“Moreover, you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen and blue and purple and scarlet yarns; you shall make them with cherubim skillfully worked into them. 2 The length of each curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits,[a] and the breadth of each curtain four cubits; all the curtains shall be the same size. 3 Five curtains shall be coupled to one another, and the other five curtains shall be coupled to one another. 4 And you shall make loops of blue on the edge of the outermost curtain in the first set. Likewise you shall make loops on the edge of the outermost curtain in the second set. 5 Fifty loops you shall make on the one curtain, and fifty loops you shall make on the edge of the curtain that is in the second set; the loops shall be opposite one another. 6 And you shall make fifty clasps of gold, and couple the curtains one to the other with the clasps, so that the tabernacle may be a single whole.
7 “You shall also make curtains of goats’ hair for a tent over the tabernacle; eleven curtains shall you make. 8 The length of each curtain shall be thirty cubits, and the breadth of each curtain four cubits. The eleven curtains shall be the same size. 9 You shall couple five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves, and the sixth curtain you shall double over at the front of the tent. 10 You shall make fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in one set, and fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in the second set.
11 “You shall make fifty clasps of bronze, and put the clasps into the loops, and couple the tent together that it may be a single whole. 12 And the part that remains of the curtains of the tent, the half curtain that remains, shall hang over the back of the tabernacle. 13 And the extra that remains in the length of the curtains, the cubit on the one side, and the cubit on the other side, shall hang over the sides of the tabernacle, on this side and that side, to cover it. 14 And you shall make for the tent a covering of tanned rams’ skins[b] and a covering of goatskins on top.
15 “You shall make upright frames for the tabernacle of acacia wood. 16 Ten cubits shall be the length of a frame, and a cubit and a half the breadth of each frame. 17 There shall be two tenons in each frame, for fitting together. So shall you do for all the frames of the tabernacle. 18 You shall make the frames for the tabernacle: twenty frames for the south side; 19 and forty bases of silver you shall make under the twenty frames, two bases under one frame for its two tenons, and two bases under the next frame for its two tenons; 20 and for the second side of the tabernacle, on the north side twenty frames, 21 and their forty bases of silver, two bases under one frame, and two bases under the next frame. 22 And for the rear of the tabernacle westward you shall make six frames. 23 And you shall make two frames for corners of the tabernacle in the rear; 24 they shall be separate beneath, but joined at the top, at the first ring. Thus shall it be with both of them; they shall form the two corners. 25 And there shall be eight frames, with their bases of silver, sixteen bases; two bases under one frame, and two bases under another frame.
26 “You shall make bars of acacia wood, five for the frames of the one side of the tabernacle, 27 and five bars for the frames of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the frames of the side of the tabernacle at the rear westward. 28 The middle bar, halfway up the frames, shall run from end to end. 29 You shall overlay the frames with gold and shall make their rings of gold for holders for the bars, and you shall overlay the bars with gold. 30 Then you shall erect the tabernacle according to the plan for it that you were shown on the mountain.
31 “And you shall make a veil of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. It shall be made with cherubim skillfully worked into it. 32 And you shall hang it on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold, with hooks of gold, on four bases of silver. 33 And you shall hang the veil from the clasps, and bring the ark of the testimony in there within the veil. And the veil shall separate for you the Holy Place from the Most Holy. 34 You shall put the mercy seat on the ark of the testimony in the Most Holy Place. 35 And you shall set the table outside the veil, and the lampstand on the south side of the tabernacle opposite the table, and you shall put the table on the north side.
36 “You shall make a screen for the entrance of the tent, of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, embroidered with needlework. 37 And you shall make for the screen five pillars of acacia, and overlay them with gold. Their hooks shall be of gold, and you shall cast five bases of bronze for them. (Exodus 26)
Introduction
As the previous chapter of Exodus has led us, we have been looking at the various pieces of furniture in the tabernacle. Chapter 26 now turns our attention to the tabernacle itself – the curtains, the structure, the dimensions, and the pieces holding it together. As Jesus Christ in the flesh is our true tabernacle, there is so much here to behold concerning the Lord Jesus, and much that goes beyond my own present understanding. So with the help of the Holy Spirit we will consider the big ideas and themes of the tabernacle curtains and structure, and may God bless it to our Christian lives.
So as we have read the description of these things, let us put these details together to get a view of what is going on here.
Inside View
The first curtains for the tabernacle that we read of were concerning the curtains that would be seen from the inside of the tabernacle. We have the curtains of blue, scarlet, and purple on the inside curtains, but those were not the curtains you would see from the outside. There was an outer covering which we will get to in a moment.
The curtains that you would see on the inside were made from fine twined linen, with blue, scarlet, and purple yarn, with Cherubim embroidered on them. These colors are ones that we see all throughout the design of the tabernacle, including on the priestly garments, which we will see in future weeks, Lord willing. In fact, these colors are often seen together throughout the Bible.
To state the main theme of the design: the inside of the tabernacle was designed after heaven. Some would say it was a type of heaven. It was patterned after the heavenly things as God showed Moses on the mountain. Think of the whole scene. We discussed the ark of the testimony with the cherubim on the mercy seat on top of the ark, which is a picture of the divine throne room with the bread of the presence as a memorial before it, and the golden lampstand, reminding us of the seven spirits of God that are watching the earth and watching over His Church – the Holy Spirit – where it is always light in God’s presence. Now we have more cherubim which are embroidered into the curtains, and the curtains are made with these precious and royal colors of heaven. On top of that you have all of the furniture made with gold and the pieces holding it together of gold – the wooden frames overlaid with gold – would all give a brilliant glorious light with the light of the lampstand reflecting off of it. This was a glorious scene of the divine throne room – indeed it was God’s sanctuary on earth where He would dwell in the midst of His people.
But as we particularly consider the curtains of the tabernacle, we should pay special attention to the colors prescribed by God of blue, scarlet, and purple. These were not random colors chosen, but have special biblical significance in light of Jesus Christ being the true tabernacle, and the tabernacle ultimately being a type of Christ.
Consider the blue. The blue is chiefly a color of heaven. In the bible, blue is heavenly. In God’s creation blue is the most rare color in nature. In fact there is no pigment of “true blue” in nature, if you have heard that phrase. So indeed it is out of this world, if you will. It is otherworldly. It is heavenly. In terms of biblical theology, we mainly see blue spoken of in these fine materials, but this is not the first time we have seen blue in Exodus. If you recall from Exodus 24, when Moses, Aaron, and the 70 elders went up the mountain to meet with God, what did they see described as under God’s feet? Exodus 24:10, “…There was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness.” The sapphire stone is a blue color. And this blue sapphire stone is described as being “like the very heaven for clearness.” It is a color of heaven. We also saw that this is the same thing as Ezekiel saw when He saw a vision of the throne of heaven. In Ezekiel 1:26, Ezekiel looks up and sees the throne which he describes in appearance like sapphire stone. And again he sees the same thing in Ezekiel 10.
So we have the heavenly color of blue, and we also have the curtains of the tabernacle made with scarlet – a red like color. This color is of course a color like blood, which speaks of man for it is earthly flesh which bleeds blood. And the Bible speaks to the necessity of blood for the forgiveness of sins. The blood of animals provided a temporary measure until God came in flesh as the true sacrifice for sins upon the cross. Scarlet speaks to the blood which atones for our sins, and cleansing from uncleanness. In Leviticus there are cleansing rites which involve dipping a scarlet yarn into blood which would then be applied and sprinkled on that which was cleansed. It was a scarlet rope which Rahab hung from her home which saved her from the destruction of Jericho. God says in the prophet Isaiah, “Though your sins be as scarlet, I will make them white as snow.” And in Matthew’s gospel it was a scarlet robe that was placed upon Jesus as He was beaten and mocked on trial before His crucifixion.
So we have the heavenly color of blue and the color of scarlet which speaks to the blood which comes from flesh, and then we have the purple. As we know, purple was the most expensive of colors, only the most wealthy could afford it, so it was a sign of great riches and wealth, which was most often a sign of royalty. Boys and girls, what happens when you mix blue and scarlet (or red) together? You get purple. So we have the heavenly color of blue and the red of man’s blood coming together to make purple, which is a beautiful picture of the Lord Jesus Christ who was sent from heaven to put on flesh so that He may shed His blood for our sins. Then after Jesus rises from the dead, He ascends to Heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father, at the throne, as a King, having received all authority in heaven and on earth, and having the nations for His inheritance which He purchased with His blood. So we have a type of the hypostatic union, the God-man Jesus Christ, the divine putting on flesh to be our King. This was the very nature of the tabernacle, it was from heaven, patterned after the heavenly things, cloaked in the goats hair skins and tanned rams skins.
Outside View
This takes us to the outside view of the tabernacle. The outer curtains and coverings of the tabernacle were made of a much more simple and earthy looking material – that of goats hair skins and tanned rams skin. The outer pieces for fitting them together were made of bronze as opposed to gold on the inside. So one would look upon the tabernacle from the outside and see a simple earthy looking tent, but inside was the heavenly scene. So you have this idea that the divine or heavenly was cloaked or veiled with flesh.
It is interesting to note that some translations have the tanned ram skins as rams skin dyed red, which gives you the picture of the covering of the tabernacle being a sacrificial animal.
One Whole
So we have the curtains for the tabernacle and the skins for covering on the outside, and they were large pieces of cloth and skin. The inside curtains were two sets of five, the outside were 11 total. They were made with loops to fit together in the frames with clasps of gold for the inside and clasps of bronze on the outside – bronze being a more red metal compared to gold by the way. So all these pieces were made to be fit together as verse 6 says, “so that the tabernacle may be a single whole.” Here we see the unity of the structure. All of these elements went in to making the tabernacle a single whole. We have spoken of the tabernacle being a type of Christ, picturing Him in many ways. Jesus is the true tabernacle and true temple, but also, in union with Jesus Christ, the church, the people of God are living temples, and the church is built up with many parts into one single whole – the bride of Christ, the household of faith. Jesus prays for the unity of the church in John 17, that they may be one. Paul speaks of the church as one body with many members. He even uses the tabernacle-like language of joints holding the whole body together in Ephesians 2:19-22, “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.” And again in Ephesians 4:15-16, saying, “Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the hole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” So we see in Christ, the true tabernacle, the structure of the church is joint together and built up into a single whole.
Separation
There is another important theme the curtains of the tabernacle teach us, which is the idea of separation. The innermost place was the holy of holies which was veiled off, then the holy place with its curtains, all the way to the curtain for the screen of the entrance to the outer covers. These were curtains of separation, teaching the people there is only one way in to God and that we are unclean and separated from God who is clothed in the splendor of holiness. Only certain people at certain times with cleansing could go into certain places of the tabernacle. The innerplace where God dwelt was holy and separate from the uncleanness and sin of the flesh that defiles. Inside is the gold and beauty of the colors of the heavenly throne room, but you can’t just go in there and you can’t simply peer in and live. Even in transporting the tabernacle there were cloth covers for the furniture pieces and poles as well for carrying – direct contact could not be made. There was separation between sinners and the holiness of God. Only through the substitute of a sacrifice, the blood spilled, the smoke of the sacrifice rising to God, through this representative sacrifice were the people brought before God as it were.
So we are taught this problem of separation between sinners and God, and the need for a substitute and representative sacrifice to bring us before God.
Christ’s veil tearing and flesh
So it was when the Lord Jesus gave up His spirit on the cross, Matthew’s gospel tells us that the earth shook, rocks split, and the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. It was an earth shaking, world-changing event, the death of Christ, our sacrificial substitute. Some say that this was an outer curtain separating the court of the gentiles, others say that this was the veil that separated the holy of holies. The text just tells us that it was THE curtain, which I believe points to the veil separating the holy of holies. So it was torn from top to bottom, signifying the work of God which no man could do. God left that temple made with human hands, no longer to dwell there, but through Jesus Christ entering the holy place as our substitute sacrifice, He dwells in us by His Spirit.
This tearing of the curtain does not mean that there is no longer any separation between God and sinners, for as much as ever, sinners cannot stand before God unclean and live. Instead, it signifies a new temple, a new tabernacle, the true way to God, through Jesus Christ by faith. We still have a tabernacle, we still have a curtain, but it is not made of fine twined linen, it is made of flesh and blood, as Hebrews 10:19-22 says, “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” It is a new and living way. His blood sprinkles us clean. His flesh is the curtain through which we enter. He is the great High Priest. As the tabernacle had one way to rightly approach and enter, so through faith in Jesus Christ is the only way to rightly approach God and enter into the holy place.
Application
So as we have considered the curtains of the tabernacle in view of Jesus Christ, let me leave you with a few applications.
Think again of the tabernacle, how on the inside it was one of the most beautiful things on earth, but outside, it was very modest to look at. This principle is what should characterize our lives as Christians. As the Holy Spirit indwells us, what is in our hearts and comes out should be more precious than gold – from within should come the fruit of the Spirit, kindness to others, a deep joy in God, an unwavering faith in Jesus, a gentle spirit, purity of heart, a controlled tongue, peace that passes understanding, and love for the brethren.
And on the outside we should present ourselves with modesty both in the way we dress physically, and in regard to interacting with others – with humility, considering all others as more important than ourselves.
We don’t want to be like white-washed tombs, as Jesus called the Pharisees – where the outside of our lives looks nice and clean and beautiful but the inside is rotten and dirty and unclean. We don’t want to be hypocrites. We want to cultivate purity of heart, sincerity of mind and spirit, and outwardly be humble and modest toward others.
Just like the inside of the tabernacle was heavenly and otherworldly in color and design and value, so too is this inward beauty of heart and spirit otherworldly. It does not come from ourselves or our flesh. It comes from God – it is the fruit of His Spirit, so that it is truly other-worldly. It is heaven being done on earth. It is God’s will being done on earth as it is in heaven.
So may we think about these things this week as we interact with our spouse, our family, our friends, our neighbors, those we work with and come across this week.
Finally, just as we saw the whole structure of the tabernacle coming together as one single whole, may we be spurred on in our commitment to the body of Christ and the unity therein. Jesus prayed for the unity of the church. Do you work against that in your life? Are you not committed to the body? Do you tear her down with your words? Or do you love the body and desire to see her bound together in unity, truth, and love as one single whole? You can work toward that end this week, by praying for one another, serving one another, confessing your sins and forgiving one another, and having meals with one another.
So may God help us to be marked by the riches of the spirit that flow from the heart, modesty of appearance toward others, and unity as a single whole.
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