Shadow and substance. An exposition of the tabernacle types

Front matter

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

Some Notices of "The Spiritual Life."

BY THE SAME AUTHOR.

Contents

I. Design, 7

II. Descriptive Titles, 16

III. Position, 22

I. Design

IN former years much study was given to the typology of Scripture. The fear of extremes has led to its comparative disuse. In our day students of theology leave these fruitful fields to glean elsewhere. The gospel of Moses is little known ; the teaching of Moses little understood. Yet, he who knows not Moses, can never fully know Christ. A fascinating but fatal rationalism has been subverting the foundation laws of true Bible study. Prophetic symbolism and prophetic teaching are accounted nothing worthy of inquiry, while airy sentimentalities and novel philosophies have been the chief pursuit of religious teachers. How little can we make of the Bible, and how much can we reduce it to a merely human composition, has been the irreverent motive impelling many in their damaging work of Scripture mutilation. Nevertheless there are still left some oldfashioned believers who cling to the Bible as the revealed will of God, divinely inspired in (7)

all its parts and particles. Where shall we look for infallibility if not to the word of God ? The church has it not : her voice is fallible, her judgment imperfect. Reason has it not ; that poor, darkened, and deformed power, which we call understanding, beclouded by sin, is only rational when brought into subjection unto the obedience of Christ. God has given us a revelation of Himself which is super-human, infallible and conclusive. Therefore no part of it is non-essential, no part of it should be treated with negligence or indifference.

The typical portions of Scripture are supremely important, and as a study vastly interesting. Types are shadows, Shadows imply substance. A type has its lesson. It was the design of Jehovah to express v His great thought of redemption to His people Israel in a typical, or symbolic manner. By laws, ceremonies, institutions, persons and incidents He sought to keep alive in their hearts the hope of a coming Redeemer. Christ is therefore the key to Moses' gospel. This then is our advantage, that we can minutely compare type and antitype, and thereby learn the lesson of grace which bringeth salvation.

DESIGN. 9

The design of redemption is fully disclosed in the Typical Tabernacle. The world-sanctuary, that which was earthly and temporary, foreshadowed Christ the real and True Tabernacle. Apart from its typical signification, viewed alone as the dwelling-place of Jehovah, where He dwelt and walked in the midst of a redeemed nation, the Typical Tabernacle ought surely to command our earnest and reverential study.

The vast creation, this house of our habitation, calls out the study of astronomers and geologists, yet but one "chapter of Genesis is occupied with the details of creation, while fifteen chapters in Exodus are required to record the details of the sacred building and its solemn uses. Great and marvelous as is creation with its mysteries and its wonders, greater still is redemption with its sublime ideas, and its far-reaching results. Redemption invests the Tabernacle with peculiar interest ; we should therefore study its design.

Pyramids and mausoleums possess historic and artistic interest, their grandeur and beauty call out the glowing admiration of delighted visitors. Idol- temples are objects of perpetual interest ; many have gone to the ends of the io Tabernacle Types.

earth to behold them and wonder. But the Tabernacle of Jehovah, although a building of inferior proportions, gathers around itself a charm, and a claim unknown to any building ever erected by the hands of men.

The Tabernacle was the first palace of Divine Royalty within whose gilded walls dwelt the awful Shekinah, the manifested glory of the living God ; the visible expression of His attributes of Holiness, Righteousness, Mercy and Truth.

The history of Abraham's posterity comprising the nation of Israel, and the history of the Typical Tabernacle are closely interwoven. It was their place of worship : the meetingplace between them and their covenant God. For this reason also, the subject is worthy of thoughtful study ; nor is it a proof of scholarship, or saintship, to relegate it to the obscurity of the mythical and legendary.

The Tabernacle itself, as a material building, like all other types has passed away, but the realities prefigured by them continue. The person of Immanuel in His incarnation and redemptive work is the substance of every type. In the Tabernacle but faintly, while in Christ more fully do we behold the grace of

Design. ii

God revealed and the glory of God reflected. The patient study which traces out the lines of truth radiating from the Tabernacle, and converging in Christ will lead to greater discoveries of Him who is indeed God manifest in flesh ; whose glory we behold — glory as of the only begotten of the Father, in whom dwelleth, as Shekinah dwelt in the Tabernacle, the fullness of the Godhead bodily.

The following reasons are of sufficient value to every believer for giving prayerful study to the Tabernacle and its spiritual signification :

I. Its design.

It was appointed as Jehovah's dwelling-place in the midst of His covenant-people. 1 ' And let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them." Ex. xxv. 8.

II. God's mode of revealing Himself. From the beginning God revealed Himself

to man in divers ways, each successive revelation becoming a clearer manifestation of His nature and character. At sundry times to Noah, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and to Moses He made His ways known. Now in the Tabernacle He condescended to unfold His purposes more specifically. ' ' And they shall know ' that I am the I^ord their God that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt." (Ex. xxix. 46.)

III. That man may know God' s great plan of redemption.

There are specially three features of redemption foreshadowed in the Tabernacle ritual :

(1) Purification from sin. Hence the law of sacrifice and the use of water.

(2) Acceptance with God. This thought is connected with priestly garments and mitre.

(3) Worship. Priestly intercession with the offering of incense typified this aspect of truth. In the more amplified exposition later on these several points will receive due attention.

IV. Through the Tabernacle and its services we become acquainted with God^s method of teaching.

He taught through symbol. The truth was in the type mystically ; the truth was beyond the type spiritually. There were three elements of types :

(1) Natural objects, as the Rock. "For they drank of a spiritual rock that followed them ; and the rock was Christ. ' ' 1 Cor. x.- 4.

(2) Heavenly objects, as the Manna. ' ' Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness and died. This is the bread which cometh down

Design. 13

out of heaven, that a man may eat thereof and not die." Johnvi. 49-50. [Note, type and antitype are frequently in contrast.]

(3) Artificial objects, as the Brazen Serpent. * ' And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up ; that whosoever belie veth may in him have eternal life." John iii. 14-15.

V. To know that God establishes communion between man and Himselj.

Through sin communion between Creator and creature was interrupted. Through grace communion is again restored. ' ' And thou shalt make a mercy-seat of pure gold. . . And there I will meet with thee and commune with thee from above the mercy-seat." Ex. xxv. 17-22.

This communion with God includes cooperation with Him in the prosecution of His great plans.

1 ' See the Lord hath called by name Bezaleel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. . . . And Bezaleel and Oholiab shall work, and every wise-hearted man, in whom the Lord hath put wisdom and understanding to know how to work all the work for the service of the sanctuary, according to all that the Lord hath commanded." Ex. xxxv. 30; xxxvi. 1.

VI. Through the study of the Tabernacle we are led to a right understanding of New Testament doctrine.

No student of the sacred Scriptures can have a right understanding of New Testament doctrine until the light of the Old Testament shines thereupon. So also the New illumines the Old. In the Tabernacle and its ritual we meet with the very terms and germs of New Testament doctrine. As for instance : Access to God, Atonement, Holiness, Intercession, Propitiation, Priesthood, Remission, Reconciliation, Redemption, Righteousness, Worship.

VII. By the study of the Tabernacle in connection with Israel we get the prophetic outline of Israel's future.

Israel in the past foreshadowed Israel to come. Their form of government was a pure theocracy, as it again shall be. They were then, as they shall be hereafter, a nation, separated, consecrated and honored with high distinctions, with the Glory of God in their midst.

Design. 15

VIII. The study of this subject will greatly enlarge and enrich our Christian experience.

What is Christian experience ? Is it not putting truth to the test by its personal application to, ourselves ? We prove the reality of spiritual phenomena by experiment. We thereby grow in knowledge, and knowledge begets experience. For there is a knowledge which doth not puff up, but the rather buildeth up. Grace and peace come from the knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ our L,ord.

IX. Attrition to this subject will also restore the true method of Bible study itself.

The books of Moses are occupied with the services of the Tabernacle in relation to the people of Israel, Divers washings for purification, sacrifices offered for atonement, religious feasts for the promotion of worship, all of these pointed to Christ in relation to His church and to ages thereafter. Through these typical institutions Moses wrote of Jesus. They were therefore to be observed until He came to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.

II. Descriptive Titles

THE variety of names given to the Tabernacle indicates its importance.

I. A Sanctuary.

"And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them." Ex. xxv. 8.

This name calls attention to the character of the sacred building as a holy place. It was designed to be a palace for the great King, where His Glory through the Shekinah should become visible to man.

II. Tabernacle.

1 ' According to all that I shew thee, the pattern of the Tabernacle, and the pattern of all the furniture thereof, even so shall ye make it." Ex. xxv. 9.

This word from its Latin origin means simply ' ' tent, ' ' but from its Hebrew derivation means ' ' dwelling-place. ' ' The thought is : to settle down. From the day when sin entered into the world God had no dwelling-place amid mankind. He saw them in their misery. He heard the groans of His people in Egypt. He came down and visited them, (16)

Descriptive Titles. 17

but not until they became a separate nation, redeemed by blood, and. by power, did He condescend to dwell with them. In a more real sense, and with greater manifestation of His presence, He tabernacled with men through The Word made flesh. John i. 1 ; 14.

The phrase "dwelt among us," is literally tabernacled. This is a great mystery, how He the infinite God should limit Himself to a material structure, and afterwards dwell within a human body.

III. Tent.

" On the first day of the first month shalt thou rear up the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. ' ' — Ex. xl. 2.

From the use of the word tent, in its connections and associations, I conclude that the goat's hair covering was thereby specified. I suggest this explanation : The Sanctuary comprised the boards of the building, and specially the inner room. The Tabernacle was the cherubic covering which formed the ceiling. It was beneath this glorious canopy the Shekinah rested. The ram skins, dyed red, with the outermost protection, in our version called badger skins, formed the coverings over all. With this plan in mind read carefully in the revised version. Kx. xxxix. 33-43.

IV. House of God.

" So they set them up Micah's graven image which he had made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh." Judges xviii. 31.

I do not find this name given to the Tabernacle during its wilderness journey in gs. Only when in the land is it so called. The idea is that of fixity, or constant habitation. It was indeed Jehovah's dwelling-place, but in the land it had evidently undergone some alterations, and was not subject to constant movement. It lost, in a measure, its pilgrim character at this period.

V. Temple of the Lord.

1 ' Samuel was laid down to sleep in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was." — 1 Sam. iii. 3.

From this record we conclude the Tabernacle had been enlarged. Originally there was no provision for a sleeping chamber. As it was the fore-runner of the Temple, so the change in its construction may make it a more imposing building, and thus receive its new name. Also in contrast to the idol temples which abounded, this building was specified as Jehovah's Temple, having within its precincts the ark of God.

Descriptive Titi.es. 19

VI. Tabernacle of the Congregation.

"And they shall be joined with thee, and keep the charge of the tent of meeting for all the service of the tent." — Numb, xviii. 4.

The expression ' ( Tent of Meeting, " is in the old version ' ■ Tabernacle of the Congregation. ' ' The sacred building and its constant ritual was the point of meeting between God and His people. Thither they brought their offerings, while around its court the tribes assembled. Here their representative, the priest, made atonement and offered incense. Here also the tribes gathered for mutual worship and social fellowship.

VII. Tent of Testimony.

"And on the day that the Tabernacle was reared up the cloud covered the Tabernacle, even the tent of the testimony." — Numb. ix. 15.

The ark was the chief article in the Tabernacle. The court, coverings and structure were made in relation to it. Within this sacred chest the law of testimony lay hidden, and from its seat of mercy issued commandments and directions to Moses Ex. xxv. 16- The whole arrangement was a testimony to divine holiness, to man's sinfulness, and to the efficacy of atonement by sacrifice.

VIII. A World Sanctuary.

"Now even the first Tabernacle had ordinances of divine service and its sanctuary, a sanctuary of this world." — Heb. ix. i.

Not ' ' worldly ' ' in the sense of being carnal, but a ' ' world sanctuary ' ' because material and temporary. The Tabernacle belonged to a dispensation of typical ceremonies, foreshadowing an age to follow when worship would be more spiritual and service for God less burdensome. The ' ' yoke of bondage ' ' would eventually give way to the law of Jesus whose ' ' yoke is easy," and whose " burden is light."

The Tabernacle was specially a type of Christ in this three-fold manner :

i. A meeting place,

* ' But all things are of God who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ." 2 Cor. v. 18. Through sin man was alienated from God, through Christ he is again restored and reconciled. In Christ God and man meet together in precious fellowship.

2. A dwelling place.

" For in Him (Christ) dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." Col. ii. 9.

Descriptive Titles. 21

Within the holy temple of our Lord's bodydwelt the God of glory with the Spirit of power. This sacred building, the humanity of Jesus, erected on earth has been transferred to heaven, in whom the Godhead abides forever.

3. A revealing place.

1 ' No man hath seen God at any time ; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him." (John i. 18.) Through the Tabernacle Jehovah revealed His character and declared His purposes of love and redemption. There also devouring holiness and righteous indignation against sin declared the fact that God was just, even while He justified. But more glorious in His holiness, more inflexible in His justice and more ineffably gracious do we behold the ever blessed God in the face of Jesus Christ. "Just, and the justifier of him that hath faith in Jesus." (Rom. iii. 26.)

III. Position

THE mighty Lord who is holy could find no place of rest in Egypt, a land defiled with idols. Yet there He visited His people ; saw their afflictions, heard their groanings, knew their sorrows. According to promise He eventually came down to deliver them.

At Sinai, God who is righteous revealed Himself in flame and spoke in the mighty thunder. None dared approach that awful summit; save Moses their leader. (Ex. xxiv.)

God in grace came down to dwell amid His people and was accessible to them, as their priestly representative approached the seat of Mercy. The relations of Jehovah to His covenant people are manifested through the position His dwelling place occupied. He is in their midst. Nearness of communion, readiness of access, closeness of fellowship and assured protection are the blessings flowing therefrom.

Spreading out in every direction, east, west, north and south, lay the thousands of Israel. The first line of tents belonged to the Invites.

Position. 23

That tribe was chosen for the special services of the Tabernacle, and out from it arose the family of ministering Priests. The tents of Moses and of the Priests were pitched before the gate, at the east side, though at a considerable distance, from it. On the south side were the tents of the Kohathites, one branch of the Levite tribe. They had charge of all the furniture ; the Ark, Altars, Table of Shew Bread, Golden Candlestick and Laver, with all their holy vessels. These they carried on their shoulders. Numb. iii. 29-32. On the north side were pitched the tents of the Merarites, who had charge of the heavy framework, pillars, bars, sockets and pins. To convey all this material, they employed four wagons, drawn by eight oxen. Numb. iii. 36-38. On the west side were the tents of the Gershonites. Their charge included all the curtains, coverings, vails and hangings of the court. They made use of two wagons, drawn by four oxen, for transportation. Numb. iii. 25, 26. The tribe of I^evi furnished 8580 males above the age of thirty, who were the guardians of the Holy Tent and its belongings. They were ministers of the sanctuary, assisting the priests in their sacred duties Numb. iii. 9 ; workers to take apart or erect the Tabernacle and transport it across the untrodden desert. Numb. i. 51.

Still further outside the Levitical line of tents, stretching into the distance on either side, were the tents of the twelve tribes. When Levi was chosen to be relatively near the Lord in priestly service, the tribe of Joseph was divided into two, called after the names of his sons, Kphraim and Manasseh. Thus, as before, there were twelve tribes. These tribes were formed into four large companies, each company embracing three tribes, with their chiefs, captains and standards.

On the east was the camp of Judah, containing the tribes of Judah, Issachar and Zebulun. The camp of Reuben occupied the south, including the tribes of Reuben, Simeon and Gad. On the west lay the tents of Ephraim's camp, which was composed of the three tribes of Bphraim, Benjamin and Manasseh. The tribes Dan, Naphtali and Asher, formed the camp of Dan, and pitched their tents at the north side. There were, therefore, four great camps on each side of the Tabernacle, including in their population 603,550 adult males, who constituted the standing army of Israel. Numb % ii. See whole chap.

Position.

The cloud which assumed a pillar-like shape resting on the Tabernacle, spread over the heavens above it, and covered the whole encampment, thus shielding it from the scorching rays of the desert sun. * ' He spread a cloud for a covering. ' ' At night it became brilliantly illuminated as a cloud of fire, to give light to the people. Ps. cv. 39.

Surely in all this careful arrangement of detail there was something in the divine mind beyond temporary accommodation, or love of order. We need but glance at the following Scriptures to recall again to our minds the saying of Jesus : " Moses wrote of Me."

I. The promise of Jesus :

1 ' For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst

OFTHKM."

II. The literal fulfillment of the promise. "On the first day of the week, when the

doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in The midst." "And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them. Jesus cometh, the doors being shut,

AND STOOD IN THK MIDST."

III. The revelation in Patmos.

* ' And I turned to see the voice that spake

with me. And having turned I saw seven

golden candlesticks, and in The midst of the

candlesticks one like unto the Son of man. ' '

IV. The heavenly vision.

"And I saw in the midst of the throne, and of the four living creatures, and of the elders, a Lamb, standing, as though it had been slain." Rev. v. 6.

V. A prophecy regarding Israel in the future. 1 ' Sing O daughter of Zion ; shout O Israel ;

be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem * * * the King of Israel, even the Lord is in the midst of THEE. * * * The Lord thy God is in The midst OF THEE, thou shalt not fear evil anymore. " Zephaniah iii. 14-16.

Thus we see, that the attitude of Jesus is the same, whether towards the church on earth, the saints in heaven, or the restored Jewish nation during the millennial kingdom, it is always JKSUS IN THE MIDST.

The Typical Tabernacle was the first earthly house which Jehovah consecrated to Himself

Position. 27

by His indwelling presence. He was His own designer; His own architect. This structure was a display of His own unique taste. The description and charges given to Moses prove the Iyord to be a God of order, a characteristic of the Creator which had been already fully expressed in every part of His great universe. Moreover He gave skill to every artisan to fashion each part so that when all parts were co-joined there was solidity and unity; the house of the L,ord in the midst of His people.

IV. Materials

THE materials for the construction of the Tabernacle were the gifts of a willing-hearted people. Great was their joy in hearing that their King would dwell among them, for whose honor they were to build a sanctuary. Correspondingly great was their self-denial.

There were three kinds of metal employed for the construction of the Tabernacle and the many vessels connected with it. These metals were gold, silver, and brass. There were three kinds of dyes employed in the curtains and vails and coverings; blue, purple, and scarlet. Two kinds of woven fabrics were used. These were spun from linen and goat' s hair. There were two kinds of skins for the outer coverings, viz.: rams' skins dyed red, and those commonly called badgers' skins. Besides the above, the people brought wood, oil, spices, and precious stones. As in Nehemiah's day the walls were builded, for "the people had a mind to work," so now the people were zealous for Jehovah. (28)

Materiaj^s. 29

The value of all the materials may be approximated from the weight given of the several metals in Ex. xxxviii. 24-31.

1. Gold, 29 talents and 730 shekels, or about 43 , 000 ounces. At $20 per ounce the gold would be equivalent to $860,000.

2. Silver, 100 talents and 1775 shekels, equal to 150,000 ounces, which at $1.33 per ounce would equal $199,500.

3. Brass or copper, 106,000 ounces, at 3 cents per ounce, would amount to $3180. According to this estimated value of the metals we have in them alone represented the sum of $1,062,680.

Having no estimate on which to base an exact calculation, I place, as the value of the wood, fabrics, skins, oil, dyes, and precious stones, the added sum of $437,320. The cost of the Tabernacle would, therefore, reach about one million and a half of dollars. Many scholars who have entered minutely into the matter place the relative value of the Tabernacle, from one million to a million and a half of our money.

Sufficient, however, is known in order to appreciate the liberality of the people. There was neither compulsion nor coercion used to induce any to give of his means to this work of the Lord. ' ' The Lord spake unto Moses saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying that they take for me an offering of every man whose heart maketh him willing ye shall take my offering." Ex. xxv. i, 2. The response to this appeal was so prompt and so generous that we read : ' ' And Moses gave commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary. So the people were restrained from bringing. For the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much." Ex. xxxvi. 6, 7. Thus we see that not only were the gifts of the people voluntary and given with the whole heart, a ' ' heave offering ' ' unto the Lord, but that, acting on this principle of giving, there was enough and to spare.

It is well to have Scriptural views of this form of ministry.

1. The act of Christian benevolence is the test of subjection to the Gospel of Christ. ' ' Seeing that by the proving of you through this ministration they glorify God for the obedience of your confession unto the Gospel

Material. 3 1

of Christ, and for the liberality of your contribution unto them all." 2 Cor. ix. 13.

2. It is a sacrifice well pleasing unto God. 1 ' But to do good and to communicate forget not, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased." Heb. xiii. 16.

3. It is connected with the profoundest doctrine of Scripture.

At the close of Paul's great dissertation on the resurrection and personal second coming of the JUord Jesus, he exhorts the Christian believers to be ' * steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord," and then adds, - ' Now, concerning the collection for the saints, as I gave order to the churches of Galatia, so also do ye." 1 Cor. xv. 58 ; xvi. 1.

4. It is an expression of personal gratitude for grace bestowed, and a ministry which will secure its own reward. "He that soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly ; and he that soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Let each man do according as he hath purposed in his heart ; not grudgingly, or of necessity : for God loveth a cheerful giver. ' ' (2 Cor. ix. 6, 7.) "In all things I gave you an example, how that so laboring ye ought to help the weak, and to remember the words of the I/)rd Jesus, how He Himself said, It is more blessed to give than to receive." Acts xx. 35.

The Tabernacle was a type of no other material building ; it was the forerunner of the Temple, but it foreshadowed spiritual realities. In this dispensation of the Holy Spirit our gifts must not, therefore, be wasted on elaborate works of art, or needless decorations, but be directed to send the Word of I^ife to the nations of the earth, and thus hasten the Kingdom of God. Hereby do we help to build up the spiritual house, which is the Church of God in Jesus Christ.

It is interesting to notice that every kingdom in nature supplied its share toward building and enriching the dwelling-place of Jehovah. The mineral kingdom gave forth its metals and its precious stones ; the vegetable kingdom gave its wood, linen, oil and spices, while the animal kingdom furnished important skins and goats' -hair cloth, in addition to the multitude of sacrifices constantly required.

Another item worthy of remark is that of the universality of donors. From the richest

Materials. 33

prince to the poorest peasant the offerings came. Those who could not give precious stones gave fragrant spices. Men and women alike contributed with gladness of heart and with unstinted generosity. How pleased was their King with this proof of love. How closely this act of worship united both. How condescending was their God to so arrange the scheme in order that all the people should be more closely brought into filial relations with Himself. Nor will He allow His people to lack who devise liberal things for His service. Soon as the offerings had been received and the materials for the building were at hand, workmen were chosen upon whom the Spirit of God came to give them wisdom in the execution of the divine plan. And Moses said unto the children of Israel, ''See, the L,ord hath called by name Bezaleel, the son of Huri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and He hath filled him with the spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship. " " And Moses called Bezaleel and Oholiab, and EvKRY wise-hearted man, even every one whose heart stirred him up to come unto the work to do it." Ex. xxxv. 30; xxxvi. 2. Thus we find that not only were gifts lavished, but workers volunteered to aid in the erection of the Tabernacle. Heart and hand were in unison. What a complete illustration of scriptural consecration. Nothing said about the lip, or the profession of the tongue; nothing recorded of the head or its wisdom. Brain and tongue, without heait and hand, are little worth in the work of the Lord. The thoughts of the worldly wise are lighter than vanity, while the wise in heart, those made wise by the Spirit of God, shall understand. They that be wise toward God shall hereafter shine as the brightness of the firmament.