Tabernacle shadows

Front matter

Class to SO D

Book ■Shlk* Q L

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Preface

These lectures were originally prepared as brief talks for mid-week prayer and conference meetings in the church of which the author was then the pastor. That might have been the end of them, if a kind and truth-loving people had not insisted upon hearing more upon the subject, even offering to bear the expense of making suitable illustrations upon canvas hangings to use with the studies, if they could be continued, — illustrations which have rendered excellent service many times during the subsequent years. Perhaps there will be something of compensation in this to the beloved Church which made their possession and use possible. The illustrations in the book are made from those hangings. Thus encouraged by the Church, the preparation of the lectures began, and their delivery followed on successive Sunday evenings to large audiences. They have been given several times since in the course of regular pastoral work, also many times in other churches and before theological students, by invitation from brother pastors and teachers. It is always a delight to render this service, for usually the hearers are appreciative; then, this part of God's revelation is never retraversed without giving to the lecturer a stronger conviction that these teachings are true, and this brings with it a happy and abiding reassurance in the finished work of our blessed Lord, a work of which the Tabernacle shadows were divinely inspired unfoldings.

This book comes in response to a call. Wherever the lectures have been given, many of the hearers have expressed a wish that they might have them in printed form. We have at last surrendered to this oft repeated request. Our only desire is that the Master, in whose Name and for whose glory

VI PREFACE

the work has been undertaken, will bless the book, and make it a ministry of grace and helpfulness to all who read its pages. If the love and faith of its readers shail be strengthened and confirmed in their reading, as has the writer's in his writing, his work shall be abundantly rewarded.

Originality in this line of Bible study and interpretation is disclaimed, and we hasten to make greatful acknowledgement that from many sources we have gathered valuable aid and suggestion. We are glad to make especial mention of Prof. W. G. Moorehead's Studies in Mosaic Institutions, Rev. F. H. White's Christ in the Tabernacle, from which we were greatly aided in securing our illustrations, Rev. C. I. Scofield, D. D., in his Bible notes, and last but not least, Rev. A. J.Gordon, D. D., of blessed memory, whose Scriptural and spiritual teachings did so much to bring us to a larger knowledge of Christ as He is revealed in the typical and prophetic portions of the Bible. Since the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews wrote upon the Tabernacle, showing it to be a typical setting forth of Jesus in His great redemptive work, there have been many devout and scholarly writers upon this subject. So far as possible, we have "entered into their labors," and have found great delight in gathering truth's flashing gems which they have brought forth from the deep mines of Biblical study and research. It is honor enough for us, to be entrusted with these priceless gems, and to pass them on to others who, perhaps, see and enjoy them for the first time. If the Lord has helped us to put some old truths in new settings, or, to identify some New Testament truths as foreshadowed in the Tabernacle and its service, we are glad to make humble but thankful acknowledgment to Him, who in unspeakable condescension uses men in the unfolding of His precious truth.

That the book may be used in some humble way in revealing Jesus as Redeemer, and in helping believers to apprehend what they really have in their divine Lord, and by so doing, become better prepared for service here, and for the glory when He comes, is the earnest desire and prayer of the

author.

O. H. Wallace.

First Baptist Study, Corry, Pa., May 15, 1912.

Contents

PAGE I

The Court of the Tabernacle 9

II The Golden Framework of God's Dwelling-Place . 33

III The Holy Place in the Tent of Meeting . . . 63

IV The Throne-Room of Jehovah . . ... 87

V Israel's High Priest .113

VI The Common Priests 143

VII The Sacrificial Offerings of Israel .... 165

FIRST LECTURE.

THE COURT OF THE TABERNACLE.

I. The Court with its Pillars and Curtains. II. The Brazen Altar in the Court. III. The Laver before the Door of the Tabernacle.

THE COURT OF THE TABERNACLE.

" Let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them." — Ex. 25: 8.

Soon after the exodus from Egypt, Moses, the servant of God, was summoned to appear before the Lord in a mountain of Sinai, to receive, upon tablets of stone, "a law, and commandments," — presumably those which God had already orally delivered to the people through this same honored servant. Moses tarried in the mountain with God forty days, and during this time of exalted fellowship, among other instructions concerning his work, he received his commission to build the Tabernacle, a sanctuary for Jehovah, that He might dwell among His people, Israel. The plan of this building and its furnishings, which were to be upon a most splendid and expensive scale, was revealed to Moses at this time; in just what way we are not told, but the words, "See, saith He, that thou make all things according to the pattern showed to thee in the mount," would suggest to us that he had received a very full and detailed vision of this wonderful structure and all of its appointments.

We are entering upon these studies of the Tabernacle, its furniture, sacrifices, ritual, and priests, not because we have an especial fondness for Hebrew antiquities, but because we recognize in this old Jewish institution, and all that was incorporated with it, divine foreshadowings of " good things to come." We are persuaded that there are the best of reasons for believing that God, in arranging this ancient building, with its priestly ministries and animal sacrifices, was putting upon the stage of the centuries which preceeded the advent of His only begotten and well beloved Son, a drama, which accurately foreshadowed the unspeakably precious redemption that should be secured for a race and world sold under sin and hopelessly ruined,— a redemption wrought out by our Lord Jesus Christ through His life in the flesh, His death on the cross, and His priestly intercessions in the holy places not made with hands.

The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews, in referring to the ancient sanctuary and its ceremonies, used several words which make it very certain that he recognized them as illustrative institutions given to serve " the time then present," and to help the worshipers to comprehend and by faith appropriate God's promise to provide an offering that should take away the sin of the world. Let me bring to your attention a few of these very significant words.

"PATTERNS."

In contemplating the blood-sprinkled altars, the ark of the covenant, and other articles within the sacred inclosure, the author of this epistle wrote these words: "Almost all things are by the law purged with blood; ... it was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these ; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these" (Heb. 9: 22, 23). The word rendered " patterns " (vTrohe^ixara) in this passage, indicates that the earthly and blood-sprinkled things were delineations, exhibitions, copies of glorious and heavenly realities. The word is rendered " copies " in the Revision.

Another of these words is

"FIGURES."

We are told that " Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true ; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us " (Heb. 9: 24). Furthermore, speaking of the second room in the Tabernacle, into which the high priest entered only once each year, the writer calls it a "figure." " The Holy Spirit this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: which is a figure (Trapapokr)— parable) for the time then present" (Heb. 9: 8, 9). The Tabernacle, then, according to this, was a structural and enacted parable,— God using curtains, rooms, altars, priests, and offerings to reveal and illustrate His purpose and promise to provide redemption for men.

Next we have a pair of words,

"EXAMPLE AND SHADOW."

We are not left in uncertainty as to the writer's object in using these words. He says, "There are priests that offer gifts according to the law: who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things" (Heb. 8: 4, 5). The Aaronic priesthood, ministering through many centuries in the Court and Holy Places, was a divinely instituted example and shadow of our Great High Priest, Christ Jesus, minister of the " true tabernacle which the Lord pitched, and not man." Thus, it seems very certain that the writers of the New Testament recognized in the Tabernacle, foreshadowings of Christ's redeeming and intercessory work for mankind. Indeed, it may be confidently affirmed that nowhere else in the Old Testament, as much as in this divinely appointed sanctuary with its continual service and sacrificial offerings, have we such a luminous and soul-assuring exposition of that profound statement of New Testament doctrine, " Him who knew no sin He made to be sin on our behalf; that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor. 5: 21, R. V.). Beloved, I believe in the Tabernacle as a most wonderful unfolding of Gospel truth ! A believing and prayerful study of these inspired patterns will greatly aid any person, who is willing to thus apply himself, in gaining a comprehensive understanding of the atonement. If more of our preachers and teachers whose duty it is to make men acquainted with "Christ and Him crucified, ,, would only go with Aaron and his priestly sons through one complete round of their typical service, they would return to their pulpits and class-rooms to set forth a plan of redemption that would possess the high merit of being scriptural, easily comprehended, and eminently spiritual. There would be less preaching of salvation by character, and more preaching of Jesus who died for our sins and was raised again for our justification.

If we are to pursue this series of studies with the largest measure of helpfulness to ourselves, we must, in the very beginning, get a clear understanding of the fundamental teachings of this institution,— the primary truths around which all of its other teachings are grouped. Such are the following:

1. The Tabernacle was God's dwelling-place among His chosen and beloved people, and the only place on earth where Deity could be localized.

God had called Israel out of Egypt that they might be unto Him a chosen and peculiar peopie. Beneath His sovereign protection and care, they were to live in intimate and constant fellowship with Himself. They had left Egypt with the sincere affirmation upon their lips that they were going out to serve the Lord their God. These were their high hopes and ideals when they left the land of the Pharaohs, and the scenes of their servitude and affliction. But God was holy and they were sinful, and at Sinai they learned that He was intolerant of sin and could not look upon it with any degree of allowance. When His holy presence was manifested amid the lightnings and thunderings upon the mount of fire, they were filled with fear, and " removed, and stood afar off. And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die " (Ex. 20 : 18, 19). The holiness, of God and the sinfulness of the people seemed to make it impossible for God to dwell among them. Impossible? No, not if God's unfathomable love and grace can reach the depths of the mighty problem and make it possible. Here is the plan of Divine procedure: "The Lord spake unto Moses, saying, . . . Let them make me a sanctuary ; that I may dwell among them." In the Tabernacle God purposed to give an exhibition of His abounding grace, and to reveal unto sinful and rebellious men how it is that He can be just and the justifier of the ungodly. It was here, enthroned upon His mercy-seat, that God extended His sceptre of pardon to a sinful nation, showing them that " where sin abounded, grace did much more abound." Thus it was, by the use of this tent erected under the frowning shadow of Mount Sinai, that Jehovah was seeking to aid the faith of His people to anticipate the coming of the One whose name was to be " Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, GOD with us."

2. It was from the Mercy-Seat in the Holy of Holies that God communicated directly with His people.

Before the Tabernacle was built, God promised Moses that this should be one of the exalted privileges that His servants should enjoy in this sanctuary. He said, "I will meet with thee, and will commune with thee from above the mercy-seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony" (Ex. 25: 22). And after the building was erected, and worship inaugurated therein, the following was written as a matter of history: "When

Moses went into the tent of meeting to speak with Him, then he heard the Voice speaking unto him from above the mercy-seat that was upon the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim" (Num. 7: 89, R. V.). How different was this from the voice that was heard amid the clouds upon Mount Sinai ! Then lightnings and thunderings of judgment mingled with the voice, and the people, filled with fear, " removed, and stood afar off." Now when God speaks with them from the mercy-seat, His voice is clothed in tones of pardon and love, and the people draw nigh in confident and affectionate worship, waiting outside the Court until God's last and benedictory word has been spoken. None of the sovereign authority which dictated, and issued with Jehovah's utterances from Sinai has been relinquished, but now He speaks from a blood-sprinkled throne where " mercy and truth are met together," and where "righteousness and peace have kissed each other " (Ps. 85: 10). Thus it was that God communicated with His people in olden times, and in so doing, foreshadowed these last days in which God hath spoken unto us by His Son (Heb. 1 : 1, 2).

3. The Entrances to the Court and Holy Apartments of the Tabernacle, revealed a Way into the presence of God.

There was a Gate, a Door, and a Veil. The gate was at the eastward end of the Court, and was the place where the worshiper turned his back to the east * and naturalism, and began his journey along the way of Divine Appointment, and toward God,— the way that led unto that which was perfect in the Holy of Holies. The door was at the entrance of the Tabernacle tent, and it admitted into the Holy Place where there was food, light, and fellowship with God. The veil, one of the most significant parts of the sacred structure, and, as we shall see later on, one concerning the typical meaning of which we are not left to guess, hung between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies where God's presence was manifested. The gate, the door, and the veil are undoubtedly identical in their typical significance, and together they reveal Jesus as the way to God. I presume there are few who have given this subject careful consideration, who will question that our Lord had these

in mind when he said to Thomas, " I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" (John 14: 6). We are indebted to the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews for still further light upon this subject. He says: "Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which He hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh" (Heb. 10: 19, 20). Jesus is the " new and living way" that was foreshadowed by the old blood-stained way of the Tabernacle.

As we progress with these studies, you will be impressed with the remarkable fact that many New Testament words and expressions were cast in the mold of Tabernacle phraseology, and particularly is this true of the Epistle to the Hebrews. It is only because we are so far removed from that old institution that we fail to recognize its influence in New Testament expres sion.

" The New Testament in the Old is concealed ; The Old Testament in the New is revealed."

— Augustine.

We are now prepared to give our attention more directly to that part of the Tabernacle which has been assigned for our study at this time, namely, the Court and its Furnishings.

I. The Court With Its Pillars and Curtains.

An important feature of God's dwelling-place was the Court that surrounded it. This enclosure, formed by pillars of wood standing in sockets of brass, extended in length, east and west, one hundred cubits, and in breadth, north and south, fifty cubits. It is impossible, perhaps, to determine the exact English equivalent of the Hebrew cubit, but it was probably not far from eighteen inches in length. From these pillars, by means of silver hooks and fillets, were suspended hangings of fine twined linen. These hangings of white linen suggest,—

1. That God dwells in a habitation of holiness. " Holiness to the Lord " was written upon every thread of those walls of white linen. They proclaimed in unmistakable terms to all who approached with the purpose to enter into God's holy presence, that they must first enter into a life of " holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord " (Heb. 12 : 14) . " Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."

2. The white curtains also suggest that all of God's transactions with men are inside the limits of righteousnes. Outside the Court there was neither Altar nor Laver, and these stood for great and essential experiences in the regeneration of earth-born souls, without which there could be no fellowship with God. But does not God sit upon a throne of mercy, and is it not His great delight to be gracious unto the children of men ? Yes, but He does not forget that there are limitations of righteousness beyond which He can never go, no, not if it were to save the whole universe from moral and physical ruin. He must remain, in Himself, just, if He is to be the justifier of sinful men who believe in Jesus (Rom. 3: 26). Redemption not only displays God's mercy and grace, but it also observes the limitations which vindicate His righteousness. Mercy and grace have sent forth their invitation, "Come into His Courts,' ' and its extension is as unlimited as the race of mankind, but with this invitation extended, God's mercy and grace can only wait until men respond. The parable of the prodigal son represents the father as waiting until the lost son returned to his home. Jesus' saddest lament was, "Ye will not come to me, that ye might have life" (John 5: 40).

The Court was entered by a broad Gate at the eastward end. In the hangings of the Court, representing the inflexible righteousness demanded by the law, and by which, therefore, all men are excluded, because all men are sinners in the sight of the law, no colors are introduced. But the gate, like the veil, represented Christ, and so the colors of the veil reappeared in the gate. God's mercy has provided at tremendous cost, a gate through which "whosoever will," may enter and appropriate all that His great love has prepared for those who believe in Jesus.

There was but one gate by which to enter the Court, but it was twenty cubits wide and five cubits high ; surely one gate, so spacious, was enough to accommodate all who might really desire to enter. There may have been those who preferred to remain on the outside and complain because the gate was not in the right place, or because it was too wide or too narrow, or because there was not another gate at the westward end of the Court ; their complainings, however, were all unreasonable, and altogether unheeded by Him who sat upon the mercy-seat, and in love had opened the one sufficient way of approach to Himself. To have forced an entrance in some other way would have incurred the Divine disapproval. Jesus may have had this truth in mind when He said, " Verily, I say unto you, he that entereth not by the door . . . but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief

and a robber I am the door : by me if any man

enter in he shall be saved " (John 10 : 1, 9) .

II. The Brazen Altar in the Court.

The Brazen Altar, or the Altar of Burnt-Offering, was perhaps the most conspicuous feature of Israel's ancient religious system. It was made of wood and overlaid with heavy plates of brass; hence its name. All offerings burnt within the Court were offered upon this Altar. The position of this stern looking piece of furniture was very suggestive; it stood in the Court, directly in the way of one passing from the gate to the door of the Tabernacle. In Israel, all worshipers who drew nigh unto God, whether individuals, as in the case of priests, or the congregation in its corporate capacity, and represented by a priest, were required to come by the way of the Brazen Altar. Whoever came along this way must be halted at the Altar by a priest, who, as a representative of the throne of righteous judgment, and with unsheathed sword in hand, demanded the immediate judgment of his sin. The worshiper may not advance another step until this serious question which separates men from God has been satisfactorily settled. But God's broken law demanded life. Alas! then, who could satisfy the law's awful demands and continue his journey toward the Holy of Holies where the Divine Presence was manifested? He satisfied the law's demands, and lived to continue his journey, who had heard aright God's invitation, " Bring an offering, and come into His courts," and had come to the Altar with an animal substitute. Guided by the ritual of the sanctuary, the offerer laid his hand upon the head of his offering, and, probably, made a full confession of his sin. That act was to signify that the sinner's guilt was transferred to the guiltless beast, thus constituting it the guilty one, and the bearer of his sin. The laying on of the offerer's hand signified his acceptance of, and identification with, his offering. The offerer was by this act saying, " This animal is now my sinful self, and its life henceforth is my forfeited life." It was then slain as a sin-offering at the Brazen Altar to make atonement for the offerer. The sin-offerings had in view the legal satisfaction and vindication of God's perfect but outraged law, and as shadows they were expiatory, substitutional, and efficacious until the true sin-offering came.

It does not require great spiritual and scriptural knowledge to see all of these shadows fulfilled in our Lord Jesus Christ. It pleased the Father to lay our burden of iniquity upon Him ; He bore our sins in His own body on the tree; He suffered, the Just for the unjust ; the sinless Son of God was made sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor. 5: 21). "The profound sacrificial language of the Old Testament is carried bodily over into the New Testament and applied to the Lamb of God. All our iniquity is charged to Him, and all the wrath due our iniquity is discharged upon Him." 1 The sword of justice which hung over our guilty heads, fell upon Him, and under its retributive stroke He was laid in death. In Christ our sins have been judged, punished, and borne away into the realm of eternal forgetfulness. This is the legal side of redemption, and there can be no salvation without it. Whoever comes to God, must come by the way of Calvary's cross, the blood-sprinkled way. Morality, kind deeds, generous gifts, and, indeed, devout attendance upon religious ceremonials and observances can never admit to the true heavenly sanctuary, those who reject, or personally neglect to identify themselves with God's true sin-offering, Christ Jesus. Remember that it is written, "Without shedding of blood there is no remission," and that

"THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST, GOD'S SON, CLEANSETH US FROM ALL SIN."

" Not all the blood of beasts, On Jewish altars slain, Could give the guilty conscience peace, Or wash away the stain.

" But Christ, the heavenly Lamb, Takes all our sins away, — A sacrifice of nobler name, And richer blood than they.

Morehead.

My faith would lay her hand

On that dear head of Thine, While like a penitent I stand,

And there confess my sin."

III. The Laver Before the Door of the Tabernacle.

The Laver was the second of the two important articles of furniture in the Court of the Tabernacle, and it was placed directly between the Brazen Altar and the door admitting into the Holy Place. Concerning its shape and size, the Scriptures give us little or no information. It was made from the brass mirrors contributed by the devout women who ministered at the entrance of the tent of meeting (Ex. 38 : 8, R. V.). This circumstance becomes very interesting and suggestive to us when we remember that the Laver had a typical significance. Mirrors are used to show us ourselves, our faces, and whatever of defilement may be thereon. But the Laver, being supplied with water, could do more than reveal uncleanness,— it could wash it away. Whatever the typical significance of this sacred vessel, it must be found in connection with the service which it rendered in the Court of the Tabernacle, where it was placed by Divine appointment. There were two washings at the Laver — 1. The washing at Consecration (Ex. 29: 4). This was a once-for-always ceremonial washing which was administered to priests when they were inducted into office. It undoubtedly prefigured the " washing of regeneration " to which Saint Paul refers in Titus 3 : 5, where he says, " Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Spirit. " At the Altar sin was judged, punished, and legally put away; at the Laver uncleanness was judged and actually put away by nature's great cleanserwater. Such were the kindergarten methods which God employed to reveal the great truths of redemption to the faith of His ancient people, Israel. We draw nigh to God through that of which both the Altar and Laver were only imperfect shadows, namely, the atoning work of Jesus and the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit. By the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus, our sins have been legally canceled and we declared to be just,— " Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in

Christ Jesus" (Rom. 3: 24). This is wholly legal, and because of this legal adjustment of our standing, we are entitled to receive, by a further display of God's grace, the renewing of the Holy Spirit by which we are created anew in righteousness and true holiness. This is the new birth, and its importance was emphasized by our Lord, when He said to Nicodemus, "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (John 3: 5).

2. The continual washing (Ex. 30: 17-21). The priests were required to always wash their hands and their feet before entering the Holy Place, or ministering at the Altar of Burnt-Offering. Their fellowship and continued ministry depended upon their putting away any defilement which might have been contracted in their work or walk. Here is prefigured our Lord's abiding interest in the continual spiritual purity of His own beloved followers. As He prayed for His disciples while He was with them, " I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them Jrom the evil" so He is still praying for all who are truly His, that they may be kept from the defilement of this wicked world. Such defilement may not annul our sonship, but it does interrupt our fellowship and hinder our ministry. But Christ is our Laver for continual washing. " If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous " (1 John 2:1). "He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them" (Heb. 7: 25). Before our blessed Lord left His disciples and the earth, He took their feet in His kindly hands and bathed away the fever and dust of a wearisome journey. In this loving ministry He gave assurance to all who shall believe in Him to the end of the age, that although He has departed into the heavens, He will not be unmindful of " His own who are in the world," but will, if they will but trust Him for His ministry of "continual washing,"keepthem clean from all the defilement of their earthly work and walk, and so they shall be " meet for the Master's use " here, and ready, " without spot, or wrinkle," to join Him in the glory when He comes.