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In the last chapter we saw the kernel in Genesis, Christ and the church. Christ is God’s image, our life, and the One who destroyed the enemy. In these matters we have the divinity of Christ, the humanity of Christ, and the redemption of Christ. Today we enjoy Christ’s image, Christ’s life, and Christ’s work of destruction. This Christ has destroyed everything negative, including the world, sin, death, and Satan. What a wonderful Christ we have! Out of this wonderful Christ there comes into being the church, composed of many Abels, Enoshes, Enochs, Noahs, Abrahams, Isaacs, and Jacobs. All these people are the components of the genuine church life. If we would see what the church is, we must see the significant aspects of these people.
In the book of Genesis we mainly see individuals, such as Abel and Enosh. However, with the last one of these individuals, Jacob, there is the house of Jacob. When we come to the book of Exodus, the second book of Moses, it is no longer a matter of individuals; it is absolutely a matter of the house of Jacob, the house of Israel. In Exodus we do not see individual believers; we see the house of Israel as a corporate body. This is a type of the corporate church. In this book God deals with the house, the congregation, not with individuals.
At the beginning of the book of Exodus, the house of Israel was in a fallen state in Egypt; all the Israelites were held in slavery by the Egyptians. The Israelites were suffering under such bondage, and they needed God’s deliverance. Hence, the Lord came into their situation. In this coming, the Lord is signified by two kinds of persons.
The first of these persons is the Angel of Jehovah. The Angel who appeared to Moses in Exodus 3:2 is not a common angel; He is the Angel of Jehovah. Most Christian teachers agree that this Angel is the Lord Jesus. In his translation J. N. Darby capitalizes the word Angel to show that this Angel is not a common angel but an extraordinary Angel, even Christ Himself. According to verse 6, this Angel said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Thus, the Angel of Jehovah, who came to deliver the children of Israel, is the very God.
The Lord also came to the Israelites through Moses, who was a type of Christ. In Deuteronomy 18:15 Moses said, “A Prophet will Jehovah your God raise up for you from your midst, from among your brothers, like me; you shall listen to Him.” The Prophet about whom Moses was speaking was Christ (Acts 3:20-26). Therefore, Moses was a shadow of Christ. When the Angel of Jehovah came with Moses to visit Israel, this indicated that the Lord came as the Angel and as Moses. Today we know that Christ has come to us as the Angel of Jehovah to deliver us from bondage and as Moses to speak to us.
The Lord also commanded the house of Israel to prepare a lamb (Exo. 12:3), which also was a type of Christ. When John the Baptist saw Jesus coming to him, he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). In the Old Testament the lamb was slain on the day of the Passover, and its blood was put on the doorposts (Exo. 12:6-7). Then the children of Israel ate the flesh of the lamb “roasted with fire...with unleavened bread with bitter herbs” (v. 8). The fact that the house of Israel slew the lamb, put its blood on the doorposts, and ate its flesh indicates that we must apply Christ to our situation. Before we were saved, we were not only under bondage; we were under God’s judgment. Hence, we had to apply Christ both for our redemption and for our deliverance. Christ is our Redeemer. If we apply His blood to our sins, in the eyes of God we are under His blood, and we are forgiven. God passes over us because we are under the covering of the blood of Christ.
Under the blood we enjoy Christ as the life supply, for we eat His flesh. Thus, we have not only the redeeming blood but also the nourishing life. Christ is good for eating. Jesus said, “I am the bread of life,” and, “He who eats Me, he also shall live because of Me” (John 6:48, 57). Christ is not only our Redeemer; He is also our life. We are not only redeemed by His blood but also nourished by His life. Consider the picture of the house of Israel in Exodus 12. Because the Israelites were under the blood of the lamb, God passed over them. Furthermore, by eating the flesh of the lamb, they were nourished and strengthened to leave Egypt.
In the book of Exodus we see Christ as the delivering Angel, as the speaking Moses, and as the redeeming and nourishing Lamb. The house of Israel enjoyed all these aspects of Christ. They enjoyed both the blood of the lamb and the life of the lamb. Through this enjoyment they were set free and received the strength to make their exodus out of Egypt. When the Israelites crossed the Red Sea, the Egyptian forces followed them. But God buried them all under the flood of water, just as soon as the house of Israel walked through the water as on dry land. Hence, the Israelites were not only redeemed from God’s judgment; they were also delivered from the bondage of the Egyptians. Christ is the delivering Angel, the speaking Moses, and the redeeming Lamb with the cleansing blood and the nourishing, strengthening life. By applying this Christ to our situation, we are redeemed, released, and delivered from Satan’s bondage. Hallelujah, we are free!
First Corinthians 5:7 and 8 say, “Purge out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, even as you are unleavened; for our Passover, Christ, also has been sacrificed. So then let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” These verses indicate clearly that the passover in the Old Testament is a type of Christ. Christ is our Passover. Every day we enjoy Him as the unleavened bread, as the sinless element. Day by day we feast not only on the flesh of the Lamb but also on this unleavened bread. We have escaped from Egypt, and we have been delivered from the bondage of Satan. Now we are free to follow the Lord in the wilderness, where there is no more bondage.
However, as we follow the Lord in the wilderness, we still need to eat and drink. As the children of Israel were journeying through the wilderness, Christ came to them again. When they were in Egypt, He came as the Angel, as Moses, and as the Lamb. But in the wilderness He came as “fine round flakes,” “like coriander seed,” for the purpose of nourishing, strengthening, satisfying, and energizing them (Exo. 16:14-15, 31). The house of Israel called the name of these fine, round flakes manna (v. 31). Without this manna the Israelites could not have journeyed through the wilderness. Praise the Lord that day by day Christ came from the heavens to visit them and to give them nourishment!
The passover took place just one time, but eating the manna is a daily matter. We need to feed upon Christ as the manna every morning. In fact, we need to enjoy Christ at least three times a day, eating Him in the morning, at noon, and in the evening. Do you enjoy Christ like this? Did you eat Him as your breakfast this morning? This morning for my physical breakfast I had some German bread. It was very solid; and it energized me, satisfied me, and strengthened me. Christ is much more solid than German bread. We must daily enjoy Him as our breakfast. Christ also should be our lunch at noon and our dinner in the evening. He is not only our Angel, our Moses, and our Lamb; He is our daily, heavenly manna.
Christ is also the rock flowing with living water (17:6). Christ is our spiritual food and our spiritual drink. First Corinthians 10:3 and 4 say, “All ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank of a spiritual rock which followed them, and the rock was Christ.” Oh, we all must enjoy Christ to such an extent! Day by day He is the manna, and He is the rock that follows us. Whenever we are thirsty, we can drink of the living water flowing from this rock. As the heavenly manna and the heavenly drink, Christ surely is our daily supply. Certainly this is the kernel in the book of Exodus. Today we are enjoying this kernel.
We have seen that the house of Israel was under bondage in Egypt and that Christ came as the Angel, as Moses, and as the Lamb to redeem and deliver them. In the wilderness the Israelites were nourished daily by the manna and the living water. Now we must see the issue of this enjoyment of Christ. In Exodus 19:4 the Lord said, “You have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself.” In Exodus 25:8 we see God’s purpose in bringing the house of Israel out of Egypt to Himself. In this verse the Lord commanded Moses, “Let them make a sanctuary for Me that I may dwell in their midst.” God told the children of Israel to build Him a tabernacle, and they did build a tabernacle for Him. This tabernacle, the dwelling place of God, also signifies the house of Israel.
Many Christians hold the mistaken concept that God wants to dwell in heaven, but the Bible reveals that God’s desire is to dwell on earth. He is not satisfied with His heavenly dwelling place; He desires to come down to earth. You may love heaven, but God loves the earth. You may want to go to heaven, but God wants to come down to earth. Which do you prefer — heaven or earth? Although most Christians love heaven much more than earth, God loves earth more than heaven. He has no problems in heaven, but He does have many problems with the earth. God is eager to recover the earth so that He may establish His dwelling place here.
God created man for the specific purpose of recovering the earth so that He may have a dwelling place on earth. The time of Abel, the time of Abraham, and even the time of Jacob were not the right time for God to set up His dwelling place on earth. He had to wait until the house of Israel had come into being, had been delivered out of Egypt, and had been brought to Mount Sinai. That was the time God told the house of Israel to build Him a dwelling place on earth.
The tabernacle built by the Israelites was not only a type of the church; it was also a type of Christ. Moreover, it was not just the individual Christ; it was the corporate Christ, the enlarged Christ. The tabernacle was Christ enlarged to be God’s dwelling place on earth.
When the tabernacle had been built and erected, it was filled with the glory of God. Exodus 40:34 says, “Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of Jehovah filled the tabernacle.” This means that the God of heaven had come into His dwelling place on earth. This matter has great significance.
God’s intention is to have a dwelling place on earth. This dwelling place is the enlargement of Christ, an enlargement that includes all of us. God’s dwelling place is not with one person individually; it is with all the believers corporately. In typology, all the children of Israel were one. The number of the Israelites must have been more than two million. Although they were so numerous, they were absolutely one; they were still one house. These more than two million people erected one tabernacle. It is difficult to believe that among this large number of people there was just one tabernacle. Most people, thinking that it would be awkward for so many to come together to one tabernacle, would suggest that there be several dozen tabernacles and that a portion of the people be assigned to each of them. If there were twenty-four tabernacles, then the people would be divided into twenty-four sections, one section for each tabernacle. This would be the plan suggested by human wisdom. Christians today would probably propose that there should be more than a hundred tabernacles to accommodate this number of people.
God’s economy, however, is different from man’s wisdom. In His economy there was one tabernacle for more than two million people.
Furthermore, this unique tabernacle was not very large. Rather, it was just thirty cubits long and ten cubits wide. In other words, it was forty-five feet by fifteen feet. If we had been there, we probably would have proposed that the tabernacle be a great deal larger, perhaps five hundred feet by fifty feet. Nevertheless, in appearance the church should be one small tabernacle. All the people must come to this tabernacle. If you do not, you will not be able to meet God or to hear God’s speaking, because God’s presence and His oracle are both in the tabernacle. Outside the tabernacle, God does not speak.
In the book of Exodus we can see both Christ and the church, the kernel of this book. We see Christ as the Angel, as Moses, as the Lamb, as the manna, and as the rock with the living water. When we enjoy such a Christ, we eventually become the house of God, the dwelling place of God on earth. God’s earthly dwelling place is not large; rather it is quite small. The outstanding point related to the tabernacle is not its greatness — it is the fact that God’s presence and glory were there. In the tabernacle there were God’s glory, God’s speaking, God’s light, and God’s life supply. We must see the difference between the way God does things and the way man does things. Man desires to have a large outward appearance. Although the number of the people may be quite small, man likes to build a large hall for them. God’s way is different. Although the number of the people may be huge — more than two million — He has a small building.
When the tabernacle was set up, the children of Israel were one. Just as the tabernacle had been set up, so they also had been built up into one people. The tabernacle had been built up into one entity. It was not a pile of material that had been gathered together. No, all the material had been built together into one tabernacle. This indicated that all the children of Israel were built up as one. Thus, the physical tabernacle was a type, a sign. The real dwelling place of God on earth was the house of Israel, signified by the tabernacle.
No matter how large the number of the children of God is, they all must be one and be one small building. Never try to be great. Although the church in Stuttgart may have a thousand or even ten thousand people, they all must be one. They should not be a great church but a church that is small in appearance. However, the content of this church is the presence of God, the glory of God, the speaking of God, the light of God, and the life supply of God. As far as the outward appearance is concerned, everything is small; nevertheless, within this small tabernacle we see God’s glory, we hear God’s speaking, we are enlightened by God’s light, and we are nourished by God’s life. We all have experienced this. When we visited the great cathedrals with their high towers, we found that there was nothing there except darkness and emptiness. However, when we came to a small group of Christians meeting as the church, everything apparently was small, but from within we saw the glory of God, we heard the speaking of God, we were enlightened by the light of God, and we enjoyed the life supply of God. This is a testimony that such a group of Christians is the church.
God’s redeemed and delivered people, who follow Him in the wilderness, must be His dwelling place. Today we, God’s redeemed people on earth, must be built up together to become the tabernacle of God. No matter how many of us there may be, we must still be one. Whenever we come together, we should not have a great appearance, but we should be inwardly filled with the glory of God and with the presence of God. In us and among us there should also be the speaking of God, the light of God, and the life supply of God. This is the church built with God’s redeemed and delivered people, and this is the picture of the church portrayed in the book of Exodus.
In the first chapter of the book of Exodus we see bondage, slavery, suffering, and affliction. But at the end of the book we see a tabernacle, God’s dwelling place on earth, filled with the glory of God and the presence of God and having the speaking of God, the light of God, and the life of God. If you compare the first chapter of Exodus with the last chapter, you will see a great difference between them. Before we were saved and built up into the church, we were in Egypt, under bondage, slavery, suffering, and affliction. When we were in bondage, there was no God, no light, and no life. Praise the Lord that by experiencing Christ as the delivering Angel, as the speaking Moses, as the redeeming Lamb, as the nourishing manna, and as the satisfying water, we have become the house of God, the dwelling place of God on the earth. This is Christ and the church, the kernel of Exodus.
How I look to the Lord that you would enjoy Christ every day! Daily you need to enjoy Him as your manna to satisfy and strengthen you. There is a proverb that says, “You are what you eat.” Consider the house of Israel. They ate manna day after day. After eating manna for quite a long time, they eventually became the composition of manna. If we eat Christ day by day, we shall become Christ, for we become what we eat. If we enjoy Christ, eat Christ, drink Christ, and take Christ into us, Christ will become our constituent. Christ will be wrought into every part of our being — into our mind, emotion, and will. When we all become Christ, we shall be one in Christ and one with Christ. Then we shall be built together to be the tabernacle, the dwelling place of God on earth. If we have been built up as God’s tabernacle, then whenever we come together in Christ and with Christ, God will be present. His glory, His speaking, His light, and His life will all be with us. This is Christ and the church. Do not emphasize things such as foot-washing and head covering. They are not the kernel of the Bible. As we have pointed out again and again, the kernel of the Bible is Christ and the church.
We all have been saved and delivered by the Lord, and now we are following Him. Daily we need to eat and drink Christ, enjoying Him as the manna and the living water. As we enjoy Him in this way, we shall become Him. Our thinking will be His thinking. Then when we come together, we shall be the enlargement of Christ. There will be no old or young, no Europeans or Americans. Because Christ has transformed us, He will be all and in all (Col. 3:11). If you enjoy Christ as your manna day by day, you will come to look like Him. If we all have the appearance of Christ, then when we come together, we all shall be Christ. Our oneness is not doctrines, beliefs, or the truths we hold. It is the Christ we experience and enjoy day by day. Every day we need to apply Christ to our situation and take Him to meet every need in our daily living. The more we do this, the more we shall be constituted with Christ and become Christ. As a result, we shall spontaneously be one in Christ and become one enlarged Christ. Thus, wherever we are, we shall be the unique tabernacle, the dwelling place of God on earth, to express Christ and to satisfy God. Christ is our daily supply. As we eat and drink Christ, we all become the corporate Christ to be the tabernacle of God on earth. This is Christ and the church as the kernel in the book of Exodus.
