THE TABERNACLE SYSTEM (2)
THE TABERNACLE SYSTEM (2)
JT We did not speak about the boards in chapter 26. It is said of the boards of the tabernacle, “Thou shalt make boards for the tabernacle of shittim wood standing up. Ten cubits shall be the length of a board, and a cubit and a half shall be the breadth of one board. Two tenons shall there be in one board, set in order one against another”, Exodus 26: 15 - 17. In connection with the bars, it is written, “And thou shalt make bars of shittim wood; five for the boards of the one side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the side of the tabernacle, for the two sides westward. And the middle bar in the midst of the boards shall reach from end to end. And thou shalt overlay the boards with gold”, Exodus 26: 26 - 29.
AFM You have something more to say about the boards standing up.
JT I think they refer to persons, believers; the curtains are more characteristic of what is effected in us.
Rem The boards are standing on something.
JT They are standing on sockets of silver; they refer to individuals who are made to stand up.
AW I suppose that they had not always been standing up; they were down once. They did not grow that way.
JT They were cut down. I think it refers to the effect of the gospel.
JS I suppose they represent men in Christ.
JT They are made of the same material of which the ark was made. It is that kind of humanity. I [p. 97] think it is a very durable wood capable of a great amount of pressure.
AFM The dimensions of the boards were ten cubits by one cubit and a half.
JT That would approximately be about fifteen feet high.
BF I suppose it is true that the tabernacle was composed of what was the divine nature; the boards were overlaid with gold.
JT The thought is, that God is to be seen in testimony. I think the overlaying of the board is that God is to be seen.
BF The wood is presented here underneath the gold.
JT There is the special kind of humanity underneath the gold. God had visited His people but in a Man. Luke emphasises this. The intent was, that God Himself should be seen.
BF The wood would refer to Jesus; the Spirit forms in the believer the truth of Jesus in this respect. The believer is formed in the divine nature.
JT Yes, and that is what is presented in testimony. It is, “The gospel of God ... concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; and declared to be the Son of God with power”, Romans 1: 1 - 4. This would be expressed in the gold.
AW Do you think there is a correspondence between the ark being capable of sustaining the mercy-seat and the wood being capable of sustaining the gold?
JT Yes. I think so.
AW John said, “No man hath seen God at any time”, but he says of the Lord, “The only-begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him”, John 1: 18. God is revealed in Jesus.
Ques Do you think the board corresponds with what is seen in [p. 98] Romans?
JT Romans sets forth that the believer is brought into correspondence with Christ. In chapter 7 we see a man who delights in the law of God after the inward man. The Lord magnified the law and made it honourable; for it is said of Him, “Thy law is within my heart”. It was never really set out until Christ came. Now in Romans 7 there is a man who delights in the law of God after the inward man; there is some correspondence to what the board represents.
Ques Is the board standing up in Romans 12?
JT Yes, the Holy Spirit enables us to stand up.
JS We see Peter standing up with the eleven.
Ques Was not the tabernacle considered to be the dwelling place of God in the wilderness?
JT Yes, it brings out the love of God as we see it in the book of Numbers. God was with the children of Israel; divine love was seen there in a living way. God has devised a means whereby He can be with His people in their journeys through this world, because He loves them; so that in this section of the Scriptures we have three different references in connection with the tabernacle. One is the inner sphere; it is where God dwells. Then there is the tent. Then there are the rams’ skins dyed red and the badgers’ skins.
Ques The boards are made to stand up; what about the bars?
JT I think that is still Romans 7 and 8, in fact it is the whole of the first part of Romans. In chapter 7 we see the believer who delights in the law. He is like Christ in that respect, and then it is said, “That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit”, Romans 8: 4. So that you are standing up in that way as having judged evil in the power of the Spirit. The sum of what is presented in the first part of Romans is taken up in chapter 12, where the saints [p. 99] present their bodies a living sacrifice. I think the bars would suggest this line of things. Then there is one bar running through the midst.
Ques Would that suggest Christ in you the hope of glory?
JT I think so.
AW So that it is not sufficient to stand up, there must be unity; sometimes we may be isolated.
JT That is important to notice. The boards are made so many in number, but it takes all of them to make known what God has in His mind. If I am independent, I am not available to the testimony.
Ques Would you say that Saul was to be used in the testimony when he was told to arise and go into the city?
JT Yes, he had to go into the city; he had to humble himself. He had to be told what to do; it was necessary for him to learn from Ananias, for the Lord had told Ananias to “Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus”, Acts 9: 11. Ananias finds him and tells him, “Arise, and be baptised, and wash away thy sins”, Acts 22: 16. God was passing Saul through a humiliating process. In the first place, after being struck down by the light, he is blind for three days, then he is told by Ananias what to do, and this process culminated in his being let down in a basket. Meanwhile he went to Arabia, a place where there would not be anything to promote the flesh. It is a good word to young people.
AFM After Saul was baptised, he was with the disciples certain days.
JT Yes, he is now different from what he was when he started out from Jerusalem.
Rem Later it is said, “When Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples but they were all afraid of him”, Acts 9: 26.
JT [p. 100] Yes, it seems that the difficulty was with the brethren on that occasion. They had to be adjusted.
Rem Say a little about Arabia.
JT It is a desert; there is nothing there for the flesh. Instead of going to Jerusalem. Saul went to a place where the flesh was brought to nothing.
Ques Would that be like Moses going to the backside of the desert?
JT Yes, it is.
Ques Do you think that the process Saul went through would suggest the cutting down of the board in order that it might be made to stand up?
JT Yes, this process enabled him to be fitted in.
Rem There were sockets of silver under the boards, “Two sockets under one board for his two tenons”. What does this refer to?
JT The tenons would suggest fellowship.
Rem The lame man in the Acts held Peter and John; is there a suggestion of the tenons in that?
JT Yes. Peter gave him his right hand and “lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God”, Acts 3: 7, 8. I think that power is primarily presented in the case of this man; but the idea of the tenon may be seen in how he held Peter, and how he then knew how to balance himself; he never did that before.
Ques How far does the gospel go in making a believer stand up?
JT Romans would show that. That epistle shows how the gospel is taught.
Ques Does the gospel cut down the tree?
JT No doubt! What is said in Matthew is that the disciples were sent to all nations to make disciples of them. That is a remarkable thing to do; it is a big thing to make disciples. The Lord told His disciples, “All power has been given me in heaven and in earth”, Matthew 28: 18. But before He told them this, He had sent a message telling them that they should see Him in Galilee. That was to test them, for it is a very long journey from Jerusalem to Galilee. What I believe is in view is that Jesus would test their strength, their endurance. Finally, when the disciples went to Galilee, He did not make much of them. Nothing is said of His breathing into them. That is to say; if I am to have part in the testimony, I must endure hardness. Now Jesus comes to them and says, “All power has been given me in heaven and upon earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them to the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have enjoined you”, Matthew 28: 18 - 20. This put them to the test.
Rem This process would enable them to take up the testimony rightly.
JT Yes, if the testimony is to be taken up, strength is required. It is one thing to teach persons something but it is another thing to teach them how to observe it. This means that they had to learn how to observe it themselves, so as to show the nations.
AFM The disciples underwent preparatory experiences before they came out in active service.
JT Yes! You may be asked to give an address and you may take up some books which you have to prepare the address, but that is not going to Galilee. Going to Galilee means that I have to go through things to get to the Lord. He has great things and one must go to Him in order to get them.
Rem We saw in one of the gospels that there was a certain time when the disciples could not cast out the unclean spirit.
Rem I suppose we commence service on the ground of [p. 102] redemption.
JT Yes, and you must go to the Lord; you must get on your knees about things. It is a matter of exercise.
CN I suppose that what is said, in connection with all power being given to Him in heaven and in earth, shows that nothing can be done apart from Him.
JT Yes, therefore the Lord adds, “And, lo, I am with you alway”. The power is with Him, but you must go to Him.
Ques Are you connecting the boards with service?
JT What I wanted to show is that the Lord, according to Matthew, would show us how the whole thought in relation to the boards and service is brought about. The disciples were not merely to make disciples of the nations, but also to teach them to observe all things; but this could only be done as the disciples themselves came under the influence of the Lord. What is true of the board would characterise them.
Rem The apostle Paul could say to the Thessalonians, “Ye know what we were among you”. Is that similar to what is presented in Matthew?
JT Yes, so that he said, “Ye became our imitators, and of the Lord”, 1 Thessalonians 1: 6.
Ques What would the five bars suggest?
JT They were “five for the boards of the one side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the side of the tabernacle, for the two sides westward. And the middle bar in the midst of the boards shall reach from end to end”, Exodus 26: 26 - 28. It is difficult to locate the position of the middle bar. I think it refers to Christ; for it is said, “We, being many, are one body in Christ”, Romans 12: 5.
Rem The other bars, the five bars, might represent local companies.
JT Yes, they might suggest a local idea, and then one general idea as represented in the middle [p. 103] bar running through them. I would refer to Barnabas in this respect. You see in him the spirit of Christ in a universal way, for he took Paul into Jerusalem and introduced him to the brethren. And then he was sent down to Antioch. In this respect he formed a connection with what was at Jerusalem and Antioch. Barnabas was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit.
AFM It is like Ephesians 4: 3, “Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit”?
JT Yes, I think so.
AFM Would not that depend upon us all?
JT It is very instructive to see in these bars how the system was held together generally and locally.
Ques Why are there no bars in the front of the tabernacle?
JT That was the entrance.
Rem The bars were of acacia wood.
Ques Does that set forth any characteristic features?
JT Yes. The ark was made of the same material. We come now to the brazen altar; we were dealing with the tabernacle in chapters 25 and 26. In those chapters we saw the inner structure. We come now to the court; but the brazen altar is mentioned first. It is a link with the system.
AFM We have no laver here.
JT That is because it is not the question of approach. The laver is not spoken of in God coming out to us.
AFM The first thing is the altar.
Ques What is the difference between the altar and what is put upon it?
JT The altar refers to Christ in the sense of His moral power.
Ques What about the dimensions?
JT They allude to His manhood. The Lord Jesus was crucified in weakness. So that the altar is “Five cubits long, and five cubits broad”. It was a [p. 104] square. I think it would allude to the Lord as coming here to suffer. It is not the divine thought so much as expressed in John’s gospel, but the side of His humanity that is expressed in His being crucified in weakness. The five cubits suggest this. He was crucified in weakness and He lives by the power of God.
AFM I suppose the three cubits would be seen in His living by the power of God.
JT Yes.
AFM Help us in relation to the ark and the altar. They represent Christ personally.
JT So that you would look in the gospels for the Lord’s sufferings. This answers to the brazen altar, not to what is put upon it. In the gospels, you see His moral power in enduring what is put upon Him.
Rem In the gospels we see the Lord on the mount; but before He came down, God said, “This is my beloved Son: hear him”. He was coming down to suffer. I suppose there would be a suggestion of the brazen altar.
JT Moses and Elias spoke to Him of His death which He should accomplish at Jerusalem. The Lord came down to suffer. The power of endurance was seen in His sufferings, meaning that power and dignity were inherent: “Our fathers ... cried unto thee, and were delivered”, Psalm 22: 4, 5. But the Lord Jesus was not delivered. In Leviticus 8: 11, the altar is anointed seven times, “And he sprinkled thereof upon the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all his vessels”; and in verse 15 we see the blood put upon it. All this refers to the power of endurance which was seen in the Lord.
Rem I notice that two altars are spoken of in Exodus, the brazen altar and the golden altar; the golden altar is [p. 105] smaller.
JT The golden altar comes in after you have the priest. It has reference to man’s approach to God. It has not particularly the idea of suffering, but more the idea of prayer, the way we approach God through Christ in prayer. This is seen in Revelation 8: 3 where the angel has the golden censer. But here, in Exodus, it is God coming out, and He would call attention to Christ as enduring suffering. He endured the cross.
Rem One of the gospels presents the Lord crying with a loud voice, “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice”, Matthew 27: 46. Is the brazen altar seen there?
JT I think that what the three cubits suggest is seen there. The power of life is there. The centurion said, “Truly this man was Son of God”, Matthew 27: 54. It was a testimony to His personal power in suffering.
AFM Here was One capable of sustaining things in relation to God.
AW How do you account for the fire of the golden altar?
JT I think that it was taken from the brazen altar. I do not think it denotes sufferings but it is rather to bring out the incense.
Ques How do you connect the spiritual sacrifice with the altar? How would it be set forth in Christ?
JT The Lord is the altar, and the sacrifice. He offered Himself without spot to God. No other man could be the altar and the sacrifice, as seen in the brazen altar.
Rem The apostle Paul caught a glimpse of the brazen altar. He said that he was ready to be offered. Is there the thought of the brazen altar?
JT There may be a reflection of it.
AW The incense is valueless without the fire there is a connection between the two.
[p. 106] JT I think the connection would emphasise the full effect of the brazen altar. We are to apprehend what was in it for God.
AFM It is through the brazen altar that a basis has been laid for our approach to God.
JT I think that the golden altar was God’s way of bringing the thing to us that we might see what God finds in the death of Christ.
Ques Does the frankincense come from the sufferings?
JT The golden altar shows where it comes from.
CN Do we draw near to the golden altar in virtue of the brazen?
JT Yes. That is so. The golden altar is the testimony to us; it is smaller than the brazen altar.
Ques Is the fact that it is four-square an emphasis of its greatness?
JT Yes, I think we would understand that through the golden altar.
Rem In Hebrews it is said of Jesus that He offered Himself without spot to God. I suppose that suggests the brazen altar.
JT Yes. It is on our account that the golden altar is presented, so that we may see how we approach God.
JS That is why the golden altar is not seen in this part of Exodus.
JT Yes, what we are considering refers to God Himself.
AFM A special word is used in Leviticus to express ‘burn’; the same word is used for ‘incense’. It shows what the effect of the death of Christ was for God.
Rem The fire was not to go out.
JT I think it means that the effect of the death of Christ remains. It is kept here by the Holy Spirit.
[p. 107] Rem Speaking of the Lord, someone said, ‘In Thee the Father rests’. The basis for rest has been laid in the death of Christ.
JT Yes, the brazen altar shows that.
Ques Would you say that incense goes up to God as we come to the golden altar in the light of the death of Christ as we are considering it?
JT Yes, but this refers to what the Lord Himself is for God. God has the altar before Him all the time. The fire is always burning.
Ques What does the brass stand for?
JT It is the metal that stands the test of the fire. It is not a question of the value of the metal, but of the power of enduring. The shittim wood is underneath.
Ques Was this seen in Stephen?
JT There was a reflection of it, but no one can come up to the brazen altar as set forth in Christ Himself. It refers to the inherent power in Him, the power of life.
Ques In chapter 27: 4, we see a grate made for the altar; what does that set forth?
JT I think it has an allusion to the fact that everything in relation to the death of Christ is preserved.