Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Exodus 26:31
And thou shalt make a veil [of] blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubims shall it be made:
31. a veil ] Heb. prketh, only in P, in the same connexion, and 2Ch 3:14: the primary meaning was probably ‘that which shuts off’ cf. Ass. parku, to bar or shut off, parakku, apartment, esp. shrine in a Temple; Syr. perakk (loan-word), a shrine). In Heb 6:19 f., Exo 9:7-8, Exo 10:19-22, the veil (with allusion to the fact that the high priest alone, and that only once in the year, entered into the Holy of holies) is regarded as forming an impediment to the approach to God, which was broken down by Christ, when He entered by His own blood into the ‘holy place’ in heaven (Heb 9:12; Heb 9:24-26).
of the cunning workman ] of the designer ( v. 1).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
31 35. The veil, to separate the Holy place from the Holy of holies, made of the same richly coloured tapestry, with figures of cherubim woven into it (the ‘work of the designer’), as the curtain ( v. 1), and suspended on four gilt pillars of acacia wood, vv. 31 33 (cf. Exo 36:35-36). The position of the ark, the table of the Presence-bread, and he candlestick, vv. 34 5 (cf. Exo 40:20; Exo 40:22; Exo 40:24).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Exo 26:31-37
And thou shalt make a vail.
The Tabernacle vails
I. These vails signify that the highest vision and fellowship of God are as yet denied to man. Gods presence is fenced about from sinful man.
II. Whilst these vails remove God from the approach of man, they give the promise of a fuller revelation. The God of mercy, and love, and life, shines through the obscuration.
III. That these vails are taken away in Christ (Mar 15:38). In Christ we stand within the vail. In Him we realize the presence and joy of God. (W. L. Watkinson.)
The vail of the holiest
1. It was glorious, of embroidered work: this faith guild signified the body of Christ, filled with the fulness of God, or beautified with all the most excellent graces of the Spirit.
2. It was replenished and wrought full of cherubim, noting thereby that serviceable and ready attendance of the angels on Christs natural and mystical body.
3. It was borne up by costly pillars, to show that the humanity of Christ, especially in His sufferings, should be borne up by His Deity.
4. By the vail only, there was entry into the holiest place of all: so by the vail, i.e., the flesh of Christ, which was rent, as it were, upon the cross, a new and living way is made for us to the Father. (B. Keach.)
The cherubims on the vail
The Tabernacle in the wilderness was divided into two compartments–the holy place and the holy of holies–by a vail. That vail was stretched upon four pillars of wood overlaid with gold. It consisted of one huge screen of fine-twined linen, reaching from the roof to the floor, and from one side to the other. On the ground-work of linen were spread, in various ornamental patterns, the simple colours known to the ancients–blue, purple, and scarlet. The holy of holies was shut in by this vail from every human eye. No worship was carried on there. When first seen on earth, the cherubims were placed at the gate of the Garden of Eden, to keep the way of the tree of life. The flaming sword with which they were associated, which turned in every direction, was the symbol of Gods judgment, the witness of the terrible majesty of Gods holiness which had been insulted by mans sin, telling our fallen first parents that so long as the sin continued, the flaming sword would shut up every avenue against their return to their original happy state. The cherubims, on the contrary, were placed there as an image of mercy and hope, to signify that for the creation that had become alienated from God was destined a happy reconciliation. The same great truth was signified by the golden cherubims that covered the mercy-seat with their wings, and between which God met and communed with the high priest. Now, what I want to draw particular attention to is the fact that, secluded as was the holy of holies of the Tabernacle, and guarded by the most solemn prohibitions, its mystery was not left altogether unknown. The most conspicuous feature of the vail–that which at once arrested every eye–was the cherubims embroidered over its whole surface, in such a way that it seemed to have been fashioned of nothing else. Thus on the vail that concealed the awful shrine of Jehovah from mortal eye was revealed one of the most characteristic and significant objects of that shrine. In this way the priests, who were not permitted to enter the holy of holies, could have some conception of what was within it. The cherubims pourtrayed on the vail and on the curtains were no doubt faint and inadequate pictures of the originals on the mercy-seat. They could not have been otherwise. They were a flat representation of objects that stood out in the sacred shrine in the clearest and fullest relief. They were an embroidery in perishing materials, at comparatively slight cost of labour, of a work of the highest art, beaten out in the purest gold, with the most unwearied industry and the most consummate skill. But with all these necessary imperfections, the needlework of the vail and of the curtains gave a fair idea of the cherubims which stood in the most holy place, in their invisible and unapproachable glory. The Jewish priests and worshippers were not left in complete ignorance. There were witnesses to picture to them that which they could not see. They had shadows of the realities behind the vail. Their faith had elements of sight to support it. I wish to make use of this most interesting fact as a graphic illustration of the great truth, which is true throughout the universe, that things concealed from us have their shadows manifested in the things we see. The universe is a great tabernacle divided by a vail and curtains into an outer and inner compartment, as it were. From the inner we are shut out, and we cannot see with our bodily eyes the things that are contained in it. And yet we have representations of these hidden mysteries before our eyes every day, which give us a more or less satisfactory idea of them. Here we see in part, and prophecy in part. The horizon, for instance, is a vail that comes down to conceal from us what is beyond. Many of us will never be able to visit foreign countries, and ascertain with our own eyes what the nature of these countries and the mode of life in them may be; and yet, within the horizon in which we spend our life we have shadowy intimations of the most distant regions of the earth. Ships come to us with their produce; our houses are full of objects brought from them; books describe them to us; and letters from friends make us partakers of their larger experience. Even the scenery around our homes is not so dissimilar to that of foreign lands as we might suppose. Between us and the lofty summits of a great mountain range there is a vail often woven of cloud and mist. Elevated far above the busy common-place haunts of man, these sublime peaks seem to dwell apart, to retire into a more awful solitude than exists on the surface of the earth. And yet the lofty summit of the mountain sends down into the valley by the streams that channel its flanks waifs of brilliant Alpine flowers, which take root and grow among the common lowland plants: and thus the dweller at the foot of the mountain knows what kind of vegetation abounds in the upper regions as truly as if he had actually scaled the heights. Many who live far inland have a vail of mountain ranges between them and the great ocean. They may never be able to stand on its shore, gaze on its foaming billows, or listen to the beating of its mighty pulse. And yet, up the reaches of the quiet inland river, into the heart of the mountains, into the midst of shady woods, the ocean sends its tidal waters, its fresh invigorating breezes, and its white-winged sea-birds, so that the inland inhabitants may have some idea of the vast world of waters that extends far beyond their horizon. The vail of daylight hides from us the other worlds in space; and the darkness of night which brings out the stars only increases their mystery. But the vail which conceals also reveals. Spectrum analysis has made known to us the chemistry of the sun and stars, the physical constitution of the most distant worlds. This wonderful science shows to us that the substances of the stars are identical with those of our own earth. Not a single new or unknown element has been discovered in the remotest stellar ray subjected to its scrutiny. Upon the very vails that separate us from the inmost and remotest sanctuaries of nature we see impressed the images of the objects which they hide from our view. But it is not only natural things that thus reveal themselves by that which conceals them; the realities of the spiritual world are also manifested to us on the vail of earthly things. We have numberless analogies in nature which make plain to our understandings the mysteries of grace. Our Lord revealed to His disciples and to the multitude what the Kingdom of Heaven was like by showing to them its shadows on the vail of common objects and common processes, in His parables. The Kingdom of Heaven is like everything we see and deal with. The youngest person can see the meaning of the great truths of salvation in some degree and measure by the help of the figure of them which his own experience presents to him. The doctrine of the atonement is in remarkable keeping with the sympathetic nature which God has imparted to children, by which they feel for others, and can therefore understand how one person may carry his loving-kindness to such an extent as to give up his life for his friend. The forgiveness of God has a shadow of it in the sorrow which all truly sensitive minds feel when they have offended one dear to them, and in the joy which the sense of being reconciled and accepted by the one from whom their faults had estranged them imparts. There is thus not a mystery of the holy of holies of Divine truth but may be seen in dim yet true shape, embroidered, as it were, upon the vail of natural objects around us, and of our own common instincts and experiences. But I go on further to show that the realities of the eternal world are manifested to us by the things of time. The vail of death, which no human hand can lift, hides the scenes beyond from our view. The Bible speaks to us of the existence of that happy land, and discloses its glory in forms which far transcend our earthly imagination. It calls our future home a new heaven and a new earth. The ascension of our Lord to heaven, with all the attributes of perfect man, the resurrection of man in a body strictly identical with his present body, prove beyond doubt that the scene of our translation, with all its circumstances, must be accommodated to the nature of man. From the very constitution of our nature, we form our anticipations of the future from our past experiences. The objects and experiences of earth are preparations for those which await us above. On the vail that hides our future home from us, we see pictured the cherubims of glory. Yes; the cherubims of heaven are seen on the vail of earth. Heaven is filled with objects long endeared to us, and with pleasure which we have already enjoyed in part, and learned from the foretaste to long for the full fruition. We have now the earnest of the purchased possession–the first-fruits of the great harvest. Now, what is the practical outcome of thoughts like these? Does it not teach us that we have no excuse for sinful ignorance, seeing that God has brought within the range of our touch and vision in earthly images His perfect heavenly things, and placed us so that we can understand the things that belong to our Spiritual life by the things that belong to our daily life? Do not these glimpses and foreshadowings of unseen and eternal things also inspire us with a deeper interest in them? And more than all, does not the fact of the cherubims upon the vail being the same as those in the shrine show to us that our life is continuous here and hereafter–that it is one history and one development? If you are to behold and enjoy the glorious cherubims of the heavenly world, you must have them represented, as it were, upon the vail of your earthly tabernacle. Your hearts must be turned now to the heavenly harmonies. When certain conditions of light are present, if you look through a window at a particular angle into the street, you see a flame apparently outside, flickering strangely in the air. It is only the reflection of the fire in the room on the window-pane. Is not the heaven you see beyond the window of this life, the projected reflection of your present experience? What you are now determines your future; and the heaven of each man is just what he himself makes it, according as the fire of love and holiness burns more or less brightly on the hearth of his heart. (H. Macmillan, D. D.)
Significance of the cherubim in Exodus
Many have supposed that the Church is symbolized by the cherubim in Exodus. But the fact of their forming the vail seems to preclude this interpretation. As the vail shadows forth Christ in the flesh, we cannot suppose that any type would be given representing the union of the Church with Him then; as, before death, the corn of wheat abode alone: it must die, in order to bring forth fruit. The union of the believer with Christ is in life, quickened together with Him: seated in heavenly places in Him. He was the Substitute in death; but He is the last Adam, the head of the new family, and source of its existence in resurrection. The lion (one of the four faces of the cherubim) is classed with the king, against whom there is no rising up., in Pro 30:30-31; and is also described as going well, and being comely in going; and as strongest among beasts, turning not away from any. Majesty, strength, and courage are therefore here typified. The ox, in addition to its well-known character for patient enduring labour, is also recognized in Scripture as knowing its owner; herein it may prefigure the persevering resolution of Him who unflinchingly set His shoulder to the arduous work committed to Him by His Father, and who always recognized His Fathers will, and delighted to do it. The way of an eagle in the air is alluded to in Pro 30:19, as too wonderful to be known: referring probably to the astonishing extent and accuracy of its vision as to things of earth, when poised aloft, and to its swiftness of flight when the object of its search is discovered. Fit emblem this of Him, whose eyes search the depths of the heart, and who is as rapid in discovering where the lawful prey is, as in delivering it from the power of the destroyer. These three faces, combined with the human face and form, completed the cherubim: for all this power, labour, activity, and quickness of perception, were put forth under the control and guidance of perfect wisdom and sympathy. Wings were also spread abroad over the surface of the vail, proceeding from the cherubim; denoting the heavenly origin and unearthly ways of the Son of Man, who was from above, and who could say, even while here, The Son of Man, who is in heaven. (H. W. Soltau.)
The pillars of the vail
The pillars of the vail were four in number. Unlike those on which hung the curtain for the Tabernacle door, they had no capitals; thus they lacked the ordinary completeness of a pillar. May not our thoughts be directed by this, to the contemplation of those Scriptures, which speak of the Lord as cut off? (see Isa 53:8; Psa 102:23-24). And yet the very fact of this seemingly abrupt termination of the life of the Lord Jesus, in the days of His flesh, has made Him to be unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption; a fourfold perfection, meeting our fourfold need; to which possibly the number of vail-pillars may allude. (H. W. Soltau.)
The door of the tent.
The door of the Tabernacle
1. This was the only door of the Tabernacle; it must therefore have been an emblem of Jesus Christ (Joh 10:9). There was only one entrance into the court, only one door into the holy place, and only one way into the holy of holies. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man cometh unto the Father, but by Him. The curtain at the door of the Tabernacle was made of blue, and purple, and scarlet. Here we have an emblem of the Saviours threefold Name. Lord–Jesus–Christ. He is Lord of all power, majesty, dominion, and glory. May not the blue, and the purple, and the scarlet, be figurative of Jesus in His threefold office, as Priest, King, and Prophet? The scarlet shows His priestly sacrifice. The purple His kingly dignity. The blue His heavenly teaching as the prophet. It is only as we see Jesus in His threefold office, that He is the Door. As the Priest, He is the sacrificial Way. As the Prophet, He is the Truth. As the King, He reigns to give Life. As Jesus, He is our saving Priest; as Christ, He is our anointed, instructing Prophet; and as Lord, He is our ruling King. In Him these offices are united. We may distinguish between them, but we must not separate them.
2. May not the five pillars which held up the curtains at the Door, be emblems of gospel ministers, whose work it is to hold up Christ before the people?
3. These pillars had sockets of brass. Brass being in Scripture an emblem of strength, we may here see the servants of God strengthened for their work. May we not see Jesus Himself in the sockets of brass? His feet are like fine brass. Jesus upholds His servants with His own strength. Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. He who holds the stars in His right hand, upholds His servants as pillars in the house of God. Were the pillars beautiful So are ministers abounding in their work (Isa 53:7). (R. E. Sears.)
The door of the Tabernacle
The hanging, which formed the door, was made of the same materials as the vail; the only difference being that in the former the colours were skilfully intermixed, whereas in the latter a pattern of cherubim was cunningly or ingeniously embroidered. The priests, who entered within the door of the Tabernacle, alone beheld the cherubim of glory worked into the vail and roof, whilst the worshippers in the court saw the same colours intermingled in the door-curtain. May not this be intended to teach us, that every worshipper of God recognizes the beauty and perfection of Christ, God manifest in the flesh, as his eye rests upon the door-curtain. But the nearer we approach to God as His priests, the more intimate our fellowship with Him in heavenly places, the more shall we discern the glories of Jesus, and realize His power, majesty, and strength. He will be the one object that fills our soul, and under the shadow of His wings shall we abide. (H. W. Soltau.)
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Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 31. Thou shalt make a veil.] parocheth, from parach, to break or rend; the inner veil of the tabernacle or temple, (2Ch 3:14), which broke, interrupted, or divided between the holy place and the most holy; the Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was standing. Compare Heb 9:8. The Septuagint constantly render it by . Does not the Hebrew name parocheth moreover intimate the typical correspondence of this veil to the body or flesh of Christ? For this or veil was his flesh, (Heb 10:20), which, being rent, affords us a new and living way into the holiest of all, i.e., into heaven itself. Compare Heb 10:19-20; Heb 9:24. And accordingly when his blessed body was rent upon the cross, this veil also ( ) , was RENT in twain from the top to the bottom; Mt 27:51. – See Parkhurst, under the word .
The veil in the tabernacle was exceedingly costly; it was made of the same materials with the inner covering, blue, purple, scarlet, fine twined linen, embroidered with cherubim, c. It served to divide the tabernacle into two parts: one, the outermost, called the holy place the other, or innermost, called the holy of holies, or the most holy place. In this was deposited the ark of the covenant, and the other things that were laid up by way of memorial. Into this the high priest alone was permitted to enter, and that only once in the year, on the great day of atonement. It was in this inner place that Jehovah manifested himself between the cherubim. The Jews say that this veil was four fingers’ breadth in thickness, in order to prevent any person from seeing through it; but for this, as Calmet observes, there was no necessity, as there was no window or place for light in the tabernacle, and consequently the most simple veil would have been sufficient to obstruct the discovery of any thing behind it, which could only be discerned by the light that came in at the door, or by that afforded by the golden candlestick which stood on the outside of this veil.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Thou shalt make a veil, which was thick and strong that none could see through it, called the second veil, Heb 9:3, whereby the holy of holies, which represented the highest heaven, was divided from the holy place, where the church militant, or its representatives, met and served God, Exo 26:33. For the signification of this veil, see Luk 23:45; Heb 9:8,24; 10:19,20.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And thou shalt make a vail,…. The use of this, as follows, was to divide the holy place from the most holy place in the tabernacle; it has its name from hardness, it being very stiff and strong, for it was made of thread six times doubled, and was four fingers thick, as the Jewish writers say: this vail may represent the sin of man, which separates between God and man, was removed by the death of Christ when the vail was rent, and so the way to heaven opened; or the obscurity of the legal dispensation, the Gospel being veiled under the shadows of the law, and the way into the holiest of all then not so manifest, and particularly the ceremonial law, which separated between Jew and Gentile, and is now abolished by the death of Christ; or rather it was typical of the human nature of Christ, his flesh, called in allusion to it the vail of his flesh, Heb 10:20. This vail was made of
blue, and purple, and scarlet, of fine twined linen of cunning work; it seems to have been made of the same materials, and in the same curious manner of workmanship with the curtains of the tabernacle, Ex 26:1, and was itself no other than a curtain, and so it is interpreted by some Jewish writers x. It being made of “fine linen” denotes the purity of Christ, of his nature, life, and righteousness; of “twined linen”, his strength, courage and steadiness; “of blue, purple, and scarlet”, the several graces of the Spirit, with which his human nature was adorned, his flaming zeal for his Father’s glory and the good of his people, his bloody wounds, sufferings, and death, the preciousness of his blood, the dignity of his person, and his glorious exaltation, purple and scarlet being the colours wore by kings:
with cherubim shall it be made; signifying either the ministration of angels to him in his incarnate state, or the mission of Gospel ministers by him, see Ps 139:15.
x Vid. R. Sol. Urbin. Ohel Moed, fol. 37. 2.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
To divide the dwelling into two rooms, a curtain was to be made, of the same material, and woven in the same artistic manner as the inner covering of the walls (Exo 26:1). This was called , lit., division, separation, from to divide, or (Exo 35:12; Exo 39:34; Exo 40:21) division of the covering, i.e., to hang this “ upon four pillars of gilded acacia-wood and their golden hooks, (standing) upon four silver sockets, ” under the loops ( ) which held the two halves of the inner covering together (Exo 26:6). Thus the curtain divided the dwelling into two compartments, the one occupying ten cubits and the other twenty of its entire length.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
31 And thou shalt make a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubims shall it be made: 32 And thou shalt hang it upon four pillars of shittim wood overlaid with gold: their hooks shall be of gold, upon the four sockets of silver. 33 And thou shalt hang up the vail under the taches, that thou mayest bring in thither within the vail the ark of the testimony: and the vail shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy. 34 And thou shalt put the mercy seat upon the ark of the testimony in the most holy place. 35 And thou shalt set the table without the vail, and the candlestick over against the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the south: and thou shalt put the table on the north side. 36 And thou shalt make an hanging for the door of the tent, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework. 37 And thou shalt make for the hanging five pillars of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold, and their hooks shall be of gold: and thou shalt cast five sockets of brass for them.
Two veils are here ordered to be made, 1. One for a partition between the holy place and the most holy, which not only forbade any to enter, but forbade them so much as to look into the holiest of all, Exo 26:31; Exo 26:33. Under that dispensation, divine grace was veiled, but now we behold it with open face, 2 Cor. iii. 18. The apostle tells us (Heb 9:8; Heb 9:9) what was the meaning of this veil; it intimated that the ceremonial law could not make the comers thereunto perfect, nor would the observance of it bring men to heaven; the way into the holiest of all was not made manifest while the first tabernacle was standing; life and immortality lay concealed till they were brought to light by the gospel, which was therefore signified by the rending of this veil at the death of Christ, Matt. xxvii. 51. We have not boldness to enter into the holiest, in all acts of devotion, by the blood of Jesus, yet such as obliges us to a holy reverence and a humble sense of our distance. 2. Another veil was for the outer door of the tabernacle, Exo 26:36; Exo 26:37. Through this first veil the priests went in every day to minister in the holy place, but not the people, Heb. ix. 6. This veil, which was all the defence the tabernacle had against thieves and robbers, might easily be broken through, for it could be neither locked nor barred, and the abundance of wealth in the tabernacle, one would think, might be a temptation; but by leaving it thus exposed, (1.) The priests and Levites would be so much the more obliged to keep a strict watch upon it, and, (2.) God would show his care of his church on earth, though it is weak and defenceless, and continually exposed. A curtain shall be (if God please to make it so) as strong a defence to his house as gates of brass and bars of iron.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Verses 31, 32:
A veil was to be made, of the same material and workmanship as that of the “ten curtains” which formed the inner covering over the mishkan. Like these curtains, the veil was to have interwoven into the fabric, the figures of cherubim.
The veil was to be hung from four pillars of acacia wood, overlaid with gold. The text implies that these pillars were supported in the same manner as the wall-boards, by means of pegs (tenons) fitting in silver sockets. The veil was hung from gold hooks.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
31. And thou shalt make a vail. The inner shrine or recess was covered by one vail; the sanctuary was divided from the court by another. By both the people were admonished how reverently God’s majesty must be regarded, and with what seriousness holy things are to be engaged in, so that they might not approach God’s presence without fear, nor boldly break in upon the mysteries of things sacred. But by the vail the obscurity of the shadows of the Law was principally denoted, that the Israelites might know that the time of full revelation had not yet come, but that the spiritual worship of God was as yet enshrouded in a vail; and thus might extend their faith to their promised Messiah, at whose coming the truth would be discovered and laid bare. Wherefore, when Christ rose again from the dead, “the vail of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom,” (Mat 27:51😉 and an end was put to the ceremonies of the Law, because God then presented Himself in His living and express image, and the perfect reality of all the ceremonies was manifested. Now, therefore, in the light of the gospel, we behold “face to face,” what was then shewn afar off to the ancient people under coverings. (2Co 3:14.) Yet, although there is now no vail to prevent us from openly and familiarly looking upon Christ, let us learn from this figure that the manifestation of God in the flesh is a hidden and incomprehensible mystery. (1Ti 3:16.) It is not without reason that Christ Himself compares His body to the temple, because the fullness of the Godhead dwells in it. (Joh 2:19.) Let us then know assuredly that the Father is in the Son, and the Son in the Father, (Joh 17:21😉 but if it be asked in what manner, this is ineffable, except that the eternal Son of God, who, before the creation of the world, possessed the same glory with the Father, (Joh 17:5,) that even He is now man, that “He might be the firstborn among many brethren.” (Rom 8:29.)
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Exo. 26:31-37
THE TABERNACLE VAILS
What does this vail between the Tabernacle and the court, and this vail which divides the Holy Place from the Holiest Place, signify? and what relation have they to Christianity?
I. They signify that the highest vision and fellowship of God are as yet denied to man. Whilst the Tabernacle was standing, these vails signified the distance of God from man,His inaccessibility. God withdrew Himself behind impenetrable vails. This is the teaching of the Apostle: Into the second Tabernacle went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which He offered for himself, and for the errors of the people: the Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first Tabernacle was not standing: which was a figure for the time then present (Heb. 9:7-9). Gods presence is fenced about from sinful man. Because of our sin Paradise is closed to us: because of our sin God has hid His face from us. There are two vails, and Jewish authorities say that the vail between the Holy and the Holy of Holies was four fingers thick, to prevent any person penetrating with his eyes into the Holiest. Does not this powerfully remind us how the holy God has hidden Himself from unholy man?
II. Whilst these vails remove God from the approach of man, they give the promise of a fuiler revelation. Look at the hanging for the door of the tent: Blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework, Exo. 26:36. Here, at the threshold of the TaLernacle, the bright colours of the vail are full of promise. The God of mercy, and love, and life shines through the obscuration. The cloud that God has spread on His throne has a rainbow in it: the curtains by which God hides Himself from man are burnished with coloure of hope. And then, as you draw near to the Holiest, the vail is still more glorious. In addition to the rich colours of tlie vail of the door, the vail of the Holy of Holies has cherubim made upon it, and other associations of brightnessand beauty. The vail that God has drawri about Himself is not of forbidding, hopeless blackness; but it promises whilst it prevents, it allures whilst it forbids. Is there not something of this in nature? Whilst the creation is a dense curtain to hide God, does not the beauty of the curtain declare the grace of Him who is behind it, and give us the promise of some day knowing Him better? The Jewish dispensation is full of the same ideathe golden thread, the rainbow colours, give the promise of a fuller vision, a richer fellowship when the fulness of time shall come.
III. That these vails are taken away in Christ. And the vail of the Temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom (Mar. 15:38). The rent was complete. See Heb. 9:11-12. In Christ we stand within the vail. In Him we realize the presence and joy of God. In Him we realize highest fellowship with God. There I will meet with thee, and commune with thee. In Him we realize the everlasting vision and felicity of God. Sin wove the vail between us and the heaven above us, but in Christs atonement and priesthood that vail is taken away. If there are any vails now, they are upon our heart.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Blue.If the gold was a type of the glory, majesty, and eternity of the Son of God, blue will fitly represent the grace and love He manifested as declaring the character of God. God is love. So inseparably and exclusively is this blessed attribute descriptive of Him, that He affirms it to be His very nature. It is not of earth. As the blue vault of heaven, with its vast dimensions, defies our puny measurements, so the breadth, and length, and depth, and height of the love of Christ passeth knowledge. The thunders of Gods wrath and holy indignation against sin may for a time seem to obscure His love. But His anger endureth but a moment. Judgment is His strange work, for He delighteth in mercy.H. S. Soltaw.
The Scarlet.As blue is peculiarly the colour of the heavens, so scarlet is the gorgeous colour belonging to earth. The flowers, the produce of the soil, display its brilliant tints. We do not look above to find it: but it meets our eye when we contemplate the flowers of the field. The Word of God also employs this colour as an emblem of royalty. The beast, and the woman in the Revelation, are both represented as scarlet. Not that the scarlet of itself denotes evil; but because the kingdoms of the world were held under their regal sway. And, when the Lord Jesus was, in mockery, hailed as king, the soldiers of imperial Rome clothed Him with a scarlet robe. (Mat. 27:28).Ibid.
Purple.If we were to place the blue and the scarlet side by side, without the intervention of some other colour, the eye would be offended with the violent contrast; for, though each is beautiful in itself, and suitable to its own sphere, yet there is such a distinctionwe might almost say oppositionin their hues, as to render them inharmonious if seen in immediate contact. The purple interposed, remedies this unpleasing effect: the eye passes with ease from the blue to the scarlet, and vice versa, by the aid of this blended colour, the purple. The blue gradually shades off into its opposite, the scarlet, and the gorgeousness of the latter is softened by imperceptible degrees into the blue. The purple is a new colour, formed by mingling the two: it owes its peculiar beauty alike to both: and were the due proportion of either absent, its especial character would be lost.
The order of the colours, blue, purple, scarlet, repeated at least twenty-four times in Exodus, is never varied. The scarlet and the blue are never placed in juxta-position throughout the fabrics of the Tabernacle. Does not this intimate a truth of an important character? Would the Spirit of God have so constantly adhered to this arrangement had there not been some significant reason for it? Are we not hereby taught a very precious fact respecting the Lord Jesus? He is God and Man: and we can trace in the Gospels all the fulness of the Godhead, as well as the dignity and sympathy of the perfect Man. But, besides this, in His thoughts, feelings, words, ways, and actions, there is an invariable blending of the two. Many mistakes and errors would have been avoided in the Church of God, if those, who have undertaken to write or speak on this subject, had been subject to the definite words of Scripture, instead of adopting abstract reasonings upon the divinity and humanity of the Son of God. The Christ of God is the object of our faith; not a nature, or natures, but Himself.Ibid.
The linen composing the mystic vail was required to be fine; pure and faultless as the material could be produced: indicating that although Messiah should be found in fashion as a man, He should be clearly exempt from the merest stain of defilement through contact with humanity. What a dignified and courageous appeal was that of Christ to His enemies and accusers! Which of you, said He, convinceth Me of sin? (Joh. 8:46); and how altogether extenuating was the testimony of the Judge at whose bar envy and maliciousness had arraigned the Son of Man as a malefactor and a criminalI find in Him, said Pilate, no fault at all (Joh. 18:38). Even Satan found nothing in Him wherewith to work the commission of the smallest inconsistency in the character of Jesus.Mudge.
ILLUSTRATIONS
BY
REV. WILLIAM ADAMSON
Stowe.
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.
Vail! Exo. 26:31. The veil of the holiest was BroideredBeautified and Borne up.
(1.) Blue! Brown thinks the blue was emblematic of Gods mercy, while Tanner regards it as representing heaven, and therefore typically imparting that revelation of heavenly things which Christ alone can give us.
(2.) Purple! Some say that this symbolised the Divine Righteousness of Jehovah Jesus; others suggest it as portraying royalty, i.e., the setting forth of Jesus as King of kings and Lord of lords.
(3.) Scarlet! It has been viewed as emblematic of the Justice of God in the precious bloodshedding of His dear Son; while, on the other hand, it is described as typifying life, and the blood which is the life.
(4.) Fine Linen! This some take to symbolise, as in the Apocalypse, the righteousness of the saints, i.e., sanctifying righteousness, or holiness of heart and life; while others consider it as indicative of the perfect righteousness of the Lord Jesus Himself.
(5.) Cherubim Brown thinks that these represent the redeemed themselves, inwrought upon the veil, and as rent along with the veil at the Crucifixion; thus signifying both the dying of the redeemed with Christ in His death, and their union with Him by the Spirit of Faith.
Whereer we turn, Thy glories shine,
And all things fair and bright are Thine.
Moore.
Cherubic-Symbols! Exo. 26:31.
(1.) Were the figures of the cherubim above the mercy-seat in the most holy place compound animal forms, symbolic of creation? And were those embroidered in cunning work of various colours on the veil between the holy and most holy designed to indicate that the material creation is the veil between the seen and the unseen; i.e., like shadows on a window blind?
(2.) Macmillan says that just as on the outer side of the separating veil of the tabernacle there were flat cherubic figures woven on another material, answerable to those which stood out in full outline and relief above the mercy-seat; so the common objects and material every-day uses of the natural world around us are the screen on which we may perceive the figures of what is unseen and spiritual,
(3.) As the manna spoke of the True Bread from heavenas the water gushing from the rock reminded of the Water of Life, even the Holy Spirit of Graceas the pillar of light testified of Christ, the Light of Life in this dark world-wilderness of sin; so the cherubim were emblems of spiritual intelligences, either of the angels of God around the Throne exploring the mystery of redemption, or of the redeemed themselves fathoming the deep things of God,
In calm humility musing always
Upon those mysteries of grace, which seemd
Vaster in length and breadth, and depth and height,
The measureless dimensions of Gods love,
As still the bridal of the Church drew near.
Bickersteth.
Colour-Symbolism! Exo. 26:33-36.
(1.) As the gold was emblematic of the glory and majesty of God so the blue combined with it in the sacred appointments of the tabernacle might be aptly employed to represent Gods love and grace. The gold setting, as it were, with the blue gems, are to the eye an emblem of St. Johns sentence: GOD IS LOVE.
(2.) As the priest, whenever he moved within the tent of Aaron, was surrounded by gold and sapphire; so, wherever the Christian (who is a priest unto God) wanders, he finds himself still encircled by the gold and blue of Divine Love. The boundless sky of Divine Love bends over himwreathes him round, as the horizon embraces the landscape.
And the mild glories of Thy grace
Our softer passions move;
Pity Divine in Jesus face
We see, adore, and love.
Watts.
Veil-Embroidery! Exo. 26:36.
(1.) Morier relates that in passing Lahar he found several encampments of Eelauts, at one of which he stopped to examine the tent of a chief, over the door of which was suspended a curtain curiously worked by the women with coarse needlework of various colours. In the Shah of Persias tents magnificent hangings of needlework are suspended, as well as on the doors of the great mosques in Turkey.
(2.) The Chinese are perhaps the most laborious and elaborate embroiderers of modern times. The figures are either in coloured silk alone, or in silk combined with gold and silver thread; the figures of men, horses, and dragons, &c., being outlined with gold cord, and filled up, coloured, and shaded with silk. The Persians, Turks, and Hindoos also excel in embroidery. They use, besides silk and gold and silver thread, beads, spangles, pearls, and precious stones.
(3.) Allusion is made to this embroidery in Son. 1:5, under the name of the curtains of Solomon. These were either the beautiful embroidered hangings of Solomons palace mentioned in Ecc. 2:4; or else, the broidered veil or hangings of the temple. Some think, however, that the word Solomon is not a name here but the title Prince of Peace, and that the curtains are the veils which adorned the tabernacle of the Prince of Peace when He journeyed through the desert with His people (Psalms 45; Eze. 16:14; Mat. 22:11).
O that I knew how all these lights combine,
And the configurations of their glory;
Seeing not only how each verse doth shine,
But all the constellations of the story!
Herbert.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
5. THE VAIL, AND THE POSITION WHICH IT WAS TO OCCUPY.
(31) Thou shalt make a vail.It was of the essence of the mishkn that it should have an outer and an inner sanctuary, a place for the daily ministrations of the priests, and an adytum or penetrale of extreme holiness, in which was to be the Divine Presence, and into which the high priest alone was to be privileged to enter, and he but once in the year. (See Exo. 30:10; Lev. 16:2-34; Heb. 9:7.) The separation between these two chambers was to be made by a vail of the same materials and workmanship as the inner covering of the mishkn (Exo. 26:1).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
31, 32. A vail , a separation, a dividing curtain to separate the two inner apartments of the sanctuary . Exo 26:33. The material and workmanship were to correspond exactly with those of the tabernacle curtains . Exo 26:1. The relative position of the four pillars, with their hooks of gold and their four sockets of silver, is left indefinite . But their position and distance from each other must have been different from the five pillars of the doorway . Exo 26:37.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Veil and the position of the Appointments
v. 31. And thou shalt make a veil of blue and purple and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work, v. 32. And thou shalt hang it upon four pillars of shittim wood overlaid with gold; their hooks, v. 33. And thou shalt hang up the veil under the taches, v. 34. And thou shalt put the mercy-seat, v. 35. And thou shalt set the table v. 36. And thou shalt make an hanging, v. 37. And thou shalt make for the hanging five pillars of shittim wood,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Exo 26:31. And thou shalt make a vail A vail made of the same stuff and workmanship with the inmost covering of the tabernacle, hung upon four pillars of shittim-wood, overlaid with gold, &c. (see note following) was to divide the sacred dwelling into two parts, the inmost called the most holy, and the outer called the holy place. Into the most holy the ark, &c. was put; where none but the high-priest was permitted to enter; and that only once a year. Thus it is often, in the New Testament, considered as a figure of heaven, into which Christ our High-Priest entered once for all with his own blood. See Heb 6:19-20; Heb 9:11-12; Heb 9:24; Heb 9:28. The vail itself, says Ainsworth, signified the flesh of Christ, under which the Godhead was veiled, and through which, by suffering death, he himself entered, and made way also for us to enter into heaven. To confirm this, at the death of Christ the vail of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; Mat 27:51. But, upon all these topics, St. Paul’s epistle to the Hebrews will prove the best comment. Let it only be briefly observed, that if the holy of holies, with the ark, &c. figured out the true heavens; it seems most reasonable to believe, that the cherubims signified the angelic orders, those attendants upon the presence of God; or, otherwise, there would be wanting in this typical representation something to correspond to so important a reality in the true heavens. Again, in another sense, the holy of holies may represent the high privileges of the Christian dispensation, and the high state of holiness, into which the faithful believer may enter even here below. In this sense, no vail of separation keeps us from it: the vail was rent when the Saviour suffered; and since the great High Priest is entered into the heavens, every believer is consecrated a priest, and may with boldness approach the mercy-seat through the blood of Jesus. Blessed be God for his unspeakable gift!
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
There is a great deal of spiritual signification in this vail, as we learn from the gospel, and the apostle to the Hebrews more particularly explains it. Mat 27:51 ; Heb 9:3-8 . The Jews saw no further than to the outward letter of the ordinance, as we find, 2Co 3:14-15 . Reader! think well of your privileges. 2Co 3:18 ; Heb 10:19-21 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Exo 26:31 And thou shalt make a vail [of] blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubims shall it be made:
Ver. 31. With cherubims. ] To note the special presence and attendance of the holy angels in the assemblies of the saints. Luk 1:11 Joh 1:51
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
vail. Hebrew. paroketh (not masak, as in Exo 26:36), means to separate. Compare Heb 6:10; Heb 9:3. Mat 27:51. Mar 15:38. Luk 23:46.
shall it be made. The Sevir (App-34) reading is “shalt thou make it”, with other codices, Samaritan Pentateuch, Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
vail
The inner veil, type of Christ’s human body Mat 26:26; Mat 27:50; Heb 10:20. This veil, barring entrance into the holiest, was the most expressive symbol of the truth that “by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified”; Rom 3:20,; Heb 9:8. Rent by an unseen hand when Christ Died Mat 27:51 thus giving instant access to God to all who come by faith in Him, it was the end of all legality; the way to God was open. It is deeply significant that the priests must have patched together again the veil that God had rent, for the temple services went on yet for nearly forty years. That patched veil is Galatianism–the attempt to put saint or sinner back under the law. (Cf) Gal 1:6-9 Anything but “the grace of Christ” is “another gospel,” and under anathema.
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
a veil of: Exo 36:35, Exo 40:3, Exo 40:21, Lev 16:2, Lev 16:15, 2Ch 3:14, Mat 27:51, Mar 15:38, Luk 23:45, Eph 2:14, Heb 9:3-8, Heb 10:20, Heb 10:21
blue: Exo 25:4, Exo 35:6, Exo 35:25, Exo 35:35, Exo 36:8
purple: Argaman, a very precious colour, extracted from the purpura, or murex, a species of shell-fish; and supposed to be the same with the costly and much celebrated Tyrian purple.
scarlet: Tolaath; properly the worm whence the scarlet colour was produced; which grew in a coccus, or excrescence, of a shrub of the ilex kind, like the cochineal worm in the Opuntia of America; which is arranged under the same genus as the Arabic Kermez, which also denotes this colour.
cunning work: Exo 26:1, Exo 28:15, Exo 38:23, 2Ch 2:7-13, Psa 137:5, Son 7:1
cherubims shall it be made: Exo 25:18
Reciprocal: Exo 26:36 – of blue Exo 27:9 – hangings for Exo 27:16 – of blue Exo 27:21 – without the veil Exo 30:6 – veil Exo 35:12 – the veil Num 3:31 – and the hanging Num 4:5 – they shall Est 1:6 – white
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Moses having been instructed as to the tabernacle and the tent, there follow details of the veil, that was to separate between the holy place and the most holy, and also of the hanging that was to screen the holy place from the outer court. These are described in that order in verses Exo 26:31-37.
The veil was to be made of the same materials as the curtains which formed the tabernacle. It was to be hung upon four pillars of acacia wood overlaid with gold. Though very different from the ark, as to their form, they were made of the same materials. When the camp moved, the veil was to be taken down and used as a covering for the ark, as we read in Num 4:5 By the veil therefore the ark was to be hidden from every eye, save from that of the high priest once a year.
The Epistle to the Hebrews shows us that the veil had a twofold significance – the immediate and the prophetic. All Israel could see its immediate effect. It hid the ark and the glory of God resting thereon, as we read, “The Holy Ghost thus signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest” (Heb 9:8). The cherubims, cunningly wrought in both veil and curtains, were not depicted as gazing on the mercy-seat, where blood was to be sprinkled as were the cherubims over the ark. Consequently they depicted the holy judgment of God, which kept sinful men at a distance, excluded from His presence.
But there was a prophetic meaning, which could not be revealed until Christ had come and redemption was accomplished. Now we have, “boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus…. through the veil, that is to say, His flesh” (Heb 10:19, Heb 10:20) Earlier in the Epistle we are told that He took part of flesh and blood that “through death” (Heb 2:14, Heb 2:15), He might annul the adversary and deliver us. Through His death and resurrection He has opened for us the new and living way into the holiest. That which spoke of separation and exclusion to the Israelite speaks of access and nearness to us.
The hanging which formed the entrance into the holy place was of the same materials as the veil and to be “wrought with needlework,” but no mention is made of cherubims upon it. Its pillars stood in sockets of brass and not silver as did the boards and the pillars of the veil. The altar of burnt offering standing without was to be made of brass. When God’s righteous demands were met by sacrifice at the altar, the priests could step over the brass sockets and enter the holy place.
Exo 27:1-21 opens with a description of the altar made of acacia wood and overlaid with brass, which seems to be typical of God’s righteous judgment against sin, which can only be met by the blood of sacrifice. This altar was big enough to consume a sacrifice of the largest size, such as a bullock. It was so placed in the outer court that he who entered at once came face to face with it, plainly declaring that there was no entrance until the claims of God’s righteousness were met by sacrifice. Typically therefore it indicated the death of Christ by which every claim has been satisfied.
The description of the altar is followed by that of the court, which enclosed the whole tabernacle system. It was to be 100 cubits long by 50 broad, and composed of fine twined lined fabric suspended on pillars of brass, standing in sockets of the same metal. The entrance was to be on the eastward side. It was to extend to no less than twenty cubits, and there the plain linen was to give place to the blue, purple, scarlet, fine-twined linen, wrought with needlework, similar to the curtain at the entrance to the holy place. He who only entered the court had to realise the character and the glory of Him who dwelt in the tabernacle, as much as did he, who entered the holy place. Extending for twenty cubits it was a broad entrance, indicating that God is marked by largeness of heart, with no desire to exclude any. But all who would enter must approach by the altar of sacrifice, which stood straight in front of them.
The chapter closes with the direction that “pure oil olive beaten” be brought to cause the lamp in the holy place to burn continually. Only twice before have we read of oil, both times when Jacob poured it on a pillar (Gen 28:1-22 and Gen 35:1-29) but there the nature of the oil is not specified. Here its nature is specified. It was to be beaten out of the fruit of the olive and pure. This first mention of pure olive oil is clearly typical of the Holy Spirit, and fixes its significance right through the Scripture. The golden lampstand would have been of no service without the oil. In the New Testament the churches, as well as the individual believer, are likened to lamps. But apart from the oil of the Holy Spirit they have no ability to shine to the glory of God.
Exo 28:1-43 is occupied with details of the priestly garments that were to be prepared for Aaron and his sons, that they might be inducted to the priest’s office. We have to note that Aaron alone was a type of Christ in His priestly office, though even in him we have to observe that in many things there is more in the way of contrast than of resemblance, as the Epistle to the Hebrews so plainly shows. When we consider the sons of Aaron, even though Aaron himself be linked with them, we find rather a type of the priestly company, in which we as believers are included. The saints of today are priests by reason of their association with Christ, the great High Priest on high.
Aaron was to wear holy garments of a very special type. They are described in verse Exo 26:2 as being “for glory and for beauty.” Now if we read Lev 8:9-10, and then Lev 16:1-4 it appears that Aaron only actually wore these beautiful robes on the occasion of his consecration. Failure having supervened with his two elder sons, he had henceforward to appear before God clad in only the linen coat and breeches. The garments for glory and beauty had to be laid aside as a memorial of what might have been. In Heb 2:7 we read of Jesus, who is our High Priest, being “crowned with glory and honour.” His garments of glory and beauty are never laid aside, since He is a Priest for ever. What a contrast!
The special garments that were to be made for Aaron are specified in verse Exo 26:4, and according to verse Exo 26:3 supernatural wisdom was given to the workers, who had to make them under the difficult conditions imposed by the wilderness journey. Verse Exo 26:5 mentions the various materials that were to be used, and we notice that they are the same as were employed in the tabernacle itself. The ephod with its girdle was distinctively the priestly garment, and just as the tabernacle and the veil set forth Christ as the One in whom the fulness of the Godhead dwelt, so these garments spoke of Him in His priestly office.
Then on the shoulders of Aaron were to rest two frames of gold enclosing onyx stones on which were engraved the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. A type this of how the Lord Jesus in His priestly grace bears His saints before God on the shoulders of His strength. Here, we know, is the secret of the perseverance of the saints. Hence the Apostle could say of a saint who might come under criticism, “Yea, he shall be holden up” (Rom 14:4).
Next comes the description of the breastplate. The same materials were used, in connection with a golden framework, secured by chains of gold and connected, it would seem, with the shoulder-pieces above. In the breastplate were to be placed twelve different precious stones, on each of which the name of a tribe was to appear. Thus Aaron was to bear the names of the children of Israel “upon his heart,” as verse Exo 26:28 says. They were as much on his heart as on his shoulders, and the typical import of this is apparent in Heb 4:14-16. Our great High Priest, Jesus the Son of God, is passed into the heavens in His strength; but at the same time His heart is touched with the feeling of our infirmities. How boldly then may we draw near to the throne of grace.
Several times does the expression occur, “the breastplate of judgment.” It is so called because in it was also placed “the Urim and the Thummim.” These two words have the meaning of “Light” and “Perfection” respectively. Just what these were, and how they worked is not known, and after the captivity in Babylon they were lost, as Ezr 2:63 indicates. What seems certain however is that by means of the Urim and the Thummim enquiry might be made of God and answer received, so that dark points in Israel’s history might have Divine light shed upon them in a perfect way. It is a striking fact that in Heb 4:1-16, to which we have already alluded, the verses as to the priesthood of our Lord are coupled with two others (verses Exo 26:12-13), which emphasize the light and perfection of the word of God, since, “all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.”
In verse Exo 26:31 we find that “the robe of the ephod” was to be “all of blue,” forecasting the heavenly priesthood of the Lord Jesus. Moreover, on its bottom hem were to be suspended pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet, alternating with bells of gold. When Aaron went in and out before the Lord his sound was to be heard, but equally the fruit was to be seen. What this signified was perfectly realized in Christ. In Him both fruit and testimony were found in equal perfection, and His testimony was golden; that is, Divine. Saints today are brought into a priestly place, so in principle the same thing should mark us. If the fruit of the Spirit is not manifested in our lives the bells of our testimony will not give a certain or a convincing sound.
Aaron was also to have a coat and a mitre of fine linen, and connected by blue lace to the latter was to be a plate of gold on which was to be engraver the words, “Holiness to the Lord.” This plate was to be in front, upon Aaron’s forehead, where it would be visible to all. He was not to forget, and no one else was to forget, that he was wholly separated to the service of Jehovah. As thus separated he was to bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the people would set apart as gifts to the Lord. By this remarkable expression God would teach the people that there was no perfection in anything they might offer. The solemn fact is that man being a sinner he defiles all that he touches, if it be viewed in the light of the sanctuary.
This is not an easy lesson for any one of us to learn. It is clear that Israel forgot it. When a remnant returned from Babylon they had to be reminded of it by Haggai the prophet. Read Hag 2:10-14, and see how the word of the Lord came through him to the people. The nation, and their work, and that which they offered was marked by uncleanness. It is a lesson that we too need to learn. Let us not think that the finest offerings we ever made, whether of praise and worship or of service, were marked by perfection. They were not. The flesh is still in us, and in subtle ways it tarnishes the fairest things we offer. But we have a great High Priest who bears the iniquity of our holy things, and presents to God our defective worship or service in His own perfections, just as He will ultimately present us all “faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy” (Jud 1:24).
The closing verses of our chapter give much shorter details as to the much plainer linen garments that were to be worn by the sons of Aaron in their lesser service. Nevertheless they too were to be “for glory and for beauty.” Whether in the case of Aaron or in the case of his sons the glory and the beauty was something that was put upon them and not something native to themselves. So indeed it is for us today.
The instructions as to the formal investiture of Aaron and his sons follow in Exo 29:1-46. At the door of the tabernacle they were first of all to be washed with water. Then Aaron alone was to be robed in the garments of his office and the holy anointing oil was to be poured upon his head, without there being first an application of the blood of the sacrifice. This was suitable inasmuch as he was a type of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in His perfection needed no sacrifice. Viewed as a man Aaron did need a sacrifice, as we see in verses Exo 26:20-21 of our chapter, and thus the contrast is drawn which we find in Heb 5:1-3; Heb 7:27. But here it is not Aaron as a man but as a type, and so the blood is omitted.
The washing all over with water is typical of the new birth, and to this the Lord Jesus alluded in Joh 13:10, when He said, “He that is washed [bathed] needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit.” The ceremonial bathing when the priests were consecrated was not repeated, but they had to wash hands and feet at the laver every time they entered the sanctuary, as we are told in Exo 30:1-38.
Aaron having been invested and anointed alone, the second part of the ceremony followed in which he and his sons were joined together. The commencement of this was sacrifice. The bullock of the sin offering was to be slain, its blood placed on the altar and its flesh consumed without the camp. The ram of burnt offering was to follow on this; its blood sprinkled on the altar, and its whole body burnt as a sweet savour to the Lord. Then a second ram was to be slain and its blood not only sprinkled on the altar but also applied to Aaron and his sons, who had identified themselves with this sacrifice by laying their hands on the head of the ram. Only after this was the holy anointing oil to be applied to Aaron, his sons, and their garments. The order was: first, the water; second, the blood; and third, the oil.
Only when all this was accomplished were offerings to be placed in the hands of Aaron and his sons that they might wave them before the Lord. Verses Exo 26:22-23 tell us what these offerings were to be. They were typical of Christ in the perfection of both His life and His sacrifice. Certain parts of the offering moreover were to be taken as food both by Moses who was to officiate, and by Aaron, and by his sons, as we are told in verses Exo 26:27-28.
The typical value of all this is clear. When Aaron stands alone he represents Christ as High Priest, as we have seen. When linked with his sons, the priestly company is represented, and here the saints come in. To be priests we come under the new birth, and then the application of the blood of Christ by faith, and on this we receive the anointing of the Spirit of God. In Peter’s first Epistle it is noticeable that before we reach our priesthood in 1Pe 2:1-25, we have redemption by the blood of Christ and the new birth mentioned in 1Pe 1:1-25. Then we find that as a holy priesthood we are to offer spiritual sacrifices, of which the material sacrifices that Aaron and his sons waved before the Lord, are a type. And we may know that the One whom we offer is to be the food of our souls.
To this we must add just one word: let us be much concerned that we not only understand the type, and appreciate the New Testament truth that it typifies, but also enter in our experience and in practice into the priestly activities that thus are indicated to us.
Fuente: F. B. Hole’s Old and New Testaments Commentary
Exo 26:31-33. Thou shalt make a veil The whole fabric in the inside was to be divided into two rooms by a large and thick veil or curtain of the finest wrought stuff, with variety of colours, and cherubs, and other figures. It was to be hung upon golden hooks at the top, and by reason of its thickness and weight to rest against four overlaid, or gilded pillars, mortised into so many silver pedestals. The lesser of these rooms, thus parted from the other so as none could look into it, was to be called the most holy place, or place of extraordinary worship, to be entered by the high-priest alone, and that but once a year. This is often considered in the New Testament as a figure of heaven, into which Christ is entered as our forerunner, and whither our hope extends, Heb 6:19-20; Heb 9:11; Heb 9:24; Heb 10:19. But it also signified that under that dispensation divine grace was veiled, whereas now we behold it with open face. The apostle tells us, this veil intimated that the ceremonial law could not make the comers thereunto perfect. The way into the holiest was not made manifest while the first tabernacle was standing; life and immortality lay concealed till they were brought to light by the gospel, which was therefore signified by the rending of this veil at the death of Christ. We have now boldness to enter into the holiest in all acts of devotion by the blood of Jesus; yet such as obliges us to a holy reverence, and a humble sense of our distance. Another veil was for the outer door of the tabernacle. Through this the priests went in every day to minister in the holy place, but not the people, Heb 9:6. This veil was all the defence the tabernacle had against thieves and robbers, who might easily have broken through, for it could be neither locked nor barred, and the abundance of wealth in it, one would think, might have been a temptation. But by leaving it thus exposed, 1st, The priests and Levites would be so much the more obliged to keep a strict watch upon it: and, 2d, God would show his care of his church on earth, though it be weak and defenceless, and continually exposed. A curtain shall be (if God please to make it so) as strong a defence as gates of brass and bars of iron.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The veil 26:31-35
The veil and curtains were alike in design and construction. The veil hung to act as a wall separating the holy and most holy places into two rooms. Some extrabiblical references to a second veil between the holy and most holy places have created confusion. [Note: See Henry van der Meulen, "One or two veils in front of the holy of holies?" Theologia Evangelica 18:1 (March 1985):22-27.] The Old Testament is clear that there was just one. The Book of Hebrews used the veil in the temple, which replaced this one in the tabernacle, as a symbol of Jesus Christ’s body. Torn in crucifixion, it opened the way for access into God’s presence (Heb 10:20; cf. Mat 27:50-51; Mar 15:37-38; Luk 23:45-46).