"And let them
make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. According to all that
I show THEE, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of
all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it."
(Exodus 25. 8, 9).
GOD having redeemed
the people of Israel out of Egypt, desired to have a dwelling-place
among them in the wilderness. So God now desires that sinners redeemed
by the blood of the Lamb should be builded together for a habitation of
God through the Spirit (Eph. 2. 22), and be built up a spiritual house
composed of living stones (1 Peter 2. 5).
When Jesus was here
upon the earth, He Himself was the sanctuary and dwelling-place of God.
In Him the glory of the Godhead dwelt. "The Word was made flesh and
dwelt (tabernacled) among us, and we beheld His glory" (John 1. 14).
Before His death, in this respect, He abode alone (John 12. 24). But
having finished His work, and ascended up on high, He built the church
of the living God, as a habitation for God (Matt. 16. 15-18). Upon this
foundation, upon Himself, and on the confession of His name as the
Christ, the Son of the living God, made known to the soul by the
revelation of the Father, He built His Church, as the house of God, to
be the pillar and ground of the truth (1 Tim. 3. 15).
How perfect, how
suggestive are the words of God! He does not say, "Let them make
themselves a tabernacle, or meeting-place, that I may come and visit
them." It is natural to man to think of himself first, and to begin
from himself. But God's thoughts and ways are the opposite of man's.
God begins from Himself -"Let them make ME a sanctuary! that I may
dwell among them."
O for grace to
learn this lesson perfectly! so that in meeting together in church
fellowship our first thought may be, not of our own comfort and
convenience, nor even our edification - God will take care of that -
but that God may have a dwelling place among us, and that God, through
Christ, may be glorified. "That I may dwell among them," not as a
wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry for a night, but to be at
home there. And Jesus has told us the secret of this (John 14. 23). And
the secret is love and obedience - love to Christ and obedience to Him,
"If a man love Me, he will keep My words; and My Father will love him,
and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him." The VISIT of
Divine grace, in a Father's love and a Saviour's pity, to the abodes of
the saints in the midst of their unworthiness and self-will, is one
thing; the HOME-DWELLING of Divine love, where holiness is cultivated,
truth maintained, and obedience sought, is another, and far more
blessed. Again the Lord adds, "He that loveth Me not, keepeth not My
sayings: and the word which ye hear is not Mine, but My Father's which
sent Me." One proof of love to the Lord Jesus, and of regard to the
authority of God, is keeping, retaining, and guarding the words of the
Lord Jesus which He spake on earth, even those words which were given
Him by His Father to make known to us. Surely it becomes us to be
careful, lest on the authority of some two or three Arian manuscripts
of the fourth and fifth centuries, we blot out large numbers of these
inspired utterances from the sacred page. The Lord's message of
commendation to the messenger to the church in Philadelphia was, "Thou
hast a little strength, and hast kept My word, and hast not denied My
name" (Rev. 3. 8).
SANCTUARY.
God does not say,
"Let them make Me a tabernacle, or a tent," as though anything would do
for God; but "Let them make Me a SANCTUARY," a holy habitation, "that I
may dwell." Yes, "holiness becomes God's house for ever." In the
Gospel, God comes down to sinners; it is grace abounding amidst the
aboundings of sin. But the truth for the saint is the doctrine which is
according to godliness. To the sinner, by the gospel, God says: "Though
your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow: though they be
red like crimson, they shall be as wool." But to the believer He says,
"What fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what
communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with
Belial? And what part hath he that believeth with an unbeliever? And
what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? Wherefore come out
from among and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the
unclean thing, and I will receive you: I will dwell in them, and walk
in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people" (2 Cor.
6. 14-18).
"Having, therefore,
these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all
filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of
God" (2 Cor. 7. 1).
THE PLAN.
In the things of
God no place is left for human reason, and no margin for self-will. God
has arranged everything according to infinite wisdom, and the word of
God contains full instructions.
These earthly types
were 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 plan showed to
thee in the mount" (Heb. 8. 5). Weighty and important words? May they
be brought to bear upon our consciences, and tell upon our hearts!
Thee assembly of
believers on earth should be the reflection down here, of what the
Church of the first-born is in Christ above.
Is
the Church above redeemed to God from an evil world? Church on earth is
to be separate to God, as not of the world, even as Christ is not of
it.
Is the Church above one in
Christ its glorious Head? Church on earth should exhibit this oneness.
Is the Church above a holy and true church? The Church on earth should
be conspicuous for holiness and truth, "the epistle of Christ known and
read of all men," the pillar and ground of the truth." And just as
Christ on earth was "God manifest in flesh;" so the Church should
exhibit Christ manifest in His people.
In that marvellous
prayer of the Lord Jesus recorded in John 17., this separateness,
holiness, and oneness of the Church are the main subjects of His
petitions. The Lord distinctly said, "I pray not for the world,"
neither is Israel mentioned, but His prayer is for those whom the
Father had given Him out of the world. Of these He said, "They are not
of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that Thou
shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them
from the evil. Sanctify them through Thy truth; Thy word is truth."
Three times He
prays for their oneness. First, that they may be one after a Divine
model (v11), "That they may be one as We are." Second, that they may be
all one in the Spirit from Pentecost till His return, "That they all
may be one; as Thou Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also
may be one in Us" (v21). And this oneness in the Spirit,
notwithstanding their outward divisions, might be a proof to the world
that He was the sent One of God, "That the world might believe that
thou didst send Me." Third, that they might be one in the glory, "And
the glory which Thou hast given Me I have given them: that they may be
one, even as We are one" (v22). That when thus manifested with Him in
glory, it may be a proof to the World that He was not only the sent
One, but that they also were loved with the same love. The answer to
this prayer commenced at Pentecost, when the Holy Ghost came to
sanctify them, and to baptise them into body, and He has continued in
the world ever since to carry on the work, and will not cease until
whole body is complete, and until He has established them, "unblamable
in holiness before God, even Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ all His saints" (1 Thess. 3. 13).
THE ARK OF THE COVENANT
(Exodus 25. 10-22).
Verse 10. "And they
shall make an ark of shittim 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."
NOAH was commanded
to make "an ark" for the saving of his house; the Hebrew word there
used is "tebah," as also in the "ark" of bulrushes in which Moses was
laid. But the Hebrew word here employed is "ahrohn," which signifies a
chest. This ark of the covenant is one of the most complete and
comprehensive types of the Lord Jesus, a full length portrait. In the
instructions given for the vessels of the tabernacle, the first
mentioned is the ARK. As to worship, service, and testimony, God's
centre is Christ. The SHITTIM WOOD IS a type of the sinless humanity of
the Lord Jesus. And its dimensions being fixed by God, reminds us of
the words of the Lord Jesus, "A body hast Thou prepared Me" (Hebrews x.
5).
Verse 11. "And thou
shalt overlay IT with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay
it."
Pure gold is the
emblem of that which is divine, divinely excellent and holy. It
typifies the Word which was in the beginning with God, and was God,
made and tabernacling among us, the great mystery of God manifest in
flesh. To the carnal mind human was conspicuous, He was Jesus the
Nazarene. The badger's skin hid the glory of the tabernacle, but to the
spiritually minded the gold hid the shittim wood, such could say, "And
we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father."
And "The God shone glorious through the man." At foot of the Mount of
Transfiguration, Jesus was seen in contact with sinners, and in
conflict with Satan; but to the disciples on the mount He appeared in
glory, and the Father Himself bare witness to Him.
The ark was. to be
overlaid within as well as without old. Every internal thought,
feeling, and affection of the Lord Jesus was not only perfect as human,
but spiritually and divinely excellent; like the fat of inwards burnt
upon the altar which was for God alone. In Him dwelt all the fulness of
the Godhead bodily, and in Him the Church of God is blessed with every
Spiritual blessing. This ark of the covenant is the treasure chest of
the family of God, in which all the title deeds and promises of God in
Him, Yea and Amen, are contained.
"And thou shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about."
This crown of gold
surrounding the ark and surmounting it, kept the propitiatory or
mercy-seat in its place; even so was it with Jesus, He for the joy that
set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame; and, though for
a season, made a little lower than the angels, He is now crowned with
glory and honour. The obedient and humbled Son of man is now seated on
the right hand of majesty and power, and glorified with the glory He
had with the Father before the world was.
Verses 12-15. "And
thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in the four
corners thereof; and two rings shall be in the one side of it, and two
rings in the other side of it."
"And
thou shalt make staves of shittim wood, and overlay THEM with gold. And
thou shalt put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, that
the ark may be borne with them. The staves shall be in the rings of the
ark: they shall not be taken from it."
These rings and
staves adapted the ark to the wilderness condition of God's people,
ready at all times, not only to accompany them in their journeyings,
but also in their wanderings. The rings were to be of gold, but the
staves of shittim wood, overlaid with gold. The divine grace and human
sympathy of the Lord Jesus renders Him sufficient to meet our every
need. The staves were never to be taken from the rings; even so Jesus
assures us, "Lo, I am with you alway"; "I will never leave you nor
forsake you." The three families of Levites, Gershonites, Merarites,
and Kohathites, may represent the evangelists, pastors and teachers of
the Christian ministry. The Gershonites and Merarites, when the camp
set forward, went before and set up the tabernacle, for these six
wagons and twelve oxen were provided; but none were given he sons of
Kohath, because the service of the sanctuary belonging unto them was
that they should bear it on their shoulders (Numbers 7. 9).
To the charge of
the Kohathites was committed the and other sacred vessels of the
sanctuary. The teacher is specially thrown upon his individual
responsibility before God in treating on those subjects which pertain
to the person, offices, and perfections of the Son of God; he needs, in
an especial manner, the unction from the Holy One. God is especially
jealous of human interference in regard to the glory of His Son. When
David put the ark upon a new cart, and Uzzah put forth his hand to
steady it, God made a breach upon Uzzah. What is needed is not human
intellect, invention, nor imagination, but the teaching and revealing
of the Holy Ghost.
Verse 16. "And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee."
Whilst
Moses was on the Mount, receiving these instructions from God,
respecting the tabernacle and its vessels, the children of Israel were
impatient at his delay, had made the golden calf, and worshipped it.
The law which they had undertaken to keep they had broken in its most
essential parts. Thereupon Moses, on his coming down from the Mount,
with the two tables of the testimony in his hand, which he had received
from God, written with the finger of God, moved with holy indignation,
brake the tables at the foot of the Mount.
And Jehovah said
unto Moses, "Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I
will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables,
which thou brakest." These two tables of the testimony Moses was
commanded to put into the ark. This type was fulfilled in Christ, who
is the Mediator of the New Covenant, whose language was, according to
Psalms 40. 8, "I delight to do Thy will, O My God: yea, Thy law is
within My heart." Made of a woman, born under the law, He magnified
that law, and made it honourable. And it is by abiding in Him that the
righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us, who walk, not after the
flesh, but after the Spirit.