Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Exodus 27:1
And thou shalt make an altar [of] shittim wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be foursquare: and the height thereof [shall be] three cubits.
1. the altar ] the altar , if not, in P’s view (see on Exo 30:1-10), the only altar. So Exo 30:18; Exo 30:20; Exo 40:7; Exo 40:32, &c.
foursquare ] ‘An archaism dating from a time when “square” meant equal-sided, and it was necessary to express the number of sides’ (McNeile). See Wright’s Bible Word-Book, s.v.: ‘In Wesley’s Journal (28 July, 1738) a church in Dresden is described as “eight square” ’; and in 1Ki 6:31 AVm. has ‘five-square.’
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
1 8. (cf. Exo 38:1-7). The altar of burnt-offering. This was a hollow frame of acacia planks, overlaid with copper (or bronze) 5 cubits (=7 ft.) in length and breadth, and 3 cubits (= 1 ft.) in height at each corner, a ‘horn,’ of the same material, projected outwards Round the altar, mid-way between top and bottom, ran a projecting ledge, probably for the priests to stand upon when sacrificing, supported at its outer edge by a vertical grating of bronze, that rested on the ground. At the corners of this grating, presumably where it me the ledge, there were rings to receive the poles for carrying the altar.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
(Compare Exo 38:1-7.) The great altar which stood in the court immediately in front of the tabernacle was commonly called the altar of burnt-offering, because on it were burnt the whole burnt-offerings, and all those parts of the other animal sacrifices which were offered to the Lord. It was also called the brazen altar, because it was covered with bronze, in distinction from the golden altar or altar of incense Exo 39:38-39; Exo 40:5-6.
Exo 27:2
His horns shall be of the same – These horns were projections pointing upward in the form either of a small obelisk, or of the horn of an ox. They were to be actually parts of the altar, not merely superadded to it. On them the blood of the sin-offering was smeared Exo 29:12; Lev 4:7; Lev 8:15; Lev 9:9; Lev 16:18. To take hold of them appears to have been regarded as an emphatic mode of laying claim to the supposed right of sanctuary (Exo 21:14 note; 1Ki 1:50).
Exo 27:3
Pans – Rather pots as in Exo 38:3; 1Ki 7:45. On the use to which these pots were put in disposing of the ashes of the altar, see Lev 1:16.
Basons – Vessels used for receiving the blood of the victims and casting it upon the altar (see Exo 24:6; Lev 1:5; etc.).
Fleshhooks – These were for adjusting the pieces of the victims upon the altar (compare 1Sa 2:13).
Firepans – The same word is rendered snuffdishes, Exo 25:38; Exo 37:23 : censers, Lev 10:1; Lev 16:12; Num 4:14; Num 16:6, etc. These utensils appear to have been shallow metal vessels which were employed merely to carry burning embers from the brazen altar to the altar of incense.
Exo 27:5
The compass of the altar – A shelf or projecting ledge, of convenient width, carried round the altar half way between the top and the base. It was supported all round its outer edge by a vertical net-like grating of bronze that rested on the ground.
Exo 27:8
Hollow with boards – Slabs, or planks, rather than boards. The word is that which is used for the stone tables of the law Exo 24:12; Exo 31:18, not that applied to the boards of the tabernacle Exo 26:15.
The brazen altar was a hollow casing, formed of stout acacia planks covered with plates of bronze, seven feet six in length and width and four feet six in height. Jewish as well as Christian authorities have supposed that, when it was fixed for use, it was filled up with earth or rough stones. If we connect this suggestion with the old rule regarding the altar of earth and the altar of stone given in Exo 20:24-25, the woodwork might in fact be regarded merely as the case of the altar on which the victims were actually burned. The shelf round the sides Exo 27:5 was required as a stage for the priests to enable them to carry on their work conveniently on the top of the altar. Hence, it is said of Aaron that he came down from the altar Lev 9:22. According to rabbinical tradition, there was a slope of earth at the south side banked up for the priest to ascend to the stage (compare Exo 20:26).
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Exo 27:1-8
An altar of shittim wood.
The altar of burnt-offering
I. The altar of burnt-offering was made partly of wood, and partly of brass. The wood was incorruptible; and was therefore a lively type of the incorruptible humanity of Jesus.
II. The altar of burnt-offering, was not a golden altar; but a brazen altar. Brass is a durable metal, and an emblem of strength. Christ was equal to His mighty work. I have laid help upon one that is mighty. He is mighty to save, and strong to plead the cause of His people.
III. The altar was foursquare. There were firmness, stability and strength. The purposes of Divine love cannot be overturned. The atonement Christ has made is perfect and complete. Our altar presents a bold front to the enemy. It is a solid mass of strength.
IV. It was a horned altar. In Christ we have sovereignty, protection, dignity and glory. Horns in Scripture are almost invariably emblems of power–regal power. Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords.
V. It was an anointed altar. The holy anointing oil was poured upon it, and thus it was sanctified, and became most holy. Christ was anointed with the oil of gladness above His fellows. The fulness of the Spirit was upon Him.
VI. The sanctified altar sanctified all that was laid upon it. Whatsoever toucheth the altar shall be holy. The altar was therefore greater than the sacrifice. It is the altar that sanctifieth the gift. The Divine nature of Christ sustained His human nature, and gave efficacy to His sacrifice. Christs glorious Person is the only Altar on which we can offer acceptable sacrifices to God.
VII. Christ is a spiritual altar, and on it we may offer spiritual sacrifices. To this Altar we must bring our prayers. If we pray in the name of Jesus, we give wings to our feeble breathings. To this Altar we must bring our praise. By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name. No service of song can be acceptable to God apart from Jesus Christ.
VIII. It was a sacrificial altar. On this altar was offered the daily sacrifice–a lamb every morning, and a lamb every evening. Behold the Lamb of God! Christ is the Lamb of Gods providing.
IX. It was a burning altar. On the altar sacrifices were continually burning. The fire was never to go out. Perfection was not to be found under the old dispensation. Christs sacrifice was one; and it was offered but once. Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many. By one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. At the Jewish altar the fire consumed the sacrifices; but the sacrifice Christ offered consumed the fire. It is finished.
X. The altar of burnt-offering was Gods altar (Psa 43:3-4). Jesus is the Christ of God. He is Gods beloved Son. In coming to Christ we come to the altar of Gods providing; we come to the altar of Gods appointment.
XI. It is the sinners altar. The altar was erected on purpose for the guilty; and Christ came into the world to save sinners.
XII. It is a blood-stained altar. Where the blood is, it is safe for the sinner to go. Being sprinkled with blood, it is a protecting altar.
XIII. The altar of brass was a nourishing altar. The priests had a portion of the sacrifices for their food (1Co 9:13). We have an altar–the glorious Person of Christ–whereof they have no right to eat which serve the Tabernacle. The old dispensation has passed away. The present dispensation is spiritual. Having the heavenly things themselves, we have no need of the patterns. In Christ we have all the good things, of which the Tabernacle and its services were shadows. All believers are priests. All wait at the altar. All live on Christ.
XIV. It was a conspicuous altar. No one could enter the court of the Tabernacle without seeing the brazen altar. Christ must be the preachers theme. Christ is the only object of saving faith, and Jesus only must be the subject of our ministry. (B. E. Sears.)
The size of the altar
It is observable in Scripture that Moses altar was but five cubits in length, and five in breadth, and three in height (Exo 27:1); but Solomons altar was much larger (2Ch 4:1). Now the reason hereof seems to be this, because Moses was in a warfare, in an unsettled condition, in the wilderness, in continual travel, full of troubles, and could not conveniently carry about an altar of that bigness; but Solomon was on his throne in a tranquil state, settled in quiet possession of his kingdom, and as his name was, so was he a true Solomon, that is, peaceable. Thus it ought to be with all good men, that when they have more peace and prosperity than others, their service of God should be proportionable. Solomons Temple must outstrip Moses Tabernacle in beauty and glory, and Solomons altar must exceed the bigness of Moses altar. In their peace and plenty, their holiness should outshine others that are in want and misery, when God lays not so much sorrow upon them as upon others, they should lay the more duty upon themselves. If God send them fewer crosses and more comforts, they are to return more service and commit less evils. (J. Spencer.)
The altar of brass
The altar was four-square, and it had four horns. The animals offered in sacrifice were horned animals, and were doubtless bound by their horns to the horns of the altar, and then slain (Psa 118:27), so that the ground round about the altar would be always red and wet with blood. Life is in the blood; to shed the blood is to sacrifice the life; and the first thing that meets our eye as we enter the gate of the court, and look at the earth on which we are walking, is blood–sacrificed life. To this altar the sinner came leading his sin-offering. Here he stood before God, and his sins were confessed, and transferred or imputed to the unblemished and innocent animal, which had then to suffer and to die for sin, but not for its own sin. The innocent one died for the guilty one. These sacrifices were typical of Christs sacrifice. He suffered, the Just for the unjust: on Him our sins were laid; He bore them in His body on the tree. He was made sin, or a sin-offering, for us, and by His stripes we are healed. His blood was shed for the remission of sins, and now it cleanseth us from all sin (1Pe 3:18; Isa 53:5-6; 1Pe 2:24; 2Co 5:21; Mat 26:28; 1Jn 1:7). Christ is our Altar, our Sacrifice, and our Priest. He offered Himself for us. And having met most fully all Gods claims, He now meets and supplies all the penitent believing sinners need. Every saved sinner has come to this spot–has seen Jesus as the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world (Joh 1:29). We have seen Christ as the Redeemer, and as the Gate or Way to God, and now we see Him as the Altar, Priest, and Sacrifice. Here we stand with our hand of faith on His head, and we feel that as our Sin-offering He has suffered for our sin, and has put it away. Our life was forfeited, but Christ who loved us, and gave Himself for us, has sacrificed His own life to save us from eternal death (Eph 5:25; Joh 10:11; Joh 10:15). (G. Rodgers.)
Significance of the altar of burnt-offering
In other cases an altar was said to be built, or elevated; but the portable structure used as such in the Tabernacle is spoken of as made, or constructed, because it had a frame of wood overlaid with copper. This frame was probably filled with earth to answer the requirements of the general statute. There is no intimation of this, indeed, in the writings of Moses; but neither does he mention any other expedient for holding the fire in place. Copper as dug out of the ground, similar to it in colour, and inferior to that metal which among metals represented celestial glory, was appropriately associated with earth in an altar belonging to a permanent and yet portable institution. By the affinity of the copper with the earth, this frame of an altar, which could be carried from place to place, fulfilled the same end in the expression of thought, as an altar of earth. The wood being, in the first place, designed for a frame on which the copper might be fastened so as to give sufficient size and strength without too great weight, was of acacia for the same reason which required this particular species of timber in the planks of the house, and the pillars of the court. The Tabernacle being a place of life, acacia wood, on account of its superiority to decay, was sought for every purpose which was to be answered with wood, whether in the edifice or its furniture. Not only the frame, or wall of the altar, was of acacia covered with copper, but also the horns; and this fact may help to determine the significance of these projections. The horn is, in cornute animals, the instrument of power, and thence becomes an emblem of strength, and as such is congruous with all the other elements combined in the altar as a symbol. It has, accordingly, been commonly understood that the horns of the altar represented the power of its ministrations. But recently it has been suggested that among the metaphorical significations of the horn, height was no less appropriate than strength as an attribute of an altar. The horn is the highest part of the animal, carried aloft as a badge of power and the honour consequent on power, and therefore used as a sign of elevation. To lift up the horn is to exalt, either in the physical or in a figurative sense. The horns of an altar may be intended, therefore, to symbolize still more emphatically the elevation of the earth on which the sacrifice is offered toward heaven, the residence of the Being to whom it is presented. The copper with which the horns were overlaid seems to countenance this interpretation. May not both shades of meaning be comprehended in one and the same emblem? The horns elevating the place of sacrifice nearer to heaven, the efficacy of the altar was especially conspicuous in these symbols of elevation. (E. E. Atwater.)
The brazen altar
This altar of burnt-sacrifice, with the offerings presented upon it, stands before us as a type of Christ and His cross. And the materials of which the altar was composed point strikingly to His twofold nature. His humanity, if found alone, would have been consumed by the fire of Divine justice, which blazed forth against Him when He stood as our substitute and bore our sins in His own body on the tree. And then, on the other hand, His Divinity, if found alone, like the altar, if all of brass, would have been too oppressive for us. It would have made us afraid by its excellency, and would have overwhelmed us by its majesty. But blended with the humanity, and tempered and softened by its transmission through the vail of flesh, it meets our necessities in every respect, and furnishes us with just the help and comfort that we need. (R. Newton, D. D.)
Lessons
I. Look now at the position which God assigned to the altar of sacrifice in the Jewish Tabernacle, that heaven-sketched symbol of the Church. Behold one of the marks of a true Church. It will give great prominence to the altar, the cross of Christ, or the doctrine of His atoning sacrifice.
II. The relation which it bore to every other part of the Tabernacle. It was the most important part of the whole Tabernacle. Like the root to the tree, like the foundation to the building, like the fountain to the stream, like the mainspring to the watch, like the heart to the body, it was that, on which every other part of the sacred structure depended, and from which it derived all its value. This altar represents the cross of Christ. As we look at it from this point of view, we seem to see written on it as with a sunbeam, the great practical truth, that the way to heaven–the only way by which any of our ruined race can enter there–lies over Calvary. There is no pardon, no renewal, no acceptance, no righteousness, no peace, no grace, no blessing, no salvation to any of Adams children, but through the sacrifice once offered upon the cross. And this is true not of our persons only, but of our services also. Accepted in the beloved, is the great underlying doctrine of the gospel. Our prayers, our praises, our sighs, our tears, our repentance, our faith, our words, our actions, our labours, our sufferings, our vows, our alms-givings, our sermons, our sacraments–all things that may be crowded into the entire circle of our services–have worth, or merit, not in themselves, but only as they stand connected with the sacrifice which Jesus offered on the cross, and are sprinkled with His atoning blood, in all its prevailing efficacy.
III. Our third lesson from this altar is suggested by the continuity of the offerings presented upon it. There was to be no cessation, no suspension, or interruption of the service here rendered. The sacrifice on the Jewish altar was an imperfect sacrifice, and hence the necessity for its repetition. They were sacrifices, as St. Paul says, offered year by year continually, which could never make the comers thereunto perfect. Our sacrifice, offered upon the cross, is a perfect sacrifice, and therefore it needs no repetition. It was offered once for all; and by this one offering, Jesus, our great High Priest, perfects for ever them that are sanctified ; i.e., all His believing people. The offering was once made, but the merits, the influence, the efficacy of the offering, abide continually. And because it thus abides, there needs no repetition of it.
IV. Our fourth lesson is taught us, when we consider the efficacy of the offerings presented on the brazen altar. You may say, indeed, that we have just spoken of their imperfection, and that is true. They were not intended to do for the Jews what the sacrifice of Christ does for us. They were only types, or shadows of that sacrifice. Of course they could only have a typical, or shadowy efficacy. This, however, they had in perfection. And here the brazen altar points significantly to the cross of Christ. It speaks to us, in eloquent tones, of the thorough efficacy, the absolute perfection of the sacrifice He offered.
V. The fifth and last lesson taught us by this altar is seen, when we observe the extent of its benefits. It was open to all. (R. Newton, D. D.)
The brazen altar of burnt-offering
In this we have a significant type of our Lord, regarded more particularly in His Divine nature. This view is supported by our Lord Himself, when He says that the altar is greater than the sacrifice (Mat 23:19). Both sacrifice and altar were but shadows, and derived their importance wholly from the reality to which they referred. But as a shadow of Christs sacrifice, the importance of the legal victims was immeasurable; and yet our Lord says the greatness to which the altar pointed transcends it. Then lies not the thought very near, that the altar pointed to His Divinity? And still further is this conclusion justifiable by the additional saying of our Lord, that the altar sanctifies the sacrifice; for was it not the union of His Divine with His human nature which imparted to the latter its majesty inconceivable, and to His sacrifice its miraculous and eternal efficacy? A remarkable confirmation of this view is found in the fact that the altar, during removal, was covered with a purple cloth, which colour symbolized the hypostatic union. The construction of the altar pointed another lesson. The outer covering of brass concealed and protected an interior of wood. In fact, the altar was said to be made of wood. Now in Hebrew, wood and tree are synonymous, and trees are frequently spoken of in the Bible as emblematic of Gods saints. By the wood of the altar was signified the members of Christ: It was a visible parable of the mystical union between Christ and His people. As the wood was hidden within the altar, so in Gods eye were they hid in Him. And the lesson thus taught by the altar was this: Rom 8:1. The altar was surmounted by four horns, the well-known emblems of power; and these horns were deeply marked with sacrificial blood; and it fell from them as it fell from Him whom the altar typified in the garden and on the cross. These horns were, therefore, at once symbols of might and reconciliation, and were outstretched to the four corners of the earth, to call men to flee unto Christ to be saved. (E. F. Willis, M. A. , with quotations from H. Douglas, M. A.)
The altar of burnt-offering
This altar was the foundation of all the Tabernacle worship. The priests could not enter into the holy place except on the ground of sacrifice presented on the brazen altar. Nor could the high priest on the great atonement day enter the holy of holies without having first offered not only the ordinary sacrifice, but an additional sin-offering on the altar in the court. Not only was the Shekinah glory within the vail impossible of access, but the bread of the presence, the light of the lamps, the privileges of the altar of incense, were all closed until a sacrifice had been offered upon the altar. Thus were the children of Israel taught, and thus,too are we taught, that the first thing for the sinner to do, before he can taste the heavenly bread, before he can see the heavenly light, before he can even pray with acceptance, is to avail himself of the atonement which God has provided. The altar was the peoples place of meeting with God. It was free to all. The call was addressed to every child of Israel: Come into His courts and bring an offering with you. The atonement which God provides is free to all without exception, and without distinction. (J. M. Gibson, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
CHAPTER XXVII
The altar of burnt-offerings, and its dimensions, 1;
its horns, 2;
pans, shovels, c., 3
its grate and net work, 4, 5;
its staves, 6, 7.
Court of the tabernacle, with its pillars and hangings, 9-15.
Gate of the court, its pillars, hangings, length, breadth, and
height, 16-18.
All the vessels used in the court of the tabernacle to be of
brass, 19.
The Israelites to provide pure olive oil for the light, 20.
Every thing to be ordered by Aaron and his sons, 21.
NOTES ON CHAP. XXVII
Verse 1. Thou shalt make an altar] mizbeach, from zabach, to slay: Septuagint, , from , to sacrifice or from to kill, &c. See Clarke on Ge 8:20.
Four square] As this altar was five cubits long and five broad, and the cubit is reckoned to be twenty-one inches, hence it must have been eight feet nine inches square, and about five feet three inches in height, the amount of three cubits, taken at the same ratio.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
This was not that for incense, but another for sacrifices.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
1, 2. altar of shittim woodThedimensions of this altar which was placed at the entrance of thesanctuary were nearly three yards square, and a yard and a half inheight. Under the wooden frame of this chest-like altar the insidewas hollow, and each corner was to be terminated by “horns”angularprojections, perpendicular or oblique, in the form of horns. Theanimals to be sacrificed were bound to these (Ps118:27), and part of the blood was applied to them.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And thou shall make an altar of shittim wood,…. This is a different altar from that made of earth before the tabernacle was built,
Ex 20:24 and from the altar of incense, Ex 30:1 this was to offer burnt offerings on, and was placed at the door of the tabernacle, in the court of the people, where they brought their sacrifices to the priests to offer for them: it stood in the open air, as it was proper it should, that the smoke or the sacrifices might ascend up and scatter. This altar was not typical of the altar of the heart; though indeed all the saints are priests, and every sacrifice of theirs should come from the heart, and particularly love, which is more than all burnt offerings; but the heart is not this altar of brass to bear the fire of divine wrath, which none can endure; nor does it sanctify the gift, it being itself impure: nor of the Lord’s table, or the table on which the Lord’s supper is set; that is a table, and not an altar, a feast, and not a sacrifice; is not greater than the gift, nor does it sanctify: nor of the cross or Christ, on which he died, bore the sins or his people, and sanctified them by his blood; but of Christ himself, who by his office as a priest, his human nature is the sacrifice, and his divine nature the altar; and he is that altar believers in him have a right to eat of, Heb 13:10 his divine nature is greater than the human, is the support of it, which sanctifies and gives it virtue as a sacrifice, and which makes the sacrifices of all his people acceptable to God. This altar of burnt offering is said to be made of “shittim wood”, a wood incorruptible and durable; Christ, as God, is from everlasting to everlasting; as man, though he once died, he now lives for evermore, and never did or will see corruption; his priesthood is an unchangeable priesthood, and passes not from one to another, and particularly his sacrifice is of a continual virtue and efficacy:
five cubits long, and five cubits broad: the altar shall be square: as to the length and breadth of it, which were alike, two yards and a half each, according to the common notion of a cubit. The altars of the Heathens were made in imitation of this, they were square as this was. Pausanias makes mention of an altar of Diana, that was “square”, sensibly rising up on high. And this figure may denote the perfection of Christ’s sacrifice, and the permanency of it; though the altars in Solomon’s temple, and in the visions of Ezekiel, are much larger, and which also were square, 2Ch 4:1. Christ’s sacrifice is large and extensive, making satisfaction for all his people, and for all their sins; and he is an altar large enough for all their sacrifices to be offered up to God with acceptance:
and the height thereof shall be three cubits; a proper height for a man to minister at; for as Aben Ezra observes, the height of a man is but four cubits ordinarily; so that a man serving at the altar would be a cubit, or half a yard more above it, and would have command of doing on it what he had to do.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The Altar of Burnt-Offering (cf. Exo 38:1-7). – “ Make the altar (the altar of burnt-offering, according to Exo 38:1) of acacia-wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad ( “foured,” i.e., four-sided or quadrangular), and three cubits high. At its four corners shall its horns be from (out of) it, ” i.e., not removable, but as if growing out of it. These horns were projections at the corners of the altar, formed to imitate in all probability the horns of oxen, and in these the whole force of the altar was concentrated. The blood of the sin-offering was therefore smeared upon them (Lev 4:7), and those who fled to the altar to save their lives laid hold of them (vid., Exo 21:14, and 1Ki 1:50; also my commentary on the passage). The altar was to be covered with copper or brass, and all the things used in connection with it were to be made of brass. These were, – (1) the pans, to cleanse it of the ashes of the fat (Exo 27:3: , a denom. verb from the ashes of fat, that is to say, the ashes that arose from burning the flesh of the sacrifice upon the altar, has a privative meaning, and signifies “to ash away,” i.e., to cleanse from ashes); (2) shovels, from to take away (Isa 28:17); (3) , things used for sprinkling the blood, from fzarq to sprinkle; (4) forks, flesh-hooks (cf. 1Sa 3:13); (5) coal-scoops (cf. Exo 25:38). : either “for all the vessels thereof thou shalt make brass,” or “as for all its vessels, thou shalt make (them) of brass.”
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| The Tabernacle and Its Furniture. | B. C. 1491. |
1 And thou shalt make an altar of shittim wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be foursquare: and the height thereof shall be three cubits. 2 And thou shalt make the horns of it upon the four corners thereof: his horns shall be of the same: and thou shalt overlay it with brass. 3 And thou shalt make his pans to receive his ashes, and his shovels, and his basons, and his fleshhooks, and his firepans: all the vessels thereof thou shalt make of brass. 4 And thou shalt make for it a grate of network of brass; and upon the net shalt thou make four brasen rings in the four corners thereof. 5 And thou shalt put it under the compass of the altar beneath, that the net may be even to the midst of the altar. 6 And thou shalt make staves for the altar, staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with brass. 7 And the staves shall be put into the rings, and the staves shall be upon the two sides of the altar, to bear it. 8 Hollow with boards shalt thou make it: as it was showed thee in the mount, so shall they make it.
As God intended in the tabernacle to manifest his presence among his people, so there they were to pay their devotions to him, not in the tabernacle itself (into that only the priests entered as God’s domestic servants), but in the court before the tabernacle, where, as common subjects, they attended. There an altar was ordered to be set up, to which they must bring their sacrifices, and on which their priests must offer them to God: and this altar was to sanctify their gifts. Here they were to present their services to God, as from the mercy-seat he gave his oracles to them; and thus a communion was settled between God and Israel. Moses is here directed about, 1. The dimensions of it; it was square, Exo 27:1; Exo 27:2. 2. The horns of it (v. 2), which were for ornament and for use; the sacrifices were bound with cords to the horns of the altar, and to them malefactors fled for refuge. 3. The materials; it was of wood overlaid with brass, Exo 27:1; Exo 27:2. 4. The appurtenances of it (v. 3), which were all of brass. 5. The grate, which was let into the hollow of the altar, about the middle of it, in which the fire was kept, and the sacrifice burnt; it was made of network like a sieve, and hung hollow, that the fire might burn the better, and that the ashes might fall through into the hollow of the altar, Exo 27:4; Exo 27:5. 6. The staves with which it must be carried, Exo 27:6; Exo 27:7. And, lastly, he is referred to the pattern shown him, v. 8.
Now this brazen altar was a type of Christ dying to make atonement for our sins: the wood would have been consumed by the fire from heaven if it had not been secured by the brass; nor could the human nature of Christ have borne the wrath of God if it had not been supported by a divine power. Christ sanctified himself for his church, as their altar (John xvii. 19), and by his mediation sanctifies the daily services of his people, who have also a right to eat of this altar (Heb. xiii. 10), for they serve at it as spiritual priests. To the horns of this altar poor sinners fly for refuge when justice pursues them, and they are safe in virtue of the sacrifice there offered.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
EXODUS – CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Verses 1-8:
“An altar,” lit. “the altar;” this was the altar which God earlier instructed to be built, see Ex 20:24. It was to be made of acacia (shittim) wood, overlaid with copper (brass). This was a change in the provision God had earlier made, requiring His altars to be made of earth, or unhewn stones, Ex 20:25.
Protruding from the top of each corner of the altar were “horns,” in appearance like the horns of a bull. These were features unique to Israel’s altars. A criminal might cling to the altar horns when seeking sanctuary, as in 1 Kings 1:50; 2:28. The priest smeared the blood of the sin-offering upon the horns, Ex 24:12; Le 8:15; 9:9; 16:18; et. al. The horns symbolized power, protection, and help, and also glory and salvation.
The altar was to be four-square, five cubits (7 1/2 feet) each side, and three cubits (4 1/4 feet) high. It was to be hollow. Suspended inside the altar at mid-point was a grating of copper.
“Compass,” karkob, “circuit, or margin.” The significance of this is uncertain. Some expositors say it was a kind of bench or step, upon which the priest stood while officiating at the altar. Others hold it was ornamentation which projected slightly and upon which the rings were affixed for the grating to be suspended.
Rings were affixed to the sides of the altar. Wooden staves overlaid with copper (brass) were inserted into these rings, to enable the altar to be carried.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
1. And thou shalt make an altar. The altar of whole burnt-offerings ( holocaustorum) is here described, which, however, it was called by synecdoche, for not only entire victims were burnt there, but also parts of them only, as we shall see in Leviticus. The burnt-offerings received their name from their ascending, (147) whereby the Israelites were reminded that they had need to be purified, that they might ascend to God; and at the same time were instructed that whatever corruption there might be in the flesh did not prevent the sacrifices from being acceptable and of a sweet savor to God. It is clear that from the first beginning of the human race there were burnt-sacrifices, suggested by the secret inspiration of God’s Spirit, since there was no written Law; nor can we doubt but that by this symbol they were taught that the flesh must be burnt by the Spirit, in order that men may duly offer themselves to God; and thus they acknowledged, under this type, that the flesh of Christ must receive this from the divine power, so as to become a perfect victim for the propitiation of God; thus, as the Apostle testifies, he offered himself through the Spirit. (Heb 9:14.) But fuller mention of this subject will be made elsewhere. The altar was so constructed that the sacrifices might be cast upon a grate placed within it, and thus they were covered by its external surface. The ashes were received into a pan, so that they should not fall about upon the ground and be trodden under foot, but that reverence might be inculcated even towards the very remnants of their holy things. (148) That the victims were bound to the four horns, which stood out from the four corners, is plain from the words of Psa 118:27, “Bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.” And this also is the beginning of a proper offering of spiritual sacrifices, that all the lusts of the flesh should be subdued, and held captive as it were unto the obedience of God. Wherefore even Christ, although in Him there was nothing which was not duly regulated, was nevertheless bound, in order to prove His obedience; as He had said, “Not as I will, but as thou wilt.” (Mat 26:39.) The altar was carried on staves, to obviate the necessity of having more than one; else there would have been danger of their being compelled, by the very difficulty of carrying it, to leave it behind after it was made, if they were setting about a long journey; and this would have been the seed or ground of superstition, whilst no other could be built which was not spurious.
(147) C. alludes to their Hebrew name, עלה, the primary signification of which is mounting upwards. — W
(148) “ Mais que la sainctete des sacremens ,” etc. — Fr. be an hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty every where, and the height five cubits of fine twined linen, and their sockets of brass.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
CRITICAL NOTES.
Exo. 27:1. An altar of shittim wood.] It was known also by two other names: 1st, as the brass altar, so called since it was overlaid with brass; 2d, the outer altar, because of its position without the tabernacle in the court, to which all the members of the house of Israel had free access. To this altar great importance and high honour was attached, as being the meeting-place between God and the worshipper.
2. Its horns.] Karnoth = symbolical of power, protection, and help, as well as of glory and salvation, and designed to emphatically signify the whole purpose of the sacrificers.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Exo. 27:1-8
THE ALTAR OF BURNT-OFFERING
I. The situation of this altar reminds us of the spirit in which guilty man should draw nigh to God. This altar of burnt-offering was placed in the court of the Tabernacle intimating the circumspection with which man should draw nigh unto God. Before he must venture into the Tabernacle he must recognise the holiness of God, and his own sinfulness, and purify himself from guilt and sin. Lamb, or ram, or goat, or bullock, must be sacrificed and consumed. In our day some presume to worship God, to serve God, without any deep recognition of sin, or any deep sorrow on its account. Let us come before God with a living sorrow for sin, and a burning desire for purity. Before we bring thank-offerings or sacrifices of praise, or dare to mix in the fellowship of saints, let us bring the sin-offering and the burnt-offering. Let us penitently trust in Christ the Lamb of God. Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded (Jas. 4:8).
II. The material of this altar reminds us of the fact that sin debases everything, and that as we leave sin behind the glory of life increases. The altar was overlaid with brass, and all the vessels were of brass. The precious metals so freely used elsewhere are wanting here. This altar recognising sin, recognises also the debasing dishonouring power of sin: yes, sin makes whatever it touches common and unclean. It debases our nature, our relationships, our work, our pleasures. As we pass, through the grace of Jesus, into the enjoyment of Gods fellowship and presence, everything grows more precious and beautiful. At the door of the Tabernacle is silver and embroidery, and within the shrine the drapery is more costly still, and all the vessels pure gold. As Christ frees us from sin, all becomes fairer and rarer. For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron (Isa. 60:17). With perfect purity we find ourselves in the city which is pure gold like unto transparent glass.
III. The uses of this altar reminds us of the thoroughness with which we ought to dedicate ourselves to God. The burnt-offering symbolised the fact that its offerer thus yielded his life unto God. Thus must we die unto the world and to sin, that we may live unto God.
IV. The ornaments of this altar remind us of the perfect security of those who have repented and believed. There was a horn at each corner of the altar. The horns are a symbol of power, of protection and help; and at the same time of glory and salvation.Kalisch. Let us fly to take hold of the horns of the altar.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
We observe, 1st. The incorruptibility of our Saviours human nature being seen in the shittim-wood, the omnipotence of the divine nature is apparent in the brass of the altar. Its characteristic is endurance. The fire of a justice infinitely pure in itself, and altogether uncompromising in its requirements, must not consume it.
For, 2dly. The altar of burnt-offering being four-square, and having projections or pinnacles at every corner, it is implied thereby that the mediatorial work of Jesus Christ shall one day be efficacious and applicable to the whole world.
3dly. Did the altar of burnt-offering, under the seven-fold sprinkling of the oil of dedication, become the Holiness of holinesses to Jehovah? the most sacred of all the furniture that graced the Tabernacle or stood before the seat of mercy?See from this particular the pertinency of our Saviours question to the blinded and ignorant teachers of His day. Whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? (Mat. 23:19). They had perverted the original intention.
Hence, 4thly. The sacrifices of the altar, whether daily, weekly, monthly, or annually offered, pointed the nation of Israel to one greater sacrifice, in which all the mystic ordinances of the Tabernacle should finally be concentrated and embodied.
The altar was a very conspicuous object in the court. It stood in the centre, and on entering, was right before the worshipper, who could not fail to be impressed with its square and massive form, its bright and bloodstained exterior, its blazing and smoking fire, and its white-robed and ministering priests. If the type of the crucifixion was so very conspicuous in the court, how much more so should the crucified Christ Himself be in the New Testament Church. As the pious Hebrew on entering the gate leading to the sacred precincts could not miss seeing the brazen altar, so believers when visiting the house of God, should ever behold Jesus as its greatest attraction. The minister who does not make the Cross the grand theme of his preaching, need not expect to lead sinners to the Saviour. As the altar was the most prominent of the holy vessels in the Tabernacle court, and as the Cross is the principal object held up by faithful servants of God in the Christian sanctuary, and around which the thoughts and affections of His people cluster, so Christ will be the chief attraction of the New Jerusalem; and if we are among the number of His saints, its gates will open to admit us when we die, and as we enter, we will behold right before us, and in the very midst, heavens greatest and grandest sight, for the first scene that will burst upon our wondering and admiring gaze will be the Lamb that once was slain; and the first wave of celestial melody that will greet our ears and transport our hearts, will be that of praises to Him who loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood.
W. Brown.
ILLUSTRATIONS
BY
REV. WILLIAM ADAMSON
Mosaic-Ritual! Exo. 27:1-21.
(1.) Beautiful and rich as were the materials employed, there was a remarkable simplicity about the tabernacle and its adjuncts. And why? Glance at the books designed for the instruction of children. They may be rich in design and ornate in execution, but how mono-syllabic they are! What pictures of simplicity they contain! When the child develops in body and mind, the thoughts and words are also proportionately developed. We do not dream of instructing the babe-mind in the mysteries of algebra, or the intricacies of science.
(2.) God speaks, by the mouth of a later prophet, as of Israel as His child at this time. As a child, Israels host could but receive milk of truththe elementary truths of Divine wisdom. Pictures interleave the Divine manual of saving instructionpictures such as the tabernacle, the altar of burnt-offering, the outer court with its brazen laver, and encircling curtains, and solitary gateway.
(3.) And as Israel grew, so the instruction was raised. The theocratic nation was schooled in the deep things of God, while its saints and seers were permitted to drink deeply at the Fount of Divine Wisdom, searching diligently into the mystery of redemption, until the Teacher Himself became Incarnate. Thus the Law was alike the pedagogue leading to, and the schoolmaster instructing as to, Christthe End of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.
And when the last trumpet shall sound through the skies,
When the dead from the dust of the earth shall arise,
With bright millions Ill rise far above yonder sky,
To wear Christs Righteousness for ever on high.
Altars! Exo. 27:1.
(1.) Appealing to the senses of a people whose spiritual discernment was undeveloped, Jehovah, on the very night in which they began their march from Egypt, went before them in the Shekinah, or pillar of fire by night and of a cloud by day, the advance or halt of which was the signal for their march or rest. SACRIFICE was contemplated as the very object of their journey; and we read of its being offered by Jethro and Aaron before Sinai. But of its place we have no other notice than the command given in the first series of precepts, to make an altar of earth, or unhewn stone. Subsequently came this ordinance of the Altar of Burnt-offering.
(2.) It was known as the brazen altar, and was so arranged in front of the single, gateway, that every worshipper as he approached the hallowed tabernacle would be reminded of his need of sacrifice. All heaven-taught souls recognise in this arrangement a type of mans need of the propitiatory of Jesus Christ. Its twofold substance of wood and brass signifies the complex character of ChristHis human nature overlaid with Divine strength.
The outward form is not the whole,
But every part is moulded
To image forth an inward soul
That dimly is unfolded.
Exodus-Christology! Exo. 27:2.
(1.) It has been said that Christ is everywhere in the Bible, as oxygen is everywhere in the atmosphere, its all and in all of vitality. So of its individual parts, and none the less of these apparently dry details and reiterations of Exodus. These make Him, as do all other portions of Scripture, their grand central Sun; while all the ritual observances and Levitical requirements are so many pointers calling attention to His gloryso many satellites revolving round Him in harmonious moral rhythmso many beams or shafts of light culminating in Him. He gives the meaning to this Exodus ceremonialism, the direction to all this Exodus worship, the warmth to all this Exodus ordinance.
(2.) There is, therefore, no typical overstrain when we represent the four-square altar as indicating the perfect stability of Christs atonement, or the horns as symbolising His all-subduing might, to which despairing sinners may fearlessly cling. It is the horn of Jesus which prevails, says Law. Nay, more, the horns of salvation are the realities of refuge; so that, adhering to Christ, holding fast by Jehovahs strength, there is no need to fear.
Mans wisdom is to seek
His strength in God alone;
And een an angel would be weak
Who trusted in his own.
Cowper.
Atonement! Exo. 27:3. The main design of the altar was to receive burnt-offerings. At early morn, throughout the day, and at earths eventide, the flames were bright of sacrifice. Each fire-made offering, says Law, typified Christs death. The recurrence of this idea of Messianic atonement everywhere in the Pentateuch shows its paramount importance to man. If frequent types set forth this truth, it is that mans thoughts may cluster round it more constantly. If this sweet passion-flower blooms and floats its heavenly fragrance over every part of the Mosaic meadows and mountains, it is that human hearts may exult, in its everlasting beauty. On the accursed tree we have the sacrifice of Christ, not only fulfilling all the analogies of nature, but concentrating all the typal beams of the Law in one glorious, ruddy orb of atonement.
Whoever yearns to see aright,
Because his heart is tender,
Shall catch this Truth of Heavenly Light
In every typal splendour.
Divine Order! Exo. 27:5.
(1.) These commands may seem puerile, but they are not so. Ruskin rightly says that Whatever may be the means, or whatever the more immediate end of any kind of art, all of it that is good agrees in this, that it is the expression of one soul talking to another. And it is precious according to the greatness of the soul that utters it.
(2.) If such be true where man is concerned, how much more when God is the speaker! How precious should be the art-words of God in this chapter! How beautiful the designs and arrangements! What lessons must be hidden underneath; lessons, too, which have undying issues in their bosom! These Exodus chapters are
The modifying medium through which
Grace-glories are exhibited to man
The grand repository where God hides
His mighty thoughts, to be dug out like diamonds.
Order-Importance! Exo. 27:8. Guthrie says that the most important results may depend on the right place and position of things. No wonder, then, that God lays so much and impressive stress upon the Mosaic conformity to the Sinaitic model. God teaches us this in every-day life and experience.
(1.) If things are out of place in Nature, what serious issues are at stake! Who does not know that the fruitfulness and beauty, yea, the very life of a tree depends not only on its having both root and branches, but on these members being placed in their natural order?
(2.) In art the same law holds good. The builder must not only erect the stately fabric, but he must so construct it with the proper base to rest on, lest the agitation of some earthquake or the aggression of some, stormy wind should overturn it.
(3.) So with the tabernacle arrangements; order of arrangement was of the most vital importance, seeing all, in whole and in each individual part, was designed to typify things under the Gospel Economy. Thus was it in the Mosaic Dispensation as in Nature.
Each moss
Each shell, each crawling insect, holds a rank
Important in the plan of Him who framed
This scale of beings; holds a rank which, lost,
Would break the chain, and leave behind a gap
Which Natures self would rue.
Thomson.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
THE TEXT OF EXODUS
TRANSLATION
27 And thou shalt make the altar of acacia wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be foursquare: and the height thereof shall be three cubits. (2) And thou shalt make the horns of it upon the four corners thereof; the horns thereof shall be on one piece with it: and thou shalt overlay it with brass. (3) And thou shalt make its pots to take away it ashes, and it shovels, and its basins, and its flesh-hooks, and its firepans: all the vessels thereof thou shalt make of brass. (4) And thou shalt make for it a grating of network of brass; and upon the net shalt thou make four brazen rings in the four corners thereof. (5) And thou shalt put it under the ledge round the altar beneath, that the net may reach halfway up the altar. (6) And thou shalt make staves for the altar, staves of acacia wood, and overlay them with brass. (7) And the staves thereof shall be put into the rings, and the staves shall be upon the two sides of the altar, in bearing it. (8) Hollow with planks shalt thou make it: as it hath been showed thee in the mount, so shall they make it.
(9) And thou shalt make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward there shall be hangings for the court of fine twined linen a hundred cubits long for one side: (10) and the pillars thereof shall be twenty, and their sockets twenty, of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver. (11) And likewise for the north side in length there shall be hangings a hundred cubits long, and the pillars thereof twenty, and their sockets twenty, of brass; the hooks of the pillars, and their fillets, of silver. (12) And for the breadth of the court on the west side shall be hangings of fifty cubits; their pillars ten, and their sockets ten. (13) And the breadth of the court on the east side eastward shall be fifty cubits. (14) The hangings for the one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three. (15) And for the other side shall be hangings of fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three. (16) And for the gate of the court shall be a screen of twenty cubits, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, the work of the embroiderer; their pillars four, and their sockets four. (17) All the pillars of the court round about shall be filleted with silver; their hooks of silver, and their sockets of brass. (18) The length of the court shall be a hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty every where, and the height five cubits, of fine twined linen, and their sockets of brass. (19) All the instruments of the tabernacle in all the service thereof, and all the pins thereof, and all the pins of the court, shall be of brass.
(20) And thou shalt command the children of Is-ra-el, that they bring unto thee pure olive oil beaten for the light, to cause a lamp to burn continually. (21) In the tent of meeting, without the veil which is before the testimony, Aar-on and his sons shall keep it in order from evening to morning before Je-ho-vah: it shall be a statute for ever throughout their generations on the behalf of the children of Is-ra-el.
EXPLORING EXODUS: CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
QUESTIONS ANSWERABLE FROM THE BIBLE
1.
After reading the chapter carefully, propose a brief chapter topic for it.
2.
Of what materials was the altar made? (Exo. 27:1-2; Exo. 27:8)
3.
What was the general shape of the altar? (Exo. 27:1)
4.
What were the dimensions of the altar? (Exo. 27:1)
5.
What stuck out of the upper corners of the altar? (Exo. 27:2)
6.
What accessory utensils were made for the altar? (Exo. 27:3)
7.
What was the grating (net-work) made from? (Exo. 27:4)
8.
Where were the bronze rings of the altar set? (Exo. 27:4)
9.
Where was the grating of the altar placed? (Exo. 27:5)
10.
Where were the poles placed? (Exo. 27:7)
11.
What were the poles (or staves) used for? (Exo. 27:7)
12.
When were sacrifices made on the altar? (Lev. 6:9; Lev. 6:12-13)
13.
Of what would the altar be a type? (Heb. 13:10-12; Joh. 1:29; Mat. 23:19)
14.
Suggest some ways in which the altar resembled that of which it was a type.
15.
What were the dimensions (including height) of the court? (Exo. 27:9; Exo. 27:13; Exo. 27:18)
16.
What formed (or enclosed) the court? (Exo. 27:9-10)
17.
Describe the way the court was constructed. (Exo. 27:9-13)
18.
How many pillars were used in the court? (Exo. 27:10-15)
19.
On which side of the court was its entrance? (Exo. 27:13-14)
20.
How wide was the entrance of the court? (Exo. 27:14-15)
21.
What was hung across the court entrance? Describe it. (Exo. 27:15)
22.
Who might enter the court? (Lev. 17:8-9; Lev. 22:18; Lev. 6:9-10; Lev. 3:1-2)
23.
What items of furniture were in the court? (Exo. 40:6-8)
24.
Of what may the court have been a type? (Compare Rev. 11:1-2)
25.
Of what material were the utensils of the tabernacle made? (Exo. 27:19)
26.
Who was to bring pure olive oil? For what use? (Exo. 27:20)
27.
Of what may olive oil be a type? (Compare Heb. 1:9; Act. 10:38; Zec. 4:2-6)
28.
When did the lamp burn? (Exo. 27:20)
29.
In what room (or area) did the lamp burn? (Exo. 27:21)
30.
What is the testimony? (Exo. 27:21; Exo. 32:15; Exo. 34:29)
31.
Who tended the lamp? (Exo. 27:21)
32.
How long was the law about the burning of the lamp to continue? (Exo. 27:21)
EXODUS TWENTY-SEVEN: ALTAR, COURT, OIL!
1.
The altar; Exo. 27:1-8
a.
Made of wood and bronze; Exo. 27:1; Exo. 27:8.
b.
Made with horns; Exo. 27:2-3.
c.
Made with a grating; Exo. 27:4-5.
d.
Made portable; Exo. 27:6-7.
e.
Made according to the pattern; Exo. 27:8.
2.
The court; Exo. 27:9-19.
a.
Made of curtains upon pillars; Exo. 27:9-10; Exo. 27:17.
b.
Made according to dimensions given by God; Exo. 27:11-13; Exo. 27:18.
c.
Made with an entrance; Exo. 27:14-16.
d.
Made of sturdy bronze; Exo. 27:19; Exo. 27:3.
3.
The oil; Exo. 27:20-21.
a.
Brought by the people; Exo. 27:20.
b.
Burned before Jehovah; Exo. 27:21.
c.
Brought for ever; Exo. 27:21.
[N]
THE ALTAR, A TYPE OF CHRISTS DEATH (Exo. 27:1-8)
1.
A place of power! (It had horns!) Exo. 27:2; Eph. 1:19.
2.
A place of death! Lev. 17:11; Rom. 6:23; Rom. 6:3-5.
3.
A place of atonement (or covering)! Lev. 1:4; Lev. 4:20; Heb. 9:24-26.
(The atonement was continual! Exo. 29:42)
4.
A place of meeting God! Exo. 29:42; Eph. 2:16-18.
5.
A place of sweet smell unto the Lord! Lev. 1:9; Lev. 1:13; Lev. 1:17; Eph. 5:2.
6.
A place of thanksgiving! Lev. 7:15-17; Col. 1:12-13.
The altar shall be most holy! (Exo. 40:10)
THE COURT, GODS OUTREACH TO MEN! (Exo. 27:9-19)
1.
The court was separated from the outside world.
a.
The court was enclosed by high hangings. (Exo. 27:12-15)
b.
We must draw near to God. (Isa. 55:6; Jas. 4:8)
2.
The court was open to all. (Exo. 27:16)
a.
To priests (Lev. 4:3-4)
b.
To Israel (Lev. 4:27-29)
c.
To Gentiles (Num. 15:14)
3.
The court contained the altar and the laver. (Exo. 40:29-30; Exo. 40:33)
a.
The altar, a place of blood atonement. (Lev. 17:11)
b.
The laver, a place of washing. (Exo. 30:18-21; Tit. 3:5)
Enter into his courts with praise! (Psa. 100:4)
OIL FOR THE LAMP! (Exo. 27:20-21)
Let your lamp be burning (Luk. 12:35). Let your light shine before men; that they may . . . glorify your Father who is in heaven (Mat. 5:16). See Mat. 25:2-9.
1.
Brought by the people. (Exo. 27:20)
2.
Beaten from the olives to be the best oil!
3.
Burned continually! (Exo. 27:20)
4.
Brought daily! (Exo. 27:21)
5.
Brought for ever.
OILA TYPE OF GODS SPIRIT! (Exo. 27:20-21)
1.
Priests anointed with oil (Exo. 29:7); Jesus anointed with the Spirit (Act. 10:38; Heb. 1:9)
2.
The lamp light fueled by oil (Exo. 27:20; Zec. 4:2-3; Zec. 4:6); The light of Gods word fueled (inspired) by the Holy Spirit (2Pe. 1:20-21; 2Ti. 3:16)
EXPLORING EXODUS: NOTES ON CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
1.
What is in Exodus twenty-seven?
The chapter gives the instructions for making the altar of burnt-offering, and for making the pillars and hangings around the courtyard of the tabernacle. It closes with instructions about oil for the lamp. Probably it is simplest to remember the chapter as relating to Altar and Court.
2.
What was the material used in making the altar? (Exo. 27:1-2)
Its basic framework was made of acacia wood (Exo. 25:5). The frame itself was hollow (Exo. 27:8). Apparently there was no internal bracing. The altar was overlaid with bronze (or copper). At a later time (about a year later) the bronze censers (incense burners) of certain rebels who sought to become priests were beaten into plates and attached to the altar as additional covering for it (Num. 16:37-39). We suspect that this was done because the wooden framework needed more protection from the fire than had been originally provided (although the stated reason was that these censers were holy).
Probable design of the altar of burnt-offering, or brazen altar. The altar was hollow, wooden, and copper-plated. It had a network of copper reaching halfway up the altar, under the ledge round about the altar. The altar was almost shoulder-high to a man (three cubits, or four and a half feet). The ledge therefore probably served as place for priests to stand or to lay objects. Uncut field stones may have been placed in the altar to hold up the firewood and sacrifices (Exo. 20:24-26). (Drawing by James Sherrod)
The high priest in his holy garments. The garments include (1) the breastplate with twelve gemstones, (2) the ephod, an apron-like garment with straps over the shoulders, (3) the blue robe of the ephod with pomegranates and bells at its bottom, (4) the inner coat of fine linen, (5) the girdle (sash) of the ephod, and (6) the mitre (or turban) with its inscribed golden plate. (Art by Ellen Cline)
The use of bronze for the altar is an obvious contrast to the use of gold for the furniture in the tabernacle building. We observe that the value and beauty of the materials used decreased as they were located further out from the Holy of Holies. (We also notice that the order in which the various objects of furniture are described is generally progressively outward from the Holy of Holies, through the Holy place, and now into the court.)
It has been proposed frequently that the hollow altar was filled with natural uncut stones or earth when it was in use. See Exo. 20:24-25. The fire that burned the sacrifices would in that case have actually burned on the stones in the center of the altar. This, would have left the altar less exposed to heat damage, as well as conforming to the instructions about making altars of earth or stones. There is, however, no definite statement that the altar was actually filled with stones or earth.
3.
What are the names of the altar?
It is called the altar of burnt-offering (Lev. 4:7; Lev. 10:18); or the brazen altar (Exo. 38:30), to distinguish it from the golden altar of incense (Exo. 39:38). When the altar is referred to, it is always THE altar, because it was the only such article in the Israelite religious rituals. King Solomons temple had ten lavers, ten tables of showbread, etc. But even it had only one altar. Perhaps this points toward the fact that we have in Christ our only altar for covering sins.
4.
What were the dimensions of the altar? (Exo. 27:1; Exo. 38:1)
It was five cubits long, five wide, and three high (7 feet by 7 feet by 4). King Solomons temple had a much larger altar, twenty by twenty by ten cubits (2Ch. 4:1). Some have thought that the tabernacle altar was wider at the bottom than at the top, because the sides of the altar below the ledge (Exo. 27:5) extended downward from the outside edge of the ledge. The text does not actually describe it this way; however, it really does not preclude this as possibly being the real design. (We doubt that it was.)
5.
Why was the tabernacle equipped with an altar?
This was necessary because a blood atonement has always been required before men can obtain fellowship with God. All things are cleansed with blood, and apart from shedding of blood there is no remission (Heb. 10:22). Sin requires payment of life. A life is required as a substitute for a life forfeited by sin. See Lev. 17:11.
As repulsive as altars may seem to us, they are part of the necessary education of people to understand the cross. We cannot understand the death of Christ without thinking in terms of altars and sacrifices. Altars speak of death. It was not a pleasant object lesson burning, smelling, smoky, blood-smeared.
We Christians have an altar (Heb. 13:10). The death of Jesus provides for us both an altar and a sacrifice. Christs death was just as painful and grisly as any burnt-offering on the altar. And, most grievous of all, He had to die because WE have sinned. But he loved us and gave himself for us because we could not save ourselves. Because of this supreme gift of Himself, we should concentrate our preaching on Christ and him crucified (1Co. 2:2).
Because of the presence of the altar, an infinitely holy God became approachable by His unworthy people. Israel (like ourselves) approached the LORD by the way of the court, the altar, the laver, the lamp, the bread, and incense, the veil, and into the presence of the Lord.
Gods covenant with Israel was ratified at the first by the sprinkling of blood (Exo. 24:8). The presence of continual burnt-offerings on the altar (Exo. 29:42) was a perpetual reminder of the covenant, and a constant means of keeping within the covenant. The sacrifices done at the altar are described in detail in Leviticus 1-7.
6.
What was upon the corners of the altar? (Exo. 27:2; Exo. 38:2)
Horns! They were not detachable, but were made of one piece with the altar (literally, from it).
As the horns of an animal give it power, so horns came to be a symbol of power and strength. Note Psa. 75:10; Mic. 4:13.
The horns indicate the power in the blood atonement power to remove condemnation and power to cleanse the life of a transgressor. Because of divine power, we are more than conquerors through him that loved us (Rom. 8:37).
In the sin-offerings blood was smeared upon the horns of the altar. See Lev. 4:7; Lev. 8:15; Lev. 9:9; Lev. 16:18; Exo. 29:12.
Sacrificial animals were sometimes tethered to the horns of the altar (Psa. 118:27). Men pleading for their lives sometimes clutched onto the horns of the altar (1Ki. 1:50; 1Ki. 2:28; Exo. 21:14).
7.
What accessory equipment was made for use at the altar? (Exo. 27:3; Exo. 38:3)
(1) Pots (KJV: pans) to hold ashes being taken away; (2) shovels; (3) basins for sprinkling blood (Lev. 1:5); (4) flesh-hooks (or forks) for moving pieces of flesh about (1Sa. 2:13; (5) fire-pans. This is a translation of the Hebrew word rendered snuffdishes in Exo. 25:38 and Exo. 37:23, and censers in Lev. 10:1; Lev. 16:12. All of these items were of brass (Exo. 27:19).
Similar equipment was prepared for the altar in Solomons temple. (1Ki. 7:45)
8.
Where was the network of brass placed? (Exo. 27:4-5; Exo. 38:4-5).
The exact positions of the network and the ledge (KJV: compass) are difficult to determine. Cole[389] suggests that the brass network (or grating) lay horizontally inside the altar framework, and was supported upon a ledge protruding from the inside walls of the altar frame and located halfway up the sides. If this was the real design, then the sacrificial animals were burned upon the grating and the ashes dripped below. This design would account for the fact that the wooden altar frame was not damaged much by fire, and explain how the ashes in the altar were spilled out when the altar of Jeroboam I was split apart (1Ki. 13:15). (We do not think that the sacrificial animals were burned upon the grating. The text does not definitely state that the network was supported by the ledge. In fact, the network was under the ledge. See Exo. 27:5)
[389] Cole, op. cit., pp. 196197.
Most commentators think that the network stood upright (vertically) on edge as part of the outside structure of the altar, extending from the ground upward to halfway up the sides. This design would provide an air draft for the fire on the altar. To us this seems the better view, because the rings employed to hold the staves to carry the ark were of necessity on the outside of the altar, and these rings are said to have been mounted on the corners of the network.
Also the net-work is clearly said to have been installed unto half (way up) the altar. To us this seems meaningless if the net-work were not vertical and on the outside.
As for the ledge itself, Cassuto[390] suggests that it was a kind of horizontal projection that encompassed the altar on all sides, and that its purpose was purely ornamental. He does not think that it was supported under its outer edge by the network or anything else.
[390] Op. cit., p. 364.
This view would interpret the altar as having the same external dimensions at the bottom as it had at the top. We favor this view, because no suggestion is made in the text that the altar was wider at the bottom than at the top.
Keil and Delitzsch[391], Barnes[392], and others have felt that the ledge was a bench or shelf protruding at right angles from the sides of the altar halfway up its sides, and that the network of brass stood vertically under the outer edge of the ledge so as to support the outer edge of it. This design would result in the altars being wider at the bottom than at the top. Keil and Delitzsch suggest that the priests stood upon this ledge when offering the sacrifices, and that this would explain how Aaron could come down from offering sacrifices. (Lev. 9:22).
[391] Op, cit., p. 186.
[392] Op. cit., p. 73.
The use of the ledge as a place upon which the priests might stand seems reasonable (though unproven). The altar was four and a half feet tall (three cubits, or fifty-four inches). Thus a bench or ledge halfway up its sides (twenty-seven inches up) would make the work of lifting firewood, pieces of flesh, pots, tools, etc. upon the altar much easier. Possibly a ramp of earth (certainly no steps!) was sloped up beside the altar to the level of the ledge. See Exo. 20:26.
After all has been said, we have to admit that we do not know the precise purpose of the ledge around the altar. Probably it was used for whatever purposes it might conveniently serve. We also do not know the width of the ledge.
9.
How was the altar of burnt-offering transported about? (Exo. 27:6-7; Exo. 38:5-7)
It was carried by staves thrust into rings mounted on the corners of the altar, upon the net of brass. The staves were overlaid with brass, unlike the staves with the furniture inside the tabernacle, which were overlaid with gold.
When being transported the altar was covered with a purple cloth and a covering of sealskins. (See Exo. 25:5.) Only this altar had a purple covering. The other furniture had blue coverings.
10.
What material was used for the frame of the altar? (Exo. 27:8)
Planks (KJV & RSV: boards) were used. The Hebrew word for plank (luach) in Exo. 27:8 is not the same word used of the boards of the tabernacle building. Luach is the word also used to refer to the stone tablets of the ten commandments (Exo. 24:12; Exo. 31:18). It may mean table, tablet, plate of stone or metal, wooden plate, board, or plank. (Harkavys Lexicon)
11.
What was the name of the enclosure around the tabernacle? (Exo. 27:9; Exo. 38:9)
It was called the court of the tabernacle. Court simply means yard or enclosure. There the people could come and and assemble at Gods house for worship. The court marked the outer limit of the area dedicated exclusively to the service of God. Later temples in Jerusalem would have stone walls marking off their courts (1Ki. 7:12). We do not read of vast crowds thronging the tabernacle courts as they did in the temple courts later (Isa. 1:12).
Even Gentiles could enter the court. Lev. 17:8; Lev. 22:18; Num. 15:14-16. This shows that the LORD has always been rich unto all who call upon Him (Rom. 10:12-13).
There was joy in coming into the court. Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, That he may dwell in thy courts (Psa. 65:4). Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise (Psa. 100:4).
The court shows the two principles of exclusion and inclusion.[393] The nation of Israel was unholy in its deeds, and thus could NOT go into the immediate presence of Yahweh in the Holy of Holies. The veil before the Holy of Holies and the screen before the Holy Place excluded all but certain peoples. There are barriers between a holy God and unholy men. But the great message in Gods good news is that God has reached out to men and provided a meeting place where men may come to Him. The walls of the court are up, but the door is open. God has set forth to reach out and reconcile the world unto Himself (2Co. 5:16-21). While Gods holiness excludes us as unworthy sinners, yet his love and mercy include us in a divine outreach.
[393] Ramm, op. cit., pp. 162164.
This is the reason we have spoken of the court as a type of Gods outreach into the world.
In some manner Gods heavenly kingdom also has a court. See Rev. 11:1-2. We see in this fact another illustration of the truth that the tabernacle on earth was a copy of the things in the heavens (Heb. 9:23).
12.
What were the dimensions of the court? (Exo. 27:9; Exo. 27:12; Exo. 27:18)
It was fifty cubits wide (75 feet) on the east and west, and a hundred cubits (150 feet) on the north and south. Its entrance was on the east side (Exo. 27:13-14). The entrance was twenty cubits wide (Exo. 27:16), and located in the center of the east side.
If in Egypt the Israelites had ever worshipped the rising sun, this practice would have been unlikely to be continued at the tabernacle, because their backs would have been toward the rising sun as they approached the tabernacle facing west, toward its entrance on the east.
13.
What was the court made of? (Exo. 27:9-10; Exo. 38:9-10)
It consisted of pillars five cubits tall (7 feet), which held up a hanging of fine twisted linen cloth (Exo. 38:16; Exo. 38:18). The court was too tall to gaze over, even on tiptoe. People had to come inside to see what was going on inside.
The material of the pillars is not specifically stated, but probably it was acacia wood. The columns were not made of brass, a fact indicated by the non-mention of the columns in Exo. 38:29-31, where the uses of the brass are itemized.
The columns had sockets (bases, or pedestals) of brass, but hooks and fillets of silver at their tops. The capitals (or decorated tops) of the pillars were overlaid with silver (Exo. 38:17). Josephus (Ant. III, vi, 2) says that the brass bases had sharp ends like spears, which were stuck into the ground. The scripture does not mention such a fact.
The hooks were used to hold up the cloth hangings. Cassuto suggests that the hooks were Y-shaped, like the Hebrew letter waw.
The nature of the fillets remains quite uncertain. See Exo. 38:10. The Hebrew word for fillet (chashuq) comes from a verb (chisheq) meaning to fasten together (Harkavy). Therefore, some have suggested that the fillets were silver connecting rods, like curtain rods, connecting the tops of the pillars to one another; and that the hanging hung from these rods. Other commentators suggest that the fillets were bands or rings of silver encircling the pillars at various points, perhaps at the tops, bottoms, and middles, and that the hangings may have been anchored to the pillars at their fillets. The function of the fillets is not clearly indicated. We somewhat favor the view that they were bands of silver upon the pillars, and did not extend from one pillar to the next one.
The expression south side southward in Exo. 27:9 is literally to the side of the Negev, to the south. See notes on Exo. 26:18.
14.
How many pillars were used in the court? (Exo. 27:10-15; Exo. 38:10-15)
Sixty pillars. Twenty were on the north and on the south side. Ten were on the east and on the west ends.
The most probable layout is that the pillars were exactly five cubits apart. The pillar at each corner was probably counted as belonging to only one side, even though each corner pillar supported an end of the hanging on two adjacent sides. Keil and Delitzsch affirm that anyone may easily convince himself of the correctness of the number of sixty pillars by drawing a figure of their layout. We agree.
15.
How large was the entrance of the court? (Exo. 27:16; Exo. 38:18-19)
It was twenty cubits (30 feet) wide. It was made of the same colored linen material as that used at the doorway of the tent. See Exo. 26:36. (Regarding linen, see Exo. 25:4.) The hanging at the entrance to the court was embroidered with needlework. It was held up on four pillars, which rested on four sockets (pedestals). See Exo. 27:10. On either side of the entrance fifteen cubits of linen curtains were hung up.
The expression in Exo. 38:18 the height in the breadth is a rather singular one, and breadth there is to be understood of the door way of the court. It emphasizes that the screen at the court entrance was the same height as the rest of the court.
Regarding the fillets of Exo. 27:17, see notes on Exo. 27:9-10.
16.
What material were the tabernacle instruments made of? (Exo. 27:19; Exo. 38:20)
Of brass. See Exo. 25:3. The instruments referred to are probably the vessels and tools used at the altar (Exo. 27:3), and possibly others also.
The pins of the tabernacle are probably the tent pins which provided anchors to the guy ropes holding upright the pillars of the court. Exo. 27:19 also indicates that the main tabernacle building used pins. Possibly they held the side boards of the tabernacle rigid, although their position and function are not stated.
17.
What was used as fuel for the light? (Exo. 27:20)
Pure olive oil obtained by beating olives was to be brought by the children of Israel to the priests. The Jewish Mishna[394] indicates that the very best oil was produced by beating the olives lightly with rods. This oil was clear and colorless and burned with little smoke. The lower grades of oil were obtained by crushing the olives completely in a press or mortar.
[394] See Cole, op. cit., p. 198.
The small amount of oil required by the lamp could have been obtained from caravans passing through the wilderness. There is no need to question the Biblical text because oil was (supposedly) not available in the desert.
The Hebrew words for light (maor) in Exo. 27:20 and for lamp (ner) are different from the word (menorah) translated candlestick in Exo. 25:31. Some have therefore thought that they refer to a different light, perhaps some much simpler light. To us it appears that Exo. 35:14; Exo. 39:37 clearly indicate that all these Hebrew words refer to the same light.
The wording of Lev. 24:2-4 is almost identical to Exo. 27:20-21.
The lamp is said to burn continually.
It seems somewhat surprising to find at this point (Exo. 27:20) the instructions about bringing olive oil for the lamp. We would have imagined that such information would have been given back in Exo. 25:31 ff where the lamp was described. But it is the usual pattern in Exodus to keep the descriptions of the construction of the items of furniture separate from the information about the rituals associated with them.
Also, Exo. 27:20-21 may be considered the start of a new section of subject matter, giving directions for the priesthood. Note that chapter twenty-eight continues the discussion of the priesthood. Cassuto[395] notes that Exo. 27:20, Exo. 28:1, and Exo. 28:3 all begin (in Hebrew) with the word and thou. He considers this an indication of connection between Exo. 27:20-21 and the following chapter. We do not feel that this is a certainty, but it is a possibility.
[395] Op. cit., p. 369.
18.
When was the lamp to burn? (Exo. 27:20-21)
It was to burn continually (Heb., tamid). This word itself may mean either continuously, without interruption; or regularly, that is, every night. It is used with the second meaning in Psa. 34:1 : His praise shall continually be in my mouth. This can hardly mean an unbroken flow of praise.
The lamp was to burn from evening to morning (Exo. 27:21; Lev. 24:3; Exo. 30:7-8; 1Sa. 3:3) 1Sa. 3:3 says, The lamp had not yet gone out.
Nonetheless, we are of the opinion that the seven lamps were never all extinguished at one time. They were the only source of light in the Holy Place. Light would frequently be needed in the Holy Place in the daylight hours, as well as at night. See Lev. 4:7; Lev. 24:7-8. Later Jewish practice was to keep the lamp burning unceasingly.
19.
Where was the lamp to burn? (Exo. 27:21).
It burned in the tent of meeting (KJV: tabernacle of the congregation). This was the Holy Place, the room just without (outside of) the veil, which was before the testimony (the tablets of the ten commandments in the ark).
The expression tent of meeting is used here for the first time as a title for the Holy Place. After this time it is often employed. The word meeting (Heb. moed) refers to the place, the time, and the event of a meeting between God and man.
20.
Who was responsible for caring for the light? (Exo. 27:21)
Aaron (the high priest) and his sons (the other priests).
The light was kept before Jehovah. Keeping the light burning was important to God. It said something about Him and about His people also.
Burning the lamp was to be a statute (or law) for ever, literally, a statute of eternity. The Hebrew word olam (translated for ever) sometimes means existence without end, as in the expression in Gen. 21:33, the everlasting God. However, sometimes it refers to long periods of time which may have an end. Thus we read that slaves might become servants for ever, that is, for life (Deu. 15:17). Also the grave is called the everlasting home in Ecc. 12:5, even though there will be a resurrection. God put His name in Solomons temple for ever; nevertheless, Solomons temple was destroyed. Thus also circumcision was an everlasting covenant (Gen. 17:13), even though at present neither circumcision nor uncircumcision matters at all (Gal. 5:6).
These uses of for ever (and related expressions) make clear how the lamp could be a statute for ever, and yet exist no more at present.
The burning of the lamp was on behalf of the children of Israel. This expression is translated by in the R.S.V., and for (margin: Lit. from) in the New American Standard version. The Hebrew has a compound preposition literally reading from with. Primarily it means from, but the idea that it was also with Israel seems true here. Gods light was from them in the sense that they furnished the oil, but it was with them in that it was Gods light in their tabernacle.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
XXVII.
THE ALTAR OF BURNT OFFERING.
(1) Thou shalt make an altar.Heb., the altar. It is assumed that a sanctuary must have an altar, worship without sacrifice being unknown. (See Exo. 5:1-3; Exo. 8:25-28; Exo. 12:27; Exo. 18:12; Exo. 20:24-26, &c.)
Of shittim wood.This direction seems at first sight to conflict with those given in Exo. 20:24-25, where altars were required to be either of earth or of unhewn stone. But the explanation of the Jewish commentators is probably correct, that what was here directed to be made was rather an altar-case than an altar, and that the true altar was the earth with which, at each halt in the wilderness, the case of shittim wood covered with bronze was filled. (So Jarchi, Kalisch, and others.)
Foursquare.Ancient altars were either rectangular or circular, the square and the circle being regarded as perfect figures. A triangular altar was discovered by Mr. Layard in Mesopotamia, but even this had a circular top. In Hebrew architecture and furniture curved lines were for the most part avoided, probably as presenting greater difficulties than straight ones.
The height thereof . . . three cubits.A greater height would have made it difficult to arrange the victims upon the altar. Otherwise the notion of perfection in form would probably have led to the altar being a cube.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
THE ALTAR OF BURNT OFFERINGS, Exo 27:1-8.
1. Altar of shittim wood The acacia wood formed a hollow framework, (comp . Exo 27:8,) which was portable, and designed, doubtless, in accord with Exo 20:24-25, to be filled with earth or rough stones whenever it was set up for use.
Height three cubits About four and one half feet, so that no steps or any considerable ascent would be necessary for the officiating priest. Comp. Exo 20:26.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Altar of Burnt Offering ( Exo 27:1-8 ).
The altar was to be covered with ‘brazen copper’, probably copper alloyed with tin to make bronze. It was thus of inferior material compared with the gold and silver in the sanctuary, and served to demonstrate that through it earth met with heaven. It was the place where sin was dealt with. (There may also have been the practical purpose of it being more weatherproof and fireproof).
On that altar would be offered all the offerings and sacrifices of Israel which would result in forgiveness and mercy, pardon for sins, and the declaration of being made righteous (that is, as seen as without guilt) through the death of a substitute and representative offering, and would be the means by which they could offer themselves to God in dedication and thanksgiving, in praise and in worship, until the greater sacrifice came Who would offer Himself up once and for all (Heb 10:10).
We can analyse the passage as follows:
a The brazen alter was to be made of acacia wood overlaid with an alloy of bronze and copper. It was to have horns (upward projections) on its corners and be frousquare (Exo 27:1-2).
b Its vessels to take away its ashes (literally ‘cleanse it from fat’), and its shovels and its basins and its fleshhooks and its firepans (or ‘receptacles’), all its accoutrements, were to be made with brazen copper (Exo 27:3).
c They were to make a network grating of brass (copper), and on the net they were to make four brazen rings in its four corners.
c They were to put the network grating under the ledge (or ‘band’) round the altar beneath, that the network might reach halfway up the altar (Exo 27:4-5).
b They were to make staves for the altar, staves of acacia wood, and overlay them with brazen copper, and its staves were to be put into the rings, and the staves would be on the two sides of the altar for carrying it.
a They were to make it hollow with boards as shown to Moses in the Mount.
Note that in ‘a’ how the brazen altar is to be constructed is described, and in the parallel it is to be made hollow with boards as Moses had been shown in the mount. In order for it to be used as an altar, earth or unhewn stone (Exo 20:24-25) would have to be put within it on which to build the fire. In ‘b’ we are informed about the instruments to be available for use at the altar, and in the parallel how it was to be carried. In ‘c’ we have the description of the grating at the bottom of the altar and in the parallel the place where it was to be situated on the altar.
Exo 27:1-2
“And you shall make the altar of acacia wood, five cubits long and five cubits broad. The altar shall be foursquare, and its height shall be three cubits. And you shall make its horns on its four corners. Its horns shall be one piece with it. And you shall overlay it with brazen copper.”
The altar, which would be placed in the courtyard facing the Holy Place, was five by five by three cubits (220 x 220 x133 centimetres or 7 feet by 7 feet by 4:5 feet). It was made of acacia wood covered with brazen copper, (copper alloyed with tin. The exact type of metal is not certain and copper would be better suited and equally valuable) signifying God’s strength and glory, but of a lesser value than the gold and silver within the sanctuary. But the brazen copper would be better placed to take the heat than gold. However, as much else is of brazen copper in this part of the Dwellingplace it is clear that it is intended to be an indication that the place was not as holy as the inner sanctuary. (And there would be a limit to the amount of gold available).
The setting of the altar outside the inner sanctuary would be necessary because of the continual smoke that would arise from the altar. But it was probably also in order to make it accessible to the people and to prevent any contact with sin from entering the inner sanctuary. It was an indication that in approaching God the very first step must be atonement.
Five was the number of covenant (compare the five words on each of the two tablets of the Law), and five by five, making a foursquare altar (emphasised as indicating its total compatability with its purpose), indicated the perfection of the covenant, and of this means of atoning for breaches in the covenant. The height of three cubits indicated completeness.
The four ‘horns’ were upward projections at each of the four corners of the altar as found on the altars of other peoples discovered elsewhere. They may have been for tying the sacrifices to the altar (they were used for this – Psa 118:27), or they may have indicated a pointing or reaching up to God. They may also have been intended to simulate the horns of an animal and thus be indicative of strength and power. As the altar of incense on which no sacrifices were offered also had these projections upwards the latter two interpretations are more probable as the main significance. Tying on the sacrifices was an added extra. This would suggest that the altar indicated heavenward movement and strength and power.
The foursquareness emphasis its perfection, but also that it falls short of the Most Holy Place which was a perfect cube. Compare also ‘the new Jerusalem’ which represented the perfected people of God prepared as a bride for her Husband (Rev 21:2; Rev 21:16-17).
The blood of offerings and sacrifices was smeared on the horn with the finger (Exo 29:12 – in the sanctifying of Aaron; Exo 30:10 – in making atonement for the people once a year; Lev 4:18; Lev 4:25; Lev 4:30 – for the application of various sin offerings; Lev 8:15 – to purify it; Lev 9:9 – the sin offering for Aaron; Lev 16:18 – on the day of atonement for all the people; etc.), indicating that their significance was more than that of convenient projections for tying sacrifices on. This would serve to confirm the idea that they pointed upwards towards God.
The altar was seemingly a large hollow box, made hollow with planks (Exo 27:8) and it is probable that unhewn stones and earth were used to fill the box preparatory to laying the wood for sacrifice (Exo 20:24-25). These could be emptied out when it had to be carried, with new innards made whenever they became stationary at God’s command. It was ideal for wilderness travel. It was the place where atonement was made (Lev 17:11). On it were offered the various offerings and sacrifices required by the Law.
The use of the definite article with altar has been overemphasised by some. Quite apart from the fact that the Hebrew definite article can simply mean ‘the one I am talking about’ and nothing more, the making of a sanctuary would demand an altar of sacrifice and the article could thus mean simply ‘the altar necessary for the sanctuary’. It is not saying that there could not be an altar with a different significance as in Exo 30:1.
Exo 27:3
“And you shall make its vessels to take away its ashes (literally ‘cleanse it from fat’), and its shovels and its basins and its fleshhooks and its firepans (or ‘receptacles’), all its accoutrements you will make of brazen copper.”
The different accoutrements for the altar were also made of brazen copper. The vessels for carrying away the ashes and remains of the fat, the shovels for shovelling them, the basins for catching the blood (Exo 24:6), the fleshhooks for manoeuvring the sacrifices, and the firepans possibly for such tasks as carrying the ashes from the altar to the altar of incense (Lev 16:12).
Exo 27:4-5
“And you shall make for it a network grating of brass (copper), and on the net you will make four brazen rings in its four corners. And you will put it under the ledge (or ‘band’) round the altar beneath, that the network might reach halfway up the altar.”
The network grating was in order to provide sufficient draught for the fire, and/or it may have contained the ashes that fell through from above, or it may have been a protection to prevent the actual altar being touched by the priests. The four rings were to take the poles used for carrying the altar. There was clearly a ledge (or band) round the altar midway between top and bottom, probably for the priests to stand on as they ministered at the altar. It could be made accessible by a mound of earth surrounding the altar. This would be why the priests wore special breeches. The altar was not to be approached by steps (20:26). The priests would have been of smaller stature than most of us and the altar would therefore be at head level. Others have argued that the ledge or band was only for decoration and strengthening.
Although overlaid with copper or brazen copper it will be quite apparent that this altar could not by itself contain a continually burning fire. It is clear therefore that some materials would have to be put within it on which the fire could be lit, which would absorb the heat. These materials were probably the earth or unhewn stones of Exo 20:24-25. Thus did this permanent altar act in place of the altars built temporarily in different places where Yahweh recorded His name.
Exo 27:6-7
“And you will make staves for the altar, staves of acacia wood, and overlay them with brazen copper, and its staves will be put into the rings, and the staves will be on the two sides of the altar for carrying it.”
When on the move the altar would be borne by staves which went through the rings on each side of the altar.
Exo 27:8
“Hollow with boards you will make it. As it has been shown you in the Mount, so shall you make it.”
This confirms that the altar was hollow inside. The making of it in the exact pattern was necessary (compare Exo 25:40) in order to prevent false impressions being given by the addition of things added to conform with other altars they had known. Beauty and splendour were incorporated but idolatrous associations must be abjured. The way to God had to be taken in the way that God laid down.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Altar of Burnt Offering Exo 27:1-8 gives a description of the building of the altar of burnt offering.
Exo 27:2 Word Study on “horns” – Strong says the Hebrew word “horns” ( ) (H7161) means, “a horn, as projecting.” Holladay says it means, “a horn as a protrusion at corners.” Note:
Psa 118:27, “God is the LORD, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.”
Exo 27:4 Word Study on “grate” – Strong says the Hebrew word “grate” ( ) (H4345) means, “a grate.” Holladay says it means, “something twisted or interlaced.” Webster says a grate is “a frame of metal bars for holding fuel in a fireplace, stove, or furnace.”
Exo 27:4 Word Study on “network” – Strong says the Hebrew word “network” ( ) (H7568) means, “a net (as catching animals), network.” Holladay says it means, “a net (as catching animals), network.”
Exo 27:4 Word Study on “net” – Hebrew ( ) (H7568).
Exo 27:5 Word Study on “compass” – Strong says the Hebrew word “compass” ( ) or ( ) (H3749) means, “a rim or top margin compass.” Holladay says it means, “edge or rim (of altar).” The RSV and NIV read, “a ledge.”
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Exo 24:9 to Exo 31:18 Instructions to Build Tabernacle (Ceremonial Law) In Exo 24:9 to Exo 31:18 God instructs Moses on the details of the building of the Tabernacle. In the description of the building of the articles, the Lord begins with those of the inner sanctuary, the ark of the covenant and mercy seat, then the altar of incense, followed by the table of showbread and the candlestick. Thus, the construction of these articles are arranged in a logical order, from the innermost sanctuary to the outermost. Perhaps one reason for this order is the fact that the order of the erection of the Tabernacle begins with the innermost articles and expands outward to the hangings of the outer court, as described in Exo 40:1-33. Thus, the order of the construction of the Tabernacle follows the order of its erection.
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Instructions Concerning the Building of the Tabernacle – In Exo 25:1 to Exo 31:18 the Lord gives Moses instructions concerning the building of the Tabernacle and its articles, as well as the priestly garments. According to Heb 8:5, the Lord showed to Moses this pattern visually, probably while he was on the Mount, for God told Moses to make everything according to the pattern that He showed Moses on the mount. The Lord revealed it to him audibly as recorded in this section of the book of Exodus.
Heb 8:5, “Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount .’
It is important to note that God gave Moses general instructions on the building of this Tabernacle and of the making of the priestly garments. But God left it up to the creativity of the craftsmen, being inspired under their anointing, to design the details of each item they made. In the same way, God will give us instructions for our lives, but He often allows us to make the decisions about many of the details as we are inspired by the Holy Spirit each day.
Here is a proposed outline of Exo 25:1 to Exo 31:18:
The Offerings for the Sanctuary Exo 25:1-9 The Furniture of the Tabernacle Exo 25:10-40 The Ark of the Covenant, Mercy Seat & Cherubim Exo 25:10-22 The Table of Shewbread & its Accessories Exo 25:23-30 The Candlestick Exo 25:31-39 Concluding Statement Exo 25:40 The Building to House the Articles of the Tabernacle Exo 26:1-37 The Altar of Burnt Offering Exo 27:1-8 The Court of the Tabernacle Exo 27:9-19 The Care of the Lampstand Exo 27:20-21 The Garments for the Priesthood Exo 28:1-43 Introduction Exo 28:1-4 The Ephod Exo 28:5-14 The Breastplate of Judgment Exo 28:15-30 The Robe, Mitre, Girdle & Linen Breeches Exo 28:31-42 Concluding Statement Exo 28:43 The Consecration of Aaron and His Sons Exo 29:1-35 The Consecration & Service of the Burnt Altar Exo 29:36-46 The Altar of Incense Exo 30:1-10 The Ransom Money Exo 30:11-16 The Bronze Laver Exo 30:17-21 The Holy Anointing Oil Exo 30:22-33 The Incense Exo 30:34-38 The Appointment of Craftsmen Exo 31:1-11
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
The Altar
v. 1. And thou shalt make an altar of shittim wood, five cubits long and five cubits broad; the altar shall be foursquare, v. 2. And thou shalt make the horns of it upon the four corners thereof, v. 3. And thou shalt make his pans to receive his ashes, v. 4. And thou shalt make for it a grate of network of brass, v. 5. And thou shalt put it under the compass of the altar beneath, v. 6. And thou shalt make staves for the altar, staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with brass, v. 7. And the staves shall be put into the rings, and the staves shall be put upon the two sides of the altar to bear it.
v. 8. Hollow with boards shalt thou make it; as it was showed thee in the mount, so shall they make it.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
EXPOSITION
THE ALTAR OF BURNT OFFERING. From the description of the tabernacle, or sacred tent in which worship was to be offered by the priests, it followed in natural sequence, that directions should be given concerning the court, or precinct, within which the tabernacle was to stand Ancient temples were almost universally surrounded by precincts, which the Greeks called , whereto a sacred character attached; and this was particularly the case in Egypt, where the temenos seems to have been a regular adjunct to the temple. Among the chief uses of such an open space, was the offering of victims on altars, as these could not be conveniently consumed elsewhere than in the open air, on account of the clouds of smoke and the fumes of the sacrifices. As in the description of the tabernacle, the furniture was first described, then the structure, so now the altar takes precedence of the court which was to contain it.
Exo 27:1
Thou shalt make an altar. Rather, “the altar.” God had already declared that he would have an altar made to him in the place where he should “record his name” (Exo 20:24). And, even apart from this, an altar would be regarded as so essential an element in Divine worship, that no place of worship could be without one. Of shittim wood. God had required (1. s. c.) that his altar should be “of earth,” or else of unhewn stones (Exo 20:25). The command now given was to make, not so much an altar, as an altar-case (see Exo 27:8). There can be no doubt that Jarchi is right in supposing that, whenever the tabernacle for a time became stationary, the hollow case of the altar was rifled up with earth, and that the victims were burnt upon this. Four-square. Altars were commonly either square or round. An Assyrian triangular one was found by Mr. Layard at Nineveh; but even this had a round top. The square shape is the most usual, and was preserved, probably in all the Temple altars, certainly in those of Solomon (2Ch 4:1) and Herod (Joseph. Bell. Jud. 5.5, 6).
Exo 27:2
The horns of it. Literally, “its horns.” Horns were not usual adjuncts of altars; indeed they seem to have been peculiar to those of the Israelites. They were projections at the four top comers, probably not unlike the horns of bulls, whence their name. Criminals clung to them when they took sanctuary (1Ki 1:50; 1Ki 2:28); and the blood of sin-offerings was smeared upon them (Exo 29:12; Le Exo 8:15; Exo 9:9; Exo 16:18, etc.). Victims also were sometimes, when about to be sacrificed, bound to them (Psa 118:27). According to Kalisch, “The horns were symbolical of power, of protection and help; and at the same time of glory and salvation.” His horns shall be of the same. Part and parcel of the altar, that is, not extraneous additions. Thou shalt overlay it with brass. A solid plating of bronze is no doubt intended, such as would protect the shittim wood and prevent it from being burnt.
Exo 27:3
His pans to receive his ashes. Literally, “to cleanse it from fat’i.e; to receive what remained after burning the victims, which would be ashes mixed with a good deal of fat. His shovels. Those would be used in removing the ashes from the altar, and depositing them in the pans. His basins. Vessels for receiving the blood of the victims and from which it was poured on the altar. Compare Exo 24:6. His flesh hooks. So the Septuagint, and our translators again in 1Sa 2:13. They would seem by the latter passage to have been three-pronged forks, the proper use of which was, no doubt, to arrange the various pieces, into which the victim was cut, upon the altar. His fire-pans. The word used is generally translated “censers” (Lev 10:1.; Lev 16:12; Num 4:14 : Num 16:6, Num 16:17, etc.), but sometimes “snuff-dishes” (Exo 25:38; Exo 37:23). It here perhaps designates the vessels used for carrying burning embers from the altar of burnt-offering, to the altar of incense on certain occasions (Le 1Sa 16:12). Etymologically, it means simply “a receptacle.” All the vessels thereof thou shalt make of brass. Rather, “of bronze.” Bronze was the usual material of utensils and implements in Egypt. Copper was scarcely used without the alloy of tin which converts it into bronze; and brass was wholly unknown. A trace of iron is sometimes found in Egyptian bronze
Exo 27:4
Thou shalt make for it a grate. Rather, “a grating.” This was probably a protection for the lower part of the altar, and prevented it from being touched by the feet of the ministrant priests. It was outside the altar, and had the rings attached to it, by which the altar was carried when the Israelites journeyed.
Exo 27:5
Thou shalt put it under the compass. The “compass” (karkob) is spoken of as if it were something well-known; yet it had not been previously mentioned. Etymologically the word should mean “a cincture” or “band” round the altar; and thus far critics are generally agreed. But its position, size, and object, are greatly disputed. Some hold that it was a broad bench, or step, on which the officiating priests stood at the time of a sacrifice, and that its position was about the middle of the altar. Others think that it was a mere border round the top, from which the net-work depended, and that the object of both was to catch anything that might fall from the altar. Others again, while placing it mid-way in the altar, regard it as a mere ornament, only projecting slightly, and forming a sort of finish to the net-work. This, which is the view of Knobel, seems to be, on the whole, the most probable one. That the net may be even to the midst of the altar. If the” compass” was at the top, the net must have extended thence to the middle. If it was mid-way in the altar, the net must have covered the lower half. To us this latter seems the more probable view. But the point is uncertain.
Exo 27:6, Exo 27:7
Staves, or polos, were needed for the carriage of the altar from place to place, as for the ark (Exo 25:13) and the table of shew-bread (Exo 25:28). They were to be inserted into the rings mentioned in Exo 27:4. As the altar was of bronze, so the rings were to be of bronze, and the staves overlaid with bronze. There is a gradual descent in the preciousness of the materials from the holy of holies to the holy place, and from that to the court.
Exo 27:8
Hollow with boards shalt thou make it. See the comment on Exo 27:1. The term here used for” boards,” (which is different from that in Exo 26:15-29) implies strength and solidity. As it was showed thee in the mount, Compare Exo 26:30, with the comment ad loc.
HOMILETICS
Exo 27:1-8
The symbolism of the brazen altar.
The noticeable points of this altar are its position, material, ornaments, and purpose or use.
I. ITS POSITION.
(1) It was without the sanctuary, in the open court beyond;
(2) under the canopy of heaven;
(3) directly in front of the sanctuary, and so of the ark and the mercy-seat.
(1) It was without the sanctuary, that none might venture inside the holy structure, and so draw nigh to God without passing it, and obtaining from it the purification which it could confer. Even if the priests on the way to the tabernacle did not always stop at the altar to offer a victim as a sacrifice, they would have the thought of the need of expiation brought home to them by the sight of it, and might as they passed propitiate the Most High by the offering of a prayer. The position of the altar taught that man’s first need is to have his sins and impurities purged away; and that until this is done, he must not presume to worship God, or enter into his presence, or offer the sacrifice of praise, or mingle in the company of those who form “the general assembly and church of the first-born, which are written in heaven.”
(2) It was under the open canopy of heaven, visible to all, accessible to all, for all Israel might enter the court; thereby teaching, that the necessary purification was intended by God to be open to all, and that his eye looked down from heaven with favour upon all who desired to be purged from their impurities, and were willing to accept the appointed mode of purging.
(3) It was directly in front of the sanctuary, and so of the ark and the mercy-seat. By this position it pointed to them, led the eye towards them, reminded men of them. With God, in the holy of holies, was at once justice, and also mercythe law and the mercy-seat. Here, at the altar, was the place where the two could be reconciled, where “mercy and truth might meet together, righteousness and peace kiss each other.” Here was to be begun that purging, both of the nation and of individuals, which was only complete when once in the year the high priest entered into the holiest, with the blood of the sin-offerings, and sprinkled it on the horns of the altar that was within the veil (Exo 30:10), and “on the mercy-seat eastward” (Le Exo 16:14), so atoning both for himself and for the sins of the people (Heb 9:7).
II. ITS MATERIAL. The material was
(1) shittim or acacia wood;
(2) bronze; and
(3) earth;
the earth alone constituting the true altar (Exo 20:24), and the wood and metal a casing, by means of which the earth was kept together.
(1) Shittim, or acacia, the most incorruptible of woods, typified the purity required in all that is set apart for God.
(2) Bronze, the metal most common in the use of the time, indicated that the altar was for every-day employment by the mass of the people (Leviticus 1-7.).
(3) Earth, pure fragrant mould, that of which man was formed at the first (Gen 2:7), and into which he is resolved at the last (Gen 3:19), may well have represented Humanity; so that in the altar, which God had required to be made of earth (Exo 20:24), he saw Humanity making its offerings to him,peace-offerings in thankfulness for his mercies, sin-offerings in deprecation of his anger, burnt-offerings in complete dedication of the whole being to his service. Or the mould may primarily have represented this earth, on which we live, whereof it is the essence as being the life-sustaining portion, and only secondarily man, for whom the earth was brought into existence, and of which he is the master.
III. ITS ORNAMENTS. These were,
(1) perhaps, its cincture;
(2) certainly, its horns.
(1) The cincture, or “compass” (Exo 27:5), if it was wholly for ornament, may simply have indicated the propriety of adorning and beautifying everything which is brought into the service of the sanctuary. Without some wreath, or moulding, where the grating began, the altar would have had a bare and unfinished look. It would have been wanting in elegance and beauty. The pattern shown to Moses in the mount did not allow of this. It left nothing bare, unsightly, inelegant, out of taste. God chose to be worshipped “in the beauty of holiness.” It is easy to disparage beauty; and certainly beauty alone, not accompanied by purity and goodness, is worthless, vain, trivial. But, as men desire beauty in their own houses, furniture, utensils, vessels, implements, so natural piety leads them to desire even greater beauty for the houses, vessels, etc; used in the service of God. “The house,” said David, “that is to be builded for the Lord, must be exceedingly magnifical” (1Ch 22:5). And congruity requires that, if a house be magnifical, all its contents, down to the meanest vessel, should possess some beauty; otherwise, the law of harmony is brokena discord manifests itself.
(2) The horns at the four corners, uprearing themselves to heaven, and showing conspicuously, as symbols of power and strength, spoke of the God to whom the altar was reared, and indicated his ability to help, protect, and succour his worshippers. But there was also a human side to their symbolism. They further indicated the victory which man gains over death and Satan by means of expiation, the height to which he is exalted when the atonement made for him cleanses him from all sin. “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord!”
IV. ITS PURPOSE. We have assumed throughout that the purpose of the altarits main purposewas expiation. Its proper title was “the altar of burnt-offering.” All offerings, except those which the high priest offered at the altar of incense in the holy of holies, were to be made at this brazen altar before the door of the tabernacle. Hither were the Israelites to bring alike their peace or thank-offerings, their burnt-offerings, and their sin-offerings. Expiation was the sole idea of the last of these, and a main idea of the second; it was absent only from the first. Thus it was the predominant idea of sacrifice. The altar witnessed to the guilt of man in God’s sight, and the need of an atonement being made for him before he could be reconciled to “the High and Holy One.” It witnessed also to God’s eternal purpose, that a way of reconciliation should be devised, and made known to man, and that thus it should be put into his power to make his peace with God. The true victim was not indeed as yet offered. Bulls and goats, lambs and rams, could never of themselves, or of their own proper force, sanctify the unclean or take away sin. It was only by virtue of the death which their sacrifice prefigured, that they had any atoning force, or could be accepted by God as expiatory. Each victim represented Christthe one and only sacrifice for sin which could propitiate the Father. And the altar therefore represented and typified the cross on which Christ died, offering himself thereon to the Father as both priest and victim. Shape and material were different, and the mode of death was different; but each was the material substance on which the atoning victim died, each was stained with the atoning blood; and each was unspeakably precious to the trembling penitent who felt his need of pardon, and, if possible, even more precious to him who knew that atonement had thereon been made for him, and felt his pardon sealed. No true Israelite would sacrifice on any altar but that of the sanctuary. No true Christian will look for pardon and atonement anywhere but to the cross of Christ, and to him who on that altar gave his life for man.
HOMILIES BY J. URQUHART
Exo 27:1-21
The tabernacle and its teachings.
I. THE ALTAR OF SACRIFICE.
1. The situation of the altar.
(1) It faced the worshipper as he entered. The cross of Christ must be held up before men, if they are to be brought nigh to God.
(2) It stood before the holy place, and had to be passed by all who entered there. The realisation of Christ’s atonement for sin is the only path to God’s presence.
2. The altar, on which the sacrifice for sin is laid, is the place of power. The horns, the symbol of Divine power. The gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation.
3. In Christ God gives us a place for accepted offerings. The altar was Israel’s as well as God’s: upon it were laid their offerings as well as those prescribed for the daily service and the great day of atonement. In Christ we are able to offer sacrifices that are well pleasing to God.
II. THE COURT OF THE TABERNACLE.
1. Its limits were appointed by God himself. The Church must be made no broader than his commandment makes it. In his own time he will make it conterminous with the world; but meanwhile we must obey his commandment and fulfil his purpose by making it conterminous with living faith.
2. It was for all Israel. Living faith in Christ should be a passport to all his churches.
3. How the court was formed
(1) Its walls were made of fine linen. The distinction between the world and the Church is righteousness.
(2) The gate was formed of blue and purple and scarlet. Entrance is had not by man’s righteousness, but by bowing beneath the manifested grace of God in Christ.
III. THE OIL FOR THE LAMPS.
1. It was the free-will offering of the people. The light of the world springs from the consecration of believers.
2. It was to be pure. Believers must keep themselves unspotted from the world.
3. It was to be beaten, not pressed, and thus be the finest which the olive could yield. The highest outcome of humanity is the Christ-like life.
4. The lamps were to burn always. Our light, the flame of love, must burn constantly before God, and its radiance be shed always before men.
5. The lamps were to be tended by the ministers of God. The aim of those who labour in weird and doctrine should be the development of Christ-like life, love to God and man.U.
Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary
Exo 27:1. And thou shalt make an altar of shittim-wood The altar for the common service of sacrifices is next described; which the use whereto it was appointed rendered necessary to be formed of baser and stronger materials than the ark and table before mentioned. Accordingly, though constructed of the same wood with them, it was to be overlaid with brass, and all the furniture about it was to be made of the same metal. It was to be four-square, five cubits long, and five broad, and three cubits high; i.e. about three yards square at the top, and about five feet in height, according to Bishop Cumberland’s measure. There were to be four horns at the four corners of it, which were designed, it is supposed, for fastening the sacrifice to the altar before it was slain; an opinion, which the words of the Psalmist strongly confirm: Bind the sacrifice with cords unto the horns of the altar, Psa 118:27. For the middle of it, a grate of net-work of brass was to be made; of the same square, I conceive, with the altar itself; which grate was to have four rings in the four corners of it, and which was to be inserted from below or the bottom, so as to fill up the whole compass of the altar, Exo 38:5 and to be placed in the middle of it; that is, two feet and a half from the top; the rings being outward at the four corners, and used for the purpose of carrying it, Exo 38:7 for, that there were no other rings to this altar than those which belonged to the net-work, is evident from ch. Exo 38:5; Exo 38:7. This net-work, according to my idea, filling up the whole compass of the altar, formed the bottom of that grate for the fire which the upper half of the altar contained. The 8th verse shews us, that the altar was, as we have described, hollow; and that it had nothing else in the middle but this grate of net-work, upon which the fire was made: and, understanding it in this form, the objections to its portableness, from the weight of brass, is removed; especially, if, with Calmet, we suppose it to have stood upon feet which reached half up to the grate of brass, with the four rings at each corner. Thus also, objections to its height are taken off, which, upon this plan, was very convenient. In short, we may easily conceive it as a large square stove, lined with thick brass, and with such a grate of brass for its bottom, as would be absolutely necessary for fire to burn in such a stove. This altar was to be furnished with pans (to receive the ashes falling through the grate of the altar, to which there was no other bottom,) and shovels; with basons to receive the blood of the sacrifices, Exo 27:3 flesh-hooks for taking off the pieces of the sacrifice from the fire, (see 1Sa 2:13-14.) and fire-pans, i.e. censers, wherein the sacred incense was dissolved by the fire. The word is translated censer very properly, Lev 10:1; Lev 16:12 in which last place, particularly, the use of it just mentioned is specified. See also Num 16:17. This altar, says Witsius, by the consentient voice of all orthodox divines, denotes Christ; so far as he sanctifies and renders acceptable to God, his own oblation of himself for the sins of the whole world: to this the apostle is thought to allude, Heb 13:10. The horns, the place of refuge for the guilty, 1Ki 1:50 denote his strength and all-sufficiency, who is the Horn of our salvation, 2Sa 22:3. Luk 1:69.
REFLECTIONS.The brazen altar is here described, on which all the offerings of the children of Israel are to be offered, and there accepted as a sweet-smelling favour. It was the type of Christ, who is both altar and sacrifice; and who by one oblation of himself once offered, has obtained eternal redemption for us. Our sacrifices of prayer and praise are acceptable only as offered up through him, who is the true Altar which sanctifieth the gift. And to him the sinner, under the accusations of guilt and sin, must fly as the malefactor did to the horns of the altar, and then he shall be safe.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
H.The vision or the ideal of the tabernacle. The ordering of the ark and of the house of the covenant; of the living presence of the law and of the dwelling-place of the law-giver
Exodus 25-31
I. Contributions for the Building. Preliminary Condition
1And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, 2Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart 3[whose heart maketh him willing] ye shall take my offering. And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass, 4And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats hair, 5And rams skins dyed red, and badgers [seals] skins, and shittim [acacia] wood, 6Oil for the light, spices for anointing [the anointing] oil, and for sweet [the sweet] incense, 7Onyx stones, and stones to be set in [set, for] the ephod, and in [for] the breast-plate. 8And let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them. 9According to all that I shew thee, after [thee,] the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments [furniture] thereof, even so shall ye make it.
II. The Structure itself. The Place of Worship
1. The Ark
10And they shall make an ark of shittim [acacia] wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof. 11And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown [moulding] of gold round about. 12And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in the four corners [feet] thereof; and two rings shall be in [on] the one side of it, and two rings in [on] the other side of it. 13And thou shalt make staves of shittim 14[acacia] wood, and overlay them with gold. And thou shalt put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, that the ark may be borne with them [to bear the ark with]. 15The staves shall be in the rings of the ark: they shall not be taken from it. 16And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee. 17And thou shalt make a mercy-seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof. 18And thou shalt make two cherubims [cherubim] of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them in [at] the two ends of the mercy-seat. 19And make one cherub on [at] the one end, and the other cherub on [at] the other end: even of [of one piece with] the mercy-seat1 shall ye make the cherubims [cherubim] on [at] the two ends thereof. 20And the cherubims [cherubim] shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy-seat with their wings, and their faces shall look [with their faces] one to another: toward the mercy-seat shall the faces of the cherubims [cherubim] be. 21And thou shalt put the mercy-seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. 22And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy-seat, from between the two cherubims [cherubim] which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.
2. The Table
23Thou shalt also make a table of shittim [acacia] wood: two cubits shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof. 24And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, and make thereto a crown [moulding] of gold round about. 25And thou shalt make unto it a border of an [a] hand breadth round about, and thou shalt make a golden crown [moulding] to the border thereof round about. 26And thou shalt make for it four rings of gold, and put the rings in [on] the four 27corners that are on [belong to] the four feet thereof. Over against [Close by] the border shall the rings be for places of [for] the staves to bear the table. 28And thou shalt make the staves of shittim [acacia] wood, and overlay them with gold, that the table may be borne with them. 29And thou shalt make the dishes [plates] thereof, and spoons [the cups] thereof, and covers [the flagons] thereof, and bowls [the bowls] thereof, to cover [pour out] withal: of pure gold shalt thou make them. 30And thou shalt set upon the table shew-bread before me alway.
3. The Candlestick
31And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers shall be of the same [of beaten work shall be made the candlestick, its base and its shaft: its cups, its knobs, and its flowers shall be of one piece with it].2 32And six branches shall come out [coming out] of the sides of it: three branches of the candlestick out of the one side [one side of it], and three branches of the candlestick 33out of the other side [side of it]: Three bowls [cups] made like unto almonds [almond-blossoms] with a knop and a flower in one branch [in one branch, a knob and a flower]; and three bowls [cups] made like almonds [almond-blossoms] in the other branch, with [branch,] a knop [knob] and a flower: so in 34[for] the six branches that come out of the candlestick. And in the candlestick shall be four bowls [cups] made like unto almonds, with [almond-blossoms,] their 35[its] knops [knobs] and their [its] flowers. And there shall be a knop [knob] under two branches of the same [of one piece with it], and a knop [knob] under two branches of the same [of one piece with it], and a knop [knob] under two branches of the same [of one piece with it], according to [for] the six branches that proceed 36[come] out of the candlestick. Their knops [knobs] and their branches shall be of the same [of one piece with it]: all it [all of it] shall be one beaten work of pure gold. 37And thou shalt make the seven lamps thereof; and they shall light [set up] the lamps thereof, that they may give light over against it. 38And the tongs [snuffers] 39thereof, and the snuff-dishes thereof, shall be of pure gold. Of a talent of pure 40gold shall he make it [shall it be made], with all these vessels [instruments]. And look [see] that thou make them after their pattern, which was shewed thee in the mount.
4. The Dwelling (the Tent)
Exo 26:1. Moreover thou shalt make the tabernacle with ten curtains of [curtains: of] fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with [scarlet, with] cherubims [cherubim] of cunning work [the work of a skilful weaver] shalt thou make them. 2The length of one [each] curtain shall be eight and twenty cubits, and the breadth of one [each] curtain four cubits: and every one of the 3[all the] curtains shall have one measure. The five [Five of the] curtains shall be coupled together one to another; and other [the other] five curtains shall be coupled one to another. 4And thou shalt make loops of blue upon the edge of the one [first] curtain from the selvedge [at the border] in the coupling [the set of curtains]; and likewise shalt thou make in [so shalt thou do with] the uttermost edge of another curtain [the edge of the outmost curtain] in the coupling of the second [in the second set of curtains]. 5Fifty loops shalt thou make in the one curtain, and fifty loops shalt thou make in the edge of the curtain that is in the coupling of the second [in the second set of curtains]; that the loops may take hold one of [the loops shall be opposite one to] another. 6And thou shalt make fifty taches [clasps] of gold, and couple the curtains together [one to another] with the taches [clasps]; and it shall be one tabernacle [the tabernacle shall be one]. 7And thou shalt make curtains of goats hair to be a [for a] covering [tent] upon [over] the tabernacle: eleven curtains shalt thou make. 8The length of one [each] curtain shall be thirty cubits, and the breadth of one [each] curtain four cubits: and [cubits:] the eleven curtains shall be all of [shall have] one measure. 9And thou shalt couple five curtains by themselves and six curtains by themselves, and shalt double [fold together] the sixth curtain in the forefront [front] of the tabernacle [tent]. 10And thou shalt make fifty loops on the edge of the one curtain that is outmost in the coupling [first set of curtains], and fifty loops in the edge of the curtain which coupleth the second 11[is the second set]. And thou shalt make fifty taches [clasps] of brass, and put the taches [clasps] into the loops, and couple the tent together, that it may [and it shall] be one. 12And the remnant [excess] that remaineth of the curtains of the tent, the half curtain that remaineth, shall hang over the back-side [back] of the 13tabernacle. And a [the] cubit on the one side, and a [the] cubit on the other side of that which remaineth in the length of the curtains of the tent, it [tent,] shall hang over the sides of the tabernacle on this side and on that side, to cover it. 14And thou shalt make a covering for the tent of rams skins dyed red, and a covering above of badgers skins [of seal-skins above]. 15And thou shalt make boards 16[the boards] for the tabernacle of shittim [acacia] wood standing up. Ten cubits shall be the length of a board, and a cubit and a half shall be the breadth of one 17[each] board. Two tenons shall there be in one [each] board, set in order one against [equally distant from one] another: thus shalt thou make for [do unto] all the boards of the tabernacle. 18And thou shalt make the boards for the tabernacle, twenty boards on [for] the south side southward. 19And thou shalt make forty sockets of silver under the twenty boards; two sockets under one board for his [its] two tenons, and two sockets under another board for his [its] two tenons. 20And for the second side of the tabernacle on [for] the north side there shall be twenty boards: 21And their forty sockets of silver; two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board. 22And for the sides [rear] of the tabernacle westward thou shalt make six boards. 23And two boards shalt thou make for the corners of the tabernacle in the two sides [in the rear]. 24And they shall be coupled together [be double] beneath, and they shall be coupled together3 above the head of it unto one ring [and together they shall be whole up to the top of it, unto the first ring]: 25thus shall it be for them both; they shall be for the two corners. And they [there] shall be eight boards, and their sockets of silver, sixteen sockets; two sockets under one board and two sockets under another board. 26And thou shalt make bars of shittim [acacia] wood; five for the boards of the one side of the tabernacle, 27And 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 [the rear] westward. 28And the middle bar in the midst [middle] of the boards shall reach [pass through] from end to end. 29And thou shalt overlay the boards with gold, and make their rings of gold for places for the bars: 30and thou shalt overlay the bars with gold. And thou shalt rear [set] up the tabernacle according to the fashion thereof which was [hath been] shewed thee in the mount.
5. The Veil
31And thou shalt make a veil of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubims [linen: with cherubim, the work of a skilful workman] shall it be made. 32And thou shalt hang it upon four pillars of shittim [acacia] wood overlaid with gold: their hooks shall be of gold, upon four sockets of silExo Exo 25:33 And thou shalt hang up the veil under the taches [clasps], that thou mayest bring [and shalt bring] in thither within the veil the ark of the testimony: and the veil shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy [the holy of holies]. 34And thou shalt put the mercy-seat upon the ark of the testimony in the most holy place [holy of holies]. 35And thou shalt set the table without the veil, 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. 36And thou shalt make an hanging [a screen] for the door of the tent, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needle-work 37[the work of the embroiderer]. And thou shalt make for the hanging [screen] five pillars of shittim [acacia] wood, and overlay them with gold; and their hooks shall be of gold: and thou shalt cast five sockets of brass for them.
6. The Altar of Burnt-offering
Chap. Exo 27:1 And thou shalt make an [the] altar of shittim [acacia] wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be four-square: and the height thereof shall be three cubits. 2And thou shalt make the horns of it upon the four corners thereof: his [its] horns shall be of the same [of one piece with it]: 3and thou shalt overlay it with brass. And thou shalt make his [its] pans [pots] to receive his [to take away its] ashes, and his [its] shovels, and his [its] basins, and his [its] fleshhooks, and his [its] firepans: all the vessels thereof thou shalt make of brass [copper]. 4And thou shalt make for it a grate [grating] of network of brass [copper]; and upon the net shalt thou make four brazen [copper] rings in 5[on] the four corners thereof. And thou shalt put it under the compass of the altar beneath [below, under the ledge of the altar], that the net may be even to the midst [and the net shall reach up to the middle] of the altar. 6And thou shalt make staves for the altar, staves of shittim [acacia] wood, and overlay them with brass [copper]. 7And the staves [staves thereof] shall be put into the rings, and the staves shall be upon the two sides of the altar, to bear it [in bearing it]. 8Hollow with boards shalt thou make it: as it was [hath been] shewed thee in the mount; so shall they make it.
7. The Court
9And thou shalt make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward there shall be hangings for the court of fine-twined linen of an hundred [linen a hundred] cubits long for one side: 10And the twenty pillars thereof and their twenty sockets shall be of brass [copper]; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets [rods] shall be of silExo Exo 25:11 And likewise for the north side in length there shall be hangings of an hundred [hangings a hundred] cubits long, and his [its] twenty pillars and their twenty sockets of brass 12[copper]; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets [rods] of silver. And for the breadth of the court on the west side shall be hangings of fifty cubits [hangings fiftycubits long]: their pillars ten, and their sockets ten. 13And the breadth of the court on the east side eastward shall be fifty cubits. 14The hangings of one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits [Fifteen cubits of hangings shall be on one side of the gate]: their pillars three, and their sockets three. 15And on the other side shall be hangings fifteen cubits [fifteen cubits of hangings]: their pillars three, and their sockets three. 16And for the gate of the court shall be an hanging [a screen] of twenty cubits, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine-twined linen, wrought with needle-work [linen, embroidered work]: and their pillars shall be four, and their sockets four. 17All the pillars round about the court [of the court round about] shall be filleted with silver [joined with rods of silver]; their hooks shall be of silver, and their sockets of brass [copper]. 18The length of the court shall be an [a] hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty everywhere, and the height five cubits, of fine-twined linen, and their sockets of brass [copper]. 19All the vessels [furniture] of the tabernacle in all the service thereof, and all the pins thereof, and all the pins of the court shall be of brass [copper].
III. The Persons and Things occupying the Building. The Ritual Worship
1. The Oil for the Lamp
20And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten [beaten olive oil] for the light, to cause the [a] lamp to burn always [continually]. 21In the tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting] without the veil, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order [trim] it from evening to morning before Jehovah: it shall be a statute forever unto [throughout] their generations on the behalf of [on the part of] the children of Israel.
2. The Clothing of the Priest and of his Sacerdotal Assistants
Exo 28:1 And take thou [bring thou near] unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priests office [that he may be a priest unto me], even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aarons sons. 2And thou shalt make holy [sacred] garments for Aaron thy brother for glory [honor] and for beauty. 3And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise-hearted [all the skilful-hearted], whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom [skill], that they may make Aarons garments to consecrate [sanctify] him, that he may minister unto me in the priests office [that Hebrews 4 may be a priest unto me]. And these are the garments which they shall make: a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered [checkered] coat, a mitre [turban], and a girdle: and they shall make holy [sacred] garments for Aaron thy brother, and [and for] his sons, that he may minister unto me in the priests office 5[that he may be a priest unto me]. And they shall take gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen. 6And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, and of purple, of scarlet, and fine-twined linen, with cunning work [linen, the work of askilful weaver]. 7It shall have the two shoulder-pieces thereof joined at [have two shoulder-pieces joined to] the two edges thereof: and so it [and it] shall be joined together. 8And the curious girdle of the ephod [the embroidered belt for girding it], which is upon it, shall be of the same [same piece], according to the work thereof; even of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine-twined linen. 9And thou shalt take two onyx stones and grave [engrave] on them the names of the children of Israel: 10Six of their names on one stone, and the other six names of the rest [and thenames of the six remaining ones] on the other stone, according to their birth. 11With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, shalt thou engrave the two stones with [according to] the names of the children of Israel: thou shalt make them to be set [inclosed] in ouches [settings] of gold. 12And thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulders [shoulder-pieces] of the ephod for stones of memorial unto [as memorial stones for] the children of Israel: and Aaron shall bear their names before Jehovah upon his two shoulders for a memorial. 13And thou shalt make ouches [settings] of gold; 14And two chains of pure gold at the ends; of wreathen work shalt thou make them [pure gold; like cords shalt thou make them, of wreathen work]: and fasten [and thou shalt put] the wreathen chains to the ouches 15[on the settings]. And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment, with cunning work [the work of a skilful weaver]; after [like] the work of the ephod thou shalt make it; of gold, of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine twined linen, shalt 16 thou make it. Four square it shall be being doubled [It shall be square and double]; a span shall be the length thereof, and a span shall be the breadth thereof. 17And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones: the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be [stones: a row of sardius, topaz, and emerald shall be] the first row. 18And the second row shall be an emerald, [carbuncle], a sapphire, and a diamond. 19And the third row a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst. 20And the fourth row a beryl [chrysolite], and an onyx, and a jasper: they shall set in gold in their inclosings. 21And the stones shall be with [according to] the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like [names: like] the engravings of a signet; every [signet, every] one with [accordingto] his name shall they be according to [be for] the twelve tribes. 22And thou shalt make upon the breast-plate chains at the ends [like cords] of wreathen work of pure gold. 23And thou shalt make upon the breast-plate two rings of gold, and shalt put the two rings on the two ends of the breast-plate. 24And thou shalt put the two wreathen 25chains of gold in [on] the two rings which are on the ends of the breast-plate. And the other two ends of the two wreathen chains thou shalt fasten in the two ouches [put on the two settings], and put them on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod before it [onthe front of it]. 26And thou shalt make two rings of gold, and thou shalt put them upon the two ends of the breast-plate, in [on] the border thereof which is in [toward] 27the side of the ephod inward. And two other rings of gold thou shalt make, and shalt put them on the two sides [shoulder-pieces] of the ephod underneath, toward [on] the fore-part thereof, over against [close by] the other coupling [the coupling] thereof, above the curious girdle of the ephod [the embroidered belt of theephod]. 28And they shall bind the breast-plate by the rings thereof unto the rings of the ephod with a lace [cord] of blue, that it may be above the curious girdle [the embroidered belt] of the ephod, and that the breast-plate be not loosed from the ephod. 29And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breast-plate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place, for a memorial before Jehovah continually. 30And thou shalt put in the breast-plate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aarons heart, when he goeth in before Jehovah: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before Jehovah continually. 31And thou shalt make the robe of the ephod all of blue. 32And there shall be an hole in the top of it, in the midst thereof [And its opening for the head shall be in the middle of it]: it shall have a binding of woven work round about the hole of it [its opening], as it were the hole 33of an habergeon [like the opening of a coat of mail], that it be not rent. And beneath upon [And upon] the hem of it [its skirts] thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the hem [skirts] thereof; and bells of gold between them round about: 34A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem [skirts] of the robe round about. 35And it shall be upon Aaron to minister [for ministering]: and his sound [the sound thereof] shall be heard when he goeth in unto [goeth into] the holy place before Jehovah, and when he cometh out, that he die not. 36And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave [engrave] upon it, like the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO JEHOVAH. 37And thou shalt put it on a blue lace [cord], that it may be [and it shall be] upon the mitre [turban]; upon the forefront [front] of the mitre 38[turban] it shall be. And it shall be upon Aarons forehead, that Aaron may [and Aaron shall] bear the iniquity of the holy [sacred] things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy [sacred] gifts; and it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before Jehovah. 39And thou shalt embroider [weave] the coat of fine linen, and thou shalt make the mitre [turban] of fine linen, and thou shalt make the [a] girdle of needle-work [embroidered work]. 40And for Aarons sons thou shalt make coats, and thou shalt make for them girdles, and bonnets [caps] shalt thou make for them, for glory [honor] and for beauty. 41And thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him; and shalt anoint them, and consecrate [ordain] them, and sanctify them, that they may minister unto me in the priests office [and they shall be priests unto me]. 42And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their [the flesh of their] nakedness; from the loins even unto [loins unto] the thighs they shall reach: 43And they shall be upon Aaron, and upon his sons, when they come in unto [come into] the tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting], or when they come near unto the altar to minister in the holy place; that they bear not iniquity, and die: it shall be a statute for ever unto him and his [and unto his] seed after him.
3. The Consecration of the Priests
Exo 29:1 And this is the thing that thou shalt do unto them to hallow them, to minister unto me in the priests office [to be priests unto me]: Take one young bullock, and two rams without blemish, 2and unleavened bread, and cakes unleavened tempered [mingled] with oil, and wafers unleavened anointed with oil: of wheaten flour shalt thou make them. 3And thou shalt put them into one basket, and bring them in the basket, with the bullock and the two rams. 4And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting], and shalt wash them with water. 5And thou shalt take the garments, and put upon Aaron the coat, and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breast-plate, and gird him with the curious girdle [embroidered belt] of the ephod. 6And thou shalt put the mitre [turban] upon his head, and put the holy crown upon the mitre [turban]. 7Then shalt thou [And thou shalt] take the anointing oil, and pour itupon his head, and anoint him. 8And thou shalt bring his sons, and put coats upon them. 9And thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and put the bonnets [bind caps] on them: and the priests office [priesthood] shall be theirs for [by] a perpetual statute: 10and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons. And thou shalt cause a bullock to be brought [bring the bullock] before the tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting]: and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the bullock. 11And thou shalt kill the bullock before Jehovah, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting]. 12And thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger, and pour all the blood beside the bottom [at the base] of the altar. 13And thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul that is above [lobe above] the liver, and the two kidneys and the fat that is upon them, and burn themupon the altar. 14But the flesh of the bullock, and his skin, and his dung, shalt thou burn with fire without the camp: it is a sin-offering. 15Thou shalt also take one [the one] ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put [lay] their hands upon the head of the ram. 16And thou shalt slay the ram, and thou shalt take his blood, and sprinkle it round about upon the altar. 17And thou shalt cut the ram in pieces, and wash the inwards of him [his inwards], and his legs, and put them unto his pieces, and unto his head. 18And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it is a burnt-offering unto Jehovah: it is a sweet savor, an offering made by fire [a fire-offering] unto Jehovah. 19And thou shalt take the other ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put [lay] their hands upon the head of the ram. 20Then shalt thou kill the ram, and take of his blood, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and upon the tip of the right ear of his sons, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about. 21And thou shalt take of the blood that is upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon the garments of his sons with him: and he shall be hallowed, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons garments with him. 22Also thou shalt take of the ram the fat and the rump [the fat tail], and the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul above [lobe of] the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon upon them, and the right shoulder; for it is a ram of consecration: 23And one loaf of bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer out of the basket of the unleavened bread that is before Jehovah: 24And thou shalt put all [the whole] in the hands of Aaron, and in the hands of his sons; and shalt wave them for a wave-offering before Jehovah. 25And thou shalt receive [take] them of [from] their hands, and burn them upon the altar for a [upon the] burnt-offering, for a sweet savor before Jehovah: it is an offering made by fire [a fire-offering] unto Jehovah. 26And thou shalt take the breast of the ram of Aarons consecration [of Aarons ram of consecration], and wave it for [as] a wave-offering before Jehovah: and it shall be thy part. 27And thou shalt sanctify the breast of the wave-offering, and the shoulder of the heave-offering, which is waved, and which is heaved up, of the ram of the [of] consecration, even of that which is for Aaron, and of that which is for his sons: 28And it shall be Aarons and his sons by a statute for ever from the children of Israel; for it is an [a] heave-offering: and it shall be an [a] heave-offering from the children of Israel of the sacrifice of their [Israel of their] peace-offerings,even their heave-offering unto Jehovah. 29And the holy garments of Aaron shall be 30his sons after him, to be anointed therein, and to be consecrated in them. And that son that is priest in his stead shall put them on seven days [Seven days shall he of his sons who is priest in his stead put them on], when he cometh into the tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting] to minister in the holy place. 31And thou shalt take the ram of the [of] consecration, and seethe [boil] his flesh in the 32[a] holy place. And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation [tentof meeting]. 33And they shall eat those things wherewith the [wherewith] atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them; but a stranger shall not eat thereof, 34because they are holy. And if aught of the flesh of the consecrations [consecration], or of the bread, remain unto [until] the morning, then thou shalt burn the remainder with fire: it shall not be eaten, because it is holy. 35And thus shalt thou do unto Aaron and to his sons, according to all things which [all that] I have commanded thee: seven days shalt thou consecrate them.
4. Consecration and Design of the Altar of Burnt-offering
36And thou shalt offer every day a bullock for a sin-offering for atonement: and thou shalt cleanse the altar, when thou hast made an [by making] atonement for it, and thou shalt anoint it, to sanctify it. 37Seven days thou shalt make an [make] atonement for the altar, and sanctify it; and it shall be an altar most holy: whatsoever 38toucheth the altar shall be holy. Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar: two lambs of the first year [a year old] day by day continually. 39The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer at even: 40And with the one lamb a tenth deal [part] of flour mingled with the fourth part of an [a] hin of beaten oil; and the fourth part of an [a] hin of wine for a drink-offering. 41And the other lamb thou shalt offer at even, and shalt do thereto according to the meat-offering of [shalt offer with it the same meal-offering as in] the morning, and according to the drink-offering thereof [and the same drink-offering], for a sweet savor, an offering made by fire [a fire-offering] unto Jehovah. 42This shall be a continual burnt-offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting] before Jehovah; where I will meet [meet with] you, to speak there unto thee. 43And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle [and it] shall be sanctified by my glory. 44And I will sanctify the tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting], and the altar: I will sanctify also both Aaron and his sons, to minister to me in the priests office 45[to be priests unto me]. And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God. 46And they shall know that I am Jehovah their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may [might] dwell among them: I am Jehovah their God.
5. The Altar of Incense
Exo 30:1 And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim 2[acacia] wood shalt thou make it. A cubit shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof; four-square shall it be: and two cubits shall be the height thereof: the horns thereof shall be of the same [of one piece with it]. 3And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, the top thereof, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns thereof; and thou shalt make unto [for] it a crown of gold round about. 4And two golden rings shalt thou make to [for] it under the crown of it, by the two corners [upon the two flanks] thereof, upon the two sides of it shalt thou make it; and they shall be for places for the staves to bear it withal [with]. 5And thou shalt make the staves of shittim [acacia] wood, and overlay them with gold. 6And thou shalt put it before the veil that is by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy-seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee. 7And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth [trimmeth] the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it. 8And when Aaron lighteth [setteth up] the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it [burn it], a perpetual incense before Jehovah throughout your generations. 9Ye shall offer no strange incense thereon, nor burnt-sacrifice [burnt-offering], nor meat-offering [meal-offering]; neither shall ye pour [and ye shall pour no] drink-offering thereon. 10And Aaron shall make an [make] atonement upon [for] the horns of it once in a [the] year with the blood of the sin-offering of atonements: once in the year shall he make atonement upon [for] it throughout your generations: it is most holy unto Jehovah.
6. The Contributions for the Sanctuary (Poll-tax)
11And Jehovah spake unto Moses saying, 12When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel after [according to] their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto Jehovah, when thou numberest them; that there be [maybe] no plague among them, when thou numberest them. 13This they shall give, every one that passeth among [over unto] them that are numbered, half a shekel after [according to] the shekel of the sanctuary: (a shekel is twenty gerahs): an [a] half shekel shall be the offering of [unto] Jehovah. 14Every one that passeth among [over unto] them that are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering unto Jehovah [Jehovahs offering]. 15The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a [the half] shekel, when they give an offering unto Jehovah [give Jehovahs offering], to make an [make] atonement for your souls. 16And thou shalt take the atonement money of [from] the children of Israel, and shalt appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting]; that it may be [and it shall be] a memorial unto [for] the children of Israel before Jehovah, to make an [make] atonement for your souls.
7. The Laver
17And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, 18Thou shalt also make a laver of brass [copper], and his foot also of brass [its base of copper], to wash withal [in]: and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting] and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein. 19For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat [from it]: 20When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting], they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire [afire-offering] unto Jehovah: 21So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not: and it shall be a statute for ever to them, even to him and to his seed throughout their generations.
8. The holy Anointing Oil
22Moreover Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, 23Take thou also unto thee principal spices [the chief spices], of pure [flowing] myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and fifty shekels, and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty shekels, 24And of cassia five hundred shekels, after [accordingto] the shekel of the sanctuary, and of oil olive an [olive oil a] hin: 25And thou shalt make it an oil of holy ointment [a holy anointing oil], an ointment compound [compounded] after the art of the apothecary [a perfumed ointment, the work of theperfumer]: it shall be an [a] holy anointing oil. 26And thou shalt anoint the tabernacle of the congregation therewith [therewith the tent of meeting], and the ark of the testimony, 27And the table and all his vessels [its furniture], and the candlestick and his vessels [its furniture] and the altar of incense, 28And the altar of burnt-offering with all his vessels [its furniture], and the laver and his foot [its base]. 29And thou shalt sanctify them, that they may be most holy: whatsoever [whosoever] toucheth them shall be holy. 30And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister unto me in the priests office [to be priests unto me]. 31And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, This shall be an [a] holy anointing oil unto me throughout your generations. 32Upon mans flesh shall it not be poured, neither shall ye make any other like it, after the composition of it [and ye shall make none like it with its33proportions]: it is holy, and it shall be holy unto you. Whosoever compoundeth any like it, or whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger, shall even [he shall] be cut off from his people.
9. The Incense
34And Jehovah said unto Moses, Take unto thee sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum; these sweet spices with pure frankincense: of each shall there be a like weight [an equal part]: 35And thou shalt make it a perfume, a confection, after the art of the apothecary, tempered together [make of it an incense, a perfume, thework of the perfumer, salted], pure, and holy: 36And thou shalt beat some of it very small [it fine], and put of it before the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting], where I will meet with thee: it shall be unto you most holy. 37And as for the perfume [And the incense] which thou shalt make, ye shall not make to [for] yourselves according to the composition [with its proportions]: it shall be unto thee holy for [unto] Jehovah. 38Whosoever shall make [make any] like unto that, to smell thereto [thereof], shall even [he shall] be cut off from his people.
IV. The Architects. The Master-workman Bezaleel and his Vocation. Sacred Art
Exo 31:1, And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, 2See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: 3And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner [kinds] of workmanship, 4To devise cunning [skilful] works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass [copper], 5And in cutting of stones, to set them [stones for setting], and in carving of timber, to work in all manner [kinds] of workmanship. 6And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan: and in the hearts of all that are wise-hearted I have put wisdom, that they make all that I have commanded thee: 7The tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting], and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy-seat that is thereupon, and all the furniture of the tabernacle [tent], 8And the table and his [its] furniture, and the pure candlestick with all his [its] furniture, and the altar of incense, 9And the altar of burnt-offering with all his [its] furniture, and the laver and his foot [its base], 10And the cloths [garments] of service, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priests office [aspriests], 11And the anointing oil, and sweet incense for the holy place: according to all that I have commanded thee shall they do.
V. The Condition of the Vitality of the Ritual. The Sabbath
12And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, 13Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am Jehovah that doth sanctify you. 14Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore [And ye shall keep the sabbath]; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth [profaneth] it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. 15Six days may work be done; but in [on] the seventh is the [a] sabbath of rest, holy to Jehovah: whosoever doeth any work in [on] the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. 16Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations for [as] a perpetual 17covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days Jehovah made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed. 18And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing [speaking] with him upon mount Sinai, two [the two] tables of [of the] testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.
TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL
[Exo 25:19. , etc. Literally, From the mercy-seat shall ye make the cherubim. This is understood by some to mean: rising up from the mercy-seat. But the simple hardly conveys that notion; it has, perhaps, somewhat of its original import, part, so that the direction is to make the cherubim a part of the mercy-seat, i.e., of one piece with it.Tr.]
[Exo 25:31. The change proposed in the punctuation is one required by the Masoretic accentuation, as well as by the sense, though adopted by only a few commentators (Knobel, Do Wette, Bunsen). When it is said, its base and its shaft, etc., shall be made of the same, the question arises, the same with what? For the several specifications include the whole of the candlestick. The direction thus would be to make all the several parts of the candlestick of the same piece with the candlestickwhich is senseless.Tr.]
[Exo 26:24. The A. V. rendering (favored also by Kalisch, Gesenius, Glaire, De Wette, Frst, and Canon Cook) assumes to be a contracted form of . But it is singular (if this is the case) that both forms should occur in the same verse, and more singular still that there should be the same conjunction of the two forms in the parallel passage Exo 36:29. So long as at the best the obscurity of the description is not relieved by such an assumption, it seems much more reasonable to take in its natural sense of perfect, whole, and elucidate the meaning, if possible, on that assumption.Tr.]
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
The origin of the tabernacle is twice recorded in Exodus: first, (considered from its divine side) as a command of God, or (considered from its human side) as a vision or ideal (the tabernacle which God showed Moses on the mount), 2531; secondly, as the historical fact of the execution of the building of the work commanded by Jehovah, but interrupted by the history of the golden calf, 3540.
The tabernacle is not merely a place of worship; but, as being the house of the ark of the covenant or of the tables of the law, and as being the house of the Lord of the covenant who manifests Himself in the Holy of holies, it is first of all the centre of the whole legislation and the residence of the lawgiver Himself, who holds sway between the cherubim over His law, and will not let it become a dead ordinance, but makes sure that from out of the Holy of holies it shall grow into a living power. Hence, therefore, the history of this institution properly stands in Exodus, not in Leviticus. Jehovah has redeemed His people out of the house of bondage, and brought them to His holy house, which is at once palace, temple, and court-house, or public gathering-placethe house in which Jehovah meets with His people.
The tabernacle has been called a nomadic temple. It is indeed the preliminary form of the temple, but itself continued, after the people ceased their wanderings, for a long time to change its location in Israel until Solomons temple was built. As the prototype and opposite of garish heathen temples; as the historical model of the Israelitish temple in its three principal historical forms (temples of Solomon, Zerubbabel, and Herod); as the religious model, or outline, the type of Christian places of worship; and as the symbol of the proportions of the kingdom of God, both outwardly and inwardly considered; accordingly, as the fundamental form of every real sanctuary, the tabernacle preserves an imperishable significancealmost more significant in its naked simplicity than with its ornamentation and wealth. When the outward glory of the temple is gone, God will rebuild the tabernacle of David (Amo 9:11-12).
The tabernacle as Moses idea, which indeed he owes to divine revelation, characterizes Moses as also a great and original man in Hebrew art. Bezaleel was only the artist or master-workman who carried out the idea, working according to Moses plan; and even Michel Angelo, who chiselled the figure of Moses, worked, as architect, according to the theocratic outline which had been introduced into the world through Moses.
Of the numerous treatises on this sanctuary comp. besides Bhr (Symbolik des mosaischen Kultus I. p. 53 sqq.) and Keil (Bibl. Archologie 1, 17 sqq.), especially Leyrer in Herzogs Real-Encyklopdie, Art. Stiftshtte, which gives a condensed view of all the opinions and conjectures which have been propounded respecting its structure and significance. The latest monograms are: Wilh. Neumann, Die Stiftshtte in Bild und Wort gezeichnet, Gotha, 1861 (rich in fantastic hypotheses derived from the discoveries at Nineveh), and C. J. Riggenbach, Die mosaische Stiftshtte mit drei lithogr. Tafeln. (Basel, 18624). Vid. Knobel, Commentary, pp. 249257. Popper, Der biblische Bericht ber die Stiftshtte, etc. (Leipzig, 1862). Wangemann, Die Bedeutung der Stiftshtte. Wissenschaftlicher Vortrag, etc. (Berlin, 1866). Also Winers Reallexicon and Zellers Biblisches Wrterbuch. [To these may be added, besides Smiths Bible Dictionary and Kittos Cyclopedia, Kurtz, Sacrificial Offerings of the O. T.; Haneberg, Die religisen Alterthmer der Bibel (Munich, 1869); T. O. Paine, Solomons Temple (Boston, H. H. & T. W. Carter, 1870); and E. E. Atwater, History and Significance of the Sacred Tabernacle of the Hebrews (Dodd & Mead, New York, 1875).Tr.]
I. General view of the ideal plan of the building. Exo 25:1 to Exo 31:11
External Prerequisites. Building Materials. Assessments for the Building. Exo 25:1-9.
a. The Divine Side of the Dwelling
1. The Ark of the Covenant, with the Mercy-seat and the Cherubim, as the chief thing in the whole Building, Exo 25:10-22. Object of it: the continual, living Revelation of God. Exo 25:22. The Holy of Holies.
2. The Table of Shew-bread (of Communion with God, consecrated to God, Exo 25:30), and the Candlestick with its Appurtenances (the Divine Illumination in accordance with the Ideal, Exo 25:40), Exo 25:23-40.
3. The Sanctuary. Divine and Human. The Tent, or the Dwelling itself, Exo 26:1-30. Conformed to the Ideal, Exo 26:30.
4. The Veil to distinguish and divide the Holy of Holies from the Sanctuary, Exo 26:31-37.
b. The Human Side of the Dwelling
1. The Altar of Burnt-offering. Chap. Exo 27:1-8. Conformed to the Ideal, Exo 27:8.
2. The Court, Exo 27:9-19.
c. Functions Connected with the Building
1. Bringing of the holy Oil, and the Preparation of the Candlestick, Exo 27:20-21.
2. Equipment of the Priest, the High priest and his Assistants, Exo 28:1-43. Object of it, Exo 28:35; Exo 28:43.
3. Consecration of the Priests and the Sacrificial Functions of the Priest, Exo 29:1-46. Object, Exo 29:43-46.
4. Altar of Incense, and its Use, Exo 30:1-10.
5. Assessment for the Sanctuary as a Continual Memorial for the People, Exo 30:11-16.
6. The Brazen Laver in the Court for the Priests to wash from, Exo 30:17-21.
7. The Anointing of the Holy Things. The most holy Ointment, Exo 30:22-33.
8. The Most Holy Incense, Exo 30:34-38.
d. The Master-workmen
Exo 31:1-11.
*****Conclusion.The fundamental condition on which the meeting between Jehovah and His people ideally rests: the Sabbath, Exo 31:12-17. The addition of the Directions concerning the Tabernacle to the completed written Law, Exo 31:18.
II. General view of the actual construction of the building
Foundation: The Sabbath as Prerequisite to the Tabernacle. Exo 35:1-3 (Exo 31:14-17).
1. The Assessments for the Building, and the Preparation of the Material made under the direction of the Master-workmen, Exo 35:4 to Exo 36:7 (Exo 25:1-9; Exo 31:1-11).
2. The Work on the Dwelling, Exo 36:8-38 (Exo 26:1-37).
3. The Ark of the Covenant, the Mercy-seat, and the Cherubim, Exo 37:1-9 (Exo 25:10-22).
4. The Table, with its Appurtenances, Exo 37:10-16 (Exo 25:23-30).
5. The Candlestick, Exo 37:17-24 (Exo 25:31-40).
6. The Altar of Incense, the Incense, and the Anointing Oil, Exo 37:25-29 (Exo 30:1-10; Exo 30:23-38).
7. The Altar of Burnt-offering, Exo 38:1-7 (Exo 27:1-8).
8. The Brazen Laver, and the Court, Exo 38:8-20 (Exo 27:9-19).
9. The Reckoning of the Material used, Exo 38:21-31.
10. The official Garments of the Priests, Exo 39:1-31 (Exo 28:1-43). The Consecration of the Priests, and the Ordinance of the Sacrifices, Exo 29:1-46.
11. The Presentation of the Constituent Parts of the Dwelling, Exo 39:32-43.
12. The Erection of the Dwelling, and the Heavenly Consecration of it by means of the Pillar of Cloud and Fire, the Sign of the Veiled Presence of the Glory of the Lord, chap. 40.
Knobel calls attention to the exact reckoning in Exo 38:21 sqq. and the extraordinary circumstantiality and diffuseness which is found in no other narrator to the same degree. So extended a repetition does not occur elsewhere in all the Old Testament. As to the diffuseness, the O. T. everywhere gives details when the sanctuary is concerned, as becomes the symbolical significance of the sanctuary and the religious spirit of the Israelites, vid. 1 Samuel 4-7; 1Ki 5:1 to 1Ki 9:15; 2 Kings 12; 2 Chronicles 2-7; Ezekiel 40-47; the whole of Haggai; Zechariah 3, 4. It is taken for granted that here in every individual feature there is to be recognized the reflection of a religious thought. As to the repetition, however, stress is to be laid on the general consciousness of connection between ideal and real worship, as well as the special consciousness that the real tabernacle was built exactly according to the idea of it. Moreover, the second account is not a mere repetition of the first. In the presentation of the idea, the master-workmen come at the end; in the narrative of the actual erection of the building, at the beginning,quite in accordance with the relations of real life. In the execution of the work of the tabernacle the sacerdotal garments are described, and even the calculation of the cost of the buildingthe church account, so to speak. So the denunciation of a severe penalty on the manufacture, for private use, of the holy anointing oil and of the incense, is one of the means used to prevent the profanation of a legally prescribed system of worship. Even the hinderance in the execution of the work prescribed in the mount, occasioned by the golden calf, is not without meaning. How often it is a golden calf which hinders the execution of pure ideal ecclesiastical conceptions! Here, however, is everywhere manifested this feature of revelation, that the idea must become fact, and that the fact must answer to the idea.
We make five general divisions in the things commanded: I. The Prerequisitethe Materials. II. The Precept concerning the Structure itself. III. The Persons and Things occupying the Building. IV. The Architects and their Work. V. The Condition of the Vitality of the Institutionthe Sabbath.
Footnotes:
[1][Exo 25:19. , etc. Literally, From the mercy-seat shall ye make the cherubim. This is understood by some to mean: rising up from the mercy-seat. But the simple hardly conveys that notion; it has, perhaps, somewhat of its original import, part, so that the direction is to make the cherubim a part of the mercy-seat, i.e., of one piece with it.Tr.]
[2][Exo 25:31. The change proposed in the punctuation is one required by the Masoretic accentuation, as well as by the sense, though adopted by only a few commentators (Knobel, Do Wette, Bunsen). When it is said, its base and its shaft, etc., shall be made of the same, the question arises, the same with what? For the several specifications include the whole of the candlestick. The direction thus would be to make all the several parts of the candlestick of the same piece with the candlestickwhich is senseless.Tr.]
[3][Exo 26:24. The A. V. rendering (favored also by Kalisch, Gesenius, Glaire, De Wette, Frst, and Canon Cook) assumes to be a contracted form of . But it is singular (if this is the case) that both forms should occur in the same verse, and more singular still that there should be the same conjunction of the two forms in the parallel passage Exo 36:29. So long as at the best the obscurity of the description is not relieved by such an assumption, it seems much more reasonable to take in its natural sense of perfect, whole, and elucidate the meaning, if possible, on that assumption.Tr.]
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
4. The Tent, or the Dwelling itself. Exo 26:1-30
I. The Component Parts of the Tent as to Form.
a. The tent itself. (1) Ten curtains of byssus each 28 cubits long, and 4 cubits wide. (2) Fifty loops to each curtain, to connect together five curtains. (3) Five times fifty golden clasps, to connect the loops1
b. The covering of the tent. First covering, of goats hair: eleven curtains, each 30 cubits long, and 4 cubits wide, divided into sets of 5 and 6. For them 50 [or rather, 100] loops and 50 copper clasps. One curtain is folded double on the front side of the tent. The surplus cubits hang over on the two sides. A similar excess hangs over on the back end of the tent.Second covering, rams skins dyed red.Third covering, the outer one, seal-skins.
c. The supports of the tent. The boards of acacia wood. Each board 10 cubits long, 1 cubits wide. Two tenons in each board. Twenty boards on the south side resting on forty silver sockets (feet).Twenty boards on the north side with the same number of sockets. Six boards for the rear. Two boards for the corners of the rear. In addition, the bars (cross-bars or connecting bars), 5 for each side, the middle one passing the whole length of the framework. The bars and boards gilt. Also the rings for the bars.2
II. The Component Parts as to material. Byssus, linen, goats-hair, and the two kinds of skin. Acacia wood, gold, silver, copper.
III. The Colors. Especially significant. The covering proper of the tent contains the four colors: white, purplish-blue, purplish-red, crimson.
IV. The Work of the Curtains. The work of skilful weavers, i.e., with figures interwoven, viz., with figures of cherubim.
V. The different kinds of woven work.
5. The Veil. Exo 26:31-37
The division between the holy place and the Holy of holies. According to modern notions there is no difference between the wide, savage world and the court, no difference between the court and the holy place, none, in fine, between the holy place and the most holy. The Biblical notions are infinitely purer and finer. Even between the holy place and the most holy hangs a thick curtain, as between the Old and New Testament. The passage from the holy place into the Holy of holies has been made free to His people by Christ.
As the heaven of heavens is to be conceived as a high heaven consisting of individual heavens, the age (on) of ages (ons) as an age which consists of individual ages, the Sabbath of Sabbaths as one whose several week days are seven Sabbaths; so the Holy of holies is a sanctuary of sanctuaries, , and so, most holy. Especially is it to be observed that the three principal features of the holy place, viz., the table of shew-bread, the candlestick, and the altar of incense, here coalesce into one.
As there were three altars, so three curtains. The first screened the court; the second, the holy place; the third, the Holy of holies. The latter was the principal one. Keil and Knobel give details about the construction and arrangement of the curtain, as also about the Arab tents and Egyptian temples.3
6. The Altar of Burnt-offering. Exo 27:1-8
The fact that the altar of burnt-offering was separated not only from the Holy of holies, but also from the holy place, and stood in the court, serves to express this religious idea: that faith begins with the first approach to God, with obedience to His law and surrender to His judgment; but that it does not for that reason entitle one to an entrance into the interior communion with God in the sanctuary, still less to a complete union with God in the Holy of holies; although it has this as its aim, and is a preparation for it, and also through religious fellowship with the high-priest gives to him who makes the offering a conditional participation in the blessing of the Holy of holies, and gives him a hope of future entrance into the Holy of holies itself.
This distance between the holy place and the Holy of holies is also represented by the gradations in the value of the metallic ornamentations. The altar of burnt-offering was overlaid with copper: the seven-branched candlestick in the holy place consisted of fine or hollow vessels; the table of shew-bread was gilt; the ark of the covenant was gilt inside and outside, while its lid and the cherubim on it, as also the rim of the ark, were of solid gold. A similar relation exists between the curtains. The veil of the Holy of holies was the work of a skilled weaver, adorned with figures of cherubim in which the reflection of the cherubim in the Holy of holies appears. The second curtain, which screened the holy place, was simply woven in variegated colors, striped, or perhaps checkered; so also the screen at the entrance of the court. Significant special features in the altar of burnt-offering are particularly its horns, the points of the corners, the permanent power of the altar, so to speak, in contrast with the fire which now appears and now disappears; hence, as Keil says, the blood of the sin-offering was put upon them (Lev 4:7), and also those who sought the protection of their lives at the altar seized hold of them (vid. Exo 21:14). Among the vessels bowls appear again, but here to be used for sprinkling the blood. Special mention, moreover, is made of the grating of the altar under the ledge or rim (), and of this ledge itself. Upon the karkob, the ledge or rim, the priest stepped when an offering was made, or when he wished to add more wood, or do anything else on the altar (Keil). Knobel has a different view, holding [that the rim was only an ornament, that such a ledge to step on would have disfigured the altar, and moreover] that the altar was so high that it could not have been served without steps; which is contrary to Exo 20:26. Keil, on the contrary, supposes that the earth was slightly heaped up, so that the priest could step from it to the ledge. Neither does the height of the altar in Solomons temple (2Ch 4:1) exclude the assumption of such a gradual ascent. The grating was an enclosure to protect the altar; the rings by which the altar was carried were also fastened to it. The altar itself was a wooden structure consisting of four plane sides overlaid with copper, forming a hollow square, which was probably filled with earth, gravel, or stones (vid. Exo 20:24). The place for the fire had to be adequately separated from the wooden border.
7. The Court. Exo 27:9-19
The hangings which enclosed the court were not wrought in the four sacred colors, like the covering of the tabernacle itself, but were simply white. Moreover, they formed no roof, as that did, but only a boundary, an enclosure. The pillars here, moreover, have copper sockets, not silver ones; only the hooks of the pillars and the rods connecting them were of silver, the latter perhaps only overlaid with silver, as the pillars at the entrance of the tabernacle were gilt. It is to be further observed, that the court properly unites the notions of a porch and of a quadrangular wall of enclosure, since it passed around the tabernacle from east to west.
iii. the persons and things occupying the building. the ritual worship. Exo 27:20 to Exo 30:38.
In speaking now exclusively of the features of the ritual worship, it is to be observed that we must distinguish the general worship of the house of God from the specific, Levitical worship, the sacrificial ritual described in Leviticus.
1. The Oil for the Light. The Lamps. Exo 27:20-21
The first condition of life, in the house of the Lord as well as elsewhere, is light; and the prerequisite of that is oil. Light is the spirit in action, symbolized by oil, which is a symbol of the spiritual life itself. The first business of the priest was to be to prepare and produce lighteven in the Old Testament. How is it in this respect with the sacrificial priesthood of the present time? The text says that this is to be a perpetual statute. On the oil vid Knobel.4
2. The Sacerdotal Vocation. The Priesthis Assistants and Apparel. Exodus 28
The consecration of the priests is not treated of here, as Knobel thinks, but the priestly calling and its symbolic representation by means of the clothing; the consecration is not distinctly spoken of till the next chapter.
First, then, the vocation of the Priest, Exo 28:1-5. That Aaron is to be the priest (i.e., high priest), is presupposed; or, rather, it is Jehovahs commandment which is fulfilled by his coming before Moses, the prophet of God. The prophetic order is therefore perpetually the medium through which, and the condition on which, the priestly order officiates. But the priest is essentially only onea truth which in the N. T. is fulfilled in the high-priesthood of Christ. His sons therefore must approach with him, as being his descendants and legal successors, and as being his actual assistants. So they are first publicly presented to the congregation, and the latter take part in their appointment by furnishing men of sacred skill able to prepare the sacred garments which are to portray the symbolic phenomenon of the sacerdotal vocation, and by furnishing the materials for them (all of which is shadowed forth in Christianity, but not in the least in the infallible Pope). The main particulars are given in a significant order. As in the house of Jehovah the chief thing is the ark, so in the service of Jehovah is the breast-plate of the high-priest, with which, however, the shoulder-piece or ephod is immediately connected; for the priest is not only as a sympathizing intercessor to bear his people on his heart, but also, as a fellow-sufferer and laborer, on his shoulders. The shoulder-piece and the breast-plate form substantially one whole, whose most important part is the breast-plate; just as the mercy-seat is connected with the ark of the law, and yet forms in itself the principal thing in the Holy of holies, being, so to speak, the New Testament in the Old. So also in the breast-plate the eternal intercession of the eternal High Priest is adumbrated. Then follow the robe, the coat, the turban, and the girdle.
Next, therefore, is described the shoulder-piece or ephod, this being designed to underlie the breast-plate, Exo 28:6-14. From the whole cast of the precept it is evident that the culminating feature was its serving to bear the breast-plate. The material of the shoulder-piece is of as costly work, in all the four colors of the covenant, as the veil of the Holy of holies, except that instead of the figures of cherubim woven into the veil, this is to be artistically inwrought with gold, i.e., gold threads (Keil). According to Knobel, the ephod consisted of one piece, which had holes slit in it for the arms. But this leaves us no clear conception of it, for in this case there must have been another slit for the head too; and moreover in that case the symbolic reference to the two shoulders would be lost. According to Keils representation, the two shoulder-pieces seem to be too much separated; but they are not connecting so much as connected. The Rabbinical conception which he accepts seems quite untenable. It seems almost necessary to suppose that there was a connection not only on the front side, but also on the back; for only on this condition could the girdle, of like material and color, fasten the ephod.5 The girdle itself also is of one piece with the ephod; for firmness and collectedness are necessary in order to bear the burden of the people on the shoulders. That this was to be done by the high-priest, is expressed by the onyx (shoham) stones which were fastened on the right and left shoulder pieces and had engraved on them the names of the sons of Israel in the order of agea foreshadowing of the names on the breast-plate, as the cherubim in the veil foreshadow the cherubim in the Holy of holies itself, and the altar of burnt-offering (used also for sin and trespass-offerings, and for the great sin-offering) foreshadows the propitiatory lid or mercy-seat. Finally in the ephod are to be considered the golden settings or rings, with their golden chains, by means of which the breast-plate is to be fastened to the ephod.
Now follows the most important articlethe breast-plate
Exo 28:15-30 : the breast-plate of judicial sentence. By this phrase would we represent the meaning of , because it comprises both factors, light and right [Urim and Thummim], the sentence of salvation or of righteousness, and the sentence of judgment. The source and combination of both elements is found in the sympathy of the high-priest with the people of God. The material of the breast-plate is like that of the shoulder-pieces. Its form is square; for the people of God signify symbolically Gods perfect world; they are eventually to dwell in the Holy of holies (Rev 21:24). The doubling of it, aside from any other reference (e.g., to make it a pocket for the stones used in drawing lots), may have this meaning: that the inner fold represents the divine justice; the outer one, the people. The people are laid upon the heart of the high-priest, with the twelve precious stones set in four rows: four, the mundane number [the four points of the compass], multiplied by three, the number of the spirit [intellect, feelings, will], thus pointing to the world as made complete in and by the people of God. The twelve precious stones denote the variety, manifoldness, and totality of the natural and gracious gifts bestowed on the people of God, and united in the one spirit of heavenly preciousness. This wonderful idea goes from the twelve sons of Jacob through the whole Bible, and at last, proceeding from the number of the twelve apostles, attains its complete expression in the Apocalypse, vid. Comm. on Revelation, p. 385. The rows are as follows:
SARDIUS.
(Flesh Color.)
TOPAZ.
(Golden-Yellow.)
EMERALD.
(Brilliant Green.)
CARBUNCLE.
(Red.)
SAPPHIRE.
(Sky-Blue)
DIAMOND.
(Transparent or Reddish-Yellow.)
LIGURE (HYACINTH?)
(PaleVariegated.)
AGATE.
(GlisteningVariegated.)
AMETHYST.
(Mostly Violet.)
BERYL (CHRYSOLITE.)
(Yellow-Green.)
ONYX (BERYL.)
(Greenish.)
JASPER.
(Dull-RedCloudy.)
For archological and other details, see Knobel, p. 283, and my Vermischte Schriften, I. p. 18.
The fastening of the breast-plate to the ephod was an important task; no part was to be injured in the process. The description is hard to understand. We find a clue by the use of two suggestions. First, by determining that two golden chains hang down from the ephod towards the breast-plate. Secondly, by determining that the breast-plate must be loose at the top, as a pocket, for which reason also only two corners, viz., those at the bottom, are spoken of. On these corners two golden rings are fixed, into which the golden chains of the ephod are inserted, they themselves passing down by the breast plate and then returning into the connecting hooks of the ephod. Thus the breast-plate is held secure from falling, but may still become displaced. Hence two more golden rings have to be put upon the corners of the edge of the pocket, towards the inner part, i.e., on the inside part of the pocket, in order that the pocket itself may be left open. These rings correspond to two golden rings on the ephod which are fixed upon the breast side of it above where the two parts are joined together. These corresponding rings are tied fast together with a purplish-blue cord. So much importance and particularity belong to the business of fastening the breast-plate to the high-priests breast; and this fact has doubtless its significance. Knobel has a different conception.6 The ordinance that Aaron must appear with the breast-plate before Jehovah (Exo 28:29) is designed to be a symbolical reference to the high-priestly intercession; and so the opposite of this is quite appropriate, viz., the direction that he shall proclaim light and right to the people in the name of Jehovah, with royal authority, as it were, after he has consecrated this commission in Jehovahs presence, Exo 28:30. Vid. Num 27:21; Deu 33:8. Comp. Comm. on Joh 11:51. On the various explanations of and [Urim and Thummim] see the Dictionaries and Commentaries. Luthers translation, Licht und Recht [light and right (justice)] is much better than that of the LXX., , or that of the Vulg., doctrina et veritas. We translate: Lights and decision, connecting with the meaning to be finished, to be at an end, which has in Kal; and to finish, to terminate, in Hiphil. So also Symmachus and Theodotion translate . As to the question what the object of them was, as stated in Num 27:21, the Urim and Thummim mark a kind of permanent judgment-hall where prophetico-royal decisions were rendered. There were not always prophets in Israel, and also not always kings; but the priest was always to be found, and so also the living God, who was the King of Israel, and after whose will Israel was always to inquire. Hence it was the high-priests duty, when the prophetic voice was wanting, always to give answer when the people asked what was to be done. Herein the priest was the vicar of the prophet, as in other cases the reverse happened. But because the priest was a hereditary one, he was as such neither prophet nor king, and could therefore give answer only through a special medium, the oracle of the Urim and Thummim. In many cases the answer of Jehovah was at once light and right; in favorable cases, when the inquirers were pious, as is assumed in the case mentioned in Num 27:21, it was Urim; also in the worst case, such as is implied in Joh 11:51, the decision, necessary in all cases, took the form of Thummim in bringing on judgment. It was regarded as a condition of peculiar distress when, there was at hand neither a prophet, nor a king, nor the priest with Urim and Thummim (Ezr 2:63; Neh 7:65), or when the oracle Urim gave no answera circumstance which might grow out of the institution itself (1Sa 14:37), or out of a variance between the high-priest and the inquirer. As to the question what the Urim and Thummim were, they could not have consisted in the stones of the breast-plate themselves, which, as Josephus and Saalschtz suppose, inspired the high-priest as he looked down upon them; still less in two small oracular images, teraphim, which, as Philo probably or perhaps conceives, were inserted in the orifice of the breastplate. The Urim and Thummim must certainly have been an object distinct from the breast-plate itself, and something which Moses was to put into it. The Rabbins conceived that in the inside of the breast-plate was the sacred tetragrammaton (Jehovah), and that this illuminated the names on the breast-plate; the Cabbalists assumed, instead of this, two similarly efficacious names of God. Zllig understands the object to have been two diamond dice to be used in drawing lots (Apokalypse, I. p. 408). So much is established, that the phrase to ask of Jehovah may be explained both by the phrase ask of the Urim and Thummim, and by the notion of decision by lot (1Sa 10:20; 1Sa 14:36). It is noticeable that in 1Sa 28:6 the lot is not mentioned in connection with Urim. Comp. on the lot Winer, Realwrterbuch, II. p. 31. On the derivation of the Urim and Thummim from an Egyptian judicial symbol, vid. Winer, II. p. 644 [and Smiths Bible Dictionary, Art. Urim and Thummim]. Reference can only be assumed to something analogous in the Egyptian institution. The main point is that the resolute spirit of the Holy Scriptures regarded hesitation as the evil of evilse.g., in the life of Saul and of Judas. Hence the lot, hence the need of decision. In accordance with his coarse anthropopathic conceptions, Knobel holds that the precious stones were in the proper sense to remind Jehovah of Israel, p. 287. The directions concerning the Urim and Thummim seem to have been intentionally made very brief and kept mysterious. Vid. more in Knobel.
The outer robe, Exo 28:31. Luthers translation is here very arbitrary, but was probably occasioned by the desire to leave the breast-plate uncovered: Thou shalt also make the silk robe under the coat all of yellow silk. For if a , a covering (not to be absolutely confounded with the ordinary ), was made for the ephod, such an over-garment must necessarily have covered the breast-plate also, if it was a long robe closely fitting (according to Keil), reaching to the knees, and, according to the Alexandrians, even reaching, as , to the feet. Against both assumptions is not only the fact that in that case the breast-plate would have been covered, but also the manner in which the robe was put on, viz., over the head, by means of an opening (as in the case of a coat of mail)which also implies the absence of sleeves. Besides, there would then come two girdles at nearly the same place, since the coat had its own girdle, vid. Exo 28:39. The representation in Lev 8:7 seems, it is true, somewhat inexact.7 The significance of this hyacinth-colored, dark-blue, purple ornament may be sought in this, that the burden of the high-priest symbolized by the ephod was not to be made a spectacle to the world, but was to be hidden by a symbol of the royal splendor of his vocation. Two questions are raised by this conception of the covering for the ephod. First: If the robe was so short, what was the case with the rest of the garments? This is answered by Exo 28:39 and the parallel description, Exo 39:27. They made the coats () of white byssus. Secondly: How could the bells ring, if they lay so high up that even the breast-plate was to be exposed? This question is solved if we take [its skirts] in its original sense, i.e., not as its hem, but its train, and assume that the robe was so cut that it left the breast-plate free, while it flowed out sidewise in trains.
On the various interpretations of the bells and pomegranates, vid. Keil.8 According to Keil or Bhr, the pomegranates are symbols of the word and testimony of God; the bells, with their ringing, symbols of the sound of this word. But in this case Moses the prophet would have abdicated his functions to Aaron the priest. The symbolic meaning of the pomegranate is very hard to fix (vid. Friedrich, Symbolik und Mythologie der Natur); perhaps the most natural assumption is that in the alternation of pomegranates and bells is to be discerned the connection of nature, as represented in its abundance and beauty by the pomegranate, with the theocracy as designed to manifest, itself in the sacrificial vocation of the high-priest through holy time, and through the awakening voice of the thunder, the trumpet, and the bells. The gifts of nature and of grace are the offerings which the high-priest brings to Jehovah over his shoulders.
The clause, that he die not, can hardly mean that sudden death would follow the neglect of the precept, but that this would be an official misdemeanor worthy of death, an offence consisting chiefly in contempt of Jehovah and of the customs of the sanctuary, but also particularly in the fact that the connection between Jehovah and the congregation is not only effected in general by means of these bells, but is also enlivened by the sacred moment [the advent of which they announce]. From the farthest distance, as it were, the sound of the bells is heard, indicating holy time (as the organ indicates the holy place), although the large bell is not immediately derived from an enlargement of these small ones.
The plate of gold for the forehead, Exo 28:36. A plate of gold fastened to the turban by a dark-blue purple string, with the inscription, Holiness (or holy) to Jehovah, and designated in Exo 39:30 as the holy crown. The meaning is that Aaron is to bear the expiation (, i.e., expiation of the guilt) of the gifts of the sanctuary, which the children of Israel shall hallow, etc. That is, the high-priest has to effect the expiation of the expiations before Jehovah. The children of Israel also bring expiatory offerings of all kinds before Jehovah; but guilt cleaves even to their offerings; the high-priest, however, is symbolically to accomplish the expiation of all these guilt-stained expiations. Thus, then, the high-priests plate of gold points to the chief function which he was to discharge on the great day of atonement, on which day, even on his entrance into the Holy of holies, he had, if not exactly to supplement, yet to complete, the whole abundance of the expiatory offerings of the children of Israel, to cleanse them from the stain of guilt (the negative guilt of deficiency, and the positive guilt of wrong-doing) which cleaves to them. How rich in instruction this symbol is in its relation to the high-priesthood and sacrifice of Christ! From the instituting of this plate to the fulfilment of the prophecy in Zec 14:20 is a great distance. The general fulfilment is announced in John 17.; the eschatological fulfilment is pictured in Revelation, Exodus 21. Knobel, referring to ancient heathen customs, resolves the thing itself wholly into sensuous conceptions, speaking of external lapses of the children of Israel in connection with their offering of giftsthe conciliatory appearance of the high-priest, and referring to a custom of the ancients, in offering sacrifices to put garlands on themselves and on the victims. But vid. the quotation from Calvin in a note in Keil, II. p. Exodus 204: [The iniquity of the sacred offerings was to be borne and cleansed by the priest. It is a frigid explanation to say that whatever error crept into the ceremonies was remitted through the prayers of the priest. For we must look further back, and see that the iniquity of the offerings was obliterated by the priest for the reason that no offering, so far as it is mans, is wholly free from defect. It sounds harsh and almost paradoxical to say that holy things themselves are unclean, so as to need pardon; but it is to be held that there is absolutely nothing so pure but that it contracts some stain from us Nothing is more excellent than the worship of God; and yet the people could offer nothing, even when it was prescribed by law, without the intervention of pardon, which they could obtain only through the priest.]
Aarons coat, Exo 28:39. The tunic proper, with which also his sons were clothed. It reached to the ankles, and was also provided with sleeves. It was made of white byssus; but Aarons coat was, distinguished by being more artistically wrought. The girdle of his coat was also of variegated work. According to Josephus (Ant. III. 7, 2) purple and crimson flowers were woven into the linen girdles of the priests.
The clothing of the sons, Exo 28:40. Of Aarons assistants, or the ordinary priests. It consisted in the coat of white byssus, the girdle, and the cap. These articles are not included in the description of Aarons clothing, because there were differences. The sons do not receive the prerogatives of the high-priest; and Aarons head-gear is the turban with the gold plate, while the sons receive caps. is only used of the headdress of the common priests, Exo 29:9; Exo 39:28; Lev 8:13. The word is related to , goblet, cup (Exo 25:31), so that these head-tires seem to have had a conical form. This was also customary in reference to other sacerdotal persons of antiquity (Knobel). The passage, 1Sa 22:18, seems to merge the whole family of priests into one, as inheriting in that capacity the high-priesthood, and therefore the ephod. A different point of view would lead critics to make a sharp distinction between the time of the original giving of the law and the time of Samuel.
The investment, anointing, and consecration of the priests, Exo 28:41. This equipment is common to all, but conferred wholly by Moses, not even in part by Aaron after he himself has been equipped. Nor does Aaron anoint even his sons, but the prophet does it. That which was genealogically transmitted from Aaron to his descendants must therefore be continually supplemented by the transmission of spiritual life in the theocracy. The clothes denote the dignity and burden of the office; the anointment is a symbol of the Spirit; the hands filled are the signs of the sacrificial gifts furnished by the congregation,of the emoluments which they themselves first of all have to bring as an offering to Jehovah. With this investment is completed the potential sanctification or consecration; the strict, actual consecration of the priests is yet to follow.
The breeches and the object of them, Exo 28:42-43. This ordinance forms a transition to the actual consecration of the priests. It is significant that it follows the official investment. The official clothing in the narrow sense conferred dignity and ornament; these, on the other hand, were only to avert dishonor and disgrace. The reason for this covering, according to Baumgarten, lay in the fact that the sins of nature have their principal seat in the flesh of nakedness! According to Keil the physical members mentioned, which subserve the natural secretions, are pudenda, or objects of shame, because in these secretions is made evident the mortality and corruptibility of the body which through sin has permeated human nature. Neither the first, theosophic explanation, nor the latter, most peculiarly orthodox one, can be derived from Genesis 3. The organs of the strongest impulses, those which through sin have been morbidly deranged, belong, even physiologically, to the dark side of life, and are therefore to be kept mysterious, like births themselves, in connection with which there can be no thought of lust; but in an ethical respect, affecting the whole human race, they are not objects of a dispassionate sthetic contemplation, but confusing to the senses, for which reason also there is a difference between naked children and naked adults: religiously considered, finally, they are indeed signs of the moral nakedness of man, of his natural and hereditary guilt. Furthermore, religious reverence demands that, when they officially approach the altar, they should cover still more the above-mentioned parts, which, even in common life, through natural bashfulness are carefully covered, whereas for the rest of the body a single covering suffices (Knobel). But in a sense the altar also becomes to the mind of the priest, according to chap. 23, a symbol of God as seeing. This duty, too, is declared to be most holy for ever, and so it obtains also a symbolic character, signifying that everything sexual is to be avoided in the service of the sanctuary. It marks the opposite extreme of the voluptuous rites of the heathen, and of the commingling of sexual passion with the religious fanaticism. But as shamelessness in worship is particularly designated as a capital offence, so in general every other shameless act.
Footnotes:
[1][This is incorrect. Fifty loops to each curtain would make five hundred loops, whereas there were only one hundred. For these loops were not to connect the five curtains to one another, as Lange says, but to connect the one curtain made up of five (coupled together we are not told how) with the curtain made up of the other five. Accordingly, also, there were only fifty clasps, not two hundred and fifty.Tr.].
[2] [Lange says nothing about the shape of the tabernacle, or about the manner in which the curtains are arranged. It is a vexed question. The following are the principal views: (1) It being clear and undisputed that the board framework was 30 cubits long, 10 broad, and 10 high, one theory is that the ten curtains, called the tabernacle in Exo 26:1, were so joined together side to side as to form two curtains of equal size, each 28 cubits long, and 20 cubits broad; that these two were looped together (Exo 26:5), and the whole was spread horizontally over the tops of the boards, thus hanging down 9 cubits on each side, i.e., within one cubit of the ground, since the two sides (each 10 cubits) and the width (10 cubits) together are equal to 30 cubits. The breadth of both curtains being 40 cubits, and the length of the wooden structure only 30, and the entrance (according to Exo 26:9; Exo 26:36) being provided with a special curtain, it follows that 10 cubits must have hung down on the west (back) end, and so the curtain just reached the ground. (2) Another view (brought into favor by Bhr) differs from this in that the lower (linen) curtains are conceived as hanging down inside, not outside, of the boards. (3) Saalschtz supposes that the curtains formed a roofed tent above the boards, the bottom of the under-curtain just touching the top of the boards. This roof would reach about 13 cubits above the top of the boards, the ridge having an angle of about 40. Paines theory is somewhat similar, but in its details is so fantastical and arbitrary as hardly to merit a full statement. (4) Fergusson (in Smiths Bible Dictionary, Art. Temple) also holds that there was a ridge above the boards and half-way between them, so that the goats-hair curtain formed a tent proper (as it is called in Exo 26:7, where A. V. mistranslates, covering). But his view differs from that of Saalschtz, in that he makes the angle at the ridge a right angle (the more natural angle for a roof), so that the two sides of the roof projected beyond the boards, the lower point being 5 cubits above the ground and 5 cubits horizontally from the boards. He also assumes that the roof extended 5 cubits beyond the boards in the front and in the rear, so that the extra 10 cubits did not hang down at all over the west end. The accompanying diagram exhibits a section of the tabernacle according to Fergussons theory. The apparent absence of all allusion to a ridge-pole Fergusson would supply by explaining the middle bar of Exo 26:28 as referring not to a bar like the others at the side, but to the ridge-pole. He supposes also (though no express mention is made of it) that the sides of the verandah and the western end were enclosed with curtains, and that the ridge-pole must have been supported at the middle by a pillar.The principal reasons urged by Mr. Fergusson for this theory are the following: (1) According to the common view only about one-third of the inner or ornamental curtain would have been visible. Bhrs theory obviates this difficulty, but creates another, viz., by making out that the gilded boards were almost entirely covered up. If so, why so expensively constructed? (2) The curtains spread flat over the boards would have been no protection against the rain. The skins above the cloth and hair curtains would, when wet, only have depressed the centre and torn the curtains under them. (3) The common view contradicts the description in Exo 26:9; Exo 26:12-13, according to which only two cubits of the goats-hair curtain hung over at the west end, and only one cubit at each side; whereas the other theory assumes that 10 cubits hung down on every side but the front.The latter argument may be met by the supposition that the Biblical statements referred to only assert that the goats-hair curtain hung over the tabernacle, i.e., the linen curtain, half a cubit at the west end, and one cubit at each side.The second reason is undoubtedly the strongest one. The tabernacle, according to the traditional view, is an ungainly structure, ill protected against rain or snow, and unlike either house or tent; while yet a part of it is distinctly called a tent.Mr. Atwater points out the most obvious objection to Mr. Fergussons theory, viz., that, according to Exo 26:33, the veil of the Holy of holies was hung under the clasps that connect the two parts of the covering. These must have been 20 cubits from the front of the building, and 10 cubits from the rear, according to the traditional view, entirely in accordance with the supposed position of the veil, the Holy of holies being in the form of a cube, 10 cubits in every direction, while the holy place was 20 cubits long. But Fergussons theory would bring the clasps 15 cubits from each end, though he distinctly adopts the view that the veil was 10 cubits from the western end. This difficulty seems entirely to have escaped his attention. Mr. Atwater calls it fatal, and deems it useless to consider the theory any further, remarking that nothing is more certain in regard to the tabernacle, than that the two apartments into which it was divided by this partition-veil were of unequal size, the eastern being thirty feet long and fifteen wide, and the western an exact cube of fifteen feet in dimension. It might be asked, however, how is it made so certain that the two apartments were of the size specified? The Bible nowhere gives the slightest information respecting this matter, excepting the statement of Exo 26:33 above cited. Where the clasps were, depends on what disposition was made of the curtains; and it we choose to adopt Mr. Fergussons theory respecting them, it would follow that the building was equally divided; and where is the proof that it was not? Only Josephuss assertion, and the corresponding apartments of Solomons temple, in which the Holy of holies was half the size of the other part of the sanctuary. It must be admitted that these two items of evidence are very weighty; but they by no means prove the theory so incontestably as to make it unwarrantable to hold a different one. At all events, if any stress had been meant to be laid upon the dimensions of the Holy of holies, it is singular that they were not plainly given, instead of being left to be inferred from the very indefinite directions concerning the position of the curtains.Tr.].
[3][The temples of the ancient Egyptians were constructed as follows: First, a square in front 100 or less feet wide and three or four times as long; then porticoes (), indefinite in number; next the itself with a , and finally the with a sacred animal as the object of worship (Strabo, 17, p. 805). The Egyptian temples still preserved confirm in general this description. A large gateway leads into the court, surrounded with pillars; then follows a portico, and often a second one; then two or three halls, in the last of which the sacred animal or the idol-image stood. Heeren, Ideen, II. 2, p. 173). Knobel, Comm., p. 275Tr.].
[4]The oil which the children of Israel were to bring to Moses was to be oil of the olive tree, , pure, i.e., made of olives which, before being crushed, were cleansed from leaves, twigs, dust, etc.; and , beaten, i.e., obtained from crushed olives. The olives, when plucked, were beaten and crushed, and put into a basket; thence the oil was allowed to run out of itself. This was the finest of all kinds; what was secured afterwards by pressing was poorer, and the more so the longer the olives were pressed. Knobel, p. 279.Tr.]
[5][The meaning of this apparently is that the shoulder-pieces were joined not merely to the two parts of the ephod, but also to one another, both in front of and behind, the neck, so that the girdle passing around at the bottom of the ephod would close it together thoroughly, not leaving the upper parts loose, as they would be if they were only connected by two disconnected pieces passing over the shoulders.Tr.]
[6][Knobels description is as follows: The two chains which pass down from the shoulder-pieces of the ephod (Exo 28:13; Exo 28:25) are connected with two rings at the upper corners of the breast-plate. Then two more rings at the lower corners of the same are connected by means of two more chains to two lings underneath, on the fore part of the ephod (Exo 28:27), i.e., lower down than the shoulder-pieces, but close by the coupling, i.e., at the place where the shoulder-pieces are connected with the upper part of the ephod. Thus the lower part of the breast-plate is joined by the chains to the upper part of the ephod.Tr.]
[7][Langes notion of the robe seems to be rather peculiar, viz., that it was a very short garment, covering the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, but, leaving the breast-plate exposed under it. He seems to assume that the ephod and breast-plate were to be put on before the robe, though for what reason it is difficult to imagine. The reason cannot be found in the circumstance that the robe is described after the ephod and breast-plate; for the coat is described still later, and the linen breeches last of all. Besides, we have in Lev 8:7 a clear indication of the order in which these articles were put on. Josephus (Ant. III. 7, 4) says that the robe, though without sleeves, had arm-holes, and this sufficiently harmonizes all the apparent difficulties.Tr.]
[8][Keil rejects the view propounded by the son of Sirach (from Sir 45:9, that as he went there might be a sound, and a noise made that might be heard in the temple, for a memorial to the children of the people), on the ground that the last clause of the verse is evidently borrowed from Exo 28:12, where the stones of the ephod are spoken of, and also on the ground that the clause that he die not is not explained by this hypothesis; for the assumption is that the high-priests life would be endangered if he went into the Holy of holies without being accompanied by the prayers of his peoplewhich would make his life depend on their caprice, irrespective of his own character. He also rejects as trivial the notion that the ringing of the bells was intended to be equivalent to rapping at the door, so as not to enter info the presence of Jehovah unannounced, as well as Knobels notion that the sound was to stand for a reverential greeting and a musical ascription of praise. Keil holds that the reason for Aarons not, dying lies in the significance that belongs to the ringing of the bells or the garments of Aaron, with their appendages of artificial pomegranates and ringing bells.Tr.]
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
CONTENTS
The interesting subject of the Jewish tabernacle is still carried on in this Chapter. Here are directions given to Moses concerning the altar, the court of the tabernacle, and the oil for burning in the lamps of the candlestick.
Exo 27:1
Was not this altar a type of Christ? Mat 23:19 ; Joh 17:19 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
The two chief objects within the Court were the Brazen Altar and the Tabernacle. Sacrificial worship was old, but the local Sanctuary was quite new. The Tabernacle is most frequently called the Tabernacle of the Congregation. A better rendering is supposed to be, “The Tent of Meeting.” The Tabernacle was also called “The Tent of the Testimony,” in allusion to the fact that it was the depositary of the Tables of the Law. The highest meaning of the structure was expressed by the Ark, which symbolised the constant presence of Jehovah. The Speaker’s Commentary says: “We may regard the sacred contents of the Tabernacle as figuring what was peculiar to the Covenant of which Moses was the Mediator, the closer union of God with Israel, and their consequent election as ‘a kingdom of priests, an holy nation’: while the Brazen Altar in the Court not only bore witness for the old sacrificial worship by which the Patriarchs had drawn nigh to God, but formed an essential part of the Sanctuary, signifying by its now more fully developed system of sacrifices in connection with the Tabernacle those ideas of Sin and Atonement which were first distinctly brought out by the revelation of the Law and the sanctification of the nation.” In the Ark there was no image or symbol of God. The Ark of the Covenant was never carried in a ceremonial procession. In all important particulars it differed from Egyptian shrines. When the Tabernacle was pitched the Ark was kept in solemn darkness. The staves were to remain always in the rings, whether the Ark was in motion or at rest, that there might never at any time be a necessity for touching the Ark itself or even the rings ( 2Sa 6:6-7 ). “The cherubims were not to be detached images, made separately and then fastened to the mercy seat, but to be formed out of the same mass of gold with the mercy seat, and so to be part and parcel of it” The Holy of Holies was a square of fifteen feet, and the Holy place an oblong thirty feet by fifteen. So far as known, “horns” were peculiar to Israelite altars.
The Tabernacle
The specification for the building of the tabernacle purports to be Divinely dictated. We can form some idea of the validity of such a claim, for we have the test of creation by which to try it. We can soon find out discrepancies, and say whether this is God’s work or an artificer’s. A revelation which bounds itself by the narrow limits of an architect’s instruction admits of very close inquiry. Creation is too vast for criticism, but a tabernacle invites it. Let us, then, see how the case stands, whether God is equal to himself, whether the God of the opening chapters of Genesis is the God of the mount upon which, according to this claim, the tabernacle was Divinely outlined in expressive cloud. Note, at the very outset, that the account of making the tabernacle occupies far more space than the history of the creation of the heavens and the earth. We soon read through what is given of the history of creation, but how long we have had to travel through this region of architectural cloud. It seemed as if the story would never end. This is a remarkable corroboration of the authenticity of both accounts. A long account of creation would have been impossible, presuming the creation to be the embodiment and form of the Divine word executed without human assistance. That account could not have been long. When there is nothing, so to say, between God’s word and God’s deed, there is no history that can be recorded. The history must write itself in the infinite unfoldment of those germs, or of that germ with which creation began. A short account of the tabernacle would have been impossible, presuming that all the skins, colours, spices, rings, staves, figures, dishes, spoons, bowls, candlesticks, knobs, flowers, lamps, snuffers, and curtains, were Divinely described; that every tache, loop, hook, tenon, and socket was on a Divine plan, and that human ingenuity had nothing whatever to do with a structure which in its exquisite fashioning was more a thought than a thing. So far, the God of Genesis is the God of Exodus: a subtle and massive harmony unites the accounts, and a common signature authenticates the marvellous relation. When God said, “Let there be light,” he spake, and it was done. There is no history to write, the light is its own history. Men are reading it still, and still the reading comes in larger letters, in more luminous illustration. When God prescribed lamps for the tabernacle he had to detail the form of the candlesticks, and to prescribe pure olive oil, that the lamp might always burn. You require more space in which to relate the making of a lamp than in which to tell of the creation of the light; you spend more time in instructing a little child than in giving commands to an army. God challenged Job along this very line. Said he, “Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?” There was no Job between the Creator and the creation; no Moses writing swiftly words Divine that had to be embodied at the foot of the hill. “Where is the way where light dwelleth; and as for darkness, which is the place thereof?” Mark well, therefore, the contrast of the accounts, and the obvious reason for the amazing difference.
The next point of observation relates to the completeness of the specification as corresponding with the completeness of creation. Lay the finger upon one halting line and prove that the Divine Architect was weak in thought or utterance at this point or at that. Find a gap in the statement and say, “He forgot at this point a small loop, or tache, or ouche, and I, his listener, Moses, must fill in what he left out.” We do not know the meaning of great Gospel words until we read our way up to them through all the introduction of the initial covenants. We read backwards, and thus read ourselves out at the lower end of things, instead of reading in the order of the Divine evolution and progress, upward from height to height, until speech becomes useless, and silence must be called in to complete the ineffable eloquence. Could there have been more care in the construction of a heaven than is shown, even upon the page, without going into the question of inspiration, in the building of a tabernacle? Is it not also the same in such little parts of creation as are known to us? There is everywhere a wonderful completeness of purpose. God has set in his creation working forces, daily ministries. Nature is never done. When she sleeps she moves; she travels night and day; her force is in very deed persistent. So we might, by a narrow criticism, charge nature here and there with want of completeness; but it would be as unjust to seize the blade from the ear, and, plucking these, say, “Here we have sign and proof of incompleteness.” We protest against that cruelty and simple injustice. There may be a completeness of purpose when there has not yet been time for a completeness of execution. But in the purpose of this greater tabernacle creation there is the same completeness that there is in the specification of this beauteous house which the Lord appointed to be built in the grim wilderness.
Consider, too, that the temporary character of the tabernacle was no excuse for inferior work. The tabernacle, as such, would be but for a brief time. Why not hasten its construction invent some rough thing that would do for the immediate occasion? Why, were it made to be taken up to heaven for the service of the angels it could not be wrought out with a tenderer delicacy, with a minuter diligence, as to detail and beauty. But to God everything is temporary. The creation is but for a day. It is we who are confused by distinction as between time and eternity. There is no time to God; there is no eternity to God. Eternity can be spelled; eternity can in some dumb way be imagined and symbolised in innumerable ciphers multiplied innumerable times by themselves till the mind thinks it can begin eternity. To God there is no such reasoning. When, therefore, we speak of lavishing such care upon a tabernacle, we mistake the infinity and beneficence of God. It is like him to bestow as great care upon the ephemera that die in the sunbeam as upon the seraphim that have burned these countless ages beside the eternal throne. We must not allow our ignorance, incompleteness, and confusedness of mind to interfere with the interpretation of these ineffable mysteries. But the tabernacle was built for eternity. So again and again we stumble, like those who are blind, who are vainly trying to pick their way through stony and dangerous places. The tabernacle was eternity let down an incarnation, so to say, of eternity, as a man shall one day be an incarnation of God. We mistake the occasion utterly. We fall out of the pomp of its music and the grandeur of its majesty by looking at the thing, and supposing that the merely visible object, how lustrous and tender in beauty soever, is the tabernacle. The tabernacle is within the tabernacle, the Bible is within the Bible, the man is within the man. The tabernacle in the wilderness represented eternal thoughts, eternal purposes of love. Everything is built for eternity: every insect, every dog, every leaf so frail, withering in its blooming. God builds for eternity in the thought, and in the connection, and in the relation of the thing which is builded. See how profound our iniquity in committing murder anywhere. “Thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not steal.” It is one life, one property, a sublime unity of idea, and thought, and purpose. Do not segregate your life, or universe, and attempt a classification which will only separate into unholy solitude what was meant by the Divine mind to cohere in indivisible unity. We were built for eternity. Can God build for less time? Nothing is lost. The greatest of economists is God. “The very hairs of your head are all numbered “; “Not a sparrow falleth to the ground without your Father.” When we speak about the temporary, we know not what we say; or we justly use that word, for the sake of convenience, as expressive of uses which themselves perish in their own action. But, profoundly and vitally viewed, even affliction is part of heaven; our sorrows are the beginning, if rightly accepted and sanctified, of our supremest bliss.
Mark, too, how wonderfully the tabernacle and the human frame correspond in perfection of detail and sublimity of purpose. It is not difficult to believe that he who made the tabernacle made Adam. The tabernacle grows before our eyes and Adam is growing still. The life which God is making is Man. Do not impoverish the mind and deplete the heart of all Divine elements and suggestions by supposing that God is a toymaker. God’s purpose is one, and he is still engaged in fashioning man in his own image and likeness, and he will complete the duplicate. We must not fix our mind upon our mutilated selves, and, by finding disease, and malformation, and infirmity, and incongruity, charge the Maker with these misadventures. We must judge the Divine purpose in the one case with the Divine purpose in the other. I am aware that there are a few men who have from my point of view blasphemously charged the Divine work, as we regard it, in creation with imperfection. There have not been wanting daring men, having great courage on paper and great dauntless-ness in privacy and concealment, and who have lived themselves into a well-remunerated, respectable obscurity, who have said that the human eye is not ideally perfect. So we do not speak in ignorance of the cross-line of thinking which seeks to interrupt the progress of Christian science and philosophy. Is there not a lamp also within the human tabernacle a lamp that burns always, a lamp we did not light, a lamp trimmed by the hand Divine, a lamp of reason, a lamp of conscience, a lamp that sheds its light when the darkness without us is gathered up into one intense and all-obstructing night? and are there not parables in nature which help us to believe that this lamp, though it apparently flicker yea, though it apparently vanish shall yet throw radiance upon heavenly scenes, and burn synchronously with the glory of God’s own life? You say, “Look at old age and observe how the mind seems to waver, and halt, and become dim and paralysed, and how it seems to expire like a spark.” No, as well say, “Look at the weary man at night-time, his eyelids heavy, his memory confused, his faculties apparently paralysed, or wholly reluctant to respond to every appeal addressed to them; behold how the body outlives and outweighs the boasted mind.” No, let him sleep; in the morning he will be young again. Sleep has its ministry as well as wakefulness. God giveth his beloved sleep. So we may “by many a natural parable find no difficulty in working ourselves up to contemplations that fill us with ecstasy, religious and sublime, as we call ourselves “heirs of immortality.”
Did not Moses make the tabernacle? Yes; but who made Moses? That is the question which has never yet been answered. Change the terms as you please, that inquiry always starts up as the unanswerable demand. Your hand carved the marble, but who carved the hand? Singular, if the marble was carved, but the hand carved itself. Your tongue uttered the eloquence, but who made man’s mouth? Who set within him a fountain of speech? Your mind planned the cathedral, but who planned the mind? It would have been more difficult to believe infinitely more difficult to believe that the mind made itself than that the cathedral fashioned its own symmetry and roofed in its own inner music and meaning.
Thus perusing the specification for the building of the tabernacle, and reading the account of the creation of the heavens, and of the earth, and of man, I find between them a congruity self-confirming, and filled with infinite comfort to the heart that yearns studiously over the inspired page in hope of finding the footprints of God. The living Christian Church is more marvellous than the tabernacle in this wilderness. The tabernacle was part of a development; the tabernacle was only one point in the history. We must judge things by their final purpose, their theological aspect and philosophy. What is the meaning of the tabernacle? the temple. What is the meaning of the temple? the living Church. So we find rude altars thrown together by careless hands, symbolising worship addressed to the heavens; then the tabernacle; then the temple; then the living fellowship. Know ye not that ye are the temples of the Holy Ghost? Know ye not that there is a foundation laid in Zion, a corner stone, elect, precious; and that we are built upon it, living stones; and that God is shaping the tabernacle of humanity as he shaped the tabernacle in the wilderness? Know ye not that we are builded together a holy house unto the Lord? Arrest not, even in theory, the Divine progress. The line from the beginning up till now has taken one grand course. Nothing has strayed away and left the Divine sovereignty. The wrath of man is still in the Divine leash, and hell is no independent colony of the universe. There is one throne, one crown; one increasing purpose runs through all we know. We wait patiently for the Lord, and when he says from his throne what Christ said from the cross, “It is finished,” then we may be invited to say, in the terms which God himself used when he viewed creation, “Behold, it is very good.”
Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker
XXV
THE FEAST OF THE COVENANT, THE ASCENT OF MOSES AND JOSHUA INTO THE MOUNTAIN, THE BREACH OF THE COVENANT, THE COVENANT RESTORED BUT MODIFIED
Exo 24:9-34:35
1. What is this lesson and its outline?
Ans. The lesson is from Exo 24:9 to the end of that chapter, with a mere glance at the next seven chapters, 25-31, and then 32; it covers three full chapters, nearly all of another chapter, and a glance at seven other chapters. I will explain to you about that glance as we go along.
The outline of the lesson is:
The Feast of the Covenant, Exo 24:9-11 .
The Ascent of Moses and Joshua into the Mountain, Why and How Long, Exo 24:12-31:18 .
The Breach of the Covenant, Exo 22:1-6 .
The Covenant Restored but Modified, Exo 32:1-34:35 .
We commence at the first item of the outline, viz.:
The Feast of the Covenant. That part of the lesson is Exo 24 and commences at Exo 24:9-11 . Let us read that: “Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu [two sons of Aaron], and seventy of the elders of Israel [and we learn from Exo 24:17 that Joshua, the minister or servant of Moses, was along. That makes seventy-five persons [: and they saw the God of Israel; and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and as it were the very heaven for clearness. And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: and they beheld God and did eat and drink.” That is the feast of the covenant.
2. What of the custom after ratifying a covenant and an example from Genesis?
Ans. Nearly always just after a covenant was ratified the parties to the covenant partook together of a meal to show their fraternity and communion. The Genesis example you will find where Laban and Jacob made a covenant. The covenant is prepared, they agree to enter into a covenant, they put up a token of the covenant, they build an altar, they make sacrifices, they ratify the covenant in the blood of that sacrifice. Then they sit down and eat a meal together, which is the feast of the covenant. You will find all of that in the Genesis account of Laban and Jacob. So here a covenant having been proposed, an agreement to enter into it made, a preparation for it, the terms of the covenant given as stated in their threefold characters, that covenant carefully read, an altar erected, sacrifices offered, the blood of the covenant sprinkled upon the altar and upon the people, and so ratified, then follows this feast of the covenant.
3. What are the provisions used at the feast in such cases?
Ans. The provisions are the bodies of the peace offering. There are two offerings, viz.: the burnt offering, which has to be burned up, then the eucharistic or thank offering. That thank offering furnishes the material of the feast after the covenant is ratified.
4. Who was the representative at this feast with God and a New Testament analogy?
Ans. The representatives here are: First, Moses, then his servant Joshua, his army chief; second, the high priest and his two sons that is five; and third, the seventy elders of Israel. All Israel did not meet God and partake of a feast, but the representatives of Israel in the persons of Moses, Joshua, Aaron and his two sons, and the seventy elders, who meet God and partake of this feast. Now the New Testament analogy is that the Lord’s Supper which was to memorialize the sacrifice of Christ was participated in by representatives of the church, the apostles. The apostles were there, but not there as individuals. They represented the church just as they represented the church in receiving the Commission, so that it was simply a church observance even at the time of its institution.
5. What of the communion in this feast and the New Testaments analogy?
Ans. The communion is not the communion between Moses, Aaron, and the elders, that is, it is not a communion with each other, but it is a communion with God, and the New Testament analogy is as Paul expresses in his first letter to the Corinthians: “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a communion, or participation, of the blood of Christ?” and yet how often people misrepresent the idea of that communion, as when A, B, and C commune together to show their fellowship for each other, or a man’s communing to show his fellowship for his wife. The word means “participation” and the one in whom is the participation is God: “The loaf which we bless, is it not a participation, the communion of the body of Jesus?” So here these representatives of all Israel communed with God a little way up the mountain, not far.
6. The record says that they saw God. What kind of a sight of God did they see, and what other cases in the Old and New Testaments?
Ans. They did not see any form or likeness of God. Moses is very careful to say that “no man can see God and live.” He is careful to say in Deu 4 that at Sinai they saw no similitude or likeness. Now, in Isa 6 he (Isaiah) sees God as they saw him, that is, he sees the throne; he sees the pavement; he sees a great many things about the throne, the angels, the cherubim and the seraphim, but he doesn’t see any likeness of God, though he hears God talking. Precisely so you find it in Eze 1 . He sees the chariot of God, four cherubim, their wheels, their wings, and their faces looking every way, but he doesn’t see the One in the chariot, and so it is in Rev 4 where John is caught up to heaven and he sees the very same thing, this very pavement, and the throne, the cherubim, the angels round about the throne, and he sees something that represents the Holy Spirit, and he sees something that represents Jesus Christ, a precious stone which represents God, but he doesn’t see God.
7. Apply this thought to transubstantiation and consubstantiation in our feast, as the Romanists and Luther taught.
Ans. The Romanist says, “This is the very body and the very blood of Christ; you can see it and you can taste it.” And the consubstantiation advocate, Luther, says, “The bread is not the body of Christ and the wine is not the blood of Christ, but Christ is there this way: You take a knife and put it in the fire and take it out of the fire when it is red hot, and you have the same metal, but you have something there that was not there before, viz.: heat, you can touch it and feel the effect of that heat burning.” You can take cognizance of that kind of a presence, but in this analogous communication with God they saw no similitude, no form.
8. Explain that part of the feast where it is said that “God laid not his hand on the elders of Israel, though they saw him.”
Ans. It means that God did not slay them. The declaration is often made, “Whoever sees God shall die.” They can’t bear the sight of God. But the kind of a sight of God that these people saw, they were able to see without having the hand of God laid on them, and what a beautiful lesson! Before the covenant was made, when the trumpet sounded and the darkness came and the earth quaked and the lightning flashed, and that strange, awful voice speaking the ten words, the people were scared almost to death; they wanted a mediator, somebody to come between them and that awful Being. But knowing that a covenant had been established and had been ratified by the blood of a substitute, they can see God in the sacrifice of the substitute and not die; see him in perfect peace, just as you, before you are converted, look upon God as distant and unapproachable, but after you see him in Christ in the covenant, the terror of God is taken away and you can sit there just as if eating a meal with a friend.
9. Give again a complete outline of the covenant.
Ans. The complete outline of the covenant is:
(1) God’s proposition of a covenant and their agreement to enter into a covenant;
(2) Their preparation for the covenant;
(3) The three great terms of the covenant;
(4) The ratification of the covenant;
(5) The feast that follows the covenant. Will you keep that in mind? You need to be drilled on that every now and then, so that when anybody asks you where there can be found a copy of the Sinai covenant and all the parts of it, you can answer: “It commences with Exo 19 , and closes with Exo 24 .” That is the whole thing in all its parts.
The Ascent of Moses into the Mount, Why and How Long? This is the second item of the outline. That is found immediately after what we have been discussing, commencing at Exo 24:12 . “And the Lord said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there”: that means, Moses, you are to be there quite awhile; “and I will give thee the tables of stone, and the law and the commandment, which I have written, that thou mayest teach them.” And Moses rose up, and his servant Joshua; and Moses went up into the mount of God. And he said unto the elders, Tarry ye here for us, until we come again unto you: and, behold, Aaron and Hur are with you; if any man have any matters to do, let him come unto them. And Moses went up into the mount, and the cloud covered the mount. And the glory of the Lord abode upon Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud. And the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel. And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and went up into the midst of the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.” Now here are the questions on that:
10. Why is Moses, after the covenant is ratified and the feast is held, taken up into the mount? (He and Joshua alone go).
Ans. He is carried up to receive the same law which had been spoken orally, now in writing “which I have written.” And what he went up particularly to get was the two tables or the Ten Commandments, and in God’s own handwriting that he might keep them as a witness. “The tables of the Testimony” is the name of them. Moses wrote a copy that the people learned, but that particular copy was God’s own autograph. That was put up and preserved as “tables of the testimony.”
11. What is the meaning of “tables of stone,” “the law,” and “the commandment”?
Ans. The tables of stone I have just described. But what was the law that Moses goes up after? You would miss that if you had to answer it off-hand, and the commentators all miss it. They don’t get in a thousand miles of it. You will find that it was what he received when he went up there a special law, and that special law was that the sabbath, God’s sabbath, should be the sign of the covenant. You find that at the end of this section that we are now on. So the law he went after was the law of the sign. Then what was the commandment he went after? The Commandments are all given in seven chapters (25-32) and every one of them touches the law of the altar. We will glance at the outline of that directly.
12. Why were these tables of testimony and this sign of the covenant and these laws concerning the altar given to Moses?
Ans. The lesson says, “That thou mayest teach them.”
13. Who was to represent Moses in the camp while he was absent in the mount?
Ans. Aaron and Hur.
14. What reminder of a New Testament incident is in these words of Moses: “Tarry ye here for us until we come again”?
Ans. It is Jesus in Gethsemane, when he let the representatives stop, and said, “Stay here while I go yonder and pray.”
15. What was the visible token that God was present with Moses, and why that token?
Ans. Exo 24:16-17 : “And the glory of the Lord abode upon Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it and the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.” Now, why is that last word, or clause, “In the eyes of the children of Israel”? That was a token to them not to get impatient. “When you begin to say, ‘Moses stays a long time,’ you look up there at that cloud on top of that mountain, how exceedingly glorious it is, you may know that Moses is right in that cloud communing with God.”
16. How long was Moses up there in that cloud before God spoke to him, and why did he speak to him on the particular day that he did?
Ans. Moses was up there six days. God called him up there: “Don’t you get impatient. Here is the test of your faith. You wait. I have called you up here, to have an interview and to receive certain things, and you wait; be patient.” Now on the seventh day, that is, the sabbath, which was the sign of the covenant, God spoke.
17. How long was Moses in the mount, and what is the New Testament parallel?
Ans. Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights, and the New Testament parallel is that after Christ was sacrificed for the ratification of the covenant and they had eaten the feast of the covenant and Christ was risen from the dead, he remains with them forty days, instructing them. That is just exactly what God is doing with Moses. Just as Jesus uses forty days after his sacrifice in careful instruction of his disciples, so God after this sacrifice and ratification of the covenant, takes Moses up into that mountain for forty days of continued explanation.
18. Give, for the present, a mere summary of what Moses received on the mount, set forth in the seven chapters, 25-31.
Ans. Just now all we want is a summary and the reason we don’t want to go into the details is that we take that up in the next chapter in connection with what follows. But all you want to know now is the outline. The outline is:
(1) He received the tables of the testimony;
(2) He received the law of the sign;
(3) He received the commandments as follows:
(a) The commandment upon the people to furnish voluntary offerings for what was to be made;
(b) The making of the ark with the mercy seat on it where God was to be met; the making of a tabernacle for the shewbread; the making of the candlestick; the making of a tabernacle or tent with its subdivisions and its marvelous veil between the divisions; and the court and the oil that was to supply the lampstand or candlestick;
(c) The garments for Aaron, the high priest, when he officiated before God;
(d) The law of the consecration of Aaron to the office of high priest;
(e) The law of the consecration of the altar by which approach to God was to be made;
(f) The law of the daily sacrifice;
(g) The law of the golden altar, or the altar of incense, and bow it is to be offered. Incense is to be offered twice a day just like the lamp is to be lit twice a day and the sacrifice is to be offered twice a day in the morning Aaron goes to trim the lamps as the morning offering and the ascent of the morning cloud of incense representing the going up of the prayers of God’s people, and in the afternoon he goes to light the lamp, and there is the evening sacrifice and the going up of the incense;
(h) The atonement or ransom money and what that signifies;
(i) The laver, that was to be between the altar and the mercy seat, and what it was to be used for;
(j) The marvelous recipe of the anointing oil that was to be poured upon the head of a prophet or a priest or a king or a sacrifice;
(k) The perfume that was to be put at the place of entrance, indicating that they were to meet the fragrance of God right at the threshold of entrance or approach to him;
(l) The inspiration of the artificers of all this work. Just as an apostle was inspired to do his work, so certain men were here named that were inspired to do this work called for in all these things;
(m) That sabbath for a sign which I have already mentioned.
The Breach of the Covenant. This is the third item. Where do you find that breach of the covenant? In chapter 32. We are coming to awful things now. The most interesting thing in the Old Testament: “And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is become of him. And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden rings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. And all the people brake off the golden rings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. And he received it at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, and made it a molten calf: and they said, These are thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To-morrow shall be a feast to Jehovah. And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace-offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.”
19. Give the seven elements of this breach of the covenant.
Ans.
(1) The rejection of Moses and of God and a demand for other gods to be made: “Make us gods.”
(2) This god, of course, being man made, was an idol.
(3) The form of the god was the Egyptian god, Apis, calf or ox, the Egyptian god that died of the murrain through one of the miracles of Moses.
(4) They built an altar of worship and of sacrifice.
(5) They offered both burnt and peace offerings.
(6) They had a feast to follow this covenant they were making with this new god, and,
(7) Stripping off their clothes, naked, they go into a drunken orgy and practice all of the beastly and infamous lusts that characterized that worship in Egypt and in other idol worshiping countries. Paul says, “The people sat down to eat and rose up to play,” and then adds, “Be ye not fornicators and adulterers as they were.”
20. What was God’s announcement to Moses and what were the purposes announced concerning Israel and the raising up of a new people?
Ans. God saw that breach of the covenant that had just been made. The answer is this, commencing with Exo 32:7 : “The Lord said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: they have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and have said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And the Lord said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and now, behold it is a stiffnecked people: now therefore let me alone that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.” That is the terrible announcement. They have broken the covenant. “I will instantly destroy them; I will raise up a new people from Moses. He will be the basis of the new people.” Now before they get out of this trouble there will be four intercessions of Moses.
21. What was the first intercession of Moses and its result?
Ans. I quote it, commencing at Exo 32:11 : “And Moses besought the Lord his God, and said, Lord, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swearest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.” So the first thing was to stop instant destruction of that people. The result: “And the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.” He didn’t kill them right then, but he at least suspended that terrible bolt of divine wrath that was about to fall upon them.
22. What did Moses and Joshua see on their return to the camp?
Ans. All the above happened before Moses came down from the mount. Joshua says, “I hear a great shout down in the camp. There must be an army or there must be a battle.” Moses says, “No, that is not the shout, neither of men on the battlefield, nor of men crying for mercy. That is the shout of singing; those people are singing down there.” And they came down and saw that calf; they saw their naked and beastly orgies; they saw the whole hideous sin which the people had committed.
23. What was the first token that the covenant was broken?
Ans. Moses took the tables of the testimony and broke them all to pieces right in the sight of the people. “You do not need these tokens any more. I have brought you in the handwriting of God the witness of the covenant; you broke it; let the token be broken.”
24. What, in order, are the other things done in that camp by Moses when he got down there?
Ans. Moses was not a man to go down there and hold his finger in his mouth. When he sees that thing he is stirred. Let us see now what, in order, were the things that he did. First, he took that calf and burned it until it pulverized; then he mingled the ashes of it in water and made the people drink it. Second, he shook his finger in the face of Aaron and said, “What have these people done unto you that you led them into this sin? I went up in that mountain to meet God; I left you as my representative. Now what have these people ever done to you that you should lead them into this?” And Aaron pleads the baby act if ever a man did in the world. He says, “Well, they they they said, ‘Make us a god,’ and I told them to bring me the earrings and I put the earrings into the fire and there came out this calf; the fire did it.” An old father who, when his boy came home disappointed and broken in health and knowing nothing, after several years away at school, said, “All that money I put into the fire of education and there came out this calf.” Third, Moses said unto them in the camp, while naked and half drunk they stood before him not daring to open their lips, “Whoso is on the Lord’s side, let him stand by me. I am going to draw a line. Somebody in this great camp surely is on the Lord’s side.” And the Levites came. You remember when Jacob pronounced the prophecy of blessing on his children he gave a big slice to Levi. When Moses goes to pronounce a blessing he is going to pronounce a great honor on Levi, and he is going to assign as a reason what Levi does this day. That whole tribe lined up on the side of Moses. They didn’t stand up there just as a show. “Now, if you are on the Lord’s side, draw your swords and wade into that crowd. Don’t stop if it is your brother, or father, or mother, no matter how close kin to you. There must be a penalty inflicted for this awful sin,” and Levi pitched in and slew three thousand. Fourth, he began to take steps toward saving those people from temporal and eternal destruction, and that brings us to the next question:
25. What was the second intercession of Moses and God’s reply?
Ans. Moses said, “You have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto the Lord: peradventure I shall make an atonement for your sin.” Now you come to the next intercession of Moses: “And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said [and this is the greatest piece of intercession that ever took place on earth except in the case of Christ], Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin ; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.” Only one other man ever said anything like that, and concerning this same stiffnecked people, and that was Paul, “I could wish myself accursed from Christ for my brethren’s sake.” Moses, in other words, offered himself as a substitute for the people: “Don’t, don’t destroy them! Destroy me!” It was a grand proposition. Now, what did God say to that intercession? “The Lord said to Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me,, him will I blot out of my book. I will not blot you out for them. The soul that sinneth it shall die. Therefore now go, lead these people unto the place of which I have spoken unto them; behold mine angel shall go before thee; nevertheless in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them. And the Lord plagued the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made.”
26. What of the effect of this upon the people?
Ans. They mourned and laid aside their ornaments and did not put them on from Mount Horeb onward.
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible
XXVII
THE TABERNACLE
Exodus 25-31; Exodus 35-40
This chapter covers thirteen chapters of Exodus, and, of course, I can only touch them in places. These chapters are 25-31; 35-40.
1. Was there a temporary tent before this tabernacle was built?
Ans. You will find in Exo 33:7-11 , that there was a temporary tent and on one occasion it was moved outside of the camp.
2. What were the names of the tabernacle and the reasons therefore?
Ans. First, the “tabernacle of testimony, or witness,” Exo 38:21 ; Num 17:7-8 . Those two names mean the same thing. The tabernacle of testimony, or of witness; and the reason of this is that this tent was the depository of the testimonials; anything that was to be kept for a testimony was to be kept in this tent; for example, in it were the tables of testimony or God’s autograph on the two tables of stone containing the Ten Commandments. That copy was kept as a witness; then in it was the book of the covenant, that is, those chapters, Exo 19:1-24:9 . That part is called the book of the covenant. That was in Moses’ handwriting. Then there were the records made by Moses, that is, the Pentateuch, the entire Pentateuch was put in the tent and kept in there; then Aaron’s rod that budded was put in there and a pot of the manna and later the brazen serpent that Moses erected. All of these were memorials. Now the tent that held these testimonials was called the tabernacle of the witness, or the testimony. That accounts for one of its names.
Next name, it is called the “temple of the Lord.” You will find this name in 1Sa 1:9 , and 1Sa 3:3 ; the reason of that name is that there God was approached and propitiated and worshiped and that gave the name “temple.”
The third name is the “house of the Lord,” because he occupied it. He was the dweller in it. As a Shekinah he dwelt in there symbolically between the Cherubim on the mercy seat and hence it was called the “house of the Lord.”
The fourth name is “sanctuary,” that is on account of its holiness. It was holy unto God; the most holy place, the holy place and the whole ground, or campus, was set apart to sacred purposes, hence, the sanctuary.
The fifth name for it was the “holy oracles”; that applied, of course, only to what is called the “most holy place”; that is very frequently in the Bible called the oracle of the temple, the most holy place. It is so called in Psa 28:2 , and in 1Ki 6:5 . Now, it obtained this name because there God spoke. An oracle is to give an answer to questions propounded. There God spoke, and it was also called the oracle, because in it were kept the written words of God, the place of the oracle; the book of the Pentateuch was kept in there. Now, the references here are very numerous on this oracle question. In 2Sa 16:23 ; in Act 7:38 , and in Rom 3:2 are some references to this most holy place as the oracle: “What advantage then hath the Jew? Much every way, but chiefly because unto them were committed the oracles of God.” There the oracles mean the same thing as the Bible, that is, as their Bible grew in volume it was kept in that place; that was the oracle for their Bible.
Now, I repeat the names of this tabernacle: (1) The tabernacle of the testimony, or witness; (2) the temple of the Lord; (3) the tabernacle is called the house of the Lord; (4) the sanctuary; (5) the oracle.
3. What can you say about the pattern of this tabernacle?
Ans. It was God’s pattern, copy, shadow, or type of a true sanctuary in heaven, that is, there is in heaven a true sanctuary, a true holy place, a most holy place, and as the poet Campbell says, “Coming events cast their shadows before,” so that reality in heaven casts its shadow before in the form of this copy or type. And when the real thing came of course the shadow disappeared. Anyone walking from a light casts his shadow before him, and the shadow will get to an object first; now when the substance gets there, the shadow is gone. I give you some very particular references on this word pattern, what it means and about God’s being the author of it. He furnishes the complete plan and every detail of the specifications. Not only for this sanctuary but for its successor, the Temple, and for the Temple’s successor, the church on earth, and for its successor, the church in glory. I give you some scriptures in point: Exo 25:40 ; Exo 26:33 ; Exo 27:9 ; Exo 39:32 ; Act 7:44 ; Heb 8:2 ; Heb 8:5 ; Heb 10:1 .
All of those refer to this sanctuary that Moses built as having been made according to a pattern which God furnished. Moses was commanded to see to it that everything be made according to the pattern. Now to give you an illustration that will come more nearly home to you, I got an architect to draw me a plan of a house to live in near the Seminary in Fort Worth. He drew four floors, that is, four floor plans; two side elevations, a front and a rear elevation; then a long list of specifications as to material, how that material was to be used, and the bill of the lumber, and of the brick and of the stone, and everything in it was put down. Now when I went to let that contract the contractor entered into a contract to build it according to the plans and specifications. If he had varied a hair’s breadth from what that architect put down, I could have held him liable.
I make this remark to you in order to correct some loose thoughts. People that insist upon sticking to God’s plans and specifications on the tabernacle and on the Temple, will deny that he has any plans and specifications on their successor, the church, and that nearly anything will do for a church, and that they can put things in nearly any sort of an order; they can commence with communion on the outside before a man is ever converted, and as a means to conversion; they can baptize him before he is converted, or they can dispense with it altogether. It is one of the most appalling signs of the times, that there is such looseness with reference to God’s positive institutions. It is a thousand times more important that the church be strictly continued and followed in all God’s plans and specifications than it was with this tabernacle, and yet there was not one-eighth of an inch variation in the measurements of this tabernacle. You may settle it that God is a God of order and not of confusion. This tells us here about certain tables and it tells us how those tables were to be constructed, and what was to go on them, and just where they must put them and just how they were to use them. Some people take the table of the church and put it outdoors and just call up Tom) Dick, and Harry to come and partake; a thing that you wouldn’t dare to do in my house; you couldn’t say where my table should be put. I do that. We certainly ought to allow God the same privilege about his table. You could not invite guests to my house, to dine; I must do that. We ought to allow God that privilege. You are the judge of what you put on your table, and we should let the Lord tell us what to put on his table. Then don’t go and invent a hundred things to tack onto what God has specified.
4. What were the materials of this sanctuary and their value?
Ans. There are eight kinds of materials specified. I will commence with the costliest. There are quite a number of very precious stones, jewels, some of them of exceeding great value and beauty. They are enumerated. The next was gold. The pattern tells you just exactly what gold must be put in it. Some of it was simply threads of gold. The gold must be beaten out very thin and then cut into the finest threads of gold and work these threads into the cloth. And the plans must not be varied from by one single thread of that battered gold.
Then the next material used was silver. It specifies in every particular where that silver was to be used. And the next was brass, and then it tells just what should be made of brass, whether the outside mold, or the brazen altar, or some brazen socket in which a pole or post rested.
The fifth material was the acacia wood, very common in that wilderness, and it was a very hard wood, hence exceedingly durable for building purposes of any kind. Now, it is a notable fact that this old tent had a good deal of acacia wood in it in certain places; it was existing up to the time that Solomon built the Temple, all the posts around it, all of acacia wood. When I read about it I am reminded of what a little boy in North Texas said with reference to bois d’arc. He said a bois d’arc fence would last through two eternities; that he and his daddy had tried it several times. In other words, it doesn’t wear out at all and it doesn’t rot. I know a bois d’arc fence now that is ninety-one years old, and it is just as sound as a silver dollar. So that acacia was the kind of wood to be used. The wood that went into the ark of the covenant consisted of a base of wood and then there was a covering of gold, and the wooden base of that ark was there in that Temple nearly a thousand years later when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the Temple. I mention that to show you how much better it was for those people to follow God’s specifications about the wood. Suppose they had put in something that would have rotted in about two years.
The sixth element of material was the various kinds of cloth. This cloth would either be what is called fine twined linen, finished linen made out of the flax, or it was a coarse cloth made of goat’s hair or it was woolen cloth, or it was made out of skins what is called badgers’ skins, though probably not badgers’. It was more likely to have been the skins of sea animals and that skin was impervious to water when the animal was in the water, and remained impervious to water. They needed cloths for all things, for the girdles, and for the different classes of garments that are specified and for the veils. The seventh element of material was olive oil, pure beaten olive oil. That was to be for the lamps, and the eighth and last specification of the material was spices, perfumes that were to be for anointing. For instance he gives a prescription of the holy anointing oil, with olive oil as a base, and his directions will tell you just what spices to put in it and precisely what proportion; so many parts of one and so many parts of another. And they are not only commanded not to vary from that but they were never to make that holy anointing oil to be used for any secular purpose whatever. A king on his throne couldn’t have as much made as would stick to his little finger.
The question says, give the materials and their value. Unfortunately we have no means of valuing all the materials that were used. There is one place in your lesson that gives you the weight, troy weight, of the gold, silver, and brass, and I can tell you what that was: 3,350 pounds, troy weight, of pure gold; 11,526 pounds, troy weight, of pure silver; 8,112 pounds of brass. The measure is given. A shekel was a weight or measure as well as a piece of money. They give it in shekels and these shekels converted into pounds, troy weight, and you can convert these pounds, troy weight, into dollars and cents so far as gold and silver are concerned, into the present worth.
5. How was this vast amount of materials obtained?
Ans. Every bit of it was by voluntary contribution. Chapter 25 commences with the word of God to Moses to call upon the people to make an offering for the sanctuary. But God declines to take any offering unless it is a free will offering; it must be on the part of the willing heart. And when you turn over to read about how David got the material for erecting the Temple it is a most thrilling part of the Old Testament; the biggest contribution the world ever saw was collected. It is a fine thing to preach on, and a good suggestion to preachers when building a sanctuary for the Lord to take contributions from the willing heart.
6. Who were the artificers that made all these things, and how were they qualified to make them?
Ans. Some of the work was very delicate and required the greatest possible skill and nicety in construction. Exo 31:2 : “And the Lord spake unto Moses saying, See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, to devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship. And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiad the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan: and in the hearts of all that are wise hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee.” Only two of them are mentioned by name.
7. What arts were implied in building this tabernacle?
Ans. Well, you can see that they couldn’t have cloths unless there were weavers and they would not have different cloths unless they had industries, and that precious stones couldn’t be cut unless there was lapidaries; and wood couldn’t be carved so beautifully unless there were skilled men in wood carving, and the structure couldn’t be planned and carried out unless there were architects. Then there bad to be the most exquisite work on the high priest’s garment there was to be on the bottom or border a row of pomegranates and bells, a pomegranate and a little bell, then a pomegranate and a bell, and so on all around it. It bad to be the most perfect thing. Whenever the high priest moved the bells would ring, and he couldn’t stop when he was performing the ceremonies in the most holy place. If the bells stopped ringing he would die instantly; and the people ‘would keep praying on the outside as long as they heard the bells on the high priest’s garments ringing. That shows that the high priest rings out to God the petition that they send up, and that shows the intercession. The bells in heaven upon his robe are always ringing, so he is praying for you all the time.
Now you see that to have the instruments to do all these things implied manufacturers; the jeweler’s tools, the carving tools, and the brass; they must have foundries. Think of the number of arts, and what a tremendous change had taken place in these people after they went into Egypt. They were nomads, ranch people, cowboys till then; when they got to Egypt they learned agriculture, city building, architecture, all sorts of fine work, and now it is all brought out with them, and when they go to leave Egypt, the Egyptians are so glad to get rid of them, God put it in the hearts of the Egyptians to bestow on the Jews gold and silver and jewels, and that is where all this gold and silver comes from that they are using now to build the tabernacle.
8. Define the whole space of the court.
Ans. Here the student should make a diagram and let that diagram show the relative places of the entire court, the heights of the curtain wall around that court and the gate of entrance and where the altar, i.e., the brazen altar, is placed, and where the laver is placed, and how they got into the holy place and then into the holy of holies. And he should show in that diagram just where Moses’ place was, and where Aaron’s place was, and the places all around that diagram of the court where the Levites were, and which of them on this side and which on that side, and then show the tribes camped around it; what three tribes on the north side, what three on the south, on the east and on the west. If you want to see a diagram so that you will have nothing to do but copy it, get (and every reader of this book ought to have what I have urged them to have) the Rand-MeNally’s Atlas by J. L. Hurlbut. You ought to read what it has to say about every lesson that we have. And if you have the Hurlbut Atlas it gives you just the picture that I have drawn mentally and orally, showing the length, breadth, and height of the court; showing you where the gate is on the east; showing you just where Moses was to be, where Aaron was to be, where the Levites were to camp, and where the other tribes were to be placed all around it; how big the tabernacle was, how big each division was, and how big the most holy place was in cubic measurement. The question is, Define the whole space of the court.
9. What are the tent divisions, and the sizes of the divisions?
Ans. The tent was divided into two divisions, the holy place and the most holy place, and they were separated by what is called the veil of the Temple, but it came to be a tremendous thing in the Herodian Temple seventy feet long and thirty feet wide, and four inches thick, and so woven that ten yoke of oxen couldn’t tear it, and yet when Jesus died it was rent in twain from top to bottom. The sizes are given in the Atlas.
10. What were the contents of the most holy place?
Ans. There were just two things in there, and don’t you ever put anything else in there. These are the articles, viz.: the ark, which is one thing, and the mercy seat which rested right on top of it; of course, the mercy seat which rested right on top of it had its propitiatory place where the atonement was made, and the Cherubim of pure gold (of course, there were things in the ark the witnesses: the pot of manna, Aaron’s rod, the brazen serpent, and so on). But two things are in there the mercy seat, which is on top of the ark: a chest with its contents inside, and the mercy seat resting on it.
11. How was the most holy place lighted?
Ans. There was no light in it, but clouds of darkness: “a thick pavilion of darkness is my habitation.” Whenever you get to the church in glory the expression, “There is no temple, there is no altar or shrine,” doesn’t mean the general structure about the shrines, just as the mercy seat on top of the ark constituted the shrine. When you get to the church in glory there is no shrine there. Why? Because the Lord God and the Lamb are the light thereof. Now down here in this tabernacle there was a shrine, the Cherubim) and the Shekinah signifying the presence of God.
12. Who enters, and how often, into the most holy place?
Ans. The high priest only, and that only one time a year. Nobody could ever see the outside of what was in there. They couldn’t see the outside of the ark nor the outside of the mercy seat. It was always carried, but it was carried covered. And the tent was first put up upon arriving at a camp and after the tent was put up the bearers of the ark carried it on the inside, and when they went out Aaron alone uncovered it. He was the only one that ever saw it.
13. What were the contents of the holy place, where were the contents set up, and what did they represent?
Ans. Just three things were in there. There was the seven-branched golden candlestick; the light of that lamp was never allowed to go out at night. It was trimmed every morning and lighted every evening just before dark. That candlestick or lampstand was just one lampstand. The one that was in the Temple when Titus captured Jerusalem was carried to Rome as a trophy. Another thing in there was a table, and on the table six loaves of bread in one place and six loaves of bread in another place and a cup; in the third place, there was a little altar called the golden altar in contradistinction from the big one on the outside, the brazen altar. This altar was covered with gold and on that was the frankincense, or incense; the material is frankincense, and it became incense, going up when it was burning in a beautiful smoke and very fragrant. Now as you enter that division from the east, the right hand will be the north. Which one of the things do you out on the north? Do you put a table, a candlestick, or a golden altar? Which one do you put to the south, and which one in the center right opposite the veil that has to be lifted aside by Aaron once a year? The Atlas shows all this.
What do those three things represent?
Ans. They represent the blessings of salvation by grace like the food and the spirit of prayer, as communicants get those spiritual blessings. That bread also represents the twelve tribes shewbread that is, it is bread for exhibition, very sacred, nobody was ever allowed to eat it. David did eat a piece once when he was very hungry and Jesus excused him under the circumstances (he was starving) though “He did eat the shewbread which was against the law.” Now we have found out the contents of the holy place, and how they were set up, and what they represented.
14. Who enters the holy place (not the most holy place) and how often?
Ans. Not the Levites but the priests. The Levites had the run of the court) Aaron the most holy place, the priests the holy place, every day.
15. What are the contents of the court and their respective positions and signification?
Ans. In the open court around the tent there were these things: (1) Near the east gate of the court was the brazen altar, the altar of burnt offering and sin offering. That was the altar of sacrifices. (2) Between that altar and the entrance into the holy place was the laver, a vessel containing water used by the priests in the ablutions necessary to the performance of their duties.
16. Who entered this court and how often?
Ans. Aaron and his sons that constituted the priesthood, and the Levites the whole tribe of Levi that served in the matters of the public worship. They all entered this court. Some of them were in there every day. There were daily offerings, one every morning and one every evening; so that was open all the time to Aaron or his sons or the Levites having special work to perform in there.
17. Where did the people come?
Ans. They came to the gate in the east; they didn’t get inside the gate except in case of their offerings. They brought their offerings to the altar before the tent of meeting.
18. Who were the ministers in the sacrifices and how were they set apart? Divide their respective duties of the court.
Ans. Your lesson tells you all about that: that the ministers consisted of Aaron, the high priest, the priests, and the Levites; just exactly how each one of them was to be consecrated to office; the ritual, etc. Aaron does certain things, and he alone; the priests, certain things, and they alone; the Levites, certain things, and they alone.
XXVIII
THE TABERNACLE (Continued)
1. What was the high priest’s apparel, its use and meaning?
Ans. Your book has a great deal to say about the clothing of the high priest but I shall confine my answer to only two articles of that apparel, viz.: the mitre and the ephod. The mitre was a headdress; towering, and on the front of it just over Aaron’s forehead was a golden plate fastened to the mitre, and on that inscribed, “Holiness to the Lord.” He was never allowed to exercise his high priestly functions unless he had that mitre on.
Now, the other portion of his dress that requires very particular mention is the ephod. The ephod was a garment, a vestment that had a hole cut in it like you see cowboys have in their blankets. It was put on by putting it over the head and the head coming up through that hole, and it came down to the knees. There was an inner robe of course, but I am talking about the ephod. It was carefully hemmed and embroidered around that hole so it wouldn’t tear, just as a buttonhole is, to keep it from widening. At the bottom of the ephod were the pomegranates and little bells that I have told you about. And the bells were to ring all the time that the high priest was performing his functions. It was death to him if they stopped, and their sound was the indication to the people that the high priest’s work was going on and they, on the outside, would pray as long as they heard the bells ringing. That is the ephod proper.
But that ephod had a breastplate, just a span square, at the shoulders; on the ephod was a hook, an ouch, on each side. This breastplate was just a span wide and on it four rows three in a row of very valuable jewels and each jewel had inscribed on it the name of one of the twelve tribes. So that whenever Aaron acted officially he carried over his heart, as a representative, the whole nation of Israel. The twelve tribes of Israel were there, carried on his heart.
The breastplate had two gold chains. The upper part of it had rings and the gold chains went up and fastened to the ouch, or hook, on the shoulder piece of the ephod. Having put on the ephod, he would then take up the breastplate by the two gold chains and hook it to the clasps on the ephod. That would let it drop down on his breast. Then the sides of the breastplate had rings and they were fastened to other hooks on the ephod and that kept it from falling forward, kept it in place.
Now, besides the twelve great jewels that represented the twelve tribes of Israel there were two other jewels, called the urim and thummirn. They went on the breastplate. I am not quite sure but that they were under the breastplate on the inside. The names, urim and thummirn, mean light and perfection. The use of the two particular jewels was to communicate with Jehovah. When the cloud would come down and rest over the tent to signify that Jehovah wanted to have a talk, the high priest would come into the holy place, and the communication would take place. Now, the two jewels Aaron would look at and how, I don’t know and nobody else knows, but through those jewels as a medium, he would understand the communication that had been given to him. Hence a high priest’s method of communicating with God was always through the urim and thummirn. Moses didn’t do it that way, because he was a prophet. God spoke to him direct. But the high priest could only communicate with God through the urim and the thummirn. If he lost those jewels he couldn’t talk with God.
Now, the ephod carrying the breastplate and the two precious stones, the urim and the thummim, was strictly an official robe; so that you often find in the accounts in the Old Testament the expression, “Get me the ephod.” “What do you want with the ephod?” “I want to communicate with God.” The ephod was the robe of communication. You read in the life of David that he went to where the high priest was and told him to put on his ephod and answer him certain questions. Well, the high priest put on the ephod, went up to the door of the holy place, propounded David’s question, looked at the urim and the thummirn, understood the answer, and gave it to David. You read in the book of Judges that Gideon when he assumed to be king had an ephod made so that he could communicate with God. And you read in the prophet Hosea that Israel shall be a long time without a king, without an ephod, and without a prophet. They shall have no means of communicating with God. That is the condition of Israel this day. They have no Temple; they have no high priest; they have lost the urim and thummirn; they have no ephod; no way of communicating with God. Since they reject Christ, the only means of communication, they are shut off. So that the particular thing about the breastplate and its urim and thummirn is that it was a God-appointed means of communicating with the people through the high priest. He adopted a different method when he spoke with the prophets. A prophet was higher than a priest. The prophets communicated with God directly. There are other things about Aaron’s dress, all the details of which had a meaning, but these are the great meanings of the dress of the high priest.
20. What were the regular times of service in this tabernacle?
Ans. Here were the regular times: The daily services every morning and every evening; the sabbath services, that is, once a week; the monthly services, the monthly sabbaths, and the annual sabbaths. Those were the great festivals, three great festivals, and then the Jubilee sabbaths, and in connection with it there came the great Day of Atonement. Those were the regular times of service, but there were provisions for special times of services that I will not now discuss.
21. What the offerings and their meanings?
Ans. I have to answer it so elaborately when I come to Leviticus, I only give now in general terms these offerings: Sin offerings, burnt offerings, eucharistic, or thank offerings; in a burnt offering, all of it had to be burned up. Now, a sin offering had to be burned, but every burnt offering was not a sin offering. I give you this example: If a man wanted to consecrate his whole life to God and brought an offering, that was a burnt offering. Now, that offering had to be burned to ashes on the brazen altar, to signify that God accepted that entire consecration. The sin offering was also burned. Nobody could eat a part of a sin offering. But certain parts of the eucharist, or thank offering, or peace offering, or meat offering could be eaten. Moses ate a certain part, and Aaron and his sons a certain part, and the Levites certain parts.
22. What was the ritual?
Ans. The ritual is that set of rules that told them just how everything was to be done. Almost the whole book of Leviticus is ritual and the larger part of Numbers. For instance, it tells just how every particular offering must be offered. The ritual is the system of rules prescribed, the service and the order of the service in all of its parts.
23. What was the place of the sanctuary in the camp and order of encampment around it?
Ans. I will answer that question more fully when we come to the book of Leviticus. We will suppose Israel is on a march and the cloud stops. As soon as the cloud stops Aaron and Moses stop. As soon as they stop, those carrying the furniture of the most holy place, that is, the ark and mercy seat, set it down there covered. And then the tent is put over it, and then all the arrangements are made about the various articles of the holy place and the court. Then the fence is put up, i.e., the court fence. Now, the Levites come in and camp on three sides, and every tribe knew just where it was to camp one on the north side, one on the east, one on the west, and so on.
24. When was this tabernacle completed and what was the order of setting it up?
Ans. In Exo 39:42 , we have this statement: “According to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so the children of Israel made all the work. And Moses saw all the work, and, behold, they had done it.” Exo 39:42 of that chapter says, “Then was all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation finished and they brought all the material together before Moses.” Now, the other part of the question was: The order of its setting up? That is explained to you in Exo 40:1-8 ; Exo 40:17 , “And it came to pass in the first month in the second year [that is, since they left Egypt], on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was reared up. And Moses reared up the tabernacle.” Then it tells how the tent was put up: “Then Moses took and put the testimony into the ark,” brought the ark into its place and then all the other things into their places in order.
25. When was it anointed?
Ans. It was anointed after the setting up, and Exo 40:9-11 , tells about that anointing, that is, setting it apart. And this is what it says on that, “And thou shalt take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and all that is therein and shall hallow it; and all the vessels thereof and it shall be holy, and thou shalt anoint the altar of the burnt-offering and all its vessels and sanctify the altar and it shall be an altar most holy.” “Thou shalt anoint the laver; thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons and make them put on their official robes and anoint them. Thus did Moses.”
26. When was it filled?
Ans. As soon as it was set up and was get apart, and anointed, the record says (Exo 40:34 ), the cloud came down and filled the tent and the glory of it was such that Moses couldn’t enter it. Then God says, “My glory sanctifies this tent.” When we get to Lev 18 , we learn that the tabernacle was sprinkled with blood as well as anointed with oil. Now, you will see from a careful reading of the last chapter of Exodus that a great many commandments are given, telling how things are to be done. Go to Leviticus and Numbers to find out how these orders given in the last chapter of Exodus are carried out. They are prescribed here and they tell you how it is to be done; the orders are given, but in Leviticus and Numbers they are carried out.
27. How dedicated?
Ans. Now, although the cloud had filled the tent, you don’t learn how that house was dedicated until you get to Num 7 . Nearly all of Leviticus and about a third of Numbers ought to be studied with the last part of Exodus. I am going to close what I have to say on this by giving you a little subsequent history of this tabernacle. It went with the children of Israel through all their wanderings. When Joshua got over into the Holy Land he set it up at Shiloh and after awhile it was moved to Nob. There it was in David’s time; then it went to Bethel; then in Solomon’s time it was at Gibeon. David erected a new tent. He didn’t make a new ark of the covenant and new altars and things of that kind, but he did make a new tent when he brought the ark up and put it in Jerusalem. Then he sent to Gibeon later on and that old tent that stood empty at Gibeon was brought but not set up, but just rolled up and when the Temple was built it was put in a chamber of the Temple and preserved, how long, I don’t know.
28. Give the parallels of a later date.
Ans. Well, just as that tabernacle was first prepared fully in all its materials, and these materials were brought together in one place, just so it was done with the Temple. So that when they started to put up the Temple they do so without the sound of hammer. Everything was so carefully prepared before it went up. Just as the church in glory will go up when the time comes. Every living stone will be thoroughly complete: body there, glorified; soul there, sanctified; no work to be done that day. It just goes into place by assembling. In my sermon on the church you will find just how the church in glory will be finally set up, and how that when our Lord built his church, John the Baptist prepared some of the material, which Jesus accepted; and Jesus prepared some of the material. But not all the work of the church was completed until Christ died. When he died he said, “It is finished.” The church was completed.
But that church was not anointed until the day of Pentecost, just as the old tabernacle had to be anointed and the smoke came and filled it. So the church that Jesus built stood open after he left it. He was the guide in it. He was the Shekinah as long as he lived, but when he went away it stood open until the day of Pentecost, when, as Daniel says, the most holy place was anointed. The Spirit came down and filled that house just as the cloud filled the house that Solomon built, and the house that Moses built.
29. What was the position of the cloud with reference to this tabernacle and its signals?
Ans. The normal place of the cloud was up in the air above the tabernacle. If the cloud moved, they moved, and they kept right under it. That was the normal place. If the cloud stopped, they stopped. So that one of the cloud’s signals was its moving, or its stopping. Another one of the cloud’s signals was its coming down and resting on the tent. That signified a communication was desired with the people through the priests. Then the high priest put on his ephod with his urim and thummirn, and went in to receive the communication. If a communication was wanted with Moses, he needed no ephod, since he was a prophet and talked direct with God.
30. What was the value of that cloud for light, shade, defense and guidance?
Ans. All night the cloud up in the air was one great pillar of fire, brighter than all the electric lights of New York City. Night couldn’t come up and touch them. Just think of it being forty years that they never saw the night. Then in the daytime the cloud spread out as a shade and kept the burning sun off them. The heat didn’t smite them for forty years. Then the cloud by its movements infallibly guided them just exactly where to go. They didn’t have to make any inquiries concerning the road they were to follow. They were to follow the cloud. They didn’t have to ask about how soon to start next morning. They were just to wait on the cloud. If it didn’t move, they were to stay right there if it was a year. The whole question was settled as to guidance by the cloud. How was it as a defense? Well, as enemies came, if the enemies were in the rear the cloud moved to the rear and got between them and the enemies with the black face of it toward the enemies. It had a black face and a light face. It would turn the light face toward the Israelites. It did that way when Pharaoh came up after them, and it looked to him like the blackest night the world ever saw, coming right between him and the Israelites, and it stayed there; Pharaoh couldn’t see through the black part of the cloud that was throwing light over Israel, and the Israelites passed through the Red Sea; as soon as they were across the cloud rose up and went on ahead of the Israelites, and Pharaoh following when he got into the midst of the sea, he and his army were swallowed up.
31. What was the value of the sanctuary as a center?
Ans. It was absolutely essential to hold this crowd together. Put three million people out and no center of unity and they will disintegrate; they will go in every direction, but no matter how many the people nor how far out the columns had to spread in marching and the herds had to go in grazing, all they had to do at any time was to look up; away yonder they could see, if in the daytime, the pillar of cloud, if at night, the pillar of fire.
32. What was the value of the sanctuary as an oracle?
Ans. An oracle is a supernatural voice that answers questions and tells you what you are to do.
33. Where was the oracle and what was it?
Ans. The most holy place is many times called the oracle, not because it was the oracle, t)ut because it was there that the oracle spoke. Nobody can estimate how much is the value of an infallible oracle. A case would come up that Moses would not know what to do. “Well, I will go and ask the oracle. I will ask God. God will tell me what to do.” In the New Testament Jesus says, “While you are now asking me questions [they were firing questions at him all the time, and right then in that very discussion of his, Philip says, “Lord, this,” and Thomas says, “Lord, this” and Jude says “Lord, this”] when the other Advacate comes, you shall ask me nothing. You will ask him. You will ask the Holy Spirit. I am going away and you think you will have nobody to answer your questions?” Disciples are interrogation points. They ask questions all the time and often very foolish questions, but Jesus patiently listened and answered, but when he went away that was the thing that troubled them: “Who will answer our questions?” “In that day when the Holy Spirit comes, you will ask me nothing. Just ask him,” says Jesus.
34. How was a communication signified?
Ans. If it was the high priest that was to ask a question, he would put on the ephod with the urim and thummirn and come to the Holy Place, and if the cloud was willing to hear him it would settle down and talk to him, and the same way with Moses, only Moses didn’t use the urim and thummirn.
35. How was the answer obtained and give examples?
Ans. If it was a priest wanting it, the answer was obtained through the urim and thummirn; I will give you some examples: 1Sa 23:9-12 ,-1Sa 28:6 ; 1Sa 30:7-8 ; Hos 3:4 . All these are cases when questions were brought, the methods by which they were brought and how answers were obtained.
36. What was the relative value of this tent and all the other tents?
Ans. A great many tents were necessary for three millions of people. I will let the psalmist answer that question. He says, “The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the tents of Israel.” That tent was worth all the rest of them put together. Without that tent the others would not stand. It was not only the center of unity and the place where the oracle spoke and by which they were defended and guided, but it was the place of God’s presence.
37. What description and explanation the best?
Ans. About the best I know is found in Rand-McNally’s Atlas of the Bible. If you had that book you could turn to a certain page and see the picture of the whole tabernacle, see the diagram showing you just how every tribe camped, where Moses stood, where Aaron stood, etc.
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible
Exo 27:1 And thou shalt make an altar [of] shittim wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be foursquare: and the height thereof [shall be] three cubits.
Ver. 1. Five cubits long. ] Solomon’s altar was four times as large as this: to teach that as our peace and prosperity is more than others, so should our service in a due proportion.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
shittim wood. Acacia wood.
cubits. See App-51.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Chapter 27
Now on the outside they were to make a court, which would be seventy-five feet wide, and a hundred and fifty feet long, with curtains around it seven and a half feet high. So that you have this outer court, which is sort of a curtained-in area seventy-five feet by a hundred and fifty feet. So it would be just the outer court, would be just about the-well just about as large as the building here is wide. It would be seventy-five, which would take us back to about between the third and the fourth pillar back here, that wide, and picture it in the building this long. Curtains that are seventy or seven and a half feet high, which makes them too high to tiptoe and peep over. These curtains were set on these posts that were set in brass sockets and so forth.
The whole thing, as I said, was portable. They need to move; they could just go ahead and take the thing apart, wrap the thing up. And there was certain of the tribe of Levi that were the bearers, they had to carry the thing. They would take it to the next place and then they could set it up like a tent is easily mobile, and it was made very portable and able to move it around as God would lead the children of Israel. So this court.
Now in the court, again he follows-first of all in this court are to be a brass altar.
Thou shalt make an altar of acacia wood, five cubits long, [which would be seven and a half feet, and so it is a square. The altar of acacia wood but now,] it is overlaid with brass [because we have the symbol of judgment where the sacrifices were to be burnt unto the Lord] ( Exo 27:1-2 ).
So it is seven and a half feet square on the top, it is four and a half feet high.
and on each corner there is a horn ( Exo 27:2 ).
It was carved on a horn shape coming up. So there were the four horns on each of the corners of this seven and a half-foot altar, four and a half feet high, all overlaid with brass. As he first of all gave you the furnishings of the tabernacle, and then the tabernacle, so the furnishings of the outer court, and then the description of how the outer court was to be made.
Now in verse twenty we get to the oil for the light.
And you shall command the children of Israel, that they bring pure olive oil beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always. In the tabernacle of the congregation outside of that Holy of Holies veil, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to morning before the Lord: [it shall be] a statute for ever unto their generations on behalf of the children of Israel ( Exo 27:20-21 ).
So they were to use olive oil in these cups in this golden lamp stand, and Aaron and his sons, it was their duty to keep the oil in there constantly so that the light never went off.
So as we get into history, we remember the case where Samuel, when he was just growing up he was brought by his mother who had dedicated him to the Lord, to the priest. Eli the high priest and Samuel sort of became sort of an errand boy. One night he heard his name being called. He ran into Eli, and he said, “What did you want?” He said, “I didn’t call you. What are doing in here?” He said, “I surely heard my name called.” “No, go back to bed.” He went back to bed and again he heard his name called, and came running in again. Eli says, “No I didn’t call you. What’s going on? Go back to bed.” So the next time Eli said, “Look if you hear someone calling again just say, ‘Speak Lord, your servant hears’.” So he heard his name called again, and he said, “Speak Lord your servant hears”, well the Lord was trying to tell him the oil was going out. Someone had failed there in the job of the light. So the beginning of his listening to the Lord and all, involved. These lights that were to be kept burning.
During the time that the temple was profaned by Antiochus Epiphanes, when he offered a pig on the altar and just spread its blood around the temple, Judas Maccabees saw and incensed over this sacrilege, put an idol of Zeus within the temple. Judas Maccabees so incensed that he gathered together some of the Israelis and they went out against insurmountable odds and wiped out the Syrian hosts, the men of Antiochus. They then planned to, you know, rededicate the temple but they had only enough oil for one day for the lamp stands.
Now it took a process of time. It took, as they developed the whole thing. You know, after awhile you get men’s routines in it, and you get all kinds of rules and regulations. By this time it took seven days to get this olive oil all purified by the rituals and all. So they knew that they weren’t gonna be able to prepare any olive oil for seven-you know take them seven days before they could prepare it for their use. And so miraculously as the story goes, though they had only a one-day supply of oil, the lights remained for the eight days, until the eighth day they were able to make the oil.
Thus, you have the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, the lighting of the candles, one candle each day, the eight days and so forth. The Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, which celebrates God’s miraculous supply of oil for Judas Maccabees at that particular period of their history. “
Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary
Here we have the account of the court surrounding the Tabernacle and the Tent and here again the description begins from the inside. First, the brazen altar is described. It symbolized devotion on the basis of sacrifice. Once more the acacia wood spoke of the necessity for continuous devotion while the brass symbolized the strength of that devotion. As will be seen later on, the sin sacrifice was offered outside the camp. Here its ashes, mingled with offerings, formed the groundwork of acceptance.
The whole court was to be enclosed by curtains of finely twined linen. There was no intermixture of gold or blue, or scarlet, save at the gates of entrance. These exterior curtains were to be upheld by pillars set in sockets of brass and capped by crowns of silver, the whole suggestive of purity based on the strength of government and crowned by the fact of redemption.
The screen to be hung at the entrance was similar to that before the Holy Place. Thus the worshiper, standing outside each entrance, was reminded by the screen of the court, the screen of the Holy Place and the veil of the Most Holy, that there could be no approach to God save on the basis of perfection. No man might pass within the court to reach the altar of devotion save through the symbol of mediation. None might enter the Holy Place for fellowship and testimony but in the same way. None might reach the inner Presence chamber of the manifested Glory except through perfection.
Fuente: An Exposition on the Whole Bible
the Altar and the Court
Exo 27:1-19
The brazen altar is dealt with long before any particular mention is made of the altar of incense, because the question of our relationship with God, through the death of our Lord on the Cross, must precede our fellowship with Him, and our successful intercession. Each of these altars was made of the same kind of wood, but in the case of the altar we are now considering, and which stood in front of the Tabernacle, the wood was encased in brass, that metal suggesting the severity of the sacrificial flame that burned at the Crucifixion, when Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us. Let us distinguish between these altars. We have passed beyond the one; we are called to minister perpetually at the other. The court was fifty yards long by twenty-five broad, and was formed by curtains of fine-twined yarn. There must be separation between Gods priests and the world. See 1Pe 2:5.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 27 The Tabernacle Concluded
1. The altar of brass (Exo 27:1-8)
2. The court of the tabernacle (Exo 27:9-19)
3. The oil for the lamp (Exo 27:20-21)
The brazen altar stood at the door of the tabernacle. Later we find in this book the golden altar of incense mentioned. It stood between the golden candlestick and the brazen altar. This altar was likewise of shittim wood. Instead of gold, here was brass, because the altar is the type of the cross where Christ met the burning heat of divine justice. Upon this altar the burnt offering was brought and wholly consumed, speaking of Him who knew no sin and was made sin for us. The altar was hollow, the sacrificial fires burned mostly within. This tells of His work on the cross and the sufferings within, when He was forsaken of God; they are for us unfathomable. The horns on the four corners of the altar indicated that His great work on the cross should go forth in world wide proclamation.
The court of the tabernacle had for a wall fine twined linen. This was symbolical of the righteousness of God. This excludes the sinner from His presence. But there was a gate (Exodus 27:16) in which the colors reappeared. Blue, purple and scarlet were seen there. The gate typifies Christ. If an Israelite entered through that gate in the linen wall, which shut him Out, he found, after entering in, that the same fine twined linen shut him in. Even so, if we enter in through the one door, Christ, the righteousness of God which condemned us, covers us. There were also hooks and fillets of silver and sockets of brass, telling once more the story of atonement and divine righteousness executed in judgment.
Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)
altar
Brazen altar, type of the Cross upon which Christ, our whole burnt-offering offered Himself without spot to God Heb 9:14.
height (Cf) Exo 25:10. The altar of burnt offering is double the height of the mercy-seat. The atonement more than saves us– it glorifies God Joh 17:14.
shittim i.e. acacia.
wood The wood (Christ’s humanity), completely inclosed in brass, must have become completely charred by sacrificial fires. Cf. Heb 10:5-7.
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
altar of shittim wood: Exo 20:24-26, Exo 24:4, Exo 38:1-7, Exo 40:10, Exo 40:29, 2Sa 24:18, 2Ch 4:1, Eze 43:13-17, Heb 13:10
Reciprocal: Exo 25:5 – shittim wood Exo 31:9 – the altar Exo 35:16 – The altar Exo 40:6 – General Num 3:31 – the altars Num 23:1 – seven altars 1Ch 6:49 – Aaron 2Ch 1:5 – the brazen 2Ch 32:12 – one altar Eze 9:2 – beside Eze 43:16 – twelve cubits
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Exo 27:1. Thou shalt make an altar As God intended in the tabernacle to manifest his presence among his people, so there they were to pay their devotions to him; not in the tabernacle itself, into that only the priests entered as Gods domestic servants, but in the court before the tabernacle, where, as common subjects, they attended. There an altar was ordered to be set up, to which they must bring their sacrifices; and this altar was to sanctify their gifts; from hence they were to present their services to God, as from the mercy-seat he gave his oracles to them: and thus a communion was settled between God and Israel. This altar was placed at the entrance of the sanctuary, and is termed the altar of burnt-offering, and the great altar: it was almost three yards square, and above a yard and a half in height. It was made of wood rather than of solid brass, that it might not be too heavy. But notwithstanding that it was overlaid with brass, (Exo 27:2,) had it been of common wood, it must soon have been consumed to ashes by the continual heat: hence Le Clerc conjectures that this shittim-wood might be the larch-tree, which bears the fire like stone.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Exo 27:1. Make an altar. The altar, says a living author before mentioned, seems to have been intended only for the present purpose, until further orders were given; and especially for those sacrifices with which the national covenant was ratified. Exo 20:24.
Exo 27:2. Horns. The horns were ornamental turrets, which prevented the victims from falling off; and to these they were sometimes bound when about to be sacrificed. Psa 118:17. The horns seem to have been long, that culprits might take hold of them, as Joab did, when he fled from the wrath of the king. The gentile altars had the same kind of horns. The altar was entirely covered with thick plates of brass, with a place to receive the fuel and lay the flesh upon, very curiously formed, to prevent the wood being consumed by the fire. Neither could the human nature of Christ have supported the fire of divine wrath for sin, had it not been in union with his divinity.
Exo 27:3. Basons. In these was received the blood of the sacrifices, in order to its being sprinkled.
Exo 27:20. Cause the lamp to burn always. The LXX amplify this reading. The people are required to bring pure oil, that the lamp may burn always in the tabernacle of testimony without the veil. The heathens had much the same ritual; their lamps burned, and their fires on the altar were guarded by the priests, and in many places by vestal virgins. The American Indians had fires likewise in their temples. In 1727, the French at the Mobile were massacred by the Indians. Chepar, the governor, having cruelly treated the Natchees, they convened a meeting of the neighbouring tribes; and having fixed on one moon for preparation, the priest delivered a bunch of thirty rods to each tribe, with instructions to burn one rod every day upon the altar. But Braspike, the chiefs mother, being connected with a French officer, had the address to steal one of the rods, which occasioned the Natchees to begin the massacre on the 28th of December, instead of the 29th, which gave the French in other places, one day of alarm. The similarity of these customs of lamps and fires demonstrates that Noah had handed down those institutions to his sons. The ritual was of divine and primitive authority.
REFLECTIONS.
Oh altar, altar, most instructive, tragic, and atoning altar! How many trembling culprits take hold of thy horns! How many trembling victims bleed at thy foot, and are consumed in thy flames! How awful is the character of justice, whose sword is unsheathed, and who seems to cast a disdainful look on the sinners, as well as on their victims, until a voice is heard from the mercy-seat, sacrifice and burnt-offering thou wouldest not; mine ears hast thou opened, a body hast thou prepared me. Lo I come, as it is written of me, in the volume of the law and the prophets. Thy law is within me: I delight to do thy will, oh God. Psa 40:6-7.
This beautiful tabernacle, seen by day from afar by its splendid colours, and by night by its flames, is a striking figure of Jews and Gentiles mixed in its outward court. Also of the true church, within the tabernacle; and of heaven itself, by the most holy place. May the Lord count us worthy to follow from the outward to the inner court, and then to the holy of holies in the paradise above.
We see here the fire of the altar, ever burning to take away the daily faults of an offending people, for the love of Christ ever glows with compassion towards them.
The lamps, ever burning in the temple, adumbrate the light of the Lord shining forth in the glory of the gospel, rising with beams of grace and righteousness on the church, and with the light of life in every believers heart. Zion has often been under an exterior cloud, but she has always light within. Christ still walks amid the golden candlesticks, and causes the church to shine by reflection, with beauties enhanced, as a city set on a hill. It is the portion of the finally impenitent to be thrust into outer darkness.
Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Exodus 27
We have now arrived at the brazen altar which stood at the door of the tabernacle; and I would call my reader’s most particular attention to the order of the Holy Ghost in this portion of our book. We have already remarked that from Ex. 25 to Ex. 27: 19, forms a distinct division, in which we are furnished with a description of the ark and mercy-seat, the table and candlestick, the curtains and the veil; and, lastly, the brazen altar and the court in which that altar stood. If my reader will turn to Ex. 35: 15; Ex. 37: 25; Ex. 40: 26, he will remark that the golden altar of incense is noticed, in each of the three instances, between the candlestick and the brazen altar. Whereas, when Jehovah is giving directions to Moses, the brazen altar is introduced immediately after the candlestick and the curtains of the tabernacle. Now, inasmuch as there must be a divine reason for this difference, it is the privilege of every diligent and intelligent student of the word to inquire what that reason is.
Why, then, does the Lord, when giving directions about the furniture of the “holy place,” omit the altar of incense and pass out to the brazen altar which stood at the door of the tabernacle? The reason, I believe, is simply this. He first describes the mode in which He would manifest Himself to man : and then He describes the mode of man’s approach to Him. He took His seat upon the throne, as ” the Lord of all the earth.” The beams of His glory were hidden behind the veil – type of Christ’s flesh (Heb. 10: 20); but there was the manifestation of Himself, in connection with man, as in “the pure table,” and by the light and power of the Holy Ghost, as in the candlestick. Then we have the manifested character of Christ as a man down here on this earth, as seen in the curtains and coverings of the tabernacle. And, finally, we have the brazen altar as the grand exhibition of the meeting-place between a holy God and a sinner. This conducts us, as it were, to the extreme point, from which we return, in company with Aaron and his sons, back to the holy place, the ordinary priestly position, where stood the golden altar of incense. Thus the order is strikingly beautiful. The golden altar is not spoken of until there is a priest to burn incense thereon, for Jehovah showed Moses the patterns of things in the heavens according to the order in which these things are to be apprehended by faith. On the other hand, when Moses gives directions to the congregations (Ex. 35), when he records the labours of “Bezaleel and Aholiab,” (Ex. 37 and Ex. 38),and when he sets up the tabernacle (Ex. 40), he follows the simple order in which the furniture was placed.
The prayerful investigation of this interesting subject, and a comparison of the passages above referred to, will amply repay my reader. We shall now examine the brazen altar.
This altar was the place where the sinner approached God, in the power and efficacy of the blood of atonement. It stood “at the door of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation,” and on it all the blood was shed. It was composed of “shittim wood and brass.” The wood was the same as that of the golden altar of incense; but the metal was different, and the reason of this difference is obvious. The altar of brass was the place where sin was dealt with according to the divine judgement concerning it. The altar of gold was the place from whence the precious fragrance of Christ’s acceptableness ascended to the throne of God. The shittim Wood” as the figure of Christ’s humanity, must be the same in each case; but in the brazen altar we see Christ meeting the fire of divine justice; in the golden altar, we behold Him feeding the divine affections. At the former, the fire of divine wrath was quenched, at the latter, the fire of priestly worship, is kindled. The soul delights to find Christ in both; but the altar of brass is what meets the need of a guilty conscience. It is the very first thing for a poor, helpless, needy, convicted sinner. There cannot be settled peace, in reference to the question of sin, until the eye of faith rests on Christ as the antitype of the brazen altar. I must see my sin reduced to ashes in the pan of the altar, ere I can enjoy rest of conscience in the presence of God. It is when I know, by faith in the record of God, that He Himself has dealt with my sin in the Person of Christ, at the brazen altar – that He has satisfied all His own righteous claims – that He has put away my sin out of His holy presence, so that it can never come back again – it is then, but not until then, that I can enjoy divine and everlasting peace.
I would here offer a remark as to the real meaning of the “gold” and “brass” in the furniture of the tabernacle. ” Gold” is the symbol of divine righteousness, or the divine nature in “the man Christ Jesus.” “Brass” is the symbol of righteousness, demanding judgement of sin, as in the brazen altar; or the judgement of uncleanness, as in the brazen laver. This will account for the fact that inside the tent of the tabernacle, all was gold – the ark, the mercy-seat, the table, the candlestick, the altar of incense. All these were the symbols of the divine nature – the inherent personal excellence of the Lord Jesus Christ, On the other hand, outside the tent of the tabernacle, – all was brass – the brazen altar and its vessels, the laver and its foot.
The claims of righteousness, as to sin and uncleanness, must be divinely met ere there can be any enjoyment of the precious mysteries of Christ’s Person, as unfolded in the inner sanctuary of God. It is when I see all sin and all uncleanness perfectly judged and washed away, that I can, as a priest, draw nigh and worship in the holy place, and enjoy the full display of all the beauty and excellency of the God-man, Christ Jesus.
The reader can, with much profit, follow out the application of this thought in detail, not merely in the study of the tabernacle and the temple, but also in various passages of the word; for example, in the first chapter of Revelation, Christ is seen “girt about the paps with a golden girdle,” and having “his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace.” “The golden girdle” is the symbol of His intrinsic righteousness. The “feet like unto the brass,” express the unmitigated judgement of evil – He cannot tolerate evil, but must crush it beneath His feet.
Such is the Christ with whom we have to do. He judges sin, but He saves the sinner. Faith sees sin reduced to ashes at the brazen altar; it sees all uncleanness washed away at the brazen laver: and, finally, is enjoys Christ, as He is unfolded, in the secret of the divine presence, by the light and power of the Holy Ghost. It finds Him at the golden altar, in all the value of His intercession. It feeds on Him at the pure table. It recognises Him in the ark and mercy-seat as the One who answers all the claims of justice, and, at the same time, meets all human need. It beholds Him in the veil, with all its mystic figures. It reads His precious name on everything. Oh! for a heart to prize and praise this matchless, glorious Christ!
Nothing can be of more vital importance than a clear understanding of the doctrine of the brazen altar; that is to say, of the doctrine taught there. It is from the want of clearness as to this, that so many souls go mourning all their days. They have never had a clean, thorough settlement of the whole matter of their guilt at the brazen altar. They have never really beheld, by faith, God Himself settling on the cross, the entire question of their sins. They are seeking peace for their uneasy consciences in regeneration and its evidences, – the fruits of the Spirit, frames, feelings, experiences, – things quite right and most valuable in themselves, but they are not the ground of peace. What fills the soul with perfect peace is the knowledge of what God hath wrought at the brazen altar. The ashes in yonder pan tell me the peace-giving story that ALL IS DONE The believer’s sins were all put away by God’s own hand of redeeming love. “He hath made Christ to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Cor. 5) All sin must be judged: but the believer’s sins have been already judged in the cross ; hence, he is perfectly justified. To suppose that there could be anything against the very feeblest believer, is to deny the entire work of the cross. His sins and iniquities have been all put away by God Himself, and therefore they must needs be perfectly put away. They all went with the outpoured life of the Lamb of God.
Dear Christian reader, see that your heart is thoroughly established in the peace which Jesus has made “by the blood of His cross.”
The priesthood being instituted, as in the two preceding chapters, we are here introduced to the position of true priestly worship and communion. The order is marked and instructive; and, moreover, precisely corresponds with the order of the believer’s experience At the brazen altar, he sees the ashes of his sins; he then sees himself linked with One who, though personally pure and spotless, so that He could be anointed without blood, has, nevertheless, associated us with Himself in life, righteousness, and favour; and, finally, he beholds, in the golden altar, the preciousness of Christ, as the material on which the divine affections feed.
Thus it is ever; there must be a brazen altar and a priest before there can be a golden altar and incense. Very many of the children of God have never passed the brazen altar. They have never yet, in spirit, entered into the power and reality of true priestly worship. They do not rejoice in a full, clear, divine sense of pardon and righteousness; they have never reached the golden altar. They hope to reach it when they die; but it is their privilege to be at it now. The work of the cross has removed out of the way everything which could act as a barrier to their free and intelligent worship. The present position of all true believers is at the golden altar of incense.
This altar typifies a position of wondrous blessedness. There we enjoy the reality and efficacy of Christ’s intercession. For ever done with self and all pertaining thereto, so far as any expectation of good is concerned, we are to be occupied with what He is before God. We shall find nothing in self but defilement. Every exhibition of it is defiling; it has been condemned and set aside in the judgement of God, and not a shred or particle thereof is to be found in the pure incense and pure fire, on the altar of pure gold: it could not be. We have been introduced, “by the blood of Jesus,” into the sanctuary – a sanctuary of priestly service and worship, in which there is not so much as a trace of sin. We see the pure table, the pure candlestick, and the pure altar; but there is nothing to remind us of self and its wretchedness. Were it possible for ought of that to meet our view, it could but prove the death knell of our worship, mar our priestly food, and dim our light. Nature can have no place in the sanctuary of God. It, together with all its belongings, has been consumed to ashes; and we are now to have before our souls the fragrant odour of Christ, ascending in grateful incense to God: this is what God delights in. Everything that presents Christ in His own proper excellence, is sweet and acceptable to God. Even the feeblest expression or exhibition of Him, in the life or worship of a saint, is an odour of a sweet smell, in which God is well pleased.
Too often, alas! we have to be occupied with our failures and infirmities. If ever the workings of indwelling sin be suffered to rise to the surface, we must deal with our God about them, for He cannot go on with sin. He can forgive it, and cleanse us from it; He can restore our souls by the gracious ministry of our great High Priest; but He cannot go on in company with a single sinful thought. a light or foolish thought as well as an unclean or covetous one, is amply sufficient to mar a Christian’s communion, and interrupt his worship. Should any such thought spring up, it must be judged and confessed, ere the elevated joys of the sanctuary can be known afresh. A heart in which lust is working, is not enjoying the proper occupations of the sanctuary. When we are in our proper priestly condition, nature is as though it had no existence; then we can feed upon Christ. We can taste the divine luxury of being wholly at leisure from ourselves, and wholly engrossed with Christ.
All this can only be produced by the power of the Spirit. There is no need of seeking to work up nature’s devotional feelings, by the various appliances of systematic religion. There must be pure fire as well as pure incense. (Compare Lev. 10: 1, with Lev. 16: 12) All efforts at worshipping God, by the unhallowed powers of nature, come under the head of “strange fire.” God is the object of worship; Christ the ground and the material of worship; and the Holy Ghost the power of worship.
Properly speaking, then, as in the brazen altar, we have Christ in the value of His sacrifice, so in the golden altar, we have Christ in the value of His intercession. This will furnish my reader with a still clearer sense of the reason why the priestly office is introduced between the two altars. There is, as might be expected, an intimate connection between the two, for Christ’s intercession is founded upon His sacrifice. “And Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it, once in a year, with the blood of the sin-offering of atonement: once in the year shall he make atonement upon it throughout your generations: it is most holy unto the Lord.” All rests upon the immovable foundation of SHED BLOOD. “Almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. It was therefore necessary that the pattern of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.” (Heb. 9: 22-24)
From verse 11-16 we have the atonement money for the congregation. All were to pay alike. “The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an offering unto the Lord, to make an atonement for your souls.” In the matter of atonement, all must stand on one common platform. There may be a vast difference in knowledge, in experience, in capacity, in attainment, in zeal, in devotedness, but the ground of atonement is alike to all. The great apostle of the Gentiles, and the feeblest lamb in all the flock of Christ, stand on the same level, as regards atonement. This is a very simple and a very blessed truth. All may not be alike devoted and fruitful; but “the precious blood of Christ,” and not devotedness or fruitfulness, is the solid and everlasting ground of the believer’s rest. The more we enter into the truth and power of this, the more fruitful shall we be.
In Leviticus 27, we find another kind of valuation. When any one made “a singular vow,” Moses valued him according to his age. In other words, when any one ventured to assume the ground of capacity, Moses, as the representative of the claims of God, estimated him “after the shekel of the sanctuary” If he were “poorer” than Moses’ estimation, then he was to “present himself before the priest,” the representative of the grace of God, who was to value him “according to his ability that vowed.”
Blessed be God, we know that all His claims have been answered, and all our vows discharged by One who was at once the Representative of His claims and the Exponent of His grace, who finished the work of atonement upon the cross, and is now at the right hand of God. Here is sweet rest for the heart and conscience. Atonement is the first thing we get hold of, and we shall never lose sight of it. Let our range of intelligence be ever so wide, our fund of experience ever so rich, our tone of devotion ever so elevated, we shall always have to fall back upon the one simple, divine, unalterable, soul-sustaining doctrine of THE BLOOD. Thus it has ever been in the history of God’s people, Thus it is, and thus it ever will be. The most deeply-taught and gifted servants of Christ have always rejoiced to come back to “that one well-spring of delight,” at which their thirsty spirits drank when first they knew the Lord; and the eternal song of the Church in glory will be, “Unto Him that; loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood.” The courts of heaven will for ever resound with the glorious doctrine of the blood.
From ver. 17-21 we are presented with “the brazen laver and its foot” – the vessel of washing and the basis thereof. These two are always presented together. (See Ex. 30: 28; Ex. 38: 8; Ex. 40: 11) In this laver the priests washed their hands and feet, and thus maintained that purity which was essential to the proper discharge of their priestly functions. It was not, by any means, a question of a fresh presentation of blood; but simply that action by which they were preserved in fitness for priestly service and worship. “When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the Lord: so they shall wash their hands and their feet that they die not.”
There can be no true communion with God, save as personal holiness is diligently maintained. “If we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth.” (1 John 1: 6) This personal holiness can only flow from the action of the word of God on our works and ways. “By the words of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.” Our constant failure in priestly ministry may be accounted for by our neglecting the due use of the laver. If our ways are not submitted to the purgative action of the word – if we continue in the pursuit or practice of that which, according to the testimony of our own consciences, the word distinctly condemns, the energy of our priestly character will, assuredly, be lacking. Deliberate continuance in evil and true priestly worship are wholly incompatible. “Sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth.” If we have any uncleanness upon us, we cannot enjoy the presence of God. The effect of His presence would then be to convict us by its holy light. But when we are enabled, through grace, to cleanse our way, by taking heed thereto according to God’s word, we are then morally capacitated for the enjoyment of His presence.
My reader will at once perceive what a vast field of practical truth is here laid open to him, and also how largely the doctrine of the brazen laver is brought out in the New Testament. Oh! that all those who are privileged to tread the courts of the sanctuary, in priestly robes, and to approach the altar of God, in priestly worship, may keep their hands and feet clean by the use of the true laver.
It may be interesting to note that the laver, with its foot, was made “of the looking-glasses of the women assembling, which assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.” (See Ex. 38: 8) This fact is full of meaning. We are ever prone to be “like a man beholding his natural face in a glass; for he beholdeth himself and goeth away, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.” Nature’s looking-glass can never furnish a clear and permanent view of our true condition. “But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the word, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” (James 1: 23-25) The man who has constant recourse to the word of God, and who allows that word to tell upon his heart and conscience, will be maintained in the holy activities of the divine life.
Intimately connected with the searching and cleaning action of the word is the efficacy of the priestly ministry of Christ. “For the word of God is quick and powerful, (i.e., living and energetic,) and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart; neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight; but all things are naked and open to the eyes of him with whom we have to do.” Then the inspired apostle immediately adds, “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest, that is passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with a feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find Grace to help in time of need.” (Heb. 4: 12-16)
The more keenly we feel the edge of the word, the more we shall prize the merciful and gracious ministry of our High Priest. The two things go together. They are the inseparable companions of the Christian’s path. The High Priest sympathises with the infirmities which the word detects and exposes. He is “a faithful” as well as “a merciful High Priest.” Hence, it is only as I am making use of the laver that I can approach the altar. Worship must ever be presented in the power of holiness. We must lose sight of nature, as reflected in a looking-glass, and be wholly occupied with Christ, as presented in the word. In this way only shall the “hands and feet,” the works and ways be cleansed, according to the purification of the sanctuary.
Prom ver. 22 – 23 we have the “holy anointing oil,” with which the priests, together with all the furniture of the tabernacle, were anointed. In this we discern a type of the varied graces of the Holy Ghost, which were found, in all their divine fullness, in Christ. “All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad.” (Ps. 45: 8) “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power.” (Acts 10: 38) All the graces of the Spirit, in their perfect fragrance, centred in Christ; and it is from Him alone they can flow. He, as to His humanity, was conceived of the Holy Ghost; and, ere He entered upon His public ministry, He was anointed with the Holy Ghost; and, finally, when He had taken His seat on high, in token of an accomplished redemption, He shed forth upon His body, the Church, the precious gift of the Holy Ghost. (See Matt. 1: 20; Matt. 3: 16, 17; Luke 4: 18, 19; Acts 2: 33; Acts 10: 45, 46; Eph. 4: 8-13)
It is as those who are associated with this ever blessed and highly-exalted Christ that believers are partakers of the gifts and graces of the Holy Ghost; and, moreover, it is as they walk in habitual nearness to Him, that they either enjoy or emit the fragrance thereof. The unrenewed man knows nothing of this. ” [Upon man’s flesh it shall not be poured.” The graces of the Spirit can never be connected with man’s flesh, for the Holy Ghost cannot own nature. Not one of the fruits of the Spirit was ever yet produced “in nature’s barren soil.” “We must, be born again.” It is only as connected with the new man, as being part of “the new creation,” that we can know anything of the fruits of the Holy Ghost. It is of no possible value to seek to imitate those fruits and grace’s. The fairest fruits that ever grew in nature’s fields, in their highest state of cultivation – the most amiable traits which nature can exhibit, must be utterly disowned in the sanctuary of God. “Upon man’s flesh shall it not be poured; neither shall ye make any other like it, after the composition of it: it is holy, and it shall be holy unto you. Whosoever compoundeth any like it, or whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger, shall even be cut off from his people.” There must be no counterfeit of the Spirit’s work; all must be of the Spirit – wholly, really of the Spirit. Moreover, that which is of the Spirit must not be attributed to man. “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Cor. 2: 14)
There is a very beautiful allusion to this “holy anointing oil” in one of the “songs of degrees.” “Behold,” says the Psalmist, “how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard; that went down to the skirts of his garments.” (Ps. 133: 1, 2.) The head of the priestly house being anointed with the holy oil, the very “skirts of his garments” must exhibit the precious effects. May my reader experience the power of this anointing! May he know the value of having “an unction from the Holy One,” and of being ” sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise!” Nothing is of any value, in the divine estimation, save that which connects itself immediately with Christ, and whatever is so connected can receive the holy anointing.
In the concluding paragraph of this most comprehensive chapter, we have the “sweet spices tempered together, pure and holy.” This surpassingly precious perfume presents to us the unmeasured and Immeasurable perfections of Christ. There was no special quantity of each ingredient prescribed, because the graces that dwell in Christ, the beauties and excellencies that are concentrated in His adorable Person, are without limit. Nought save the infinite mind of Deity could scan the infinite perfections of Him in whom all the fullness of Deity dwelleth; and as eternity rolls along its course of everlasting ages, those glorious perfections will ever be unfolding themselves in the view of worshipping saints and angels. Ever and anon, as some fresh beams of light shall burst forth from that central Sun of divine glory, the courts of heaven above, and the wide fields of creation beneath, shall resound with thrilling Alleluias to Him who was, who is, and who ever shall be the object of praise to all the ranks of created intelligence.
But not only was there no prescribed quantity of the ingredients; we also read, “of each there shall be a like weight.” Every feature of moral excellence found its due place and proper proportion in Christ. No one quality ever displaced or interfered with another; all was “tempered together, pure and holy,” and emitted an odour so fragrant that none but God could appreciate it.
“And thou shalt beat some of it very small, and put of it before the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation, where I will meet with thee: it shall be unto you most holy.” There is uncommon depth and power in the expression “very small It teaches us that every little movement in the life of Christ, every minute circumstance, every act, every word, every look, every feature, every trait, every lineament, emits an odour produced by an equal proportion – “a like weight” of all the divine graces that compose His character. The smaller the perfume was beaten, the more its rare and exquisite temper was manifested.
“And as for the perfume which thou shalt make, ye shall not make to yourselves according to the composition thereof: it shall be unto thee holy for the Lord. Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell thereto, shall even be cut off from his people.” This fragrant perfume was designed, exclusively, for Jehovah. Its place was “before the testimony.” There is that in Jesus which only God could appreciate. True, every believing heart can draw nigh to His matchless Person, and more than satisfy its deepest and most intense longings; still, after all God’s redeemed have drunk, to the utmost of their capacity; after angels have gazed on the peerless glories of the man Christ Jesus, as earnestly as their vision is capable of; after all, there will be that in Him which God alone can fathom and enjoy. No human or angelic eye could duly trace the exquisitely minute parts of that holy perfume “beaten very small.” Nor could earth afford a proper sphere in which to emit its divine and heavenly odour.
Thus, then, we have, in our rapid sketch, reached the close of a clearly marked division of our book. We began at “the ark of the covenant,” and travelled out to “the altar of brass;” we returned from “the altar or brass,” and have come to the “holy perfume;” and, oh! what a journey is this, if only it be travelled, not in company with the false and flickering light of human imagination, but by the infallible lamp of the Holy Ghost! What a journey if only it be travelled, not amid the shadows of a bygone dispensation, but amid the personal glories and powerful attractions of the Son, which are there portrayed! If my reader has so travelled it, he will find his affections more drawn to Christ than ever; he will have a loftier conception of His glory, His beauty, His preciousness, His excellency, His ability to heal a wounded conscience, and satisfy a longing heart; he will have his eyes more thoroughly closed to all earth’s attractions, and his ears closed to all earth’s pretensions and promises. In one word, he will be prepared to utter a deeper and more fervent amen to the words of the inspired apostle, when he says, “IF ANY MAN LOVE NOT THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, LET HIM: BE ANATHEMA, MARANATHA.”* (1 Cor. 16: 22)
{*It is interesting to note the position of this most Solemn and startling denunciation. It occurs at the close of a long epistle, in the progress of which the apostle had to rebuke some of the grossest practical evils and doctrinal errors. How solemn, therefore, how full of meaning the fact, that when he comes to pronounce his anathema, it is not hurled at those who had introduced those errors and evils, but at the man who loves not the Lord Jesus Christ. Why is this? Is it because the Spirit of God makes little of errors and evils? Surely not; the entire epistle unfolds His thoughts as to these. But the truth is, when the heart is filled with love to the Lord Jesus Christ, there is an effectual safeguard against all manner of false doctrine and malpractice. If a man does not love Christ, there is no accounting for the notions he may adopt, or the course he may pursue Hence the form and the position of the apostolic anathema.}
Fuente: Mackintosh’s Notes on the Pentateuch
Exodus 27. P. Altar and Outer Court (cf. Exo 38:1-7, Exo 38:9-20).In strongest contrast to Exo 20:24, with its sanction of many altars, rudely made of earth or rough stone blocks, we find instructions for the altar to be made of wood plated with bronze, 7 feet square and 4 feet high, with horn-like projections at the corners, according to a widespread custom of uncertain meaning (Exo 27:1 f.).
Its vessels were to be of bronze (Exo 27:3); and the (usual) ledge for the priests to stand on, half way up the altar, was to be supported by a bronze grating with rings at the corners for the bearing poles (Exo 27:4-8). The authors of the description do not seem to have thought it out practically, for if the fire were on the ground the hollow wood sides would burn, and nothing is said about filling it with earth. It is probably an attempt to copy in portable form Solomons huge bronze altar of Phnician design and craftsmanship (2Ch 4:1, cf. 1Ki 7:13-16). But if their idea was not expressed realistically, it was yet clear enough: without sacrifice no acceptable approach to the one God of the one altar.
But the altar must stand on ground marked as holy: so an outer court must enclose both Dwelling and altar (Exo 27:7-19). It was not very large, the breadth 25 yards (little more than a cricket pitch) and the length 50 yards, and the hangings that enclosed it were to be of plain linen, 7 feet high, enough to keep anyone from looking over, and hung by silver hooks from wooden pillars, set in bronze sockets, and adorned with silver bands or fillets. A coloured and embroidered screen, 30 feet long, closed the entrance (Exo 27:16). The tools and tent-pins were to be of bronze (Exo 27:19). The little piece at the end (Exo 27:20 f.) about the oil for the ever-burning light has been added here as a note from Lev 24:2 f.* by a late editor.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
THE BRAZEN (OR COPPER) ALTAR
(vs.1-8)
On entering the courtyard, one would stand immediately before the brazen altar. Then the laver stood between the altar and the tabernacle entrance. This altar (of acacia wood), again speaks of Christ in His pure Humanity. But it was overlaid with brass, or most likely copper, the fiery colored metal, which speaks of Christ also as the perfect expression of the holiness of God. “Our God is a consuming fire” (Heb 12:29).
The altar was square, five cubits long and five wide. The number five emphasizes that Christ has willingly taken the responsibility of resolving the great problem of man’s sin and of sins before God. The four fingers of one’s hand are typical of human weakness, while the opposing thumb reminds us of God with man giving strength to carry out responsibility; therefore in this altar we are reminded that “God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself” (2Co 5:19). The height was three cubits, which adds the wonderful truth of Christ’s resurrection. In fact, His resurrection is the proof of the great value of His sacrifice.
The four horns of the altar were to be “of one piece with it,” also overlaid with copper. The four horns, pointing outward, tell us that the value of the sacrifice of Christ is for all the world. By these the sacrifice was bound with cords on the altar. We read too of Adonijah, who for fear of judgment, went and caught hold of the horns of the altar (1 Kings 2:50) and was spared at the time. Later Joab attempted the same thing, but having proved himself treacherous, was killed (1Ki 2:13-28). For it was not faith that moved him, but fear.
Various utensils were used in connection with the altar, pans for ashes, shovels and basis, forks and firepans. These were all made of copper. Every detail connected with the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus stresses the holiness of God. Holiness differs from righteousness in this, that holiness implies feeling, that is, love of what is good and hatred of what is evil. A human judge is not required to be holy, but simply righteous. But God is both.
The grate (v.4) was evidently inside the altar, halfway between the top and bottom. This was for the fire that burned the offerings, and was also of copper. In each of the four corners was a ring. These are considered to have extended far enough to reach through holes in the corners, so that the rings would actually be on the outside in order for the poles (of acacia wood overload with copper) to be inserted in them for carrying (vs.6-7).
The altar was hollow, so as to receive the fire into itself. We have seen that the altar pictures the Lord Jesus. He Himself asked the Pharisees, “Which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift?” (Mat 23:19). How clearly this tells us that the Lord Jesus personally is greater than the marvelous sacrifice He made. The gift (His sacrifice) is wonderful only because He Himself is so great. But at the cross He received into His own soul the burning fire of God’s judgment on behalf of those for whose sins He died (Isa 53:10). The value of His person gives wonderful value to His sacrifice.
HANGINGS FOR THE COURT
(vs.9-19)
The court surrounding the tabernacle was 50 cubits wide and 100 cubits long. The numbers are multiples of 5 and 10 (or 2×5), which again emphasizes the fact of responsibility (number 5) in bearing witness (number 2). But though the hangings were of fine woven linen, which speaks of pure moral character in humanity, they are not typical of Christ personally, for they were hung by hooks of silver, that is, dependent on redemption. This can only speak of believers as in dependence on the Lord Jesus and His work on Calvary. These were held up by 20 pillars of brass and brass sockets on the south side, the same on the north side, but on the west side 10 pillars. The pillars speak of the Lord Jesus in His character of absolute holiness, but whose strength the testimony of believers is upheld. For the hangings had no strength to hold themselves up.
The beauties of the gold, blue, purple and scarlet were not to be seen from the outside, but only the plain white of the fine linen. “The fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints” (Rev 19:8). This character of moral purity is what ought to be evident to all on the outside. Indeed, only as we depend on the Lord Jesus as the hangings depended on the pillars, will this practical righteousness be seen by the world around.
The east side was the front, and the gate was twenty cubits wide, leaving fifteen cubits on either side of the gate for hangings similar to the rest of the court. Three pillars with their sockets upheld the hangings on each side of the gate. Three (the resurrection number) would surely add the truth here that believers bear witness to their having been raised with Christ, so that their moral righteousness is the result of His work.
The hangings for the gate differed from the rest of the hangings. Its size was 20 cubits wide and of course 5 cubits high. 20 is 2x2x5, so that again a responsible witness is emphasized. But into the fine linen was woven blue, purple and scarlet colored threads. This hanging was held up also by four pillars of copper with sockets of copper and hoods of silver (ch.38:18-19).
The gate hanging is therefore typical of believers as they are “in Christ,” dependent on His redemption and reflecting in their measure the truth of His heavenly character (blue), His royalty (purple) and His perfect Servant character (scarlet) as well as His moral purity (fine linen). The court itself was simply white, not so attractive to the uninterested observer, but if one were interested enough to come to the gate, he would find it more attractive, just as truly concerned people will see more in believers that only a righteous life. They will realize that the believer has something more vital and valuable than appears at first sight. For he is bearing witness to the Lord Jesus.
Thus the gate teaches us that believers are to express a welcoming attitude toward the outside world, an attitude that welcomes others to come to Christ. Coming in by this gate is not typically salvation, for one must then meet the altar of burnt offering, picturing the sacrifice of Christ for him, finding there the knowledge of forgiveness of sins. For people are not told to enter by those who represent Christ in order to be saved, but to enter by Christ Himself (Joh 10:10). So that the gate here is only the testimony of believers to the grace and truth that is in Christ Jesus. This may attract people as the man of Samaria were attracted by the testimony of the woman who met the Lord Jesus at the well (Joh 4:28-30). But only in meeting the Lord Jesus Himself were they truly brought to God, as we see in their words to the Woman, “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him, and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world” (v.42).
We have seen before that the utensils used inside the tabernacle were made of gold (ch.25:29,38), now in verse 19 of chapter 27 the utensils for the outside are designated as copper, including the pegs to which the coverings of the tabernacle were attached at the bottom, and the pegs for the court. Thus the holiness of God is more prominent on the outside, while inside the splendor of His glory is seen. The first surely is intended to impress us with a wholesome fear of God, while the latter should draw forth the adoring worship of every believer.
OIL FOR THE LIGHT
(vs.20-21)
We have read of the lampstand in chapter 25:31-40. Now added is the instruction for the children of Israel to bring oil, pressed from olives, as fuel for the seven lamps to burn continually. Compare Zec 4:2-6, where lamps are fed from two olive trees, and the Lord makes clear that this speaks of His Spirit. Thus the Spirit of God is the oil by which the light of His testimony to Christ is sustained. This light was never to go out. Aaron and his sons were responsible to care for it, trimming the wicks, etc. So it is priestly work to see that the Spirit of God is allowed His full, unhindered freedom to make the light of testimony shine brightly. The trimming of the wicks speaks of judging the flesh (the negative side of the truth), so that the Spirit has liberty to do His positive work of shining testimony. The work of caring for the lamp, put into the hands of Aaron and his sons, was never to be neglected. We are never given a vacation from godly exercise.
Fuente: Grant’s Commentary on the Bible
27:1 And thou shalt make an {a} altar [of] shittim wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be foursquare: and the height thereof [shall be] three cubits.
(a) For the burnt offering.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
5. The tabernacle courtyard 27:1-19
In this section Moses described the altar of burnt offerings, the courtyard itself, and the oil for the lamps on the lampstand that the priests evidently prepared in the courtyard.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
The altar of burnt offerings 27:1-8
The height of this altar was four and a half feet. This height has led some commentators to suggest that a step-like bench or ledge may have surrounded it on which the priests stood when they offered sacrifices. [Note: E.g., Keil and Delitzsch, 2:186-87.] In view of the command prohibiting steps up to Israel’s altars (Exo 20:26), a ramp seems more probable (cf. Lev 9:22). However there may have been neither a ramp nor steps. The altar had four horns (Exo 27:2), one on each corner, to which the priests applied blood ritually (Exo 29:12). People occasionally clung to this altar as a place of refuge (cf. 1Ki 1:50-51; 1Ki 2:28). The priests also bound some animals to these horns when they sacrificed them (Psa 118:27). There was a grate (Exo 27:4) halfway to the ground inside the altar that allowed air to circulate under the sacrifices and ashes to fall to the ground below. The "ledge" appears to have projected out from the altar about half way up its sides. Perhaps the priests stood on this ledge while placing the offerings on the altar, or the ledge may have been on the inside of the altar to hold the grate.
This altar received the offerings of the Israelites. God met the Israelite where he was, in the courtyard, rather than where He was, within the veil. Nevertheless the Israelite had to make a special effort to approach God by entering the courtyard to present his offering (cf. 2Co 5:18-20).
"The position of the Altar just inside the entrance to the court made it as clear as symbology could that the beginning of fellowship between God and man must be in sacrifice." [Note: Meyer, p. 349.]
The Book of Hebrews viewed this altar as a prototype of the better altar, which is Jesus Christ (Heb 13:10).
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
CHAPTER XXVII.
THE OUTER COURT.
Exo 27:1-21
Before describing the tabernacle, its furniture was specified. And so, when giving instructions for the court of the tabernacle, the altar has to be described: “Thou shalt make the altar of acacia wood.” The definite article either implies that an altar was taken for granted, a thing of course; or else it points back to chap. Exo 20:24, which said “An altar of earth shalt thou make.” Nor is the acacia wood of this altar at all inconsistent with that precept, it being really not an altar but an altar-case, and “hollow” (Exo 27:8)–an arrangement for holding the earth together, and preventing the feet of the priests from desecrating it. At each corner was a horn, of one piece with the framework, typical of the power which was there invoked, and practically useful, both to bind the sacrifice with cords, and also for the grasp of the fugitive, seeking sanctuary (Psa 118:27; 1Ki 1:50). This arrangement is said to have been peculiar to Judaism. And as the altar was outside the tabernacle, and both symbolism and art prescribed simpler materials, it was overlaid with brass (Exo 27:1-2). Of the same material were the vessels necessary for the treatment of the fire and blood (Exo 27:3). A network of brass protected the lower part of the altar; and at half the height a ledge projected, supported by this network, and probably wide enough to allow the priests to stand upon it when they ministered (Exo 27:4-5). Hence we read that Aaron “came down from offering” (Lev 9:22). Lastly, there was the same arrangement of rings and staves to carry it as for the ark and the table (Exo 27:6-7).
It will be noticed that the laver in this court, like the altar of incense within, is reserved for mention in a later chapter (Exo 30:18) as being a subordinate feature in the arrangements.
The enclosure was a quadrangle of one hundred cubits by fifty; it was five cubits high, and each cubit may be taken as a foot and a half. The linen which enclosed it was upheld by pillars with sockets of brass; and one of the few additional facts to be gleaned from the detailed statement that all these directions were accurately carried out is that the heads of all the pillars were overlaid with silver (Exo 38:17). The pillars were connected by rods (fillets) of silver, and a hanging of fine-twined linen was stretched by means of silver hooks (Exo 27:9-13). The entrance was twenty cubits wide, corresponding accurately to the width, not of the tabernacle, but of “the tent” as it has been described (reaching out five cubits farther on each side than the tabernacle), and it was closed by an embroidered curtain (Exo 27:14-17). This fence was drawn firmly into position and held there by brazen tent-pins; and we here incidentally learn that so was the tent itself (Exo 27:19).
We are now in a position to ask what sentiment all these arrangements would inspire in the mind of the simple and somewhat superstitious worshippers.
Approaching it from outside, the linen enclosure (being seven feet and a half high) would conceal everything but the great roof of the tent, one uniform red, except for the sealskin covering along the summit. A gloomy and menacing prospect, broken possibly by some gleams, if the curtain of the gable were drawn back, from the gold with which every portion of the shrine within was plated.
So does the world outside look askance upon the Church, discerning a mysterious suggestion everywhere of sternness and awe, yet with flashes of strange splendour and affluence underneath the gloom.
In this place God is known to be: it is a tent, not really “of the congregation,” but “of meeting” between Jehovah and His people: “the tent of meeting before the Lord, where I will meet with you, … and there I will meet with the children of Israel” (Exo 29:42-43). And so the Israelite, though troubled by sin and fear, is attracted to the gate, and enters. Right in front stands the altar: this obtrudes itself before all else upon his attention: he must learn its lesson first of all. Especially will he feel that this is so if a sacrifice is now to be offered, since the official must go farther into the court to wash at the laver, and then return; so that a loss of graduated arrangement has been accepted in order to force the altar to the front. And he will soon learn that not only must every approach to the sacred things within be heralded by sacrifice upon this altar, but the blood of the victim must be carried as a passport into the shrine. Surely he remembers how the blood of the lamb saved his own life when the firstborn of Egypt died: he knows that it is written “The life (or soul) of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls (or lives): for it is the blood that maketh atonement by reason of the life (or soul)” (Lev 17:11).
No Hebrew could watch his fellow-sinner lay his hand on a victim’s head, and confess his sin before the blow fell on it, without feeling that sin was being, in some mysterious sense, “borne” for him. The intricacies of our modern theology would not disturb him, but this is the sentiment by which the institutions of the tabernacle assuredly ministered comfort and hope to him. Strong would be his hope as he remembered that the service and its solace were not of human devising, that God had “given it to him upon the altar to make atonement for his soul.”
Taking courage, therefore, the worshipper dares to lift up his eyes. And beyond the altar he sees a vision of dazzling magnificence. The inner roof, most unlike the sullen red of the exterior, is blazing with various colours, and embroidered with emblems of the mysterious creatures of the sky, winged, yet not utterly afar from human in their suggestiveness. Encompassed and looked down into by these is the tabernacle, all of gold. If the curtain is raised he sees a chamber which tells what the earth should be–a place of consecrated energies and resources, and of sacred illumination, the oil of God burning in the sevenfold vessel of the Church. Is this blessed place for him, and may he enter? Ah, no! and surely his heart would grow heavy with consciousness that reconciliation was not yet made perfect, when he learned that he must never approach the place where God had promised to meet with him.
Much less might he penetrate the awful chamber within, the true home of deity. There, he knows, is the record of the mind of God, the concentrated expression of what is comparatively easy to obey in act, but difficult beyond hope to love, to accept and to be conformed to. That record is therefore at once the revelation of God and the condemnation of His creature. Yet over this, he knows well, there is poised no dead image such as were then adored in Babylonian and Egyptian fanes, but a spiritual Presence, the glory of the invisible God. Nor was He to be thought of as in solitude, loveless, or else needing human love: above Him were the woven seraphim of the curtain, and on either side a seraph of beaten gold–types, it may be, of all the created life which He inhabits, or else pictures of His sinless creatures of the upper world. And yet this pure Being, to Whom the companionship of sinful man is so little needed, is there to meet with man; and is pleased not to look upon His violated law, but to command that a slab, inestimably precious, shall interpose between it and its Avenger. By whom, then, shall this most holy floor be trodden? By the official representative of him who gazes, and longs, and is excluded. He enters not without blood, which he is careful to sprinkle upon all the furniture, but chiefly and seven times upon the mercy-seat.
Thus every worshipper carries away a profound consciousness that he is utterly unworthy, and yet that his unworthiness has been expiated; that he is excluded, and yet that his priest, his representative, has been admitted, and therefore that he may hope. The Holy Ghost did not declare by sign that no way into the Holiest existed, but only that it was not yet made manifest. Not yet.
This leads us to think of the priest.