Message 85
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Scripture Reading: Exo. 25:12-16
The last sixteen chapters of Exodus are a test of whether or not we truly have a heart seeking after God’s economy. In their reading of the Bible many Christians skip over these chapters after they have read the book of Exodus through once or twice. They may prefer the stories in Genesis and in the first chapters of Exodus to all the details related to the tabernacle and its furnishings recorded in Exodus 25 through 40.
We have pointed out that, according to Colossians 1:25, Paul’s ministry was a completing ministry. The revelation given to Paul was the completion of the Word of God. Actually the last sixteen chapters of Exodus are closely related to the completing ministry of Paul.
Exodus 1 to 24 is mainly concerned with history. However, God’s concern in this book is not with history — it is with the tabernacle. The tabernacle and all its furniture is a type of Christ and the church, including many details of the church life. Because the spiritual significance of the types in Exodus 25 through 40 is deep and mysterious, they have been neglected by many in today’s organized religion. The revelation in these chapters brings us into the depths and also into the details of Christ and the church. The writings which make up the heart of the divine revelation in the New Testament — Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians — are brief, but they are profound and unfathomable. Deep and profound matters related to Christ and the church are also found in the last sixteen chapters of Exodus. For this reason we need a seeking heart when we come to this portion of the Word.
In this message on 25:12-16 we shall consider the rings and the poles of the ark of the testimony. However, before coming to these matters, I would like to say a further word about the rim of gold which was made round about the ark (v. 11).
Exodus 25:11 says, “And you shall make upon it a rim of gold round about.” Instead of the word “rim,” some versions say “wreath” or “crown.” In the previous message we pointed out that the rim of gold around the ark signifies the glory of the divine nature, and that the glory of the divine nature as a rim signifies the divine keeping power and holding strength. It is significant that concerning this rim no measurements are given. In typology anything that does not have a measurement refers to something eternal, immeasurable, unlimited, and inexhaustible. Verse 11 does not tell us how high or how wide the rim was. This verse simply speaks of a rim of gold. We have seen that acacia wood signifies Christ’s humanity with its character and standard and that gold signifies His divinity. Although the ark was made of acacia wood overlaid with gold, the rim upon the ark was made only of gold. This rim thus signifies the glory of the divine nature.
Christ as the embodiment of God’s testimony has glory. He is the effulgence of God’s glory (Heb. 1:3). When the Lord Jesus was on earth, outwardly He was a despised Nazarene, One without form or comeliness. But not even those who opposed Him could deny the fact that there was a wonderful and glorious expression with Him. This was the divine nature lived out of Him. Through the Lord’s human life the divine nature was expressed as a wreath, or crown, of glory. As you consider the record of the Lord’s life in the four Gospels, you will realize that in His living, glory was expressed. This glory was not human, something of wood; it was divine, something of gold.
The glory of the divine nature as a rim signifies the divine keeping power and holding strength. With Christ as the embodiment of God’s testimony, there is a keeping power and a holding strength. Peter, James, John, and others were kept, held, and preserved by the rim of glory upon Christ. Because of his weakness, Peter denied the Lord. In the end, however, his denial was actually a proof that he believed in the Lord Jesus and loved Him, for afterwards Peter went out and wept bitterly. Peter had seen the expression of God’s glory in the Lord Jesus on the mount of transfiguration. That expression of divine glory was the holding power and the keeping strength which preserved Peter.
We also are kept by this holding power and keeping strength. The expressed glory of the Lord’s divinity can keep us from falling. If we live Christ at home and at work, the very Christ whom we live will become the glory expressed through us. This glory, this expression, will become a rim that holds us and keeps us.
In Philippians Paul expected that, whether through life or through death, Christ would be magnified in his body (1:20). Because Paul lived Christ and magnified Him, no one would presume to suggest that he join them in worldly entertainments. The glory expressed through his humanity was a rim that held Paul and kept him.
Although our experience is very limited compared to Paul’s, many of us can testify that we have been held and kept by the rim of the expressed glory of God. Our relatives and friends may not dare to speak to us about worldly things. This is an indication that upon us we have a golden rim, the rim of the ark of God’s testimony. In our daily living we all should have this rim upon us.
We have pointed out repeatedly that the ark typifies Christ as the embodiment of God’s testimony. Far from being stationary, this testimony should be able to move. The book of Acts is a record of the acts, or the move, of Christ. There was a move of Christ from Jerusalem to Judea, to Samaria, and then on to the uttermost part of the earth (Acts 1:8). In Acts the Christ we see is not the incarnated Christ, the Christ who walked on earth in a human body. Rather, we see the Christ who was crucified and resurrected, and who has ascended to the heavens and descended on His Body as the life-giving Spirit. Acts records the move of such a Christ in and through His Body. If we would have an adequate understanding of the four rings of gold and the two poles, we need to make a thorough study of the entire book of Acts. In Acts we have a description of the rings and the poles; that is, we have an account of the move on earth of Christ as God’s testimony.
The ark was made at Mount Sinai, but it did not remain there. The ark was built in such a way that it could be moved. According to the book of Numbers, the children of Israel carried the ark and marched like an army. In order for the ark to be moved, it had to have the four rings and two poles.
Exodus 25:12 says, “And you shall cast for it four rings of gold and put them upon its four feet, two rings upon its one side, and two rings upon its second side.” In typology a golden ring signifies the eternal Spirit. Four rings of gold signify that the divine nature of Christ is the linking factor and power. Elsewhere we have pointed out that a gold ring signifies the Spirit with whom we have been sealed. Because a ring has no beginning or ending, it signifies the eternal Spirit. These rings made of gold, the divine nature of Christ, signify the linking factor and power. Without the rings, there would have been no way to hold the ark. There would have been no link, no connection. The life-giving eternal Spirit signified by the rings is the linking factor and power.
Verse 12 says that the rings were cast. They were not made of beaten work. The casting of the rings signifies that the eternal life-giving Spirit becomes the linking power through the experience of the cross. Being cast signifies tests which come through suffering. The more we experience the cross, the more the life-giving eternal Spirit will be cast to become the golden rings. Then we shall have strong rings for the move of God’s testimony.
This understanding of the spiritual significance of the four rings of gold is according to the New Testament and our Christian experience. The cross is always a test to us. Daily we need to experience the cross with its testing. This is the experience of the rings being cast. The gold used in making the rings must be gold that has been cast. Only after the gold has been cast can it become a ring. Yes, the golden ring signifies the life-giving Spirit. But in our experience this Spirit must pass through the testing of the cross, the casting, before the eternal Spirit can become in us a golden ring with its linking power.
It is possible to be a very good Christian and yet not bear the ark of the testimony. This is to be a Christian and yet live in a natural way. Those Christians who live in a natural way do not bear the testimony of Jesus. Recently we have pointed out that in the Lord’s recovery we must preach the gospel, teach the Bible, and meet together according to the Bible. However, these things in themselves are not the testimony of Jesus. We may preach the gospel prevailingly, teach the Bible accurately, and meet together properly and still not bear the Lord’s testimony. This means that we do not have the ark; that is, we do not have Christ lived out of us. Oh, we must see the central vision that to bear the ark of testimony is to live Christ! We must preach the gospel, teach the Bible, and meet according to the Bible. But along with all this we need to bear the ark, the testimony of Jesus.
In Matthew we are told to disciple the nations; in Mark, to preach the gospel to every creature; in Luke, to preach the gospel of repentance for the forgiveness of sins; and in John, to bear fruit. But Acts 1:8 says, “You shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and unto the remotest part of the earth.” Here the Lord does not speak of preaching the gospel, but of being witnesses unto Him. A witness bears a testimony. The witness refers primarily to the person, and the testimony refers to what is borne by this person. To bear the Lord’s testimony is to be His witnesses.
Revelation 1 speaks of the testimony of Jesus. This testimony in Revelation is the golden lampstand. We may preach the gospel, teach the Bible, and have excellent meetings according to the Bible, but still not have the golden lampstand as the testimony of Jesus.
In Old Testament times it was possible to have the tabernacle with the laver and the altar, and yet not have the ark. There were occasions in the Old Testament when, due to the degradation of the children of Israel, the ark was separated from the tabernacle. When Solomon came into his reign, according to religious custom, he visited the place where the tabernacle was. However, the ark was not there. At night in a dream he came to realize that God was not in the tabernacle; He was with the ark. Therefore, Solomon went to worship the Lord where the ark was (1 Kings 3:4-15).
Our experience today may be the same in principle. We also may have the tabernacle without the ark. We may have good gospel preaching, Bible teaching, and meetings, but we may lack the testimony of Jesus. Furthermore, in our living we may be good Christians, but we may not bear the ark, the testimony of Jesus, for we may have little or no experience of the cross casting the divine nature into a ring of gold. Daily we need the experience of the cross, the experience of the rings being cast.
The cross of Christ actually is in the Spirit, and we experience the cross through the Spirit. This crossing out is the casting. When we experience the cross, we have not only gold, but gold which has passed through the process of being cast into a ring. Then we have the life-giving Spirit as the ring which holds the ark as the linking factor and power needed for bearing the ark, the testimony of Jesus. This is an important detail related to experiencing Christ and living Him.
The number four according to the Bible signifies the four corners of the earth to reach all men (Rev. 7:1). According to Revelation 5:6 the seven Spirits of God are “sent forth into all the earth.” Christ as the embodiment of God’s testimony must reach all men.
When I left mainland China in 1949, I was very sorrowful because we had lost the vast field of China. But now I am happy because the Lord’s recovery has been released from the confinement of the Chinese language and has spread to the four corners of the earth to reach all people. We expect that in the years to come many will go out, not simply to preach the gospel, teach the Bible, and have proper church meetings, but also to bear the testimony of Jesus.
Wherever we go, the ark with the four golden rings should be with us. In the wilderness the children of Israel did not move without the ark. They always journeyed with the ark. Likewise, we should move with the Lord as the embodiment of God’s testimony. This is indicated by the fact that the ark has four rings signifying that the testimony of Jesus should reach all people.
According to 25:12, there were to be two rings on one side of the ark and two on its second side. Two rings on each side signifies a testimony in every aspect (Rev. 11:3). The two rings on each side imply coordination. There were two persons at each end to carry the ark.
Notice how the number two is emphasized. There are two sides, two rings on each side, and two poles. For carrying the ark there were probably two persons in front and two in the back. The number two signifies that the move of Christ as God’s embodied testimony is through a good coordination, not through individuals. An individual cannot be a lampstand. A lampstand is a corporate entity. We must be one with others who love the Lord and seek Him if there is to be a lampstand in our locality.
When the Lord Jesus was on earth, He sent out His disciples two by two. The disciples sent out in this way were to bear His testimony for His move on earth. The principle is the same with the ark and its move. There were two rings, two sides, two poles, and probably two persons in front and in back. This signifies testimony and coordination.
I hope that many will pray and have fellowship concerning the four golden rings cast for the ark. Through prayer and fellowship the reality of this will be assimilated by us and even constituted into us. I believe that through the life-study of the last sixteen chapters of Exodus many saints will be built up with the detailed revelation of Christ.
Exodus 25:13 and 14 say, “And you shall make poles of acacia wood, and you shall overlay them with gold. And you shall put the poles into the rings upon the sides of the ark to carry the ark by them.” The two poles for carrying the ark signify the move of Christ as God’s testimony.
The poles, like the ark itself, were made of acacia wood. We have seen that acacia wood signifies Christ’s humanity. Christ’s humanity is the strength to carry out His testimony. The fact that the poles were made of acacia wood signifies that Christ’s human nature is the strength for His move as God’s testimony.
Today many in the Pentecostal or charismatic movement emphasize gifts, miracles, and power. However, Paul’s emphasis was not on such things. He and his co-workers spread the kingdom of God and bore the testimony of Jesus by having a humanity with a high character and standing. They bore the testimony on poles made of acacia wood, by a transformed and uplifted humanity. Paul spread the testimony of Jesus by means of his humanity with its strong character. For example, Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, “For you remember, brothers, our labor and hardship: working night and day so as not to be burdensome to any of you, we proclaimed to you the gospel of God” (1 Thes. 2:9). This is acacia wood.
When the early missionaries went to China, it was not easy for them to reach the ethical and philosophical Chinese with the gospel. These Chinese were conservative and proud of their culture. But a good number of missionaries to China truly had the acacia wood, the uplifted humanity. These missionaries were genuinely human in a way that could reach the Chinese and open the door for the gospel.
Let me give you one illustration of how these missionaries demonstrated the acacia wood in bringing the gospel to the conservative Chinese. All the villages were closed to foreigners. It was the practice for anyone who saw a foreigner to sound a gong to warn the villagers to go into their houses and shut the door. No one desired contact with the “foreign devils.” One missionary, however, would hide right beside the door of one of the houses. Eventually, someone would open the door, and the missionary would thrust a stick into the opening, thus preventing the door from being shut. Then he would put his foot in the door and, as soon as he had the opportunity, walk into the yard. Once inside, he would head for the millstone and begin grinding wheat or corn. The family might say, “If this foreign devil wants to do this hard work of grinding for us, let him go ahead.” Eventually, in keeping with their ethical character, they would give him something to eat and drink. Then he would have an opportunity to speak with them about the Lord. Gradually, by such a testimony borne by acacia wood, various sections of the conservative country of China were opened for the gospel. I worship the Lord for this and thank Him for sending the best missionaries and the most spiritual persons to labor for Him in China.
Today for the testimony of Christ we also need poles made of acacia wood. Some Christians, however, resort to the use of rock music and dramas for preaching the gospel. But the Lord’s testimony is not carried by such a means. Rather, it is borne by our transformed humanity with its high character and standard. This humanity is the strength for the move of Christ as the embodiment of God’s testimony.
Exodus 25:13 says, “You shall overlay them with gold.” The acacia wood overlaid with gold here signifies that Christ’s divine nature is the expression of His move. If we have the acacia wood in our living, then the gold, Christ’s divine nature, will be expressed.
The move of Christ as the testimony of God is always by His two natures, human and divine, mingled as one. While the apostles and the best missionaries were carrying out the testimony of Jesus, not only did they live a life of an uplifted humanity, but they also had the divine nature expressed through their humanity. This is clearly indicated in the Acts and the Epistles.
The fact that there were two poles signifies that Christ’s move is not by an individual, but by a corporate testimony.
Verse 15 says, “The poles shall be in the rings of the ark; they shall not depart from it.” The poles were put into the golden rings for carrying the ark. This signifies that the move of Christ is by men bearing God’s testimony in their bodies in the uniting power of Christ’s divine nature. It is not by men pulling the ark, for then there would be a distance between the ark and those who pulled it. Neither were cattle used to pull it on a cart, for then there would have been no relation between men and the ark. God’s way of carrying the ark was that it be borne on the shoulders of those appointed to carry it. This indicates that the witnesses, those who bear the ark of the testimony, must be one with the ark.
In the Old Testament there are two instances where the ark of testimony was not carried in the proper way. First, in 1 Samuel 6:7 and 8 the Philistines, who had captured the ark, returned it by laying it upon a cart pulled by two cows. Because the Philistines were Gentiles, God tolerated this mistake. Second, after David became king, he used a cart drawn by oxen to transport the ark (2 Sam. 6:3-7). When “Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it,...the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God” (vv. 6-7). God did not approve of the ark being carried in this way, and He judged the one who touched it.
We must be careful to use only the proper means to carry the Lord’s testimony today. If you look at certain popular Christian publications, you will see that “carts” drawn by “cattle” are still being used to carry the Lord’s testimony. In fact, even worse means are used. Is the Lord’s recovery to be carried on by such things? Certainly not! The proper way is to have a direct connection with the Lord Jesus. We must bear Christ upon our shoulders. This means that there should not be any distance between us and Him. If we would bear Him as God’s testimony, we should be one with Him.
Paul spread the testimony of Jesus by speaking and by writing. He did not use any gimmicks. He carried the testimony by his living. Likewise, the testimony of the Lord must be one with us today. This means that our living should be the carrying of the testimony. As we live Christ, we bear Him wherever we go.
According to 25:15, the poles were to stay in the rings of the ark and not depart from it. This signifies our readiness for the move of Christ as God’s testimony. We must always be ready for the testimony of God to move. We should have the rings and the poles, and the poles should be in the rings. For a period of time, we may stay where we are. At some point the Lord may move us to another city, perhaps even to another country. We should always be ready to go, to move, with the Lord’s testimony.
Exodus 25:16 says, “And you shall put into the ark the testimony which I shall give you.” Because the testimony, the law, was put into the ark, it caused the ark to become the ark of the testimony (v. 22). We have seen that here the testimony, the law, does not refer to regulations which God’s people were to observe. Rather, it denotes a portrait, a picture, a photograph, of the living God. Because the law was a picture of God, it was His testimony. Today the law of God, the living law, as God’s testimony dwells in Christ bodily (Col. 2:9), making Him the testimony of God. Hallelujah, Christ is God’s testimony, and we are those who carry Him!
