THE BOARDS OF THE TABERNACLE
[p. 70] THE BOARDS OF THE TABERNACLE
Exodus 26: 15 - 25; Acts 3: 1 - 11; Acts 14: 8 - 10
I wish to speak of the boards of the tabernacle. I suppose we all understand that the various parts of the tabernacle represent typically what the New Testament presents to us. We shall see, with the Lord’s help, that the epistle to the Romans develops the thought of the boards of the tabernacle.
In order to answer to the type, every believer must come to himself: it says of the prodigal son that he came to himself; Luke 15: 17. So, in chapter 7 of Romans we read: “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me out of this body of death? I thank God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then I myself with the mind serve God’s law; but with the flesh sin’s law”. As being delivered, he can say “myself”, so that the believer has arrived at his own individuality, as a delivered man; and having arrived at his own individuality, he serves, with the mind, God’s law. He becomes available to the will of God; God takes possession of him and can use him in relation with other believers.
It will be noticed that, in the passage we read in Exodus, the boards were to be placed upright, that is to say that the persons whom they typify stand upon their own feet. The believer can stand upright, spiritually, by himself. In christianity there is no need for human support. The christian stands upright.
Let us also remark that the wood used for the boards was shittim wood, that is, acacia. It is a wood of extraordinary strength, as if to convey to us that God uses christians to carry burdens. And it is proved that the boards of the tabernacle came from a tree of considerable height. “Ten cubits the length of the board, and a cubit and a half the breadth of one board”. The believer understands that that applies to him.
[p. 71] It is also said that each board was to have two tenons. We must specially observe each of these features in order to correspond to the type in an intelligent and spiritual way.
I do not wish to enlarge on the number of the boards; there were twenty on the south side and twenty on the north side, and on the west six boards, then “two boards ... for the corners of the tabernacle at the rear”. Now the two tenons of each board were to be in the bases of silver; that is to say, that we stand upright in this world on the ground of redemption. There is no other ground on which we can be for God in this world, than the ground of the death of our Lord Jesus. There were also bars for the boards of the tabernacle. The believer is to understand that, as enjoying redemption, he is linked with all believers; he is not to be independent. He is linked with all other believers in relation to the testimony of God in this world. Another thing that is to be noticed is, that the precious things with which the believer is to be occupied were already there, before the boards were made and set up: that is the ark which the cherubim shadowed, the table, the candlestick, the curtains; all these existed before the boards of the tabernacle. That means that the believer, as represented by a board of the tabernacle, is not to understand that he is the primary thought of God. The great primary thought of God is Christ as Man, and every believer is to recognise that he is the servant of Christ in the christian system. So when the great servant John the baptist was speaking of himself, he said that Jesus took place before him, for He was before him. It is necessary for each believer to recognise that he comes after Jesus, and after many others. Thus he could take his place in the service, submitting his will to the will of God. That service is not grievous; it is a joyful service.
In order to show the typical meaning of all that, I have read in the third chapter of the Acts. The Spirit [p. 72] of God speaks of a man lame from his birth. He was begging, and expected to receive aims from Peter and John: he was entirely dependent on the charity of others. One who does not believe is in that same position. He depends entirely on what the world can furnish. Then it says that “Peter, looking stedfastly upon him with John, said, Look on us”. In other words these two men represented what was of God. They are no ordinary men; they had already been under the skilful hand of the Lord Jesus. They represent the quality of the material of the divine system. Peter and John say: “Look on us”. Peter does not merely say: “Look on me”, but “Look on us”. The plural indicates that two parts of the tabernacle were bound together, and power is found in that. Power characterises the assembly. It says of Peter that “having taken hold of him by the right hand he raised him up”. The power was in Peter; but Peter gives this man every possible advantage, for he takes hold of him by the right hand. That man was going to become a board of the tabernacle, and he discovers that he has power. Peter taking him by the right hand gives him every advantage possible. “And immediately his feet and ankle bones were made strong. And leaping up he stood and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God”.
The Spirit of God presents these things to us so that we may have before us an example of what the boards of the tabernacle are. What will this healed man do? Will he go away, in a spirit of independence, to do his own will? We are told that he entered with Peter and John into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. He has found men of his kind. He belongs to the boards of the tabernacle. He is with them. He stands upright, not only by redemption; but in the power of the Spirit of God, he is linked with Peter and John. The boards were to be perfectly joined together by the bars and the rings. There is no doubt that the [p. 73] ring typifies love which the Holy Spirit produces in us. We have found the company to which we belong, happy with those who compose it, walking with them, leaping with them and entering with them into the temple praising God.
But one might wonder if that state of soul is not in danger of soon coming to an end. It is sometimes said that young believers quickly weaken and go back to the world. If there is any case of that kind, it is an exception. It says here that “all the people saw him walking and praising God”, and that “as he held Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the portico which is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering”. We have now a young believer holding his fellow-believers by the hand. He is maintained in his new position; he is walking, leaping and praising God; and the effect produced on others was that they ran together to Peter and John. And in order to show still further how he corresponds to the boards of the tabernacle, the Spirit says that he stands with them in sufferings: later on the authorities see this man with Peter and John, and they could do nothing against them. It is as persevering in the way that we prove our quality represented by the durability of the shittim wood. The shittim wood, viewed typically, refers to the humanity of Christ. We are of Him, of His order; we correspond to Him. So the apostle says: “Other foundation can no man lay besides that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” 1 Corinthians 3:11. And the whole building is to be of the same material. That in no wise implies that we have part in His Deity, which is impossible. But as being the workmanship of God, we are of the same kind of humanity as Christ as Man.
There is another feature, in chapter 14 of the Acts, where we see a man impotent in his feet, who sat, who, being lame from his mother’s womb, had never walked. It says of him that he heard Paul speaking. That might appear to be only a small incident. But he who [p. 74] was speaking was no less than Paul. We should give attention to the one who speaks; here, account is taken of the person who was speaking. That does not only mean that Paul was the one who could best express himself (although that is included); but he was the one who could say the greatest things. A man might be eloquent without saying anything great. When one speaks according to God, one expresses great things, and it is important to be attentive to them. The Lord opened Lydia’s heart “to attend to the things spoken by Paul” Acts 16:14. The final thoughts which God had to express to men have been spoken by His great servant. And the man impotent in his feet heard Paul speak; he heard him truly, which brings out what was in him. “This man heard Paul speaking, who, fixing his eyes on him, and seeing that he had faith to be healed, said with a loud voice, Rise up straight upon thy feet”. We see the quality of the boards of the tabernacle. Peter did not bring out this character of the boards; it needed Paul’s ministry for that: one is not in the tabernacle intelligently if one does not understand what Paul says. God’s dispensation, which the tabernacle suggests, is in faith: it is on that principle that we enter into the tabernacle.
Paul said to him with a loud voice: “Rise up straight upon thy feet”. What a word for the ears of faith! It was the voice of Paul, in all its strength. That is an important thing, to stand up straight upon his feet! The boards of the tabernacle are not to lean to one side or the other. One sees believers who lean sometimes to one side, sometimes to the other. To be able to occupy the place that belongs to us in the tabernacle, we must be upright upon our feet. It is not in vain that the Spirit uses certain words; He does not repeat things for nothing. The tenons of the boards are an allusion to the feet and hands. It is a matter of being upright and laying hold of a support. In chapter 3, Peter held the man by the hand, and he leaped and [p. 75] walked. In chapter 14, we have a further thought — intelligence: he “heard Paul speaking” and “had faith to be healed”.
I am sure the brethren will understand what is the force of what I have said, how necessary the boards of the tabernacle are, locally and universally. We began with the thought of coming to ourselves; then we are taken up to be united to others. There is today much independence of mind among believers, so that the thoughts of God are obstructed; but if we are bound together, we can support the great features of the general testimony.
May God bless His word!