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Scripture Reading: Exo. 36:8-19
Exodus 36:8-19 describes the coverings of the tabernacle. The coverings are the safeguard, the protection, of the tabernacle. Without the coverings, the tabernacle would have had no protection. It would have been exposed to the sunshine, to the wind, to the rain, and to all kinds of attacks. However, under the covering the tabernacle and all the things within the tabernacle were protected.
All the coverings are types of Christ. The tabernacle represents the dwelling place of God, which is the church. Christ is the covering, the safeguard, the protection, of the church. Furthermore, this Christ is not objective but is very subjective. The Christ whom we experience in different ways becomes the protection of the church.
The materials that compose the four layers of the coverings are the protection, the safeguard, of the church, but they all have to be experienced by us. If we experience the endurance and suffering strength of Christ typified by the porpoise skins, then we will have something to offer to the Lord as the material to compose such a covering to protect the church. If we do not experience Christ in such a way, there will be no protection or safeguard for the church. Even though Christ in Himself is able to protect the church, we have to experience Him. If we experience Christ, then He will be the protection of the church. The more we experience the endurance and the suffering strength and energy of Christ, the more the church will be protected and safeguarded by Christ.
According to Exodus 36 there were four layers of coverings. The first layer was a covering made of fine twined linen (v. 8). Being twined indicates that the linen was doubled in strength. Linen in type represents the righteousness that is Christ Himself (1 Cor. 1:30; Rev. 19:8). Christ Himself is our righteousness before God. He is the sinless One, the One who has no sin and who knows no sin (2 Cor. 5:21). As the righteous One, He Himself is our righteousness in the sight of God. Furthermore, this righteousness is double in strength, as indicated by the word twined.
The curtains were linen and of blue, purple, and scarlet strands. Blue represents heavenliness, purple represents the kingship, the authority, and scarlet represents redemption. In addition, according to Exodus 36:8, the curtains were embroidered with cherubim. Cherubim, in the Scriptures, are related to God’s glory, God’s building, and God’s creation (25:20; Heb. 9:5; Ezek. 10:3-5, 18-19; Rev. 4:6-7; 5:8, 13; cf. Ezek. 1:5-10). Thus, they represent the glory of God manifested in the human nature of Christ.
The first layer of the coverings was ten curtains of fine twined linen in two sections of five curtains each, joined to one another (Exo. 36:8, 10). This corresponds to the Ten Commandments of the law. In the Ark of the Testimony, which was under the coverings, there were two tablets, and five commandments were written on each of them. This shows us that the righteous One, who is Christ Himself, corresponds absolutely with the law of God. What the law of God requires, Christ meets to the full extent. Christ, the righteous One, meets all the requirements of the law.
The number ten, divided into two groups of five, signifies responsibility in fullness. The ten virgins in Matthew 25 are divided into two groups of five. Five is composed of four, representing man as the leading one of the creation, and one, representing God the Creator. Man plus God the Creator becomes five, indicating that man added with God bears responsibility. Christ, the righteous One, bore the full responsibility to fulfill the requirement of the law of God.
Exodus 36:9 says, “The length of each curtain was twenty-eight cubits, and the width of each curtain, four cubits; all the curtains had the same measurement.” Twenty-eight is composed of eight plus twenty. This is very meaningful. The number eight represents resurrection (Matt. 28:1; John 20:1—“the first day of the week” is the eighth day). Twenty is composed of two times ten. Two represents a testimony, and ten, as we have pointed out, indicates full responsibility. Here is the testimony of the full responsibility that Christ has borne. Twenty is also composed of four times five, showing that Christ is the One in creation (Col. 1:15) who bears all the responsibility to fulfill the requirement of God’s righteousness. Twenty-eight may also be composed of four, representing the creature, times seven, representing perfection and completion. Christ, who is the righteous One and who is our righteousness before God, took the full responsibility as the One in creation to fulfill the requirement of God’s law completely, to its perfection, that is, to its completion.
Each curtain was four cubits wide. Therefore, the ten curtains were of the total width of ten times four cubits. These forty cubits covered the thirty cubit length of the tabernacle, leaving a ten cubit overhang at the rear, the west side. Ten and four signify that Christ, the righteous One, is the complete, perfect creature in full.
Besides all these numbers—two, four, five, seven, eight, and ten—there is also the number three. The curtains were twenty-eight cubits long, whereas the tabernacle was thirty cubits long and ten cubits wide. When the curtains were placed lengthwise across the top of the tabernacle, they covered the ten-cubit width on top, leaving nine cubits hanging on the north and south sides. This nine is composed of three times three.
The basic numbers of the curtains are three, four, five, and seven, because these are the basic numbers of God’s building. Three represents the Triune God in resurrection, four represents the creatures, five represents man plus God to take responsibility, and seven represents perfection and completion. The dwelling place of God is man mingled with the Triune God. This dwelling place is built up by man in the Triune God bearing the full responsibility.
The second layer of the covering of the tabernacle was made of goats’ hair (Exo. 36:14). According to the parable in Matthew 25:31-46, the goat represents a sinful person. Furthermore, the hairs of the goat represent the sins coming out of the sinful person. Therefore, whereas the first layer represents Christ as our righteousness before God, the second layer represents Christ becoming sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21). He is the One who knew no sin but became sin for us. The first layer signifies Christ as the One who knew no sin, the righteous One and our righteousness before God, but the second layer signifies that in the eyes of God, when Christ was on the cross, He became sin for us.
Concerning the curtains of goats’ hair, Exodus 36:16 says, “He joined five of the curtains by themselves, and six of the curtains by themselves.” The layer of goats’ hair is not composed of ten curtains but of eleven. Eleven is something more than ten but short of twelve. In the Scriptures ten is a positive figure, representing human completion. Twelve, in the Scriptures, is also positive, representing eternal perfection (Rev. 21:12, 14, 16). However, eleven, greater than ten and short of twelve, is not positive. A person with eleven fingers would appear wrong and abnormal. Eleven is something beyond that which was meant to be and indicates sinfulness. Sin is something extra that was not meant to be. The eleven curtains represent sin itself. Sin spoils the completion and the perfection of man before God.
With the layer of goats’ hair, the numbers seven and eight cannot be found. You cannot derive seven, because the length of the curtains of goats’ hair is thirty cubits instead of twenty-eight (Exo. 36:15). This indicates that there is no resurrection or completion due to the involvement of sin.
With the first layer of fine twined linen, there were fifty loops of blue on each joining of five curtains (vv. 11-12). Furthermore, these loops were joined by gold clasps (v. 13), representing the divine nature. The joining power for the building of God, the church, is the heavenliness and the divine nature of Christ. If we lose the heavenliness and the divine nature of Christ, we will automatically be separated, for there will be no joining power between us. The more we are in the heavenliness and the more we are in the divine nature of Christ, the more we are strengthened to be joined together. With the second layer of goats’ hair, however, the clasps were made of bronze rather than of gold (v. 18). Bronze, in type, represents judgment, trial, and testing. Because the second layer signifies that Christ became sin to be judged by God, the joining power here is the ability to be judged, tested, and tried. The power to suffer the judgment, test, and trial of God and even the tests of Satan is the joining power of the second covering of the tabernacle.
The third layer of the covering was made of rams’ skins dyed red (v. 19a). A ram is a male, and the dyeing of red signifies the shedding of blood for redemption. The third layer signifies that Christ was slain on the cross, shedding His blood to redeem us from our sins.
The last layer of the covering was porpoise skins, the protection and safeguard for the tabernacle (v. 19b). Christ, who is the righteousness of God, became sin in the eyes of God and died, shedding His blood to redeem us from our sins and becoming the protection and the safeguard of the church. From the inside, the tabernacle looks very beautiful and glorious. But from the outside, it appears very coarse. It is the same with the church. If people come into the church, they will see the beauty of Christ and the glories of Christ. But when viewed from the outside by the worldly people, the church seems worthless and coarse, like porpoise skins. However, this worthless looking layer is the enduring strength of the church to stand against all manner of attacks.
