The following is Pastor Nate’s teaching transcription from Calvary Monterey’s 5/11/21 Tuesday Night Service. We apologize for any transcription inaccuracies.
Exodus 26 - The Tabernacle
Exodus 26:1. "Moreover, you shall make the tabernacle with 10 curtains of fine twined, linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet yarns. You shall make them with cherubim skillfully worked into them. The length of each curtain shall be 28 cubits and the breadth of each curtain four cubits. All the curtains shall be the same size. Five curtains shall be coupled to one another. And the other five curtains shall be coupled to one another. And you shall make loops of blue on the edge of the outermost curtain in the first set. Likewise, you shall make loops on the edge of the outer most curtain in the second set. 50 loops you shall make on one curtain, and 50 loops you shall make on the edge of the curtain that is in the second set. The loops shall be opposite one another, and you shall make 50 clasps of gold and couple the curtains, one to the other with the clasps so that the tabernacle may be a single hole."
These are the first six verses that we just read of Exodus chapter 26. Now we are in a section here in Exodus 26 that is a continuation of God's instructions to Moses and the people of Israel from and on Mount Sinai about the future tabernacle that they would construct, which years later under King Solomon's reign would develop into the temple itself.
God told them already, and we saw this in chapter 25, to take a free will offering for these different elements. He had already at this point given them the design for first the ark. That's where he started, because that would be the place that he was found, then the table of shewbread, and then the lampstand. And this next chapter, the one that we've already started to read is going to focus on the actual tabernacle itself that housed these pieces of furniture. And then we'll continue on to the outside of the tabernacle structure and see the altar, the courtyard, and the entrance to the tabernacle precincts themselves.
Now, I know that it's difficult in hearing a teaching or watching a teaching about the tabernacle to envision what the tabernacle precincts would look like. I really would encourage you to Google Israel's tabernacle. And you'll see many artistic renderings of those who have predicted or guessed at what the tabernacle would have looked like. Of course, we have no photos of the actual tabernacle. But you can see artistic renderings of what it might have looked like.
It's really not that big of a structure. We do know from this passage that it was 15 feet by 45 feet. So not a very large tent. Constructed of two rooms. One larger room that had candlesticks, the table of shewbread, and the altar of incense. And then one smaller room called the Holy of Holies, the furthest and innermost place. It had one entrance, one large entrance that was sort of screened off that the priest would enter into. But it was the place that God wanted to meet with his people.
Now in looking at the tabernacle, of course here we are in the Christian era. And there are a couple of approaches that we might take in reading further about the tabernacle. One approach that we might take is to symbolize everything about the tabernacle. We know of course that Jesus ultimately fulfilled the ceremonial law, the tabernacle system. So it might be tempting for us to look at every little element that was used to construct this tabernacle and find some kind of typology, or metaphor, or illusion to Jesus himself. And there are some that are very obvious, that it's clear we could tie together to Christ and produce some Christian gleanings from the tabernacle system.
It's also possible for us to take the line of approach that says that this institution that the Israelites engaged in with the tabernacle and the sacrifices was just an endless and tedious ritual that can be safely dismissed in our modern era, but that they were just filled with dead religion.
But really, I think both of those approaches would not be entirely accurate. It is true that the people of Israel did develop the temple and tabernacle system two points in their history where it was dead religion. But at the beginning and at the purer parts of their history, that was not the case. They were offering their sacrifices to God because of a love for God, a passion for God, a devotion to God. And God had prescribed this temple or tabernacle system of worship. So it was far from dead religion when it was approached in the right way.
Additionally, we probably shouldn't just find images or illusions in the ingredients or the building material of the tabernacle that point us to Jesus. There's got to be something more, something better.
And I think there are two approaches that we can take that are healthier for us to take when we think about the tabernacle. One healthy approach is to think about the tabernacle as emblematic of God's throne room, God's presence itself. The Book of Hebrews actually gives us license to think of it in this way. What Moses was given on the mountaintop was an image or an example of the heavenly throne room of God. So there is God in heaven seated at the center of all things of the heavenly realm. So by creating the tabernacle, we can learn and discover that this is kind of a new creation so to speak. God at the center of everything like he originally intended when he made humanity, when he made us. So though we live in a broken and fallen world where not everyone will center themselves upon God, there are people who can. And through the tabernacle, we can learn about that God centered life.
But I think another approach that we can use in looking at the tabernacle is to ask the question what do we learn of God? Or what is seen of God in these passages? And I think there are beautiful things that we can discover about the Lord that I'll try to point out as we move through this text together.
Now of course when Jesus came, he did fulfill the tabernacle system. He came as a new tabernacle so to speak. John said that Christ came, dwelled among us or tabernacled among us is the literal word that he used. Jesus came to destroy the temple and raise it up in three days, speaking of course his own body. But the idea here is that the word who became flesh and tabernacled among us, he fulfills this system.
So now, where does God dwell? Well not in the literal tabernacle. But because God came and dwelt among us, and rose from the dead, and ascended. And now when we believe in him, he pours out his spirit to be in his people. Now we are the temple of the living God. So there are elements that we can learn just about the God centered life, being the temple of God itself in the modern era and world. And also, that we can just learn about God's nature when we study passages like these together.
The Curtains
1 “Moreover, you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen and blue and purple and scarlet yarns; you shall make them with cherubim skillfully worked into them. 2 The length of each curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits, and the breadth of each curtain four cubits; all the curtains shall be the same size. 3 Five curtains shall be coupled to one another, and the other five curtains shall be coupled to one another. 4 And you shall make loops of blue on the edge of the outermost curtain in the first set. Likewise you shall make loops on the edge of the outermost curtain in the second set. 5 Fifty loops you shall make on the one curtain, and fifty loops you shall make on the edge of the curtain that is in the second set; the loops shall be opposite one another. 6 And you shall make fifty clasps of gold, and couple the curtains one to the other with the clasps, so that the tabernacle may be a single whole.
Now in those first six verses that we read already, there are some details just talking about the structure itself. You have in verse one, 10 curtains of fine twilled linen that are mentioned. So what we have here is the first set of inner curtains, kind of the inside area of the tabernacle. It would then be covered by other curtains, thicker curtains, longer curtains. And then eventually, animal skins would cover the entire structure to kind of give it a waterproof ability in storms and all of that. So you've got these 10 curtains.
Inside the curtains, there are these cherubim that are artistically rendered onto the curtains, worked onto the curtains. These white fine linen curtains have these blue, and purple, and scarlet yarn angels that are sewn or threaded into them.
Then they're covering everything it says in verse two. The length and breadth is recorded for us, five curtains coupled together. And you're just kind of given some of the basics of the structure itself.
Now what can we learn just even from those first six verses? Well, one thing that stands out about God is that God is the initiator of beautiful things. I mean, he created the world that we live in. And here in the tabernacle itself, inside where hardly anyone would ever go, just one priest at a time. And then in the Holy of Holies, only one priest once each year would go. There's all this intricate beauty that the human eye would hardly ever behold. But God is present there. God is in that place. So God is a God who initiates beauty. He's interested in beauty. And of course, the angels and cherubim that were artistically rendered there were a symbol of what was actually happening around God's throne room eternally. The angels flying around his throne, praising him and saying, "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord, God almighty."
I think another principle that might stand out is this was a lot of work for those who put the Holy of Holies. The Holy Place kind of constructed it, fabricated all of these curtains, and put together the lampstand, and the table of shewbread and the Ark of the Covenant. But again, rarely seen by others. But God saw them. So this might help us understand that there's something powerful and beautiful about working for God's pleasure. If only God sees it, that's just fine. Because God is worthy of that kind of work and devotion.
And of course, the tabernacle itself speaks to us of just the reality that God wants to be known. If he did not want to be known, he would not have generated this tabernacle system. He would not have spoken this to Moses. He would not have delivered the people of Israel from their captivity in Egypt. He would have just let them be. But God's intention is to be known.
And from the point of the fall till this point, we are seeing God progressively reveal himself to humanity. This is a major next step in the direction of God showing humanity who he is. And of course in the days for instance just after the flood, this would have been a radical revelation from God. But he was not yet known in this clear of a way. This is a further step in the direction of God, making himself known to humanity. Culminating of course in the First Coming of Christ. And then of course, crescendoing at the very end of the age in the Second Coming of Christ. We call it the revelation of Jesus Christ. So we're getting closer and closer to the full revelation of who God is as a human species. But this tabernacle helps us understand God wants to be known. God wants us to fellowship with him. God wants to interact with us.
7 “You shall also make curtains of goats’ hair for a tent over the tabernacle; eleven curtains shall you make. 8 The length of each curtain shall be thirty cubits, and the breadth of each curtain four cubits. The eleven curtains shall be the same size. 9 You shall couple five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves, and the sixth curtain you shall double over at the front of the tent. 10 You shall make fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in one set, and fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in the second set.
Let's go on reading though. In verse seven, it says, "You shall also make curtains of goat's hair for a tent over the tabernacle. 11 curtains you shall make. The length of each curtain shall be 30 cubits, and the breadth of each curtain four cubits. The 11 curtains shall be the same size. You shall couple of five curtains by themselves and six curtains by themselves. And the sixth curtain, you shall double over at the front of the tent. You shall make 50 loops on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in one set, and 50 loops on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in the second set."
So this is the tinting that goes over the entire tabernacle. So strictly speaking, the tabernacle is actually just a frame. The elements inside of it and the inner curtain. And what he says here in verse seven is that over that, there's further draping and protection over the actual tabernacle. So you have the length, and the way that they double over, and all of that. The idea just being that the entire tabernacle is covered by these curtains.
Now, what can we learn here? Well, one thing that we're seeing is it's kind of a twofold truth. That first of all, God protects his relationship with his people. This whole thing is guarded, sealed, protected, and just kind of kept from the elements by the various curtains that God designed. But then we also should reply in like manner and protect our relationship with God. God is working hard to make sure that there's a place for us to meet with him. We must work hard to make sure that we are protecting our relationship with God, the access that God has given us to himself.
11 “You shall make fifty clasps of bronze, and put the clasps into the loops, and couple the tent together that it may be a single whole. 12 And the part that remains of the curtains of the tent, the half curtain that remains, shall hang over the back of the tabernacle. 13 And the extra that remains in the length of the curtains, the cubit on the one side, and the cubit on the other side, shall hang over the sides of the tabernacle, on this side and that side, to cover it. 14 And you shall make for the tent a covering of tanned rams’ skins and a covering of goatskins on top.
"You shall make," verse 11, "50 clasps of bronze. And put the clasps into the loops and couple of the tent together that it may be a single hole. And the part that remains of the curtains of the tent, the half curtain that remains, shall hang over the back of the tabernacle. And the extra that remains and the length of the curtains, the cubit on the one side, and the cubit on the other side shall hang over the sides of the tabernacle in this side and that side to cover it. And you shall make for the tent a covering of tanned ram skins, and a covering of goat skins on top."
So again, just a further description of the way that this was all put together. The difference of the clasps on the outside is that they were made of bronze rather than gold. On the inside, God's presence required the gold, the bronze clasps on the outside facing humanity. It was fine for them to be a non gold substance. They're hanging over the side, so everything is covered. People are not getting a glimpse of the actual tabernacle itself from the outside. And again, you have the waterproof covering, the tanned ram skins, the covering of goat skins on top that would give it some layers that would protect it from the elements. And again like I told you, this tabernacle, it's going to be the basis for the future temple that is design.
Now later in the New Testament, Peter tells us in 1 Peter 2:5, that the church, the people of God today are, "Like living stones being built up into a spiritual house, to be a Holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." So when you think about that temple and the stones that were there in building up the temple, you could see a metaphor or a picture of God's people today. Each one of us like a stone inside the house of God, the temple of God itself.
So because that's the case, when we look at the tabernacle, we can see these different elements that were designed in constructing the tabernacle and say, "Here you have all these different people or pieces put together, forming one house of God. This reminds us in our modern era that a bunch of different people are required to construct God's house. That God has a place that he wants to dwell. He wants to dwell among his people. And just as the different curtains were all clasped together to form one house or the different stones were all built together to form one house. So today, we are living stones, God's people. Constructed and put together to build the house of God, the place where God dwells."
This is helpful I think especially when, particularly applying the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Which actually comes predominantly from that 1 Peter 2 passage. The idea of the priesthood of the believers, which is a very important doctrine that was sort of rediscovered during the reformation, is that individuals have access to God. We serve God ourselves. We don't need mediators to seek God for us as was sort of the case in this Old Testament era with the priests who would help people come to God. But this developed in some grotesque ways throughout Christianity's history where a New Testament or post-crossed priesthood was created. There's really no such thing in the New Testament. But it was created anyways, designed to create a way for people to seek God. So we created, or the Roman Catholic Church created mediators that would sort of be the ones that you would go to so that you could have an audience with God.
But by the blood of Jesus, every believer has complete and total access to God. There's no need for a mediator. We can come boldly, Hebrews tells us, to his throne of grace.
But that particular doctrine, the priesthood of all believers, I've found that when it attaches itself to the extra-biblical outside of the Bible, I'm not trying to use the word unbiblical because that's a derogatory term. But the extra-biblical idea of Americanism or Western independence when the priesthood of believers is attached to a Western independence mindset. The way a westerner might apply the priesthood of all believers is to say, "I don't need a community of faith. I don't need other believers." But what I'm trying to show you is that all throughout scripture, there's this idea of the unity that's required to build God's house. And in the New Testament era, it's the people of God that are the house of God. So one stone by themselves really cannot be an expression of God's house or experience God's presence, house God's presence. It's only together that we as the body of Christ can experience of the totality of who God is and get as much of him as we can in this modern era. So we can kind of see this typified in the different elements that are used to build the tabernacle.
The Frame
15 “You shall make upright frames for the tabernacle of acacia wood. 16 Ten cubits shall be the length of a frame, and a cubit and a half the breadth of each frame. 17 There shall be two tenons in each frame, for fitting together. So shall you do for all the frames of the tabernacle. 18 You shall make the frames for the tabernacle: twenty frames for the south side; 19 and forty bases of silver you shall make under the twenty frames, two bases under one frame for its two tenons, and two bases under the next frame for its two tenons; 20 and for the second side of the tabernacle, on the north side twenty frames, 21 and their forty bases of silver, two bases under one frame, and two bases under the next frame. 22 And for the rear of the tabernacle westward you shall make six frames. 23 And you shall make two frames for corners of the tabernacle in the rear; 24 they shall be separate beneath, but joined at the top, at the first ring. Thus shall it be with both of them; they shall form the two corners. 25 And there shall be eight frames, with their bases of silver, sixteen bases; two bases under one frame, and two bases under another frame.
Now verse 15, we move on to the actual frame. We've kind of seen the curtains that were used to build the tabernacle. But verse 15 says, "You shall make upright frames for the tabernacle of acacia wood. 10 cubits shall be the length of a frame and a cubit and a half the breadth of each frame. And there should be two tenants in each frame for fitting together. So shall you do for all the frames of the tabernacle. You shall make the frames for the tabernacle 20 frames for the south side, and 40 bases of silver you shall make for the 20 frames. Two bases under one frame for its two tenons, and two basis under the next frame for its two tenons. And for the second side of the tabernacle on the north side, 20 frames. And there, 40 bases of silver. Two bases under one frame and two bases under the next frame. And for the rear of the tabernacle westward, you shall make six frames. And you shall make two frames for corners of the tabernacle in the rear. And they shall be separate beneath, but joined at the top at the first ring. Thus shall it be with both of them, they shall form the two corners. And there shall be eight frames with their bases of silver. 16 bases, two bases under one frame, and two bases under another frame."
Okay. So now here, this is basically the framing or the trellis that they needed to build upon which the draping system of the tabernacle would hang. It's possible that there were wooden walls that were slotted into this. And it's also possible that there weren't, and it was just more of a trellis kind of structure. It's hard to say with any certainty from the text itself. And there are scholars that believe or think both things.
The idea is that the silver sockets would then be used to hold the structure together and then level on the desert ground. And they were to donate, we'll discover later in chapter 38, 100 talents of silver to construct these sockets that would hold the frame together, hold it secure on the desert ground.
Later, this offering was going to be called the redemption offering or the atonement offering. And some have pointed out the idea that here, the whole structure is being grounded or founded upon this redemption offering, which that would be an illusion that we can see of Jesus. Our whole relationship with God founded upon the redemption that Jesus Christ won for us.
But I think a thing that I like to see in this framed system that is being prescribed is the idea that there's a structure that supports the worship of God's people. Jesus said that we should worship in spirit and in truth. And some people hate any form of structure at all, because they think that the spirit is just a free wheeling Lord who is just kind of leading them whimsically at any moment. But I think the spirit can lead in the best ways when there is a structure that is present, that kind of gives us the basis for where we're going to and how we're going to meet with God. So anyways, this structure, this frame is prescribed to Moses.
26 “You shall make bars of acacia wood, five for the frames of the one side of the tabernacle, 27 and five bars for the frames of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the frames of the side of the tabernacle at the rear westward. 28 The middle bar, halfway up the frames, shall run from end to end. 29 You shall overlay the frames with gold and shall make their rings of gold for holders for the bars, and you shall overlay the bars with gold. 30 Then you shall erect the tabernacle according to the plan for it that you were shown on the mountain.
He says in verse 26, "You shall make bars of acacia wood. Five for the frames of the one side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the frames of the other side of the tabernacle. And five bars for the frames of the side of the tabernacle at the rear westward. The middle bar halfway up the frames shall run from end to end. You shall overlay the frames with gold, and make their rings of gold for holders for the bars. And you shall overlay the bars with gold. Then you shall erect the tabernacle according to the plan for it that you were shown on the mountain." So again, some additional instructions about the frame itself.
But again, he concludes this little section about the frames with this statement in verse 30. You've got to do this according to the plan for it that you were shown on the mountain.
It says in Hebrews 8:5 that the people of Israel, "Serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God saying, 'See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.'" So again, the idea that the tabernacle is an image that represents a heavenly reality. There is a throne room of God. The angels are flying around God's throne room praising and rejoicing over him. His glory and majesty is found in that place. And it is unknown to us on the outside of that heavenly dimension. But by the blood of Jesus Christ, we can go in and we can partake of who God is today. Kind of go behind the curtain so to speak to experience the Lord.
Now in a sense, this helps us understand a part of the Lord's prayer a little bit better. Jesus said that we should pray that the kingdom would come and his will, would be done, God's will would be done on earth as it is in heaven. So this helps us understand with all these precise measurements the idea that here is God seated on his throne. Everything is centered around him. There's beauty and transcendence that he is in control of. But he is quite clearly on the throne at the center. So when we're praying for his kingdom to come and his will to be done on earth as it is in heaven, part of what we're praying is that God would be at the center of humans' lives. That they would see him as the transcendent on the throne, sovereign, who is worthy of worship and praise.
But this also helps us understand or helps us see the importance of following God's plans. I mean, this is just a very biblical thing that Moses is doing. You got to write down these things and do it the way that God has said.
I'm surprised how often I hear people who identify as Christians who have seemingly walked with the Lord for many years on subjects that the Bible has clear teaching about. Say things like, "Well in my opinion." There's a place for your opinion when the Bible is silent. But it really is shocking to me how often believers will negate scripture itself with their impressions, their feelings, their opinions about something. So it's important for us if God has spoken from the mountaintop and made it clear, we've got to look into his word.
For instance, I often hear believers kind of just give their general impressions about what prayer is, and what their opinions are about what a prayer life should look like, and what God is expecting of them in prayer. And so often, what they say is feelings or opinion base really has little to do with what the Bible actually says about prayer. So we've got to look at the word of God. What does God say is the point I'm trying to highlight again.
The Entrances
31 “And you shall make a veil of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. It shall be made with cherubim skillfully worked into it. 32 And you shall hang it on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold, with hooks of gold, on four bases of silver. 33 And you shall hang the veil from the clasps, and bring the ark of the testimony in there within the veil. And the veil shall separate for you the Holy Place from the Most Holy. 34 You shall put the mercy seat on the ark of the testimony in the Most Holy Place. 35 And you shall set the table outside the veil, and the lampstand on the south side of the tabernacle opposite the table, and you shall put the table on the north side.
Now verse 31, the chapter concludes with the entrances. So we've seen the draping system over the tabernacle, the frame system of the tabernacle. And in verse 31, we have the entrances. It says, "And you shall make a veil of blue, and purple, and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen. It shall be made with cherubim skillfully worked into it, and you shall hang it on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold, with hooks of gold on four bases of silver. And you shall hang the veil from the clasps and bring the Ark of the Testimony in there within the veil. And the veil shall separate for you The Holy Place from the most holy, and you shall put the mercy seat on the Ark of the testimony in the most holy place. And you shall set the table outside the veil, and the lampstand on the south side of the tabernacle opposite the table. And you shall put the table on the north side."
So again, this small rectangular tent set up 15 by 45 or thereabouts. It has two rooms. The larger room is called The Holy Place. So the priest would go in, and to his left would be the table of shewbread. To his right would be the lampstand that was always burning. And then in front of him would be the altar of incense. No animal sacrifice was given on that altar, but incense was burned. That incense would then waft behind another curtain. And behind that curtain was a smaller room that housed the Ark of the Covenant with the mercy seat on top of it that had the cherubim engraved onto it and their wings touching. That was the place it was considered the mercy seat. And inside of the Ark of the Covenant was the law, the Ten Commandments.
So the idea was that the bread was the fellowship with God. The light or the lampstand was God being the light that illumines the world. The lampstand, or excuse me, the altar of incense, the prayers of God's people wafting behind the curtain, interceding, crying out, worshiping God. The mercy seat being the place that they would apply the blood once each year asking God for mercy, because they'd not fully kept the law that was written down on the tablets inside the Ark of the Covenant. So asking God for mercy, and grace, and to have fellowship and friendship with him.
Now the idea that's presented here is that there was a veil in between of The Holy Place, that first room, and the Holy of Holies, the second room that had the Ark of the Covenant, there was this veil that was present.
Now, of course we understand this is important for Christians. Because on the day that Jesus died, the veil was torn in two from top to bottom. And by the time Jesus died, a temple existed. And the veil was very thick in nature. Some people say even a foot thick or more at the time that Jesus died. So the idea being that this was a supernatural event. That from the very top all the way down to the very bottom of this very tall temple that King Herod by that time had constructed, I think maybe 13 stories high. The veil was torn from top to bottom, signifying that this veil that had been prescribed way back when was now complete, and that God now was having made a way for mankind to have access completely to him. To not just offer incense that wafted behind, or have a high priest who came once each year, but to be able to boldly by the blood of Jesus come in fellowship and spend time with the living God. So a beautiful thing, the idea just being that we have full and complete access to the Lord today.
36 “You shall make a screen for the entrance of the tent, of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, embroidered with needlework. 37 And you shall make for the screen five pillars of acacia, and overlay them with gold. Their hooks shall be of gold, and you shall cast five bases of bronze for them.
But there's also something here about the hiddenness of God. This is found also in verse 36 to 37. It says," You shall make a screen for the entrance of the tent of blue, and purple, and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen embroidered with needlework. And you shall make for the screen five pillars of acacia, overlay them with gold. Their hooks shall be of gold, and you shall cast five bases of bronze for them." This is the screen that would be on the outside of the tabernacle. So separating the courtyard from the first room of the tabernacle.
And the idea of the screening system is that when a priest went inside because of these different screens that were laying down in front of the entrance, a worshipper on the outside really could not get a glimpse of what was happening not just in the Holy of Holies, but even in the first room, The Holy Place. They really wouldn't be able to see completely.
So again, the idea of the mystery of God, the magnitude of God, the hiddenness of God. The lives that we have before the Lord, if we have access to God, he's a deep mystery that we can spend our entire lives studying, and learning, and fellowshipping, and enjoying. But that will never come to the place where we understand God completely, or that we've experienced everything there is to experience of God.
And it's not because God is changing. In a married relationship for instance, people will say that. "I'm always learning about my spouse because they're always shifting, and changing, and growing, and so I'm always learning them." That's not the case with God. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. But the magnitude of who he is and the depths of his nature and character, we might know that he's love, or that he's holy, or that he's just. But for eternity, we will be mining the depths of those parts of God's nature. And I think the hiddenness that you're seeing here, it kind of points us to that reality about God. That even though he's there, he's just hidden for us. And we've got to spend time pursuing who he is.
But again, the idea that there he is. He does want to be known as much. As he's hidden, he wants to be known. So we should spend our lives in other words, looking into God. Not just looking into him like, "Maybe I'll think about walking with him." But studying him, learning him, testing him. Letting him direct our lives. Going on adventures with him. This is the best thing for us to grow deeper and deeper in our knowledge, and appreciation, and love for who God is as the years go by.
Exodus 27 -The Bronze Altar
1 “You shall make the altar of acacia wood, five cubits long and five cubits broad. The altar shall be square, and its height shall be three cubits. 2 And you shall make horns for it on its four corners; its horns shall be of one piece with it, and you shall overlay it with bronze. 3 You shall make pots for it to receive its ashes, and shovels and basins and forks and fire pans. You shall make all its utensils of bronze. 4 You shall also make for it a grating, a network of bronze, and on the net you shall make four bronze rings at its four corners. 5 And you shall set it under the ledge of the altar so that the net extends halfway down the altar. 6 And you shall make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with bronze. 7 And the poles shall be put through the rings, so that the poles are on the two sides of the altar when it is carried. 8 You shall make it hollow, with boards. As it has been shown you on the mountain, so shall it be made.
Now in chapter 27, we move to the bronze altar. It says in verse one, "You shall make the altar of acacia wood. Five cubits long and five cubits broad. The altar shall be a square, and its height shall be three cubits. And you shall make horns for it on four corners. It's horn shall be one piece with it. And you shall overlay it with bronze. You should make pots for it to receive its ashes, and shovels, and basins, and forks, and fire pans. You shall make all its utensils of bronze. You shall also make for it a grading, a network of bronze. And on the net, you shall make four bronze rings at its four corners. And you shall set it under the ledge of the altar so that the net extends halfway down the altar. And you shall make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with bronze. And the poles shall be put through the ring so that the poles are on the two sides of the altar when it's carried. You shall make it hollow with boards as it has been shown you on the mountain. So shall it be made."
Now it's not totally clear how this altar worked or how this altar looked. There is an indication after God gave the Ten Commandments that he wanted the altar of Israel to be an earthen altar. But now this altar is fashioned, it's constructed rather than just stones and kind of roughly put together, this one is fashioned of bronze and is ornate or elaborate in nature. There is a possibility that this is kind of the framing of the earth and altar. And that whenever they got to the spot, that the tabernacle was supposed to be for a period of time. It would take elements of the earth, boulders and all of that, and put them into this framework so that they'd be offering their offerings on an earthen altar. But this was sort of the framework for it and a way to dispense of the ashes and all of that more quickly. That's possible. I don't know that it's probable.
But the idea here is that the first thing that the people of Israel would interact with in the house of God was this altar. And this is kind of the format of God laying out these directions. We start at the very center. Start with the altar, or the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies. And we've just kind of gone out from there. Now we're all the way outside the tabernacle itself, to the altar.
Now this is very unlike the altar inside the temple in that is actually an altar for animal sacrifices. And again, the first thing that people would be confronted with when they came into the gate or the courtyard to worship the Lord.
It was a powerful reminder I think of the holiness of God, because these sacrifices for sin, for guilt were needed so that the worshiper could approach the Lord and spend time in his presence. So it would require great humility to pursue the Lord in this way. And just kind of remind the people that this is a place that God wants to connect with us.
So bronze was the metal that was used, which is often a metal that he uses in judgment and also with mankind. So both of these elements are there in that moment. Man bringing offerings to a place where they're hoping that God can transfer their judgment to this offering by faith. There were horns on this altar on the four corners. Those horns are interesting because it's hard to know what kind of function they performed. There were parts or moments where they'd actually put blood on the horns. We wonder if the horns kind of spoke of power, like the power of God in some way. There are even moments where figures in Israel would cling to the horns for mercy.
Then there's this grading system that's described there, a network of bronze in verse four that's kind of put underneath or halfway up the altar kind of to reinforce the altar. It might've been the place that the animal actually rested while it was being consumed by the fire. And then, there was this hollow nature to it with boards. And like I said, it could have been that this was a kind of a frame that the earthen altar would be laid into.
So the idea though for us in thinking about God is how do we approach God? Do we approach God flippantly? Or do we understand that he's holy? Just because Christ came and a believer is covered by the blood of Jesus, doesn't mean that we should take our relationship with God lightly. What we're learning here is his true nature. So this helps us understand that the blood of Christ, that's an expression of God's mercy. That's an expression of God's grace. So we should not tread on his grace or his mercy lightly, but we should really consider it a privilege to be able to have fellowship with God. It's not something that we should take lightly or take for granted.
But another kind of image that's found here comes to us from places like Romans chapter 12, where we're told that as Christians, our aim is to present our bodies as living sacrifices to the Lord. So this altar helps us get that image in our head, the idea of laying our lives before God and saying, "My life, it is an offering for you to do with as you wish."
The Court
9 “You shall make the court of the tabernacle. On the south side the court shall have hangings of fine twined linen a hundred cubits long for one side. 10 Its twenty pillars and their twenty bases shall be of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver. 11 And likewise for its length on the north side there shall be hangings a hundred cubits long, its pillars twenty and their bases twenty, of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver. 12 And for the breadth of the court on the west side there shall be hangings for fifty cubits, with ten pillars and ten bases. 13 The breadth of the court on the front to the east shall be fifty cubits. 14 The hangings for the one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and three bases. 15 On the other side the hangings shall be fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and three bases. 16 For the gate of the court there shall be a screen twenty cubits long, of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, embroidered with needlework. It shall have four pillars and with them four bases. 17 All the pillars around the court shall be filleted with silver. Their hooks shall be of silver, and their bases of bronze. 18 The length of the court shall be a hundred cubits, the breadth fifty, and the height five cubits, with hangings of fine twined linen and bases of bronze. 19 All the utensils of the tabernacle for every use, and all its pegs and all the pegs of the court, shall be of bronze.
Now after seeing the altar, he moves on to the court in verse nine to 19. He says, "You shall make the court of the tabernacle. On the south side, the court shall have hangings of fine twined linen, 100 cubits long for one side. It's 20 pillars. And their 20 basis shall be of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver. And likewise for its length on the north side, there should be a hangings of 100 cubits long, its pillars 20, and their bases 20 of bronze. But the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver. And for the breadth of the core on the west side, there should be the hangings for 50 cubits with 10 pillars and 10 bases. The breadth of the court on the front to the east shall be 50 cubits. The hangings for the one side of the gate shall be 15 cubits, where there are three pillars and three bases."
"On the other side, the hangings shall be 15 cubits, where there are three pillars and three bases. For the gate of the court, there should be a screen 20 cubits, long A blue, and purple, and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen embroidered with needlework. It shall have four pillars. And with them, four bases. All the pillars around the court shall be filleted with silver. There hooks shall be of silver and their bases of bronze. The length of the court shall be 100 cubits, the breadth 50, and the height five cubits with hangings of fine twined linen and basis of bronze, all the utensils of the tabernacle for every use, and all its pegs, and all the pegs of the court shall be of bronze."
All right. So here, you have this outer court that the people would come into before they then offered their sacrifice to God at the altar. And really, this whole area is about a quarter of a modern American football field. So not too big of a space. It wouldn't really fit all that many people inside of it. But they'd come in on the east side and approach the altar from that direction. These walls would kind of provide some privacy to the priests as they did their work to the worshiper as they offered their sacrifice. And it would provide a line of distinction between everybody else, the kind of just tribal wandering people. And God's ground, and where God's presence was going to be found. And again, this just kind of helps us understand God's the one who draws the boundaries, shows us how to approach him, where to approach him. And this was the way that they would approach him in that era.
In all of these places, the court, the altar, The Holy Place, the most holy place, they were important to the people of Israel. And in a sense, they're important to our walk with God today. The court, you could just sort of imagine it as those beginning initiations of time with the Lord. You could also imagine the altar as the place of sacrifice. Just whether it's laying down time or treasure to the Lord. You could imagine The Holy Place as the place where prayer is happening. Friendship with God is happening. Evangelism, being the light of the world is happening. And you could imagine the Holy of Holies as being the place of deepest intimacy with the Lord and true heart cries of intercession before God.
All of these places are important. Just pursuing the Lord, being in God's presence, sacrificing before God, celebrating the cross of Christ. All of these things are important in the Christian life.
Another way of thinking about this life or the courtyard, The Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies is to think about the courtyard representing perhaps those who are saved. They know the Lord, but they've yet to really go deeper. Those in The Holy Place perhaps are those who are serving the Lord. But in the Holy of Holies are those who are really praying, and fellowshipping with, and engaging with God. So the court constructed just designating a place where people could begin the process of approaching him.
The Lamp Oil
20 “You shall command the people of Israel that they bring to you pure beaten olive oil for the light, that a lamp may regularly be set up to burn. 21 In the tent of meeting, outside the veil that is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening to morning before the Lord. It shall be a statute forever to be observed throughout their generations by the people of Israel.
Now we close out this chapter, chapter 27 with verse 20 and 21. He says, "You shall command the people of Israel that they bring to you pure beaten olive oil for the light. That a lamp may regularly be set up to burn. In the tent of meeting outside the veil that is before the testimony, Aaron and his son shall tend it from evening to morning before the Lord. It shall be a statute forever to be observed throughout their generations by the people of Israel."
So God prescribes a kind of oil that will be used to keep the lampstand burning. It had to be beaten olive oil, that would be a smokeless kind of a fire that would burn, which is good inside of the tabernacle. It had to be set up to regularly burn it says there in verse 20. So they were never to let the light go out. And these priests who were descendants of Aaron, they were to serve the tent of meeting. Keep the fire burning, keep fueling the oil for the lampstand. And they were to serve before the testimony it says there in verse 21, the center of the nation of Israel. Aaron and his family were given this responsibility.
Now it's interesting in Zechariah chapter four, Zachariah has a vision that he gives to Zerubbabel and Joshua who were the governor and priest of Israel at that time. And he tells them that he has this vision of a lampstand that is connected by pipes to olive trees. So they're just continually receiving the oil so that they're burning brightly. And he said, "This is representative of the job being accomplished not by might or power, but by my spirit says the Lord." So today, we have the oil of the spirit of God fueling and strengthening us for life.
But the beautiful idea that I appreciate here is that these priests, they were called to keep the fire burning. They were called to keep the fire burning. And as I close this teaching today, I want to encourage you. God is there. If you're a Christian, he is present with you. He has tabernacled among us. And now, he's come to live inside of you, making you a temple of the Holy Spirit. And I want to encourage you to keep the fire burning. Keep pursuing the Lord, keep walking with him, keep enjoying him, making him a regular part of your life. You will benefit greatly if you do. God bless you church. Have a wonderful week.