THE TABERNACLE OF WITNESS (4)
THE TABERNACLE OF WITNESS (4)
JT The omission of the golden altar in the order of the previous chapters is significant for as to its position, it should have come in immediately after the ark.
RSS It is a very important part of the furniture of the tabernacle.
JT Yes; and its omission is significant, and becomes a subject of deep interest as to the approach of man to God. It has no place in the coming out of God towards man. It is unnecessary. That is to say, God came out voluntarily, without solicitation. The altar of incense suggests prayer. This is not necessary for the revelation of God. So that the omission of the golden altar is very interesting as to the difference between revelation and approach. At the end of chapter 27 you have Aaron and his sons, and that introduces the subject of priesthood, which the two intervening chapters, 28 and 29, develop. That brings in the order of man that is to draw near to God.
RSS Is the order of man seen in their garments?
JT I think so. God would be ministered to; “that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office”. Exodus 28:1. So that the introduction of the priesthood necessarily brings in the golden altar, because that is the place of the priests’ approach. They did not approach at the brazen altar, but at the golden altar. Chapters 28 and 29 suppose that the saints have passed the brazen altar. Priesthood is perhaps unknown to many of the Lord’s people, for I fear that most do not go beyond the brazen altar.
EHT Is the golden altar a response to the brazen altar?
JT The golden altar does not suggest the work [p. 55] of Christ, but the fragrance of His Person before God. It is what Christ is, as Man before God, not as suffering before men. It differs in this way from the brazen altar in that its horns refer to what Christ is Godward, His power with God. The horns of the brazen altar indicate His power with men. It is a question of moral power going through suffering.
WB-s Would that take in what we have spoken of in Scripture regarding Jacob in his wrestling with the angel?
JT That is the idea of the horns here. Jacob prevailed. God loves to let us prevail. God prevailed in Christ in coming out to man, but man prevails, in Christ, with God.
AFM Does John 11:42 help us where the Lord praying, said: “I knew that thou hearest me always”.
JT That refers to His power with God. God prevailed in coming out to man, that is the ark. It is the same Person within under the eyes of the cherubim, that is without before men.
EHT “Thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns”. Psalm 22:21.
WB-s Do you limit this altar to prayer? Is it connected with worship at all?
JT It is the place of prayer for us, and no doubt points to the place of Israel’s worship in the future. If we take up worship in a Christian sense, it is inside. Worship is not need, nor the expression of need, whereas the golden altar is the place for the expression of need, only the point is that it is the altar of incense; the prayers are fragrant to God. It in on account of what Christ is.
PL He was heard for His piety.
JT That is it; that is the golden altar. It was the fragrance of that Man. The golden altar and the laver complete the furniture, but the golden altar and the laver are on the in line whereas the [p. 56] others are on the out line. That is to say, the washing and prayer are not on the line of revelation but on the line of approach.
JT Yes; John 13 is the laver and John 17 the golden altar. These things are mentioned when priesthood is introduced. It may appear that there is a certain break in the arrangement, but it is perfect.
GAT What do you mean by washing before prayer?
JT Verses 18 - 21 read, “Thou shalt also make a laver of brass, and his foot also of brass, to wash withal; and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein. For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat. When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the Lord. So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not; and it shall be a statute for ever to them, even to him and to his seed throughout their generations”. Exodus 30: 18 - 21. That is to say, there is no allowance of ministry of any kind unless there is washing.
PA What does the washing speak of?
JT Not the removal of sins; all that is dealt with on the brazen altar. The priests have to wash. We are all priests, as having faith and the spirit of Christ. Therefore when you move past the brazen altar you are on priestly ground, but as I was saying, we have to admit that many do not pass the brazen altar, but if you do pass and you want to go within, the next vessel you meet is the laver, which indicates, that although you are a priest as regards your conscience, you need to be cleansed as regards your mind and your affections. It is the effect of the word connected with the death of Christ.
[p. 57] AB Does Hebrews 10:22 refer to the brazen altar and the laver also, “having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water”?
JT That is the allusion, the one to the altar of burnt-offering and the other to the laver.
GBM Is this the answer to “Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord”? Psalm 24:3.
JT Quite so. “He that hath clean hands”. Psalm 24:4. All believers in Christ are priests from the divine side. But how many take up the privilege? Directly you do take it up you feel the necessity of the washing. Many have a good conscience as regards their sins, and yet they remain in human organisations; quite content to remain there, too. They remain in organisations to which priesthood does not apply. But directly you move to take up your privilege as a priest, you feel the necessity not only for the blood of Christ, but for the washing of water by the word, and if you allow the word to have its place in your conscience and heart you have to come out of all these associations.
AFM Is the result of that, that we are in suited dress for priestly service, clothed in the fine linen?
JT Quite so. You are holy now in mind and heart. Holiness is one great feature of the priesthood.
AFM Is there not also another thought in the chapters which precede this? You have the relation of the sons of Aaron to Aaron. You could not go in there alone.
JT We go in as related to Christ. In Hebrews 10 we are said to have certain things; having boldness and having a great High Priest. Christ is over the house of God, therefore let us draw near. In drawing near, you become conscious of your relationship with Him.
WB-t “This is he that came by water and blood even Jesus the Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood”. 1 John 5:6. What is the connection in this passage?
JT That shows the importance of the water, which is mentioned first there, although not alone. John’s epistle deals largely with the removal of the man that sinned from your mind and heart, not so much judicially as subjectively.
JLJ Is that Numbers 19 the water of separation?
JT I think the water is much less understood than the blood. I do not say it is more important, because it is not; it is not atonement; the blood is atonement, but many are content with the blood, whereas the Spirit of God puts the water first in John’s epistle.
BTF Is not the blood for the eye of God and the water for the subjective cleansing?
JT Yes.
PG The Lord said to Peter, “If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me” John 13:8.
JT Peter said, “thou shalt never wash my feet”. John 13:8. That was his will. He tried to be considerate for Christ, but nevertheless he was not submissive to Christ. You can never consider for Christ truly unless you submit to Him. If your will is at work, you do not come into the good of the cleansing. The Lord’s service goes on, there is no change in that; the washing of water by the word goes on, but if I say, “thou shalt never wash my feet”, the answer is, “If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me”. John 13:8. That is to say, there must be entire resignation to Christ.
WB-s In 1 Peter 2:1,2 we read, “Laying aside all malice ... desire the sincere milk of the word”; and then the living stones are brought in, and following on that the priesthood.
JT “If indeed ye have tasted that the Lord is good”. 1 Peter 2:3. The Lord has His place. You have grown up [p. 59] to salvation; that is, you have grown into superiority to all that is adverse. But how? By the pure mental milk of the word. It is the effect of the word on the soul. You grow into superiority to all that defiles. That is what I understand to be a saved person. You grow up unto salvation. Well now you move to Christ; “to whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God and precious, ye also as lively stones are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ”. 1 Peter 2:4,5. But you may be sure, that the great difficulty amongst God’s people is that the will is at work; there may be a good conscience as regards sins, and yet a refusing to bow to the claims and will of Christ. The Lord’s redemption rights over you are the test.
AB The parts washed at the laver are very suggestive.
JT You feel the necessity of clean hands in taking up divine things.
EIE “That they die not”. Exodus 30:20. What is the significance of that?
JT These expressions in the typical books are found frequently, and they signify God’s utter abhorrence of the man after the flesh approaching Him, and hence the seriousness of what is going on around us, men taking up divine things according to their natural abilities.
GAT Like Aaron’s two sons.
JS Water is seen in two aspects, still water and running water. I suppose there is something in the difference. Is it death rolled in upon us at the laver or is it life?
JT The water at the laver is not living water. Your question suggests a good deal, because you have in Numbers 19 and in Leviticus 13, running water. Here it is not that. The water in the laver was not [p. 60] running. It suggests therefore what is negative. It is the application of death simply. Running water is the Spirit using the word to revive the affections.
WCR You get that in John 7.
JT Yes. Of course another side to water is that you drink it, but this is not for that, nor is the water in Leviticus or Numbers, for drinking, but you have water for refreshment. In John 13 the water was in a bason, and therefore it was not running. I think the running water of Numbers 19 suggests more the life giving energy of the Spirit, applying the word.
RSS The running water is not typical of the water that came from the side of Christ.
JT No, it is not; although it is connected with death in both the scriptures mentioned. Water for cleansing, came out of a dead Christ, but the Holy Spirit comes from a living Christ. That is the water you drink, living water.
WB-s Why is the redemption money brought in between the altar of incense and the laver?
JT I think it is to bring in the redemption cost of each of us. It is the cost of each as the census is made. “The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel”. Exodus 30:15. It was according to the shekel of the sanctuary.
PL Does not that greatly help us in approaching the golden altar; the sense of what the saints are to Christ?
JT The place that silver has in the tabernacle is striking. On the one hand, it refers to the testimony to your heart of Christ’s love in redeeming you, on the other hand it refers to His redemption rights over you. Now here it is that each individual is on the same footing there; that is to say, each one has cost the Lord exactly the same.
PL It is the brother “for whom Christ died”. Romans 14:15.
JT Quite so. No matter how weak he may be.
[p. 61] You must take account that he cost the Lord as much as you.
PL And that will help you to pray for him.
JT The intimate connection between the candlestick, or rather the dressing and lighting of it, and the golden altar is most instructive. It is when Aaron dressed the lamps and when he lighted them, the incense was to ascend. Now the dressing of the lamps may call out what is not very fragrant, what may be the very opposite to fragrance. The dressing of the lamps may bring out a good bit of corruption; I mean as the Lord deals with each one of us, in order that we may be light-bearers.
Now the candlestick brings in the number seven. In that way perhaps it is unique in the tabernacle. There were seven branches to it, suggesting the Spirit. How wonderful that we should become the vessels of the Spirit for light! When you come to the Spirit, you come to what is eternal. I make that remark advisedly. Already, as having part in the Spirit, we have part in what is eternal, not simply in what is millennial. Having part in what is millennial is more in having part in the twelve. The Spirit is seen in the millennium; He is found there, but not in an indwelling character, whereas in our dispensation He is seen as indwelling us, and in that way connects us with what is eternal. The reason I say that is this, that in Deuteronomy 16 there are three feasts specified in which the people were to appear before God. The first was the feast of unleavened bread for seven days. The second was the feast of weeks; that is the feast of Pentecost, to which there is no limit at all. There is no specified time for the feast of Pentecost, and that means, as I understand it, that as you maintain in your soul self-judgment; that is to say, the feast of unleavened bread, you have part in what is eternal. How wonderful it is that we are vessels of that Spirit, and that for the [p. 62] moment it is the pleasure of God that we should be lights here! And hence the necessity for Aaron to dress the lamps every morning. The dressing, as I said, may bring out a good bit of what is very unsavoury, but all that is offset by the fragrance of the humanity of Christ in the presence of God; the incense went up while he dressed the lamps. That is how things are maintained.
PL Would the first epistle to the Corinthians be the dressing of the lamps, and the second the lighting?
JT Paul was like a priest. The light had become dim through the fluff, as is very often the case, but Paul looked after the testimony in Corinth; he was considering for them. You can have no testimony unless the lamps are dressed.
OJO Why dress them every morning?
JT The lamp burned all night. We are not like Christ. He did not need to be dressed. The light shone resplendently in Him from the outset. There was nothing unsavoury about Him; the light went on and shone; but in our case, as has been pointed out as to Corinth, there is the need of dressing continuously.
BTF What is there in the lamp that suggests the human side, that suggests that which is dressed. There is the oil that gives the light.
JT There would be the wick, some medium through which the oil went up and burned.
GAT How do we dress ourselves?
JT We do not; the High Priest does it. The idea is to adjust the wick for the light so that the light should not be marred.
DR The Lord has that before him in writing to the seven churches. Unless they repented He would remove the candlestick.
JT That is the same thing. Repentance would bring them back to the idea [p. 63] of the candlestick.
BTF Is the laver and the dressing of the lamps in any way on the same line?
JT The dressing brings in discipline, I think, as you see in 1 Corinthians.
RSS Why was it from the evening to the morning in view of the fact that there was no natural light in the tabernacle?
JT I think the point is that the light was within during the period of darkness outside.
GBM In Exodus 27:21 we read, “in the tabernacle of the congregation without the vail, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to morning before the Lord”. Does not that help in what we have had? The dressing seems to go on all the time.
JT Yes; but apparently from this chapter there was a special dressing in the morning and then the formal lighting in the evening for a time of darkness.
PA The Psalmist experienced the dressing. He says he was disciplined every morning, Psalm 73.
JLJ What about the snuff-dishes?
JT They are just for the purpose of dressing the lamps.
GAT Is the thought of “from evening to morning”, that the light is committed to the saints, and that we should be shining all the time?
JT That is it. The Lord has set up the light here and He continues to keep the lamps right; that is His service, and the same applies to the lamp dressing as to the laver. Our wills interfere. To get the gain of these things we must submit to Christ.
BTF Is the lamp dressing adjustment in service?
JT It is adjustment for light, that you may shine.
PL “Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus [p. 64] might be made manifest in our body”. 2 Corinthians 4:10. Is the dying of Jesus the dressing, and the life of Jesus the light?
JT Yes. Of course the candlestick stood before God, it was in the holy place.
WB-t I have a little difficulty because of its being inside. It must be more for God than for man.
JT The priests only get the direct benefit of it.
LGM It is not like “Ye are the light of the world”. Matthew 5:14.
JT Not quite that. The ordinary Israelite never saw this lamp. It is not the light that is seen by people generally, but they see the effect of it. You see the priests have light that ordinary people have not. You had to go inside to get the benefit of this light.
LGM Do you think that God comes out to bring us in, so that we might go out to shine?
JT How can any one present what is within unless he goes in? And you come out to testify, having all this light in your heart. Now for instance, in heaven, for this is really typical of the heavens, all the wonderful light that is there only brings out the beauty of Christ; it shines over against the candlestick; it brings out the beauties of Christ. You go out illuminated by that. The ordinary person does not see that.
AFM “For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth”. Malachi 2:7. He would be illuminated from what was within, and come out in knowledge and beauty.
RSS Stephen was illuminated when he stood before the Sanhedrim.
JT And look at what he saw inside. The Lord said to Nathanael, “Thou shalt see greater things than these” John 1:50; the greater things would be that the angels should ascend and descend upon the Son of man. They will see that in the millennium. But what do we see? “Jesus ... . crowned with glory and honour”. Hebrews 2:9. We see Him within, and we understand how He has tasted death for everything. That is a different kind of thing to see.
WCR Would the three going up to the mount of transfiguration and Paul being caught up into the third heaven, be the same thing?
JT Yes. They are parallel thoughts. Peter says, we were “eye-witnesses of his majesty”. 2 Peter 1:16. John says, “we beheld his glory”, John 1:14 and Paul says he was “caught up to the third heaven”. 2 Corinthians 12:2.
WCR And others saw the effect of that.
PL Is this on the line of the holiest?
JT Yes. It is light that only priests get the benefit of; they are the only ones that are in it.
RSS Could we have something on the anointing oil and the perfume?
JT The anointing oil is a compound in which myrrh is a prominent part, and I think that what is suggested is the Spirit, but the Spirit as seen in Christ, the Spirit as seen in the suffering of Christ. It is the spirit of a suffering Christ. That is the prominent feature.
RSS There was a like weight of myrrh and cassia.
JT Cassia came in in equal quantity, but the myrrh is the first mentioned. Myrrh being mentioned first, suggests the spirit of a suffering Christ. Myrrh, I understand, is suffering love. The whole tabernacle is anointed by this. We are anointed by the same Spirit. The assembly comes in peculiarly under the anointing of Christ; “So also is the Christ”. Christ and the assembly in that way are seen as one, and I think this is the spirit of a suffering Christ. The assembly is the continuation of Christ here, and what comes out is the point of sympathy in suffering.
PA Is that the reason the bride is awakened by the sweet-smelling myrrh on the handles of the lock?
JT [p. 66] It refers to the fact that it was suffering love. Suffering love brought Him there. She was not equal to it, but she was moved by it. Now Stephen answers to this. It is the spirit of a suffering Christ, and it pervaded the whole of the tabernacle, showing that the tabernacle points to the present time, as a suffering period.
JLJ There are several things anointed with the oil. How is it done now?
JT It is not exactly the coming in of the Holy Spirit from heaven. The coming of the Spirit from heaven suggests what is heavenly, and of course the assembly is heavenly; but outwardly what marks it is suffering; it is a suffering period. So when the Lord takes up Paul, He says, “I will show him how great things he must suffer”. Acts 9:16.
WCR “If we suffer, we shall also reign with him”. 2 Timothy 2:12.
PL Filling up the measure of suffering for His body’s sake. Is that the tabernacle anointed with the myrrh?
JT That is it.
PA The apostle was consecrated for that suffering.
WB-s In Psalm 45:8 you get these spices mentioned, “All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces whereby they have made thee glad”.
JT That is the feminine side, the daughter; that shows that she was to correspond with Him.
WB-s Christ was anointed with the oil of gladness above His fellows.
JT That is the oil of gladness, but this is the spirit of a suffering Christ, and it becomes very affecting because there is so little of it.
WE What would be the effect if it did make an impression on us?
JT I think it would lead to glorying in tribulations.
[p. 67] It would lead to contentment in suffering. The whole point, as we had this morning, is the spirit in which you suffer; whether you are equal to the thing.
LGM It would be a pleasant odour going up to God.
WE “I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content”. Philippians 4:11.
JT Paul was to be “offered up”. He was to be poured out in this way. His whole path, his whole service was fragrant to God, an odour from life unto life, and an odour from death unto death.
RSS It is interesting, in this connection, that the wise men from the East brought gold, frankincense and myrrh, Matthew 2:11. I think it has been said, gold for a king, frankincense for a priest, and myrrh for the tomb. When the Lord was buried, Nicodemus brought “a mixture of myrrh and aloes about an hundred pound weight”. John 19:39. It would connect itself with the thought of the tomb, suffering.
GAT Have you anything to say about verse 33; “whosoever compoundeth any like it, or whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger, shall even be cut off from his people”. Exodus 30:33.
JT The imitation of that spirit. You often get things in Christian Scientists and Unitarians that are very remarkable for their imitation. God hates imitations, especially when you come to imitating the spirit of Christ.
WB-s Strange fire and imitation of the holy oil are two things God will not admit of.
JT The second beast in Revelation 13 has two horns like a Lamb and the voice of a dragon. The two horns are simply to imitate Christ. There is the pretension to the lamb like spirit, but it is not there at all. It is an imitation.
LGM Would you say that the anointing now includes all the interests of [p. 68] Christ?
JT It includes the whole tabernacle system. The divine thought is that all the saints should be pervaded by this kind of spirit.
JLJ Do you get the thought in John 12, when Mary anoints Him for His burial?
JT She anointed His feet there. The point is the intelligence of her act. She anointed the feet that were carrying Him to the cross for the accomplishment of the will of God, whereas in the house of Simon the leper, it was His head. There it was His dignity that was in the woman’s mind.
WB-t Why is it said: “upon man’s flesh, shall it not be poured”? Exodus 30:32.
JT God will not allow the spirit of Christ to be connected with man in the flesh.