6 Jesus
saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the
life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. 7 If
ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye
know him, and have seen him. (John
14:6-7)
Having been informed no man come to God the Father but by the Son, the question
that arises is this: “How do we approach the Son and come to Him?”
Were it not for His redeeming sacrifice, it would not be at all possible to
come to the Son, and to the Father. Our text today reinforces this fact and
opens with an example thereof. The Altar of Burnt Offerings, located at the
very entrance of the Tabernacle, represents that sacrifice of Jesus Christ. No
man could enter the Tabernacle (the Place of God) without bringing a sacrifice.
But those former sacrifices of goats, sheep, and oxen were only shadows of the
Perfect Sacrifice of Jesus Christ. We are now privileged to enter that
Tabernacle-Not-Made-With-Hands, by way of that sacrifice of Christ made on our
behalf:
8 The
Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet
made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: 9 Which was a figure for the time
then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not
make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; 10 Which stood only in meats and
drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the
time of reformation. 11 But Christ being come an high
priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not
made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; 12 Neither by the blood of goats
and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having
obtained eternal redemption for us. 13 For if the blood of bulls and of
goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the
purifying of the flesh: 14 How much more shall the blood of
Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God,
purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (Heb 9:8-14) No mere commentary ON the Bible
could speak the truth as beautifully as the Bible ITSELF, don’t you agree?
1 And
he made the altar of burnt offering of shittim wood: five cubits was the length
thereof, and five cubits the breadth thereof; it was foursquare; and three
cubits the height thereof. 2 And he made the horns thereof on
the four corners of it; the horns thereof were of the same: and he overlaid it
with brass. 3 And he made all the vessels of
the altar, the pots, and the shovels, and the basons, and the fleshhooks, and
the firepans: all the vessels thereof made he of brass. 4 And he made for
the altar a brasen grate of network under the compass thereof beneath unto the
midst of it. 5 And he cast four rings for the
four ends of the grate of brass, to be places for the staves. 6 And he made the staves of
shittim wood, and overlaid them with brass.
No man can come to Christ without claiming that Holy Sacrifice He made for Him
at the very entrance of His Holy Tabernacle. In fact, though God the Father and
God the Holy Ghost are prominently represented in the Tabernacle, the whole of
the Tabernacle clearly symbolizes the Lord Jesus Christ since He is One with
the Father, and One with the Holy Ghost. He is our “All in All.” Where there is neither Greek nor Jew,
circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but
Christ is all, and in all. (Col 3:11)
Jesus Christ is the Word Eternal. (John 1:1-3) The Word of God is a Mirror to
our souls. Jesus Christ is the perfect image of our being; but when I look into
the Word as my mirror, I see my depravity and sin in Adam, in David (the
murderer and adulterer), in faint-hearted Peter on the night of his denial, and
in doubting Thomas. I am also the central figure of the woman at Jacob’s Well
and that one Woman who committed adultery and, yet, found Grace in the eyes of
the Lord. He is the perfect Plumb Line to whom we look, and the Ensign of the
Battlefield of Life around which we rally. We cannot help seeing our total lack
reflected in His perfect righteousness when we read the Holy Bible. So we must
come by way of the Cross (Altar of Burnt Offerings) ere we ever presume to come
into the Tabernacle of Worship.
Next is the Brazen Laver at which the priests washed prior to entering
the Holy Place. Since Christ paid our penalty at Golgotha, all who belong to
Him are now priests and ministers to the Most High God and are privileged to
enter the Holy Place. But we must first be washed clean at the Brazen Laver
that stood just before the door of the Holy Place. In the Anglican Tradition,
this is the prayer of Humble Access prior to reception of the Lord’s Supper. We
must not partake of that Supper unworthily, therefore, we repent of our sins
always before reception. Therefore if thou bring thy
gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against
thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be
reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. (Matt
5:23-24) We are
washed in the Blood of Christ and made Holy and righteous by His imputed
righteousness and by no merit whatsoever of our own. Having washed our face
(our feature that makes us known to others), our feet (those which take us to
good or wicked paths), and our hands (those which evidence our works); we see
our image reflected at the base of the Laver in the mirrored in the polished
brass donated by the women and made from their own looking-glasses. 8 And he made the laver of
brass, and the foot of it of brass, of the lookingglasses of the women
assembling, which assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the
congregation.
Next is an important (to us) feature of the Tabernacle – the Court of the
Tabernacle! 9 And he made the court: on the
south side southward the hangings of the court were of fine twined linen, an
hundred cubits: 10 Their pillars were twenty, and
their brasen sockets twenty; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of
silver. 11 And for the north side the hangings were an hundred
cubits, their pillars were twenty, and their sockets of brass twenty; the hooks
of the pillars and their fillets of silver. 12 And for the west side were
hangings of fifty cubits, their pillars ten, and their sockets ten; the hooks
of the pillars and their fillets of silver. 13 And for the east side eastward
fifty cubits. 14 The hangings of the one side of
the gate were fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three. 15 And for the other side of the
court gate, on this hand and that hand, were hangings of fifteen cubits; their
pillars three, and their sockets three. 16 All the hangings of the court
round about were of fine twined linen. 17 And the sockets for the pillars
were of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver; and the
overlaying of their chapiters of silver; and all the pillars of the court were
filleted with silver. 18 And the hanging for the gate of
the court was needlework, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined
linen: and twenty cubits was the length, and the height in the breadth was five
cubits, answerable to the hangings of the court. 19 And their pillars were four, and
their sockets of brass four; their hooks of silver, and the overlaying of their
chapiters and their fillets of silver. 20 And all the pins of the
tabernacle, and of the court round about, were of brass. Of course, all was prepared in
accordance with the specifications and detailed instructions imparted to Moses
by the Lord. All was done in good order, and the effect was a plain appearance
from without, and a brilliant and pristine Beauty from within. That identifies
the Lord Jesus Christ in perfect terms. The unbeliever sees no thing of beauty
in beholding Christ, but those who have been privileged to enter into the
Tabernacle of His Heart sees ONLY Beauty! One important point: the walls of the
outer court were limited by hanging curtains. This signifies that they are
temporary in nature and will eventually be removed so that all peoples – Jews,
Gentiles, Bond, and Free may enter alike into the grace of His Presence.
FINALLY, please note how well documented and honestly reported were all of the
gifts received for the building of the Tabernacle: 21 This is the sum of the
tabernacle, even of the tabernacle of testimony, as it was counted, according
to the commandment of Moses, for the service of the Levites, by the hand of
Ithamar, son to Aaron the priest. 22 And Bezaleel the son of Uri, the
son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the LORD commanded Moses. 23 And with him was Aholiab, son of
Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver, and a cunning workman, and an
embroiderer in blue, and in purple, and in scarlet, and fine linen. 24 All the gold that was occupied
for the work in all the work of the holy place, even the gold of the offering,
was twenty and nine talents, and seven hundred and thirty shekels, after the
shekel of the sanctuary. 25 And the silver of them that were
numbered of the congregation was an hundred talents, and a thousand seven
hundred and threescore and fifteen shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary: 26 A bekah for every man, that is,
half a shekel, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for every one that went to be
numbered, from twenty years old and upward, for six hundred thousand and three
thousand and five hundred and fifty men. 27 And of the hundred talents of
silver were cast the sockets of the sanctuary, and the sockets of the vail; an
hundred sockets of the hundred talents, a talent for a socket. 28 And of the thousand seven
hundred seventy and five shekels he made hooks for the pillars, and overlaid
their chapiters, and filleted them. 29 And the brass of the offering
was seventy talents, and two thousand and four hundred shekels. 30 And therewith he made the
sockets to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the brasen
altar, and the brasen grate for it, and all the vessels of the altar, 31 And the sockets of the court
round about, and the sockets of the court gate, and all the pins of the
tabernacle, and all the pins of the court round about.
(Ex 38:1-31)
How well this contrasts from the shady closed doors accounting of many churches
and clergy today. Nothing of the resources of the Tabernacle and gifts were
left for question. Should we not do likewise?
