The Furnishings Of The Tent
Exodus 25
Inside the Tent, as we mentioned, there were two compartments: the first called the holy place, and the second (behind the veil) called the holy of holies. Entering the holy place through the five pillars we would see the table of shewbread on our right (the north), the candlestick on our left (the south), and the altar of incense toward the west just in front of the veil. It really belonged inside the veil (according to Hebrews 9:4) but was placed just outside the veil so the priests would always have access to it. Then behind the veil, as one would enter, we would find the ark of the covenant and the mercy seat.
Everything in the Tent speaks of Christ, and of His people who are in union with Him. Nothing on earth could adequately portray and symbolize that which pertains to His glory; and that is why so many, many types are used, that in each type and symbol some particular aspect of His glory may faintly be seen. The shittim wood (or acacia) would speak of the weakness of Christ’s humanity, and the gold that covered it, His divine Glory. The lamb or goat or turtledove that was slain would speak of His sacrifice; the blood of His own incorruptible Blood. The priest speaks of our great High Priest; and the veil he went behind to make atonement for sins speaks of His flesh, that was torn asunder for us at the Cross, that we might enter into His presence. The ark would speak of God’s presence, the place where God’s glory dwelt. The hidden manna in the ark, of that living bread which came down from Heaven. The linen curtains, of His own righteousness, by which we are clothed, and in which we are enclosed. And so we could go on and on. We will not touch on a lot of this detail, as we are primarily concerned in this study with the broad outline of the Tent, and its relationship with the other sanctuaries that would follow in the days to come. And so here we will concentrate upon the holy of holies and the contents of this area; for this was the particular dwelling place of the Most High.
The Ark Of The Covenant
The ark of the covenant (the covering of which was called the mercy seat) was hidden away behind the veil in the holy of holies. It was there before the ark of the covenant that the high priest would stand "once in the year" with the blood of goats; and while there, clothed upon with holy garments, and with Urim and Thummim in his breastplate, he would have a brief time of communication with God. God said to Moses, "They shall make an ark of shittim wood... And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. And there will I meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat." (See Ex. 25:10-22.) God begins here with the ark of the covenant and the mercy seat. We would be inclined to begin with the outer court, the doorway into it, and the brazen altar, for this is what we would see first as we drew near to God. But God’s order is different: He begins from Himself and draws near to man. Jesus said, "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him" (Jn. 6:44). Our life in Christ is the result rather than the cause of our salvation. We find it difficult to reconcile the sovereign call of God with our responsibility to that call; and no doubt this is the reason there has been so much argument in this whole matter of election and free will. Usually we would emphasize one aspect of truth to the neglect of the other, because it is difficult for us to reconcile opposites of truth in our thinking. Perhaps it is for this reason that God has seen fit to raise up different ministries from time to time and anoint them to emphasize what others have neglected. Calvin was sent of God to establish the truth of God’s sovereignty. But as men began to presume that they were "elect" of God because they believed in the doctrine of election, God saw fit to raise up others who would exhort men to make their "calling and election sure." In God’s portrayal of truth we have many opposites; and there is no way we can reconcile them by human reasoning, or by diluting the truth with compromise in order to make it appear acceptable and logical. Many speak of man’s free will as if that were more important than God’s sovereign will. I must be sufficiently sovereign to choose or reject God. But God must not be so sovereign as to choose or reject me! The Potter must not really have any right over the clay, but the clay in the final analysis must have the deciding vote! The distinction that God made between Jacob and Esau was not because of goodness in the one, or evil in the other. "(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;) it was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger" (Rom. 9:11-12). The apostle makes it very clear that good or evil in the two boys was not to be considered as a motivating factor in God’s choice of the one, and His rejection of the other. It was simply that it was God’s choice "that the purpose of God according to election might stand."
Sometimes it is hard to reconcile a truth like this with other aspects of God’s dealings with men, as we hear Him crying out to his rebellious people to pay heed to His gracious call, and to walk in His ways. Nor does believing in the doctrine of election make me to be one of the elect. I cannot afford to presume. For my part, I must be diligent to make my "calling and election sure," and follow on to know Him. Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them." And this gives me great courage and confidence, as it was intended to do. But it also goes on to say, "My sheep... follow me." And therefore I must not presume to be one of the elect sheep of God’s pasture if I am not hearing His voice, and seeking to follow Him. Those who stand with the Lamb on Mount Zion are not only called and chosen, they are also faithful. Why must I be able to reconcile the seeming opposites in God in order to believe what He says in either case? I, who am but dust and ashes? Must I dilute the clear declarations of God’s Word in order to make them acceptable in the minds of the people, or understandable in my own finite mind? Can we not simply recognize that as yet we "see through a glass darkly" and find joy in believing where we cannot understand, simply because the infinite God has declared it?
God begins with the ark of the covenant because it is His dwelling place, and He must begin from Himself because He is God. When I come on the scene I hear His creative call, and I obey and begin to serve Him. I have the feeling that I am drawing near to Him, that I am being obedient and faithful, and all this is true. But sooner or later I must confess: "Lord, You caused me to approach unto You! You called me, and I came forth because it was a creative Word, just as when You called light to come forth out of darkness in the beginning." (See 2 Cor. 4:6.) No mere invitation that! It was a sovereign, commanding, creative Word that I heard. I yielded to His love, and I submitted to His dealings in my life, that is true. But then, shall the snowflake boast of yielding and melting when the sun sends forth its torrid rays upon the earth? Or shall the sands of the seashore that are overwhelmed with the oceans rise up and say, "Well, after all, I surrendered to the rising of the tides"? Or the flimsy reed that bends and breaks when the winds blow upon it, is it going to boast, "But don’t forget, I submitted to the winds that blew"? Or is the apostle Paul, smitten down on the Damascus Road by a mighty lightning stroke from Heaven going to boast, "I did my part, when God shone forth from heaven and blinded my eyes, I fell off my horse"?
We do not really need to understand all about it now, nor yet be troubled with what appears to be conflicting areas of truth. One day we will know and understand that everything God ever did was consistent with His justice and righteousness--and at the same time consistent with His heart of pure love!
God begins with the ark of the covenant and the mercy seat, because He begins from Himself, works His way out toward Man, and draws him unto Himself. God wants us to know that "It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure" (Phil. 2:13). Let us not draw back from the truth because we are not always able to reconcile it with God’s justice or with His love. But let us embrace the truth because He declared it... and because we know and are assured that He will do the thing that is absolutely right. Let us embrace the truth He declares, not to fortify ourselves with arguments, but that we might enter into true rest. For indeed this is why He makes the truth known to our hearts and minds.
"For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified" (Rom. 8:29-30). Let us start with God. We miss so much if we start with the word "justified." God begins from Himself.
Foreknowledge. God knew His people long before they were born-even from the foundation of the world. This knowledge does not merely concern things He knew about them, or things they would do; for God certainly knows everything and everybody, and all that they will do, whether they be good or bad. But here God speaks of certain ones "whom he did foreknow."
Predestination. This comes next... and it is not a frightening word. It simply means "to mark out beforehand." When I seek God and live for Him and seek to walk in His ways, I am not framing my own destiny. I am rather fulfilling a destiny that was predetermined from the foundation of the world. That is why "there remaineth therefore a rest [a sabbath] to the people of God" (Heb. 4:9). I know and believe that the pathway that He has marked out for me is one that is good, and that it is intended to bring me into full conformity to the image of His Son. My sins and faults and failures, and the fleshly strivings of my carnal mind, all these are inevitable; and I must not blame God for that. But I also know that He does not intend to change His plan because of my weakness. He knows what I am made of. And by the wonder of His grace and power He takes each failure, each mistake, transforms them one by one into steppingstones along the divinely chosen pathway in which I walk, giving "beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit heaviness."
Called. Once we recognize that He foreknew and predestinated us, then we know for sure that His call was a creative Word, and not a mere invitation. There is a cause behind the call that reaches back and beyond the foundations of the world. And the cause is hidden in His own heart of Love--He doesn’t tell us why He loved us so.
Justified. This is something we become aware of as we embrace Jesus Christ as our Saviour; and therefore we might be inclined to think it all started here. But it all started away back from the foundations of the world, in the heart of God.
Glorified. This is yet to come. But it is used in the Aorist tense in the Greek; and I am told this can indicate a once-for-all action in the past, or an action in the future that is sure to come to pass! God is speaking from the mercy seat, and He says He has glorified us! For He is looking at the finished product as One speaking from the viewpoint of eternity, as One Who is well able to declare the end from the beginning, because He is able to bring it to pass.
Contents Of The Ark
Three different things were placed in the Ark of the Covenant, at different intervals.
The Pot Of Manna
When the manna fell in the wilderness, the people did not know what it was, and they asked one another, "What is it?... What is it?" And so that is what they named it; for "manna" simply means, "What is it?" Nobody in Israel could answer that question adequately. All they were to know was this: it was bread from heaven. Jesus alone could give the real answer: "I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world" (Jn. 6:5 1). But the pot of manna was to be kept as a memorial. No one ate of this bread. And unlike the rest of the manna that fell around the camp, this bread did not go into corruption, or waste away. Laid away in the ark of the covenant it was to be kept throughout their generations. Israel had the manna-bread daily as it fell from heaven.
The priests had Sabbath-bread which they ate weekly: the shewbread that had been on the table in the holy place throughout the previous six working days, but not eaten until the Sabbath day.
But here in the holy of holies was "hidden manna." It was not available even to the priests. It was not seen by any mortal eye. It is a type of the Living Christ. It is bread that has been reserved for the overcomer. For Jesus said, "To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna" (Rev. 2:17).
Aaron’s Rod That Budded
A controversy had arisen in Israel over the authority of God’s priests. Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, along with certain others, rose up against Moses and Aaron and charged that they were exalting themselves above the others by keeping the priesthood to themselves. It is awesome how God vindicated His chosen ones; for the very ground next to the Tabernacle opened up and swallowed the gainsayers alive into the pit of Sheol. The next day the people went on murmuring, complaining that Moses and Aaron had slain the Lord’s people. Then God sent a great plague, which was removed only when Aaron ran into their midst with a burning censer, and stood between the living and the dead.
God always vindicates His own in one way or another. But they must not seek to vindicate themselves, as they do so often. Not so in the case of Moses and Aaron. They fell on their faces before God when they were challenged, and God came forth on their behalf. Not only so, but when the plague fell on the murmurers they sought God on their behalf, as true priests of God, and stood between the living and the dead with the burning censer. In type they were saying, "Lord, if our life is unto You as sweet incense, then hear our prayer, and lay not this sin to their charge." God gives authority to His servants who least desire it, and there is no need on their part to try to maintain it. They did not seek it in the first place, then why should they try to uphold it? Invariably, we have observed, when men try to grasp authority or to maintain the authority they have, they lose it. If God gives it, then it is His responsibility to stand behind His chosen ones.
To settle the whole matter Moses ordained that each of the tribes present their "rod" before the Lord. Each rod was a dead, dry stick. Their name was to be clearly marked on the rod, and the rod of Aaron was placed among them. They were all laid together before the ark of the covenant, and the next morning they were brought out and presented to the people. All the rods were the same as before, except Aaron’s. Overnight it had brought forth buds, blossoms, and almonds. (See Num. 17:7-10.) (And let this be a reminder to God’s people who seem to have the notion that God must have years and years and years to bring forth this glorious and fruitful Church that He has promised. He can do it overnight if He chooses to do so!)
The word "almond" means "awaker," because it is one of the first trees to bud in the time of spring. It speaks of Christ in resurrection life, the firstfruits unto God, risen and glorified at God’s right hand. But it also speaks of resurrection life revealed in the mortal flesh of His people--in such as are planted together with Him in His death. You will recall how Aaron’s rod was used to swallow up the rods of the magicians in Egypt, and then it became an ordinary stick again in his hands. Death is to be swallowed up in life. Just overnight it became a fruitful branch, and brought forth almonds!
"O death, where is thy sting?
O grave, where is thy victory?"
The Tables Of Testimony
These likewise were laid away in the ark of the covenant. Moses had been up on the mount with the LORD for 40 days and 40 nights, receiving the oracles of God and the pattern of the Tabernacle. The sight of the glory of the LORD was "like devouring fire" as the children of Israel beheld it; but Moses went right into the midst of the cloud and talked "face to face" with God. Before he returned to the camp God gave him two tables of stone, "written with the finger of God" (Ex. 31:18). But in the meantime the children of Israel were getting restless, and gathering together before Aaron they requested that he should make them "gods" which would go before them, as Moses seemed to have disappeared. Aaron yielded to them and made the golden calf, which the children of Israel began to worship. Though a redeemed people because of the passover lamb which had been sacrificed in Egypt, the idolatrous spirit of Egypt still clung to them. They had been delivered out of Egypt, but Egypt had not been taken out of them; and this is what the wilderness story is all about. As Moses returned from the mount with the two tables of testimony in his hand, and saw their rebellion and idolatry, he shattered the tables at the foot of the mountain. It speaks to us of a broken law, the law which no man could keep, the law which was later to be called "the ministration of condemnation" and "the ministration of death." God knew that the law would become this kind of ministration before He gave it, but man in his self-confidence would never believe it until he proved it for himself. And God had to show him, through the ministration of the law, the exceeding sinfulness of sin and the weakness of the flesh, and demonstrate man’s inability to respond to God’s holy requirements. Therefore the law accomplished nothing for man except this (and of course this is important): it paved the way for the manifestation of the New Covenant by revealing man’s helplessness and depravity, and acting like a "schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ" (Gal. 3:24).
Moses, as a true priest of the Lord, interceded on behalf of the people, and God spared them, judged them, and instructed Moses to lead them forward to the Promised Land. For the task before him Moses sought the Lord for added grace and added glory. "Shew me now thy way," he pleaded; and again, "Shew me thy glory" (Ex. 33:13, 18). Once again Moses is called up into the Mount of God; and once again God writes His holy law upon the two tables of stone that Moses took up with him. But for these two tables of the covenant God had a different purpose in mind.
God does not really repeat Himself--at least not in exactly the same way. Never does He do anything the second time, in like manner as He did it the first time. Let us always bear this in mind as we anticipate the restorations of God which He has promised in His Word. When He restores that which was lost, it is restored on a higher and more glorious level than before. Failing to recognize this can only lead to frustration, as we vainly seek to restore some religious structure of the past which God had used and then laid aside. God does not make a "second try," and then a "third try." He is doing exactly as He had planned. Therefore the second tables of the covenant did not mean that God was trying again. God was doing something new. This time God commanded Moses to put the tables inside the ark of the covenant. The ark was covered over with the mercy seat, behind the veil, in the holy of holies, entirely beyond the reach or the view of a disobedient and erring people.
God would instruct us that in giving the old covenant He knew that man could not keep it; and that in giving the new covenant, He Himself would be responsible to see that it was fulfilled. He Himself would write the new covenant upon the hearts and minds of His people. He took away the old covenant which demanded righteousness, and brought in the new covenant which provided it. He did not establish the new covenant so that man could sin and still be free from condemnation; but rather that man might be made free from both the sin and the guilt of it, and might love Him and serve Him on a far higher plane than was ever possible under the law. For the full intent of the law was that man should love the Lord God with all his heart and mind and strength, and his neighbor as himself. And when this has been fulfilled in the hearts of men, God is completely satisfied. God is Love... and therefore He cannot be satisfied until His own nature and character is formed within His people, who were created in His image. "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" (Rom. 8:34).