Exodus 26:15-30
A Sure Foundation and a Steady Frame
If you like numbers and their biblical meanings, you will probably love today’s sermon. If not, I have spare pillows under the pulpit for you to feel free to use. Personally, the details of this sermon nearly broke my brain. I honestly struggled, hour after hour, trying to understand each word and verse which even the finest biblical scholars throughout the ages have struggled with.
Some of the Hebrew is obscure and no one can be dogmatic on what the items we will examine actually looked like when they were fashioned and put together. In other words, we can only speculate as to what the finished product looked like in some areas.
However, the details are sufficient for us to know what is being pictured, even if we can’t know what the edifice actually looked like in a back corner or on a side board. And what is being pictured is exactly what has been seen in countless other passages so far in the Bible – Jesus Christ and His work.
Every detail points to Him, something amazing in and of itself. But what is fascinating to me is that this tabernacle was really built and it was used for hundreds of years. And yet, the people had no idea what each detail signified. Only in the coming of Christ can we know these things.
The tabernacle has wooden bars… “Benjamin, bring me the next bar.” The tabernacle has a menorah…. “That goes over there Eldad.” The tabernacle has silver sockets under the side boards… “Line them up this way, men!”
They erected the thing, disassembled it and moved it to another location, and then re-erected it. And yet, none thought, “This socket of silver pictures the process of my redemption.” How blessed we are to see these things and to know what they actually picture!
Text Verse: These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly; 15 but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. 16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness:
God was manifested in the flesh,
Justified in the Spirit,
Seen by angels,
Preached among the Gentiles,
Believed on in the world,
Received up in glory.” 1 Timothy 3:14-16
Jesus Christ was manifested in the flesh. He came and dwelt among us and He fulfilled every type, shadow, and picture which the Old Testament details. Numerous such types are found in today’s 16 verses. As I said before, if you like numbers, you should enjoy this sermon, but even if you don’t, there should be plenty to keep you fascinated until we are through, so put your pillows away. Marvelous things lie ahead.
It’s all to be found in His superior word. And so let’s turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.
I. Upright Boards and Silver Sockets (verses 15-21)
15 “And for the tabernacle you shall make the boards of acacia wood,
After the instructions for the tent, the instructions for the tabernacle now begin again. These details are given to show the support structure of the tabernacle. The first items of note are the “boards of acacia wood.” The word “boards” or qeresh is first used here, and it will be used 51 times.
It is from an unused root meaning to split off. It thus indicates a slab or plank, and by implication a bench or a board, or even the deck of a ship. Of the 51 uses in Scripture, all of them but one are in Exodus and Numbers and refer to the boards for the tabernacle. The only other time, in Ezekiel 27:6, will it be used when speaking of the planks on a ship.
There are plenty of theories as to their nature. Some see them as solid planks; some see them as frames made of two long boards which were then joined together like a frame. If this were so, it would then allow the inner curtain to be seen from outside.
There is nothing to substantiate this view, but it is suggested because the size of the boards otherwise would be of wood from trees of a size not found in the region of Sinai. However, there is nothing to suggest that the boards themselves weren’t solid, but rather fitted together from smaller pieces.
One scholar sees this as probable based on the one use of the word which is found in Ezekiel 27, surmising that it means they are made of two planks of wood joined together. Or, it could be that trees of this size actually existed in Sinai 3500 years ago, and so the boards were solid wood of one piece. No matter what, it is the measurements and number of boards on which is the focus, not these speculative matters.
15 (con’t) standing upright.
The boards were to stand as they grew when trees, thus they are as pillars. How they will stand upright will be explained in the verses to come. The tabernacle is a structure which was comprised of walls which supported it.
All in all, one might wonder where the tools and workmanship necessary to make such boards would come from, but this is not a problem at all. The Israelites were workmen in Egypt. Many would have had tools for stone or wood work that they would have carried with them, anticipating the same type of labors when they arrived in Canaan. There would be more than enough people skilled in these tasks and with the tools able to accomplish them.
16 Ten cubits shall be the length of a board, and a cubit and a half shall be the width of each board.
If a cubit is approximately 1.5 feet, then these boards would be about 15 feet tall and about 27 inches wide. The thickness of them is, surprisingly, not specified. Josephus however says they were four fingers thick.
17 Two tenons shall be in each board for binding one to another.
shete yadowt la’qeresh ha’echad meshulavot isshah el akhota – the literal Hebrew here is completely different than the translation. It says, “Two hands to the boards each one fitted woman to sister.” From this, the words of our English translations have to be deduced.
The “tenons” or literally “hands,” were most probably pieces of the board which would extend from the bottom of it and would fit into the silver sockets to be mentioned in verse 19. Whether they were round dowels or whether they were square or rectangular pegs isn’t stated.
The word for “binding” is shalav and it is only used two times in the Bible, here and Exodus 36:22. It comes from a root word which means to space off. Thus we get the idea of equally distant pegs which are set in order. These would be “one to another” or literally “woman to sister.” Each would be arranged as if they were twins. If we think of the rungs on a ladder, being equally spaced, we’d get a close mental picture.
17 (con’t) Thus you shall make for all the boards of the tabernacle.
Every board of the wall was to be made in identical fashion so that they could be used in any spot along the wall.
18 And you shall make the boards for the tabernacle, twenty boards for the south side.
If twenty boards which are 1.5 cubits wide are placed side by side, then the length would be 30 cubits. Thus it would be about 40 feet long. The term for “south side” is negbah temanah – south, to the right; thus “south, southward.”
The word “southward” is teman and it is introduced into the Bible here. It comes from the same source as the word yamiyn, or “right hand.” The southward side is the one which is on the right when a person is facing east. This is the direction the tabernacle will be facing when it is finally constructed, facing the rising sun.
As Josephus notes, it was the standard when speaking of the temple to identify the south side with the right hand and the north side with the left hand. The entrance was regarded as the face of the structure and the west side would be the far end. Why is this important? Because of what it pictures.
As a point of contention with the crummy scholars at Cambridge, I’d like to highlight their commentary on the words negbah temanah, or south, southward. They say –
“The ‘Negeb’ … is a geographical term denoting the arid district in the S. of Judah. As this district was on the S. of Canaan, it became the most usual word in Heb. for ‘south.’ Its use in the Pent. is an indication that this was written after Israel had lived long enough in Canaan for ‘négeb’ to have acquired this sense.” (Dolts at Cambridge)
In other words, these dolts claim that because the word “south” is the Hebrew word Negev, which is the desert region in the south of Israel, the books of Moses, the Pentateuch, were written not by Moses, but by someone much later who lived in the land of Israel.
Never mind the fact that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob all lived in Israel and the term Negev is used 7 times in Genesis. Thus, it would have become a word adapted by them, hundreds of years earlier, and incorporated into their Hebrew lexicon. Cambridge can shut up and sit down.
19 You shall make forty sockets of silver under the twenty boards:
Another new word comes into the Bible now, eden, or “sockets.” It comes from the same root as adon which means “lord,” and so it gives the idea of strength, and thus a basis of a building, column, foundation, etc. In this case, it is silver socket’s which are the wall’s foundation. If there are twenty boards and forty sockets, then each board is supported by two sockets. This is seen as we continue…
19 (con’t) two sockets under each of the boards for its two tenons.
The original is more detailed than this translation. Some translations give a word for word rendering by saying, “…two sockets under one board for its two tenons and two sockets under another board for its two tenons;” (NASB). The NKJV simply paraphrases it for brevity.
Either way, the idea is understood. There were to be two sockets of silver under each board which corresponded to the tenons, or “hands,” which protruded from the boards. In Exodus 30, we will see that each socket is made from a talent of silver and thus each would be of an unknown weight somewhere between 75 and 130 pounds.
20 And for the second side of the tabernacle, the north side, there shall be twenty boards
The Hebrew reads, ha’shenit liphat tsaphon – “The second side, north (side).” The word for north also gives the idea of “hidden” or “dark.” As the northern quarter of the compass, it is gloomy and unknown. It is regarded as the less honorable side than the south, just as the left is considered less honorable than the right.
This probably is because in the northern hemisphere, the sun illuminates the south more than the north. When the menorah is placed in the tabernacle, it is set in the south and thus against the north, illuminating that direction. The number of boards for this side will also be twenty.
21 and their forty sockets of silver: two sockets under each of the boards.
Just as on the south, each of the twenty boards is to have two sockets of silver; totaling forty in all. Again as before in verse 19, the NKJV paraphrases this instead of translating out the entire thought. However, their paraphrase is perfectly understandable.
A pillar in the house of God, standing upright
Redeemed by the Lord, who died for me
I will stand in this house forever and behold the sight
Of the One who shines forth in resplendent glory
How can it be that He did everything and yet
I am given access into this heavenly home?
What a marvelous God, on Him my face is set
I will stand in this house forever, never shall I roam
What a marvel, what a delight to know Jesus my Lord!
Who by His grace has redeemed one such as me
Yes on me mercy was granted and abundant grace was poured
I will stand in this house forever, here by the glassy sea
II. The West End (verses 22-25)
22 For the far side of the tabernacle, westward, you shall make six boards.
On the “far side,” which is to the west, there were to be six boards. The total length would then be 9 cubits, or about 12 feet wide. The word for “westward” is yammah, from yam or “sea.” This comes from an unused root meaning “to roar.” In this, we get the idea of a sea roaring in noisy surf.
Again, it is a direction which finds its home in the land of Canaan. The west of Canaan is the Mediterranean Sea. This doesn’t mean that this was penned by some unknown person ages later as the dolts at Cambridge again suggest. Instead it shows that the term came from an earlier time period and was retained in the language as is the case with countless words in our own language.
23 And you shall also make two boards for the two back corners of the tabernacle.
So far, we have been instructed to make 46 boards. Now two final boards are requested. These will go in the two back corners of the tabernacle. Here is another uncommon word is introduced into the Bible, mequtsah or “corner.” It will be used just twice, here and in Exodus 36 at the construction of the tabernacle.
It comes from the word qatsa which means “to scrape” and thus it indicates an angle, or a corner. In these two back corners, the final two boards, totaling 48 in all, will be placed. One scholar suggests that these boards are not the same as the other 46. Instead he says they are two planks joined together to form a V for each corner.
Others think these two boards will overlap the others. Either way, the boards serve a purpose by bringing the back wall to a length of ten cubits. This is so because the Holy of Holies is to be a perfect cube of 10X10x10 cubits.
This is not explicitly stated, but it is the pattern later for the temple and for the New Jerusalem, both of which are cubed. It is a logical deduction. It is also implicitly stated in later details that will be seen in the tabernacle’s construction.
24 They shall be coupled together at the bottom and they shall be coupled together at the top by one ring.
A few new words come in here. The word here for “coupled” is taam. It means “twins.” The idea is that they are to be as perfectly joined together as if they were twins. The “bottom” is mattah, which signifies “beneath,” or “towards the bottom.”
The words in Hebrew here are so obscure that several possible meanings have been suggested. In the end, what is certain is that these two boards will complete the width of the tabernacle, making it ten cubits, and that the corners will be strong and make a perfect connection to the two side walls and the back wall.
24 (con’t) Thus it shall be for both of them. They shall be for the two corners.
Both of the corners will be identical so that the inside of the Holy of Holies will be perfectly finished and perfectly cubed.
25 So there shall be eight boards with their sockets of silver—sixteen sockets—two sockets under each of the boards.
What is clear from this is that the two final boards were to be considered as a part of the back wall, not the side walls. The total back wall consists of 8 boards with sixteen sockets of silver. In total, there are 48 boards and 96 sockets of silver for the structure.
Concerning this back wall, the numbers are important. It is first described as having six boards. The number six is explained by Bullinger –
“Six is either 4 plus 2, i.e., man’s world (4) with man’s enmity to God (2) brought in: or it is 5 plus 1, the grace of God made of none effect by man’s addition to it, or perversion, or corruption of it: or it is 7 minus 1, i.e., man’s coming short of spiritual perfection. In any case, therefore, it has to do with man; it is the number of imperfection; the human number; the number of MAN as destitute of God, without God, without Christ.”
However, two boards are added to the six to make eight. Again, Bullinger describes the number –
In Hebrew the number eight is (Sh’moneh), from the root (Shah’meyn), “to make fat,” “cover with fat,” “to super-abound.” As a participle it means “one who abounds in strength,” etc. As a noun it is “superabundant fertility,” “oil,” etc. So that as a numeral it is the superabundant number. As seven was so called because the seventh day was the day of completion and rest, so eight, as the eighth day, was over and above this perfect completion, and was indeed the first of a new series, as well as being the eighth.
The precise giving of the numbers is not without significance. Each thing presented is to show us a portion of redemptive history as it is brought to us through the work of Christ.
My travel is to the west, to find a new home
My father before me was sent out to the east
But my face is set on this, no other way shall I roam
I’m looking for fellowship, and a glorious place to feast
But I know that my travels are not dependent on me
Instead my walk is one of faith in what Another has done
I’m heading to the east because Another set me free
And through His shed blood, my safe passage is won
What kind of God is this! To favor one such as me?
I was heading east like my fathers all had done
But He called out my name in a manner soft, so tenderly
And said, “Come back home My son, in Me the victory is won”
III. From Beginning to End (verses 26-30)
26 “And you shall make bars of acacia wood: five for the boards on one side of the tabernacle,
Now a new implement is instructed for us to make, the beriakh or “bar.” This word comes from the verb barach which means “to go through.” They will be used to hold the walls firmly together and are made of the same wood as the rest of the tabernacle and its furniture, shittim. Five are required for the first side.
27 five bars for the boards on the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the side of the tabernacle, for the far side westward.
Like the first side, the other two sides will also have five bars each. It is probable that these bars were placed on the outside of the boards. In total, there are to be 15 bars. Bullinger tells us the meaning of the number –
“Five is, as we have seen, the number of grace, and three is the number of divine perfection. Fifteen, therefore, specially refers to acts wrought by the energy of Divine grace.” EW Bullinger
28 The middle bar shall pass through the midst of the boards from end to end.
The middle bar is to be one solid bar. Therefore, the one on each side was to be 30 cubits long and the one on the back was to be ten cubits long. This bar was to be passed through rings at the mid point of the boards.
The length of the other four on each side is surprisingly not given. It can be assumed that there were three rows of bars on each side. The bars on the top row and the bottom row would each run half way and together they would then span the entire distance. However, this is only speculation.
29 You shall overlay the boards with gold, make their rings of gold as holders for the bars, and overlay the bars with gold.
Like all of the wooden furniture, these boards and bars were to be completely covered with an overlay of gold. The rings themselves were to be solid gold. The bars would go through the rings to hold the entire tabernacle together as one solid structure.
*30 And you shall raise up the tabernacle according to its pattern which you were shown on the mountain.
This is the third time that Moses has been told that he is to complete the thing prescribed according to the pattern he is shown on the mountain. Nothing is being left to chance and every detail is to be precisely completed. Therefore, none of this is according to human wisdom or design, but rather it is divinely inspired.
Further the repetition in these words implies that there are many details which are not recorded, but of which Moses was aware of. Because of this, that which is recorded is given for our benefit and to understand what is on the mind of God in what is presented. And so let’s evaluate the verses in hopes of finding out what He wants us to see.
We were first told of the boards for the tabernacle. Each is 10×1.5 cubits or 15 square cubits. As we saw, fifteen is defined this way –
“Five is … is the number of grace, and three is the number of divine perfection. Fifteen, therefore, specially refers to acts wrought by the energy of Divine grace.” EW Bullinger
Each board is a picture of the Divine grace of God in Christ. The boards are of shittim wood and gold, just as the rest of the furniture we have seen. This then points to Jesus’ human and divine natures. The wood is His humanity which is incorruptible, just as shittim is an incorruptible wood. The gold reflects His divinity, purity, holiness, etc.
The overlay, or tsaphah, is identical to another word which means to look out or about, spy, keep watch. Thus His divine nature is what watches over His subjects, keeping an eye on them. The gold therefore not only pictures His divine nature, but it is also a picture of His royal, kingly status. One who has subjects is the ruler of those subjects.
And finally, the gold is the standard by which the value of all other things is set. Therefore, He is the standard by which all others are compared to.
The instruction for these boards is that they are to be standing upright. The picture we are to get here is one of life. Just as the trees grew up in life, so this life is to be pictured in the way the boards are to be positioned. It is reminiscent of the tree of life and access to it, this is what the work of Christ provides through His life.
In total, there are 48 boards. However on each side, there are 20 boards and on the back there are eight. The number 20 in Scripture points to “expectancy,” and the number eight, as I already explained, is the superabundant number and points to “new beginnings.” The twenty boards on the sides lead in expectation to the new beginnings where there is super-abundance.
In picture, as one moves from the east to the west, this is what is expected. It perfectly pictures the work of Christ on our behalf, from its beginning until the end. However, there is more. Each side points to expectation, but the sides together form forty boards. Forty points to “a period of probation, trial, and chastisement,” but “not judgment.” Forty “is the product of 5 and 8, and points to the action of grace, leading to and ending in revival and renewal.”
And isn’t this exactly what we see in the process of redemptive history? Christ moved through a period of probation, trial, and chastisement, but not judgment – at least not for His own sins, for He had none. At the end of His work, which was a work of grace, came revival and renewal. The symbolism is perfect.
Next, these forty boards lead directly to the eight in the rear and again, they perfectly follow through in a representation of the work of Christ. The boards are eight, but they are noted separately as six and then two.
Six is the number of man, and two is the number of difference or division. In the six boards and two boards which are coupled together, we see the work of Christ the Man who has come to replace the work of Adam. Adam was cast out of Eden to the east; Christ is the One to restore man to God’s paradise as we travel once again to the west. G. Soltau notes this –
“The boards and bars have the same relation to the Tabernacle itself, as the truth contained in the first two chapters of the Epistle to the Hebrews has to the rest of the Epistle. In the first two chapters, the great foundations of faith are laid. The Lord Jesus Christ is presented to us as the Son; the brightness of God’s glory, and the express image of His person; God, the Creator—the Sustainer of all things. He is also presented to us as the Son of Man, partaker of flesh and blood in order to die; the Firstborn from the dead; all things put under Him; anointed above His fellows; not ashamed to call them brethren. On these great truths respecting Christ, depend all the other great verities connected with the value of His sacrifice; the glory and power of His priesthood; the eternal salvation, the eternal redemption, and the eternal inheritance which are obtained for us by His blood.” G. Soltau
After the boards, there are noted two “tenons” or “hands” on each board. Thus, the boards, each picturing Christ are have hands as their support. Hands are what keep them secure and immovable and divine hands upheld Him as well. He was upheld by the Father throughout His life and ministry. This is seen, for example, in the 80th Psalm –
“Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand,
Upon the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself.” Psalm 80:17
Again, in the 31st Psalm, a messianic psalm, we read this –
“My times are in Your hand;
Deliver me from the hand of my enemies,
And from those who persecute me.” Psalm 31:15
And of course, on the cross, we read these words of the Lord –
“Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” Luke 23:45
And as the tabernacle is only a shadow of that which is in heaven, we have a heavenly fulfillment of Christ’s work when He “…sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Hebrews 1:3).
The next things that are detailed are the sockets of silver. Silver, or keseph, in the Bible signifies redemption. In fact, the silver for these sockets actually comes from the redemption money for the lives of the people of Israel. This is seen first in Exodus 30 –
“When you take the census of the children of Israel for their number, then every man shall give a ransom for himself to the Lord, when you number them, that there may be no plague among them when you number them. 13 This is what everyone among those who are numbered shall give: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (a shekel is twenty gerahs). The half-shekel shall be an offering to the Lord.” Exodus 30:12, 13
This very money, which was used for their ransom, was then instructed to be used for the silver sockets of the tabernacle –
And the silver from those who were numbered of the congregation was one hundred talents and one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary: 26 a bekah for each man (that is, half a shekel, according to the shekel of the sanctuary), for everyone included in the numbering from twenty years old and above, for six hundred and three thousand, five hundred and fifty men. 27 And from the hundred talents of silver were cast the sockets of the sanctuary and the bases of the veil: one hundred sockets from the hundred talents, one talent for each socket.” Exodus 38:25-27
Silver, or kespeh, comes from another word kasaph which means to “be eager” or to “long for.” Thus we have a hidden pun from Paul’s hand concerning redemption and our longing for it –
“Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.” Romans 8:23
Our redemption is something we eagerly await, as we long to be filled with the resplendent glory of the Lord. From the fall of man onward, the expectancy of the work of Christ is pictured in the redemption of man, and that redemptive process is the foundation of the work of Christ. Paul explicitly says in 1 Corinthians 3 that Christ is the foundation of the gospel.
The bars of the tabernacle are noted next. They are shittim wood covered in gold and they carry the same signification as the other times these materials are seen – the two natures of Christ. There are five on each side, five being the number of grace.
Thus the tabernacle is surrounded on all sides by grace. It is that which alone can provide a return to the spot where man may once again fellowship with God. As there are three sides with five bars, they total fifteen. Again, as before, the number fifteen becomes significant –
“Five is, as we have seen, the number of grace, and three is the number of divine perfection. Fifteen, therefore, specially refers to acts wrought by the energy of Divine grace.” EW Bullinger
In other words, it is exactly what the New Testament speaks of concerning Christ. His works for us are wrought by the energy of Divine grace. It is what binds the entire tabernacle together. But what is just as exceptional is that we can deduce that there are three rows of bars.
“Three … stands for that which is solid, real, substantial, complete, and entire.” In these three rows, the one bar in the middle of the boards runs the entire length of the tabernacle, from one end to the other.
As the tabernacle is a picture of what makes our return to God’s paradise possible, then the five bars picture Divine grace, the three sets picture that which is complete, and the one bar pictures the unbroken nature of the work of Christ, from beginning to end in this process of redemption. It is God in Christ working from the start to finish without change or interruption.
That there are two identical bars, one on each side that spans the entire length of the tabernacle, it pictures the full redemption by Christ of both Jew and Gentile. From beginning to end, His works are sufficient for all.
Also seen in this passage are the rings. For the bars, they were to be of gold, but no number of them is given. They, as in previous passages, carry the idea of authority. Both instances of rings being mentioned, in verse 24 and verse 29, are given to show us Christ’s authority which binds the tabernacle together as one.
As the tabernacle pictures the entire process of redemption, the rings show His absolute authority in the entire redemptive process.
Having now evaluated all of the items, we should take one more moment to look at the overall significance of the structure as outlined in this passage. Everything concerning the tabernacle is related to the edifice which has been described.
Without these boards, rods, sockets, and rings, there would be no tent to keep the magnificent furniture in. Thus there would be no place for the priests to minister. Likewise, without this structural support, there would be no way for the curtains and the several layers of coverings to be held up.
The weight of them could not be supported otherwise. Everything about the tabernacle is dependent upon this structure which is comprised of 48 boards, 96 sockets, and 15 bars to house, support, and uphold the work of Christ. In Isaiah 22, a person named Eliakim was given as a picture of Christ to come. All of the glory of the house of David was said to rest on Him –
“Then it shall be in that day,
That I will call My servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah;
21 I will clothe him with your robe
And strengthen him with your belt;
I will commit your responsibility into his hand.
He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem
And to the house of Judah.
22 The key of the house of David
I will lay on his shoulder;
So he shall open, and no one shall shut;
And he shall shut, and no one shall open.
23 I will fasten him as a peg in a secure place,
And he will become a glorious throne to his father’s house.
24 ‘They will hang on him all the glory of his father’s house, the offspring and the posterity, all vessels of small quantity, from the cups to all the pitchers.” Isaiah 22:20-24
Like Eliakim bearing the weight of the government of the house of David, Jesus – as pictured in the tabernacle – bears all the weight and glory of His Father’s house. This is pictured in the structure here.
Forty-eight is the products of both 6×8 and 4×12. Ninety-six is the product of 12×8. And fifteen is the product of 3×5. Six is man, eight is new beginnings, four is the number of the created order, twelve is perfection of government, three is divine perfection, and five is grace.
Thus this passage can be summed up as “Christ, the second Man who replaces Adam. He is the One who provides a new beginning through His superabundance and whose claims on the government of the earth are realized in His divine perfection and through His grace.”
All of this together may seem overwhelming, but the message of the tabernacle is that man was cast to the east of Eden where cherubim were place to restrict access to that marvelous place where man once fellowshipped with God. The tabernacle is a picture of Jesus Christ allowing us, once again, to have restored access.
The wood, gold, and silver structure simply points to Christ in the process of the redemption of fallen man and the granting of that access through Him. This has been seen and it will continue to be seen as the details for the tabernacle continue to be laid out before us. It is all about Jesus Christ who reveals to us God’s love.
In the giving of Christ, we can once again go to the place where our heavenly Father awaits us. If you would like to have a guarantee of that access today, let me tell you a few more words to guide you home to Him…
Closing Verse: “How lovely is Your tabernacle,
O Lord of hosts!
2 My soul longs, yes, even faints
For the courts of the Lord;
My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.” Psalm 84:1, 2
Next Week: 2 Kings 2:19-25 A break from Exodus, but after this we will turn there again… (Healed Waters and Cursed Children)
The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. Even if a deep ocean lies ahead of You, He can part the waters and lead you through it on dry ground. So follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.
A Sure Foundation and a Steady Frame
And for the tabernacle you shall make the boards
Of acacia wood, standing upright, according to my words
Ten cubits shall the length of a board be
And a cubit and a half shall be the width of each board, you see
Two tenons shall be in each board
For binding one to another, a challenge to tackle
Thus you shall make
For all the boards of the tabernacle
And you shall for the tabernacle the boards make
Twenty boards for the south side; this you shall undertake
You shall make forty sockets of silver according to my words
Under the twenty boards:
Two sockets for its two tenons under each of the boards
And for the second side of the tabernacle, the north side
There shall be twenty boards, you see
And their forty sockets of silver:
Two sockets under each of the boards; thus shall it be
For the far side of the tabernacle, westward
You shall make six boards according to my word
And you shall make two boards also
For the two back corners of the tabernacle
This is where they are to go
They shall be coupled together at the bottom
And they shall be coupled together at the top by one ring
Thus it shall be for both of them
They shall be for the two corners, so you shall complete this thing
So there shall be eight boards
With their sockets of silver—sockets numbering sixteen—
Two sockets under each of the boards
Do this according to the pattern you have seen
And you shall make bars of acacia wood:
Five for the boards on one side of the tabernacle
Let this be understood
Five bars for the boards on the other side of the tabernacle too
And five bars for the boards of the side of the tabernacle
For the far side westward; so shall you do
The middle bar shall pass through as I intend
The midst of the boards from end to end
You shall overlay the boards with gold
Make their rings of gold as holders for the bars
And overlay the bars with gold as to you I have told
And you shall raise up the tabernacle as is now known
According to its pattern
Which on the mountain you were shown
O God, how marvelous are Your ways!
How wonderful is the great plan You have revealed to us
We shall exalt You forever, even for eternal days
For what You have done through Your Son Jesus
Hallelujah to Christ our Lord!
Hallelujah to the One who has been there all along
Revealed to us in Your precious word
To the One who fills our hearts with song
Yes, we praise You O God our King
And to You forever our praises we shall sing
Hallelujah and Amen…