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Scripture Reading: Exo. 25:23-24, 31; 30:1-3; 36:20-34
The tabernacle portrayed in the Old Testament is a clear picture of the building of God’s dwelling place. Hence, if we want to know the progressive steps for building God’s dwelling place, we must know the matters concerning the tabernacle.
The central significance of the tabernacle is God mingling with man so that in Him man may be built together into a corporate entity. The main structure of the tabernacle was boards of wood overlaid with gold (Exo. 26:15-30; 36:20-34). Gold signifies divinity, the divine nature, and wood signifies humanity, the human nature. Therefore, wood overlaid with gold signifies the mingling of divinity with humanity into one entity. This entity is a building, God’s dwelling place (15:13; 25:8), which was the tabernacle and the temple in the Old Testament (40:34; 1 Kings 6:2; 8:1-13), which is the church in the New Testament (Matt. 16:18; 1 Tim. 3:15), and which ultimately will be the New Jerusalem (Rev. 3:12; 21:2). This corporate entity depends on the mingling of divinity with humanity. In other words, this dwelling place is composed of God mingled with man, and it is the mutual dwelling place of God and man. This is the central significance of the tabernacle.
In the tabernacle God did not dwell in the Holy Place, much less in the outer court. He dwelt in the Holy of Holies. Thus, when we speak of the tabernacle from God’s perspective, we must begin in the Holy of Holies, pass through the Holy Place, and enter into the outer court. However, when we speak of the tabernacle from man’s perspective, that is, according to our experience, we must begin in the outer court, pass through the Holy Place, and enter into the Holy of Holies. In this chapter and in the next we will go from man to God, that is, from the outer court to the Holy of Holies.
There were two pieces of furniture in the outer court: the bronze altar and the bronze laver. The bronze used to cover the altar came from the bronze censers of the two hundred and fifty men who were judged and consumed by fire from God (Num. 16:37-39). Hence, the bronze altar reminded man of God’s judgment. The bronze for the laver came from the mirrors of the serving women who served at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting (Exo. 38:8). Hence, the bronze of the laver was able to reflect man’s condition. Those who approached the bronze altar sensed God’s judgment and were convicted of their corruption, evil, and sins. Furthermore, the blood of the sin offering was shed at the bronze altar, indicating that those whom God condemned were forgiven and redeemed. On the one hand, those who approached the bronze laver sensed that their true condition was exposed, but on the other hand, the water in the laver washed away their filth.
The bronze altar and the laver are always linked in our experience. When we come to the bronze altar, we confess our weaknesses, offenses, failures, defilements, and discord with God and are willing to be convicted and judged afresh in order to be cleansed. When we are cleansed and forgiven by God and redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, we will feel as though we are standing in front of a mirror that shows us our real condition. Prior to approaching the bronze altar and the laver, we could see only our strengths and believed that our attitude toward our parents, spouse, children, colleagues, and neighbors was good. But at the laver we see our real condition and discover that our attitude toward our parents, spouse, children, colleagues, and neighbors is not good. This is our experience of the shining and enlightening of the laver. At this point we are not only forgiven of our offenses and washed of our stains; we are also delivered from the sin of disrespect in our actual living and from our improper attitude toward others. The laver puts our walk under the shining of the Holy Spirit so that our walk may be cleansed through the operation of the Holy Spirit.
This experience is not limited to our initial salvation. We experience this every time we are revived, that is, have a turn toward God. If we truly see that we are materials to be built with others into God’s dwelling place, we will come to the bronze altar again and again to be judged and then cleansed by the precious blood of Christ and to enjoy the effectiveness of redemption on the cross. Not only so, through the shining of the bronze of God’s judgment and the reflecting of the laver, we will be convicted and see that we are proud, not in one accord, lacking in forbearance, and unable to coordinate. The laver in the service meeting will show us that our speaking is from the self and that we cannot speak loosely any longer. This is the experience of being cleansed by the Holy Spirit in our words and deeds.
We experience the bronze altar and the laver every time we have a new spiritual beginning. When we have morning revival, we must first come to the bronze altar and the laver. Then we will be judged and convicted by the Lord, and we will sense that we are short in certain matters and toward certain persons. As a result, we will be willing to confess our wrongdoings and condemn our shortages in order to enjoy the effectiveness of redemption. After such an experience we will be more sensitive toward sin and sense that we cannot touch, utter, or think about certain things, nor can we have certain attitudes. We will be clear concerning many things before God. Through such experiences we are delivered from our weaknesses. This is what it means to experience the washing of the Holy Spirit, as typified by the laver.
We need to be under the intense shining of the Holy Spirit in order to see that our being built depends on our practical experience of the conviction and judgment of bronze at the altar and the exposing and shining of bronze at the laver. We need to experience the effectiveness of redemption at the bronze altar in order to have a thorough consecration and the cleansing of the laver in order to be delivered in our daily life from the things that cannot stand before the light, that is, the things that are obscure, unrighteous, or unclean. This is the preparatory work for the building.
We may be sloppy with our human affairs, but we cannot be sloppy about the building of the church. Anything that is sloppy, dark, corrupt, unrighteous, or unclean cannot be within the boundary of the hangings of the outer court. Even the matter of entering into the realm of the outer court requires that a person be judged and convicted under the shining of the Holy Spirit. Anything that does not agree with God’s nature and is unacceptable to Him must be condemned. There is no room for sloppiness in the dwelling place of God, the church. This is a serious matter.
Solid churches have not been built up in some localities because the elders and responsible brothers have not been properly judged; they have not experienced the bronze altar or the laver. Sloppy men can never build up solid churches. We must have the hangings of fine white linen in our living. In order to work for the Lord, we cannot have a sloppy living or be unrighteous. If we are sloppy or unrighteous, the church where we serve will never be solid. Instead, it will collapse when the wind blows and will be damaged by the rain. In order to produce a solid church in a locality, the serving ones must first experience the judgment of the cross at the bronze altar.
Thus far, we have seen bronze and silver in the tabernacle, but we have not yet seen gold, which signifies God’s substance, His divine nature. Hence, there has not yet been genuine building. There must be gold in God’s building. The building materials must be made of wood overlaid with gold, which signifies man mingled with God. A brother may be genuinely saved and experience the cross, typified by the bronze altar, and the Holy Spirit, typified by the laver. This brother may have been judged and be forgiven by God and be experiencing the effectiveness of Christ’s redemptive work on the cross. He may also know his real condition from being under the shining of the Holy Spirit and also know the washing of the Holy Spirit. By the renewing of the Holy Spirit, this brother is delivered from filth and weaknesses. Hence, he is white, righteous, and blameless not only before God but also before men; he manifests the condition of fine white linen. Nevertheless, this brother may not be able to be built up. Building up requires gold, which signifies God’s divine nature.
If our experience in the outer court makes us proud, that pride will become a veil that stops us from entering into the Holy Place. However, if we are neither complacent nor proud but continue pursuing, the Holy Spirit will open our eyes to see that what we experience in the outer court is a preparation for building; it is not the tabernacle, the dwelling place of God. What is most valuable and precious before God is not the righteousness of the outer court but the inner Christ. Hence, the Holy Spirit will lead us to experience the table of the bread of the Presence, the golden lampstand, and the golden incense altar in the Holy Place, which typify the indwelling Christ as the bread of life, the light of life, and the acceptable incense before God. These experiences indicate that we have entered into the Holy Place.
On the north side of the Holy Place there was a table of acacia wood overlaid with gold, on which were twelve cakes called the bread of the Presence (Exo. 25:23-30; Lev. 24:5-6). This bread typifies Christ as our bread of life that supplies us daily (John 6:35). This bread is not only in us; it is set before God. This experience is much more precious than being forgiven, washed, and having a righteous and pure outward living.
When we see that Christ indwells us as our life, the Holy Spirit will further show us that this life is the light of men (1:4). Christ as the light of men is typified by the lampstand of pure gold in the Holy Place (Exo. 25:31). The outer court was open and had natural light. It had the light of the sun in the day and the light of the moon and the stars at night. There was no window in the Holy Place, and the entry to the Holy Place was covered by a screen. Hence, natural light from outside could not shine in the Holy Place. There was, therefore, the need of light from the golden lampstand. This light signifies the light of life generated by the indwelling Christ as our life (John 8:12). At the lampstand we not only know the indwelling Christ as our daily bread of life that enables us to live before God; we also know that the life within us is the light that shines within us and makes us bright. At this point we will discover that being a Christian is not just a matter of a good outward living but also of knowing Christ as life inwardly. We must not live according to our natural sight by determining matters according to right and wrong or good and evil. Rather, we must let Christ as our light of life shine and enlighten us with the truth. Thus, we will turn from outward matters to inward matters. There was also an incense altar of acacia wood overlaid with gold in the Holy Place (Exo. 30:1-3; 37:25-26). The incense altar signifies our offering up Christ as incense so that we may be acceptable before God. At this point we are acceptable to God because everything about us is in resurrection, in Christ.
The experiences of the table of the bread of the Presence, the lampstand, and the incense altar are in the Holy Place of the tabernacle and indicate that the tabernacle has been built. The tabernacle was built of boards of acacia wood overlaid with gold and joined by rings of gold (36:34). This indicates that God is mingled with man and that His dwelling place is built when the believers are joined as one in the divine life and nature of God.
The boards were made of acacia wood overlaid with gold, and their sockets were of silver (vv. 24, 26, 30). The foundation of the acacia wood overlaid with gold was silver. This signifies that the foundation of the mingling of God and man is redemption. The sockets of the hangings in the outer court were of bronze (38:10-11), but the sockets of the boards of the tabernacle were of silver. In the outer court silver clasps were upon the bronze pillars, indicating that the judgment of Christ on the cross is the foundation of redemption. In the tabernacle, however, the boards of acacia wood overlaid with gold sat upon silver sockets, which indicates that redemption is the foundation for us to know Christ as life and for us to be mingled with God. In other words, redemption is the foundation for experiencing gold overlaying wood.
It is worth noting that concerning the outer court, Exodus 38 mentions first the bronze altar, then the laver, and then the hangings of the court and the bronze sockets (vv. 1-20). The spiritual significance of this order is that our experience of the hangings of the court and the bronze sockets is produced by our experiences of the bronze altar and the laver. In chapters 25 and 26, concerning the Holy Place, the table of the bread of the Presence and the golden lampstand are spoken of before the boards of the tabernacle (25:23-39; 26:15-29). This implies that our experience of the boards is produced by our experiences of the table of the bread of the Presence and of the golden lampstand. In other words, by experiencing Christ as our life supply and as the light of life, we are accepted by God and are mingled with Him, thus becoming building materials that are joined together through the gold rings and built up.
A person can be saved and experience the work of redemption and the washing of the Holy Spirit without being built. The experiences of the bronze altar and the laver are but a preparation for building; they are not the building itself. Building is a matter of God mingling with man. Without the mingling of divinity with humanity, there is no building. The outer court is only the boundary of God’s dwelling place. In order to be in God’s dwelling place, a person had to enter into the Holy Place. In the Holy Place we experience the Word who became flesh and has entered into us as the Spirit to be our satisfaction of life and our light of life so that we may be accepted by God. Only when we know and experience Christ in the Holy Place can we be mingled with God, that is, divinity mingled with humanity. This is the way that we become boards that can be built up together.
Each board was built with two tenons that were inserted into two sockets of silver (36:22, 24). A board needed two tenons in order to stand firm, just as a person needs two feet to stand firm. The two tenons signify testimony, that is, of not being alone. This means that we cannot do anything by ourselves. We cannot even stand by ourselves; other saints must stand with us as our confirmation. A brother may have the feeling to work in a certain place. But if no one confirms his desire, he has only one tenon, and his stand is not firm. When the Lord Jesus sent out His disciples, He sent them two by two (Mark 6:7; Luke 10:1). This is the principle of testimony in mutuality. Hence, each board having two tenons indicates that no one can be alone.
As boards of wood being overlaid with gold, we must learn to always have two tenons. For example, although we express our opinions, we still need to ask the saints to express their views. After the brothers speak in the coordination meeting of the church, the sisters also need to speak, and then the brothers should speak again. If only the brothers speak or only the sisters voice their opinions, there will be problems, and the church will be weak. A brother who always insists on his view cannot be built. Although such a brother may know Christ as life and as light and may be accepted by God, he will be a lone individual who cannot be built with others because he is just one tenon.
The boards were united by bars that passed through the rings of gold (Exo. 26:26-29). This refers to the oneness of the Spirit, the uniting of the Holy Spirit. In Genesis 24 the first item of gold that Abraham’s servant gave Rebekah was a golden ring (vv. 22, 47). The golden ring typifies the Holy Spirit that God gave us as a pledge, a guarantee, upon our salvation (Eph. 1:14). This golden ring and the rings of gold on the boards refer to the same thing. As boards, we rely on the pledging Spirit to be joined with other believers. This is the significance of the bars passing through the rings of gold on the boards. We need rings of gold in order to be joined with the brothers and sisters around us. If we all have rings of gold, we will be built up together, and the church will be one. Then God’s dwelling place will be manifested.
May all God’s children see these points. First, we need to know that Christ is in us to be our life. Second, we need to be mingled with God, to experience gold overlaying acacia wood, so that we may become boards for the building. Third, we cannot stand alone, having only one tenon; we must learn to have two tenons, that is, to have the confirmation of others. Fourth, we must learn to depend on the Holy Spirit whom God has given us as a pledge, as a guarantee, to be joined with the saints around us and built with them.
The picture of the tabernacle in the Old Testament is much clearer than the plain text of the New Testament. The serving ones must learn to experience everything in the tabernacle and live in this reality. If we have rich and thorough experiences of the tabernacle, we will be able to lead people according to what we have experienced. We will know their spiritual condition, and we will know how to do a building up work in them.
We cannot simply preach an objective gospel without touching people’s actual condition if we want to lead them to salvation. We must be able to touch people’s problems and help them step by step according to their situation. For example, if we meet a person who does not believe in God, we first need to deal with the existence of God. If we meet a person who believes that God exists but has not yet believed that Jesus is God the Savior, we need to deal with this and help him. If a person does not consider himself to be a sinner, we need to help him and give him a sense of his sin so that he is subdued to confess before God that he is a sinner. Those who do not know the cross need to see the work of redemption accomplished on the cross. Those who do not have living faith are not assured of their salvation, and they need help to hold firmly to God’s Word. Preaching the gospel is not merely a matter of giving a message on the gospel but of touching people’s condition and using specific steps to lead them to salvation.
The same principle applies to our building up of the church, that is, to bringing the saints into the practical building up. It is vain to merely talk about building up. We first must have the experiences portrayed in the tabernacle. Then when we contact the saints, we will touch their condition and render them practical help. For example, if there are brothers who have not adequately experienced the bronze altar, that is, do not have much experience of dealing with sin, we need to lead them to be judged and convicted in the light of the cross. A sister who has experienced the altar and the laver and knows what it means to be righteous and blameless before both God and men can still be self-righteous and complacent. This indicates that she does not know the inner life. Therefore, we need to lead her to know Christ as life and to have two tenons so that she may be joined with others through the gold rings. Only when we know where people are in their experience of the tabernacle can we render appropriate help for their building up.
We cannot give gospel messages without knowing how to lead people to salvation. In such a situation people can hear the gospel for years but never be saved. In the same principle, we cannot talk about building up without practically building up the believers. If we lack the practical building up, the saints will not know what building up is even after hearing many messages. I hope that the serving ones will learn the experiences typified by the tabernacle and also bring others into these experiences. If we would do this, we will know the situation of a saint as soon as we touch him, and we will be able to lead him to be built up.
