Chapter 27 continues a detailed account of the design and accoutrements of the
Tabernacle – the place of abode of God with His people. There are three
distinct areas described in this chapter:
1.
Altar
of Burnt Offerings
2.
Court of the Tabernacle
3.
Oil for the Lamp
I
realize the difficulty in understanding the terminology and symbols of these
current chapters in Exodus, but God did not have them written to bore us, but
for our enlightenment. Did I say ‘current’ chapters? Most certainly, I did, for
every Word of Scripture is current throughout all time and Eternity. Those
figures and symbols of Exodus are physical imageries that relate to more
glorious spiritual truths in our day if we can but understand. If we seek and
thirst for knowledge, the Good Lord will open our eyes to greater mysteries
than our souls can contain. But we are not ‘welfare’ Christians; we must be
laboring in the Word to study and understand if we desire the Bread of Heaven. “For
even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work,
neither should he eat.” (2 Thess 3:10) This
counsel applies as much to our souls as to our physical bodies.
Altar of Burnt Offerings
1 And
thou shalt make an altar of shittim wood, five cubits long, and five cubits
broad; the altar shall be foursquare: and the height thereof shall be three
cubits. 2 And
thou shalt make the horns of it upon the four corners thereof: his horns shall
be of the same: and thou shalt overlay it with brass. 3 And
thou shalt make his pans to receive his ashes, and his shovels, and his basons,
and his fleshhooks, and his firepans: all the vessels thereof thou shalt make
of brass. 4 And
thou shalt make for it a grate of network of brass; and upon the net shalt thou
make four brasen rings in the four corners thereof. 5 And
thou shalt put it under the compass of the altar beneath, that the net may be
even to the midst of the altar. 6 And
thou shalt make staves for the altar, staves of shittim wood, and overlay them
with brass. 7 And
the staves shall be put into the rings, and the staves shall be upon the two
sides of the altar, to bear it. 8 Hollow
with boards shalt thou make it: as it was shewed thee in the mount, so shall
they make it. (Ex 27:1-8)
This
Altar of Burnt Offerings was the first piece of furniture that would confront
one entering the open courtyard of the Tabernacle. It differs in several
distinct particulars from the Altar of Incense before the Holy of Holies. Upon
this Altar were the sacrifices of the people offered prior to further entrance
into the Tabernacle. This Altar of Sacrifice was the prerequisite for further
acceptance and worship by God. The consuming fire of God was ever present on
this Altar and was provided with a firepan to hold that Fire of God when the
Tabernacle was being moved about. The Fire of the Holy Spirit of God constantly
burns, in the same way, in the hearts of all believers for whom the Eternal
Sacrifice was made by our Lord Jesus Christ. Being covered by that sacrifice is
the first order of business in the worship of God. The Altar of Incense before
the Holy of Holies served a different purpose. The ascending smoke of the
incense represented the prayers and petitions of God’s Chosen Elect up to
Heaven. By the way: the horns of the altar were there for the purpose of
securing the sin offering. If a man was charged with a grievous sin, he might
flee to the horns of the Altar and, thus grasping them in contrition, be saved
from the wrath to come. These four horns might remind us of the salvation
Christ offers to nations and tribes from the four corners of the world. His
mercy and salvation is available to all who flee to Him for Mercy!
Court of the Tabernacle
9 And
thou shalt make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward there
shall be hangings for the court of fine twined linen of an hundred cubits long
for one side: 10 And
the twenty pillars thereof and their twenty sockets shall be of brass; the
hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver. 11 And
likewise for the north side in length there shall be hangings of an hundred
cubits long, and his twenty pillars and their twenty sockets of brass; the
hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver. 12 And
for the breadth of the court on the west side shall be hangings of fifty
cubits: their pillars ten, and their sockets ten. 13 And
the breadth of the court on the east side eastward shall be fifty cubits. 14 The
hangings of one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits: their pillars three,
and their sockets three. 15 And on
the other side shall be hangings fifteen cubits: their pillars three, and their
sockets three. 16 And
for the gate of the court shall be an hanging of twenty cubits, of blue, and
purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework: and their
pillars shall be four, and their sockets four. 17 All
the pillars round about the court shall be filleted with silver; their hooks
shall be of silver, and their sockets of brass. 18 The
length of the court shall be an hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty every
where, and the height five cubits of fine twined linen, and their sockets of
brass. 19 All
the vessels of the tabernacle in all the service thereof, and all the pins
thereof, and all the pins of the court, shall be of brass. (Ex
27:9-19)
As one
entered the first veil of the Tabernacle, he came into a rather large, open air
enclosure containing, first of all, the Altar of Burnt Offerings; and secondly,
the Brazen Laver at which the priests washed before entering the Holy Place. In
our own day, we no longer need the intercession of a priest for the absolution
of our sins, but rely upon our High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, for
absolution. Therefore, we all have had the great sacrifice made on our behalf
by the Lord Jesus Christ at the Altar of Burnt Offerings, and we now must
approach the Brazen Laver individually. In the traditional Book of Common
Prayer, the observance of this cleansing prior to reception of Holy Communion is
performed by the people praying the Collect for Purity at the beginning of the
Communion Service.
The
court yard represents meaning for the Church today: “It was typical of the
visible church of God on earth, which, though an enclosure, and is separated
from the world, yet consists of professors, good and bad, of real saints and
hypocrites; as into this court Israelites of every character, sex, and state
entered. In David's time it was divided into various courts, and what answered
to it when the temple was built were the several apartments called the courts
of the priests, where they sacrificed, and the court of Israel, where the men
Israelites worshipped, and the court of the women, where they were by
themselves; and in later times there was another court separate from these,
called the court of the Gentiles, into which they might enter” (Our good
Baptist theologian, Dr. John Gill, 1697 – 1771)
The
Court of the Tabernacle separated the child of God from the world without.
Though we must live under the same open sky, we are separated by walls of mercy
from the world and its evils.
The Oil for the Lamp
20 And
thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive
beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always. 21 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: it
shall be a statute for ever unto their generations on the behalf of the children
of Israel. (Ex
27:20-21)
Christ
is a Forever-Burning Light to us. He never goes out. During the long night
watches, He is the Bright and Morning Star. During the brilliant Light of Day,
He is the Sun of Righteousness and the Day Star. His Light always illuminates
before Him just as the Candlesticks of the Holy Place lit the place before the
Ark of Testimony (representing Christ). How do we keep that Light of Christ
burning always? By boldly going forth to teach and preach the Gospel to all the
world, both by Word and Deed. 34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be
also. 35 Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; 36 And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when
he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may
open unto him immediately. (Luke
12:34-36)
It is
my prayer that each of us of faith will keep ready the oil of the Holy Ghost
for our Lamps that our Lights might be burning when He comes.
