EXODUS 27
The altar is a very important type. Indeed, I think we are justified in concluding, from the Lord’s own words in Matthew 23: 19, that the altar is greater, as a type, than the offerings which were placed upon it. It is specifically “the altar of burnt-offering”. It speaks of Christ in His ability to sustain that which brings in sweet odour for God in the very place where sin had been, so that instead of God having to pronounce a curse He can speak to men in infinite grace and blessing. Other offerings were burned on the altar as well as the burnt-offerings, but in connection with them all the word “burn” signifies to burn as incense. There is a “sweet odour” character about all that is offered there. The fat of the sin-offering is burnt there, but this speaks of the personal excellence of Christ; and the handful of fine flour of the sin-offering (Leviticus 5: 12) also speaks of His personal perfection. This was ever, necessarily, fragrant to God, in whatever way it might be tested.
Christ is the Altar as well as the Sacrifice and the offering Priest. The Spirit of God presents Him to us in the Ark as One personally great enough to bring in the will — or pleasure — of God, and to establish it in a universe where lawlessness had been. But in the Altar we see that in such a universe the will of God could only be established on the footing of sacrifice, and Christ is great enough to sustain all that is involved in this.
He has come in holy Manhood — the acacia-wood typifies that — and He was found here in those conditions of weakness and dependence which rightly mark man and force him into dependence upon God. I believe the five cubits are suggestive of this. Man, as fallen, is always aiming to be characterized by the number six, which speaks of self-sufficiency and independence of God such as will, in an intensified degree, mark the beast of Revelation 13: 18. We see a figure of this in the man of Gath, who had on each hand six [p. 203] fingers, and on each foot six toes (2 Samuel 21: 20). This is altogether abnormal. For man to attain a development which God never intended for him is really apostasy. His proper place is that of weakness and dependence. The Lord as Man here never once departed from that place; He was cast upon God from the womb (Psalm 22: 10). He was ever in the spirit of those words, “Preserve me, O God; for I trust in thee”. A blessed Man marked by dependence expressed in prayer, as we see on seven occasions in Luke’s Gospel. And in connection with the altar we may see it particularly in Luke 22: 39 - 46 where He was in view of all that was involved in drinking the cup.
“The altar shall be square” would intimate, I think, that what He was as the Altar has a universal bearing. It stood “before the entrance of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting” (chapter 40: 6). It was outside, and this gives it a public character; it speaks of what is set forth in public testimony. It was where Jehovah met the children of Israel and spoke to them (Exodus 29: 42, 43). But now God is revealed in grace, and the scope of that grace is “all the world” and “every creature under heaven”. Christ has suffered here, God has been glorified here, so that His grace might be completely set forth to men. God says of the blood, “I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that maketh atonement for the soul” (Leviticus 17: 11). God can say to every man, You are in sin, but Christ has glorified me as to sin, and I have perfect grace for you. What a complete and universal setting forth of divine grace to men there is in Christ! He is “the power of God”, not now [p. 204] for judgment but for blessing. It is not only that the judgment of sin has been borne, but that One has been found in the place of sin in such obedience and affections that sweet savour has gone up from that very spot to God, and He now speaks to men in grace according to His appreciation of that.
“The height thereof three cubits” would suggest that resurrection power was inherent in Christ; He could say, “I am the resurrection”. If He had to pass through “the suffering of death” it brought out that there was a power there superior to death; He could not be holden of it. What a thought it gives us of His capability to undergo every form of testing and suffering, even to death itself!
Then “its horns at the four corners thereof; its horns shall be of itself” speaks of strength peculiar to that holy and unique humanity in which Jesus Christ came in flesh. They suggest the power in which He met, and was superior to, every form of opposition or testing which came upon Him. He met all in divine strength; there was no weak corner. The prince of this world came, but had nothing in Him. Nothing overcame Him; He was ever the Overcomer. Then, last and greatest test of all, He had to drink the cup and to endure the suffering of death, but He was equal to this also.
“And thou shalt overlay it with copper”. Copper would seem to indicate ability for endurance in such Scriptures as Deuteronomy 33: 25; Jeremiah 1: 18; Jeremiah 15: 12, 20, and this would be a needed quality in the altar, which must bear the testing of fire.
The “broad plates for the covering of the altar” were “a sign unto the children of Israel”. (Numbers 16: 36 - 40). They declared plainly that lawlessness [p. 205] was intolerable to God, and must be visited by His judgment. But if the covering of the altar was a sign of this, it also spoke of that which had passed through the “fire from Jehovah”. It is because there was ability in the Lord Jesus to suffer all that was involved in the judgment of sin that He could, as the Altar of burnt-offering, sustain all those sacrifices and offerings which were of sweet savour to God.
Then the utensils of verse 3 would speak of all that was necessary in order that the offerings might be presented and dealt with in a suitable manner. We can understand in the case of Christ how perfect it all was; it was “by the eternal Spirit” that He “offered himself spotless to God”. Every detail connected with the offering up of Christ has been provided and arranged and carried out according to God’s mind and glory. The Scriptures have been fulfilled in every detail.
The “grating of net-work of copper ... to the very middle of the altar” would suggest that everything in Christ to the very centre of His being was of such a character as to abide the testing of fire. The fire is what God is — “our God is a consuming fire” — applied in the most searching and testing way to that which is presented before Him. When the latter is sin, as brought sacrificially before Him, it is utterly consumed, as seen typically in the burning of the bodies of those beasts, whose blood was brought into the sanctuary for sin, without the camp. When it is the excellence and perfection of Christ that is before Him, as in the offerings burnt on the altar, the sacrifice is consumed, but all goes up as sweet odour for God’s delight. When it is the copper of the Altar it abides the test. Infinite as the suffering is, there is ability [p. 206] to endure it. How these varied presentations of Christ enlarge our apprehensions of Him in different features of His relation to what is sacrificial! He was made sin for us, wholly to remove that state so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5: 21). That is the burning without the camp. He delivered Himself up for us, an offering and sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour (Ephesians 5: 2). That is the offering made by fire on the altar of burnt-offering for a sweet odour. “Christ also has suffered for you ... Christ, then, having suffered for us in the flesh” (1 Peter 2: 21; 1 Peter 4: 1). That I regard as being in keeping with the altar.
We are reminded of the judgment of sin in the altar, for the witness of it is in its copper covering, and also in the blood that was afterwards put on its horns, and poured out at the bottom thereof (Leviticus 4). But it does not speak only of the judgment of what was offensive to God. That was necessary as a moral basis. But it speaks of positive delight for God — the establishment of His pleasure according to the sweet odour of all the perfection in which Christ offered Himself. And this as the ground of God’s approach to men in grace, and man’s approach in divine favour to God. The altar, as presented here, is seen in its relation to God’s approach to us. He comes out, as it were, from the ark and mercy-seat to the altar, and He speaks with the Mediator and meets the children of Israel in the fragrance of the continual burnt-offering. In Leviticus the altar is more often viewed in relation to our approach in God.
I think we can see a moral connection between the altar and what follows — the court of the tabernacle, with its hangings, pillars, bases, etc. The altar [p. 207] speaks of Christ as great enough to bring in the will of God and to establish it on a basis of sacrifice. If that has its due place in our thoughts and affections it prepares us to take up that which is set forth in the hangings and pillars of the court. As having come under the influence of the Altar we cannot any longer tolerate sin; we must be here now for the will of God; we present our bodies as a living sacrifice to God with this in view. It is our intelligent service. And this, in a word, is the “twined byssus”. In the presence of a world where every man glories in doing his own will, the Christian has learned that the will of the lawless man has come under the judgment of God. He therefore now refuses it. On the other hand, he has seen the will of God established through suffering and on a basis of sacrifice, and has found it to be a will of perfect and infinite blessing. The will of God is now to him “good and acceptable and perfect”. But he cannot look to maintain it — to hold up his five cubits square of twined byssus — in a world marked by lawlessness without suffering. To find people set to do the will of God, and to suffer in doing it, is a remarkable testimony. It is something entirely different — indeed quite contrary — to the whole course of things here. The very base on which we stand, and which alone can give stability in such a position, is kindred with the altar; it is a base of copper. It is Christ known in His unyielding stedfastness to maintain the will of God on the line of suffering. If all had been right here, Christ would have reigned in glory, but instead of that He had to suffer. So the prophets spoke of the sufferings which belonged to Christ, and the glories after these. The purple cloth spread on the altar (Numbers 4: 13) speaks [p. 208] of the glories that will follow, but they rest on the sufferings.
In relation to all that is external we have to be firmly fixed on this base, that we stand in relation to Christ who has suffered here because He would not deviate one hair’s breadth from the will of God, and who has suffered so that lawlessness might be judged, and the will of God established in the universe on the ground of sacrifice. We are to be firmly fixed on that basis so that we may be in moral accord with it; that no lawlessness may appear, but that everything which is the will of God in Christ Jesus may have its place with us; in this way we maintain righteousness; we hold up our five cubits square of twined byssus.
I have to maintain, first of all, what is due to my body as belonging to God. That is, I must not use my body for self-gratification, but as a vessel for God’s pleasure. This is the first element in practical righteousness. Then I have to maintain what is due to others according to grace, and this carries one a long way beyond paying twenty shillings in the pound. Then I have to maintain right relations with my brethren, and a right spirit towards them. And all this involves suffering in the flesh, and will entail suffering for righteousness’ sake, so that one can understand the need for finding one’s support in a knowledge of Christ that is in keeping with His altar character.
The five cubits of twined byssus to each pillar, and five cubits the height, remind us again that it is in the place of dependent weakness that righteousness is maintained and manifested in the saints. This casts us ever upon grace which is all-sufficient and unfailing.
The pillars had “connecting-rods of silver”. This is another suggestion that corresponds with the loops, clasps, and rings which have come before us in the previous chapter. It indicates again that there is no place in the divine system for independency, or for the voluntary association of believers in accord with their own thoughts. It is most important to recognize the divine bonds which link saints together. Sometimes the bond is looked at as in the divine nature — children in the one family of God; sometimes it is viewed as in the power of one Spirit by which we are baptized into one body; sometimes it is regarded as in relation to the one Lord, which involves the subjection of all to Him, and separation from iniquity. But in the “connecting-rods of silver” we see how Christ is entitled through redemption to connect all His saints together. He has redemption rights in regard to us, not only personally, but as to our links of connection together. Many would own His redemption rights as to themselves individually who have never seriously considered that He has redemption rights in regard to their links with their brethren. He is entitled to put us in line with our fellow-saints, and to connect us together in such a way that our standing together becomes the witness of His redemption rights, and practically excludes the will of man.
If I am not in the relations with my fellow-saints which are in accord with the will of God I am like an isolated pillar, or one out of line. The connecting-rods are out of place, and the twined byssus is not held up as it ought to be. I am not really righteous if I do not stand in relations with my brethren which are expressive of the redemption rights of Christ. I have no right to do as I like as to my connections with [p. 210] my fellow-saints. If I wish to follow righteousness I must own the Lord’s right through redemption to put me into connection and line with other of His saints. In a day when most of the pillars have got disconnected and out of line it is most important to recognize the Lord’s rights. This is a very important feature of that “righteousness” which we are to follow. Those who really do so can walk together. It is clear that for saints to be divided cannot be for the pleasure of Him who died that He might gather them together in one. The way for saints to get into line with their brethren now is for each one to depart from iniquity and to “follow righteousness, faith, love, peace”, and to see that the heart is pure in relation to the Lord. The connecting-rods can then be put on; they signify that the will of man is set aside by the recognition of the rights of Christ acquired through redemption.
From the divine side we are linked with all the saints. But practically other links get formed which are inconsistent with the divine links. If I have to say to any of my brethren that I cannot in faithfulness to the Lord walk with them, I ought, on the other hand, to be very much exercised that they should have no just ground to say that in faithfulness to the Lord they cannot walk with me. The fact that I cannot walk with many, and that they will not walk with me, keeps me always in mind of the broken and ruined state of the church.
Then “the gate of the court” speaks of Christ. It is by Him that there is entrance into every sphere of blessing, whether it be the court, the holy place, or the most holy. The pillars round the court represent the saints as in public witness; the holy place is the sphere of the priestly service of God; the holiest is [p. 211] the sphere of spiritual contemplation. The gate of the court is the same size as the door at the entrance of the tent and the veil — i.e., 100 square cubits — but it differs from them in being marked by greater width. It seems to suggest the availability of Christ for all; it carries something of the “whosoever” character. It is Christ as presented to men in the glad tidings — the evangelical testimony that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. I trust that we can see what an important and essential feature this is of the public witness of the saints.
The section we have been considering ends at verse 19. Then there is a command to the children of Israel to bring “olive oil, pure, beaten, for the light, to light the lamp continually”. This is the first requirement of Jehovah from the children of Israel as to the service of the sanctuary. Here also is the first mention of “Aaron and his sons”. It is to be noted that the first element in priestly service is the dressing of the lamps. The spiritual connection of all this is instructive and helpful. When the saints are right in the place that is set forth in the pillars and hangings of the court, there are conditions favourable to the bringing of oil for the light, and also for the taking up of priestly service.
Then in verse 21 “the tent of meeting” is mentioned for the first time. This is suggestive of a centre to which the people of God come by divine appointment, and where God meets them in a collective way. It answers, I think, to the assembling of ourselves together. If saints come together in a divinely appointed way the light of Christ by the Spirit will be found there. It is the first exercise and service of the priesthood that it should be so. And in this chapter the light is maintained “before Jehovah”. It shines not only, as we have already seen, that Christ maybe glorified in the affections of His saints, and that the saints may be in the shining of Christ as ministered by the Spirit, but for the pleasure of God. He has profound pleasure in it.
Bringing oil for the light implies the recognition in a practical way of the presence of the Spirit, so that there is real exercise individually and collectively to give place to Him. If each brother and sister gave more place to the Spirit, there would be brighter light when we come together. We belong to the most wonderful commonwealth that ever was — a commonwealth in divine light — made competent by the Father “for sharing the portion of the saints in light”. In “the tent of meeting” we find ourselves in that blessed light. Christ is made everything of there by the Spirit acting through human vessels. I do not limit the light of Christ by the Spirit in the holy place to what is addressed in ministry to men. If a brother takes part in the power of the Spirit in prayer or praise, the saints are made conscious of the presence and shining of divine light. The light is “before Jehovah”, but it illumines and edifies all.