“I AM THE WAY ...”
P.
Exodus 26: 31–33, 36, 37; 27: 16, 17; John 14: 5, 6
The tent of meeting was a very remarkable structure, and everything that was made, to form part of it, has its application for us. I have been thinking of the curtains and the veil about which we have read. The area of the tabernacle consisted of three parts, and each had an entrance which was hung with a curtain or veil. Perhaps we could consider these entrances a little more closely. They are given to us in the following order according to the thoughts of God: the first led into the holiest of all; the next into the holy place, and the third into the court of the tabernacle. So far as our experience is concerned the order is reversed and the court comes first. Anyone who saw the tabernacle and wished to go in came first to the entrance that led into the court.
Both the curtains, and the veil, were made from the same material, and the four different colours in them represent Christ to us. The Lord Himself made it clear that no one comes to the Father unless by Him. Whoever wished to go into the court, the holy place, or the holiest, must go in through the curtains, or the veil—that is, through Christ; and our enjoyment of this blessed sphere can only be through Him. All who are here today have already entered into the court, as has everyone who has received the forgiveness of sins through the grace of Christ.
In the court was the brazen altar. Brass speaks of the judgment of sin, something that we must learn, the judgment that Christ bore. The first entrance—into the court—was wider than the others and that means that there is enough room for everyone— all are invited. So the court presents to us the great foundational truths of christianity.
But God does not wish to have us just on the border of His world. The assembly is the first of all the families in heaven or on earth, it is the assembly of the firstborn (Hebrews 12: 23).
God would have us in more intimate nearness, not merely in the court, therefore even greater things have been prepared for us. We have seen that brass speaks of judgment, but in the holy place everything was of gold. God desires us to be where everything corresponds with Himself, and that involves the assembly. The second curtain refers to the fact that only through Christ can we go in to the holy place, an area which involves that the Holy Spirit brings about conformity to Christ in us. The furniture in the holy place represents the saints as set together and looking into the wonderful word of God. The lampstand and the table of shewbread were there, that is, there is light and food for the saints. Where do we find that?—in the assembly as we consider Christ and enquire into the Scriptures that speak of Himself.
But God desires still more for us. He wishes that we should be in nearness to Himself, in the holiest of all. Through Christ’s death the veil was rent, that is, God has come out and is revealed to us. The curtain was rent because God came out. As to our side, we have been invited in, for we find in Hebrews no mention of the veil as rent. We find there the priestly service of our Lord, so that we can through Him enter into the very presence of God “by the blood of Jesus, the new and living way which he has dedicated for us through the veil, that is, his flesh”, Hebrews 10: 19, 20. Thus we enter the holiest of all.
Perhaps we could compare John 14: 6 with the three entrances. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life”. Whoever desires to enter must find the way, that is Christ—answering to the court. Entering the holy place we find light and food, that is the truth, and entering the holiest of all, through the veil, we find Christ, the life; we enjoy life there. Thus we can see that Christ has become everything to us. These types should preserve us from standing still, for it is God’s will that we should have life abundantly. A place has been prepared for us in His very presence. When He gives it is not in part but in fulness, in abundance; it is the best; nearness to Himself, His own presence, there to have part in His joy. May we enjoy it more and more, and as this is so the love of God abides in us.
Word given.
1 July 1979