Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Exodus 26:15
And thou shalt make boards for the tabernacle [of] shittim wood standing up.
15. boards ] either beams or frames: ‘boards’ suggests something much thinner than seems to be intended. The Heb. resh, except in the present connexion (50 times), occurs only Eze 27:6, of some part of a ship, described there as made up of ivory, inlaid in boxwood (RV. benches, RVm. deck); and its exact sense is uncertain. Here it has commonly been rendered boards: but to this rend. Kennedy (p. 659 b ) makes the pertinent objections that, if these ‘boards’ are to support the curtains, the latter must hang down outside them: the boards, however, standing, as they are described, close to each other, would form, on the two sides and back of the Tabernacle, three solid wooden walls; if, then, the Dwelling on three, of its sides was formed of these wooden walls, it is difficult to understand how it can be consistently spoken of as formed by the curtains ( v. 1, &c.): and, moreover, if the sides of the Dwelling were thus solid, these richly worked curtains would be hidden from view, not only on the outside, as they would be in any case, by the curtain of goats’ hair and the two skin coverings, but also on the inside (except on the roof). Hence Kennedy argues, with much force, that the rshim were pictured, not as solid boards, but as wooden frames (as shewn in the illustr.), which, while affording sufficient support for the curtains and skin coverings, would allow the richly coloured tapestry curtains with their cherubim figures to appear inside the sanctuary. Kennedy’s view undoubtedly brings a very great improvement into the idea of the Tabernacle: but the sense attached to resh being hypothetical, it is difficult to accept it quite unreservedly.
A ‘Frame,’ with its bases.
Reduced from Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible, iv. 660.
The thickness of the rshim is not specified. Jos. ( Ant. iii. 6. 3) gives it as 4 finger-breadths (3 in.): Rashi (11 cent.), Ew. al. suppose it to have been a cubit (18 in.). V. 22 suggests that the writer pictured them as a cubit (9 in.) thick: but even in this case, if they were solid, their dimensions being 15 ft. 2 ft., 3 in. 9 in., they would be so substantial as be beams rather than ‘boards.’
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
15 17. The wooden framework of the Dwelling.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Exo 26:15-30
Boards for the Tabernacle.
The Tabernacle boards and bars
I. That invincible strength underlies the apparent weakness of the gospel.
II. That the gospel, despite all its natural and human aspects, has a Divine character and basis. Our faith rests in the power of God.
III. That out of the strength of Christ spring the highest glory and joy (Exo 26:29). Let the Church seek to realize its full privilege in Christ. In character, we are often satisfied with the bare boards of mere honesty and uprightness; in experience, we are content with the boards and bars, a mere sense of safety; in hope, we rest content with the bare expectation of pulling through in the judgment. The gilded boards of the Tabernacle are eloquent illustrations of the New Testament doctrine that in Christ we must rise to beauty, to brightness, to bliss.
IV. That Christ is an everlasting dwelling-place to His people. Tabernacle built of boards of acacia, a wood so durable it does not rot even in water. The strength of Christ is everlasting. (W. L. Watkinson.)
The boards and bars
Each board of shittim wood, overlaid with gold, seems to pourtray the Lord Jesus Himself, the Son of God, the Son of Man. The shittim wood, incorruptible wood, being a shadow of that great truth, that He partook of flesh and blood; the seed of the woman; the Second Man; from heaven; yet the Son of David; of the fruit of His loins; and at the same time the Son of the Highest; born of the Virgin, the Man Christ Jesus; made in the likeness of sinful flesh; though, unlike any other man that ever lived on earth, incorrupt and incorruptible; having a body prepared for Him by God, in order that He might die; but without taint of mortality or death in Him. The gold also presents the other great truth, that He is the mighty God; the brightness of Gods glory; the only begotten of the Father; the Son from everlasting, and to everlasting. The boards are like the ribs of truth, the massive framework, without which no dwelling-place of God could be created; no meeting-place between God and man provided. If the wood could corrupt, or if the fine gold could become dim, if the taint of mortality, or mouldering flesh, be connected, by human theory or speculation, with the glorious Emmanuel, the Tabernacle of God must tremble and totter; the great truths of salvation are shaken, and a mis-shapen mass of ruin takes the place of the divinely ordered palace of the Most High. The massive framework of the golden boards and bars formed a compact structure, over which the curtains and coverings were suspended. They were to the curtains what the poles are to a tent. They upheld and sustained the glorious display of the blue, purple, scarlet, and fine linen cherubim, as also the goats-hair curtains. Thus what the Lord Jesus Himself was and is, viz., Son of God, Son of Man–that He has made manifest in His life, and above all, in His death; and His blessed work there derives all its unspeakable value and eternal efficacy from Himself. It is faith in Him that is salvation. (H. W. Soltau.)
The boards of the Tabernacle
The Church of Christ is here seen in type as the dwelling-place of God. It was set upon the earth and God dwelt in it. The Church of Christ is composed of many persons separated from the world, and built upon the sure foundation, which is Christ. And as those boards were covered with gold, so the people of God are made partakers of the Divine nature (2Pe 1:4); as they had been separated, cut off from the place in which nature had placed them, so the members of the true Church of Christ have been cut off from the place in which they stood by nature, which was one of guilt and condemnation, and they have been joined by living faith to the living Jesus. Nature provided no foundation on which to build the Tabernacle, and nature has provided no foundation on which the sinner can build his hope; but as God provided a foundation for the Tabernacle in the redemption-money of the people, so now He has provided a foundation for His people in the redemption which is in Christ Jesus. And as no board could be a part of the Tabernacle without being built upon the silver foundation, so no person can be any part of the true Church of God if he be not built by faith upon Christ. (G. Rodgers.)
Believers typified by the boards
Were they golden boards? Every believer is a partaker of the Divine nature (2Pe 1:4). They are born from above, and they are heavenly minded. Their affection is set on things above. Gods people are a holy people. The beauty of holiness is the gold with which God will beautify and adorn His people. The knots and grains of the wood were all hidden from view beneath plates of pure gold. God hides all our imperfections from view beneath the gold of His perfect righteousness. (R. E. Sears.)
Sockets of silver.
The sockets
It is perhaps worthy of notice here that the whole of the redemption money, amounting to 100 talents and 1775 shekels, was identified with the supporting or bearing up of different parts of the Tabernacle. The 100 talents formed the foundations and supported the walls of gilded boards which were the stay of the two sets of curtains and the two-fold skin roof; and the 1775 shekels (little more than half a talent) were used up in making silver hooks for the court pillars, and in overlaying the capitals of these pillars and their connecting rods (fillets) which rested on them, and from which the court hangings were suspended. These odd shekels bore up the linen court walls, and the 100 talents bore up the sanctuary. The hundred ransom silver sockets being worth f40,000 sterling, constituted a very costly basis, from which, whether it had a typical import or not, our thoughts not unnaturally rise to an infinitely more valuable one, even to Him who gave Himself a ransom for all. Prophets and apostles alike testify that He is that sure foundation on which the spiritual edifice rests. Had the sockets not been made of the atonement money as commanded (Exo 30:16; Exo 38:27), but of some other material, God certainly would not have acknowledged the Tabernacle which rested on them as His palace-temple. He never would have enthroned Himself invisible symbol on the mercy-seat. In like manner, those who substitute their own good works, or anything else in the room of the Redeemer, on which to build their hope of salvation, are building on the sand, and cannot form a part of that building which is an habitation of God through the Spirit, for other foundation can no man lay than is laid, which is Christ Jesus. (W. Brown.)
Tenons.–
Tenons
Although thousands and tens of thousands are resting on the Rock laid in Zion, it is able to bear the weight of countless millions more, and can never by any possibility be overburdened. Those, however, who would build on it, must do so in the way pointed out in the Scripture, or it will not avail them. It was by means of the tenons (Hebrew hands) that the boards took hold of, and rested on the silver bases. Faith is the hand by means of which sinners lay hold of and rest on the Redeemer. Remember that the boards required to be not merely on, but in their respective sockets, or they would not have been upheld. In like manner sinners, in order to be saved, must not only be on, but in the spiritual foundation. Unless they are by faith rooted in Christ Jesus, as the boards by their tenons were rooted in the ransom money, they cannot stand. (W. Brown.)
Bars.–
The bars
The bars were all overlaid with gold. One of the bars passed through the centre of the boards from end to end; holes being made, no doubt for that purpose. Thus the boards became one solid wall. But that they might be more firmly united, each board had four gold rings fastened to it, and through these rings the other four bars were passed.
1. There was a sevenfold bond of union. The five bars, the silver sockets, and the corner boards. Paul gives us the gospel meaning of this in his Epistle to the Ephesians (Eph 4:4-6).
2. The centre bar which passed through the boards from one end to the other, was a lively type of the indwelling of the Godhead in all believers. All the Three Persons of the Trinity are spoken of as dwelling in the renewed heart. Christ in you the hope of glory. Jesus answered and said unto him, if a man love Me, he will keep My words; and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him. What! know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own. What a glorious bond of union is this! Christians of all denominations are one here; for without the love of the Father, the grace of the Son, and power of the Holy Ghost, no man can be a Christian.
3. These bars remind us of the encircling arms of love and mercy. Underneath are the everlasting arms. As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about His people from henceforth even for ever. All Christians are one in the Divine protection. All His saints are in thy hand.
4. All Christians are one in love to God.
5. Another bond of union is reverence for the Word of God. Christians may differ in their interpretations of the Word. All may not have the same measure of wisdom to understand its mysteries; but all Christians are one in their esteem and love for the grand old Book! Is it not the one revelation of the Divine will? (R. E. Sears.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 15. Thou shalt make boards] These formed what might be called the walls of the tabernacle, and were made of shittim wood, the acacia Nilotica, which Dr. Shaw says grows here in abundance. To have worked the acacia into these boards or planks, the Israelites must have had sawyers, joiners, c., among them but how they got the tools is a question. But as the Israelites were the general workmen of Egypt, and were brought up to every kind of trade for the service of their oppressors, we may naturally suppose that every artificer brought off some of his tools with him. For though it is not at all likely that they had any armour or defensive weapons in their power, yet for the reason above assigned they must have had the implements which were requisite for their respective trades.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
15-30. thou shalt make boards . . .rear up the tabernacle according to the fashion . . . which wasshowed theeThe tabernacle, from its name as well as from itsgeneral appearance and arrangements, was a tent; but from thedescription given in these verses, the boards that formed its walls,the five (cross) bars that strengthened them, and the middle bar that”reached from end to end,” and gave it solidity andcompactness, it was evidently a more substantial fabric than a lightand fragile tent, probably on account of the weight of its variouscoverings as well as for the protection of its precious furniture.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And thou shalt make the boards for the tabernacle,…. Which were the pillars and supports, and properly the walls of it, which gave it its firmness and security, or otherwise the curtains would have been blown about by every wind: they were to be made
of shittim wood standing up; just as they grew, as a Jewish writer observes p; these planks or boards were not to be laid along the lengthways of them, but to be set upright; and may denote such who are pillars in the house of God, and are to be upright both in heart and conversation, both ministers and private members; and indeed the church itself is the pillar and ground of truth, Ga 2:9.
p Bartenora in Misn. Succa, c. 3. sect. 14.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The wooden framework. – Exo 26:15, Exo 26:16. The boards for the dwelling were to be made “of acacia-wood standing,” i.e., so that they could stand upright; each ten cubits long and one and a half broad. The thickness is not given; and if, on the one hand, we are not to imagine them too thin, as Josephus does, for example, who says they were only four fingers thick (Ant. iii. 6, 3), we have still less reason for following Rashi, Lund, Bhr and others, who suppose them to have been a cubit in thickness, thus making simple boards into colossal blocks, such as could neither have been cut from acacia-trees, nor carried upon desert roads.
(Note: Kamphausen ( Stud. und Krit. 1859, p. 117) appeals to Bhr’s Symbolik 1, p. 261-2, and Knobel, Exod. p. 261, in support of the opinion, that at any rate formerly there were genuine acacias of such size and strength, that beams could have been cut from them a cubit and a half broad and a cubit thick; but we look in vain to either of these writings for such authority as will establish this fact. Expressions like those of Jerome and Hasselquist, viz., grandes arbores and arbos ingens ramosissima , are far too indefinite. It is true that, according to Abdullatif, the Sont is “a very large tree,” but he gives a quotation from Dinuri, in which it is merely spoken of as “a tree of the size of a nut-tree.” See the passages cited in Rosenmller’s bibl. Althk. iv. 1, p. 278, Not. 7, where we find the following remark of Wesling on Prosper. Alpin. de plantis Aeg.: Caudicem non raro ampliorem deprehendi, quam ut brachio meo circumdari possit . Even the statement of Theophrast ( hist. plant. 4, 3), to the effect that rafters are cut from these trees 12 cubits long ( ), is no proof that they were beams a cubit and a half broad and a cubit thick. And even if there had been trees of this size in the peninsula of Sinai in Moses’ time, a beam of such dimensions, according to Kamphausen’s calculation, which is by no means too high, would have weighed more than twelve cwt. And certainly the Israelites could never have carried beams of this weight with them through the desert; for the waggons needed would have been such as could never be used where there are no beaten roads.)
To obtain boards of the required breadth, to or three planks were no doubt joined together according to the size of the trees.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
15 And thou shalt make boards for the tabernacle of shittim wood standing up. 16 Ten cubits shall be the length of a board, and a cubit and a half shall be the breadth of one board. 17 Two tenons shall there be in one board, set in order one against another: thus shalt thou make for all the boards of the tabernacle. 18 And thou shalt make the boards for the tabernacle, twenty boards on the south side southward. 19 And thou shalt make forty sockets of silver under the twenty boards; two sockets under one board for his two tenons, and two sockets under another board for his two tenons. 20 And for the second side of the tabernacle on the north side there shall be twenty boards: 21 And their forty sockets of silver; two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board. 22 And for the sides of the tabernacle westward thou shalt make six boards. 23 And two boards shalt thou make for the corners of the tabernacle in the two sides. 24 And they shall be coupled together beneath, and they shall be coupled together above the head of it unto one ring: thus shall it be for them both; they shall be for the two corners. 25 And they shall be eight boards, and their sockets of silver, sixteen sockets; two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board. 26 And thou shalt make bars of shittim wood; five for the boards of the one side of the tabernacle, 27 And five bars for the boards of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the side of the tabernacle, for the two sides westward. 28 And the middle bar in the midst of the boards shall reach from end to end. 29 And thou shalt overlay the boards with gold, and make their rings of gold for places for the bars: and thou shalt overlay the bars with gold. 30 And thou shalt rear up the tabernacle according to the fashion thereof which was showed thee in the mount.
Very particular directions are here given about the boards of the tabernacle, which were to bear up the curtains, as the stakes of a tent which had need to be strong, Isa. liv. 2. These boards had tenons which fell into the mortises that were made for them in silver bases. God took care to have every thing strong, as well as fine, in his tabernacle. Curtains without boards would have been shaken by every wind; but it is a good thing to have the heart established with grace, which is as the boards to support the curtains of profession, which otherwise will not hold out long. The boards were coupled together with gold rings at top and bottom (v. 24), and kept firm with bars that ran through golden staples in every board (v. 26), and the boards and bars were all richly gilded, v. 29. Thus every thing in the tabernacle was very splendid, agreeable to that infant state of the church, when such things were proper enough to please children, to possess the minds of the worshippers with a reverence of the divine glory, and to affect them with the greatness of that prince who said, Here will I dwell; in allusion to this the new Jerusalem is said to be of pure gold, Rev. xxi. 18. But the builders of the gospel church said, Silver and gold have we none; and yet the glory of their building far exceeded that of the tabernacle, 2Co 3:10; 2Co 3:11. How much better is wisdom than gold! No orders are given here about the floor of the tabernacle; probably that also was boarded; for we cannot think that within all these fine curtains they trod upon the cold or wet ground; if it was so left, it may remind us of ch. xx. 24, An altar of earth shalt thou make unto me.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Verses 15-25:
The walls for the enclosure were to be made of acacia wood, overlaid with gold. Each board was to be ten cubits long (15′) by a cubit and a half (27 inches) wide. The thickness of each board is not given, but it was likely about two or three inches.
The boards were to be stood on end, resting in sockets or bases of silver. The shape of these sockets is not given. Each socket weighed one talent, or about 75.5 pounds. On one end of each board was affixed two “tenons” or pegs, at regular intervals. These pegs fit into the sockets to give the wall a stable footing.
Twenty boards formed the south side, and twenty formed the north side of the tabernacle. On the west (back) side were six boards forming the main part of the wall. Two other boards formed the corner, but these apparently over-lapped the main part of the wall. The corner boards were joined to the main walls by means of “rings” at the top and the bottom of the boards.
The entire enclosure was 30 cubits (45′) by 10 cubits (15′). Forty-eight boards and ninety-six silver sockets were used to form the walls.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Exo. 26:15-30
THE BOARDS AND BARS OF THE TABERNACLE
Christ is the true Tabernacle, the ground of the worlds reconciliation, and refuge, and hope. What living truths are suggested to us by this passage concerning the Saviour and His great salvation?
I. That invincible strength underlies the apparent weakness of the Gospel. When we regard the vails and curtains of the Tabernacle, we might think it a frail structure to be swept away by the winds; but under these draperies are solid boards fixed in solid sockets, and strong bars, giving to the whole frame-work of the building the greatest consistency and compactness. In the days of His flesh how weak Christ appeared, and yet what power dwelt in His word and spirit! He was crucified through weakness, yet He liveth by the power of God. How contemptible the Gospel in the eyes of worldly wisdom, and yet how powerful and invincible! How feeble the Church of Christ often appears, and yet the mightiest storms of persecution have failed to sweep it away! We learn
II. That the Gospel, despite all its natural and human aspects, has a Divine character and basis. The tenons were not fixed directly in the ground; for the habitation of God should have no connection with earth; but they are fitted into sockets; and these are inserted in the ground, so that one socket always corresponded with one tenon.Kalisch. Christ is not of the earth: before He ascended into heaven, He first descended. The whole scheme of salvation is a Divine and supernatural work. This Tabernacle descended out of heaven from God. Our faith rests in the power of God. The sockets of silver supporting the Tabernacle, and disconnecting it from the earth, symbolises the great truth that the Church of Jesus rests, not on human wisdom, or strength, or love, but, whilst it touches earth, it belongs altogether to heaven. The solid silver, and not the shifting sand, reminds us that faith in Christ rests on a Divine and firm foundation, and not on the yielding opinions of men, and the changing fashions of the world.
III. That out of the strength of Christ spring the highest glory and joy. And thou shalt overlay the boards with gold: and thou shalt overlay the bars with gold, Exo. 26:29. The salvation of Christ is not a bare salvation, but it brings with it also beauty of character, joy of heart, and a hope full of glory. Let the world know their mistake in attempting to realize beauty and blessedness without the strength of Godthe strength of righteousness. It cannot be. Beauty of life and joy of heart can never be real and lasting if not based on the immortal love and strength of God. Strength and beauty are in the sanctuary. And let the Church seek to realize its full privilege in Christ. In character, we are often satisfied with the bare boards of mere honesty and uprightness; in experience, we are content with the boards and bars, a mere sense of safety: in hope, we rest content with the bare expectation of pulling through in the judgment. The gilded boards of the Tabernacle are eloquent illustrations of the New Testament doctrine, that in Christ we must rise to beauty, to brightness, to bliss.
IV. That Christ is an everlasting dwelling-place to His people. The Tabernacle was built of boards of acacia-wood. The wood of the acacia is so durable, that it is said even not to rot in water. The strength of Christ is everlasting. We are born not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible; by the word of God which liveth and abideth for ever.
Let us hide in Christ, forsaking all refuges of lies.
ILLUSTRATIONS
BY
REV. WILLIAM ADAMSON
Tabernacle-Thoughts! Exo. 26:1-30.
1. Rosenmuller says that the portable temple of the Israelites had in its whole arrangement a resemblance with the temples of antiquity. Lachemacher states that in many of the Grecian temples the back part was not to be entered by anybody; and here the statue of the deity was placed. Spencer shows that in the Egyptian temples the inner or sacred part was shrouded in darkness, and divided from the front or outer portion by a curtain embroidered with gold.
2. Law sees in the Tabernacle a type of Christa sketch of that fair frame of Christ, which God the Holy Spirit wrought and planted in this earth. He is the true Tabernacle of Heb. 8:2, the greater and more perfect Tabernacle of Heb. 9:11. It points to a mystic fabric which human hands produce notwhich human skill erects notwhich human imperfection taints not. Christ is discerned, the end and excellence of the predictive house.
3. Macmillan suggests that it is an emblem of man indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Mans body is a tabernacle sojourning in the wilderness of the world. In his constitution God has wrought out in higher form the great truths which were symbolised in the Jewish tabernacle. But what constituted its glory! The Shekinahthe token and symbol of Gods Presence. Without this, its golden furniture and priceless jewels were meaningless, as our world without the shining of the sun. So what constitutes the glory of man is Christ dwelling in the heart.
As some rare perfume in a vase of clay
Pervades it with a fragrance not its own,
So when Thou dwellest in a mortal soul,
All heavens own sweetness seems around it thrown.
Divine stheticism! Exo. 26:1-37.
(1.) Henry Martyn wrote, Since I have known God in a saving manner, painting, poetry, and music have had charms unknown to me before. I have received what I suppose is a taste for them; or Religion has refined my mind and made it susceptible of impressions from the sublime and beautiful. Oh, how Religion secures the heightened enjoyment of those pleasures which keep so many from God by their becoming a source of pride!
(2.) Win-slow says that to the new creature in Christ Jesus even the world of nature seems as a newborn creation, now that he has passed from death unto life. The sun shines brighterthe air breathes softerthe flowers smell sweeterthe landscape is clad with deeper verdure and richer loveliness. In a word, the whole creation appears in newborn beauty and sublimity.
(3) Even so Christ is not seen to be full of loveliness outside. Once in Him, the soul perceives His exquisite beauty; My Beloved is fair and ruddy, the chiefest amongst ten thousand; yea, He is altogether lovely. Once, he could perceive no beauty in Him that He should desire Him; now he exclaims, Thou art all my salvation, and all my desire!
All over glorious is my Lord,
Must be beloved, and yet adord;
His worth if all the nations knew,
Sure the whole earth would love Him too.
Erskine.
Woods and Forests! Exo. 26:15-30.
(1.) Whence did Israel obtain the wood, as trees are now small and scarce! The wilderness was not always without forests. No doubt the sepal, the tree which now sparsely occurs, grew in extensive woods. These were being cut down at the time of the Exodus, in order to serve as fuel in the ancient smelting works, many of which were found by Holland among the Sinaitic mountains. These vast mines could not be worked when the supplies of fuel in the shape of the acacia forests ceased; but recently Captain Burton has resumed their workings, by way of experiment, in behalf of the Khedive of Egypt. He has brought specimens of the metallic ores, as enumerated in this chapter.
(2.) This denudation of the Arabian Peninsula would seriously alter the state of the country, as all who know the service of trees in the economy of nature can realise. Greece and Italy have changed for the worse since their forests were cut down, and no doubt at the time of the Exodus, when timber covered the sides of the hills, streams washed the dry ravines, rains attracted by the foliage carpeted the soil, affording no inconsiderable sustenance for cattle.
There, interspersed in meads and opening glades,
These trees arise and shun each others shades;
There in full light the verdant plains extend,
And, wrapt in cloud, the granite hills ascend;
Een the wild heath displays its purple dyes,
And midst the desert grassy meads arise.
Pope.
Tabernacle-Base! Exo. 26:15. The tabernacle in the wilderness had no foundation. It was pitched in the bare and sterile desert. Its floor was the shifting yellow sand. No marble pavement or cedar hoarding separated the golden furniture and the costly curtains from the naked ground. Barefooted priests in splendid vestments paced over the earth in the discharge of their sacred functions. But it is not so with the spiritual temple. There is no combination in it of beauty and barrennesspreciousness and worthlessnessimperishableness and changeablenessglory and vanity. It is all fair, all glorious. It is built upon solid and enduring basesthe foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner-stone.
Ah! why on sands like these thy temple rear!
How shall its base the storms and billows shun!
Build on the Eternal Rock of sapphire clear.
Art-Studies! Exo. 26:19-25. Lytton says that art is the effort of man to express the ideas which nature suggests to him of a power above nature. Hillard says that many persons feel art, some understand it, but few both feel and understand it. Emerson says that the study of art is of high value to the growth of the intellect; in other words, that the refining influence is the study of art. Cousin says that art neither belongs to religion nor ethics; but that, like these, it brings us nearer to the Infinite. Hazlitt says that art must anchor in nature, or it is the sport of every breath of folly. Victor says that the basis of true beauty is moral, which, however, is veiled in nature; and that it is the province of art to bring out this moral beauty, and to give it more transparent forms.
Happy who walks with Him, whom what he finds
Of flavour, or of scent in fruit or flower,
Or what he views of beautiful and grand
In nature, from the broad majestic oak
To the green blade that twinkles in the sun,
Prompts with remembrance of a PRESENT GOD.
Cowper.
Tabernacle-Materials! Exo. 26:19-25.
(1.) Some suggest that the golden ornaments and vessels, the silver sockets and brazen utensils, and the jewels on the high priests breastplate, represented the mineral kingdom. Law remarks that the gold typifies the transcendent blaze of Deity in Christ, the silver the ran-some-price paid for the redemption of souls, and the brass the enduring strength of the God-man.
(2.) It, is further noticed that the boards of shittim wood or acacia, the table of shewbread, the linen wrappings, and the ornamentation of the furniture, represent the vegetable kingdom. Law says that the wood symbolised the spotless purity of Christs manhood, the white linen the holy life, and the furniture the various adornments of redemptions scheme.
(3.) The coverings of badgers and goats skins, and the crimson colours of its curtains, procured from the juice of a shellfish or an insect, thus represent the animal kingdom. Law suggests that the coverings indicate the meek and lowly guise in which Christ lived on earth; and the crimson colours the stream of precious blood that flowed when the sword of divine justice pierced the side of Christ.
Thou usest all Thy works,
The meanest things that be;
Each has a service of its own,
For all things wait on Thee.
Bonar.
Beautys Ministry! Exo. 26:30.
(1.) Mrs. Stowe says that the human heart yearns for the beautiful. The beautiful things which God makes are free to all ranks in life. A love of the beautiful is implanted in every one; but it rusts out and dies, either because they are too hard pressed with the cares of life, or because they are too much engrossed with the pleasures of sin, to cultivate it. He who implanted the yearning has given ample opportunity for its lawful gratification.
(2.) The old parchments, with their beautiful thoughts, were marred by minds of a subsequent generation covering them over with puerile representations; but science has enabled man to destroy or erase this obliteration, and so to restore the original writings. The cares of life and the pleasures of sin obscure the taste for the Beautiful; but Divine Grace removes this defect, and disposes the renewed mind to appreciate the Ministry of Beauty.
(3.) A gifted writer says that Beauty was the angel of deliverance that led him out of darkness into light. My nature was a seething caldron of ungoverned passions; but I loved nature. The beauty of twilightthe sweet influence of a summer nightthe purity and freshness of early morningwould soften my most wayward mood. Alas! all this light was not the light of life. Beauty cannot lead the soul into that light. As the priest within the holy place could not tee its Ministry of Beauty without the aid of the oil, type of the Holy Spirit, and as the high priest could not when within the Holiest perceive its glories without the Shekinahlight; so the soul cannot enjoy the beauties of religion without the spirit and presence of Christ. Spirit of Beauty,
What is thy worship but a vain pretence,
If they who tend thine altars, gathering thence
No strength, no purity, may still remain
Selfish and dark, and from lifes sordid storm
Find in their ministrations no defence?Trench.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(15) Boards . . . of shittim wood.On the possibility of boards fifteen feet long by two feet three inches wide being cut from the Acacia seyal, see the last Note on Exo. 25:5.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
4. THE WALLS OF THE TABERNACLE.
(15-30) The various coverings which have been described had it for their object to roof over and protect an oblong chamber or dwelling, within which God was to manifest Himself and to be worshipped. The directions which follow (Exo. 26:15-33) are for the construction of this chamber. It was to be enclosed by boards of shittim wood, fifteen feet high by two feet three inches wide, which were to be plated with gold, and made to stand upright by being inserted into solid sockets of silver. The two sides were to contain, each of them, twenty such boards, and thus to be forty-five feet long, while the connecting wall was to be composed of six such boards, together with two corner posts (Exo. 26:23), giving it a length, probably, of ten cubits, or fifteen feet.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
15. Boards Planks hewn out of shittim wood, and so prepared that they could be arranged standing up, that is, set upright to form the framework of the tabernacle .
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Framework of the Dwelling-place ( Exo 26:15-25 ) .
This can be analysed as follows:
a The frames are to be made standing up and the measurements are given in cubits (Exo 26:15-16).
b Two tenons to be made for each frame to join them up (Exo 26:17).
c Twenty frames to be made for the south side (Exo 26:18).
d Forty sockets of silver to be made to support the frames, two per frame (Exo 26:19).
e Twenty frames to be made for the north side (Exo 26:20).
d Forty sockets of silver to be made to support the frames, two per frame (Exo 26:21).
c Six frames to be made for the west side, the rear of the Dwellingplace (Exo 26:22).
b Two frames to form the corners at the rear doubled up (Exo 26:23-24).
a There are to be eight frames and sixteen sockets, two sockets to a frame (Exo 26:25).
Again we see the clever way in which the writer uses his descriptions so as to form parallels by key words. In ‘a’ the frames are to be made standing up, and in the parallel they way in which they stand up is described. In ‘b’ there are two tenons for each frame and in the parallel there are two frames for each corner. In ‘c’ the frames for the south side are described and in the parallel the frames for the rear, the west side. In ‘d’ and its parallel the forty sockets of silver to be made to support the frames, two per frame, are described. And in the centre the twenty frames for the north side are described. While the twenty frames of the north side would have made a better parallel with the south side, the west side had to be described after the north side because of what subsequently followed.
Exo 26:15-17
“And you shall make upright frames for the Dwelling-place of acacia wood. The length of a frame shall be ten cubits and the breadth of each frame a cubit and a half. In each frame there will be two uprights (or tenons) joined to one another. You will make all the frames for the Dwelling-place in this way.”
“ Frames”. (Kerashim). Probably not planks or boards but upright frames which would be lighter to carry and provide firmness and strength. The ‘uprights joined together’ probably referred to a ladder-like structure. The kerashim framework was paralleled at Ugarit, and similar frames were known from Egypt.
Exo 26:18-25
“And you will make the frames for the Dwelling-place, twenty frames for the south side southward, and you shall make forty sockets of silver under the twenty frames, two sockets under one frame for its two uprights and two sockets under another frame for its two uprights, and for the second side of the Dwelling-place, on the north side, twenty frames and their forty sockets of silver, two sockets under one frame and two sockets under another frame. And for the rear part of the Dwelling-place westward you will make six frames. And you shall make two frames for the corners of the rear part, and they shall be double beneath, and they shall be the same right to their top in the one ring. It shall be the same for both. They shall be for the two corners. And there will be eight frames, and their sockets of silver, sixteen sockets, two sockets under one frame and two sockets under the other frame.”
The general pattern was clear although we do not have sufficient knowledge of their technical language to be certain of the full meaning. Each side would be based on twenty frames at one and a half cubits a frame, and would therefore be thirty cubits. The rear would be based on six similar frames plus two specially designed corner frames which doubled up for strength. The frames were held up by sockets with connection across by bars. It is possible that the extra two frames doubled up under the final ones of the six frames. That would make the actual width nine cubits upwards. But this would depend on exactly how they were combined together.
The sockets were to be of silver. These prevented the pillars having contact with the ground. The gold which represented the holiness of God could not be allowed to touch ground other than that which was most holy. The gold of the Ark, the table and the lampstand appear to have been allowed to touch the ground. This suggests that the ground there was seen as most holy. But the sockets tended of course to be at the division between the most holy ground and the slightly less holy ground.
The veil was also on pillars with silver sockets. But the outer pillars of that would again be seen as coming at the border where the most holy met the less holy, and the variety of curtains (which themselves did not touch the ground), may have been seen as making the ground within them most holy, with the ground on which the pillars actually stood, less holy.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The framework of the Tabernacle
v. 15. And thou shalt make boards for the Tabernacle of shittim wood standing up, v. 16. Ten cubits shall be the length of a board, and a cubit and a half shall be the breadth of one board.
v. 17. Two tenons shall there be in one board, set in order one against another, v. 18. And thou shalt make the boards for the Tabernacle, twenty boards on the south side southward, v. 19. And thou shalt make forty sockets of silver under the twenty boards, v. 20. And for the second side of the Tabernacle on the north side there shall be twenty boards; v. 21. and their forty sockets of silver: two sockets under one board and two sockets under another board, v. 22. And for the sides of the Tabernacle westward thou shalt make six boards, v. 23. And two boards shalt thou make for the corners of the Tabernacle in the two sides, v. 24. And they shall be coupled together beneath, and they shall be coupled together above the head of it unto one ring, v. 25. And they shall be eight boards v. 26. And thou shalt make bars of shittim wood, v. 27. and five bars for the boards of the other side of the Tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the side of the Tabernacle, for the two sides westward. v. 28. And the middle bar in the midst of the boards shall reach from end to end, v. 29. And thou shalt overlay the boards with gold, and make their rings of gold for places for the bars; and thou shalt overlay the bars with gold.
v. 30. And thou shalt rear up the Tabernacle according to the fashion thereof which was showed thee in the mount.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Exo 26:15. And thou shalt make boards The boards or planks, which were to form, as it were, the walls of the tabernacle, are next described. They were to be of shittim-wood, each plank ten cubits long, and a cubit and a half broad; that is, about five yards and two feet long,which marks the height of the tabernacle; and about two and thirty inches broad, which marks the length of the tabernacle,which was thirty cubits, i.e. about seventeen yards and a half long: for there were to be twenty planks on the south, and twenty planks on the north side; and for the corners of the tabernacle, in the two sides, two planks; and for the west end, or backside of the tabernacle, there were to be six planks; which shews the breadth of the tabernacle to have been about five yards and some odd inches, Exo 26:22 where sides should be rendered side, or, at least, the plural understood for the singular. The front or entrance was at the east; it being thus contrived, says Theodoret, that the sun might pay a kind of symbolical adoration to Jehovah, by darting his first rays into the sanctuary; and that the Israelites might be thus figuratively taught to turn from the worship of that luminary, the grand idol of the Gentiles, and to adore the God who made it. (See Jablonski Pantheon. Egypt. lib. 2:) These planks, each of them having two tenons, [hands, in the Hebrew, as they were to answer the end of hands by holding] were to be placed each in two sockets of silver, formed for the two tenons. The planks at the corners, Exo 26:23 were to serve as a kind of pillars to compact the whole firmly together by means of mortices, into which the planks of the three sides were jointed; and, to make all more firm, these corner planks were to be knit to the other planks, both at the top and bottom, with a golden ring, perfected (in the Hebrew;) i.e. uniformly joined both at top and bottom, Exo 26:24 and thus at the west-end, Exo 26:25 there were to be eight planks in all, six for the end, and the two single ones for the two corners. To strengthen these uprights, wooden bars, (Exo 26:26.) were to be made, five for each side; the middle one of which only was to reach from end to end: these, as well as the planks, were to be overlaid with gold, and were to run into rings or staples of gold, fastened in the planks for that purpose, Exo 26:29. Mechanics commonly call these transoms, girders, or cross bars. For the two sides westward, at the end of the 27th verse, we should certainly read for the two corners west-wardfive bars for the boards of the side of the tabernacle, at, or for the two corners westward: The words rendered side and sides in our version, are different. St. Paul, 1Ti 3:15 alludes to this tabernacle, with its pillars and sockets, when he calls the church the pillar and stay of the truth. Beauty and strength unite in the church of Christ: beauty, which renders it the admiration of angels; and strength, which defies all the malice of devils.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
It is remarkable that, nothing is said of the flooring of the tabernacle. Perhaps to intimate the spiritual worship intended, Ecc 5:1 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Exo 26:15 And thou shalt make boards for the tabernacle [of] shittim wood standing up.
Ver. 15. Standing up. ] As pillars. “Him that overcometh will Christ make a pillar in God’s temple.” Rev 3:12
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
boards
The typical meaning of the boards is clear as to Christ. Acacia wood, a desert growth, is a fitting symbol of Christ in His humanity as “a root out of dry ground” Isa 53:2. The covering, gold, typifies Deity in manifestation, speaks of His divine glory. As applied to the individual believer the meaning of the boards is less clear. The connection may be found in; Joh 17:21; Joh 17:22; Joh 17:23; Eph 1:4; Eph 1:6; 1Jn 4:13. Only as seen “in Him” could the boards be taken as representing the believer. So viewed the type is beautiful. In the world, and yet separated from it by the silver of redemption; Gal 1:4; Exo 30:11-16; Exo 38:25-27 as the boards of the tabernacle were separated from the earth by the sockets of silver, and united by the “middle bar” Exo 26:28 representing both the one life Gal 2:20 and one Spirit Eph 4:3 “all the building, fitly framed together, groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord.” Eph 2:21.
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
boards: Exo 26:18, Exo 26:22-29, Exo 36:20-33, Exo 40:17, Exo 40:18, Num 4:31, Num 4:32, Eph 2:20, Eph 2:21
of shittim: Exo 25:5
Reciprocal: Num 3:36 – under the custody and charge
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Exo 26:15. Very particular directions are here given about the boards of the tabernacle, which were to bear up the curtains. These had tenons which fell into the mortises that were made for them in silver bases. The boards were coupled together with gold rings at top and bottom, and kept firm with bars that ran through golden staples in every board. Thus every thing in the tabernacle was very splendid, agreeable to that infant state of the church, when such things were proper to possess the minds of the worshippers with a reverence of the divine glory. In allusion to this, the new Jerusalem is said to be of pure gold, Rev 21:18. But the builders of the gospel church said, silver and gold have we none; and yet the glory of their building far exceeded that of the tabernacle. St. Paul, probably, alludes to this tabernacle, with its pillars and sockets, when he terms the church the pillar and ground (, seat rather) of the truth, 1Ti 3:15. As beauty and strength were united in the tabernacle, so they are in the church of Christ: beauty, which renders it the admiration of angels; and strength, which defies all the malice of devils.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The boards 26:15-25
It is not clear whether these boards were solid or simply "frames" (NIV). The meaning of the Hebrew word (garesh, "boards") is uncertain. The latter view is probable. [Note: Durham, p. 372.] If they were solid, the priests would not have been able to see the colorful curtains hanging down over the outside of the tabernacle from within. If these boards were frames, they could have seen them, or at least the most interior covering, through the walls. The embroidered curtains seem to have been visible overhead in either case and may have reminded the priests of God’s celestial throne.