Exodus 25
INSTRUCTIONS
CONCERNING THE TABERNACLE
AND
ITS FURNITURE, INCLUDING THE PRIESTLY ATTIRE.
The Tabernacle and the Gifts for It (vs.
1-7)
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 (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 (ch. 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 (v. 2).
1"And the LORD spake unto
Moses, saying, 2 Speak unto the children of
that they bring me an
offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with
his
heart ye shall take my
offering." Speak unto the children of
Israel that they bring
me an offering. The word translated “offering”
is that commonly rendered”
heave-offering;” but it seems to be used here (as in ch.
30:13; 35:5, etc.) in a
generic sense. The propriety of the people, when God was about
establishing
His habitation among them, presenting to God all the
materials needed,
is
self-evident and requires no comment. Of
every man that giveth it willingly.
Literally, “of every
man whose heart drives him.” God will have no gifts but
such as are freely offered. He “loveth a cheerful giver” – (II Corinthians
9:7).
If a man gives “grudgingly
or of necessity,” God rejects the gift. On
the
noble spirit which the people showed when the appeal was made to
them, see chps. 35:21-29; and 36:5-7.
God Loveth a
Cheerful Giver (vs. 1-2)
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:
Ø
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 honor
for a town to
receive and entertain a member of our royal family, how much greater an
honor to be permitted to entertain the head of the royal family of
heaven!
Ø
Materials. All manner of things required (vs. 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.
Ø
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.
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 Hmself
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 (II Corinthians 9:7). 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 inHis 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 (Mark 12:42-44; the talents of
the ostentatious
tax-payer are forgotten.
privileges. They remembered what God had done for them, and were
eager
to manifest their gratitude. They
gave even more than enough (ch. 36:6-7).
Their hearts stirred them up,
and their spirits made them willing
(ch. 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.
3 "And
this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold, and silver, and
brass," -
Gold was needed for:
Ø
the overlaying of the
boards, whereof the ark was composed
(v. 11);
Ø
the “crown
of gold,” which surmounted it (ibid.);
Ø
the “rings” (v. 12);
Ø
the “mercy-seat”
(v. 17);
Ø
the cherubim
(v. 18);
Ø
the dishes, the spoons,
the covers,
the bowls
(v. 29);
Ø
the candlestick
(v. 31);
Ø
the tongs
and snuff dishes (v.. 28);
Ø
the hooks
and taches (ch.
26:6, 32);
Ø
the covering
of the table of shew bread (ch. 25:24);
Ø
the staves and pillars
(ibid., 28: ch. 26:32, 37); and also
Ø
for many parts of the dress of the High Priest (ch. 28:6, 8, 11, 14, etc.).
Silver was required for:
Ø
the sockets which supported
the boards of the Tabernacle (ch. 26:19); and for
Ø
the “hooks”
and “fillets”
of the pillars of the court (ch. 27:10)
Brass, or rather bronze, was wanted for:
Ø
the “taches” which coupled together the curtains of the
tent (ch. 26:11);
Ø
the “sockets”
which received the pillars or tent poles (ibid. v. 37);
Ø
the external
coating of the altar (ch. 27:2);
Ø the vessels and utensils of the altar (ibid.
v 3);
Ø the
covering
of its staves (ibid. v. 6);
Ø the sockets of the pillars of the Court
(ibid. v.10);
Ø the “pins”
of the Court (ibid. v.19);
and generally for
Ø the
vessels of the Tabernacle (ibid.).
To understand how the Israelites could supply all that was
wanted, we must
remember:
·
That
they had a certain amount of ancestral wealth, as that which Joseph had
accumulated,
and what Jacob and his sons had brought with them
into
·
That
they had received large presents of gold and silver from the
Egyptians
just before their departure (ch. 12:35); and
·
That they had recently defeated, and no doubt despoiled,
the
Amalekites (Exodus 16:8-13). Whether they had further made money
by trade since they entered the Sinaitic peninsula, may be doubted.
The supposition is not at all needed in order to account
for their wealth
4 "And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and
goats’ hair," And blue, and purple, and scarlet. Cloths of these three
colors seem to be meant. The material was probably wool; the blue
dye
probably indigo, which was the ordinary blue dye of
no doubt derived from one or other of the shell-fish so
well-known to the
Syrians (of which the one most used was the Murex trunculus), and was of
a warm reddish hue, not far from crimson; the scarlet
(literally, “scarlet
worm” or “worm scarlet,”)
was the produce of the Corcus ilicis, or
cochineal insect of the holm oak,
which has now been superseded by the
Coccus cacti, or cochineal
insect of the prickly pear, introduced into
Europe from
to have designated properly the fine linen spun from flax
in
was seldom dyed. and was of a beautiful soft white hue. The
fineness of the
material is extraordinary, equaling that of the best Indian
muslins
(Wilkinson’s Ancient Egyptians, vol. 3. p. 121). It
would seem that the
Israelite women spun the thread from the flax (ch. 35:25), and that
the skilled workmen employed by Moses wove the thread into
linen (ibid.
v. 35). And goat’s
hair. The soft inner wool of the
Angora goat was also
spun by the women into a fine worsted (ibid. v. 26), which was woven into
cloths, used especially as coverings for tents.
5
"And rams’ skins dyed red, and badgers’ skins, and shittim
wood,"
And rams’ skins dyed red. The manufacture of leather was
well-known in
(Herod. 4:189). Scarlet was one of the colors which they
peculiarly
affected (ibid.). We must suppose that the skins
spoken of had been
brought with them by the Israelites out of Egypt. And badgers’ skins. It is
generally agreed among moderns that this is a wrong
translation. Badgers
are found in
Hebrew takhash is
evidently the same word as the Arabic tukhash
or
dukhash, which is applied to marine animals only, as to seals,
dolphins,
dugongs, and perhaps sharks and dog-fish. “Seals’ skins”
would perhaps be
the best translation. (Compare Plin.
H. N. 2:55; Sueton. Octav
§ 90.)
Shittim wood. It is generally
agreed that the Shittah (plural Shittim)
was an
acacia, whether the seyal (Acacia
seyal) which now grows so abundantly in
the Sinaitic peninsula, or the Acacia
Nilotica, or the Serissa,
is uncertain.
The seyal wood is “hard and
close-grained of an orange color with a
darker heart, well-adapted for cabinet work;” but the tree,
as it exists
nowadays, could certainly not furnish the planks, ten
cubits long by one
and a half wide, which were needed for the Tabernacle (ch. 35:21).
The Serissa might
do so, but it is not now found in the wilderness. We are
reduced to supposing either that the seyal
grew to a larger size anciently
than at present, or that the serissa
was more widely spread than at the
present day.
6 "Oil
for the light, spices for anointing oil, and for sweet incense,"
Oil for the light. That the sanctuary
to be erected would
require to be artificially lighted is assumed. Later, a “candlestick” is
ordered (vs. 31-37). The people were to provide the oil
which was to be
burnt in the “candlestick.” In ch.
27:20, we are told that the oil
was to be “pure oil
olive beaten.” Spices for
anointing oil. Anointing oil
would be needed for the sanctification of the Tabernacle,
the ark, and all
the holy vessels, as also for the consecration of Aaron and
his sons to the
priesthood. The spices required are enumerated in ch. 30:23-24.
They consisted of pure myrrh, sweet cinnamon, sweet calamus, and cassia.
And for sweet
incense. The spices needed for the incense were, according
to our translators, stacte, onycha, galbanum and frankincense (ib,
34).
7 "Onyx
stones, and stones to be set in the ephod, and in the breastplate.”
Onyx stones. On the need of onyx stones, see ch.
28:9, 20. Stones to be set in
the ephod, etc. Rather, “stones
for setting, for the ephod and for the breastplate.”
The only stones required for the ephod were two large onyx
stones; for the
breastplate twelve jewels were needed (ibid. vs.17-20), one of them being an
onyx. It has been proposed to translate the Hebrew shoham by “beryl” instead
of “onyx;” but onyx, which is more suitable for engraving,
is probably right
The Law of
Acceptable Offerings (vs. 1-7)
For offerings to be acceptable to God, it is necessary:
·
THAT THEY BE
FREELY OFFERED BY A WILLING HEART.
Offerings were to be taken of
those “whose heart drove them to it”
(compare Tennyson — “His 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” (ch. 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 (I Chronicles 29:6-9);
and again those who returned
from the Babylonian captivity with
Zerubbabel (Ezra 2:68-69; Nehemiah 7:70-72).
·
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 Him of that which
costs us nothing.” (II
Samuel 24:24) - We must not offer “the
blind, and the
lame, and the sick” (Malachi
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.
·
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” – (v.40) - to
avoid “will-worship” (Colossians 2:23) — 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 honor.
The Materials for the Sanctuary (vs. 1-7)
thought that in order to make this holy habitation, this tent for
God
traveling 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 marvelous manner into the midst of
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?
(Matthew 6:19-21;
Mark 8:36-37) — 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
rearranging touch, the treasures upon earth can be transmuted into
treasures in heaven.
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
civilizations.
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 top-stone
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.
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 symbolized 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 (I Corinthians 3:12). We must not
bring to God just what we do not want ourselves. (the sick, the lame,
the inferior, etc. – CY – 2017) 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
they were so disposed.
GENERAL DIRECTIONS (vs. 8-9)
After the gifts which God will accept have been specified,
and the spirit in
which they are to be offered noted (ver.
2), God proceeds to unfold his purpose,
and declare the
object for which the gifts are needed. He will have a “sanctuary’’
constructed for Him,
an habitation in which He may “dwell.” Now, it is
certainly
possible to conceive of a religion which should admit
nothing in the nature of a
temple or sanctuary; and there are even writers who tell us
that a religion has
actually existed without one (Herod. 1:131, Strab. 15. pp, 1039-41) That
God should “dwell”
in a house, as a man does, is of course impossible; and
the Hebrews were as deeply impressed with this truth as any
other nation
(I Kings 8:27; II Chronicles 2:6; Isaiah 56:1; Jeremiah
23-24). But a religion
without a temple was probably unknown in the days of Moses;
and, with such
a people as the Hebrews, it is inconceivable that religion
could have maintained
its ground for long without something of the kind. “It was,” as Kalisch
says,
“above all things necessary to create a firm and visible centre of monotheism,
to keep perpetually the idea of the one omnipotent God
alive in the minds of the
people, and so to exclude for ever a relapse into the pagan
and idolatrous
aberrations” . A
sanctuary was therefore to be constructed; but, as the
nation was in the peculiar position of being nomadic,
without fixed abode,
that is, and constantly on the move, the usual form of a
permanent building
was unsuitable under the circumstances. To meet the
difficulty, a tent-temple
was designed, which is called mishkan,
“the dwelling,” or ‘ohel,
“the tent,” which was simply an Oriental tent on a large scale, made
of the
best obtainable materials, and guarded by an enclosure. The
details of the
work are reserved for later mention. In the present passage
two directions
only are given:
·
Both it, and all its vessels, are to be made after patterns which
God
was about to show to Moses.
8 “And let
them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among
them.” A sanctuary well expresses the Hebrew micdash,
which is
derived from cadash — “to be holy.” It is
a name never given to the
temples of the heathen deities. Compare
ch. 29:45-46; Numbers 35:34.
There is a sense in which “God dwelleth not in temples
made with hands”
(Acts 7:48; 17:24) — i.e., He is not
comprehended in them, or confined
to them; but there is another sense in which He may be truly said to
dwell
in them, viz., as manifesting Himself in them either to the senses, or
to the
spirit. In the tabernacle He manifested Himself sensibly (ch. 40:34-35, 38).
9 “According to all that I shew thee, after the
pattern of the tabernacle, and
the pattern of all the instruments thereof,
even so shall ye make it.” Many of
the old Jewish commentators supposed, that Moses was shown
by God a real
material structure, which actually existed in the heavens,
far grander than its
earthly copy, after which he was to have the tabernacle
fashioned. Some recent
Christian writers, without going these lengths, suggest
that “an actual
picture or model of
the earthly tabernacle and its furniture was shown to
him” (Keil). But the words
of the text, as well as those of Acts 7:44, and
Hebrews 8:5, are sufficiently justified, if we take a view
less material than
either of these — i.e., if we suppose Moses to have
had impressed on his mind,
in vision, the exact appearance of the tabernacle and its
adjuncts, in such sort
that he could both fully understand, and also, when
necessary, supplement, the
verbal descriptions subsequently given to him. It is
unnecessary to inquire
how the impression was produced. God who in vision
communicated to
Ezekiel the entire plan of that magnificent temple which he
describes in chps.
40-42, could certainly have made known to Moses, in the
same way, the
far
simpler structure of the primitive Tabernacle.
The Rearing of the Lord’s Sanctuary (vs.
1-9)
Ø
Of material supplied
by His redeemed. To them only request and
direction 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. (Our bodies? - CY -
2017) Are we
obeying? Is God being
glorified by us?
Ø
Of their free-will
offerings. There is no constraint; everything is free and
spontaneous — the loving gifts of children, not the forced labor of
slaves.
Ø
Of their choicest and best, and yet,
Ø
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.
building and furniture are to be in every particular according to His own
plan (v. 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:
Ø
contempt of God or
Ø
open rebellion
to His authority.
Earthly
Sanctuaries Typical
of
the Heavenly
Such habitations as God condescends to acknowledge for his
in this earthly
sphere, are, all of them, more or less types of the New
Jerusalem, the
eternal heavenly home. “The temple of God was opened in heaven,” says
testament” (Revelation 11:19); and again, “After that I looked, and,
behold, the
temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was
opened” (Revelation 15:5). Note the following common features:
·
THE CENTRAL
CARDINAL FACT IN EACH AND ALL IS, THE
MANIFEST PRESENCE OF GOD. Of the Tabernacle we are told —
“Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the
glory of the
Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter
into the tent of
the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the
glory of the
Lord filled the tabernacle” (ch. 40:34, 35). Christian
churches have
the promise, “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the
end of the world”
(Matthew 28:20) — and again, “Where two or three are gathered together
in my name, there am I in the midst of you.” - (Matthew 18:20) - In the
New Jerusalem “the city has no need of the sun, neither
of the moon, to
shine in it; for the glory of God doth lighten it, and the
Lamb is the Light
thereof” (Revelation
21:23). And the saints “see His face”
(Revelation 22:4).
·
THE SECOND
LEADING FACT IS THE EXISTENCE IN EACH
OF “MANY MANSIONS.”
An outer court, a porch, a holy place, and a
holy of holies, are features
manifestly common to the Hebrew tabernacle
and temple with Christian
churches. These give different degrees of access
to God, and imply different
degrees of fitness to contemplate Him. In
heaven there is a throne — the
throne of God and of the Lamb — and
round about the throne four and
twenty seats for four and twenty elders to
sit on (Revelation 4:4); and
beyond these angels (Revelation 5:11),
and martyrs (Revelation 7:14);
and, last of all, “the nations of them
that
are saved” (Revelation
21:24). And each individual of the “nations”
finds his fitting place.
·
IN ALL,
THE OCCUPATION OF THOSE WHO HAVE FOUND
ENTRANCE IS THE PRAISE AND WORSHIP OF GOD. “Enter into
His courts with praise,”
says David, of the tabernacle — “be
thankful
unto Him, and bless His name.” (Psalm 100:4) -
“When ye come
together, every one of you has a psalm,” (I Corinthians 14:26)
says Paul
of a Christian Church. In heaven
there is “a great voice of much people,
saying, Alleluia: Salvation and glory, and honor, and
power, unto the
Lord our God, for true and righteous are His judgments… and
again
they say, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth; let us be glad
and rejoice, and give honor to Him” (Revelation 19:1-7).
·
IN ALL,
THE WORSHIPPERS ENJOY A SACRED FEAST. Of the
worship of the tabernacle
sacrifice was an essential part; and a sacrificial
feast, of which the offerer partook, always followed the sacrifice. In
Christian worship upon earth,
the crowning act is a heavenly banquet, to
which the minister in Jesus’
name invites all the faithful.
“Hail sacred feast,
which Jesus makes
Rich banquet of His
flesh and blood!
Thrice happy he, who
here partakes
That sacred stream,
that heavenly food.”
In the New Jerusalem there is a “tree of life,” which bears “twelve manner
of fruits;” and they
who enter in “have right to the tree of
life”
(Revelation 22:2, 14), and are “given to eat of the tree of life, which is
in the midst of the paradise of God” (Revelation 2:7). How far this is
literal, how far allegorical, we
shall scarcely know till we are translated to
that celestial sphere, and become dwellers in that glorious city.
God’s Dwelling-Place among His People (vs.
8-9)
God announces to Israel that He is about to take up His
abode in their midst, and
that various offerings are to be used in the construction of a suitable
dwelling-place.
Observe here:
ISRAEL. This
tabernacle with all its belongings was not constructed for
any real need that Jehovah had of it. The people had to
construct tents for
themselves because they needed them, and the making of a tent for
Jehovah was also in
condescending compliance with their need. This
thought is brought out still more clearly by the parallel
reference to the
incarnation in John 1:14, where it is said that the Word tabernacled
among us. Something in
the shape of an ever visible dwelling-place of God
was given to the people, that thus they might comfort their
hearts with the
assurance that He was constantly
near them, sympathizing with them in
their changing circumstances and requirements. The people had been
compelled to go to Sinai, there to be impressed with the majesty of
God
and receive His commandments; but at Sinai they could not
stay. With all
its glories and revelations, it was but a halting place on the
way to
God had indeed already given an
assurance of His daily providence in the
manna; but He now added a further sign than which none could be
more
expressive, none more illustrative of the desire of God to adapt
Himself to
the spiritual blindness and infirmity of men. He took for himself a tent like
the rest of the travelers through the wilderness. Where a dwelling place is
we look for an inhabitant, and especially where it is
manifestly kept in
order and regularly attended to. If
at any moment an Israelite was in doubt
whether God was indeed with the people, here through the
sight of the
tabernacle was his readiest resource to expel all doubt. God’s own house
with its services and attendants was continually before him to rebuke and
remove his unbelief.
YET THAT TENT HAD TO BE A HOLY PLACE. The condescension
was simply a condescension in circumstances. God Himself
remained the
same. He who was holy and jealous, when removed to a distance
from the
people, amid the clouds and sounds of Sinai, was not the least
altered as to
His vigilant
holiness by coming down to the apparent limitations of a tent.
Coarse and humble though the
tent appears, there is an
unspeakably
glorious inhabitant within whose presence exalts and sanctifies
the tent.
God Himself thus furnishes an
illustration of the truth that those who
humble themselves shall be exalted. He needs not to preserve His
glory by
extraneous and vulgar pomp. And just because this dwelling-place of
God
was a tent, the people needed to remember its function with
peculiar
carefulness. Though it was only a tent, it was
God’s tent. A very mean
tent, that in ordinary circumstances would excite no attention,
would be
carefully guarded if the King happened
for a night to make His abode
therein.
CHARACTER AND FORM OF THE TABERNACLE AND ITS
FURNITURE.
Just imagine if, instead of prescribing an exact pattern for
everything, God had left the people’ to make any sort of structure
they
liked. In the first place there would hardly have been
unanimity. Those who
might have been very willing and united in the bestowal of raw
material
would at once have split asunder in attempting to settle how the
material
was to be used. Then, even if a majority had proceeded to
action, they
would probably have introduced something idolatrous, assuredly
something
that savored rather of human error than Divine truth; and the
error would
have been none the less because those who committed it,
committed it in a
spirit of cordial devotion to what they believed was best. What an exposure
is thus made of the plausible notion that if only men are in
earnest, God
will accept the will for the deed!
As to the supply of the raw material, God
stipulated for free will there — perfect liberty either in giving or
withholding. But the raw material once gathered, the freedom of the
givers
was at an end. God Himself supplied the molds in which the
gifts were to
flow. A dwelling-place for God must supply all His wants for
the time
being. He must have just exactly those ordinances of worship and
those
channels of Divine distribution which He deems best. God’s wants,
as we
see more and more from a careful study of the Scriptures, are
not as man’s
wants; and therefore we must wait
humbly for Him to reveal what it is
impossible for man to conjecture. The materials for the
tabernacle and the
instruments thereof were human and earthly, but the patterns are Divine
and heavenly. We know not
into what beautiful, glorious, and serviceable
forms man and his belongings may be wrought, if only he will humbly and
attentively wait for directions
from God above. These Israelites, when
all
was finished according to the pattern in the mount, had then
something to
show which would make an impression on men of the right sort in
the
outside world. Here was an answer to the question, “Where is now
your
God?” Visible He Himself is not; but here is a dwelling-place not in anything
constructed after art and man’s device, but ENTIRELY OF GOD'S
DIRECTION! All our institutions are nothing unless we can trace them
to the inspiration
and control of God.
THE PATTERN OF THE
Moses is first shown, not the pattern of the tabernacle, but the patterns of those
things which it was to contain — the ark, the table of shew-bread, and the seven-
branched candlestick, or lamp-stand, with its appurtenances. The ark, as the very
most essential part of the entire construction, is described first.
10 “And
they shall make an ark of shittim 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." Thou shalt make an ark of shittim
wood. Arks were an
ordinary part of the religious furniture of
temples in Egypt,
and were greatly venerated. They usually contained a figure or
emblem, of some
deity. Occasionally they were in the shape of boats; but
the most ordinary
form was that of a cupboard or chest. They were especially
constructed for
the purpose of being carried about in a procession, and had
commonly
rings at the side, through which poles were passed on such
occasions. It
must be freely admitted, that the general idea of the “
certain points in its ornamentation, was adopted from the
Egyptian
religion. Egyptian arks were commonly of sycamore wood. Two cubits
and a half, etc. As there is
no reason to believe that the Hebrew cubit
differed seriously from the cubits of
regard the Ark of the Covenant as a chest or box, three
feet nine inches
long, two feet three inches wide, and two feet three inches deep.
The Command to Build a Sanctuary (vs. 1-10)
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 (v. 8), and “mishkan,” or
dwelling-place (tabernacle, v. 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 (v. 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
28:11-12, 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
(compare Revelation 21.).
Consider:
be collected before the work began. They were to be:
Ø
Costly and various — representing
o
every
department of nature (mineral, vegetable, animal);
o
the
richest products of each, so far as accessible in the desert
(gold, silver, fine linen, dyed skins, precious stones,
etc.);
o
all
varieties of human skill.
The design was to make a
palace for Jehovah: a beautiful and glorious
house.
Ø
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.
Ø
Free-will offerings (v. 2). This point is
put in the foreground. The
people were to bring an offering — “Of every man that giveth it willingly
with his heart ye shall take my offering.” Observe in this:
o
The people first offered themselves to
God (ch. 24:7), then
their gifts. This is the true order. Compare what is
said of the Macedonian
believers
(II Corinthians 8:1-6).
o
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.
o
God
values only such gifts as come from a willing heart. He loves the
cheerful
giver (II Corinthians 9:7). He puts no value on giving of gifts
which are
not cheerful.
o
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 labor 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. (Compare II Corinthians 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.
o
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.
o
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
fulfillment
of the obligation was left to the individual conscience. It was
not
enforced by legal means. What
was given had to be given freely.
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.
Ø
Actually, the tabernacle was the place of Jehovah’s dwelling with
His
people (v. 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 realization 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 (Psalm
132:13-14). He wishes to dwell
with them. The history of revelation may
be viewed as but a series of steps towards the realization of
this idea. The
steps are the following :
o
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 realization 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 realizations of the idea were
possible.
o
God
dwelling with men in Christ. Christ pointed to Himself as the
antitype
of the temple (Matthew 12:6; John 2:19-22). He was
Immanuel, God with us (Matthew 1:23). The fullness of the Godhead
dwelt in
Him (John 1:14; Colossians 1:15; 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 fullness already contained in Him (John 1:16). This
unfolding,
however, is necessary, that the temple-idea may reach its
complete
fulfillment. A third stage, accordingly, is;
o
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 (I Corinthians 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
Lord (Ephesians
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 realized:
o
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
(Ephesians
2:21-22). Realized in part on earth, and wherever a portion
of the
idea is reserved for the future and for glory. Compare Revelation 21:3 —
“The
tabernacle of God is With men,” etc.
The idea of the Jewish
tabernacle thus finds its fulfillment:
o
in the body of
Christ;
o
in the body of
the believer;
o
in the body of the Church.
Ø
Symbolically —
the tabernacle figured out, in its structure, its contents,
and its arrangements, various spiritual truths.
o
On
the ark and its symbolism, see next homily (v. 8 below)
o
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 shewbread and the lighted lamps,
with the
incense
from the golden altar, emblematized aspects of that calling.
o
The
arrangements of the tabernacle had further in view the symbolizing
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 (Matthew 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. (Compare Hebrews 9:6-14; 10:19-20;
11:39-40;
12:23.)
11 "And
thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt
thou overlay it, and shalt
make upon it a crown of gold round about."
Thou shalt overlay it with pure gold. Or, “cover it with pure
gold.” As gilding was well known in
exodus, it is quite possible that the chest was simply gilt
without and
within. It may, however, have been overlaid with thin
plates of gold (a
practice also known in
view taken by the Jewish commentators. The crown of gold was probably
an ornamental molding or edging round the top of the chest.
12 "And thou shalt cast four
rings of gold for it, and put them in the
four corners
thereof; and two rings shall be in the one side of it,
and two rings in
the other side of it." And thou shalt
cast four rings of gold” -
These rings were to be fixed, not at the upper, but at the lower corners of the
chest, which are called pa’amoth, literally “feet” or “bases.” The object was,
no doubt, that no part of the chest should come in contact with the persons of the
priests when carrying it (see II Samuel 6:1-7). As Kalisch notes, “the smallness
of the dimensions of the ark rendered its safe transportation, even with the rings
at its feet, not impossible.
13 "And
thou shalt make staves of shittim
wood, and overlay them with gold."
Staves of shittim wood.
Similar staves, or poles, are to be seen in the Egyptian
sculptures, attached to arks, thrones, and litters, and
resting on the shoulders of
the men who carry such objects.
14 "And thou shalt put the
staves into the rings by the sides of the ark,
that the ark may
be born with them." That
the ark may be borne with them.
The Hebrew ark was not made, like the Egyptian arks, for
processions, and was
never exhibited in the way of display, as they were. The
need of carrying it arose
from the fact, that the Israelites had not yet obtained a
permanent abode. As soon
as Canaan was reached, the ark had a fixed locality
assigned to it, though the
locality was changed from time to time (Joshua 18:1; I
Samuel 4:3; 7:1;
II Samuel 6:10, etc.); but in the desert it required to be
moved each time that the
congregation changed its camping-ground.
15 "The staves shall be in the rings of the ark: they
shall not be taken
from it. The staves, when once put into the rings of the ark, were never to be
taken from them. The object probably was that there might be no need of
touching even the rings, when the ark was set down or taken up. The bearers took
hold of the staves only, which were no part of the ark. On the danger of touching
the ark, itself – see II Samuel 6:6-.7
16 “And
thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I
shall give thee."
This is undoubtedly the Decalogue, or in other words, the two tables of stone,
written with
the finger of God, and forming His
testimony against sin.
(Compare Deuteronomy 31:26-27.) The main intention of the
ark was to be a
repository in which the two tables should be laid up.
The
When Jehovah provided for
needful that
it
left to Moses and the people to determine what might be most
appropriate. Jehovah arranged things so that all the religious service
of the
people gathered around the two tables of stone. An Israelite
gazing upon
the
great holy place of another nation and inquiring what might be its
innermost treasure hidden and guarded from all presumptuous
approach,
would get for answer that it was some image graven by art and
man’s
device; and he would further learn that the supposed will of this
deity
found its expression in all licentious and abominable rites.
But, on the other
hand, a gentile, looking towards
might be behind the curtains of the tabernacle, and expecting
perhaps to
hear of some magnificent image, would be astounded with a very different
reply. No image there! and not only no
image, but words graven by God’s
desire which forbade fabrication of everything in the shape of an
image.
Within that gilded box of shittim
wood there lie written the leading
requirements for those who would obey the will of Jehovah. Litera scripta
manet. The spot where that ark had a resting-place was a sacred
spot, not
approachable by the common multitude: but this was not because there
was
anything to conceal. The recesses of
heathenism will not bear inspection.
The character of the deity worshipped corresponds with the
degradation of
the
worshippers. But here is the great distinction of that Divine service
found in
officiating priests, an exposure of the hidden things of their sacred
place
would have been an exposure of their apostasy. No Israelite
needed to be
ashamed of what lay within the ark on which he was bound to look
with
such veneration, which he was bound to guard with such assiduity; and if it
be
true that every human heart ought to be a sanctuary of
God, then the
very heart of hearts should be as the ark of the testimony in the sanctuary
of
old. Our hearts should be better than our outward services. We should
have the consciousness that God’s will has a real, an abiding, a cherished,
a
predominating place in our affections. All
the actions of life should flow
from the fountain formed by the ever living force of A DIVINE WILL
WITHIN US! Let us ever consider the internal more than the external.
If the
internal be right, the external will come right in due time. If God’s
commandments — the full scheme of Christian virtues — are indeed written
in our hearts, then all superficial hindrances and roughness can only last for
a
little time. The Divine life ruling within must subdue all things to itself.
17 "And
thou shalt make a mercy set 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 a mercy seat” - Modern exegesis has endeavored to empty
the word kapporeth of
its true meaning, witnessed to by the Septuagint, as well as
by the Epistle to the Hebrews (Hebrews 9:5). It tells us that a kapporeth
is simply
a cover, “being derived from kaphar,
to cover,” — used in Genesis 5:14, with
respect to covering the ark with pitch. But the truth is
that kapporeth is not derived
from kaphar, but
from kipper, the Piel form of the same verb, which has never
any other sense than that of covering, or forgiving sins. In this sense it is
used in the Old Testament some seventy times. Whether the
mercy seat
was the real cover of the ark of the covenant, or whether
that had its own
lid of acacia wood, as Kalisch
supposes, is uncertain. At any rate, it was
not called kipporeth because
it was a cover, but
because it was a seat of
propitiation. On the
importance of the mercy seat, as in some sort
transcending the ark itself, see Leviticus 16:2, and I
Chronicles 28:11.
Atonement was made by sprinkling the blood of expiation
upon it
(Leviticus 16:14-15) - “of
pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be
the
length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof.”
Not of wood, plated with metal, or richly gilt, but of solid gold — an
oblong slab, three feet nine inches long, two feet three inches wide, and
probably not less than an inch thick. The weight of such a slab would be
above 750 lbs. troy. The length and breadth were exactly those of
the
ark itself, which the mercy seat thus exactly covered (v. 10).
18 “ And
thou shalt make two cherubims
of gold, of beaten work shalt
thou make them, in the two ends of the
mercy seat." Two cherubims. The form
“cherubims," which
our translators affect, is abnormal and indefensible. They
should have said either “cherubim,” or “cherubs.” The exact
shape of the
cherubim was kept a profound secret among the Jews, so that
Josephus declares —
“No one is able to state, or conjecture of what form the
cherubim were”
(
of this chapter, while from other parts of Scripture we
learn that cherubim
might be of either human or animal forms, or of the two
combined
(Ezekiel 1:5-14; 10:1-22). These last have been with some
reason compared
to the symbolical composite figures of other nations, the andro-sphinxes
and crio-sphinxes of the
Egyptians, the Assyrian winged bulls and
lions, the Greek chimaerae, and
the griffins of the northern nations. But it
is doubtful whether the cherubim of Moses were of this
character. Of beaten
work shalt thou make them. Not
cast, i.e., but hammered into shape
(Septuagint - τορευτά - toreuta - . The word “cherub” is thought to be
derived from an Egyptian root, karabu,
signifying “to hammer” (Speaker’s
Commentary, vol. 4. p. 207). In the two ends.
Rather, “From the two ends” —
i.e., “rising,” or,
“standing up from the two ends.”
19 "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.” On the one end on the other end… on the two ends. The
preposition used is in every case the same as ,that of the
last clause of v.18 —
viz., min, “from.” The idea is that the figures rose
from the two ends.
20 “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.” Compare ch. 37:9. It would
seem that the two wings of both cherubs were advanced in front
of them, and
elevated, so as to overshadow the mercy seat. “their faces” - The words are not
without difficulty; but the generally received meaning appears to be correct that
the faces were bent one towards the other, but that both looked downwards,
towards
the mercy seat. Thus the figures, whether they were
standing or kneeling,
which is uncertain, presented the appearance of guardian
angels, who watched over
the precious deposit below — to wit, the two tables.
21 "And
thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and
in the ark
thou shalt put
the testimony that I shall give thee."
Thou shalt put the mercy
seat above the ark. Rather, “upon
the ark” — “thou shalt
cover the ark with it.”
This had not been expressed previously, though the dimensions (v.
17), compared
with those of the ark (v. 10), would naturally have
suggested the idea. In the ark
thou shalt put the testimony. This is a mere repetition of v. 16, marking the
special importance which attached to the provision.
He Maketh the Winds
His Messengers
and
His Ministers a Flame of Fire
(vs. 18-21)
The cherubim were to be of one piece with the mercy seat,
the whole a lid, or
guard above the lid, to the ark or chest which contained the
tables of the law.
Ø
The symbol. They are not described here; but by comparing the various
passages in which they are re[erred to we may get a general notion
as to
their appearance. Ezekiel, who must have been familiar with
their
appearance, describes them as seen in his vision (Ezekiel 1), four
wings,
four faces, etc. In Revelation 4 the same idea is seen in a
developed form,
four creatures having each a different face, and each having
six wings.
This latter feature suggests identity
with the seraphim in Isaiah’s vision
(ch.
6.), and the name “seraphim,” which seems connected with fire or
burning, reminds us of the “flaming sword” with which the
cherubim
are associated in Genesis 3:24. In any case wings, fire, and a
mixture
of the human and the animal in their appearance are
characteristic features.
Ø
That which is symbolized. Wings in Scripture almost always represent
the wind. The appearance
of the cherubim is as fire. Their faces are those
of the chief beasts — the lion, the bull-calf, the man, the
eagle. Their form
tends towards the human. On the whole, we may say they represent
nature
under her manifold aspects, nature as interpreted chiefly
through the
natural man in his perfection regarded as a part of nature. The
cherubim
shadow forth the natural creation according to the Divine ideal.
The clause
in the Te Deum — “To
thee, cherubim and seraphim continually do cry,”
is the Benedicite condensed into a
sentence!
Ø
Position. One piece with the mercy seat. Nature, in spite of appearances,
is a manifestation of God’s mercy to man. His voice may not be in the
tempest or the fire, yet the tempest and the fire form a canopy to
that
throne whence issues the “still, small voice.” (I Kings
19:12) If we regard
the mercy seat as typical of Christ (compare Romans 3:25),
then we are
reminded of the mysterious relation which exists between Christ and
nature
(Colossians 1:17; John 1:1,
etc.).
Ø
Office. Here they protect the ark and its contents, as in Genesis
3:24,
they “keep the way of the tree of life.” The way of the tree of life is the
way of righteousness, the way of the law of God. Thus the cherubim
above the ark declare that nature, a manifestation of God’s
mercy, is also
the guardian of God’s law.
Ø
Nature does guard
the way of the tree of life, the law of God. There is a
tendency implanted in the very constitution of nature which “makes for
righteousness.” Break a law, and,
by God’s merciful ordinance, you are
compelled to reap the penalty. Sin in secret, yet you cannot escape
the
cognizance of this vigilant, sleepless, unconscious sentinel [compare
2017)]. It is “full
of eyes within and behind.” (Revelation
4:6)
Ø
Nature is a
manifestation of mercy. Undiscoverable transgression would
be irretrievable damnation. Christ, too, is one with the
mercy seat; nature is
rooted in the Divine Word. If we go to that throne of grace we
may still
obtain mercy, and win,
through Christ, peace with the avengers.
22 "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.” The whole of
the foregoing description has been subordinate
to this. In all the arrangements for the tabernacle God was, primarily and mainly,
providing a fit place where He might manifest himself
to Moses and his successors.
The theocracy was to be a government by God in reality, and not in name only.
There was to be constant “communing” between God and the earthly ruler of the
nation, and therefore a place of communing. Compare ch. 29:42-45.
The special seat of the Divine presence was to be the empty space above the mercy
seat, between the two cherubim, and above the ark of the covenant.
“This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your
generations at the door
of the tabernacle
of the congregation before the LORD: where I will meet you, to
speak there
unto thee. And there I will meet with
the children of
and the
tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory.
And I will sanctify the
tabernacle of
the congregation, and the altar: I will sanctify also both Aaron
and his sons,
to minister to me in the priest’s office.
And I will dwell among
the children of
the LORD their
God, that brought them forth out of the
I may dwell among them: I am the LORD their God.” (ch. 29:42-46)
The
Symbolism of the Ark of the Covenant (vs. 10-22)
The symbolical meaning of the ark of the
covenant may be considered,
either, separately,
as to its parts; or collectively, as to the bearing of its several
parts one upon the other.
Ø The ark, or coffer of acacia wood, coated
within and without with pure
gold, and intended as a receptacle for the law written by the
finger of God,
would seem to have represented Divine law as enshrined in the
pure nature
of God. Acacia is said to be one of the most incorruptible of
woods, and
gold is undoubtedly the most incorruptible, as well as the most
precious, of
metals. The law of God — “holy, just, and good” (Romans
7:12) —
needs such a receptacle. It dwells fitly in God Himself — in the
incorruptible hearts of the sinless angels — and in the undefiled hearts
of
godly men. It is in itself pure and incorrupt, an emanation from
Him who is
essential purity. It is a “golden” rule, perfect, lovely, beautiful.
It is no cruel
code of a tyrant, but the only rule of action by which the
well-being of man
can be secured. At the same time there is severity and
sternness in it. It was
written on stone, and shrined in gold.
It was fixed, unbending, unchangeable.
Ø The mercy
seat represented God’s attribute of mercy. It covered up the
law, as He “covers up”
the sins and offences of His people (Psalm 32:1;
85:2; Romans 4:7). It was prepared to receive the expiatory
blood
wherewith the high-priest was to sprinkle it, the blood that
typified the
propitiatory sacrifice of
Christ (Leviticus 16:14). It was of
gold
because mercy is the most
precious of God’s attributes. It was placed over
the law, because mercy transcends justice.
Ø The cherubim
represented at once guardianship and worship. Doubtless
holy angels at all times guarded invisibly the ark, and
especially the
“testimony” which it contained. The presence of the two golden figures
signified this holy watchfulness to the Israelites, and spoke to
them of the
intense holiness of the place. The shadowing wings represented
protecting
care; and the cherubic form showed that the most exalted of
creatures were
fitly employed in watching and guarding the revelation of the
will of the
Almighty. By their attitude,
standing or kneeling with bent heads end faces
turned down toward the mercy seat, they further spoke of worship.
On the
Divine presence, which was
manifested “from between them,” they dared
not gaze — their eyes were lowered, and fixed for ever on the
mercy seat
— the
embodiment of the Divine attribute of mercy. As under the new
covenant angels desired to look into the mystery of redemption (I
Peter
1:12), so, under the old, angels doubtless saw with admiring wonder
God commencing the recovery
of a lost world; they looked on His attribute
of mercy with rapture but with amaze; it was a new thing to
them; the
angels who lost their first estate had not elicited it; man alone
had been
thought worthy of the “afterthought,” whereby sin was condoned, and the
salvation of sinners made possible.
ONE UPON ANOTHER. The teaching of
the ark in this respect was, primarily,
that of David in the eighty-fifth psalm: “Mercy and truth are met together;
righteousness and peace have kissed each other.” Mercy without justice is a
weak sentimentality, subversive of moral order. Justice without mercy is a
moral severity — theoretically without a flaw, but revolting to man’s instinctive
feelings. The synthesis of the
two is required. The law, enshrined in the
holiest place of the sanctuary, vindicated the awful
purity and perfection of
God. The mercy seat, extended above the law, assigned to mercy its superior
directive position. The cherubic figures showed the gaze of angels riveted in
astonishment and admiration on God’s
mode of uniting mercy with justice,
by means of vicarious suffering, of Jesus Christ, which He accepts as
atonement. Finally, the Divine presence, promised as a permanent
thing,
gave God’s sanction to the
expiatory scheme, (planned
before the foundation
of the world – Revelation 13:8 – CY - 2010) whereby alone man
can be
reconciled to Him, and the claims both of justice and of mercy
satisfied.
(Compare Romans 11:32)
The Mercy Seat and the Cherubim (vs. 17-22; ch. 37:6-9)
The ark already indicated as the repository of the two
tables, is now further
indicated as the resting-place of the mercy seat and the cherubim.
Thus
there was presented to the thoughts of the people a Divinely constituted
whole, a great symbolic unity which set forth the glory and the
mystery of
God’s presence as
no unaided human conception could have done,
however sublime, however sincere. The ark, the mercy seat, and the
cherubim once made and placed in position, were hidden away from
the
general gaze. Bezaleel looked no more
upon his handiwork. But though
the
things behind the veil were themselves hidden, yet their general
character and relations were known. Hidden in one sense, in another
sense
they were all the more manifest just because they were hidden. It was
perfectly well known that behind the veil God made Himself known as
the
God of the commandments, the God of the mercy seat, the God
shining
forth between the cherubim. The proximity of the mercy seat to
the tables
of
the law was an excellent way of showing that the requirements inscribed
on
these tables were to be no dead letter. If they could not be honored by
a
heartfelt and properly corresponding obedience, then they must be
honored by a heartfelt repentance for transgression, an adequate
propitiation, and an honorable forgiveness. There was a place for
profound and permanent repentance, and a place for real and signal
mercy
to
the transgressor: but for a slurring over of disobedience there was no
place at all. Very close indeed are the law and the gospel. The
law, when
its
comprehensiveness and severity are considered, magnifies the gospel;
and
the gospel, when we consider how emphatically it is proclaimed as
being a gospel, magnifies the law. Then we have also to consider
what may
be signified by the presence of the cherubim; and surely we shall not go far
wrong in connecting these golden figures here with the presence
of those
awful guardians who prevented the return of Adam and Eve to the
scene of
earthly bliss which they had forfeited. The presence of these
cherubim
suggested a solemn consideration of all that man had actually lost;
God
looking from between the cherubim, was looking as it were from the
scene
of
the ideal human life on earth; that life which might have been the real, if
man
had only persisted according to the original injunction of his Maker.
Thus the cherubim are associated, first with the barrier
against return, and
then with the working out of a plan for glorious and complete restoration.
There is here no word of the flaming sword. The cherubim
seem to be
regarded as contemplative rather than active, somewhat as Peter
phrases it when he speaks of things which the angels desire to
look into.
(I Peter 1:12) Over
against the delight of those faithful ones who guarded
we
must set the thought of those in whose presence there is such inexpressible
joy
over the repenting sinner. God looked forth from between these symbols of
the
unsullied creatures who serve Him day and night continually, and
towards those people whom, though at present they were
disobedient,
carnal, and unsusceptible, He nevertheless called His own.
Sinners may
be
so changed, renewed, and energized as to be joined in the most
complete harmony of service even with the cherubim.
THE
TABLE OF THE SHEWBREAD (vs. 23-30)
From the description of the ark, which constituted the sole furniture of the most holy
place, God proceeded to describe the furniture of the holy place, or body of the
tabernacle, which was to consist of three objects:
setting-forth”).
been regarded as of primary importance; and its description is therefore
made to follow immediately on that of the ark. It was of acacia wood,
overlaid with pure gold, and was of the most ordinary shape — oblong-
square, i.e., with four legs, one at each corner. The only peculiar features
of the table, besides its material, were the border, or edging, which
surrounded it at the top, the framework which strengthened the legs
(v. 25), and the rings by which it was to be carried from place to place.
23 “Thou shalt also make a table of shittim
wood: two cubits shall be
the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth
thereof, and a cubit and a half the
height thereof." Two cubits shall be the length
thereof, etc. The table was to
be
three feel long, one foot six inches broad, and two feet three inches
high. It was thus quite a small table, narrow for its length, and about two
inches below the ordinary height.
24"And
thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, and make
thereto a
crown of gold round about.” – A border, or edging round the top, which would
prevent anything that was placed on the table from readily falling off. (Compare
v. 11) Thou shalt overlay it with pure gold. Again, gilding may be
meant; but a covering with thin plates of gold is perhaps more
probable. A
crown of gold round
about. A
border, or edging round the top, which
would prevent anything that was placed on the table from readily
falling
off.
(Compare v. 11.)
25 “And thou shalt
make unto it a border of an hand breadth round about,
and thou shalt make a golden crown to the border thereof round about."
A
border of a hand-breadth. Rather
“a band” or “framing.”
This seems to have been a broad flat bar, placed about
hallway down the
legs, uniting them and holding them together. It was represented in the
sculpture of the table which adorned the Arch of Titus. (See the Speaker’s
Commentary, vol. 1. p. 363.) A golden
crown to the border — i.e., an
edging at the top of the bar, which could be only for ornament.
26 "And
thou shalt make for it four rings of gold, and put
the rings in the four
corners that are on the four feet
thereof." The four corners
that are on the
four feet, is scarcely an intelligible expression. Pe’oth, the word translated “corners,”
means properly “ends;” and the direction seems to be, that the
four rings should
be
affixed to the four “ends” of the table; those ends, namely, which are “at
the
four feet.” It is a periphrasis, meaning no more than that they should be
affixed to the feet, as Josephus tells us that they were. (
27 "Over
against the border shall the rings be for places of the staves to bear
the table.
28 And thou shalt
make the staves of shittim wood, and overlay
them with gold, that the table may be born with
them." Over against the border.
Rather “opposite the band” or “framing” — i.e.,
opposite the points at which the
“band” or “framing” was inserted
into the legs. Bishop Patrick supposes that the
table “was not carried up as high as the ark was, but hung down
between the
priests, on whose shoulders the staves rested.” But it is carried
upright in the
bas=relief on the Arch of Titus, and might have been as easily so carried as
the
ark.
(See the comment on v. 12.) Of the staves. Rather, “for staves.” Staves for
the
table had not yet been mentioned; and naturally the word has no article.
29 "And
thou shalt make the dishes thereof, and spoons
thereof, and
covers thereof, and bowls thereof, to cover
withal: of pure gold shalt thou
make them." The dishes thereof. Literally "its dishes,” or rather perhaps,
“its bowls” (Septuagint - τρύβλια - trublia - ). They were probably the vessels
in
which the loaves were brought to the table. Loaves are often seen arranged
in
bowls in the Egyptian tomb decorations (Lepsius, Denkmaler, pt. 2, pls. 5, 19,
84, 129, etc.). Spoons
thereof. Rather, “its incense cups” — small jars or
pots in which the incense, offered with the loaves (Leviticus 24:5), was
to
be burnt. Two such were represented in the bas-relief of the table on the
Arch of Titus. Covers
thereof and bowls thereof. Rather, “its flagons and
its
chalices” (Septuagint - σπονδεῖα καὶ κύαθοι - spondeia kai kuathoi - ) —
vessels required for the libations or “drink offerings” which
accompanied
every meat-offering. To cover withal. Rather,
as in the margin, “to pour
out
withal.” So the Septuagint, Vulgate, Syriac,
and most of the Targums.
30 "And
thou shalt set upon the table shewbread
before me alway.”
Here we have at once the object of the table, and its name,
explained. The
table was to have set upon it continually twelve loaves, or
cakes, of bread
(Leviticus 24:5), which were to be renewed weekly on the sabbath-day
(ibid. v. 8), the stale loaves being at the same
time consumed by the
priests in the holy place. These
twelve loaves or cakes were to constitute a
continual thank-offering to God from the twelve tribes of
for the blessings of life and sustenance which they received
from Him.
The bread was called “bread
of face,” or “bread of presence,”
because it
was
set before the “face” or “presence” of God, which dwelt in the holy of
holies. The Septuagint
renders the phrase by ἄρτοι ἐνώπιοι - artoi enopioi -
loaves that are face to face —
Matthew by ἄρτοι τῆς
προθέσεως - artoi taes
protheseos - loaves
of setting-forth” — whence the Schaubrode
of Luther, and
our
“shewbread,” which is a paraphrase rather than a translation.
The Symbolism of the Table of Shewbread (vs. 23-30)
Before the holy of holies, within which was the Divine
Presence, dwelling
in thick darkness behind the veil, was to be set
perpetually this golden
table, bearing bread and wine and frankincense. The bread and wine and
frankincense constituted a perpetual thank-offering, offered by
nation to the high and holy God. The idea was that of a
constant memorial
(Leviticus 24:8), a continual acknowledgment of the Divine
goodness
on the part of the nation. The essence of the offering was
the bread — we
know of the wine only by implication; the frankincense is
distinctly
mentioned (ib, v. 7), but is
altogether subordinate. Israel,
grateful to God
for maintaining and supporting its life, physical and
spiritual, expressed its
gratitude by this one and only never ceasing offering. It was intended to
teach:
PERPETUALLY.
Men are so cold by nature, so selfish, so little inclined to
real
thankfulness, that it was well they should be reminded, as they were by
the shewbread, of
thankfulness being a continuous, unending duty, a duty
moreover owed
by all! No tribe was ever exempt, however reduced in
numbers,
however little esteemed, however weak and powerless. The
twelve
loaves were perpetually before the Lord.
offering
is that of a “pure heart;” but no man
of a pure heart, who
possessed
aught, was ever yet content to offer merely “the
calves of his
lips” - (Hosea 14:2) - men instinctively give of their best to
God.
Bread, the
staff of life — wine, that maketh glad the heart of
man —
frankincense,
the most precious of spices, are fitting gifts to him. The
offering
of bread signifies the devotion of our strength — of wine, the
devotion
of our feelings — of frankincense, the devotion of our most
sublimized spiritual aspirations to the eternal.
offered these offerings, and thereby inculcated on each individual of the
nation the duty of doing the same, separately and
individually, for private,
as the nation did for public, benefits.
UNLESS ALL ITS SURROUNDINGS WERE PURE AND HOLY. The
loaves
were to be of the finest flour (Leviticus 24:5). The frankincense
was to be “pure frankincense” (ib,
v. 7). The table was to be overlaid
with “pure gold” (ch.
26:24). All the utensils of the table were to
be of the same
(ib, v. 29). Nothing “common or unclean” was to come
into
contact with the offering, which was “the
most holy unto the Lord”
of all the
offerings made to Him (Leviticus 24:8). The purity and
perfection
of all the material surroundings of the offering suggested the
need of equal purity in those who offered it.
The Table of Shewbread
(vs. 23-30; ch. 37:10-16)
Between the ark of the testimony and the table of the shew-bread we see
this great correspondence — that they were of the same material of shittim
wood and had the same adornment of gold. But along with this
correspondence there was a great difference, in that the ark of the
testimony stood within the veil, while the table of shew-bread stood
without. The ark of the testimony had the mercy seat above it,
while the
table of the shew-bread had the
lighted candlestick over against it. There
must be some significance in having the table on the people’s side of the
veil rather than God’s side; and may it not be that the table with its bread
and
the candlestick with its light were meant to set forth God’s
providential support and illumination of all His people? The shew-bread
was
not so much an offering presented to God as something placed on the
table by His command, regularly and unfailingly, to symbolize the unfailing
regularity with which He supplies His people in their ordinary
wants. The
daily meat offering with its fine flour was the representation
of the labor
of
the people: and so we may take the shew-bread as
representing that
blessing of God without
which the most diligent toil in sowing and
watering avail nothing. The God of the shew-bread
is the God in whom we
live and move and have our being; we cannot do without
Him for the
necessities and comforts of natural life. Were He to cease the
operations of
His energy in nature, it would soon be seen how utterly
fruitless is all our
working just by itself. (Psalm 104:27-29) A great and efficient providing power
cannot be denied by whatsoever name we choose to call Him. Would
we know
Him and more of Him than we can ever know in nature — we
must think of
what lies within the veil. He gives us the
things belonging to the outer holy
place, the bread and the light, the natural strength and the
natural wisdom,
in order
that we may come to know Him in His spiritual demands and His
ability to satisfy the deepest demands of our hearts. The God who gives
that bread to His people, of which the shew-bread
was an ever renewed
sample, gives it that we whose lives are continued by the bread may spend
them to His glory. God
feeds us that we may be in all things His servants,
and
not in anything our own masters.
THE GOLDEN CANDLESTICK –
(vs. 31-40)
Though the holy of holies was always dark, unless when
lighted by the glory of
God (ch. 40:34-35), the holy
place, in which many of the priests’ functions were
to
be performed, was to be always kept light. In the day-time sufficient light
entered from the porch in front; but, as evening drew on,
some artificial
illumination was required. In connection with this object,
the golden
candlestick, or rather lamp-stand, was designed, which,
together with its
appurtenances, is described in the remainder of the chapter.
31 "And 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."
A
candlestick. The golden
candlestick is figured upon the
Arch of Titus, and appears by that representation to have
consisted of an
upright shaft, from which three curved branches were carried out
on either
side, all of them in the same plane. It stands there on an octagonal
pedestal,
in
two stages, ornamented with figures of birds and sea-monsters. This
pedestal is, however, clearly Roman work, and no part of the
original. Of
beaten work. Not cast, but fashioned by the hand, like the cherubim (v.
18).
His
shaft. Rather, “its base” (literally “flank”). His branches. Our
version follows the Septuagint; but the Hebrew noun is in the
singular
number, and seems to designate the upright stem, or shaft. The
“branches
are
not mentioned till v. 32, where the same noun is used in the plural.
His
bowls, his knops, and his flowers. Rather, “its cups, its
pomegranates, and its lilies.” The “cups” are afterwards likened to
almond
flowers (v. 33); they formed the first ornament on each branch;
above
them was a representation of the pomegranate fruit; above this a lily
blossom. The lily-blossoms supported the lamps, which were
separate
(v. 37). The remainder were of one piece with the
candlestick.
32 "And six branches shall come out of the sides of it;
three branches
of the candlestick
out of the one side, and three branches of the
candlestick out of the other
side:" Six branches. The representation on the
Arch of Titus exactly agrees with this description. It was
a peculiarity of the
“candlestick,” as compared with other candelabra, that all the branches
were
in
the same plane.
33 "Three bowls made like unto almonds, with a knop and a flower in
one branch; and
three bowls made like almonds in the other
branch, with a knop and a flower: so in the six branches that come
out of the
candlestick." Three bowls made like unto
almonds. Cups shaped
like almond
blossoms seem to be intended. Each branch had three of these in
succession, then a pomegranate and a lily-flower. The lily probably
represented the Egyptian lotus, or water-lily. In the other branch. Rather,
“on another branch.” There were
six branches, not two only. The
ornamentation of two is described; then we are told that the remainder
were similar.
34 "And in the candlesticks shall be four bowls made like
unto
almonds, with their
knops and their flowers." In
the candlestick: i.e.,
in
the central shaft or stem, which is viewed as “the candlestick” par excellence.
Here were to be twelve ornaments, the series of cup,
pomegranate, and lily
being repeated four times, once in connection with each pair of
branches, and
a
fourth time at the summit
35 "And there shall be a knop
under two branches of the same, and a
knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two
branches of the same,
according to the six branches that proceed
out of the
candlestick." A knop under two branches of the same. The
branches were to quit
the stem at the point of junction between the pomegranate
(knop) and the lily.
36 "Their knops and their branches shall be of the same:
all it shall be
one beaten work of
pure gold." All
it. Rather, “all of it.” Shall be one beaten
work. Compare v. 31
37 "And thou shalt make the
seven lamps thereof: and they shall light
the lamps thereof,
that they may give light over against it."
The seven lamps.
The lamps are not described. They appear by the
representation on the Arch of Titus
to
have been hemispherical bowls on a stand, which fitted into the lily-blossom
wherewith each of the seven branches terminated. They shall light the lamps.
The lamps were lighted every evening at sunset (ch. 27:21; 30:8; Leviticus
24:3, etc.), and burnt till morning, when the High Priest
extinguished them
and
“dressed” them (ch.
30:7). That they may give light over
against it. The candlestick was placed on the southern side of the holy
place, parallel to the wall, the seven lamps forming a row. The
light was
consequently shed strongly on the opposite, or northern wall, where the
table of show-bread stood.
38 "And the tongs thereof, and the snuffdishes
thereof, shall be of pure
gold." The tongs thereof. Tongs or pincers were required for
trimming the wicks of the lamps. Compare I Kings 7:49; II
Chronicles 4:21.
Snuff-dishes were also
needed for the reception of the fragments removed
from the wicks by the tongs. “Snuffers,” though the word is used in ch. 27:23,
in
the place of tongs, had not been invented, and were indeed unknown to
the
ancients.
39
"Of a talent of pure gold shall he make
it, with all these vessels."
Of a talent of
pure gold shall he make it. The candlestick,
with all its appurtenances, was to weigh exactly a talent of gold.
40 "And look that thou make them after their pattern,
which was
shewed thee in the mount." And look that thou make them after their pattern,
which was shewed thee in the mount. Compare v. 9, and the comment ad loc.
It would seem from this passage that the “patterns” were shown to Moses first,
and
the directions as to the making given afterwards.
What Must be Found with Every Soul that
is God’s Dwelling-Place
(vs. 10-40)
communes with us.
Ø
It contained the
testimony. The light of the meeting-place with God is
the word concerning righteousness and sin. There is no
communion with
God if that be left out. The law which searches and condemns us must be
honored as God’s testimony.
Ø
Between God and the
law we have broken is the mercy seat, sin’s
glorious covering, on which the cherubim — emblems of the highest
intelligence and purity of creation — look, and before which we also
bow,
with adoring awe.
Ø
Over the mercy seat rests
the cloud of God’s glory. We shall meet God
only as we seek Him here. His glory can be fully revealed and
the might
of His salvation proved here alone.
CONSECRATION.
Ø
The bread was the
emblem of God’s people. The twelve cakes
represented the twelve tribes. The fruit of the great Husbandman’s
toil
is to be found in us.
Ø
God’s joy is to be
found in us. The Lord’s portion is His people.
Ø
We are to be prepared
and perfected for His presence, and to be for ever
before Him (v. 30).
AND THEIR WORLD-SERVICE.
Ø
It is made of pure
gold, the only metal that loses nothing, though passed
through the fire and whose lustre is
never tarnished.
Ø
It was the only light
of the holy place. The true Christian Church the
only light which in the world’s darkness reveals the things of
God and the
pathway to His presence.
The Symbolism of the Candlestick (vs.
31-40)
The light which illuminated the darkness of the tabernacle
can represent
nothing but the Holy
Spirit of God, which illuminates the dark places of the
earth and the recesses of the heart of man. That the light was sevenfold is
closely analogous to the representation of the Holy Spirit
in the Revelation
of
the throne, which
are the seven Spirits of God” (Revelation
4:5). It is
generally allowed that these “seven spirits” represent the one indivisible but
sevenfold Spirit, who imparts of His sevenfold gifts to
men. Seven is, in
fact, one of the numbers which express perfection and
completeness; and a
sevenfold light
is merely a light which is full and ample, which irradiates
sufficiently
all that it is designed to throw light upon. The light from the
golden candlestick especially irradiated the opposite wall
of the tabernacle
where the table of shewbread was set, showing how the
offerings of the
natural man require to be steeped in the radiance of
the Spirit of God in
order to be an acceptable gift to the Almighty. We may see:
PERFECTION OF HIM, WHOSE EMBLEM IS
THE INNOCENT
DOVE — WHO IS “THE
SPIRIT OF PURITY.” The pure light
of the
refined olive oil, and the
pure gold of the candlestick were in harmony.
Both
indicated alike the Spirit’s awful holiness. Both taught the presence
of One, who was “of purer eyes
then to behold iniquity.” (Habakkuk 1:13)
ALMOND BUDS, AND POMEGRANATES, AND
LILIES, WE MAY
SEE THE DELIGHT OF THE SPIRIT IN ALL
THINGS LOVELY,
SWEET, AND
INNOCENT. The Spirit of God, which, when
the earth
was first
made, “brooded upon the face of the
waters” (Genesis 1:2),
still
tenderly watches over creation, and rejoices in the loveliness spread
over it by
His own influences. Flowers and fruits are among the most
beautiful
of created things, and well befit the interior of the sanctuary
where
God’s presence is manifested, whether cunningly carved in stone, or
fashioned
in metal-work, or, best of all, in their own simple natural
freshness.
CANDLESTICK, WE MUST SEE THE
ILLUMINATING POWER OF
THE SPIRIT, WHICH
GIVES LIGHT TO THE WORLD. Spiritual gifts,
however
diverse, are His gifts. “To one is given
by the Spirit the word of
wisdom; to another the word of
knowledge by the same Spirit; to
another gifts of healing; to another
faith; to another prophecy; to another
miracles; to another tongues; to
another the interpretation of tongues; but
all these worketh
that one and the self-same Spirit, dividing to every man
severally as He will” - (I Corinthians 12:8-11). It is He who “doth our
souls
inspire, and lighten with celestial
fire.” It is He from whom all wisdom and
knowledge,
and spiritual illumination are derived. He informs the
conscience,
guides the reason, quickens the spiritual insight, gives us
discernment
between good and evil. Christ is “the light of the world,” but
Christ
diffuses His light by His Spirit. Man’s contact
is closest with the
Third Person of
the Trinity, who
communicates to the soul every good and
perfect gift which has come down to it from the Father of lights. – (James
1:17) - Illumination is especially His gift; and it is therefore that light
and
fire are made the especial symbols of His presence (Matthew 3:11;
Acts
2:3-4; Revelation 4:5).
SEE THE FULNESS AND COMPLETENESS OF
THE
ILLUMINATION WHICH
THE SPIRIT VOUCHSAFES TO MAN.
Fulness and completeness in respect to man’s needs — not
absolute
completeness or fulness; for “Now,
we see through a glass darkly,” “we
know in part only — not as we are known.” (I Corinthians 13:12) - But
“His grace is sufficient for us.” - (II Corinthians 12:9) - We know all that
we need to know — we see all that we need to see. “Full
light” and “true
knowledge” are for another sphere; but
still, even here, we are privileged
to
see and
know as much as would be of advantage to
us. Inspired messengers
have declared to us what they have felt justified in calling “the
whole counsel
of God” (Acts
20:27). We are familiarly acquainted
with mysteries, which the
very “angels desire to look into” - (I Peter
1:12).
SEE THAT THE CO-OPERATION OF MAN IS
REQUIRED, IF THE
BRIGHTNESS OF THE SPIRITUAL LIGHT
VOUCHSAFED TO HIM
IS TO REMAIN
UNDIMMED. The lamps of the golden candlestick had
to be “dressed” each morning. Perpetual vigilance is necessary. Phrases
once
instinct with power lose their force; and new phrases, adapted to each
new
generation, have to be coined and circulated. The translation of the
word of
God in each country has from time to time to be revised, or an
accretion
of usage will dim the light of the pure word, and overshadow it
with
traditional glosses. Teachers must be watchful, that they do not
suffer the light of their teaching
to grow dim; hearers must Be watchful,
that they do not by their obstinacy
REFUSE TO give the light passage
into their souls.
The
The instructions for the making of these essential parts of
the tabernacle
furniture occupy the remainder of the chapter. The directions for
making
the
altar of incense are postponed to ch. 30:1-10. The
reason
seems to be that the uses of this altar could not be described
without
reference to commands which were to be given respecting the altar of
burnt-offering — to which the altar of incense stood in a certain
relation of
dependence — and to the ordinance for the institution of the
priesthood.
The instructions have respect to the internal relation of
the parts.
the sanctuary — the throne of Jehovah. As the nucleus of the whole
structure, it is described first.
Ø
The ark proper (vs. 10-17). For details, consult the exposition. A plain
wooden box or chest, overlaid within and without with pure gold,
and
borne upon staves, for the insertion of which rings were
provided in its
feet or corners, its structure could not well have been
simpler. The ark, in
the religion of
— the
tables of the covenant. In its freedom from idolatrous symbols (in
this respect a contrast to the Egyptian arks), it was a
testimony to
monotheism; in the character of its contents, it testified to the
ethical
foundation of the religion — to the severe and stern morality which
formed
its basis. If ever doubt is cast on the pure moral character
of the Hebrew
faith, it should suffice to refute it, to point to the ark of
the testimony.
What a witness to the ruling power of the moral in this religion that, when
the sacred chest is opened, the
sole contents are found to be the two stone
tables of the moral law (v. 16)! The deposition of these tables in the ark,
underneath the mercy seat, had three ends.
o
They
testified to the fact that God’s
kingdom in
immutable justice and righteousness (Psalm 89:15; 97:2). Even grace,
in its acting,
must respect law. Favor cannot be dispensed on terms
which
make the law “void” (Romans 3:31). If sin is pardoned, it must
be with
full recognition of the law’s claims against the sinner. The ultimate
end must
be to “establish the law” (ibid.).
Only in the Gospel
have we
the clear revelation of how, on these terms, mercy and truth can
meet together, and righteousness and peace
can kiss each other
(Psalm
85:10; Romans
3:21-27).
o
They
testified to the covenant obligation. The tables were, as Oehler
calls
them, “the obligatory document of the covenant.” As such they were
laid up
in the heart of the sanctuary.
o
They
testified against
against all
sin in
apostasy.
This appears to be the special force of the expression — “the
testimony,” “tables of testimony,” etc. (Compare Deuteronomy 31:26-27
— “Take this book of the law, and .put it in
the side of the ark of the
covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there for a witness
against thee. For
I know thy rebellion,”
etc.)
Ø
The mercy seat (v. 17). The mercy seat, or propitiatory, made of pure
gold, served as a lid or covering to the sacred chest. The
name, however,
as the Piel form implies, had more especial reference to the covering of
sins. Sprinkled with
blood of atonement, the mercy seat cancelled, as it
were, the condemnatory witness of the underlying tables —
covered sin
from God’s sight (v. 21). From above this mercy seat, and from
between
the two cherubim that were upon it, God promised to meet with
Moses,
and to commune with him (v. 22). The gracious element in the
covenant
with
means clear the guilty;”
i.e., He could not call sin anything else than what it
was, or tamper in the least degree with the condemnatory
testimony of the
law against it; but He could admit atonements, and on the
ground of
expiatory rites, could forgive sin, and receive the sinner anew to
His favor.
The mercy seat thus foreshadowed
Christ, as, in His sacred Person, the
great Propitiatory for man (Romans 3:25) — priest, sacrifice, and
mercy seat in one. On
the basis of mere law, there can be no
communion
between God and man. The blood-sprinkled mercy seat must intervene.
ONLY ON THE
GROUND OF CHRIST’S MEDIATION AND
INTERCESSION, can God transact with
sinners.
Ø
The cherubim (vs. 18-23). The cherubic figures were formed from the
same piece of gold which constituted the mercy seat, and rose
at either end
of it, with wings overspreading the place of propitiation,
and faces turned
inward. On the various interpretations, see the exposition. The
view which
finds most favor is that which regards the cherubim, not as real
and
actual, but only as symbolic and imaginary beings — hieroglyphs
of
creation in its highest grade of perfection. Egyptian and Assyrian
art
abound in similar ideal forms, most of them representative, not
of qualities
of the creature, as distinct from its Creator, but of
attributes of God
revealed in creation. This view, also, has been taken of the
cherubim of
Scripture, but it must be
rejected as untenable. We confess that, after all
that has been written of the purely ideal significance of these
figures —
“the representative
and quintessence of creation, placed in subordination to
the great Creator” — we do not feel the theory to be
satisfactory. We
incline very much to agree with Delitzsch:
“The Biblical conception
considers the cherub as a real heavenly being, but the form
which is given
to it changes; it is symbolical and visionary.” (Hist. of Redemption, p.
29.)
It seems fair to connect the
cherubim with the seraphs of the temple-vision
in Isaiah 6:2; and this, taken with Genesis 3:24, points
strongly in
the direction of an angelic interpretation. The conception,
however,
unquestionably underwent development, and in the highly complex form in
which it appears in Ezekiel may quite possibly take on much more
of the
ideal character than it had at first; may, in short, closely
approximate to
what is commonly given as the meaning of the symbol. Confining
ourselves
to the figures of the tabernacle, we prefer to view them,
with the older
writers, and with Keil and others among
the moderns, as symbolic of the
angel hosts which attend and guard the throne of Jehovah,
zealous, like
Himself, for the honor of His
law, and deeply interested in the counsels of
His love (I Peter 1:12). The
angel-idea is so prominent in the theology
of
symbolism. And what finer picture could be given of angels than in
these
cherubic figures, who, with wings outspread and faces lowered,
represent
at once humility, devotion,
adoration, intelligence, service, and zeal? On
the angels at the giving of the law, see Deuteronomy 33:2. On
the
assembly or council of holy ones, see Psalm 89:6-9. The wings of
the
cherubs constituted, as it were, a protecting shade for those who
took
refuge under them in the Divine mercy (Psalm 91:1). Jehovah’s guards,
they appear in the symbol as ready to defend His Majesty against
profane
invasion; as avengers of disobedience to His will; as sheltering and
aiding
those who are His friends. They are, when otherwise unemployed,
rapt in
adoration of His perfections, and deeply attent
on the study of His secrets.
So interpreted, the cherubs are
hieroglyphs of the heavenly spiritual world.
the belongings of the holy place. This shows it to have been
primarily
connected, not with the relation of God to
works and services of the people, in their relation to Jehovah.
Like other
articles in the sanctuary, the table was to present a golden
exterior, and on
it were to be placed twelve cakes of shewbread
(v. 30; Leviticus 24:5-9),
with flagons for purposes of libation (v. 29). The shew-bread
had thus the significance of a meat-offering. The sense may be
thus
exhibited. Bread is the means of nourishment of the natural life.
The twelve
cakes represented the twelve tribes. The presentation of the
bread on the
table was, accordingly:
Ø
A recognition of
Jehovah’s agency in the bestowal of what is necessary
for the support of life. Natural life is supported by His bounty. The
cakes on the table were a grateful acknowledgment of this
dependence.
Spiritually, they pointed to the higher bread with which God nourishes
the soul. (John 6)
They remind us of our duty to give thanks for this,
not less than for the other.
The true bread is Christ (John 6:32).
Ø
A dedication of the
life so nourished to Him whose goodness constantly
sustained it. We take this to be the essential feature in the
offering. The
life-sustaining food and drink is placed upon the table of Jehovah. In the
act of placing it there, the
tribes offer, as it were, to God, the life which it
sustains, and which is derived from His bounty. The meaning could not
be better expressed than in words borrowed from Paul — “Unto
which
promise, our twelve tribes,
instantly serving God day and night, hope to
come” (Acts 26:7). Perpetual consecration — a life fruitful in good
works, and acts of holy service to God. This is the conception which is
embodied in the shewbread. Here, also,
the symbolism points to a life
higher than that nourished on material bread, and might almost be said to
pledge to
from heaven — i.e.,
on Christ, who gave himself for us
(John 6:51), we
are to live, not to ourselves, but to
Him who died for us, and rose again
(II Corinthians 5:15).
was, like the mercy seat, to be made of pure gold. Art was to
be allowed to
do its best to make it massive, shapely, beautiful. Stem and branches
were
to be wrought with great artistic skill. The lamps, seven in
number, fed
with beaten olive oil (ch. 27:20-21),
were to burn all night in the
sanctuary. The immediate design of its introduction was, of course,
to
illuminate the holy place. Symbolically, the candlestick represented
the
calling of
Matthew 5:14-16; Philippians
2:15. The church is the abode of
light. It has no
affinity with darkness. The light with
which it is lighted is
the light of truth and holiness. The
lamps are the gifts of wisdom and
holiness, which Christ bestows upon His people. Their own souls being
filled with light, they
become, in turn, the lights of the world. The oil which
feeds the light is the oil of God’s
Holy Spirit. Note — we cannot make a
higher use even of natural gifts, say of knowledge or wisdom,
than to let
their light burn in the sanctuary — in the service of God.
The Candlestick (vs. 31-40; ch. 37:17-24)
As the shew-bread was a symbol of
what Jehovah gave to His people in one
way,
so the lighted candlestick in all the preciousness of its material and
elaboration of its workmanship was a symbol in another way. And even
as
the
shew-bread was in magnitude only as a crumb of all
the great supply
which God gives in the way of food, so the candlestick even in
full blaze
was
but as a glimmer compared with all the light which God had gathered
and
arranged in various ways to guide and cheer His people. But glimmer
though the light of the candlestick might be, it was quite enough
to act as
an
inspiring and encouraging symbol for all
who, seeing, were able to
understand. From that place
between the cherubim, shrouded as it was in
awful sanctity, there radiated forth abundance of light for
every one in
long distances to consult renowned oracles, only to find that for all
practical purposes they might just as well have stayed at home. There was
a
great boast of illumination; but the reality turned out ambiguous and
delusive. But here is the seven-branched candlestick (seven being
the
perfect number) to indicate that God
would assuredly give ALL NEEDED
LIGHT to His
people. On one side stood the shew-bread,
and over against it the
light. So we need God’s guidance to show us how to use what materials
He
puts in our hands for our support. It is only too easy for man, following
the
light of a corrupted nature, to
waste, abuse, and degrade the choice gifts
of
God. Consider the vast
quantities of grain that instead of passing through
the hands
of the baker to become food, pass through
the hands of the
brewer and distiller TO BECOME
ALCOHOL! In all our use of
the resources
which God has placed in our hands, we must seek with simplicity
of
purpose and becoming humility for
God’s light, that we may be assured of
God’s will. God has placed us in the midst of SUCH PROFUSION that we
may
use it for Him and not for self. And is not a lesson taught us in this respect
by
the very candlestick itself? It was made of gold. The Israelites at this
time seem to have had great store of gold; and left to
their own inclinations,
they gave it
for shaping into an image to be worshipped. (the golden calf -
ch.
32) Now, by causing this
candlestick to be made of gold, Jehovah seemed
to
summon His
people to give their gold to aid in supporting and diffusing His
light. What
God gives may be a curse or a blessing, just according to the spirit
in which we receive and use it. We
can desire no nobler office than to be
ourselves as lamps, doing something to shed abroad that great, true light of
the world, which radiates
from the person of Christ. (Matthew 5:14-16) He who
is
living so as to make Christ better known amid the spiritual darkness of the
world
has
surely learned the great lesson that God would teach to all ages by this
golden candlestick in His sanctuary of old.
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