Exodus 38

CHAPTER 38THEME: The plan of the tabernaclecontinuedWe are still looking at the tabernacle in this chapter. Beginning at chapter 25, the blueprint for the tabernacle was given in every detail. Now Bezaleel and his helpers are constructing the building. In fact, by chapter 38 the tabernacle has been constructed, as I understand it, but has not yet been set in order. This chapter pays particular attention to the outer court. As we shall see in the Book of Numbers, Israel traveled when the pillar of cloud started moving. The ark on the shoulders of the priests led the procession. When the cloud rested, Israel set up camp. The ark was put down on the desert sand and the tabernacle was set up around it. The siding of the gold-covered boards was put in place around it, the bars were slipped through the rings of the boards, and that bound the tabernacle together. Then over the boards were placed four coverings; the linen, goats’ skins dyed red, the rams’ skins, and the badger or sealskins for protection. The beauty of the tabernacle had to be seen from within. Everything in it spoke of worship, praise, adoration to God, and blessing to the individual. The outer court, enclosed by the linen fence, was one hundred cubits by fifty cubits and contained the brazen altar and laver. This is where the sin questions was settled. The sinner would come to the gate and stand there as a sinner. The priest would lead him into the outer court. The sinner would put his right hand upon the head of the animal he had broughtwhether it be lamb, goat, or ox. Then the animal was slain and the priest would offer it on the altar.

That was as far as the individual went; from then on he went in the person of his priest. The priest had to stop at the laver and wash so that he could enter the Holy Place. In the Holy Place were three articles of furniture: the golden lampstand, the table of showbread, and the altar of incense, all of which spoke of worship. Next came the veil which separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies, and the priest did not dare go beyond that. He did not go into the Holy of Holies, where were the ark of the covenant and the mercy seat, because only the high priest entered this room and only once a year in behalf of the nation.

Exodus 38:1

On the brazen altar the victim was offered and sin was judged. It was here the individual or the nation came to take care of the sin problem. When this altar was constructed, no other altar could be made. This was the approach to God and any other altar built anywhere else would have been blasphemy. It was in the place of prominence because the sin question was settled here. There could be no such thing as worship or blessing until one had come to the brazen altar. The horns on the altar speak of strengththe ability of Jesus Christ to save. There are many instructions and details about the approach and care of this altar. There had to be certain pots, pans, staves and rings, etc. The important thing to remember, however, is its function of settling the sin problem.

Exodus 38:8

The mirrors spoken of here were made of brass which was highly polished. Women have not changed; they carried mirrors in that day, too. The laver was made from these mirrors. The mirror represents the Word of God. It is the Bible that shows the believer his need for cleansing. The laver was there for cleansing. We have the same thing in our bathrooms today. We have a mirror, and beneath the mirror is a wash basin. The mirror does not wash the dirt off, and neither can the Law save you. You can rub up against it all you want to but the dirt remains. However, “there is a fountain filled with blood, drawn from Immanuel’s veins, and sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.”

Exodus 38:9

The fine twined linen speaks of the humanity of Christ, and it actually separated man from God. I was greatly disturbed at this Easter season when someone handed me an article concerning a message that a so-called conservative president of a seminary gave at one of these “knife and fork” clubs. I had spoken at this club years ago. It was reported that this preacher said that all we had to do was follow the teachings of Jesus and peace would come to the worldeven if you denied the deity of Christ. Well, that just is not true. There can be no peace for man apart from the shed blood of Christ. That linen fence, which pictured the humanity of Christ, shut man out from God.

The life of Christ does not save us; it condemns us! It is the death of Christ that saves us. When we have preachers that pretend to be conservative giving a message like that, no wonder there is so much confusion in the world today! The Word of God, and especially the tabernacle, is like a picture book. If you just look at the picture you can understand that the life and teachings of Christ cannot save you. To begin with, you could not measure up to His life or His teachings.

Nonsense to the contrary has been ground out by liberalism for years and has gotten us into the difficulty we are in today. It is time that someone puts it right on the line and tells the truth. The teachings of Christ cannot save you, friends. The death of Christ on the Cross saves you. That is the reason the brazen altar was there. The white linen fence shut out man from God, and God from man.

Although the sockets for the tabernacle proper were silver, the sockets for the fence were brass. Brass, as we have already seen, is the metal of judgment. The picture of Christ in Rev_1:15 speaks of his feet like “fine brass.” I tell you, friend, that sin has to be judged. Man must recognize that he is a sinner. He cannot come into God’s presence until the sin question is settled. The hooks of the pillars and the fillets were of silver, however, and silver is the metal of redemption. The fence of the outer court kept man out, but God made a way for him to enter. He found a way to judge sin and provided a redemption for man that he might be clothed in the righteousness of Christ. What a picture! You can look at the tabernacle and get the gospel. God has given it to us in picture form. There was an entrance to the court. Man did not climb over the fence. He had to come in through the gate.

Exodus 38:18

All of the material and color speaks of the person of Christ. We have been through this before, but it will not hurt to repeat. Blue speaks of the fact that He came from heaven as deity. The scarlet speaks of His humanity and the blood He shed for mankind. The blue and scarlet combined make purple which speaks of His royalty. He was born King of the Jews. The gate was as high as the fence was on the outside. It was about seven and one-half feet and that would be pretty hard even for a basketball player to look over. There was no way to get into the court except through this entrance. It was a wide entrance, wide enough for any sinner to enter, but it was the only way one could enter. Christ has said that He is the way, the truth, and the life. I like to think of the gate into the court as being the way. The next of the three entrances that would bring one into the very presence of God, is the entrance into the Holy Place. I like to think of that as being “the truth.” Christ also said that if you are going to worship God, you will have to worship Him in spirit and in truth. I do not mean to be harsh, but “worship” in a church that denies who Christ is and what He has done is not true worship. You have to worship Him in truth. You cannot deny the deity of Christ and the fact that He died for you and still worship Him. It would be best for a lot of people if they did not go to church (that is, to certain churches) at all. Their own condition is not good, and the church they are attending is insulting the Lord Jesus Christ by denying His deity. Then the final entrance which brought one into the very Holy of Holies was the entrance through the veil which speaks of the life Christ gave up on the Cross. When He died, that veil was torn in two from the top to the bottom, signifying that the way to God was now open. That is life. Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes into the presence of the Father but by Him (Joh_14:6). Next I want to call your attention to the question of the individual Israelite. The nation Israel is called a “son.” God never called the individual Israelite, son. The question was, and is today, “Who is a Jew?” Is a Jew one who has been born a Jew or does his religion make him a Jew? In the Old Testament you had to be born a Jew to be one. And God made a provision that everyone had to be redeemed, which means that each individual had to be a born again one. Israel was a chosen nation, but each individual had to be redeemed.

Exodus 38:25

The Jews brought silver because it was the metal of redemption. Every Israelite had to be redeemed to be acceptable. We have been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ which is more precious than silver or gold. Now, every individual Israelite was not saved. Only a remnant of the nation was saved, just as not all church members are saved. A very small percentage of church members today are saved. A wealthy man in Tulsa, Oklahoma told me that for a long time he and his wife “played” church. “We sat down with the rest of the hypocrites. None of us were born again; we just put up a front. Before the sun went down we were all drunk.” Being a church member doesn’t mean very much in these days in which we live. You have to be redeemed. And the children of Israel had to be redeemed.

Exodus 38:27

The sockets were made out of the redemption money. This is where the tabernacle proper was placed. It rested upon silver. It rested upon redemption. Every individual will have to personally accept the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. You have to pay the redemption price. What is it? Well, it is not silver or gold. The only condition is that you must be thirsty. Would you like to have a drink of the water of life? It is free. Salvation is free, but it is not cheap. It cost God everything. He gave His Son to die on the Cross and to pay the price of our redemption. We are redeemed by His blood. In the wilderness, redemption was forced upon the nation of Israel. But when they got into the land, if they wanted to be numbered with the redeemed, they had to pay the price of redemption. Thank God it has already been paid for us. It does not cost any money. It does not have any pricebut you must be thirsty for it. Do you want to be saved? Do you recognize that you have a need, that you are a sinner? Then come. The price has been paid. Christ has shed His precious blood for you. It enables you to come to God and to be accepted by Him through Christ.