Message 110
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Scripture Reading: Exo. 27:9-17; 38:9-20; 40:33
In this message we come to the court of the tabernacle. It seems that the court would be easy to understand. Actually, this is not the case. If we try merely to understand the dimensions and materials of the court, we shall not have difficulty. But if we seek to know the spiritual significance of the court of the tabernacle, we shall find that this is not easy to understand.
As a help to understanding the spiritual significance of the court of the tabernacle, I would like to point out a few matters. First, we need to realize that in the building of the tabernacle, the furniture, and the outer court, there are three main categories of materials. The first category is metal, minerals. Gold, silver, and bronze are all of metal. The second category is plants. The minerals are not related to life, but plants certainly are of life. Both the acacia wood and the linen are of the plant life. The third category of materials is that derived from the animal life. Some of the materials, such as the rams’ skin and the goats’ hair, come from land animals, but the porpoise skins come from sea animals. The materials taken from animals are also related to life. As we have pointed out elsewhere, the plant life is for generation, for production and propagation, and the animal life is for redemption.
The main metals used in the tabernacle were gold, silver, and bronze. According to the sequence of the record in Exodus, gold is mentioned first, then silver, and then bronze. From the inside to the outside, the sequence is gold, silver, and bronze. But from the outside to the inside, the sequence is bronze, silver, and gold. God’s view is from the inside to the outside, but our view is from the outside to the inside. Therefore, with God the sequence is gold, silver, and bronze. But with us the sequence is bronze, silver, and gold.
Regarding materials taken from the plant life, the record first mentions acacia wood and then linen. However, with the tabernacle and the furnishings, the acacia wood was not visible. It was overlaid by either gold or bronze. The linen, of course, was visible.
If we consider the tabernacle, the furniture, and the outer court as a whole, we shall see that the entire situation indicates two important matters: righteousness and holiness. You may think that you know the meaning of righteousness and holiness in the Bible. Christians often talk about holiness, and many Christians desire to be holy. They may not talk as much about righteousness. However, in the Bible righteousness is mentioned not less than holiness. In some verses righteousness and holiness are put together. For example, Ephesians 4:24 says that the new man was created in “righteousness and holiness of the truth.” Here we have righteousness and holiness together with truth. According to Colossians 3:10, the new man is being renewed unto full knowledge according to the image of God. The image of God is related to righteousness and holiness. At this point, we need to ask a crucial question: How can righteousness and holiness be related to the image of God? We should not take what the Bible says concerning righteousness and holiness for granted, or assume that we understand these matters because we have been reading the Bible for years. It is very significant that the new man is being renewed according to the image of God and that this image is related to righteousness and holiness of the truth.
Let us consider some verses which help us to see the significance of righteousness. In 2 Corinthians 3:8 and 9 Paul says that the ministry of the new covenant is a ministry of the Spirit and also a ministry of righteousness. The ministry of the old covenant was of death and condemnation. Death is versus the Spirit, and condemnation is versus justification. However, here Paul does not say that the new covenant ministry is a ministry of justification. He says that it is a ministry of righteousness. The new covenant ministry is a ministry of the Spirit for life and of righteousness for justification. We need to ask what it means to say that this ministry is a ministry of righteousness.
In 2 Corinthians 3 Paul first says that the ministry of the old covenant was of death and then, that it was of condemnation. But in our thinking condemnation comes first and death follows. Paul, however, mentions death before condemnation. In the New Testament we have righteousness unto life, and also life issuing in righteousness. On the one hand, righteousness may come first and be followed by life; on the other hand, life may precede righteousness and issue in righteousness. Hence, regarding righteousness and life there are two sides: the side of righteousness unto life, and the side of life unto righteousness. In the same principle, in the Bible we have condemnation unto death, and death resulting in condemnation.
When a sinner comes to God, that sinner is condemned, and this condemnation issues in death. This is condemnation unto death. This is one side. The other side is that we may be in a condition of death, and this condition issues in condemnation. This is death unto condemnation. From one side there is condemnation unto death; on the other side, there is death unto condemnation. In 2 Corinthians 3 Paul is speaking from the standpoint of the second side, that is, of a condition, a state, of death resulting in condemnation.
Before we were saved, everything we were and everything we did were in death. That was our condition. The result of such a condition was condemnation. God condemns every aspect of our past. Even today, if we continue to live in the old creation, we shall be in a condition of death, a condition which is under God’s condemnation. The entire old creation is under the condemnation of God. But the new covenant ministry comes to impart the Spirit into us, that is, to regenerate us and make us living. Therefore, the Spirit who imparts life issues in righteousness.
Suppose a sinner repents and believes in the Lord Jesus. Immediately he is justified. No longer is he condemned, for God’s righteousness is given to him. This is righteousness unto life. Because such a repentant sinner receives God’s righteousness and is justified, he has life. This is one side. Now that he has life, if he lives by this life, the result will be righteousness. This is the other side, the side of life unto righteousness. The new covenant ministry not only brings us to God so that we may be justified; it brings us into a state, a condition, to have a living of righteousness. This means that the ministry of the New Testament ministers the Spirit to us so that we may have a living of righteousness. The Spirit is the life supply, and righteousness is the expression of God.
The Bible speaks often concerning the righteousness of the law. What is the righteousness of the law? In order to answer this question, we need to know what the law is. In this Life-study of Exodus we have strongly emphasized the fact that the law, the Ten Commandments, is a portrait of what God is. The Ten Commandments are of two categories. The first four commandments are of one category, and the last six commandments are of another category. The first four commandments are concerned with God: not to have any god other than God Himself, not to make images or idols, not to take the name of the Lord in vain, and to keep the Sabbath day as a sign of belonging to the Lord. These four commandments are related to God’s holy nature. Thus, the first four commandments are concerned with God’s holiness.
The last six commandments are concerned with honoring parents, murder, adultery, stealing, bearing false witness, and coveting. According to these commandments, we must have a good relationship with our parents, we must not murder, we must not commit adultery, we must not steal, we must not give a false testimony, and we must not covet. These six commandments are related to God’s deeds, which are a matter of righteousness. Therefore, the first four commandments are related to God’s holiness, and the last six commandments are related to God’s righteousness. As to His nature, God is holy. As to His deeds, He is righteous. This will help us to understand why the new man must be in the image of God with respect to righteousness and holiness. From God’s side, we need holiness and then righteousness. But from our side, we first have righteousness and then holiness. Ephesians 4:24 speaks from our side, saying that the new man is according to righteousness and holiness.
In Romans 14:17 Paul says that the kingdom of God is righteousness. The proper church life is a life of the kingdom of God, and this kingdom is righteousness. In the Bible righteousness is the fulfillment of the Ten Commandments. Our basis for saying this is Romans 8:4. This verse says that when we walk according to spirit, the righteous requirements of the law are fulfilled in us. Therefore, righteousness is the fulfilling of the law, and the law is the image, the expression, of God. This means that righteousness is the expression of God. Hence, righteousness is God’s image. When we walk according to spirit, we certainly shall not have any god other than God Himself. Likewise, we shall not have idols, we shall not take God’s name in vain, we shall have a sign that we belong to God, and we shall fulfill all the other commandments. This is to live a life of righteousness. This righteousness, the fulfilling of the law, is the expression of God.
To live a life of righteousness is to live in the kingdom. This kind of life is a life that is governed, regulated. Is your daily Christian life a life in the kingdom? Many of us have to admit that our daily life is not a life in the kingdom, a life where everything is regulated, governed, and ruled. How can we say that our life is a life in the kingdom, if we are careless with material things, not right with others, and loose in the way we talk? Furthermore, we may give testimonies that are not accurate, and we may be covetous. As a result, we are not righteous. There is no rule, regulation, or government in our living. If this is the case, we are not people in the kingdom of God.
Do you know what the kingdom of God is? The kingdom of God means that everything is under God’s regulation, rule, and government. This kingdom is righteousness, the expression of what God is. Psalm 89:14 (lit.) says that righteousness is the foundation of God’s throne. God’s throne is established in righteousness. Moreover, Isaiah says that when the kingdom comes, it will be filled with righteousness. In the Gospel of Matthew, the book on the kingdom of the heavens, the Lord Jesus emphasized righteousness. He said that we must hunger and thirst after righteousness and even be persecuted for the sake of righteousness (Matt. 5:6, 10). He also said that we must first seek God’s kingdom and His righteousness (Matt. 6:33). He told us that if our righteousness does not exceed that of the scribes and the Pharisees, we shall not be able to enter into the kingdom of the heavens (Matt. 5:20). According to Revelation, the bride will be adorned with righteousness (Rev. 19:8). The fine linen garments of the bride will be her righteousness. Thus, the appearance of the prepared bride will be of fine linen, of righteousness. Furthermore, 2 Peter 3:13 says that righteousness will dwell in the new heaven and new earth. There will be a kingdom, a government, that will be justified by God. This righteous condition will be the issue of life.
Today on earth, apart from God’s people, there is no righteousness that expresses God. There is nothing justified by God which is the issue of life. On the contrary, everything is condemned. When God looks upon this earth, He condemns it, for the entire earth is under death. Because death is everywhere, condemnation comes in. However, with God’s redeemed people, the church, the situation is very different. The church is filled with the Spirit of life, and this Spirit of life issues in a state, a condition, that is altogether righteous. This condition can be justified by God in every way and in every aspect. This is the righteousness that is the expression of God in life. Such a condition of righteousness will continue into the next age. As we have pointed out, the bride prepared for the marriage of the Lamb will wear righteousness. Her entire appearance will be the expression of life. With her, there will be nothing of death or condemnation; everything will be of life and righteousness. This righteousness signifies the fulfilling of God’s requirements and also a rule, a regulating, under His government. Again I say, this righteousness is the expression of the righteous God.
A person approaching the tabernacle from afar would first see the fine linen. Since linen signifies righteousness, this means that a person approaching the tabernacle from a distance would see righteousness. The appearance of the tabernacle and the outer court to those outside is of linen, of righteousness. Likewise, the appearance of the church today as God’s kingdom is righteousness, the appearance of the bride prepared for Christ will be righteousness, and in the new heaven and new earth in eternity there will be the expression of righteousness. Linen is produced from the plant life. Hence, it is an issue of life. This signifies that righteousness is the issue of life.
When others contact the church and examine the church, they should be able to say that in the church life everything is in order and under the rule and regulation of God. This is to see the fine linen, to see righteousness. This is the kingdom of God and the expression of the righteous God.
The tabernacle was set up in a sphere of white linen, that is, in a sphere of righteousness. This means that righteousness became the sphere of the tabernacle. The church also has its existence in a sphere of righteousness. This was the reason Paul charged the church at Corinth to cast out the sinful one from the church life. Because the church is the kingdom of God, and the kingdom of God is righteousness, there should be no disorder in the church. The church must be in a sphere of righteousness.
Furthermore, this righteousness is also the boundary of the church. Outside the church there is confusion, disorder, and uncleanness, but inside the church everything is clean and in a proper order. Outside the church, nothing is under the rule of God, but inside the church everything is under the control and regulation of the Spirit.
The new covenant ministry is a ministry of the Spirit, which ministers the Spirit into the believers. This Spirit brings in the life supply, which issues in righteousness. Righteousness then becomes the expression of the righteous God.
The court of the tabernacle was a hundred cubits long. These hundred cubits were divided into twenty sections by twenty pillars. Thus, regarding the length of the outer court, we have the numbers one hundred, twenty, and five, five coming from a hundred divided by twenty. In the Bible, five is the number of responsibility. One hundred cubits means twenty times responsibility. The width of the outer court was fifty cubits, divided by ten pillars into ten sections measuring five cubits each.
The outer court was a rectangle with the length, one hundred cubits, twice the measurement of the width, fifty cubits. The total area was half a hundred-cubit square. Half a square indicates that another half is coming. (The dimensions of the ark were also in half units.) The New Jerusalem will not be a rectangle. It will be a square, for in eternity everything will have been fulfilled. But now everything has not been fulfilled. There is still something to come. The rectangular area of the outer court testifies of this. This indicates that two halves are needed to make a whole, but we have just one half and are awaiting the second half. This means that what we have now is a testimony of the whole.
With the outer court of the tabernacle, there was a total of sixty sections, twenty sections on each of the two sides and ten sections at each end. Sixty is half of one hundred twenty, just as six is half of twelve. In the New Jerusalem there will not be the number six. Instead, the number twelve will be there: twelve foundations, twelve gates, twelve pearls, twelve months, twelve fruits. The number six is the number of man, for man was created on the sixth day. Furthermore, the number of the coming Antichrist will be six hundred sixty-six.
How is it possible for man, the number six, to become the righteousness of God? In answering this question, 2 Corinthians 5:21 is a crucial verse: “Him who did not know sin He made sin on our behalf, that we might become God’s righteousness in Him.” This verse does not say that we shall become the holiness of God or the glory of God; it says that we shall become the righteousness of God. The new covenant ministry ministers the processed Triune God as the life-giving Spirit into us so that a certain condition may result. This condition is righteousness.
The hangings for the outer court were made of fine linen, signifying the righteousness of God. The linen hung on the pillars, and the pillars stood in the sockets. From a distance, a person would see linen. When he entered, he would see the altar of burnt offerings. This altar, made of bronze, was quite large, five cubits in length and width and three cubits in height. The bronze overlaying the altar came from the censers of two hundred and fifty of the children of Israel who were judged by God. Thus, an Israelite looking at the altar would immediately be reminded of God’s righteous judgment. Both the pillars and the sockets in the outer court were also made of bronze (27:10).
The fact that the white linen hung on pillars of bronze indicates that the righteousness of God comes out of God’s judgment. From the outside, the main thing we see is linen. But when we come inside the court, the most striking thing is bronze: the bronze altar, the bronze pillars, the bronze sockets — all signifying the righteous judgment of God. This indicates that the righteous judgment of God issues in His righteousness.
When viewed as a whole, the outer court shows that everything is under God’s judgment. But whatever is judged by God becomes righteous. In the church life, everything must be under God’s judgment: our nature, our actions, our words. If we are not under the judgment of God, we cannot be right with anyone. If you would be right with your parents, you need to be under God’s judgment. If you would be right with your husband or wife, you must also be under God’s judgment. Our righteousness, our white linen, must hang on pillars of bronze.
We are the number six, the number of fallen man. Whatever we are, whatever we do, whatever we say, and whatever we have are all the number six, under God’s condemnation. Everything related to us must be judged. Whether we have a good temperament or a bad one, that temperament must be judged because we are fallen. Those who are proud and also those who are humble need to be judged. No matter what kind of person we may be, we need to be judged. Those who are obedient and those who are disobedient must all be judged.
If we try to justify ourselves, we shall have difficulties. Those who cause trouble in the church life are those who justify themselves. Instead of justifying ourselves, we need to place ourselves under God’s judgment. If we do this, we shall not have problems with others. If we are under the judgment of God, we shall not have problems with our parents, with our wife or husband, with our children, or with the saints in the church. Then wherever we may be, we shall not have problems in the church life. But if we are not under God’s judgment, then wherever we may be in the church life, we shall have difficulties. Wherever we go, we shall trouble the church. If we are talkative, we shall cause trouble, and if we are quiet, we shall cause trouble. Likewise, we shall cause trouble whether we are a quick person or a slow one, proud or humble. Thus, we must be under God’s judgment in order to have the white linen. The linen hangs only on the judgment of God.
How can today’s Christians have white linen if they do not experience God’s judgment? This is impossible. What, then, about the church? The church, including all of us, must be judged. We should not judge anyone else; it is we ourselves who need to be judged. Once again I say that the existence of the white linen depends on God’s judgment. The linen must hang on bronze pillars set in bronze sockets.
I can testify that I have experienced God’s judgment upon my talking to the saints. Sometimes, after speaking with others, I was judged by God for speaking in a natural way, or with an attitude that was not altogether pure. Then I decided to be quiet and not say anything. However, when I tried to be quiet, I was judged for my quietness, for my silence was natural. At a certain point I should have said something, and I was judged for not doing so. Therefore, whether I spoke or was quiet in the natural life, I experienced God’s judgment. I mention this to point out that God’s judgment is not a mere teaching; it is very experiential.
It is not a simple matter to be righteous. Being righteous depends on God’s judgment. Consider again the picture of the white linen hanging on the bronze in the outer court. Without the bronze, there would be no place for the linen. It simply could not exist. The significance of this is that without God’s judgment, we cannot have righteousness. If we are not judged by God, we cannot be right with anyone. We can only be wrong, for we are the fallen number six.
God’s dwelling place must be in a sphere of righteousness and have righteousness as its boundary. This righteousness, however, can exist only when we are under God’s righteous judgment. It is God’s judgment that produces the righteousness which is the expression of God as the boundary and sphere of His dwelling place.
