye shall take of them: gold. God would not have accepted planks from those who had gold, and so God will not accept industry in His service in the place of wealth.
III. Labour has its place. There was a great deal of timber required; the wood of the acacia tree was used for the framework. Here was work which the poorest could do. Is it not so to-day? In building the Church, what room for a holy industry!
IV. Woman has her rights here. We read in Exo_35:24-25, of women that were wise-hearted, who did spin with their hands, etc. Influence of Christian mothers. Sunday-schoolworkers. Mothers meetings. Let woman do her work well. We must have her work, or we cannot finish ours.
V. There is room for genius. Precious stones are required. The onyx stones, and other jewels, took up but small room, but they added beauty and splendour to the rest. God does not create genius every day. Many rhymers, but few poets.
VI. Still, we must not forget that the meanest is acceptable, if it is the best we can bring. There are times when cleverness is baffled, and wealth is powerless. But see to it God has your best. Acacia wood will not be accepted in the place of anything else. But if the axe and saw are your talents, by all means use them.
VII. Our best and our all is of no avail without the atonement. Alms and deeds are only safe as they rest upon Christs merits. (T. Champness.)
The Tabernacle and priesthood
I. The Tabernacle.
1. Its general character.
2. Its contents.
II. The priesthood for the Tabernacle.
III. The symbolic meaning of both Tabernacle and priesthood.
1. Scriptural evidence of the symbolic character of these.
(1) The Mosaic ritual, as a whole, is declared to be this (Heb_10:1).
(2) Parts of it declared symbolic (Heb_9:6-9).
2. Some of its symbols explained.
(1) The propitiatory in the Holy of Holies (1Jn_2:2).
(2) The veil dividing the holy place from the most holy (Heb_10:19-20).
(3) The sacrifices of the Mosaic ritual (Heb_9:13-14).
3. The priesthood a symbol.
(1) In its appointment (Heb_5:1-5; Heb_8:1-5; Heb_9:11-12).
(2) In its contrast (Heb_7:11-28; Heb_9:23-28; Heb_10:1-13).
Lessons:
1. The importance and duty of studying the Old Testament in order to understand the New Testament.
2. The marked superiority of the Christian over the Mosaic dispensation.
3. Our weightier responsibilities over those of old.
4. The all-sufficiency of Christ as Redeemer, Priest, and Friend.
5. Our paramount duties--to accept, trust, and obey Him. (D. C. Hughes, M. A.)
The Tabernacle
I. The grand purpose of the Tabernacle was that the Israelites might realize Gods presence with them.
1. The unity of God had been lost in the gradual transference of separate and independent sovereignty to every attempted representation or localization of the Deity. This evil, God now corrects by the strict confinement of His localization to one spot.
2. The conception of the Deity had been demoralized through the forms in which men sought to represent God. And so the God of Israel refuses to allow any image or outward representation of Himself.
II. The manifestation of Gods presence was secured by the construction and furniture of the Tabernacle.
1. The ark was constructed out of the freewill offerings of the people.
2. The Tabernacle in its costliness was, in all the circumstances of the case, wonderfully appreciative of the Divine Majesty.
3. The Tabernacle was constructed in all respects according to Divine pattern. (W. Roberts, M. A.)
Nature and design of the Tabernacle
I. Its nature.
1. It was a simple structure. The materials of which it was composed were costly indeed. There was also much of artistic grace and beauty wrought up into its composition, and yet, compared with the splendid cathedrals etc. which men have erected, how simple and unpretending!
2. It was a structure of Divine origin. Indebted for nothing to the force of mans creative faculty. God planned it.
II. Its design.
1. In reference to the Jews.
(1) The source of present blessing. The bright spot in the midst of a dark and desert world; for God was there, and walked in the midst of His people, to bless and deliver them from their enemies.
(2) A pledge or promise to them of future good. A heaven-devised symbol, prefiguring Gods salvation.
2. In reference to ourselves.
(1) An illustration of the blessings of the gospel. The relation which God sustained to Israel as a nation, He now sustains to His people as individuals. He shades them by day, and, enlightens them by night; strengthens and comforts; guides and blesses them as their own personal God.
(2) The Tabernacle furnishes us with a figurative view of our relation to the heavenly world (see Heb_9:23). We are often tempted to think and feel as if that world must be at an immense distance, a vast remove from us. A proper consideration of the Tabernacle would seem to correct this impression. Here you see the Holy Place, or the Church on Earth, and the Most Holy Place, or the Church in Heaven, in the closest possible contiguity to each other. There is only that thin material veil to separate them. In conclusion the subject we have now considered suggests to us--How thankful we should be for the day in which we live! It is the day of salvation; the dispensation of the substance which succeeded to that of the shadow; the time of direct and full revelation as opposed to the time of type and figure. It is to the dispensation of the Tabernacle what the hour of noon, with its radiant splendour, is to the hour of early dawn, with its dim twilight and its gloom. In regard to light, and grace, and privilege, our position under the gospel is exalted indeed. And if it be true that to whom much is given, of them much will be required, then it becomes us to see well to it, that we improve diligently our privileges. (R. Newton, D. D.)
The Tabernacle a symbol of holier things
1. The Tabernacle was the dwelling place of God. It tells us God is great. It was a costly Tabernacle. The value of the structure was probably not much less than £300,000. There was mystery. The Israelites were not to enter the Tabernacle, but only the priests. Only the high priest could enter into the Holy of Holies, and that but once a year. Thus God surrounded Himself with an impenetrable veil of mystery. It has been said, God is the greatest mystery in the universe. But, if there is mystery, there is mercy. There was also justice, holiness, and majesty.
2. The Israelites no doubt looked upon the Tabernacle as the palace of their King. The furniture was palace furniture, and the priests were ministers of state.
3. The Tabernacle was set up in the wilderness. In all our wanderings God is with us.
4. The Tabernacle was the first religious structure, in which Jehovah condescended to dwell. Symbol of Divine grace. Erected in midst of sinners.
5. Gods presence is the cause of holiness and it alone removes the curse. God came down to dwell with His people, not because they were holy, but to make them so. No place is holy without God. That place--wherever it may be--is holy if God is there.
6. The Tabernacle was a place of worship. It was called the tent of the congregation (Exo_40:22). They had a property in it. It was the palace of their King. It was the house of their God. There they came to confess their sin. There was no other place of the kind. It was the one Tabernacle for all the tribes, and for all the individual members of those tribes.
7. The Tabernacle was not a model for our imitation, but a shadow of heavenly things (Heb_8:5). The substance having come, we need, not go back to the shadow. In the Tabernacle we have the figures of the true (Heb_9:24). In the gospel we have reality. Its blessings are everlasting. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. He is the truth of every figure, the way to a holy God, and the life of all who believe. (R. E. Sears.)
The Divine purpose in the erection of a Tabernacle
This introductory sentence of the symbolical dispensation involved much. It reiterated the great promise given at the fall, that man, although lapsed, should not be left unaided; that there should be, in the fulness of time, an interference on his behalf of the most remarkable character; and that, to prepare mens minds for its reception, it should, first of all, be presented in a figure.
I. God dwelt in a Tabernacle. In this a glorious reality was foreshadowed (Joh_1:14; Timothy 3:16; Gal_4:4; Heb_2:14).
II. In that Tabernacle He dwelt amongst His people Israel. Christ is the great centre round which all His people are grouped--those nearest to Him, the family within the veil; the glorified ones, who, having finished their service here below, are at rest--while the outer circle is the Church militant, that portion of the family which is still in the midst of tribulation and conflict. But He is the great centre. To Him all eyes, all hearts are turned; from Him all supplies are derived. The one see Him in actual fruition and enjoyment; the other realize Him by faith. (J. Ridgeway, M. A.)
The Tabernacle of the testimony
So many things of a covenant form and character required to be placed under the security and covering of a covenant habitation, a habitation having relation to both God and His people. The Lord Himself had said, I will dwell among them. Here was His habitation. Look at the model after which it was formed (verse 40). God was His own architect, nor were there any deviations in after thought from His original plan: the design was perfect. But why such exactness in relation to this temporary residence, this wilderness habitation of the Lord of the whole earth? A prefiguration of the body of Christ was intended, His assumption of our form and flesh, and which was an act of condescension, a veiling of the glories of His Godhead, a coming down to dwell in concealment. The personal assumption of our nature, therefore, made it of moment that what was to contain the inhabitation of Deity, like the body of Christ, curiously wrought, as it is said, in the lowest parts of the earth, should be of a form, and be put together exactly as God Himself had given the model to Moses in the mount. It was especially of God. In the spiritual worship of the gospel of Christ, and in the doctrines of grace, nothing is suffered to be misplaced, nothing left to be introduced. There is a show of wisdom in will-worship, an appearance of reverence and humility, but none in reality. If we worship God, we must worship Him, after His own instructions, and, under whatever dispensation, in spirit and in truth. The design was Gods, but the execution of the work was mans.
1. Many hearts were in the work. As soon as required to be constructed, the people had a heart to it and well they might since it was bringing God nearer to them, and more visibly with them than He had been. How interesting the union of hearts in such a work, men and women, and, we might think, even children too, wise and willing in the work of the Lord! Delightful was it to have their hearts in what had, from eternity, employed the heart of God, His whole will and understanding, His counsels, grace, and love. How are our hearts affected towards the spiritual temple that is rising in this world of sin? Sweet the frame of mind David was in when he said (1Ch_29:14, etc.). Their hearts were their offerings: there were no niggardly restraints of covetousness. At what expense are many to support the pride of life, and to maintain the superfluities of naughtiness! The day is coming when they will bitterly lament the misapplication of wealth, and the want of a heart, in their fulness, for a ready yieldance to God.
2. Many hands, as well as many hearts, were in the work (Exo_35:26). And how delightful is it to see the spiritual temple rising, and each employed as skill given him! Where there are hearts, hands will not be wanting. We see many employed about the great building God has in progress, and what has set them to work but love? It is this that is the great moving power in the machinery of those many institutions which are in truth the bulwark and glory of the land. (W. Seaton.)
The Tabernacle entire
We think the Tabernacle in its entireness was emblematical of--
1. The incarnation. The glory of Jehovah filled it.
2. The Church. Unity in diversity, and diversity in unity.
3. The believer. As respects both his
(1) present, and
(2) future being. Weak and imperfect now; to be glorified hereafter
4. The millennial kingdom (Rev_21:3-4). (W. Mudge.)
Design and use of the ceremonial law
1. It served to cherish the religious sentiment. The Israelite was reminded by it in all his relations, even the most significant and external, of God; the thought of God was introduced into the very midst of the popular life.
2. It required the recognition of sin, and thus called forth the first thing essential for the reception of redemption, a sense of the need of redemption. The law was, and was intended to be, a heavy yoke, and therefore would awaken a longing after the Redeemer.
3. It served to separate Israel from the heathen; it erected between the two a wall of separation, by which communication was prevented.
4. Many things in the Ceremonial Law served, by impressions on the senses, to awaken reverence for holy things among a sensual people.
5. One principal object of the Ceremonial Law lay in its symbolic meaning. The people, enthralled in visible objects, were not yet capable of vitally appropriating supersensual truth in words, the form most suited to their nature. It was needful for the truth to condescend, to come down to their power of apprehension, to prepare itself a body from visible things, in order to free the people from the bondage of the visible. Would we rather not speak at all to the dumb than make use of signs? The Ceremonial Law was not the opposite to the worship of God in spirit and in truth, but only an imperfect form of the same, a necessary preparation for it. The accommodation was only formal, one which did not alter the essence, but only presented it in large capital letters to children who could not yet read a small running-hand. (E. W. Hengstenberg, D. D.)
The basis of symbolism
The altar was the basis of the sacred places, the priesthood was the basis of the sacred persons, the burnt-offerings were the basis of the sacred rites, and the Sabbath was the basis of the sacred times. Here we discover the links that connect the Ceremonial Laws given by Moses with the primeval ordinances of religion. In the altar set up in the family of Adam we have the genesis of the Tabernacle and Temple. At the beginning the minister of sacrifice was the patriarch of the existing family, and his sacred office passed over to the Mosaic priesthood. In the offering of the blood by Abel and the offering by fire of Noah, we discover the germs of the Jewish ritual. The Sabbath ordained in Paradise became the central institute in the sacred times appointed by Moses. (E. P. Humphrey, D. D.)
The Tabernacle a tent
The Tabernacle was a tent; it was a costly building, but still it was a tent; it was Gods tent in which He lived and walked with His people in the wilderness (Exo_25:8; Num_9:15; 2Sa_7:6; Act_7:38-50). As His people were dwelling in tents, God would have a tent, and would live with them as their Guide and their Guard, their Father and their King; but afterward, when they were settled in the land of Canaan and dwelt in celled houses, He permitted them to build Him a house at Jerusalem, which He then filled with His presence as He had before filled the Tabernacle. As God dwelt in the Tabernacle and afterwards in the Temple, and as men must then come to the Tabernacle or to the Temple to get to God, so God dwells in Christ (2Co_5:19), and all who would come to God must come to Christ: in no other way can any one get to God (Joh_14:6; Joh_6:37). Moreover, as there was but one Tabernacle, so there is but one Christ, and none can be saved from the wrath to come but those who come to Him; and as a man must come out of the camp to get to the Tabernacle, so a man must come out from the world, must be separated from it in spirit, before he can be really in Christ. (G. Rodgers.)
The edifice of the Tabernacle
Moses received on Sinai not only a command to make the Tabernacle, but plans and specifications according to which the work was to be executed. Its ground-plan was a parallelogram forty-five feet in length, and fifteen feet in width. The material was of shittim, a species of acacia, the timber of which has a rich black colour like ebony, and is eminently light, solid, strong, and smooth. The frame of the Tabernacle consisted of forty-eight pieces of this acacia wood standing on end. Eight of them were at the rear, and twenty on each side; the front being left open to be covered with a curtain. They were each fifteen feet long, and, unless the two outside pieces on the rear end were exceptions, twenty-seven inches wide. The description of the corner planks is obscure, but favours the opinion that each consisted of two pieces fastened together at a right angle; so that it was a corner-plank not merely because it stood at the corner, but because it formed an angle. On the lower end of each of the planks, two tenons were wrought, to correspond with mortises in the sills on which it was to stand. Possibly there were also tenons and mortises on the edges where the planks came together; but of this we have no certain knowledge. Such a connection of one plank with another, by tenon and mortise, would give greater strength to the frame, but might not be necessary in addition to the horizontal bars which bound the planks together. There were five such bars on each side, and five on the rear, made of acacia wood, and overlaid with gold. These gilded planks when erected, stood on a base, or sill, of silver, which extended perhaps a little way both outward and inward, from the wall termed by the planks, and was divided into twice as many pieces as there were planks; so that each of the latter stood on two separate pieces of the base, one of its two tenons being inserted into a corresponding cavity in each division of the base. Besides the planks which formed the wall of the Tabernacle, there were four pillars, to support a curtain across the interior of the building, dividing it into two apartments, and five pillars to support another curtain over the entrance at the east end of the edifice. The four pillars for the partition-curtain stood on sills, or socket-pieces of silver, and the five for the entrance-curtain on sills of copper. The wooden frame of the Tabernacle having been prepared, it was necessary to cover it with suitable hangings, or curtains. Of these there were four layers; the innermost so far excelling the others in importance, that it was sometimes denominated The Tabernacle, as if all else appertaining to the edifice were subsidiary to this. The frame, indeed, seems to have been chiefly designed to give support to the beautiful drapery with which it was covered. In the conception of a Hebrew travelling through the wilderness from Sinai to Canaan, the Tabernacle where Jehovah dwelt was of cloth, as was his own habitation. It was, indeed, of a more beautiful fabric than the other tents of the encampment, which were doubtless of goats hair, like those of the nomadic inhabitants of the same region at the present day, while the Tabernacle of God was of fine linen variegated with brilliant colours. The several parts of the sanctuary having been constructed, it still remained to make an enclosure for the court in which it was to stand. The prescribed dimensions of this area were one hundred and fifty feet for the length, and seventy-five feet for the width. It was to be enclosed with hangings of cloth made of fine white linen, not interwoven, like the curtains of the Tabernacle, with figures and colours, but, so far as appears, woven plain. That portion of it, however, which covered the entrance-way at the east end of the court, was variegated with colours of blue, purple, and crimson. The height of these hangings was seven feet and a half; and they were suspended on pillars by means of silver hooks, the pillars standing on sills of copper. The distance between these pillars was equal to the height of the hangings, i.e., seven and a half feet. They were connected by a silver rod, or fillet, extending from one capital to another. The Tabernacle was to stand near the western end of this enclosure, and midway, doubtless, between its northern and southern curtains. A large area was therefore left in front of the edifice for the performance of those rites of worship which were appropriate to the place. (E. E. Atwater.)
The oneness of the Tabernacle
(see Exo_26:6). It is to be one Tabernacle--not in the sense of singleness and uniqueness, as if God had forbidden more than one Tabernacle to be constructed for His service--but in the sense of a real and profound unity. By the golden taches or clasps binding together the curtains which covered it, the whole structure was made one tent or tabernacle, and all its parts and objects were united. Unity is the hall-mark which God stamps upon all His works. It is His autograph written in the stars of heaven and in the flowers of the field, attesting that they all proceed from the same Mind. The universe is a great kaleidoscope which He is perpetually turning round, in which a few simple elements are exhibited in endless diversity; in which the variety is not more wonderful than the unity.
1. In unfolding this sublime lesson, let us look, in the first place, at the illustration of it which the Tabernacle itself afforded. This remarkable structure was one in regard to its parts. Each vessel has its own distinct use, and each can be viewed apart from the others; and yet in every act of priestly service, all are joined together, and are in active operation at the same time. It needs the combination of the whole to make a complete and perfect act of worship, just as it needs the harmomous action of all the members of the body to constitute the act of living. And just as the golden taches link the curtains of the Tabernacle together, and make of them one covering for one structure, so the smaller golden vessels attached to the golden candlestick, the altar of incense, and the shewbread table--the tongs, snuff-dishes, spoons, and censer--linked together the different vessels of the sanctuary into one ministration, forming in this way one golden chain of service simultaneously carried on in the presence of God in behalf of Israel.
2. The words of the Lord to Moses have a wider reference than to the immediate object which called them forth. They may be applied to nature. It may be said that the Tabernacle pointed back to the creation. It was a symbol of the great world of nature, as at once manifesting and concealing God. It was, indeed, as a Rosetta stone, to explain to man the spiritual hieroglyphics in the typology of nature, which had become dark and insignificant to him when he sinned and fell, that God devised the clearer typology of the Tabernacle, and set the cherubim, which were the symbols of creation in connection with the redemption of man, above the mercy-seat in its holiest place, and embroidered them on the veil that divided the outer from the inner sanctuary. There was no typical object or service in the Tabernacle which might not have been seen in nature if man had not lost the key of interpretation. If the creation be thus a greater Tabernacle, in which all the objects are meant to show forth the praise of God, and to symbolize His work of grace, we should expect to find in it the same unity, the same oneness of design and harmony of all parts, that we see in the Jewish Tabernacle; and this is what we actually find. This is the great lesson which modern science has taught us so effectually.
3. But not only did the Tabernacle repeat in miniature the whole creation as Gods dwelling-place, it also more especially typified the new creation--the Church of God. Under all the varying dispensations of His grace, Gods Church has been one The Jews were in the outer court because the way into the holiest was not yet made manifest. Gentiles, by the new and living way opened up through the rent veil of Christs flesh, have entered into the inner shrine. But Jews and Gentiles alike are now united in one communion and fellowship in Christ. The Saviour the Jews looked forward to in rites and sacrifices, we look back to in the ordinances of the gospel. The religion that was veiled to them has been unveiled to us. They saw the types and shadows; we behold the living and glorious realities. Over all is the tabernacling of the same God; and the Church of Jews and Gentiles is built upon the foundation, etc.
4. The Tabernacle was the Bible of the Israelites. God taught them by its object-lessons in their childhood and pupilage in the wilderness. But that age of shadows and symbols has disappeared; man has passed from the childhoods stage of education into the higher school. We have been trained for a clearer perception and a fuller possession of the truth. God has given to us His own written Word, in which His thoughts are woven with mans thoughts, making of the whole Book the speech to the world of Emmanuel, God with us.
5. Mans body is a tabernacle--the greatest of all temples. It is fearfully and wonderfully made, the very highest possible form of organization, the masterpiece of creation. (H. Macmillan, D. D.)
Means of interpretation
There are means of interpretation by the aid of which one may decipher the symbols of the Hebrews as correctly as Champollion deciphered the hieroglyphics of Egypt.
I. First in the table may be placed the parallelism between the mosaic system, as otherwise ascertained, and its symbolic representation. The writings of Moses, like the Greek translation of the Rosetta stone give a clue to the meaning of what otherwise might be illegible.
II. Another key of interpretation is found in the scriptural explanation of symbols. For instance, in the Apocalypse incense is explained as symbolizing the prayers of the holy; and fine linen is explained as meaning, when used for garments, that those thus arrayed were holy.
III. The design of the Tabernacle as declared in the directions for its construction, equipment, and services, is a key to its significance. If the edifice was a symbol it signified that Jehovah dwelt among the Israelites. It represented His true habitation, wherever and of whatever nature it may be, and the spiritual intercourse between Him and those who worship. Moreover, it was equipped in such a manner as to provide for ministrations expressive of atonement, restoration to favour, assurance of reconciliation, and acceptable service; and was thus both a sign and a seal of the covenant relation and of the presence of Jehovah.
IV. The scriptural appellations of the Tabernacle are a means of interpretation.
V. The symbolism Of nature is an important means of interpretation.
VI. Another means of interpretation is the artificial symbolism of the ancients. Kings wear crowns, and sit on thrones; and so crowns and thrones indicate royalty. Among the ancients purple was worn by those in authority, and so became the badge of power and distinction. The temples of the Hindoos, the Chinese, the Chaldeans, and the Egyptians, were built with an adherence to certain forms, proportions, and repetitions, which leaves no room for doubt that their sacred architecture was significant, and that with some difference in the ideas expressed, and some variety in the mode of expressing the same ideas, they employed the relations of geometry and arithmetic to represent the objects of their religious thought. Colour was employed for the same purpose. The three kingdoms of nature--animal, vegetable, mineral--were also made to subserve this artificial symbolism. (E. E. Atwater.)
Gold, and silver, and brass.
Symbolism of minerals
Gold, silver, and jewels have in all ages and countries been regarded as significant of wealth, rank, power. The use of the precious metals for money has, however, rendered it impossible that they should exert in modern times as much influence on the imagination as when used only as insignia.
1. It is quite certain that in the time of Moses gold had not been coined, and was not often used, even by weight, as a medium of exchange. There is a warrant in nature as well as in the universal custom of antiquity, for this employment of the most splendid of the metals to illustrate the highest possible dignity and glory; for it never fails to excite in the mind of the beholder feelings of admiration and awe. Hence, as an emblem, it was among metals what purple was among colours, and found its most appropriate place on the persons and in the habitations of kings and gods. The dedication of a large amount of gold to the service of religion was, therefore, not peculiar to the Hebrews. It was the universal custom of the age thus to do homage to the objects of worship. But, as Mosaism allowed no images of Jehovah, the symbolism of gold must be confined to His habitation and its furniture. It is worthy of observation, then, that the God of the Hebrews dwelt in a golden house.
2. If the Tabernacle of Jehovah was splendid by contrast between it and the ordinary tents of the surrounding encampment, it seems to have been designedly rendered still more splendid by the ordained distinction between the Tabernacle and its court. For while the walls of the dwelling and all its utensils were of gold, so that (with the exception of the sill) no other metal was visible within, the furniture of the court must, according to the specifications furnished to Moses, be of copper. The significance of copper seems to depend chiefly on its rank among the metals, being more esteemed than iron, and less so than silver and gold. As a metal of honour and beauty, it was an appropriate material for the utensils of Divine service, and by its inferiority to gold furnished a background on which the latter seemed more splendid by contrast. Its resemblance to gold deepened the symbolic significance conveyed by the exclusive use of one of the metals in the court, and of the other within the habitation.
3. Between the copper outside and the gold inside, silver was the mediating metal, being found both on the sill of the sanctuary and on the caps of the pillars around the sacred enclosure, to indicate by another sign that the house was higher in honour than the area in front, so much higher that its sill was of the same material as the crowning ornament of the court. Silver was at that time in common use as money; if not in the shape of coin, certainly of bullion, which, when weighed, was current with the merchant (Gen_23:16). Now, this silver which had been wrought partly into the sill of the Tabernacle and partly into the caps of the pillars around the court, had been used as money. Indeed, it came into the possession of Moses in half-shekels, which the people had paid as atonement money, every man a ransom for his soul (Exo_30:12; Exo_30:16). The services of the court culminated in redemption, and not till they were redeemed could the people, even representatively, enter the sanctuary. The shining silver on the top of the pillars of the enclosure was a memorial to the children of Israel before Jehovah to make an atonement for their souls (Exo_30:16), i.e., a permanent reminder that their sins were expiated; and the sill of the sanctuary, into which the greater part of the ransom-money had been molten, was a token that in consequence of their redemption God dwelt among them, and received them to His fellowship. The silver, as an expiation for souls, pointed to the unholiness of Israels nature, and reminded the people continually that by nature it was alienated from God, and could only remain in covenant with the Lord, and live in His kingdom, on the ground of His grace which covered its sin. May not the apostle have had this ransom-money in mind when he said to the people of the new covenant, Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ? (E. E. Atwater.)
Gifts of materials for the construction of the Tabernacle
Many chapels are burdened with a load of debt occasioned by the bad habit of congregations building, either wholly or in part, with borrowed money. But the Hebrews acted more nobly than such builders, for they collected by voluntary contributions the entire materials with which the sanctuary was constructed ere they began to build (Exo_25:1-9; Exo_35:4-9; Exo_35:20-30). Their free-will offering for the work of the Tabernacle is, in many respects, the most splendid one that was ever given for the purpose of raising a place of worship. (W. Brown.)
Gold
Foremost in the procession of willing-hearted offerers came men and women bringing bracelets, and ear-rings, and seal-rings, and tablets, all of gold (Exo_35:22), till the heap comprised many thousands of articles, and weighed no less than 29 talents and 730 shekels (Exo_38:24), equal to 43,865 ounces, the value of which at the present day is f180,000 sterling. (W. Brown.)
Silver
Gold was contributed by men and women, but silver by men only. This, however, was not on account of the women, who cheerfully gave their gold ornaments, refusing to part with their silver ones, but because silver was to be taken from none but adult males, who were required to give half a shekel each as a ransom for the soul (person) (Exo_30:11-16). The sum of the silver brought was 100 talents and 1775 shekels, or 301,775 shekels (Exo_38:25-27), which proves that every one of the 603,550 men comprising the Hebrew encampment paid the price of his redemption. This was done, however, not by compulsion, but freely; the silver as well as the gold was to be a free-will offering (Exo_25:2-3). The whole was equal to 150,887 ½ ounces, and would now realize £40,000 sterling, Silver appears to have been the only metal used as money by the Hebrews, at least up to the period of the Exodus, and this circumstance no doubt accounts for the ransom price being paid in silver (Gen_23:15; Gen_37:28). (W. Brown.)
Brass
Gold and silver were the most precious metals, but brass (copper) was also needed for the work of the Tabernacle, and those who possessed it--and amongst them might be some who had no gold to bestow--brought 70 talents and 2,400 shekels (Exo_38:29), equal to 106,200 ounces. The original word rendered brass in the text is from a Hebrew root signifying to shine. (W. Brown.)
Typical import of materials
1. Gold. Type of the Divine glory of the Lord Jesus as Son of God.
2. Silver. The preciousness of the Lord Jesus as the Ransom for the sinner.
3. Brass. The power of the Lord Jesus to endure the cross, because He is God.
4. Blue. The manifestation of God as love, in the ways and death of Christ.
5. Purple. The manifestation of the God-Man, God manifest in the flesh.
6. Scarlet. The manifestation of the true dignity and glory of man as seen in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of Man.
7. Fine linen. The righteous man exhibiting to the eye of faith the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
8. Goatshair. The memorial of the death of the Lord Jesus as the offering for sin.
9. Ramsskins dyed red. The outward aspect of Christ as the Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Born in this world to die.
10. Badgersskins. The outward aspect of Christ, as having no form nor comeliness to the heart of the natural man.
11. Shittim wood. The Lord Jesus, the incorruptible Man. That holy thing, the Son of God.
12. Oil for the light. The Lord Jesus as the light; filled with the Spirit.
13. Spices for anointing oil. The graces of the Spirit in all their fulness manifested by the Christ.
14. Spices for sweet incense. The fragrant graces of Christ made manifest on the cross, and perpetuated in His intercession.
15. Onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod and the breastplate. The glory and brilliancy of the Heavenly One reflected also in His saints. (H. W. Soltau.)
Offerings accompanied with devotion
Almost every hill in Mongolia is adorned with a cairn of stones on the very top. This cairn is a thing of the Mongolian religion. When it is determined to erect one, men, women, and children turn out and gather stones, repeating prayers over each stone; and thus the raised heap represents much devotion on the part of the gatherers. Oh, that all contributions in Christian lands for Christian objects were raised in the same way. Gifts are good, but gifts accompanied by heart-felt devotion are better. (S. S. Chronicle.)
The pocket converted
John Wesley used to say that he never believed in a mans conversion until his pocket was converted.
A Divine plan for building
There is a beautiful story told of the plan by which Strasburg Cathedral was made. The architect, Erwin von Steinbach, who was given the commission to build it, was greatly troubled lest he should not get his plan sufficiently noble. He had a daughter named Sabine, who was skilful in drawing, and one night, after they had wept together over the plans, she said to her father, Dont despair; God will help us. After she fell asleep she dreamed that a beautiful angel came, and when she had told her story, said; You shall make the plan for the minster. The angel and Sabine then set to work, and soon the plan was done. When she awoke she uttered a loud scream, for there was a paper before her covered with wonderful drawing. Her father exclaimed, Child, it was no dream. The angel really visited you, bringing the inspiration from heaven to help us. He built the cathedral after the plan, and it was so beautiful that the people really believed the story. (Great Thoughts.)
Blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen.--
Symbolism of colour
The symbolism of colour in the Tabernacle was confined to the curtains of the edifice and the garments of its priesthood, both of which were of fine-twined linen, blue, purple, and crimson. The four colours indicated all inhered in the same material subjected to different processes of manufacture; the fine thread of the byssus being in one process bleached to the greatest possible whiteness, and in the other three dyed with blue, purple, and crimson.
1. That white linen was employed as a symbol, appears from many passages of the New Testament, where its significance is declared and explained. It was a representative of light, resembling it somewhat in colour (Mat_17:2), but more in brightness (Luk_9:29; Luk_24:4; Mar_9:3), and purity (Rev_19:8; Rev_19:14; Rev_15:6).
2. The Hebrew word rendered blue is primarily the name of a shell-fish, and derivatively of the dye yielded by it. If Moses would represent that Jehovah, whose dwelling is in heaven, had come down to earth to dwell with His covenant people, how could he do it better than by employing in the habitation made with hands the azure hue of the visible heaven? If he wished to teach that the priests, and the sacrifices they offered were an example and shadow of heavenly things, how pertinent would it be to weave into their official attire threads of that cerulean tint, which in his day communicated such thoughts to the eye as are now conveyed to the ear by the audible pronunciation of the word heaven!
3. Cloth of purple was much prized by the Greeks and Romans, who included under this appellation a wide range of colour, extending from red slightly tinged with blue to shades in which the blue was predominant; the dye being in all cases derived from shell-fish. In the earlier days of Rome, purple had been worn only by magistrates as a badge of office; but the progress of wealth and luxury was afterward so great, that the first of the emperors thought it necessary to put restriction on the use of it in order to preserve the significance of the ancient symbol; and eventually certain fabrics of this colour, including those held in highest estimation, were entirely interdicted to the Roman citizens, and reserved for the exclusive use of the imperial household. In the employment of purple as a mark of official distinction, the Romans followed the custom of some, if not all older nations (see Jdg_8:26; Dan_5:7, margin). Not only kings, emperors, and their subordinates in civil authority, wore this colour, but sometimes priests, as a mark of honour to their office and the deities they served. Even the images of the gods were adorned with raiment of purple. The appearance of this colour, then, in the curtains of the Hebrew Tabernacle marked that central edifice as the habitation of the Ruler of the encampment. The purple in the garments of the priests indicated that they belonged to the royal household, and were officers of the King.
4. The two Hebrew words which taken together are rendered scarlet, denote a colour derived from an insect called by naturalists coccus ilicis, found in large quantities on certain species of the oak. The Arabic name of the insect is kermes, the root of our word crimson. The only natural object to which the tint is applied in the Old Testament is the lips (Son_4:3). It seems probable (see Gen_38:28; Lev_14:4-7; Num_19:6; Jos_2:18) that this colour was used as a symbol of life; deriving this significance from blood, which was itself the vehicle and representative of the vital force. (E. E. Atwater.)
The colours
1. Blue, being the colour of the heaven, as it appears to man looking up into it, may be regarded not unnaturally as speaking of God. The Israelites were bidden to have fringes on the borders of their garments, and upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue (Num_15:38), doubtless to be a perpetual reminder to them in their daily life that, they were the people of God.
2. Scarlet, or red, is the colour which, after blue, occurs most frequently in connection with the Tabernacle. As blue speaks of God the Creator, so red, or scarlet, speaks of the world, or of man the creature.
3. Purple is formed from the intermingling of scarlet and blue, and thus corresponds to twelve among numbers, which is the result of three multiplied into four, and is, therefore, the colour of the Incarnation. In the Tabernacle, purple appears side by side with blue and scarlet in the interior hangings, in the veils, and in the vestments of the high-priest. When we remember that the Tabernacle, as a whole, was a type of the Word who tabernacles in us (Joh_1:14), we shall not, I think, find it difficult to acquiesce in the suggestion of a devout and learned writer, that the purple appears to have foreshadowed the hypostatical union, i.e., the union of the Divine and human natures in the person of our Lord. It would seem to have been selected to reveal the intimacy and perfection of this union; and the constituent colours of purple, red, and blue, to have been set in juxtaposition with it, to teach that, although the two natures are thus combined in Him, yet are they not absorbed in each other, as if the Divine had been lost in the human, or the human in the Divine, but ever remain to co-exist, notwithstanding their most perfect union.
4. The three colours already spoken of were conjoined with the whiteness of fine linen. White is symbolic of cleansing from sin (Isa_1:18; cf. Rev_7:14; Psa_51:7). White is also symbolical of perfect dazzling holiness (Dan_7:9; cf. Rev_6:2; Rev_14:14; Rev_19:11; Rev_20:11). In the Tabernacle the fine white linen would tell of the purity and holiness which results from that union of the Divine with the human which was already indicated by the three colours with which it was conjoined. The great lesson, therefore, which everywhere met the eye of the worshipper in the fine linen hangings of the outer court, and in the blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine-twined linen of the veils, and sacerdotal vestments, was none other than this, Ye shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. (E. F. Willis, M. A.)
Goats hair
Goatshair formed part of the free-will offerings of the Israelites (Exo_35:23). Many of the goats of the East have black hair, of which cloth is made for tent coverings, but there are some species of goats which have fine white silky hair, among which is the Angora goat, and not a few writers are of opinion that it was hair of this sort with which the tent of the Tabernacle was made. (W. Brown.)
Rams skins
The Israelites, being rich in flocks and herds, would have no difficulty in supplying ramsskins. Those brought by the Israelites (Exo_35:23) were dyed, and probably tanned. Leather of this very description (says Dr. Thomson) is still sold in Syrian towns. From time out of mind the southern part of Syria and Palestine has been supplied with mutton from the great plains and deserts in the north, east, and south; and the shepherds do not ordinarily bring the females to market. The vast flocks which annually come from Armenia and northern Syria are nearly all males. The leather, therefore, is literally rams skins dyed red. (W. Brown.)
Badgers skins
The Hebrews brought badgers (tachash) as well as ramsskins. It is generally admitted that badger is a wrong interpretation of the Hebrew word tachash, but the learned are not agreed as to what animal is intended. Some are of opinion that it was a fish, and others that it was a quadruped; but whether it swam the ocean or ranged the forest, it was likely a large and powerful creature, since its skin was used for the sacred tents outer covering, which doubtless required to be of a tough and strong nature. This would not, however, prevent the skins from being made suitable for ornamental purposes. Sandals formed of these skins appear to have been worn by ladies when dressed in the most costly and splendid attire, and decked with the most precious ornaments; I have shod thee with badgers skins (Eze_16:10); so there can be little doubt that the outer covering or roof of the Tabernacle was not only strong, but also beautiful and ornamental. It is not improbable that the shoes or sandals of the Israelites were also made of this material; and if they were, it was as effectual in defending their feet as it was in preserving the Tabernacle from those influences that might have been hurtful to it. Thy foot did not swell these forty years? (W. Brown.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain On v1
CHAPTER XXV.
THE SHRINE AND ITS FURNITURE.
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Exo_25:1-40
The first direction given to Moses on the mountain is to prepare for the making of a tabernacle wherein God may dwell with man. For this he must invite offerings of various kinds, metals and gems, skins and fabrics, oil and spices; and the humblest man whose heart is willing may contribute toward an abode for Him Whom the heaven of heavens cannot contain.
Strange indeed is the contrast between the mountain burning up to heaven, and the lowly structure of the wood of the desert, which was now to be erected by subscription.
And yet the change marks not a lower conception of deity, but an advance, just as the quiet and serene communion of a saint with God is loftier than the most agitating experience of the convert.
This is the first announcement of a fixed abiding presence of God in the midst of men, and it is therefore the precursor of much. St. John certainly alluded to this earliest dwelling of God on earth when he wrote, "The Word was made flesh, and tabernacled among us" (Joh_1:14). A little later it was said, "Ye also are builded together for an habitation of God" (Eph_2:22); and again the very words used at first of the tabernacle are applied to faithful souls: "We are a temple of the living God, as God said, I will dwell in them and walk in them" (2Co_6:16; Lev_26:11). For God dwelt on earth in the Messiah hidden by the veil, that is to say His flesh (Heb_10:20), and also in the hearts of all the faithful. And a yet fuller communion is to come, of which the tabernacle in the wilderness was a type, even the descent of the Holy City, when the true tabernacle of God shall be with men, and He shall tabernacle with them (Rev_21:3).
It may seem strange that after the commandment "Let them make Me a sanctuary" the whole chapter is devoted to instructions, not for the tabernacle but for its furniture. But indeed the four articles enumerated in this chapter present a wonderfully graphic picture of the nature and terms of the intercourse of God with man. On one side is His revelation of righteousness, but righteousness propitiated and become gracious, and this is symbolised by the ark of the testimony and the mercy-seat. On the other side the consecration both of secular and sacred life is typified by the table with bread and wine, and by the golden candlestick. Except thus, no tabernacle could have been the dwelling of the Lord, nor ever shall be.
And this is the true reason why the altar of incense is not even mentioned until a later chapter (Exodus 30). We do homage to God because He is present: it is rather the consequence than the condition of His abode with us.
The first step towards the preparation of a shrine for God on earth is the enshrining of His will: Moses should therefore make first of all an ark, wherein to treasure up "the testimony which I shall give thee," the two tables of the law (Exo_25:16). In it were also the pot of manna and Aaron's rod which budded (Heb_9:4), and beside it was laid the whole book of the law, for a testimony, alas! against them (Deu_31:26).
Thus the ark was to treasure up the expression of the will of God, and the relics which told by what mercies and deliverances He claimed obedience. It was a precious thing, but not the most precious, as we shall presently learn; and therefore it was not made of pure gold, but overlaid with it. That it might be reverently carried, four rings were cast and fastened to it at the lower corners, and in these four staves, also overlaid with gold, were permanently inserted.
The next article mentioned is the most important of all.
It would be a great mistake to suppose that the mercy-seat was a mere lid, an ordinary portion of the ark itself. It was made of a different and more costly material, of pure gold, with which the ark was only overlaid. There is separate mention that Bezaleel "made the ark, ... and he made the mercy-seat" (Exo_37:1, Exo_37:6), and the special presence of God in the Most Holy Place is connected much more intimately with the mercy-seat than with the remainder of the structure. Thus He promises to "appear in the cloud above the mercy-seat" (Lev_16:2). And when it is written that "Moses heard the Voice speaking unto him from above the mercy-seat which is upon the ark of the testimony" (Num_7:89), it would have been more natural to say directly "from above the ark" unless some stress were to be laid upon the interposing slab of gold. In reality no distinction could be sharper than between the ark and its cover, from whence to hear the voice of God. And so thoroughly did all the symbolism of the Most Holy Place gather around this supreme object, that in one place it is actually called "the house of the mercy-seat" (1Ch_28:11).
Let us, then, put ourselves into the place of an ancient worshipper. Excluded though he is from the Holy Place, and conscious that even the priests are shut out from the inner shrine, yet the high priest who enters is his brother: he goes on his behalf: the barrier is a curtain, not a wall.
But while the Israelite mused upon what was beyond, the ark, as we have seen, suggests the depth of his obligation; for there is the rod of his deliverance and the bread from heaven which fed him; and there also are the commandments which he ought to have kept. And his conscience tells him of ingratitude, and a broken covenant; by the law is the knowledge of sin.
It is therefore a sinister and menacing thought that immediately above this ark of the violated covenant burns the visible manifestation of God, his injured Benefactor.
And hence arises the golden value of that which interposes, beneath which the accusing law is buried, by means of which God "hides His face from our sins."
The worshipper knows this cover to be provided by a separate ordinance of God, after the ark and its contents had been arranged for, and finds in it a vivid concrete representation of the idea "Thou hast cast all my sins behind Thy back" (Isa_38:17). That this was its true intention becomes more evident when we ascertain exactly the meaning of the term which we have, not too precisely, rendered "mercy-seat."
The word "seat" has no part in the original; and we are not to think of God as reposing on it, but as revealing Himself above. The erroneous notion has probably transferred itself to the type from the heavenly antitype, which is "the throne of grace," but it has no countenance either in the Greek or the Hebrew name of the Mosaic institution. Nor is the notion expressed that of gratuitous and unbought "mercy." When Jehovah showeth mercy unto thousands, the word is different. It is true that the root means "to cover," and is once employed in Scripture in that sense (Gen_6:14); but its ethical use is generally connected with sacrifice; and when we read of a "sin-offering for atonement," of the half-shekel being an "atonement-money," and of "the day of atonement," the word is a simple and very similar development from the same root with this which we render mercy-seat (Exo_30:10, Exo_30:16; Lev_23:27, etc.).
The Greek word is found twice in the New Testament: once when the cherubim of glory overshadow the mercy-seat, and again when God hath set forth Christ to be a propitiation (Heb_9:5; Rom_3:25). The mercy-seat is therefore to be thought of in connection with sin, but sin expiated and thus covered and put away.
We know mysteries which the Israelite could not guess of the means by which this was brought to pass. But as he watched the high priest disappearing into that awful solitude, with God, as he listened to the chime of bells, swung by his movements, and announcing that still he lived, two conditions stood out broadly before his mind. One was the bringing in of incense: "Thou shalt bring a censer full of burning coals of fire from before the altar, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy-seat" (Lev_16:13). Now, the connection between prayer and incense was quite familiar to the Jew; and he could not but understand that the blessing of atonement was to be sought and won by intense and burning supplication. And the other was that invariable demand, the offering of a victim's blood. All the sacrifices of Judaism culminated in the great act when the high priest, standing in the most holy and the most occult spot in all the world, sprinkled "blood upon the mercy-seat eastwards, and before the mercy-seat sprinkled of the blood with his finger seven times" (Lev_16:14).
Thus the crowning height of the Jewish ritual was attained when the blood of the great national sacrifice was offered not only before God, but, with special reference to the covering up of the broken and accusing law, before the mercy-seat.
No wonder that on either side of it, and moulded of the same mass of metal, were the cherubim in an attitude of adoration, their outspread wings covering it, their faces bent, not only as bowing in reverence before the Divine presence, but, as we expressly read, "toward the mercy-seat shall the faces of the cherubim be." For the meaning of this great symbol was among the things which "the angels desire to look into."
We now understand how much was gained when God said "There will I meet thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy-seat" (Exo_25:22). It was an assurance, not only of the love which desires obedience, but of the mercy which passes over failure.[39]
Thus far, there has been symbolised the mind of God, His righteousness and His grace.
The next articles have to do with man, his homage to God and his witness for Him.
There is first the table of the shewbread (Exo_25:23-30), overlaid with pure gold, surrounded, like the ark, with "a crown" or moulding of gold, for ornament and the greater security of the loaves, and strengthened by a border of pure gold carried around the base, which was also ornamented with a crown, or moulding. Close to this border were rings for staves, like those by which the ark was borne. The table was furnished with dishes upon which, every Sabbath day, new shewbread might be conveyed into the tabernacle, and the old might be removed for the priests to eat. There were spoons also, by which to place frankincense upon each pile of bread; and "flagons and bowls to pour out withal." What was thus to be poured we do not read, but there is no doubt that it was wine, second only to bread as a requisite of Jewish life, and forming, like the frankincense, a link between this weekly presentation and the meal-offerings. But all these were subordinate to the twelve loaves, one for each tribe, which were laid in two piles upon the table. It is clear that their presentation was the essence of the rite, and not their consumption by the priests, which was possibly little more than a safeguard against irreverent treatment. For the word shewbread is literally bread of the face or presence, which word is used of the presence of God, in the famous prayer "If Thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence" (Exo_33:15). And of whom, other than God, can it here be reasonably understood? Now Jacob, long before, had vowed "Of all that Thou givest me, I will surely give the tenth to Thee" (Gen_28:22). And it was an edifying ordinance that a regular offering should be made to God of the staple necessaries of existence, as a confession that all came from Him, and an appeal, clearly expressed by covering it with frankincense, which typified prayer (Lev_24:7) that He would continue to supply their need.
Nor is it overstrained to add, that when this bread was given to their priestly representatives to eat, with all reverence and in a holy place, God responded, and gave back to His people that which represented the necessary maintenance of the tribes. Thus it was, "on the behalf of the children of Israel, an everlasting covenant" (Lev_24:8).
The form has perished. But as long as we confess in the Lord's Prayer that the wealthiest does not possess one day's bread ungiven--as long, also, as Christian families connect every meal with a due acknowledgment of dependence and of gratitude--so long will the Church of Christ continue to make the same confession and appeal which were offered in the shewbread upon the table.
The next article of furniture was the golden candlestick (Exo_25:31-40). And this presents the curious phenomenon that it is extremely clear in its typical import, and in its material outline; but the details of the description are most obscure, and impossible to be gathered from the Authorised Version. Strictly speaking, it was not a lamp, but only a gorgeous lamp-stand, with one perpendicular shaft, and six branches, three springing, one above another, from each side of the shaft, and all curving up to the same height. Upon these were laid the seven lamps, which were altogether separate in their construction (Exo_25:37). It was of pure gold, the base and the main shaft being of one piece of beaten metal. Each of the six branches was ornamented with three cups, made like almond blossoms; above these a "knop," variously compared by Jewish writers to an apple and a pomegranate, and still higher, a flower or bud. It is believed that there was a fruit and flower above each of the cups, making nine ornaments on each branch. The "candlestick" in Exo_25:34 can only mean the central shaft, and upon this there were "four cups with their knops and flowers" instead of three. With the lamp were tongs, and snuff-dishes in which to remove the charred wick from the temple.
As we are told that when the Lord called the child Samuel, "the lamp of God was not yet gone out" (1Sa_3:3), it follows that the lights were kept burning only during the night.
We have now to ascertain the spiritual meaning of this stately symbol. There are two other passages in Scripture which take up the figure and carry it forward. In Zechariah (Zec_4:2-12) we are taught that the separation of the lamps is a mere incident; they are to be conceived of as organically one, and moreover as fed by secret ducts with oil from no limited supply, but from living olive trees, vital, rooted in the system of the universe. Whatever obscurity may veil those "two sons of oil" (and this is not the place to discuss the subject), we are distinctly told that the main lesson is that of lustre derived from supernatural, invisible sources. Zerubbabel is confronted by a great mountain of hindrance, but it shall become a plain before him, because the lesson of the vision of the candlestick is this--"Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord." A lamp gives light not because the gold shines, but because the oil burns; and yet the oil is the one thing which the eye sees not. And so the Church is a witness for her Lord, a light shining in a dark place, not because of its learning or culture, its noble ritual, its stately buildings or its ample revenues. All these things her children, having the power, ought to dedicate. The ancient symbol put art and preciousness in an honourable place, worthily upholding the lamp itself; and in the New Testament the seven lamps of the Apocalypse were still of gold. But the true function of a lamp is to be luminous, and for this the Church depends wholly upon its supply of grace from God the Holy Ghost. It is "not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord."
Again, in the Revelation, we find the New Testament Churches described as lamps, among which their Lord habitually walks. And no sooner have the seven churches on earth been warned and cheered, than we are shown before the throne of God seven torches (burning by their own incandescence--vide Trench, N. T. Synonyms, p. 162), which are the seven spirits of God, answering to His seven light-bearers upon the earth (Rev_4:5).
Lastly, the perfect and mystic number, seven, declares that the light of the Church, shining in a dark place, ought to be full and clear, no imperfect presentation of the truth: "they shall light the lamps, to give light over against it."
Because this lamp shines with the light of the Church, exhibiting the graces of her Lord, therefore a special command is addressed to the people, besides the call for contributions to the work in general, that they shall bring pure olive oil, not obtained by heat and pressure, but simply beaten, and therefore of the best quality, to feed its flame.
It is to burn, as the Church ought to shine in all darkness of the conscience or the heart of man, from evening to morning for ever. And the care of the ministers of God is to be the continual tending of this blessed and sacred flame.
THE PATTERN IN THE MOUNT.
Exo_25:9, Exo_25:40.
Twice over (Exo_25:9, Exo_25:40, and cf. Exo_26:30, Exo_27:8, etc.) Moses was reminded to be careful to make all things after the pattern shown him in the mount. And these words have sometimes been so strained as to convey the meaning that there really exists in heaven a tabernacle and its furniture, the grand original from which the Mosaic copy was derived.
That is plainly not what the Epistle to the Hebrews understands (Heb_8:5). For it urges this admonition as a proof that the old dispensation was a shadow of ours, in which Christ enters into heaven itself, and our consciences are cleansed from dead works to serve the living God. The citation is bound indissolubly with all the demonstration which follows it.
We are not, then, to think of a heavenly tabernacle, exhibited to the material senses of Moses, with which all the details of his own work must be identical.
Rather we are to conceive of an inspiration, an ideal, a vision of spiritual truths, to which all this work in gold and acacia-wood should correspond. It was thus that Socrates told Glaucon, incredulous of his republic, that in heaven there is laid up a pattern, for him that wishes to behold it. Nothing short of this would satisfy the inspired application of the words in the Epistle to the Hebrews, where the readers, who were Jewish converts, are asked to recognise in this verse evidence that the light of the new dispensation illuminated the institutions of the old.
Without this pervading sentiment, the most elaborate specifications of weight and measurement, of cup and pomegranate and flower, could never have produced the required effect. An ideal there was, a divinely designed suggestiveness, which must be always present to his superintending vigilance, as once it shone upon his soul in sacred vision or trance; a suggestiveness which might possibly be lost amid correct elaborations, like the soul of a poem or a song, evaporating through a rendering which is correct enough, yet in which the spirit, even if that alone, has been forgotten.
It is surely a striking thing to find this need of a pervading sentiment impressed upon the author of the first piece of religious art that ever was recognised by heaven.
For it is the mysterious all-pervading charm of such a dominant sentiment which marks the impassable difference between the lowliest work of art, and the highest piece of art-manufacture which is only a manufactured article.
And assuredly the recognition of this principle among a people whose ancient history shows but little interest in art, calls for some attention from those who regard the tabernacle itself as a fiction, and its details as elaborated in Babylonia, in the priestly interest. (Kuenen, Relig. of Israel, ii. 148).
The problem of problems for all who deny the divinity of the Old Testament is to explain the curious position which its institutions are consistent in accepting. They rest on the authority of heaven, and yet they are not definitive, but provisional. They are always looking forward to another prophet like their founder, a new covenant better than the present one, a high priest after the order of a Canaanite enthroned at the right hand of Jehovah, a consecration for every pot in the city like that of the vessels in the temple (Deu_18:15; Jer_31:31; Psa_110:1, Psa_110:4; Zec_14:20). And here, "in the priestly interest," is an avowal that the Divine habitation which they boast of is but the likeness and shadow of some Divine reality concealed. And these strange expectations have proved to be the most fruitful and energetic principles in their religion.
This very presence of the ideal is what will for ever make the highest natures quite certain that the visible universe is no mere resultant of clashing forces without a soul, but the genuine work of a Creator. The universe is charged throughout with the most powerful appeals to all that is artistic and vital within us; so that a cataract is more than water falling noisily, and the silence of midnight more than the absence of disturbance, and a snow mountain more than a storehouse to feed the torrents in summer, being also poems, appeals, revelations, whispers from a spirit, heard in the depth of ours.
Does any one, listening to Beethoven's funeral march, doubt the utterance of a soul, as distinct from clanging metal and vibrating chords? And the world has in it this mysterious witness to something more than heat and cold, moisture and drought: something which makes the difference between a well-filled granary and a field of grain rippling golden in the breeze. This is not a coercive argument for the hostile logic-monger: it is an appeal for the open heart. "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear."
To fill the tabernacle of Moses with spiritual meaning, the ideal tabernacle was revealed to him in the Mount of God.
Let us apply the same principle to human life. There also harmony and unity, a pervading sense of beauty and of soul, are not to be won by mere obedience to a mandate here and a prohibition there. Like Moses, it is not by labour according to specification that we may erect a shrine for deity. Those parables which tell of obedient toil would be sadly defective, therefore, without those which speak of love and joy, a supper, a Shepherd bearing home His sheep, a prodigal whose dull expectation of hired service is changed for investiture with the best robe and the gold ring, and welcome of dance and music.
How shall our lives be made thus harmonious, a spiritual poem and not a task, a chord vibrating under the musician's hand? How shall thought and word, desire and deed, become like the blended voices of river and wind and wood, a witness for the divine? Not by mere elaboration of detail (though correctness is a condition of all true art), but by a vision before us of the divine life, the Ideal, the pattern shown to all, and equally to be imitated (strange though it may seem) by peasant and prince, by woman and sage and child.
FOOTNOTES:
[39] This investigation offers a fine example of the folly of that kind of interpretation which looks about for some sort of external and arbitrary resemblance, and fastens upon that as the true meaning. Nothing is more common among these expounders than to declare that the wood and gold of the ark are types of the human and Divine natures of our Lord. If either ark or mercy-seat should be compared to Him, it is obviously the latter, which speaks of mercy. But this was of pure gold.
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On vv1, 10, 17, 28, 31 Exo_25:2. An offering.] Trumah, from the root rom, “that…
CRITICAL NOTES.—
Exo_25:2. An offering.] Trumah, from the root rom, “that which is taken off,” from what has been put by as private property reserved for special enjoyment. Hence the injunction, “of every man whose heart impelleth him,” as there might be some who would not willingly part with what they associated in their hearts as pleasurable enjoyments, for the offering was to consist of choice things. Trumah = offering, also admits of the meaning raised, i.e., to higher purpose, from the very things set apart for earthly pleasures offering should be made for the building of the sanctuary. Gifts coming only from persons whose heart impelleth them had to be the material of which the sanctuary was to be constructed, and in such love-built sanctuary, Jehovah was willing to dwell.
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Exo_25:9. Pattern] = tabnith, model or prototype, conveys the idea that a higher purport than the construction of a temporary tabernacle was the design of that pattern, evidently foreshadowing Him who came and tabernacled among us, and in the tabernacle of our flesh lovingly offered by the blessed Virgin. “Be it unto me according to Thy word” (Luk_1:38).
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Exo_25:1-10
THE LAWS OF SACRIFICE AND SERVICE[1]
[1] Most of the sketches on Chapters 25–33 are specially contributed to this Commentary by Rev. W. L. Walkinson.
We are taught here—
I. That whatsoever is done for God must be done willingly. “Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring Me an offering,” Exo_25:2. The sanctuary was to be built through offerings, not by a tax. “Of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart,” Exo_25:2. There was to be no constraint or coercion. The Hebrew is literally rendered: “On the part of every one whom his heart drove.”—Keil. How noble is service and sacrifice when it is the spontaneous fruit of the spirit! How joyful is such giving and work! The man has not to spur himself, to argue with himself, to just move himself to action and charity by constraint, but his heart drives him, and his work and giving are full of joyfulness. How efficacious such service! A piece of brass touched by a loving soul has more power in it than shekels of gold given by cold hearts and cold hands.
II. That whatsoever is done for God must be our best, Exo_25:3-7. All things of beauty, preciousness, sweetness, and brightness. We must ever give God our best. Let us be sure that we give Him the best of ourselves—our life in the beauty, sweetness, and preciousness of youth, and not the scraps of a wasted life; let us give Him the best of our powers in seeking to understand His word and worship at His feet; let us not always give Him the smallest coin in our purse; let us not give Him the worthless scraps of our time, or wealth, or ability, or influence; but consecrate to Him the rarest, fairest, brightest gifts of life and fortune.
III. That whatsoever is done for God must be done according to Divine method, Exo_25:9. And this command is constantly repeated. Let us beware of “will-worship.” God has great reasons for all His commandments, and we must not lightly depart from them. We must carry out God’s work on the lines laid down in God’s Word.
IV. That whatsoever is thus done for God secures a great reward. “And let them make Me a sanctuary: that I may dwell among them,” Exo_25:8. The people gave of their treasures to erect the tabernacle, and then a Glory shone there full of truth and grace. Whatsoever is done simply and spiritually for God, brings us nearer to God, brings God nearer to us. Let all bring their services and sacrifices to God. The princes gave the jewels (Exo_35:27), but the poor could give the brass; the rich gave the gold and scarlet, but the common people could give a ram’s or badger’s skin. And if all give their best, God shall bless all alike (2Co_8:11-12).
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Exo_25:1-10. How befitting the wealthy members of Christ’s Church among us is disinterested liberality; The tabernacle was mainly formed of the spoils of Egypt: should not our worldly gains be hallowed, in greater or less proportion, to the glory and honour of God? The people of Israel brought much more than enough for the service of the works which the Lord commanded to be made. Indeed, Moses gave commandment and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary. So the people were restrained from bringing (Exo_36:5-6). Only think of a proclamation in Christian England to restrain the liberality of British Churches in the cause and service of their Lord and Saviour! What a rebuke to our too general parsimony is here!
—W. Mudge.
Surely, divine philanthropy needs not the excitement and the gaze of notoriety to give it impulse. When the stony rock of the human heart is smitten, and a fountain of living water therein opened, its overflowings will be felt, and the Christian, like Abraham, will become a blessing in the place of his sojourn. Israel’s offering to the tabernacle was a willing offering: and it is the will spiritualised, subdued, and sweetly captivated to the yoke of Christ, that constitutes the seat and source of all true charity. The walls of Jerusalem rose rapidly under Nehemiah and his faithful coadjutors, for the defence and security of the holy city against Sanballat and his arrogant compeers; and the reason assigned for the successful prosecution of their labour is, The people had a mind to the work (Exo_4:6). With like-mindedness, like results would follow: whereas, without a primary consecration of ourselves to God, our most laborious efforts may prove abortive. “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly or of necessity: for the Lord loveth a cheerful giver” (2Co_9:7). It is principle which the great Father and Giver of all Good chiefly regards in the conduct of His creatures (1Sa_16:7). Hence it is, that mites may be inestimable and millions may be contemptible. Look well, then, unto the state of your hearts before God, and let no attention, however sedulous and constant, to the outward custom and duties of religion, make you forgetful of your inward frame. And at the same time, remember, the higher your station in society, the more commanding your influence and wealth may be, still greater responsibilities rest upon you—Ibid.
(1.) The tabernacle then was a type or emblem of Jesus Christ. “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt,—or as the original expresses it, tabernacled—among us.” Such a manner of representing the sojourn of the spirit within its tenement of clay, is frequent among the sacred writers. St. Paul calls the body “our earthly house of this tabernacle.” St. Peter declares “that he must soon put it off,” or exchange mortality for life. Even thus, the Saviour spake of His own flesh, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” His body was the vail; and in His incarnation, when He descended from heaven, and became “Emmanuel, God with us,” He shrouded essential Deity in the likeness of our flesh. And as the Most High dwelt visibly within the sanctuary, even on the ark, so did He reside in the human nature and tabernacle of His dear Son: for “in Christ dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.” “We beheld His glory, the glory, as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” Dark, indeed, had been the tabernacle in the wilderness, unless the Shekinah had shed its radiance through it, and the glory of the Lord had filled it. Dark and dreary had been the humanity of Christ, to the eye of those who looked for salvation through Him, unless, in the humiliation of that external character which exhibited “no beauty that we should desire Him,” they could also behold the ineffable splendour shed forth by the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. God was in “Christ, reconciling the world to Himself.”
(2.) This consideration leads me to add, that the tabernacle was a symbol of every real Christian. God dwelt within the sanctuary in the wilderness. He dwells within every renewed and believing heart. I will set My sanctuary among them for evermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them. Ye are the temples of the living God. In Christ Jesus ye also are builded together for an habitation of God, through the Spirit. In the soul of every true follower of the Saviour does the Father dwell, the object of his worship, the author of his blessings, the principles of his spiritual and everlasting life. And, as the ark held the commandments and kept them from pollution, so must he in whom the Father dwells, and in whom Christ is formed the hope of glory, lay up the law in his heart, and preserve it from pollution.
The tabernacle also typified the Church. It was an emblem of the heavenly temple. “I heard,” said the beloved John, when the consummated felicities of the Redeemer’s Church burst upon him in the visions of Patmos—“I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God.” Did He take up His dwelling in their hearts, as over the ark, in the ancient sanctuary? Did His love, His presence, and His Spirit fill their minds, as the Shekinah filled the holy of holies? Oh, then, what will be the splendour of His appearance, when the cloud shall be withdrawn, and His faithful worshippers shall see Him as He is? Glorious things are related of the tabernacle, and glorious things are spoken of thee, O thou temple of the everlasting hills.—Buddicom.
ILLUSTRATIONS
BY
REV. WILLIAM ADAMSON
Typology! Exo_25:1-40. If you hold up your hand between the candle and the wall, what do you see? That shadow of your hand is not, however, of the same size and colour. It is only an outline. Holding up some beautiful object which we have never seen before, its shadow would give but a feeble impression of itself. So Heb_10:1 says, that the Law had a shadow of good things to come. Those good things have come; and
“Man has gazed on heavenly secrets,
Sunned himself in heavenly glow;
Seen the glory, heard the music,—
We are wiser than we know.”
—Mackay.
Cheerful-Giving! Exo_25:1.
1. A missionary association having been formed at Huahine, in the South Seas, the native Christians were reminded that they must give “willingly with their hearts” One, however, brought a pig to the treasurer, Huatia, and throwing the animal down at his feet, said in angry tone, “Here is an offering for your society.” Huatia calmly explained to the giver that such offerings were for GOD, not for any Society, and that “GOD loveth a cheerful giver.” He then, to the chagrin of the native, added, “Take it back again, for God does not accept angry gifts.”
2. In Tahiti, on a similar occasion, a person brought a quantity of cocoanut oil to King Pomare, exclaiming in a very bad spirit, “Here are five bamboos of oil; take them for your Missionary Society.” The churlish giver was greatly surprised when Pomare pushed aside his offering with the rebuke, “I cannot mix your angry bamboos with GOD’S oil, so take them away.” As Beecher says, There are some who give as a perennial fountain does, freely and without force, while there are others who resemble a well which requires much pumping.
“See the rivers flowing
Downward to the sea,
Pouring all their treasures
Bountiful and free.”
—Procter.
Church-Contributions! Exo_25:2-8. A missionary rode one day into a ruined village seeking subscriptions to build a church in the neighbourhood. He called upon a Negro Christian, whom he found living with his wife and family and beneath the fallen roof of his hut, which the earthquake had recently shaken and shattered. On ascertaining the missionary’s object the negro went back to the hut, and from amongst the confusion of overturned furniture brought ten dollars. Struck by this liberal gift, the servant of God remonstrated with the donor, but he promptly replied, “Sir, we must build up God’s house before our own, and get into it, and then our prayers will bring down such a blessing as will soon set all right again.”
“Give, give, be always giving!
Who gives not is not living.
The more you give,
The more you live.”
—Anon.
Free-Will Offerings! Exo_25:3.
1. An Alpine missionary relates an interesting circumstance of the Christians at Vanvert, in regard to the scheme for erecting a sanctuary there, “Some,” he says, “gave money in francs, some devoted portions of their wearing apparel, some, and these not a few, sacrificed their earrings and necklaces, some could give nothing but a cheese, or a sheep, they were so poor.”
2. This has its parallel in Southern Africa, where, on one occasion, to build a church, the natives contributed oxen, cows, sheep, goats; also horns, skins, ostrich feathers, eggs, &c. Of them, St. Paul might say, “Their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality; for to their power, yea, and beyond their power, they were willing of themselves, praying us with much entreaty that we would receive their gift” (1Co_8:3). Then
“Give! as the morning that flows out of heaven;
Give! as the waves when their channel is riven;
Give! as the free air and sunshine are given;
Lavishly, utterly, joyfully give.”
Israels’-Gifts! Exo_25:4-7.
1. Bush remarks that the hair of the Eastern goats, particularly that of the Angola species, is of the most delicate and silky softness, and wrought into the kind of cloth known by the name of camlets.
2. Thomson relates that the vast flocks which annually come from Armenia and Northern Syria are nearly all males, and that the leather, therefore, is literally rams’ skins dyed red.
3. Macmillan says that the spices here were to perfume the oil. It was composed of two paris of myrrh, two parts of cassia, one part cinnamon, and one part sweet calamus, with a sufficient quantity of the purest olive oil to give it the proper consistency.
4. Spices were also used in making the incense; and, according to rabbinical tradition, a priest or Levite, one of the fifteen prefects of the temple, was retained, whose special duty it was to prepare this precious compound. So precious and holy was this “sweet incense” considered, that it was forbidden to make a similar perfume for private use on pain of death.
“Man is the world’s high priest; he doth present
The sacrifice for all; while they below
Unto the service mutter an assent,
Such as springs use at fall, and winds that blow.”
—Herbert.
Ark-Speech! Exo_25:10-17. God gives preeminence to the ark; as the heart and core of all religion.
1. It tells us in language clear and emphatic that Christ should fill up the foreground of each thought and word of ours, that no reserve, no unworthy veil should obscure the brightness of His smile, and that no man should hide Him in the rear.
2. It also tells us that underneath the seeming barrenness of the Mosaic tabernacle details lie hidden many precious truths—hidden for man to search for—hidden, that when sought and found, man may taste the sweetness of discovery and possession. We, therefore, should not forget that
“The roots of fairest bloom lie sometime hidden
The deepest underneath the soil; that stones
Of purest crystal are from gloomiest mines.”
—Bickersteth.
Shittim-Wood! Exo_25:10. Dr. Shaw says that the acacia, being by far the largest and most common tree of these deserts, there is good reason to conjecture that the shittim-wood, of which the several utensils of the tabernacle were made, was that of the acacia. The tree abounds with flowers of a globular shape, and of an excellent smell; which is another proof of its being the Scripture shitta tree. The name is derived from the Hebrew verb shata, because the sharpness of its spines made animals decline or turn aside. This plant is so hard and solid as to become almost incorruptible. In the prophecies of Isaiah, it is joined with the myrtle and other sweet smelling plants.
“The cedar waved its arms of peaceful shade,
The vine embraced the elm, and myrtles flower’d
Among the fragrant orange groves.”
Ark-Symbolism! Exo_25:10. St. John tells us that with enraptured eye, he beheld the Temple of God opened in heaven, and saw therein the ark of God’s testament (Joh_11:19). The veil had been rent at Christ’s death; therefore its snowy surface, with richly inwrought cherubic figures of scarlet and gold, no longer concealed the holiest of all from view. The covenant-ark is visible. John gazes on this familiar symbol so often and so long associated with the fortunes and the history of the Hebrew people, the palladium of their liberties, the rallying-point in every hour of disaster. It had now, however, a deeper significance as the type of the great Propitiatory—the true ark of testimony. In the glories of His Divine Person, says Macduff, and in the fulness of His mediatorial work, Jesus is set in the heavenly temple, the pledge and guarantee of eternal safety and peace to the Church purchased with His blood. I thank thee
“For countless mercies from Thy hand, my God,
Which never cease;
For each sprinkling of that cleansing blood
Which speaketh peace.”
—E. C. C. B.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Sermon Bible 1900 · Public Domain On v1 We have to consider the Divine presence, the abiding…
Exo 25:8
We have to consider the Divine presence, the abiding of God with men, how it is accomplished and what it involves.
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I. The dwelling of God among us in Christ Jesus, when it is a reality, and not merely an idea or a phrase, imports and of necessity secures the passing away from us of the things we have most reason to fear. When God comes to dwell among us, which can only be by dwelling in us individually, sin goes from us, in its guilt and its predominating power.
II. God comes thus to dwell with men for the development of character and for the nourishment of all goodness. The putting away of sin is but the negative part of salvation. The presence in its place of truth and duty and love and obedience—this is what makes a saved man.
III. For how long does God dwell with men? Deep philosophy as well as high faith sanctions the conclusion that the God of grace, who makes covenant with man and dwells with him, is "our God for ever and ever," and that He "will never leave us and never forsake us."
A. Raleigh, Sermons Preached at the Dedication of Union Chapel, Islington, p. 158.
Notice:—
I. God makes Himself dependent on the will of man—"Let them make Me." This is true, not only of material wealth, but of man’s nature. God may be thwarted by man.
II. In this Divine conception of the Church there is a place for the rich. It is not impossible for rich men to be good men. God has given their offerings a place. "This is the offering which ye shall take of them: gold."
III. Labour has its place. There was a great deal of timber required; trees had to be cut down and brought to the spot.
IV. Woman has her rights here. We read in Exo 35:24-25, of women that were wise-hearted, who did spin with their hands.
V. There is room for genius. Precious stones are required.
VI. The meanest is acceptable if it is the best that we can bring.
VII. Our best and our all is of no avail without the atonement of Christ.
T. Champness, New Coins from Old Gold, p. 32.
References: Exo 25:15.—S. Baring-Gould, Village Preaching for a Year, vol. ii., appendix, p. 19. Exo 25:21 (with Rev 11:19.).—Parker The Ark of God, p. 1, and vol. ii., p. 205.
Exo 25:21-22
It was a leading and distinctive feature of Jewish worship that no image was to represent Jehovah, and yet the Jews were taught that the omnipotent God resided specially in the tabernacle, or temple, of their nation, and special rites and prohibitions guarded it, as if the great King were indeed there.
I. The Jewish Holy of Holies was empty of any image of Deity, and was entered by the high-priest alone, and by him only once a year. The centre of interest in the room was the ark of God, a chest of acacia wood, about four feet long and two feet six inches broad and deep. It contained the tables of testimony, the written agreement or covenant between God and the people of Israel.
II. That was not all. The lesson taught at Sinai was not all that the Jewish ark taught, for the ark had a lid or covering known as the "mercy-seat." Inside the ark and below was the law; above and upon the ark was that vacant space associated, through the sprinkling of blood, with the covering or forgiving of the people’s transgressions; and with this seat of mercy and pardon above, rather than with the seat of law below, the presence of God was associated. The material arrangements taught the Jews great spiritual lessons: (1) that the law had been broken; (2) that mercy prevails over law; (3) that the mercy-seat needed to be sprinkled with blood.
T. M. Herbert, Sketches of Sermons, p. 98.
Exo 25:22
All the time that the history of the Jews was going on, the mercy-seat and the cherubim that covered it were still witnessing to the children of Israel that God was in the midst of them. So the words, "There I will meet with thee," stood from generation to generation.
The New Testament, like the Old, is written to explain these words. The New Testament declares that He for whose appearance the Jewish worshippers longed has appeared. The New Testament tells us that in His Son God has met men and has reconciled them unto Himself. The lessons of the New Testament take up all the words and lessons of the Old Testament, all that is written about the cherubim and the mercy-seat. They say, "All this is now, not for Israelites, but for men, for men in the farthest ends of the earth." If you turn to the last book of the Bible, you will find the Book of Genesis appearing again there, a nobler tree of life than that of the garden of Eden, which is not guarded by angels, but the fruit of which all are invited to taste. You will find the Book of Exodus again there. You will hear of the tabernacle of God being with men, and of His dwelling with them and being their God. You will find some of the latest words in the book those which have gone through the whole of it,—"Worship God." Worship means that God is meeting us and drawing us to Himself, that He has sent His Spirit into the world and established His Church in the world for the very purpose of bringing all to Him. This is the message that the Bible has brought to men in past ages; this is the message that it brings to them now.
F. D. Maurice, The Worship of God and Fellowship among Men, p. 127.
I. To the Jews God set apart one special place for sacrifice, one special place for closest communion, and he who wanted some direct oracle from God must go to that spot to get his answer. The oneness continues, but it is not now oneness of spot; it is oneness of path. All the oneness of the Mosaic types goes to make the oneness of the Lord Jesus Christ.
II. It was upon the mercy-seat that God said, "I will meet thee and commune with thee." According to our views of Christ, according to our nearness to Christ, so will be our experience of communion with God.
III. There could be no true throne of God in the world if mercy were separated from justice. But now it is just in God to be merciful because of all the deep things that that ark tells us. The sin has been punished in Christ, and therefore God can be just and the Justifier of them that believe in Jesus.
J. Vaughan, Meditations in Exodus, p. 46.
Exo 25:31-37
I. This light shines because it is light, without effort, spontaneously. If the lamp is kindled, it will shine; and so this emblem has its beautiful felicity in that it points, as the highest definition of all Christian men, to the effortless, spontaneous irradiation and streaming out from themselves of the fire that lies within them. Like a light in an alabaster vase, that shines through its transparency and reveals the lovely veining of the stone, so the grace of God in a man’s heart will shine through him, turning even the opacity of his earthly nature into a medium for veiling perhaps, but also in another aspect for making visible, the light that is in him.
II. The light was derived light; and it was fed. We have a Priest who walks in His temple and trims the lamps. The condition of the light is keeping close to Christ, and it is because there is such a gap between you and Him that there is so little brightness in you. The candlestick was really a lamp fed by oil; that symbol, as Zechariah tells us, stands for the Divine influence of God’s quickening Spirit.
III. The light was clustered light. The seven-branched candlestick represented the rigid, formal unity of the Jewish Church. In the New Testament we have the seven candlesticks, diverse, but made one because Jesus Christ is in the midst of them. In this slight diversity of emblem we get the whole difference between the hard external unity of the ancient Jewish polity and the free variety in unity and diversity of the Christian Church, with its individual development, as well as with its binding association.
A. Maclaren, Contemporary Pulpit, vol. iv., p. 253.
References: Exo 25:40.—Phillips Brooks, Sermons Preached in English Churches, p. 1; A. Rowland, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xx., p. 140. 25—Homiletic Quarterly, vol. iv., p. 125; Preacher’s Monthly, vol. ii., p. 303. 25-27.—Parker, vol. ii., p. 2221 25-31.—W. M. Taylor, Moses the Lawgiver, p. 232; J. Monro Gibson, The Mosaic Era, p. 105. Exo 26:6.—H. Macmillan, The Olive Leaf, p. 15; H. Downton, The Sunday Magazine, 1877, p. 490. 26—Homiletic Quarterly, vol. ii., pp. 113-115.
The Sermon Bible, ed. William Robertson Nicoll (1888–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
F. W. Grant 1903 · Public Domain On v1 Section 2. (Exo 25:1-40; Exo 26:1-37; Exo 27:1-21; Exo…
Section 2. (Exo 25:1-40; Exo 26:1-37; Exo 27:1-21; Exo 28:1-43; Exo 29:1-46; Exo 30:1-38; Exo 31:1-18.)
The tabernacle; the means of sustaining relationship when sin has come in: the types of a greater salvation.
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We have now the directions as to the tabernacle, the means by which, in the inevitable breach of the first covenant, relationship is to be sustained. We find as yet only the pattern of it, but which fully shows that God has anticipated and provided for the failure of that in which the people placed such assured confidence. Just for this reason was it necessary that they should be allowed to prove fully what was in them. But the trial was to be much longer than this might argue, and not for their need only, but for all after-generations.
1. There are five subsections; of which this introductory one shows how alone Jehovah could dwell amongst them. While He alone must prescribe the manner of it, they yet must provide Him a dwelling-place, and that of their own freewill. The toil of slaves could not furnish this; forced labor could not be acceptable to Him who had been their Redeemer out of Egyptian bondage that they might freely serve Him. The Psalmist’s words find expression here (Psa 22:3): God inhabits the praises of Israel. But what meaning is given to this when we remember whose voice it is that utters itself in this psalm, -that it is His who by His own atoning sufferings makes possible and inspires the praises of His redeemed! And it is of this suffering that the tabernacle-services speak to us throughout. Typically thus we see in the materials here of what our praises must be full, for they all utter to us the blessed name of Jesus.
2. And then we enter upon a survey of the elements of this tabernacle-worship, -"patterns" only as yet, -but which we find realized before the book ends, when they are all emphasized by repetition: what may be seen in this it will be for us to inquire there: at present, we have only the patterns.
(1) First of these, the ark and mercy-seat, together the throne of God in Israel. That He "sitteth between the cherubim" we are often reminded, and thence (we are told here) His law was to go forth to Israel.
Christ is the substance of all these shadows, and in the ark we have surely Christ. The acacia-wood as the wood of the desert, -the only timber-tree in it -speaks of Him as the "root out of a dry ground," as which He grew up before God (Isa 53:2), precious and durable, the type of victory over surrounding circumstances -of life conquering death. Such was Christ in His humanity; His divine glory is intimated by the gold which covered it, yet was distinct from it, as His deity was distinct from His humanity. The rings are of gold, in which the staves were to remain constantly; for divine love makes Him ever a pilgrim with His pilgrim-people.
Upon the ark, fitting exactly to it, is the kapporeth,* or "mercy-seat," of pure gold, glorious as divine mercy is, one with the cherubim at each end of it, whose faces toward the mercy-seat are also toward each other, attracted by a common object, which, although not seen as yet, is the blood of atonement to be put there. They are attached thus to the throne of God, and are always seen in connection with the display of judicial authority; as at the gate of Eden in conjunction with the sword-flame by which the way to the tree of life is stopped; or as in Ezekiel’s vision of judgment; again the "living beings" in the midst of the throne in Rev 4:1-11 are undoubtedly cherubic.
{*Not implying a mere "covering," but a word derived from the intensive form of kaphar (kipper), always applied to atonement or its results. The Septuagint translate it "hilasterion," "propitiatory," and the apostle in Heb 9:5 adopts their rendering, while in Rom 3:25 he applies it to the Lord, "whom God hath set forth to be a propitiatory through faith in His blood." This word, as used of the mercy-seat, derives its significance from the blood of atonement, or propitiation, which once a year was put upon it. But the doctrine of atonement will come up for fuller consideration when we come to Leviticus.}
Their forms are not given yet, for in Genesis they are only named. Here we see their wings, (suggesting their heavenly character,) and where their faces are directed, and that they are part of the throne itself, and two in number (speaking of competent witness). Every thing assures us that they express the executive righteousness of the throne, which requires and finds its satisfaction in the work of atonement.
The ark, then, as a whole, is the throne of God in Israel, in righteousness, yet in mercy, through the blood of sacrifice; and Christ is shown in it as the One through whom alone such a throne can be set up among men. He is indeed God’s righteous mercy-seat. Within the ark is to be put the testimony, the tables of the law; which cannot but remind us of Him who said, "Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of Me, I delight to do Thy will, O My God: yea, Thy law is within My heart." (Psa 40:7-8.) But if thus within His heart, magnified and made honorable by His own subjection to it through His life, and in His taking upon the cross its curse upon sin, -it is none the less shut up from man, the curse removed from him. In that which we are considering there is as yet only the shadow, not the substance; but the shadow even shows that not by man’s fulfillment of responsibility, but by atonement only could God have His place among men. The purely legal covenant was not that under which man could really abide at all, and in God’s mind it was already set aside.
(2) We have next the table of show-bread, not the ordinance of the show-bread, which comes in Leviticus (Lev 24:5-9). The mention of it here is only to show the purpose of the table itself. The show-bread, as we find it in the later book, assuredly speaks of communion, and with a wondrous fullness of thought in it which it would be here out of place to enter into. Here the table, made of the same material as the ark, must speak of Christ as the ark does. Christ, then, is here the Sustainer of communion. The wood and the gold we need not dwell on again, except to notice (what is equally true of the ark) that the gold outside shows us the Lord, not as He was in His humiliation upon earth, but glorified in heaven. The whole sanctuary, holy and holiest, is the figure of the heavenly places (Heb 9:23-24), and it is Christ as there, risen, ascended, glorified, -gone up, His work being accepted, -who sustains us in the place of fellowship with God.
Thus the table is of the same height with the ark, over-topped only by the golden mercy-seat, though it falls short of it in breadth and length; for God’s mercy, as revealed in the propitiation for sins, is more than actually realized in the communion of saints. The propitiation is for the whole world (1Jn 2:2), though on condition of faith (Rom 3:25), which all men, alas! have not. Thus the table spread for the saints has not in this respect the dimensions of the mercy-seat.
Around the table is a margin of a hand-breadth, which may imply the divine hand that is round about; while table and margin are encompassed with a golden border -possibly a crown, although the word is not used for crown elsewhere, -which suggests how the divine glory defines and marks out all.
This table, though in character heavenly, is still for present use, as the rings and staves would show. It is part of that provision of God for us which is available by grace through all our wilderness journeying, and the vessels for the drink-offering which accompany the table show us how of necessity communion and thanksgiving are linked together.
(3) The only other portion of the furniture of the sanctuary that we find here (for the incense altar is found in another connection, chap. 30) is the golden lamp-stand, which we must, of course, distinguish from the light it bears. In Rev 4:5, in unmistakable reference to what we have here, "the seven lamps of fire burning before the throne" are interpreted for us as "the seven spirits of God." The lamp-stand supports the light, while it is itself lighted up by it, -a thing of the most essential consequence in this case: for if the Spirit of God is the Sanctifier, Christ is Himself the means of sanctification to the soul (1Co 1:30), and the work of the Spirit is thus to take of the things of Christ and show them to us.
Moreover, it is not only Christ, but Christ in heaven, who is our sanctification, as He says: "And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth." (Joh 17:19.) He sets Himself apart as the One gone up to God, a Man, to be at once the pattern and the power of sanctification in men and "we all beholding the glory of the Lord with unvailed face" -in contrast with Moses, vailed one -"are changed into the same image from glory to glory" (2Co 3:18).
We have now the means of interpreting the sanctuary lamp-stand. It is of pure gold simply, not (as with the ark and table) of wood and gold: the distinction of natures in Christ is here, therefore, not the thought; our attention is to be fixed upon this, that it is the "glory of God" we behold in the face of Jesus Christ (2Co 4:6). It is to the image of God we are to be brought by this outshining of the glory of God.
Yet we see in whose face it shines: for all over the stem and branches is the semblance of the almond, bud and flower and fruit. Now the almond brings us back to the tree, the human element; nor only so: the almond is in the book of Numbers the symbol of Christ, and of Christ in resurrection. The rod of Aaron put into the sanctuary bursts into sudden bloom and fruitage after the manner of the lamp-stand, the clear and beautiful figure of resurrection. This declares the divine Priest (Num 17:1-13), and with our sanctification the glorious Priest, as gone in for us into the sanctuary, is concerned. But not only so; on each branch we find the resurrection-number 3 of these almond symbols, and connecting the three pairs of branches three more on the central stem, which has itself four -thus a 3 + 1.
Still more, the almond is, in Hebrew, shaqed, "hastening," because it is the first tree which, reviving out of the winter-sleep, "hastens" to put forth its blossoms, first-fruits of all that is to come. How beautiful the type here of Christ our "first-fruits" in connection with this theme of sanctification, in which when perfected the after fruits will be rendered to God!
But again, as to the branches of the lamp-stand, Isa 11:1-16 is surely an inspired interpretation. There we find the Lord indeed in another character, as the Branch out of the root of Jesse, King of Israel, but with the fullness of the Spirit for the government of the earth. Here is the connection, and it is a remarkable one; for as in the lamp-stand the seven branches which bear the seven lamps are in three pairs, with one uniting central stem, so are the seven spirits of Isaiah united and divided: "And the Spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Jehovah." Here the "Spirit of Jehovah," standing necessarily alone, yet unites certainly all the rest. "Jehovah" is God’s name by which He is in covenant with His people as their Redeemer, as this book of Exodus has taught us; and thus Christ, as the Mediator of the new covenant, holds His people fast to God. Is not this possibly the reason why there are, as we have seen, four almonds (the number of the creature) upon the central stem?
Strange at first it seems that for these lamps there should be provided snuffers and snuff-dishes; but it becomes simple if we remember that here as elsewhere the Spirit of God is seen as connected with the human instruments He is pleased to use, and that they need (how often!) the service which this implies. Snuffers are thus "golden," (for the glory of God,) though a priestly hand alone can use them aright.
(4) The tabernacle has three aspects in which we are to view it, in all of which the thought of its being the dwelling-place of God is fundamental. In the first place, it sets before us the heavenly places, as the epistle to the Hebrews fully shows: here its interior space with the ark, table and lamp-stand is specially in view. Though in connection with the earth, the house of God must, of course, in character be heavenly. Then it represents Christ Himself, as made flesh and tabernacling among us, the glory here being the glory of the Only-Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth (Joh 1:14, R.V. marg.). Here the curtains of the tabernacle are before us. And lastly, the church, is God’s house, as the epistle to the Hebrews again teaches (Heb 3:6) with distinct reference to the tabernacle. Here the boards of the tabernacle, the wooden part of the structure seem to give the thought.
We begin now with the curtains, and here we see that if the tabernacle is throughout the "pattern of things in the heavens," yet they are here brought down to earth, essentially a place of worship for the wilderness, whose bare sands were under the feet of the worshipers. In the land, the tabernacle was replaced by the temple. It is thus, as belonging to the earth, God in it come down to man, that the tabernacle fills its numerical place here, and the goats’ hair tent, and its coverings, harmonize perfectly with this.
The curtains speak, as their material shows, of practical righteousness, as the fine linen which covers the bride in Rev 19:1-21 does: "the fine linen is the righteousnesses of the saints." The Revised Version here gives "righteous
acts," and such robes have to be washed in the blood of Christ to make them white, (Rev 7:14; comp. 22: 14, R.V.) a clear evidence that they are not the symbol of Christ our righteousness, which can need no washing.
The "coats of skin" with which God clothed the first sinners were no human production: they were the fruit of death, not of life. But the "fine twined linen" speaks of human manufacture, the patient labor of which had not been yet transferred to the iron sinews which today bear the burden. The ten curtains confirm this thought, a number which -or some other multiple of 5 -meets us in the tabernacle again and again. Here they are divided into two fives, and in the measure of each curtain we find numbers just as significant -twenty-eight cubits in length, which is 4 X 7, and four cubits in breadth, showing how in the weakness of the creature into which He had come, one Man had reached an obedience that was perfect.
But we have not alone the fine twined linen here: blue and purple and scarlet are interwoven in it. We scarcely need the assurance of Maimonides, that the first of these "was the color of the firmament," to recognize the symbol of heavenliness; the purple and scarlet are both royal colors, and may well refer to Christ’s double royalty, as King of Israel, "the root of Jesse, and He that should rise to reign over the Gentiles," as the apostle quotes Isaiah. And this is the more plain, if as Keil says, and the literal rendering of the text seems to confirm, the blue, purple, and scarlet were simply used for the cherubic figures, which were wrought both upon these curtains and on the vail. The cherubim point to divine government, as we have seen, and thus we find here the King of God’s kingdom very simply declared. Let us notice too that the colors here are really purple-blue, purple-red, and crimson, so that through them all is a pervading tinge of the blue, -the heavenly color. But the fine linen, though these figures are woven into it, is itself white, -that which, as absolutely pure, reflects back the undivided ray of light, and "God is light."
Loops of blue and golden clasps unite these curtains into one tabernacle: every where this heavenly character connected with the display of the glory of God.
A tent of goat’s hair surmounts it, and here we have what is very different. For the goat is the evident type of the sinner, and therefore speaks also of the Substitute for sinners. "Sin" and "sin-offering." are the same word both in Greek and Hebrew. Thus the type here is simple enough to read. The eleven curtains of goats’ hair are divided for us into five and six, God with man and triumphing over sin; while each curtain in length is thirty cubits, and in breadth four. The latter number may remind us of the wondrous fact that in human weakness -power all against Him -was the battle won; while the former, if it is not to repeat and emphasize the former truths (being 5 X 6) must be taken as 3 X 10, and thus God glorified in the judgment of sin. The sixth curtain is doubled in front of the tent, facing with its gospel message the one who comes toward it from the world outside.
The tent had, again, a double covering: the innermost, of rams’ skins dyed red, and the outer, of seal-skin (or, as some still think, of badgers’ skins). The latter may speak of immovable steadfastness which no circumstance could affect,* underneath which lay, as the secret of it, a consecration to God which was devotedness even to death: such surely was the rams’ skin.
{*It is the suggestion of another that the seal-skin may imply perfect protection from a strange element.}
Such, then, is the picture of Him in whom dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. We now come to the board frame-work. And here there are forty-eight boards in all: 6 X 8 = 48; the number of victory over sin and the number of new creation come together. This is when we look at all together -the Church as a whole; when we look at the boards singly, we have quite different numbers. Each board was ten cubits long and one and one-half broad. The number of responsibility is clear enough, whatever the other may be, and this is perpendicular measure also.
But when we look at the boards, there seems a great difficulty in applying them, in the way we are doing, to the Church or to individual believers in it. Each board is of the same material, outside and in, as is the ark, and as is the table; and if these speak of Christ, how can the boards speak of any other? That is perfectly just: the boards do speak of Christ; but there is just the glory of divine grace, for we are in Christ. Thus it is that nothing could rightly represent us in our standing before God, except that which will turn our eyes entirely from ourselves, and rest them upon Christ in glory.
Yet let us test this every way. Is it not still an objection that the gold should be here, which we have looked at before as typifying the deity of our Lord? Is it not as Man, and simply as Man, that He represents us before God? and can the gold be in place then in such a connection, if it is still to typify, as in consistency it must, what it typified before?
Now it is surely right to insist upon strict accuracy here; for if error in divine things is ever serious, how much more when it involves points so fundamental as are these? It is certain that it is as Man only that Christ represents us before God. As God, He is our God and our Creator simply. Yet we are said (in some sense) to be in the Son, and even in the Father (Joh 17:21; 1Th 1:1; 2Th 1:1.) This, of course, is not position: it is relationship; it is in virtue of that "eternal life" we have received, which we have not in ourselves, but in Him who is the Source of it, and by which we are in very truth the children of God. Our life is in Christ thus, who is the "eternal life," not human life, but divine; and upon this depends our position also; for thus Christ is "last Adam" to the new race of men, and as in the old fallen head we fell, in the risen One we stand upright, as the boards stand before us here, rooted in their double sockets of silver, the witness of atonement (Exo 30:15; Exo 38:27). This silver of the atonement-money upon which they stand seems to show clearly that it is not Christ Himself who is contemplated in these boards, but His people in Him.
The bars that unite them are of the same two materials, but here there is no difficulty, for Christ is surely the uniting bond for His people.
The vail, again, is exactly like the inner curtains, and the inspired interpretation given in Heb 10:20 confirms that of the curtains also. It is Christ in His humanity, the way into the presence of God, but for which it must be rent, as we know it was rent when He died. Looking back, as we do, upon these types, we have to introduce this thought, that the vail is rent, and I think it is on this account -because of the ideal connection of the vail and its rending, that the cherubim are found upon it, as they are not upon the door of the tabernacle or the gate of the court. In these, the colors and the fine linen are still found; for it is the same Christ that is presented to us, but it is as having suffered He has entered into His glory. The cherubim speak of government in His hands already, Christ, as now we know Him, although now on the Father’s throne, not yet on His own; but on the Father’s throne speaks of His fullest dignity and of His eternal glory.
What, then, are the "pillars" that support the vail? It is plain that (in another form) they are just the boards of the tabernacle over again -acacia-wood and gold resting upon silver sockets. Thus we should naturally think of Christ as He now is, held up by the testimony of redeemed men, as in the pages of the New Testament prophets and apostles. And is it, perhaps, on this account, that whereas the boards stand each upon two sockets, the pillars stand each upon one only: they being the original witnesses upon whose testimony the Church is built? The number (4) may tell us, moreover, that even in this primary witness Israel’s exclusive position is set aside, as in Luke, the Gentile evangelist and historian of the Church. (Comp. Col 4:11 with 14.)
The division of the sanctuary by the vail into the holy and most holy is here pointed out. Thus was constituted that "first tabernacle" which the apostle speaks of (Heb 9:2; Heb 9:8,) as characteristic of Judaism, and for us now done away as such, -the rending of the vail having made the two one. This shows us in what way "the law, having a shadow of good things to come," was "not the very image" (Heb 10:1), a fact full of significance, and not to be set down to the general disparagement of such symbolic teaching, or as an excuse for loose and ill-fitting interpretations. On the contrary, this in the law is not meaningless, but full of meaning. "The way into the holiest" -into the presence of God -could not be opened while as yet man was under the test of the law: how would he have gloried in himself could this have been! To sinners confessedly under the condemnation of the law, on the other hand, Christ’s death has rent the vail and sprinkled the mercy-seat. The word for us -how opposite to all we had but a little while since as to Israel -is, "Let us draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith." (Heb 10:22.)
The covering for the entrance of the tent shows by its materials and colors what we know beforehand doctrinally, that Christ is ever the "Way." The cherubim are absent from it, however, as already noticed, and while the curtain still hangs from golden hooks, the five pillars stand now upon brazen and not silver sockets. Brass, (or "copper" it may have been; the word stands, as it appears, for both,) is the type of what is fixed and unchanging -of enduring strength. (Deu 28:23; Deu 33:25; Psa 107:16; Jer 1:18.) The "tent upon the tabernacle" is united into one by brazen clasps, and in the court outside we find it repeatedly, replacing the silver or the gold elsewhere. The pillars are still of acacia-wood and gold, and as not standing on silver sockets, would seem necessarily to represent Christ himself and not His people, -Christ’s own ministry, when upon the earth, which, going far beyond Judaism, introduced into the sanctuary itself, though the holiest of all only His death could open. "God manifest," as the gold declares, and standing in divine strength (upon the brazen sockets), the five pillars would beautifully speak of Immanuel, "God with us." Christ Himself come was thus the entrance of the sanctuary for us, the beginning of the ministry of heavenly things.
(5) We come now to the altar of burnt-offering; and its numerical place speaks again of God with men, as the same number in the length and breadth of it does of that human responsibility, the failure in which atonement was needed for. "The Son of Man must be lifted up" and "God gave His Son" are both thus in the type. For the altar has again its two materials, like the ark and they table, thus speaking of two natures; but the gold is replaced by the brass, the divine nature seems obscured and lost, yet is not, for the strength of superhuman endurance is found in the Man, Christ Jesus. And the altar is three cubits high, for God is glorified, -yea, and the Son of Man is glorified in the cross (Joh 13:31.) The brazen horns point every way from the four corners, for Christ died, not for Israel only, but for all; and the horns, speaking as elsewhere of power, are the ministry of that, through the blood that anoints them, to every ungodly one that is without strength (Rom 5:6.) The altar, being hollow, admitted the sacrificial fire within it, not bore it on the surface merely, -a solemn realization as to atonement.
(6) In the court of the tabernacle, the fine linen which encloses it has necessarily the same meaning as elsewhere. It speaks of practical righteousness, but there is no adornment of color or of figure traced upon it. The pillars which support it are, with their sockets, which are single, all of brass, but the connecting-rods and the hooks by which it hangs are of silver. The measure of the hangings of the courts is exactly that of the beautiful curtains of the tabernacle; but here the fine linen hangs from silver hooks, answering to the sockets of the tabernacle-boards, so that it is not Christ that is pictured, but the righteousness of saints, yet which is measured by what Christ is. The silver hook is dependent upon the silver rod, by which the weight is thrown upon the brazen posts, which easily sustain it, -redemption linking the believer with a strength that is not his own.
The numbers everywhere speak of responsibility, however, as well they may; for these white hangings close round the sanctuary to maintain its separation from the outside world. Sin is to be repelled and excluded from this slight-walled enclosure, where the only entrance is by Christ, as the curtained entrance here again shows, hanging as the fine linen of the court hangs -from silver hooks, because Christ as the way of access depends indeed upon the atonement He has made. Thus divine power has wrought for us in human weakness, as the four brazen pillars show which uphold the curtain.
Here, at the border of the sanctuary-enclosure, where it meets the world, the types are found of God’s triumph over sin.
3. In the third series of these tabernacle-types, we come now to consider man’s approach to God, and in connection with this, necessarily the Mediator-Priest. It is here for the first time the priesthood comes formally before us. Melchisedek in Genesis has given us the type of a better order of priesthood than that of Aaron, but he is very briefly, and as it were incidentally, introduced. In Exodus, beside Jethro, we have among the people of Israel priests recognized, "young men," probably of the first-born, who are not further noticed, but give place necessarily to the exclusive priesthood of Aaron and his sons. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, not to speak of Abel and of Noah, plainly exercised priestly functions, and it seems certain that the law, as it invested the priesthood with special sanctity, correspondingly restricted its exercise, and hedged it round with penalty in a way before unknown. And this is evidently connected with the character of the law as giving the knowledge of sin. The breach of the first covenant, so soon to follow these typical ordinances, was only the beginning of the reiterated proofs of man’s natural inability to stand before God, and his need of a Mediator; and God by all these enactments fixes the eye upon this need, and upon Him who alone really meets it, -of whom Aaron was but the shadow. The idea of priesthood will, of necessity, become defined as we go on, and it is best to leave it thus to the Word to develop the meaning in its own perfect way. It is enough here to say that the word for "priest" in Hebrew (kohen) seems most probably derived from kun, in its significance of "preparing," and "to mean," says Oehler, "either intransitively, to present one’s self,’ or transitively, to prepare, fit;’ in the former case, kohen would be one who stands to represent another, and in the latter case the priest would be named from the preparing and presenting the sacrifice."
(1) Before, however, we come to the description of the priest himself, we have, in the first place, that which was indeed put under his care, but which is introduced here evidently for the sake of the general principle as to the ways of God. God is light and the first thing in the great original six days’ work was, to bring in the light where there had been darkness. Here also, when the practical working of the tabernacle begins to be set before us, the provision is made for continual light. In His presence, as in Himself, there is no darkness at all; but while, therefore, in the holiest there could be no such provision, in the holy place outside the vail the sanctuary-lamp was needed, so that through earth’s night there should be none for those approaching Him. It was never to be out -a continual light through the hours of darkness.
The necessary application of this type shows us how indeed the "things that happened unto Israel" are "written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the ages are come." While Christ, the light of the world, is absent, it is night, and the light for the priests of God (our calling as Christians) is in the sanctuary only, the light of the seven lamps -the perfect illumination of the Spirit of God -as ministered by Christ risen, the Spirit of Christ. Notice how in 2Co 3:1-18, where, "beholding the glory of the Lord, we are changed into the same image from glory to glory," "the Lord the Spirit" and "the Spirit of the Lord" are connected together, or in a sense identified. "Now the Lord is that Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty," while the change produced in us is "by the Lord the Spirit."
For us, indeed, it may be rightly urged, that the vail is rent, and the holy and the holiest are one. As priests in the sanctuary, we are brought into the immediate presence of God. But the light of the glory of God has not for us eclipsed the light of the golden lamp-stand: no, but the two have become for us one, as the apostle shows us in immediate connection with the passage just referred to. For the "glory of the Lord" is the "glory of Christ who is the image of God;" and thus "God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (2Co 4:4; 2Co 4:6.)
Let us remember, too, that the responsibility of the children of Israel to furnish the oil, and of the priests to maintain the light, has practical reference to ourselves to-day, when the apostle can say to those who have the Spirit, just on this account, "be filled with the Spirit." (Eph 5:18.) Alas! there may be even for the Christian lamps gone out, through drowsiness and neglect. Yet the Spirit, given to abide with us (Joh 14:16), abides; and therefore the same apostle’s energizing call, "Awake, thou that sleepest! and arise from among the dead, and Christ shall give thee light." (Eph 5:14.)
Light, then, is ours! how suitable a preface to all the instruction about priestly service from which the world-church, gone back to the darkness of carnal ordinances, has extracted so much mere antichristian blasphemy! How needful, too, the lesson of our responsibility as to all this! Our own true and glorious High-Priest who is passed into the heavens does not Himself even interpose to keep us from God, but in His own Person has brought us to Him. For us the vail is rent, and "we walk in the light as God is in the light." (1Jn 1:7.)
With what loathsome impurity, which has done its best to justify the infidelity it has produced, has the verdict of history made infamous the priest! How it has identified "priest-craft" with mere deception and villainy! God introduces His account with the witness that He is light, and makes it the solemn and (as it were) the first duty to maintain the light. "God is light;" and we can add, "in the light." All must be light and in the light with us.
The perpetuity of the light is what the numerical place seems to insist on here. The eternal light brings every thing to the test of eternal righteousness; and thus alone is the sovereignty of God maintained over the soul. How solemnly is it insisted on as to be "a statute forever"!
(2) As the priest is emphatically the minister, so his garments are again and again spoken of as "garments of service," and express this. Not that there are not personal ones as well as official, or that the official do not imply character: in the true Priest, -not the type, but the antitype, -every thing, as we shall see, depends upon this; and thus the divine principle is emphasized which was just now insisted on. It is the heart of the blessed Lord which makes Him serve: it is His spotless purity which enables Him to draw near to God, when for men to see Him is to die: and thus on the day of atonement the high-priest enters the holiest in the personal dress of pure white linen only. (Lev 16:1-34.) We are now, however, to contemplate His service for us.
(a) But "even Christ glorified not Himself to be made a High-Priest, but He who said unto Him, Thou art My Son: this day have I begotten Thee.’" (Heb 5:5.) This is how the apostle interprets for us that designation of Aaron by God, which is here for the first time announced plainly. This is therefore a necessary point to begin with. It makes the service which ensues obedience, and the sweet assurance of what was in the heart of God toward us. We "believe on Him whom God hath sent" (Joh 6:29), and that gives the right character to Him who sent: "by Him we believe in God." (1Pe 1:21.)
The clothing of Aaron is the first step in his installation in his office. The garments are "for glory and for beauty." How beauteous is Christ in this mediatorial place! how glorious has He made a place of service!
(b) The ephod is by the Septuagint styled the "shoulder-piece," and this seems its most distinct feature, as we find it here emphasized by the two onyx stones engraved with the names of the tribes of Israel which were upon the shoulders. This is not, however, all, for it as evidently links the breastplate with the shoulder-pieces, and thus the latter help to sustain also the former. The ephod is thus characteristic in the highest way of service, -the maintenance of the people before God.
The ephod is made of the same materials as the tabernacle-curtains and the vail, but without cherubic figures, in which upon these the blue and purple and scarlet were interwoven. The symbols of conferred royalty are thus absent, though the materials of it are here. What qualifies Him for this place is seen, -what makes Him the "desire of all nations" (Hag 2:7), so that the power put into His hands gratifies that desire. But the priestly office is distinct from the kingly, and power is shown in a very different manner in the lowly service of the priest, while it is meant to be plain abundantly that the Priest and the King are one. If moreover, the cherubim are absent, on the other hand the ephod is interwoven with threads of gold. Is God any where more manifest than in this wondrous provision for man’s need, which at such cost has been furnished to him?
In the onyx stones upon the shoulder the end of the priestly office is expressed. The names of the twelve tribes are there, permanently graven upon the banded stones, to be borne up upon the priest’s shoulders. So plainly have we here the One who "goeth after that which is lost until He find it and when He hath found it, He layeth it upon His shoulders, rejoicing." (Luk 15:4-5.) Thus the priest’s office is declared.
(c) But if Christ’s people are thus sustained by His mediatorial work, we need to see more perfectly the connection between the display of power which the shoulders express and the holy love which is manifested in the breastplate. By means of the ephod, the breastplate itself is borne up by the shoulders, and in the breastplate again the names of the people are engraved, as in the engraving of a signet, but now upon twelve precious stones, -each cared for with the same care, but each set as it were in the glory of a new lustre!
Would that we could know, in any measure, what these different stones are intended to convey! but even their identification is not certain, and any interpretation would seem too purely conjectural to be attempted. There is, however, no scriptural reason to doubt that they are together the Urim and Thummim, the "lights and perfections" of the thirtieth verse, and this is thus far interpretation, and of convincing clearness.
God is light, and "the Father of lights" (Jas 1:17) for the lights are but the prismatic radiance of the one ray of colorless light as we see it in the rainbow, and in which its beauty is displayed to us (see Gen 9:1-29.) In this it shines but for a moment, like a brilliant deed, though an eternal memory of glory, but in the jewels it is enshrined, permanent, as are the divine, attributes in God. This is what in fact the jewels mean: they are the "lights and perfections" of Him who is light and perfection; and as the names of the people are graven on the jewels, so is He abidingly glorified in His redeemed. Plaitings and rings, and twined chains of gold, connect the breastplate with the ephod, the manifold interweavings of divine glory with the maintenance of the people thus: while all is upon the heart of the High-Priest, the type of Him who, as the Mediator between God and men, Himself God and Man, maintains ever what is due to God upon the one hand, and His own in blessing on the other, and these not as things apart, but as identified -the names graven upon the breast-plate!
The ephod unites the breastplate with the shoulder, and throws in this way the burden upon the shoulder. All the counsels of God in connection with this great salvation are such a burden as Christ only could sustain; and not the King’s, but the Priest’s shoulder bears it: the power is realized in weakness, the victory of voluntary humiliation and self-sacrifice. Blessed be His name!
This, then, was the "breastplate of judgment," -that is, in connection with which God answered appeals, and gave sentence among the people (comp. Num 27:21; 1Sa 28:6 Ezr 2:63), for the divine wisdom is always found in holding together the two principles implied in the breastplate.
(d) The robe of the ephod, like that one of our Lord for which they cast lots at the cross, is of one piece, woven without seam, and bound around the necessary opening, that it may not be rent. It is entirely of blue, the heavenly color, and upon its skirts are alternately pomegranates, -the fruit of many seeds, -and golden bells, which give their sound on going into the sanctuary before Jehovah, and on coming out. Here, then, is the heavenly Man, the fruit of whose work has in itself the abundant seed, wherever the gospel goes forth in the power of the Spirit: this gospel, as it seems to me, characterizing especially the time He goes into heaven -the Pentecostal outburst, -and the time when He shall be coming out again, when the "everlasting gospel" is proclaimed for blessing to millennial nations.
The numerical place, as it seems to me, emphasizes the heavenly Stranger’s visit to the world, and the diffusion every where of the seed of the gospel: its result, heaven opened to earth. The words "that he die not" appended to the commandment as to these gospel-bells, as it cannot apply to the great High-Priest, may speak of Aaron as the representative of the nation, as their music is indeed a sign of how Israel shall not die but live -alive to God.
(e) Next we have the iniquity of the people in their holy things provided for, the high-priest taking the responsibility of it upon himself. This, of course, involves the necessity of atonement; but it is not atonement that is here spoken of, but the ordering of all, left with perfect confidence to Him who is the Son over God’s house, and upon whose forehead rests the "diadem of holiness," as it is elsewhere called (chap. 39: 30). In Him who stooped to the uttermost requirement of holiness upon the cross, holiness is indeed a crown. He with whom in that darkest hour of all that ever was could be left the responsibility of the accomplishment of all God’s counsels of blessing for eternity, can be safely entrusted with all the care of the holy things.
(f) Finally, we have the ordinary dress of Aaron and of the priests his sons, who are for the first time brought in here. They are our picture, and we are necessarily reminded of the difference between ourselves and Christ: even Aaron taking his place as one in contrast with Him. This the numerical place seems to point out -the priesthood of sinful men, but in whom grace shows its victory over sin, clothing their nakedness, and bringing nigh. This naturally closes the account of the priesthood.
(3) But we have yet to consider the sanctification of the priesthood and their induction into their office: as yet, of course, only the commandment as to it, for the fulfillment of this is in Leviticus.
(a) First, the materials are to be provided and ready, as all things wait upon God’s call. Then Aaron and his sons are brought near to the entrance of the tent of meeting and are washed entirely with water. This evidently corresponds with that to which our Lord’s words point -that one washing of the whole person that needs not to be repeated (Joh 13:10). All Christians are "a holy priesthood" (1Pe 2:5) -a people as a holy people able to approach God. The washing which makes them this is "the washing of regeneration" (Tit 3:5): a new state resulting from new birth. Herein, "He who sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one," (Heb 11:1-40,) the children of God partaking of the life of their glorious Head. In His person human nature was cleansed from its defilement, and God did what Job declared impossible for man -brought forth a clean thing out of an unclean (Job 14:4). He was as born into the world what we are as new born, but without taint of evil, perfect in all things, -yea, the Eternal Life itself.
Thus, while all are of one, there is an essential difference, and we see this in the type in Aaron’s being anointed alone, without blood, with all the priestly garments already upon him. The divine life which is His is already His sanctification to the Priesthood, and as absolutely without spot -God’s beloved Son, in whom His delight is, -the Spirit of God descends upon Him after His baptism by John, in which He had presented Himself to God for His "baptism to death" afterward. Thus He is now the Anointed One -the Christ.
(b) Aaron’s sons are then brought near and clothed with the priestly garments, the bullock of the sin-offering slain, after Aaron and his sons have put their hands upon its head, and the horns of the altar of burnt-offering are anointed with it. Then one of the rams is offered as a burnt-offering, Aaron and his sons identifying themselves in the same way with it, and its blood sprinkled upon the altar round about. Aaron we have seen, as the type of Another, anointed already without blood; but we find him here with his hand, along with those of his sons, on the head of the sin-offering as well as the burnt-offering. The necessary antecedent to the call of a "holy priesthood" -truly, not merely typically, such -was, the fulfillment of the atoning work; and for us individually, we need to stand in the value of it before God in order to be priests to God. But it must be carefully remembered that if Aaron still be a type of Christ in this, his hand upon the victim cannot signify what it does in his sons’ case: it can only be the sign of the acceptance, on the part of the One who offers for it, of the burden of sin and of its penalty. And this the cross declares, -sin’s awful judgment and the righteousness of Him who judges.
(c) The next thing is consecration -in Hebrew, "filling the hand." For this the ram of consecration is taken; and the ram we have seen in the coverings of the tabernacle to be a type of devotedness. The sheep yields itself to the slaughter, and the ram, as the male sheep, is probably chosen to intensify the thought of self-surrender. Upon this also Aaron and his sons lay their hands; and then it is slain, and the blood put upon their right ear, hand, and foot, -the whole man set apart to God in the power of redemption, to receive from Him, act for Him, walk with Him.
The blood is then sprinkled upon the altar, and then, mixed with the anointing-oil, upon Aaron and his garments, and upon his sons and their garments "with him." Notice how the same connection and order are preserved in the statement of the effect: "and he shall be sanctified and his garments, and his sons and his sons’ garments with him." Christ is surely before us here, the blessing found by His people in association with Him, and His own sanctification as gone up to God in the power of His precious blood for them, the measure of their own. As He said, when going to the Father, "For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth." (Joh 17:11; Joh 17:17-19.) It is His sanctification, or setting apart on high, as Man gone in to God, of which He is speaking. In this new place it is, a glorious Man in heaven, that His people know Him, and only there, for He is in the world no longer (2Co 5:16-18). Into this new sphere we are introduced with Him, and all things become new.
And now comes the "filling of the hands:" the ram of consecration is a peace- (that is, a communion-) offering. We are to be occupied with that in which God delights, which is a sweet smell to Him. The new priests’ hands now are filled with that which expresses Christ, and which is presented to God as a wave-offering. Notice the parts: first, the fat and the kidneys (the reins, comp. Psa 16:7) and the fat of the inwards, -that which expressed the health of the animal, and upon which the flame especially fed. "The use of this symbol, fat," says another, "is sufficiently familiar in the Word. ’Their heart is fat as brawn.’ ’Jeshurun waxed fat and kicked.’ ’They are enclosed in their own fat, with their mouth they speak proudly.’ It is the energy and force of the inward will -the inwards of a man’s heart. Hence where Christ expresses His entire mortification He declares they could tell all his bones; and in Psa 102:1-28, ’By reason of the voice of My groaning, My bones cleave to My skin.’ But here, in Jesus, all that in nature was of energy and force, all His inward parts, were a burnt-offering to God, entirely sacrificed and offered to Him for such, a sweet savor. This was God’s food of the offering, ’the food of the offering made by fire unto Jehovah.’ In this Jehovah Himself found His delight; His soul reposed in it, for surely it was very good -good in the midst of evil -good in the energy of offering to Him -good in perfect obedience." (Synopsis, vol. 1. p. 169.)
It is easy to see how all this unites with the thought of consecration; but it is Christ, we must remember, who in all this occupies us: occupation with Him brings communion and like-mindedness.
With the fat we have the "shoulder" -simple reminder of how for us He bowed His shoulder to bear; and then the meal-offering, of unleavened and of oiled bread, -in general meaning as simple. Waved before Jehovah, all this is then put upon the altar, and goes up to Him. The priests are now consecrated.
(d) Yet still there remains for us what is most needful and most precious -the experimental apprehension of our own portion in Christ, and here warning has to be mingled with the instruction. The breast of the ram of consecration is for him who offers it, a place in this case held by Moses, but who, I think, here represents, not Christ, but the typical worshiper. How necessary that the love of Christ (which the breast must signify) should be thus experimentally enjoyed by the heart that worships! In after-cases the breast belongs to Aaron and his sons (v. Lev 8:27) along with the (left) shoulder, the experience of His strength who bears us up before God. But the whole ram (except what has gone up to God) is theirs, and these parts are specially named, to emphasize them: all must be eaten "in the holy place," which does not mean here the sanctuary, however, but at the door of the tent of meeting in the court, as is immediately afterward stated (and comp. Lev 8:31). The unleavened bread must be eaten with it, and the stranger -that is, in this case, every one outside the priestly family, -excluded. Nor must the flesh be kept until the morning, to guard, as we see in Lev 7:17, against any possible corruption: we are warned how readily it comes into our most holy things. Seven days of sanctification cover our whole life here and connect it with the rest beyond.
(e) The instruction as to the altar of burnt-offering comes by itself. It is God’s meeting-place with the children of Israel; and here I think they are (as on the day of atonement,) their own type. Or, to say better, the priestly house representing the Church (or perhaps the heavenly saints,) the nation at large, outside of these, represents Israel, or the earthly saints. The court, where the altar of burnt-offering stands, is, without any doubt, the earth where the cross has been; and it is meet and right that there the glory of God should be displayed, as it yet will be: Immanuel’s name in all that it implies even for the earth revealed, and (in the new earth) the tabernacle of God with men. Their daily offering upon the altar speaks of what to God the work of Christ is, and God’s meeting there with Israel, though it give not the full thought of what is our portion, has its special beauty and significance. A blessed thing, with which the feast of our consecration will be ended: not, blessed be God, the priesthood itself.
(f) But Israel’s blessing does not complete the glories presented to us here. We must rise, as it were, from earth into the heavenly sanctuary, and enter upon our service at the golden altar of incense, to see how fully the triumph over sin has been achieved. The altar, as we see by its material, is Christ, and Christ as entered into heaven; not on earth. Yet as an altar, or "place of sacrifice," as the word (mizbeach) means, and foursquare, with its horns facing every way, -its virtue in the blood that is presented on them, -it speaks of sacrifice, while yet no sacrifice is to be made upon it, and in the sanctuary cannot be. Thus it speaks the virtue of what has been done elsewhere, and (so far as the golden altar itself is concerned) can need no re-doing. The golden altar is for perpetual incense -ceaseless praise to God: "We have an altar," says the apostle, an altar to which we come as priests of no earthly tabernacle, an altar upon which no bleeding sacrifice can be again. Christ is our altar still, but no such sacrifice can He offer again. What sacrifice, then, have we? "By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise continually, -that is, the fruit of our lips, confessing His name. But to do good, and to communicate, forget not; for with such sacrifices God is well pleased." (Heb 13:10; Heb 13:15-16.) Thus we have sacrifices of thanksgiving and praise to offer, -fruit of the lips and fruit of the life, -confessing Him who has done the work which gives us our changeless place with God. The true sacrifice is no longer on the altar; it has been accepted of God once for all, and cannot be repeated, and thus we have the altar clear for our own sacrifices, which whether of lip or in life are still but the confession of His name! What a crowning triumph over sin, that sinners such as we can as "a holy priesthood" thus draw nigh!
4. The description of the incense-altar ends the subject of priestly consecration and another subject is introduced with the words, "And Jehovah spake unto Moses." To find these words before, we should have to go back to the beginning of the twenty-fifth chapter, all the instruction of the tabernacle being one continuous discourse as far as this. Yet they occur six times now within the limits of two chapters. Thus each portion here is detached from the rest, and given a special emphasis, which is still further seen in the solemn penalties denounced upon transgression in five cases out of the six. In subject, they are also diverse from one another, though not without a certain connection also among themselves, as we shall presently see; yet they look exactly like so many supplementary addenda to what has gone before. This is Keil’s view; and the numerical structure establishes, I believe, its correctness.
The number attached to the whole characterizes it as essentially a series of special warnings or tests as to obedience, whose significance is, as we might expect, brought out by their typical meaning. All this is plainly a magnificent symbolism, which we can only read in any worthy way as "figures of the true:" things which "happened unto them for types, and are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages are come."
There are in the section before us six sections manifest, with a brief faint seventh (31: 18) which must be reckoned as that, and which in its faintness even has for us the instruction which never can be any where lacking in God’s blessed Word, if we have only eyes of faith and hearts of desire for it. The section being, then, a septenary series, divides naturally into 4 + 3, as is here very evident, the first four, to the end of chap. 30, being connected together as completing the tabernacle itself; which is then put as complete [in plan] into the hands of the master-workmen.
(1) We begin the series with the account of the atonement-money, in which Israel confessed their common guilt and need of ransom. None was to be exempt, none give more, none less, -translated into gospel-language, just the "no-difference" doctrine of the apostle (Rom 3:1-31.) This is the evidence of a genuine repentance, to have come down to the confession of such guilt as needs a ransom. The amount of the atonement-money may have significance,
shekel merely meaning "weight," and the bekah, therefore, "half-weight." Is it the confession of what was charged against Belshazzar, "Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting"? Notice, too, that the shekel is that of the sanctuary, and that being twenty gerahs, the half shekel is just ten gerahs -the responsibility-number.
Repentance is in thus taking our place before God; but if the ransom-money speak of man’s own short-coming, how does it come to speak also of atonement? This question is not difficult to answer; for atonement is by substitution, -Christ taking our place as coming short. In the same way, the same word in the Hebrew stands for "sin" and "sin-offering," "trespass" and "trespass-offering." Nor is there any true repentance or confession but that in which Christ is laid hold of or confessed.
Out of this silver the sockets of the sanctuary, and the hooks of the pillars and connecting-rods, were made (chap. 38: 25-28). It is instructive to note that silver was emphatically the medium of exchange, so that (as in French today,) "silver" and "money" were the same word (keseph); and that the derivation of this is from kahsaph, "to grow pale," as with longing, shame, or anxiety. Such thoughts cluster round the atonement-money.
Here, then, is the basis-test for the soul. The dwelling of God is with the redeemed: the tabernacle speaks of relationship to a Redeemer; and only those have this who have in repentance and faith, as involved in the common guilt of all, taken their place among the people of God in His great census-roll as under the blood of the Lamb. The book of enrollment is the "book of the Lamb slain." (Rev 13:8.)
(2) As thus redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, we are, of course, already priests to God: the warning as to the brazen laver therefore now applies to us. The laver does not speak of new birth; it was for washing the hands and feet simply, and thus it speaks of cleansing by the Word from the defilement by the way. If we are indeed to be permitted to handle holy things, or to draw near to God in the sanctuary, the Word of God must do its work upon us.
The laver was of brass, the symbol of what endures as with divine power. So the Word of God endures, and, moreover, abides unchangeable, whatever our wills may be. Its stand, too, is of brass; for the Word of God rests upon the unchanging nature of God. As He is, so He speaks, and nothing can alter it.
"Separation from evil" is here what is enjoined upon all who draw near to God, or occupy themselves with His things; and this is an "everlasting statute" which abides for all times and dispensations.
(3) The unction of the Spirit is the third thing. Would that one could realize something of the meaning of the various ingredients of this holy anointing-oil! The five constituents, are, however, plainly marked, as 4 and 1, and show us the meeting of the human and the divine; for the Spirit of God is pleased to work in and through man, and we see Him in the effect (Joh 3:8). It is a sad failure not to be able to recognize God, because He works in familiar and apparently natural ways. Holiness, however, there must be, and this is what is here specially enforced. The oil must not be poured on flesh of man -cannot sanctify what is really fleshly; and it must not be imitated -there can be no manufacture on man’s part of what is the Spirit’s work.
(4) And now we close this first part of this appendix with the incense, in which we find, no doubt, the fragrance of Christ for God. The numerical place points Him out, I think, as Man, and as the Son of Man, the title He so constantly assumed to Himself: not the partial and narrow Jew, but the One in whom all could find their own; while, above all, God could find in Him the ideal Man to obtain which He had created man, One in all things for God, as was the incense here, -fully and emphatically the Man of God.
The ingredients again as yet seem to baffle research, which has been too little given to their spiritual meaning. Even their number has been disputed, whether four or five. No doubt salt was added to it, according to Lev 2:13; but this is noticed incidentally only, and as a matter of course, while the distinctive composition of the incense was of four ingredients, -certified as such by there being three and one, -three spices and the frankincense: this 3 + 1, beautifully significant of Him through whom creation completely attains its ultimate end of manifesting God.
The incense too is guarded from profanation as the anointing-oil had been. This is God’s Christ, though man finds in Him his fullest blessing also. So the burnt-offering went up all to God, though in atonement for man; and it is just here, indeed, that he becomes for us all He would be, when we find in Him every where the Doer of the Father’s will. "Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God," characterized His life throughout.
(5) God now calls by name the human workmen who are to carry out in the power of the Spirit His designs. In Bezaleel, Judah comes to the front in the work of the sanctuary -quite according to the meaning of the name and Jacob’s prophecy (Gen 49:1-33). Dan furnishes his assistant in Aholiab. But beside this, in every wise-hearted man God puts wisdom, and employs him in the building of His habitation. The principle is easy of application, but would that we could know more of what is here for us!
(6) The emphatic reiteration of the injunction as to the Sabbath closes all this instruction. The keeping of it is the sign of covenant-relationship subsisting with Jehovah, and of a people set apart to Him. Indeed no labor marks us as the people of the Lord so truly as enjoyed rest does, -a rest according to the Word, and on the basis of God’s own rest. But this is ours in Christ only, and the numerical stamp here assures us that under this first covenant it will not be attained. The law makes nothing perfect and this assurance seems enforced by —
(7) The faint shadow of a seventh section, in which indeed the law is now completed and handed over to Moses on behalf of the people; but the covenant is already broken, and in a little more the tables of the covenant lie broken to fragments at the foot of the mount.
F. W. Grant, The Numerical Bible (4th ed., 1903) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On vv30–31
Exodus
THE BREAD OF THE PRESENCE
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Exo 25:30.
I suspect that to many readers the term ‘shew-bread’ conveys little more meaning than if the Hebrew words had been lifted over into our version. The original expression, literally rendered, is ‘bread of the face’; or, as the Revised Version has it in the margin, ‘presence bread,’ and the meaning of that singular designation is paraphrased and explained in my text: ‘Thou shalt set upon the table, bread of the presence before Me always.’ It was bread, then, which was laid in the presence of God. The directions with regard to it may be very briefly stated. Every Sabbath the priests laid upon the table which stood on one side of the Altar of Incense, in the Inner Court, two piles of loaves, on each of which piles was placed a pan of incense. They lay there for a week, being replaced by fresh ones on the coming Sabbath.
The Altar of Incense in the middle symbolised the thought that the priestly life, which was the life of the nation, and is the life of the Christian both individually and collectively, is to be centrally and essentially a life of prayer. On one side of it stood the great golden lamp which, in like manner, declared that the activities of the priestly life, which was the life of Israel, and is the life of the Christian individually and collectively, is to be, in its manward aspect, a light for the world. On the other side of the Altar of Incense stood this table with its loaves. What does it say about the life of the priest, the Church, and the individual Christian? That is the question that I wish to try to answer here; and in doing so let me first ask you to look at the thing itself, and then to consider its connection with the other two articles in connection with which it made a threefold oneness.
I. Let me deal with this singular provision of the ancient ritual by itself alone.
Bread is a product at once of God’s gift and of man’s work. In the former aspect, He ‘leaves not Himself without witness, in that,’ in the yearly miracle of the harvest, ‘He gives us bread from Heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness’; in the latter, considered as a product of man’s activity, agriculture is, if not the first, at all events in settled communities the prime, form of human industry. The farmer and the baker begin the series of man’s industries. So that these loaves were fitly taken as representatives of all kinds of human industry and their products, and as such were consecrated to God. That is the broad significance of this institution, which, as we shall have to see, links itself with the other two conceptions of the priestly life in its Godward and in its manward aspect. Now the first thing that is suggested, therefore, is the plain obligation, which is also a blessed privilege, for all men who are priests of God by faith in, and union with, the great High Priest, that they lay all their activities as an offering before God. The loaves in their very place on that table, right in front of the veil that parted the Inner Court from the inmost of all, where the Shekinah shone, and the Cherubim bowed in worship, tell us that in some sense they, too, were an offering, and that the table was an altar. Their sacrificial character is emphasised by the fact that upon the top of each of the piles there was laid a pan of incense.
So, then, the whole was an offering of Israel’s activities and its results to God. And we, Christian men and women, have to make an offering of all our active life, and all its products. That thought opens up many considerations, one or two of which I ask leave to touch briefly. First, then, if my active life is to be an offering to God, that means that I am to surrender myself. And that surrender means three things: first that in all my daily work I am to set Him before me as my end; second, that in all my daily work I am to set Him before me as my law; third, that in all my daily work I am to set Him before me as my power. As for the first, whatever a man does for any motive other, and with any end less, than God and His Glory, that act, beautiful as it may be in other respects, loses its supreme beauty, and falls short of perfect nobleness, just in the measure in which other motives, or other ends, than this supreme one, are permitted to dominate it. I do not contend for such an impossible suppression of myself as that my own blessedness and the like shall be in no manner my end, but I do maintain this, that in good old language, ‘Man’s chief end is to glorify God,’ and that anything which I do, unless it is motived by this regard to Him as its ‘chief end,’ loses its noblest consecration, and is degraded from its loftiest beauty. The Altar sanctifies, and not only sanctifies but ennobles, the gift. That which has in it the taint of self-regard so pronouncedly and dominantly as that God is shut out, is like some vegetation down in low levels at the bottom of a vale, which never has the sun to shine upon it. But let it rise as some tree above the brushwood until its topmost branches are in the light, and then it is glorified. To live to self is ignoble and mean; to live for others is higher and nobler. But highest and noblest of all is to offer the loaves to God, and to make Him the end of all our activities.
Again, there is another consideration, bearing on another region in which the assertive self is only too apt to spoil all work. And that is, that if our activities are offerings to God, this means that His supreme Will is to be our law, and that we obey His commands and accept His appointments in quiet submission. The tranquillity of heart, the accumulation of power, which come to men when they, from the depths, say, ‘Not my will but Thine be done’; ‘Speak, Lord! for Thy servant heareth,’ cannot be too highly stated. There is no such charm to make life quiet and strong as the submission of the will to God’s providences, and the swift obedience of the will to God’s commandments. And whilst to make self my end mars what else is beautiful, making self my law mars it even more.
Further, we offer our activities to God when we fall back upon Him as our one power, and say, ‘Perfect Thy strength in my weakness.’ He that goes out into the world to do his daily work, of whatsoever sort it is-you in your little sphere, or I in mine-in dependence upon himself, is sure to be defeated. He that says ‘we have no strength against this great multitude that cometh against us, but our eyes are unto Thee,’ will, sooner or later, be able to go back with joy, and say, ‘the Lord hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad.’ The man that goes into the fight like that foolish prime minister of France under the Empire, ‘with a light heart.’ will very soon find his Sedan, and have shamefully to surrender. Brethren, these three things, making God the end of my work; making God’s will the law of my work; making God’s strength the power of my work; these are the ways by which we, too, can bring our little pile of barley bread, and lay it upon that table.
Again, this consecration of life’s activities is to be carried out by treating their products, as well as themselves, as offerings to God. The loaves were the results of human activity. They were also the products of divine gifts elaborated by human effort. And both things are true about all the bread that you and I have been able to make for the satisfaction of our desires, or the sustenance of our strength-it comes ultimately from the gift of God. In regard to this consecration of the product of our activities, as well as of our activities themselves, I have but two words to offer, and the one is, let us see to it that we consecrate our enjoyment of God’s gifts by bringing that enjoyment, as well as the activities which He has blessed to produce it, into His presence. That table bore the symbols of the grateful recognition of God’s mercies by the people. And when our hearts are glad, and our ‘bosom’s lord sits lightly on his throne,’ we have special need to take care that our joy be not godless, nor our enjoyment of His gifts be without reference to Himself. ‘Ah,’ you say, ‘that is a threadbare commonplace.’ Yes, it is, dear friends; it is a commonplace just because it is needful at every turn, if we are to make our lives what they ought to be.
May I say another thing? and that is, that the loaves that were laid within the Sanctuary were not intended to be separated from the others that were eaten in the tents, nor were they meant to be a kind of purchasing of an indulgence, or of a right, by surrendering a little, to the godless and selfish enjoyment of the rest of the batch, or of the rest of the harvest. Let us apply that to our money, which is one of the products of our activities; and not fancy, as a great many people do, that what we give as a subscription to some benevolent or religious institution buys for us the right to spend all the rest selfishly. That is another commonplace, very threadbare and very feeble, when we speak it, but with claws and teeth in it that will lay hold of us, when we try to put it in practice. The enjoyments and the products of our daily activities are to be offered to God.
Still further, this table with its burden has suggestions that as Christians we are bound to bring all our work to Him for His judgment upon it. The loaves were laid right in front of the veil, behind which blazed the light of His presence. And that meant that they were laid before ‘those pure eyes and perfect judgment of all-judging’ God. Whether we bring our activities there or no, of course in a very real and solemn sense they are there. But what I desire to insist upon now is how important, for the nobleness and purity of our daily lives, it is that we should be in the continual habit of realising to ourselves the thought that whatever we do, we do before His Face. The Roman Catholics talk about ‘the practice of the presence of God.’ One does not like the phrase, but all true religion will practise what is meant by it. And for us it should be as joyous to think, ‘Thou God seest me,’ as it is for a child to play or work with a quiet heart, because it knows that its mother is sitting somewhere not very far off and watching that no harm comes to it. That thought of being in His presence would be for us a tonic, and a test. How it would pull us up in many a meanness, and keep our feet from wandering into many forbidden ways, if there came like a blaze of light into our hearts the thought: ‘Thou God seest me!’ There are many of our activities, I am afraid, which we should not like to put down on that table. Can you think of any in your lives that you would be rather ashamed to lay there, and say to Him, ‘Judge Thou this’? Then do not do it. That is a brief, but a very stringent, easily applied, and satisfactory test of a great many doubtful things. If you cannot take them into the Inner Court, and lay them down there, and say, ‘Look, Lord! this is my baking,’ be sure that they are made, not of wholesome flour, but of poisoned grain, and that there is death in them.
Further, this table, with its homely burden of twelve poor loaves, may suggest to us how the simplest, smallest, most secular of our activities is a fit offering to Him. The loaves were not out of place amidst the sanctities of the spot, nor did they seem to be incongruous with the golden altar and the golden lamp-stand, and yet they were but twelve loaves. The poorest of our works is fit to be carried within the shrine, and laid upon His altar. We may be sure that He delights even in the meanest and humblest of them, if only we take them to Him and say: ‘All things come of Thee, and of Thine own have we given Thee.’ Ah! there are a great many strange things in Christ’s treasury. Mothers will hoard up trifles that belonged to their children, which everybody else thinks worthless. Jesus Christ has in His storehouse a ‘cup of cold water,’ the widows’ mites, and many another thing that the world counts of no value, and He recognises as precious. There is an old story about some great emperor making a progress through his dominions, where he had been receiving precious gifts from cities and nobles, and as the gay cortège was passing a poor cottage, the peasant-owner came out with a coarse earthenware cup filled with spring water in his hand, and offered it to his overlord as the only gift that he could give. The king accepted it, and ennobled him on the spot. Take your barley loaves to Christ, and He will lay them up in His storehouse.
II. Now I need only say a word or two about the other aspect of this table of shew-bread, taken with the other two articles in conjunction with which it formed a unity.
The lamp and the table go together. They are both offshoots from the altar in the middle. That is to say, your lives will not shine before men unless your activities are offered to God. The smallest taint of making self your end, your law, or your strength, mingling with your lives, and manifest in their actions, will dim the light which shines from them, and men will be very quick to find out and say, ‘He calls himself a Christian; but he lives for himself.’ Neither the light, which is the radiance of a Christian life manwards, can be sustained without the offering of the life in its depths to God, nor can the activities of the life be acceptably offered to Him, unless the man that offers them ‘lets his light shine before men.’ The lamp and the table must go together.
The lamp and the table must together be offshoots from the altar. If there be not in the centre of the life aspiration after Him in the depths of the heart, communion with Him in the silent places of the soul, then there will be little brightness in the life to ray out amongst men, and there will be little consecration of the activities to be laid before God. The reason why the manifold bustle and busy-ness of the Christian Church today sows so much and reaps so little, lies mainly here, that they have forgotten to a large extent how the altar in the centre must give the oil for the lamp to shine, and the grain to be made into the loaves. And, on the other hand, the altar in the middle needs both its flanking accompaniments. For the Christian life is to be no life of cloistered devotion and heavenward aspiration only or mainly, but is to manifest its still devotion and its heavenward aspiration by the consecration of its activities to God, and the raying of them out into a darkened world. The service of man is the service of God, for lamp and table are offshoots of the altar. But the service of God is the basis of the best service of man, for the altar stands between the lamp and the table.
So, brethren, let us blend these three aspects into a unity, the Altar, the Lamp, the Table, and so shall we minister aright, and men will call us the ‘priests of the Most High God,’ till we pass within the veil where, better than the best of us here can do, we shall be able to unite still communion and active service, and shine as the sun in the Kingdom of our Father. ‘His servants shall serve Him’ with priestly ministrations, ‘and shall see His face, and His name shall be in their foreheads.’
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain On v1 The Vessels of the Sanctuary
The Vessels of the Sanctuary
Chapters 25-31 are taken up with prescriptions regarding the Construction of a Tabernacle, i.e. a tent, to form the visible dwelling-place of Jehovah in the midst of His people, the place where He would meet them and receive their worship. The entire structure consisted of three parts. There was an outer Court, 100 cubits by 50, open to the sky, the sides of which were composed of curtains supported on pillars. The entrance was at the eastern end; inside, facing the door, was the altar of burnt offering, and behind that the brazen laver. Within this court and towards the western end was a covered tabernacle, divided by a hanging curtain into two chambers. The outer of these, called the Holy Place, contained the Table of Shewbread, the Candlestick, and the Altar of Incense. The Inner chamber, the Holy of Holies, or Most Holy Place, contained the Ark of the Covenant which supported the Mercy seat and the two golden Cherubim. The three parts, of which the entire structure was composed, were of increasing degrees of sanctity. Into the outer court came the worshippers when they brought their offerings. Into the Holy Place went the priests to perform their sacred offices; while into the Most Holy Place, which was the immediate Presence Chamber of Jehovah, went the high priest alone, and that only once a year on the great day of Atonement with special ceremonial. It has been questioned whether a tabernacle of this somewhat elaborate design and costly workmanship could have been erected by the Israelites in their present circumstances. This difficulty, however, has been exaggerated. In Egypt the Israelites were familiar with arts and manufactures, and they left Egypt with spoil of precious metals (Exo_11:2; Exo_12:35-36). Another difficulty has been discerned in the fact that no references to such an elaborate structure occur in the historical books previous to the time of Solomon. Some scholars accordingly hold that many of the details described here are of an ideal nature, the prescription of what ought to be rather than of what actually was carried out, 'the attempt of a devout and imaginative mind to give concrete embodiment to some of the loftiest and purest spiritual truths to be met with in the whole range of scripture.' This difficulty, like the other, is of a negative kind, and we should be careful not to over-estimate it. In any case, the symbolism underlying the construction of the tabernacle with its furniture and ritual is unmistakable. The costliness of the materials teaches the lesson that God is to be served with the best that man can give. The harmony and exact proportions of its parts are a reflection of the harmony and perfection of the divine natine. The increasing degrees of sanctity which characterise the Court, the Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies, emphasise the reverence due by man to Him whose dwelling is in the high and holy place, and who yet condescends in His grace to tabernacle with man and to accept his imperfect worship 1-9. Gifts of materials for the tabernacle. 2. 'God loveth a cheerful giver' (2Co_9:7).
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3. Brass] rather, 'bronze,' an alloy of copper and tin: see on Deu_8:9.
4. Blue, etc.] the yarns of which the hangings were to be woven by the women: see Exo_35:25; Exo_39:1.
5. Rams' skins dyed red] red leather made of sheep skins. Badgers' skins] RV 'sealskins,' RM 'porpoise-skins.' Shittim wood] RV 'acacia wood. 'The acacia (Heb. shittah, plur. shittim) is the characteristic tree of the Sinaitic peninsula. The wood is very durable and much used in furniture making.
7. On the ephod see Exo_28:6.
8. That I may dwell among them] Strictly speaking, God cannot be said to dwell in one place more than in another. But as men realise His presence most vividly when they are consciously engaged in His worship, the place of worship becomes in a special sense a 'meeting-place 'with God (see Exo_25:22) and a 'house, or dwelling-place, of God': cp. Gen_28:17. The expression is anthropomorphic at the best, and is felt to be inadequate as the spiritual nature of God is more fully realised: see Joh_4:20-24. In later times Jewish writers avoided saying that 'God dwells 'in any place, even in heaven itself. They said that He 'makes His Shekinah to dwell' there. The 'Shekinah' is the manifestation of God, especially in the bright cloud (see Exo_40:34-35). The word is connected with the Heb. word for dwelling (mishkan) used in the next verse.
9. Pattern] This does not imply any visible or material model. It expresses the fact that Moses, during his long retirement with God on the mount, was divinely directed as to the most fitting way in which God might be worshipped. This inspiration does not exclude the exercise of the natural faculties, but presupposes them as the basis on which it may operate: see on Exo_31:4. Hor does it exclude the appropriation, under divine sanction, of ideas suggested by certain features in the ritual of other nations with which Moses was already acquainted. See Intro, to Exodus, § 2, near the end.
Tabernacle] lit. 'dwelling.' Here it seems to denote the entire fabric. The name is applied in particular to the sacred tent, standing in the midst of the court: see Exo_26:1.
10-22. The Ark of the Testimony.
10. Ark] i.e. a chest or coffer. A cubit is about 18 in. Such sacred arks were well known to the Egyptians and Assyrians. They contained some image of the deity worshipped, and were carried with great pomp in processions at national festivals. It is significant of the spiritual nature of the Hebrew religion that the ark made by Moses contained no image, but instead a copy of the Moral Law. After the conquest of Canaan the ark remained for a long time at Shiloh (Jos_18:1; 1Sa_3:3), and was at last brought by David to his capital at Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6; 1 Chronicles 13). Solomon placed it in the temple which he built (1Ki_8:1), after which there is no further record of it. It may have been carried off by Shishak to Egypt (1Ki_14:26) or by Nebuchadnezzar to Babylon (2Ki_25:8-17). There seems to have been no ark in the second temple.
11. Crown] i.e. a 'rim' or 'moulding' which projected above the top edge of the ark to keep the 'mercy seat' in its place.
16. Testimony] see on Exo_16:34.
17. Mercy seat] RM 'covering.' This is not to be regarded as a mere lid or covering of the ark, but has an independent significance. It is the golden throne of God where the people's sins are 'covered,' i.e. expiated or forgiven: see on Lev_1:4.
18. Two cherubims] 'Cherubim' is the Heb. plural of 'cherub.' The exact form of these cherubim is doubtful. Some suppose they were winged bulls such as are represented on Assyrian monuments as guardian spirits at the doors of temples or houses: cp. Gen_3:24. Others take them to be of human form. They figure very often in Hebrew sacred art. They were introduced into the pattern of the curtain which screened off the Holy of Holies (Exo_26:31). In Jewish thought the cherubim occupy the highest rank among the angels of heaven, and are the bearers or upholders of the throne of Jehovah, who is accordingly said to sit upon or between the cherubim (2Ki_19:15; Psa_18:10; Psa_80:1; Psa_99:1). In Ezekiel 10 the cherubim are identified with the four living creatures of Exodus 1 (see Eze_10:20 and cp. Rev_4:6). The figures of the cherubim upon the mercy seat were of course small; those in Solomon's temple were of colossal dimensions (2Ch_3:10-13).
19. of the mercy seat] RV 'of one piece with the mercyseat.'
20. Toward the mercy seat shall the faces.. be] This is probably what is alluded to in 1Pe_1:12.
22. I will meet with thee] Hence the tabernacle is called the 'tent of meeting,' i.e. the place where Jehovah meets with Moses and Israel, not the place where worshippers assemble, as the AV rendering 'tabernacle of the congregation' seems to imply: see Exo_29:42-43; Exo_33:7.
23-30. The Table of Shewbread.
The ark alone stood in the innermost chamber. The table here described, on which lay twelve loaves (see on Exo_25:30), stood in the second chamber, the Holy Place. On the Arch of Titus, still standing in Rome, there are sculptured the Table of Shewbread and the Golden Candlestick which the Emperor Titus carried off from the Temple, of Herod after the destruction of Jerusalem in the year 70 a.d. These were not the original table and candlestick, but were no doubt exact copies of them.
25. Border] The representation of the table on the Arch of Titus referred to above shows a narrow rail running round the table about halfway down the legs, keeping them in position. This is probably what is meant here by the 'border.'
27. Over against] RV 'close by.' The rings would be nearly halfway down the legs.
29. The dishes were the plates on which the loaves were brought to the table; the spoons were small vessels to hold the incense which was laid upon the bread (Lev_24:7); the covers (RV 'flagons') and bowls held the wine of the drink offering which accompanied every meal offering. For to cover withal read with RV 'to pour out withal.'
30. Shewbread] lit. 'bread of the presence,' BM 'Presence-bread.' This consisted of twelve loaves of unleavened bread, which were laid upon the table, in the presence of God, and changed every sabbath day. It was a kind of thank-offering, expressive of man's constant indebtedness to God for his daily bread: see on Lev_24:5-9.
31-40. The Golden Candlestick.
This also stood in the Holy Place. Being made of pure gold, it is called the 'pure candlestick' in Exo_31:8, etc. It was really a lampstand. From a central shaft three curved arms sprang on each side, one above the other, rising to the same height as it. On each of these seven supports rested a lamp, in shape like a bowl or saucer. The shaft and the arms were ornamented with representations of almond buds and blossoms, introduced three times into each arm and four times into the shaft (Exo_25:34).
31. Bowls] (RV 'cups') are the open leaves surmounting the knops or 'calyx 'of the flower. The topmost bowl held the lamp. On the oil, see on Exo_27:20-21,; and cp. Lev_24:1-4; Num_8:1-4.
Shall be of the same] RV 'of one piece with it': so in Exo_25:35, Exo_25:36.
33. Candlestick] the central shaft, which may have had in all seven knops.
37. The lampstand stood on the south side of the Holy Place with its arms parallel to the wall. On these the lamps, in the form of ovalshaped saucers, were placed crosswise with their nozzles pointing northwards, so that they cast their light over against the lampstand, i.e. on the space in front of it.
38. The tongs are the snuffers; the snuffdishes are for receiving and removing the pieces of charred wick.
39. A talent of gold is estimated at about £6,000 of our money: see on Exo_38:24.
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 5, 9, 10, 17, 23, 28, 30, 31 the Lord spoke unto Moses
the Lord spoke unto Moses
The general authority for the types of Exodus is found:
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(1) as to the persons and events, in 1Co 10:1-11.
(2) as to the tabernacle, in Heb 9:1-24. Having the assurance that in the tabernacle everything is typical, the details must of necessity be received as such. Two warnings are necessary:
(1) Nothing may be dogmatically asserted to be a type without explicit New Testament authority; and
(2) all types not so authenticated must be recognized as having the authority of analogy, or spiritual congruity, merely. The typical meanings of the materials and colours of the tabernacle are believed to be as follows: Gold, Deity in manifestation--divine glory; silver, redemption Exo 30:12-16. (See Scofield "Exo 38:27"), brass, symbol of judgment, as in the brazen altar and in the serpent of brass Num 21:6-9 blue, heavenly in nature or origin; purple, royalty; scarlet, sacrifice.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain On v1 3. The Tabernacle and the Priesthood
3. The Tabernacle and the Priesthood
CHAPTER 25 The Tabernacle
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1. The freewill offering and the materials (Exo 25:1-9)
2. The ark (Exo 25:10-22)
3. The table of showbread (Exo 25:23-30)
4. The golden candlestick (Exo 25:31-40)
This is another intensely interesting portion of this great book. To give a few annotations and hints on the tabernacle is an extremely difficult task, for there is such a wonderful mine of wealth here that a book of hundreds of pages could not contain all.
The tabernacle concerning which the Lord instructed Moses was the earthly place of worship of Israel; it was the means of a continued relationship of a holy God with a sinful people. But besides this the tabernacle and its worship foreshadow in the completest way the Person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ. The epistle to the Hebrews bears witness to this. The types in the tabernacle are simply inexhaustible. The word “tabernacle” in the Hebrew is mishkan, which means dwelling-place. The construction and arrangement were not left to man. God gave Moses the instructions and showed to him a pattern.
The materials are mentioned first, and they are to be supplied by His willing people. The Hebrew expression is literally, “every one whom his heart drove.” Only His people, not strangers, could furnish the material. And they had to give with the heart. The same principle holds good in the New Testament. The support of the Lord’s work by unsaved people and the methods of the world are wrong; they have not the blessing of God. We do not touch upon the materials now, but shall do so later.
The ark of shittim wood is the first thing mentioned. Man builds differently. Man lays first a foundation, builds the walls, works from the outside to the inside. God begins within. The ark with the mercy seat is where Jehovah dwelt, “between the Cherubim.” It is, therefore, a type of Christ. The shittim wood, that is, acacia, grows in the desert, out of a dry ground (Isa 53:2). It is of all the wood the most durable, almost imperishable. We have in it the type of the humanity of Christ. The gold which covered it is typical of His deity. The mercy seat fitted the ark. It was of the same dimensions as the ark. The Hebrew word is kapporeth, which means covering, and has reference to atonement. The two cherubim faced each other and looked down upon the mercy seat, where the blood was sprinkled. They are always seen in the Word in connection with the throne (Ezek. 1; Rev. 4). Beautiful is Exo 25:22.
The table of Showbread still tells us of Christ, for it is of the same material as the ark. What was on the table, the showbread and all its blessed lessons we shall consider in Leviticus. The table and the bread are typical of Christ, who sustains us in fellowship with God.
The golden candlestick is the next article of furniture described. It was of pure gold. Three times almonds are mentioned. From the book of Numbers we learn that the almond, on the blossoming rod of Aaron, is the type of Christ in resurrection. The candlestick typifies Christ in heaven’s glory, outshining the glory of God. It also is the type of Him, risen from the dead, giving the Holy Spirit, who is seen as the sevenfold Spirit in the candlestick. See and compare with Rev 1:4; Rev 1:13; Rev 1:20; Rev 3:1 and Rev 4:5.
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On vv1, 10, 23, 31 Offerings of the Israelites Requested
Offerings of the Israelites Requested
v. 1. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
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v. 2. Speak unto the children of Israel that they bring Me an offering; according to the Hebrew text, a gift which one lifts off, takes away from the rest of his property and reaches out and up to God; of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart, literally, "from the side of every man whom his heart impels," ye shall take My offering; truly a fine description of the eager willingness which should characterize all the gifts of the believers in the interest of the kingdom of God on earth.
v. 3. And this is the offering which ye shall take of them: gold and silver and brass, iron not being included, probably on account of its tendency to rust,
v. 4. and blue, a hyacinth colored or dark-blue purple, and purple, that is, the purple proper, of a brilliant dark-red, and scarlet, or crimson purple, dyed with the color prepared from the coccus insect, and. fine linen, a silklike, snow-white muslin, and goats’ hair,
v. 5. and rams’ skins dyed red, and badgers’ skins, probably the skins of a marine animal found in the Red Sea, which were used both for sandal-leather and for tent coverings, and shittim wood, that of the Arabian acacia, which is very light and yet very strong and durable,
v. 6. oil for the light, as it was required to burn in the great candelabrum, spices, sweet-smelling ingredients, for anointing oil and for sweet incense, the odor of which was pleasant,
v. 7. onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod, in rows or clusters on one of the ornamental garments of the high priest, and in the breastplate, Exo 28:6 ff.
v. 8. And let them make Me a sanctuary, a tabernacle, or building, set apart or consecrated for holy uses, that I may dwell among them.
v. 9. According to all that I show thee, after the pattern of the Tabernacle, the tent of God’s dwelling, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it. The Lord laid before Moses sketches, plans, or models, which gave him an adequate and correct idea of the great tent with all its equipment, a type, or figure, of heavenly things, Act 7:44; Heb 8:5, as well as of the blessings of the New Testament, Hebrews 9.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 3, 8, 10, 12, 15, 19, 22, 23, 25, 28, 31, 33, 35, 37 who is motivated by a willing heart
who is motivated by a willing heart
This is an idiom that indicates a person's desire to give an offering. AT: "who wants to give an offering" (See: Idiom)
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You must receive
The word "you" refers to Moses and the leaders. (See: Forms of You)
translationWords
Yahweh
Moses
Israel
sacrifice
heart
receive
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 2, 8, 9, 10, 12, 17, 18, 22, 23, 29, 31 25:1–40:38 Unlike our churches, the Tabernacle functioned primarily as…
25:1–40:38 Unlike our churches, the Tabernacle functioned primarily as a residence or palace of God, the divine king, rather than as a place for people to congregate. In this respect, churches are more like the later Jewish synagogues (see also study note on 40:2). This last section of Exodus completes the revelation of God necessary for the people of Israel to come out of the theological darkness that had held them in bondage. This final section includes instructions for building the Tabernacle (chs 25–31), the story of the gold calf (a wrong attempt to secure God’s presence, chs 32–34), and the report of building the Tabernacle (the proper way to secure God’s presence, chs 35–40). God’s ultimate goal in delivering the people from bondage was to share his presence with them. Because of his holiness, that presence could only be experienced in his way, not through the pagan way of human manipulation. The construction of the Tabernacle is reported here, even though some of the instructions in Leviticus were actually given before this event (see 40:1-2; Lev 25:1; 27:34; Num 7:1). This event expresses the goal of the entire Exodus sequence, which is God taking up residence among his people.
25:1–27:19 These instructions first indicate the materials the Israelites could contribute for the construction of the Tabernacle (25:3-7). The instructions then move from the center outward, beginning with the Ark of the Covenant (25:10-22) and concluding with the courtyard (27:9-19). Two items, the altar of incense in the sanctuary and the washbasin in the courtyard, are included later (30:1-10, 17-21), in the section relating to the priesthood, perhaps because their use was especially related to functions of the priests.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.