This chapter forms the commencement of one of the richest veins in
Inspiration's exhaustless mine--a vein in which every stroke of the
mattock brings to light untold wealth. We know the mattock with which
alone we can work in such a mine, namely, the distinct ministry of the
Holy Ghost. Nature can do nothing here. Reason is blind, imagination
utterly vain; the most gigantic intellect, instead of being able to
interpret the sacred symbols, appears like a bat in the sunshine,
blindly dashing itself against the objects which it is utterly unable
to discern. We must compel reason and imagination to stand without,
while, with a chastened heart, a single eye, and a spiritual mind, we
enter the hallowed precincts and gaze upon the deeply significant
furniture. God the Holy Ghost is the only One who can conduct us
through the courts of the Lord's house, and expound to our souls the
true meaning of all that there meets our view. To attempt the
exposition by the aid of intellect's unsanctified powers, would be
infinitely more absurd than to set about the repairs of a watch with
a blacksmith's tongs and hammer. "The pattern of things in the
heavens" cannot be interpreted by the natural mind, in its most
cultivated form. They must all be read in the light of heaven: earth
has no light which could at all develop their beauties. The One who
furnished the patterns can alone explain what the patterns mean,--the
One who furnished the beauteous symbols can alone interpret them.
To the human eye there would seem to be a desultoriness in the mode in
which the Holy Ghost has presented the furniture of the tabernacle;
but in reality, as might be expected, there is the most perfect order,
the most remarkable precision, the most studious accuracy. From
chapter xxv. to chapter xxx. inclusive, we have a distinct section of
the book of Exodus. This section is divided into two parts, the first
terminating at chapter xxvii. 19, and the second at the close of
chapter xxx. The former begins with the ark of the covenant, inside
the vail, and ends with the brazen altar and the court in which that
altar stood. That is, it gives us, in the first place, Jehovah's
throne of judgment, whereon He sat as Lord of all the earth; and it
conducts us to that place where He met the sinner, in the credit and
virtue of accomplished atonement. Then, in the latter, we have the
mode of man's approach to God--the privileges, dignities, and
responsibilities of those who, as priests, were permitted to draw nigh
to the Divine Presence and enjoy worship and communion there. Thus the
arrangement is perfect and beautiful. How could it be otherwise,
seeing that it is divine? The ark and the brazen altar present, as it
were, two extremes. The former was the throne of God established in
"justice and judgment" (Ps. lxxxix. 14.); the latter was the place of
approach for the sinner where "mercy and truth" went before Jehovah's
face. Man, in himself, dared not to approach the ark to meet God, for
"the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest" (Heb. ix.
8.); but God could approach the altar of brass, to meet man as a
sinner. "Justice and judgment" could not admit the sinner in, but
"mercy and truth" could bring God out; not, indeed, in that
overwhelming brightness and majesty in which He was wont to shine
forth from between those mystic supporters of His throne--"the
cherubim of glory," but in that gracious ministry which is
symbolically presented to us in the furniture and ordinances of the
tabernacle.
All this may well remind us of the path trodden by that blessed One
who is the antitype of all these types--the substance of all these
shadows. He traveled from the eternal throne of God in heaven, down to
the depth's of Calvary's cross. He came from all the glory of the
former, down into all the shame of the latter, in order that He might
conduct His redeemed, forgiven, and accepted people back with Himself,
and present them faultless before that very throne which He had left
on their account. The Lord Jesus fills up, in His own Person and work,
every point between the throne of God and the dust of death, and
every point between the dust of death and the throne of God. In Him,
God has come down, in perfect grace, to the sinner; in Him, the sinner
is brought up, in perfect righteousness, to God. All the way from the
ark to the brazen altar was marked with the footprints of love, and
all the way from the brazen altar to the ark of God was sprinkled with
the blood of atonement; and as the ransomed worshiper passes along
that wondrous path, he beholds the name of Jesus stamped on all that
meets his view. May that name be dearer to our hearts! Let us now
proceed to examine the chapters consecutively.
It is most interesting to note here that the first thing which the
Lord communicates to Moses is His gracious purpose to have a
sanctuary, or holy dwelling-place, in the midst of His people--a
sanctuary composed of materials which directly point to Christ, His
Person, His work, and the precious fruit of that work, as seen in the
light, the power, and the varied graces of the Holy Ghost. Moreover,
these materials were the fragrant fruit of the grace of God--the
voluntary offerings of devoted hearts. Jehovah, whose majesty "the
heaven of heavens could not contain," was graciously pleased to dwell
in a boarded and curtained tent erected for Him by those who cherished
the fond desire to hail His presence amongst them. This tabernacle may
be viewed in two ways: first, as furnishing "a pattern of things in
the heavens," and secondly, as presenting a deeply significant type of
the body of Christ. The various materials of which the tabernacle was
composed will come before us as we pass along; we shall therefore
consider the three comprehensive subjects put before us in this
chapter, namely, the ark, the table, and the candlestick.
The ark of the covenant occupies the leading place in the divine
communications to Moses. Its position, too, in the tabernacle was most
marked. Shut in within the vail, in the holiest of all, it formed the
base of Jehovah's throne. Its very name conveys to the mind its
import. An ark, so far as the Word instructs us, is designed to
preserve _intact_ whatever is put therein. An ark carried Noah and his
family, together with all the orders of creation, in safety over the
billows of judgment which covered the earth: an ark, at the opening of
this book, was faith's vessel for preserving "a proper child" from the
waters of death. When, therefore, we read of "the ark of the
covenant," we are led to believe that it was designed of God to
preserve His covenant unbroken in the midst of an erring people. In
it, as we know, the second set of tables were deposited. As to the
first set, they were broken in pieces beneath the mount, showing that
man's covenant was wholly abolished--that his work could never, by any
possibility, form the basis of Jehovah's throne of government.
"Justice and judgment are the habitation of that throne," whether in
its earthly or heavenly aspect. The ark could not contain within its
hallowed inclosure broken tables. Man might fail to fulfill his
self-chosen vow, but God's law must be preserved in its divine
integrity and perfectness. If God was to set up His throne in the
midst of His people, He could only do so in a way worthy of Himself.
His standard of judgment and government must be perfect.
"And thou shalt make staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with
gold. And thou shalt put the staves into the rings by the sides of the
ark, that the ark may be borne with them." The ark of the covenant was
to accompany the people in all their wanderings. It never rested while
they were a traveling or a conflicting host; it moved from place to
place in the wilderness; it went before them into the midst of Jordan;
it was their grand rallying-point in all the wars of Canaan; it was
the sure and certain earnest of power wherever it went. No power of
the enemy could stand before that which was the well-known expression
of the divine presence and power. The ark was to be Israel's
companion-in-travel in the desert, and "the staves" and "the rings"
were the apt expression of its traveling character.
However, it was not always to be a traveler. "The afflictions of
David," as well as the wars of Israel, were to have an end. The prayer
was yet to be breathed and answered, "Arise, O Lord, into _Thy rest_:
Thou and _the ark of Thy strength_." (Ps. cxxxii. 8.) This most
sublime petition had its partial accomplishment in the palmy days of
Solomon, when "the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the
Lord unto his place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy
place, even under the wings of the cherubim. For the cherubim spread
forth their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim
covered the ark and the staves thereof above. And _they drew out the
staves_, that the ends of the staves were seen out in the holy place
before the oracle, and they were not seen without: and there they are
unto this day." (1 Kings viii. 6-8.) The sand of the desert was to be
exchanged for the golden floor of the temple. (1 Kings vi. 30.) The
wanderings of the ark were to have an end: there was "neither enemy
nor evil occurrent," and therefore "the staves were drawn out."
Nor was this the only difference between the ark in the tabernacle and
in the temple. The apostle, speaking of the ark in its wilderness
habitation, describes it as "the ark of the covenant, overlaid round
about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and
Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant." (Heb. ix.
4.) Such were the contents of the ark in its wilderness
journeyings--the pot of manna, the record of Jehovah's faithfulness in
providing for His redeemed in the desert, and Aaron's rod, "a token
against the rebels," to "take away their murmurings." (Compare Exod.
xvi. 32-34, and Numb. xvii. 10.) But when the moment arrived in which
"the staves" were to be "drawn out," when the wanderings and wars of
Israel were over, when the "exceeding magnificial" house was
completed, when the sun of Israel's glory had reached, in type, its
meridian, as marked by the wealth and splendor of Solomon's reign,
then the records of wilderness need and wilderness failure were
unnoticed, and nothing remained save that which constituted the
eternal foundation of the throne of the God of Israel, and of all the
earth. "_There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone_,
which Moses put there at Horeb." (1 Kings viii. 9.)
But all this brightness was soon to be overcast by the heavy clouds of
human failure and divine displeasure. The rude foot of the
uncircumcised was yet to walk across the ruins of that beautiful
house, and its faded light and departed glory was yet to elicit the
contemptuous "hiss" of the stranger. This would not be the place to
follow out these things in detail; I shall only refer my reader to the
last notice which the Word of God affords us of "the ark of the
covenant,"--a notice which carries us forward to a time when human
folly and sin shall no more disturb the resting-place of that ark, and
when neither a curtained tent nor yet a temple made with hands shall
contain it. "And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great
voices in heaven, saying, 'The kingdoms of this world are become the
kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign forever
and ever.' And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on
their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshiped God, saying, 'We
give Thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to
come; because Thou hast taken to Thee Thy great power, and hast
reigned. And the nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come, and the
time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that Thou shouldest
give reward unto Thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and
them that fear Thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them
which destroy the earth.' And the temple of God was open in heaven,
and there was seen in His temple _the ark of His covenant_: and there
were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and
great hail." (Rev. xi. 15-19.)
The mercy-seat comes next in order.--"And thou shalt make a mercy-seat
of pure gold; two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a
cubit and a half the breadth thereof. And thou shalt make two cherubim
of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the
mercy-seat. And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub
on the other end; even of the mercy-seat shall ye make the cherubim on
the two ends thereof. And the cherubim shall stretch forth their wings
on high, covering the mercy-seat with their wings, and their faces
shall look one to another; toward the mercy-seat shall the faces of
the cherubim be. And thou shalt put the mercy-seat above upon the ark;
and in the ark shalt thou put the testimony that I shall give thee.
And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from
above the mercy-seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the
ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in
commandment unto the children of Israel."
Here Jehovah gives utterance to His gracious intention of coming down
from the fiery mount to take His place upon the mercy-seat. This He
could do, inasmuch as the tables of testimony were preserved unbroken
beneath, and the symbols of His power, whether in creation or
providence, rose on the right hand and on the left--the inseparable
adjuncts of that throne on which Jehovah had seated Himself--a throne
of grace founded upon divine righteousness and supported by justice
and judgment. Here the glory of the God of Israel shone forth. From
hence He issued His commands, softened and sweetened by the gracious
source from whence they emanated, and the medium through which they
came--like the beams of the mid-day sun, passing through a cloud, we
can enjoy their genial and enlivening influence without being dazzled
by their brightness. "His commandments are not grievous," when
received from off the mercy-seat, because they come in connection with
grace, which gives the ears to hear and the power to obey.
Looking at the ark and mercy-seat together, we may see in them a
striking figure of Christ in His Person and work. He having, in His
life, magnified the law and made it honorable, became, through death,
a propitiation (or mercy-seat) for every one that believeth. God's
mercy could only repose on a pedestal of perfect righteousness. "Grace
reigns through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our
Lord." (Rom. v. 21.) The only proper meeting-place between God and man
is the point where grace and righteousness meet and perfectly
harmonize. Nothing but perfect righteousness could suit God, and
nothing but perfect grace could suit the sinner. But where could these
attributes meet in one point? Only in the cross. There it is that
"mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed
each other." (Ps. lxxxv. 10.) Thus it is that the soul of the
believing sinner finds peace. He sees that God's righteousness and his
justification rest upon precisely the same basis, namely, Christ's
accomplished work. When man, under the powerful action of _the truth_
of God, takes his place as a sinner, God can, in the exercise of
_grace_, take His place as a Saviour, and then every question is
settled, for the cross having answered all the claims of divine
justice, mercy's copious streams can flow unhindered. When a righteous
God and a ruined sinner meet on a blood-sprinkled platform, all is
settled forever--settled in such a way as perfectly glorifies God, and
eternally saves the sinner. God must be true, though every man be
proved a liar; and when man is so thoroughly brought down to the
lowest point of his own moral condition before God as to be willing to
take the place which God's truth assigns him, he then learns that God
has revealed Himself as the righteous Justifier of such an one. This
must give settled peace to the conscience; and not only so, but impart
a capacity to commune with God, and hearken to His holy precepts, in
the intelligence of that relationship into which divine grace has
introduced us.
Hence, therefore, "the holiest of all" unfolds a truly wondrous
scene.--The ark, the mercy-seat, the cherubim, the glory! What a sight
for the high-priest of Israel to behold as, once a year, he went in
within the vail! May the Spirit of God open the eyes of our
understanding, that we may understand more fully the deep meaning of
those precious types.
Moses is next instructed about "the table of show-bread," or bread of
presentation. On this table stood the food of the priests of God. For
seven days those twelve loaves of "fine flour with frankincense" were
presented before the Lord, after which, being replaced by others, they
became the food of the priests, who fed upon them in the holy place.
(See Lev. xxiv. 5-9.) It is needless to say that those twelve loaves
typify "the Man Christ Jesus." The "fine flour," of which they were
composed, marks His perfect manhood, while the "frankincense" points
out the entire devotion of that manhood to God. If God has His priests
ministering in the holy place, He will assuredly have a table for
them, and a well-furnished table too. Christ is the table, and Christ
is the bread thereon. The pure table and the twelve loaves shadow
forth Christ as presented before God unceasingly in all the excellency
of His spotless humanity, and administered as food to the priestly
family. The "seven days" set forth the perfection of the divine
enjoyment of Christ, and the "twelve loaves" the administration of
that enjoyment in and by man. There is also, I should venture to
suggest, the idea of Christ's connection with the twelve tribes of
Israel, and the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
The candlestick of pure gold comes next in order, for God's priests
need _light_ as well as _food_; and they have both the one and the
other in Christ. In this candlestick there is no mention of any thing
but pure gold.--"All of it shall be one _beaten_ work of pure gold."
"The seven lamps" which "gave light over against the candlestick"
express the perfection of the light and energy of the Spirit, founded
upon and connected with the perfect efficacy of the work of Christ.
The work of the Holy Ghost can never be separated from the work of
Christ. This is set forth in a double way in this beautiful figure of
the golden candlestick. "The seven lamps" being connected with "the
shaft" of "beaten gold," points us to Christ's finished work as the
sole basis of the manifestation of the Spirit in the Church. The Holy
Ghost was not given until Jesus was glorified. (Comp. John vii. 39
with Acts xix. 2-6.) In the third chapter of Revelation, Christ is
presented to the Church in Sardis as "having the seven Spirits." It
was as "exalted to the right hand of God" that the Lord Jesus "shed
forth" the Holy Ghost upon His Church, in order that she might shine,
according to the power and perfection of her position, in the holy
place, her proper sphere of being, of action, and of worship.
Then, again, we find it was one of Aaron's specific functions to light
and trim those seven lamps.--"And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
'Command the children of Israel that they bring unto thee pure oil
olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamps to burn continually.
Without the vail of the testimony, in the tabernacle of the
congregation, shall Aaron order it from the evening unto the morning
before the Lord continually: it shall be a statute forever in your
generations. He shall order the lamps upon the pure candlestick before
the Lord continually." (Lev. xxiv. 1-4.) Thus we may see how the work
of the Holy Ghost in the Church is linked with Christ's work on earth
and His work in heaven. "The seven lamps" were there, no doubt; but
priestly energy and diligence were needed in order to keep them
trimmed and lighted. The priest would continually need "the tongs and
snuff-dishes" for the purpose of removing aught that would not be a
fit vehicle for the "pure beaten oil." Those tongs and snuff-dishes
were of "beaten gold" likewise, for the whole matter was the direct
result of divine operation. If the Church shine, it is only by the
energy of the Spirit, and that energy is founded upon Christ, who, in
pursuance of God's eternal counsel, became, in His sacrifice and
priesthood, the spring and power of every thing to His Church. All is
of God. Whether we look within that mysterious vail, and behold the
ark with its cover, and the two significant figures attached thereto;
or if we gaze on that which lay without the vail--the pure table and
the pure candlestick, with their distinctive vessels and
instruments--all speak to us of God, whether as revealed to us in
connection with the Son or the Holy Ghost.
Christian reader, your high calling places you in the very midst of
all these precious realities. Your place is not merely amid "the
patterns of things in the heavens," but amid "the heavenly things
themselves." You have "boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood
of Jesus;" you are a priest unto God; "the showbread" is yours; your
place is at "the pure table," to feed on the priestly food, in the
light of the Holy Ghost. Nothing can ever deprive you of those divine
privileges,--they are yours forever. Let it be your care to watch
against every thing that might rob you of the _enjoyment_ of them.
Beware of all unhallowed tempers, lusts, feelings, and imaginations.
Keep nature down; keep the world out; keep Satan off. May the Holy
Ghost fill your whole soul with Christ. Then you will be practically
holy and abidingly happy,--you will bear fruit, and the Father will be
glorified, and your joy shall be full.