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Scripture Reading: Exo. 40:17-33
The book of Exodus reveals that God desires to have a dwelling place on earth. When the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they built the tabernacle as God’s dwelling place according to God’s revelation. After they entered into Canaan and had a place to settle down, they built the temple, also according to God’s revelation. Both the tabernacle and the temple had three sections: the outer court, the Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies.
In the New Testament the Bible reveals that the believers are God’s dwelling place, God’s temple (1 Cor. 6:19). God made man with three parts—spirit and soul and body (1 Thes. 5:23). The three parts of man correspond with the three sections of the tabernacle: man’s body corresponds to the outer court, man’s soul corresponds to the Holy Place, and man’s human spirit corresponds to the Holy of Holies. In the Old Testament age God dwelt in the tabernacle but even more in the Holy of Holies. Likewise, in the New Testament age God lives in us but even more in our spirit. Just as God dwelt in the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle, God dwells in our spirit today. Therefore, being in the outer court signifies living in the flesh, being in the Holy Place signifies living in the soul, and being in the Holy of Holies signifies living in the spirit.
A person’s body is his outward appearance. When a person lives in the flesh, he lives in an outward realm, in the outer court. This indicates that he lives in outward behavior and actions. When we serve God in the initial stage, we manifest the things of the outward realm. We pay attention to outward behavior and activities. Outwardly, we may behave properly and observe the rules, and our walk may even be blameless. However, we are merely being an outward Christian, one who has yet to enter into the inward realm.
As we grow spiritually, our eyes will be opened by God to see that He does not dwell in the outer court but in the tabernacle. Hence, serving God does not depend on outward behavior and activities. We cannot touch God’s presence if we remain in outward behavior and activities. Therefore, serving God does not depend on adjusting our outward behavior. Rather, it depends on turning inward to meet God. In other words, the key to serving God lies in our turning inward to enjoy Christ, not in adjusting our outward behavior and activities.
When we are in the outer court, we attempt to adjust and alter ourselves by our own efforts. If our efforts fail, we depend on the cleansing of the precious blood of Christ and the washing of the Holy Spirit. After entering into the Holy Place, however, we realize that being a Christian is not a matter of adjusting our outward behavior. Rather, the emphasis is on the life within, which is Christ. By enjoying Christ, we have the inner ability to express Him. Furthermore, we realize that being a Christian does not depend on our outward view or insight but that being a Christian depends on the inward shining, which is Christ. We experience being acceptable to God only by being in Christ. We know that God’s acceptance of us has nothing to do with our merits and virtues. In God’s eyes, only the resurrection life of Christ is precious, fragrant, and acceptable. From this point on, we will no longer treasure our own virtues. Instead, we will treasure only Christ and His resurrection life, through which we contact God, have fellowship with God, and offer the incense in resurrection before God to be acceptable to Him. Hence, we become inwardly strong, bright, and joyful.
Now we will see the veil in the tabernacle.
After we have experiences in the Holy Place for a period of time, we will find that there is still a problem, a barrier, between us and God. When we are experiencing Christ, we touch God and enter into Him. However, many times, we are still ourselves and God is still God; a barrier remains between us and God. One day, perhaps through reading the Word or a ministry book or by listening to a message, we will see that this barrier has nothing to do with sins, the world, wrongdoings, or intentions. Rather, the barrier is our very person. The crux of the problem is that we have not yet put off our self. Although we have put off our outward behavior, we have not yet been delivered from the self.
Those who are in the outer court have been delivered out of the defilement of the world and the shameful works of darkness into a clean and righteous realm. Those who enter into the Holy Place have been delivered from the works in the outer court into a realm of life to enjoy Christ as life, light, and fragrance. However, even in the Holy Place there is still a hindrance, a barrier, which is our person. In other words, we ourselves are the veil.
According to the Gospel of John, the Lord Jesus is the Word who became flesh (1:14). The Word was God (v. 1), and the flesh was man. The Word becoming flesh means that God put on humanity. The humanity that the Lord Jesus put on was the veil between man and God (Heb. 10:20), that is, the barrier between man and God. This barrier was embroidered with cherubim (2 Chron. 3:14).
The Old Testament speaks of the angels of God, and among them there are two special groups: the cherubim and the seraphim. The cherubim are related to God’s glory (Ezek. 10:18-19; Heb. 9:5), and the seraphim are related to God’s holiness. Isaiah 6:2-3 reveals that the seraphim are for God’s holiness, and Ezekiel 10 mentions the cherubim when speaking of God’s glory. Therefore, the cherubim are for God’s glory and symbolize God’s glory. In the garden of Eden, before man sinned, there was no mention of cherubim. It was not until man sinned and fell short of the glory of God that the Bible began to speak of cherubim (Rom. 3:23; Gen. 3:24).
The prodigal son in Luke 15 was the younger son who enjoyed the rich inheritance of his father’s house. Since the father was rich and noble, surely the son was also rich and noble. Before the younger son left home, his condition matched his father’s condition; it did not fall short of his father’s glory. However, one day he went abroad to a distant country and squandered his estate. Thus, he became a prodigal son who fell short of his father’s glory. In the same manner, in the garden of Eden, Adam was made in God’s image and according to His likeness (Gen. 1:26-27). Originally, Adam matched God. Then he sinned, fell, and became corrupted, like the prodigal son, falling short of God’s glory. Because Adam sinned, God’s glory would not allow him to contact God. Therefore, the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned in every direction were placed at the east of the garden of Eden to guard the way to the tree of life, which was the way for man to contact God (3:24). This is signified by the cherubim on the veil in the Holy Place. Where fallen men are, there are cherubim. There is a barrier between man and God because man’s flesh and God’s glory cannot co-exist. If man did not have the limitation of the flesh or if God did not have the requirement of glory, the barrier between man and God could be removed.
In Luke 15 the noble father saw the prodigal son coming home and said to his slaves, “Bring out quickly the best robe and put it on him” (v. 22). Once the prodigal son put on the robe, he matched his father. The robe signifies Christ, and God has made Christ our righteousness (1 Cor. 1:30). When we put on Christ, we match God.
When a fleshly man touches the God of glory, he will immediately prostrate himself before God, because man has been separated from God by God’s glory, holiness, and righteousness, signified by the cherubim and the flaming sword. A person who is in the flesh not only falls short of God’s glory and fails to correspond to God’s holiness, but he also violates God’s righteousness. Therefore, he cannot draw near to God. This is the barrier between man and God.
In the Old Testament age God dwelt in the Holy of Holies. Those who were in the outer court could not approach God, and even those who entered into the Holy Place could not approach God because there was a veil separating the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. This veil signifies the flesh that Christ put on (Heb. 10:20). God’s glory, signified by the cherubim, was upon Him.
Our person is the barrier between us and God. When a Christian has deeper experiences of life, he will discover that the most personal and practical barrier between him and God is not related to the world, sins, or right and wrong, but it is related to his person. The veil that separates God and man is related not to the world, sins, or right and wrong but to the flesh, that is, the person.
We must put off our person in order to enter into the Holy of Holies. In other words, we ourselves, as the veil, must be removed. Otherwise, we will still be ourselves and God will still be God, and instead of our mind, emotion, and will being mingled together with God’s mind, emotion, and will, they will merely co-exist because we are not one with God. For example, if a husband and wife get along with each other very well, they will have the same living and the same goal. However, we cannot have the same living, same life, same will, same mind, same feeling, same inclination, and same interest with God, because there is a barrier between us and God. This barrier is our very self. Our self must be put off, broken, and torn down so that we can become one with God. This is the only way that we can be God’s wife, His counterpart.
For example, after Miss Tsai marries Mr. Hwang, she will change her last name to Hwang, and as Mrs. Hwang, she should take Mr. Hwang’s will as her will, his human life as her human life, and his inclination as her inclination. Miss Tsai’s individuality should be completely torn down. Likewise, as Christians, we should take God as everything to us. We should take His character as our character, His nature as our nature, and His will as our will. Thus, our person should be completely broken and torn down.
When the Lord Jesus died on the cross, the veil of the temple was split in two from top to bottom (Mark 15:37-38). The splitting of the veil from the top was God’s doing. When the Lord Jesus was dying on the cross, He not only bore our sins, but even more, He put on all of us. Hence, when He died on the cross, we also died on the cross. If we have seen this, we will not merely say, “My sins were terminated on the cross.” Instead, we will say, “My person, which has remained intact and which I consider to be very good, has been terminated on the cross.” At this point we will be like those who have just been saved, and we will prostrate ourselves before God. From this point forward, we will truly be in a marriage union with God.
Originally, God’s last name was God, and our last name was Man. Now we are married to God, and our last name has been changed to God. From now on, God’s will is our will, God’s thought is our thought, God’s future is our future, and God’s inclination is our inclination. Throughout church history there are many such patterns. Madame Guyon once said that she was absolutely joined with God, likening herself to a drop of water flowing into the ocean. This indicates that she was completely lost in God and mingled with God. Not only was God in her, but she was in God. In this way she entered into the Holy of Holies.
The innermost section of the tabernacle was the Holy of Holies. Everyone entering the Holy of Holies must pass through three stages of deliverance: deliverance from defilement and darkness, deliverance from outward behavior, and deliverance from the self. After being delivered from defilement and darkness, we enter into the outer court. After being delivered from outward behavior, we enter into the Holy Place, and after being delivered from the self, we enter into the Holy of Holies. In Hebrew the Holy of Holies means “the Holiest of all”; that is, it is impossible to be holier. It is holiness to the uttermost. Holiness is God Himself. The Holy of Holies is where God is. Once we enter the Holy of Holies, we enter into God, and we are mingled with God completely.
Now we come to the furniture in the Holy of Holies. The Holy of Holies had only one piece of furniture—the Ark (Exo. 26:33). The Ark typifies Christ Himself. Just as the Tent of Meeting typifies Christ, the Ark also typifies Christ. Just as the worth of a man is in his spirit, the worth of the Tent of Meeting was in the Ark. If the Ark had been removed from the Tent of Meeting, the Tent of Meeting would have become empty. The center, focus, and content of the Tent of Meeting were the Ark. The entire Tent of Meeting was centered on the Ark. Both the Tent of Meeting and the Ark are types of Christ. This is similar to the fact that our body is us and, even more, that our spirit is us. When a person dies, we speak of him as being gone, even though his body is in the coffin. This means that his inner man is gone, because his spirit is his true person. Thus, we can say that the tabernacle is Christ and that the Ark within the tabernacle is also Christ; that is, it is Christ to a fuller extent.
The reality of Christ is in the Ark. If we want to genuinely experience Christ, we must touch the Ark. Actually, when we were still in Egypt, we started to experience Christ as the Passover lamb. Not only does the passover lamb typify Christ, but the unleavened bread, the manna, the living water that flowed out from the rock, the table of the bread of the Presence, the lampstand, and the incense altar all signify Christ. We have experienced many aspects of Christ. However, the Ark is a fuller type of Christ. Christ is in God (Col. 3:3); that is, Christ is in God in the Holy of Holies. Christ is hidden in God and cannot be separated from God. Christ as the Ark is with God and is God Himself.
The three things in the Ark correspond to the three pieces of furniture in the Holy Place. The bread of the Presence in the Holy Place corresponds to the hidden manna in the Ark. Unlike the manna that descended from heaven, the hidden manna was hidden in God. The lampstand in the Holy Place corresponds to the tablets of the Testimony in the Ark. The light of the lamps was for man to know right from wrong. The law also had the same function to enlighten man regarding right from wrong. The incense altar in the Holy Place corresponds to Aaron’s budding rod in the Ark. The incense altar was acceptable to God; likewise, the budding rod also was acceptable to God.
In Numbers 16 Korah, Dathan, and Abiram led two hundred fifty leaders to assemble themselves together against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You take too much upon yourselves, for all the assembly are holy, every one of them, and Jehovah is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the congregation of Jehovah?” (v. 3). Because of this, God judged those who rebelled (vv. 32-35). Then in chapter 17 God used the budding rod to show whom He had chosen and who was acceptable to Him. Eventually, God chose Aaron and caused Aaron’s rod to bud (vv. 1-8). This proved that Aaron was acceptable to God. In the same principle, the budding rod in the Ark corresponds to the incense altar, whose fragrance was acceptable to God. The incense indicates being acceptable to God. In order to be acceptable to God, we must live in the fragrance of resurrection, in the resurrection life. This is signified by the incense altar and the budding rod, which are related to the resurrection life of Christ. Therefore, the three things in the Ark correspond to the three pieces of furniture in the Holy Place, but the things in the Ark have a deeper significance.
The altar and the laver were in the outer court of the Tent of Meeting, in the open air. The table of the bread of the Presence, the golden lampstand, and the incense altar were located in the Tent of Meeting. The Ark was in the Tent of Meeting, but even further, it was in the Holy of Holies. The hidden manna, the budding rod, and the two tablets of the Testimony were in the Ark (Heb. 9:4). These three things were not only deeper than the outer court, the first section of the Tent of Meeting, but they were also deeper than the Holy Place, the second section. They were even deeper than the Holy of Holies, the third section. In fact, these three things were deep into the fourth section, which was within the Ark. This indicates that in the deepest part we experience Christ as life, signified by the hidden manna; Christ as the law of life, the light of life, signified by the tablets of the Testimony; and Christ as our acceptance to God, signified by the budding rod. When we enter into the Holy of Holies, we enter completely into the deepest part. We are Christians in the innermost part; we touch Christ and are with God in the innermost part. Whatever we experience in the Holy of Holies is in the deepest part.
When we experience Christ as our life in the Holy Place, we enjoy the life that is displayed and arranged. It is not until we enter into the Holy of Holies that the displayed bread of the Presence becomes the hidden manna in the golden pot. When others first touch us, it seems as if we are the same as ordinary people, but once they contact us a little longer and have more fellowship with us, they discover that we are deep and full of Christ within. This does not mean that we should not have a display of the bread of the Presence. We should never pretend to have just the hidden manna in the meetings. When we pretend in this way, we are not in the Holy of Holies but in the graveyard. The church life should have a proper living out of these items. In every meeting there should be some who stand up to give testimonies. A few brothers who have recently been saved may stand up to give testimonies. This is like offering a bull or a sheep on the altar. Then a few other saints can testify that they truly enjoyed the Lord’s presence within. At the conclusion some elderly saints can stand up and say a few words, and others will taste the flavor of the hidden manna. This kind of meeting displays the outer court, the Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies, and it is truly precious and rich. Others not only see the altar and the laver but also testify of the bread of the Presence, the golden lampstand, and the incense altar, but even more, they enjoy the hidden manna in the Ark.
In the Holy Place the bread of the Presence was displayed. In like manner, the lamps in the Holy Place were lighted. When we experience the Lord in the initial stage, our light is like that of the golden lampstand, which shone outwardly, not inwardly. However, when we gain deeper experiences, our light becomes a law in us; our person becomes the law. Then the light that we have is not manifested outwardly, but it is hidden within. Many people have the light that shines brightly outwardly, yet they may not know the law inwardly. However, when we are in the Holy of Holies, our outward shining and seeing become our inward law and knowledge. In other words, the outward light becomes the inward tablets of the Testimony. Outwardly, we seem ordinary, but once others speak a few words with us, they can sense the law, the light, and God’s shining deep within us.
In the outer court there was sunlight, which is natural light; and in the Holy Place there was the light of the lampstand, which was an outward light. However, in the Holy of Holies, only God Himself was the light, just as in the coming New Jerusalem where God’s glory is the light within (Rev. 21:23). God is light (1 John 1:5), and when we enter into God, we enter into light. At this point God Himself becomes our law. Christ wants to become our law deep within us.
The budding rod indicates being acceptable to God in the Holy of Holies in a hidden way. Being accepted by God in the Holy Place is related to the incense altar with its sweet savor, but being accepted by God in the Holy of Holies is related to the budding rod, which is God’s authority. When others contact a person who is in the Holy of Holies, they sense that he lives not only before God and is accepted by God but that he is also a person with authority. Such a one is accepted by God to such an extent that God has given him authority. This may be compared to the situation of Joseph. When Joseph was in Egypt, he was accepted by Pharaoh to such an extent that Pharaoh gave him authority and set him over all the land of Egypt (Gen. 41:39-44). The budding rod is proof that we are accepted by God. Not only are we accepted by God, but we are also ruling for God in His acceptance. We do not have only a budding, resurrected rod, but much more, we have authority. Some saints are so deep in the Lord that whenever others meet them, they sense that these saints are accepted by God and have God’s authority. Whenever others touch them, it is as if they are touching God. God’s acceptance is their authority.
These matters should not be mere doctrines to us. One day we will experience them to such an extent that we will become very deep people, that is, people who are mingled with God. We will no longer be outward, as we were in the Holy Place, where the bread is displayed, the incense is burned, and the lamps are lighted. When we enter into the Holy of Holies, all these three things are hidden: the bread of the Presence becomes the hidden manna, the shining lampstand becomes the hidden tablets of the Testimony, and the fragrance of the incense altar becomes the budding rod. On the surface a person who is in the Holy of Holies is not different from an ordinary person, but when others contact him, they discover that deep in his being he is full of manna, full of the law of life, and full of acceptance by God; in him there is also God’s rod, God’s authority. The experience in the Holy of Holies is an extremely deep experience.
We need to add a few supplemental explanations related to the primary materials of the furniture in the tabernacle.
First, let us look at the primary materials used for the furniture of the tabernacle and their significances. The first material was bronze, which signifies being tested by God’s judgment. Whenever bronze is mentioned in the New Testament, it also indicates judgment. Revelation 1:15 says that the feet of the Lord Jesus were “like shining bronze, as having been fired in a furnace,” meaning that the Lord Jesus’ walk was tried and judged and is therefore perfect and bright. Every judgment is a testing. The second material was silver, which signifies Christ’s redemptive work. In 1 Corinthians 3:12 the apostle Paul speaks of the work of gold, silver, and precious stones. In this verse silver signifies Christ’s redemptive work. The third material was gold, which signifies God and His divine nature. God’s nature is glorious, noble, and unchanging, like gold. The fourth material was acacia wood. Acacia wood is strong and firm in substance and also fine and smooth, signifying Christ’s humanity. Just as gold signifies the divine nature, wood signifies the human nature. These four materials were the primary materials of the furniture of the Tent of Meeting.
Now we will see the way that the four materials were used for the furniture of the tabernacle.
The altar was overlaid with bronze, whereas the inner frame was acacia wood (Exo. 38:1-2). This signifies that the Lord passed through the cross by putting on humanity. He was judged by God on the cross in His humanity. After the altar there was the bronze laver. The laver was made purely of bronze, without any element of acacia wood (v. 8). The bronze laver signifies the washing work of the Holy Spirit. The bronze laver and the bronze altar are inseparable, because the enlightening and washing work of the Spirit cannot be separated from the work of the cross. Therefore, the altar was overlaid with bronze, and the laver was also made of bronze. The Holy Spirit always shines on us and washes us according to the judgment of the cross. The bronze laver is related to judgment, not to divinity and humanity. Hence, the laver was made only of bronze, not of wood or gold.
There were standing boards around the four sides of the Tent of Meeting, and all these boards were made of acacia wood overlaid with gold (36:20, 34). The Tent of Meeting signifies Christ. Christ is the gold on the one hand and the wood on the other hand; He has divinity as well as humanity. Christ is God and also man, and He is man and also God. He is the mingling of two natures—divinity and humanity. In Christ people touch acacia wood as well as gold. The table of the bread of the Presence was made in the same way: its frame was acacia wood overlaid with pure gold (37:10-11). This indicates that the Lord Jesus is our food of life in both His divinity and humanity. If the Lord Jesus were merely God, He could not be our life for us to enjoy. He had to become flesh, to become man, in order to become our food. Therefore, the table of the bread of the Presence was made of acacia wood overlaid with gold.
The golden lampstand was made of pure gold, without any element of acacia wood (v. 17). This indicates that Christ is the light of life in His divinity. Christ being the light of life is not a matter of His humanity, because only God Himself is light. However, the golden incense altar was made of acacia wood overlaid with pure gold (vv. 25-26), signifying that the resurrection of the Lord Jesus becomes our fragrance before God, our acceptance before God. This is accomplished in the two natures—humanity and divinity—of Christ. In His resurrection the Lord Jesus did not put off His humanity but brought His humanity into His divinity. Thus, today the Lord Jesus is in the heavens, and He is God and also man (Mark 14:62; 16:19; Acts 7:55).
The Lord Jesus as the incarnated God came to the earth, bringing divinity into humanity. Then through His resurrection from the dead the Lord Jesus ascended to heaven, bringing humanity into divinity. Through this coming and going, He mingled God with man and man with God. The crystallized product of this mingling is today’s heavenly Jesus Christ, who has passed through the processes of incarnation, human living, death, and resurrection. The goal of God’s work in the universe is to work God Himself into man and man into God in order for God and man to be mingled. The first pattern of the mingling of God and man is this heavenly Christ. Hence, almost all the furniture of the Holy Place was made of acacia wood overlaid with pure gold. Even the Ark in the Holy of Holies was made of acacia wood overlaid with pure gold (Exo. 37:1-2). This indicates that the Christ in the Holy of Holies is God yet man and man yet God.
Man has three parts: body, soul, and spirit. Man’s body corresponds to the outer court, man’s soul corresponds to the Holy Place, and man’s spirit corresponds to the Holy of Holies. In our initial Christian experience we are in the outer court, which means that we are Christians outwardly. Gradually, we enter into the Holy Place, that is, into our soul. At this point we live in our feelings; we feel joyful and peaceful, and we feel that we touch the Lord in our prayers and have His shining within. However, this is to experience Christ merely in our soul, to experience the Christ in the Holy Place.
After knowing the Lord further, we realize that we need to go from the Holy Place into the Holy of Holies, that is, to turn from our soul to our spirit. The Holy of Holies had no windows, so the light of the sun and of the moon could not shine into it; neither did it have a lamp, so nothing could be seen. In the same way, when we are in our spirit, we do not have light from outside. Rather, everything is hidden and cannot be seen. In the spirit we cannot depend on our feelings but must completely depend on our faith. In the Holy Place the table of the bread of the Presence, the golden lampstand, and the incense altar were all visible, touchable, and manifested. The bread of the Presence was displayed, the light shone forth, and the fragrance of the burning incense was ascending. However, in the Holy of Holies these three things were hidden. The bread of the Presence became the hidden manna, the light that shone forth became the hidden tablets of the Testimony, and the scattered fragrance became the hidden rod. These three hidden items could be seen, touched, and smelled only by faith, indicating that in the Holy of Holies the Christian life deepens. Such Christians have something inward, not merely something outward. The condition of those who follow the Lord initially is outward, for they live by feelings; they are excited and lively, and they have peace and joy. After a while the Lord leads them to go deeper. The Lord takes away the feeling of His presence so that they feel that His presence is no longer there, and they may even wonder if they have fallen. Actually, they are not in a fallen situation; it is simply that God wants to deliver them from living by their feeling and lead them into a deeper place, that is, to live in the spirit by faith.
Above the Ark there was a golden plate, a lid, and this lid was called the expiation cover (Exo. 25:17, 21). The Chinese Union Version translates this as “the throne of grace.” In the New Testament the expiation cover is also called the propitiation place (Heb. 9:5; Rom. 3:25). Upon the expiation cover there are two cherubim. God met people and gave them grace here (Exo. 25:22). The expiation cover was upon the Ark, signifying that it is upon Christ that God gives grace to man.
Because God is righteous, He cannot meet with sinners or give grace to them. In the Ark there were the two tablets of the Testimony, on which were written the Ten Commandments. When a sinner came to the expiation cover, he was condemned by the Ten Commandments in the Ark and had no way to contact God. However, on the Day of Expiation the blood of the sin offering was brought into the Holy of Holies and sprinkled on the expiation cover (Lev. 16:14-15), which was the lid of the Ark. Thus the Ten Commandments in the Ark were covered (Exo. 25:16) by the blood. As a result, the sins of those who came to contact God were covered but not removed.
The place where the blood of the sin offering was sprinkled had two characteristics. First, the expiation cover was made of pure gold, signifying God’s holy nature. Second, on the lid of the Ark there were two cherubim, signifying God’s glory. Romans 3:23 says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” This speaks of man’s real condition: man falls short of the glory of God and does not correspond to God’s nature; moreover, man deserves death and condemnation (2:11-12). Nevertheless, the redeeming blood, the precious blood, of Christ has fulfilled the requirements of God’s nature and of God’s glory (3:24-25). Therefore, God can meet with man here and give him grace.
Furthermore, the Ten Commandments signify God’s righteousness. God is the sovereign Ruler of the universe, and everything is according to His law and rules. Today the laws of most nations are based on the Roman law, and the Roman law is based on the law of Moses, which is God’s Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments are rules ordained by God for man’s walk. If man corresponds to the Ten Commandments, he is righteous; otherwise, he is unrighteous. Actually, if man depends only upon himself, he can never be righteous according to the Ten Commandments.
Within the Ark were the Ten Commandments, representing God’s righteousness. Gold represents God’s holiness, and the cherubim represent God’s glory. We must pass through these three “defensive lines”—righteousness, holiness, and glory—in order to have fellowship with God. Our real condition is one of being unrighteous and against God’s law; our nature is unholy, not corresponding to God’s nature; and our condition is rebellious against God and falls short of God’s glory. Nevertheless, the blood of the Lord Jesus as the Lamb without blemish and without spot (1 Pet. 1:19) has fulfilled the requirements of God’s righteousness, holiness, and glory. Through the blood of Jesus we can boldly draw near to God (Heb. 10:19-20) and have fellowship with the God of righteousness, holiness, and glory. This is the story portrayed by the expiation cover.
