The altar of burnt offering, located in the outer court of the tabernacle, typifies the cross of Christ (Heb. 13:10).

The acacia wood of which the altar was made signifies the man Jesus (1 Tim. 2:5), who was judged by God on the cross as our Substitute. Acacia wood was the essence and substance of both the Ark (Exo. 25:10) and the altar, signifying that only that humanity which is up to the standard of the Ark — the humanity of Jesus — can be our substitute to save us.

Five is the number of responsibility, and five by five signifies that Christ bore the full responsibility on the cross to fulfill all the requirements of God’s righteousness, holiness, and glory. See note Gen. 3:24^1a.

That the altar was square signifies that the man Jesus was upright, perfect, and without any deficiency, and thus was qualified to be our Substitute and Redeemer (see note Mark 12:37^1b).

The number three here signifies the Triune God. The redemption accomplished on the cross was not only by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself; it was accomplished by the Triune God. All Three of the Divine Trinity were involved in the accomplishing of redemption (Heb. 9:14; Matt. 27:46; Col. 2:14-15).

The horns on the four corners of the altar signify the power and strength of Christ’s redemption (cf. Psa. 92:10a) to reach the four corners of the earth. That the horns were of one piece with the altar indicates that the power and strength of Christ’s redemption cannot be separated from Christ’s cross.

The bronze used to overlay the altar came from the censers of the two hundred fifty rebellious ones who were judged by God (Num. 16:37-39). Thus, the bronze on the altar became a reminder of God’s judgment on rebellion. Bronze here signifies God’s righteous judgment on Christ as our Substitute (Isa. 53:5; 2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Pet. 3:18).

The fact that all the utensils were made of bronze signifies that all things related to the cross are for God’s judgment.

The grating, the network of bronze, inside the altar signifies Christ Himself in His redemptive work. It stretched horizontally from side to side at the middle of the height of the altar (v. 5). The wood was placed on this grating, and the sacrifices were put on the wood. As the wood and the sacrifices burned, the ashes fell through the grating to the bottom of the altar, and the smoke ascended as a sweet savor to God for His satisfaction. The ashes were proof that the sacrifice had been accepted by God and that the offerer had been forgiven. God enjoyed the aroma of the burning sacrifice, and the offerer enjoyed peace.

The bronze grating, with its rings and poles, is the content of the altar, signifying the inner content of Christ’s redemption. That the grating was within the altar signifies that God’s judgment upon Christ as our Substitute was not merely outward but reached the inward parts of Christ (Psa. 22:14).

The bronze rings at the four ends of the grating refer to the eternal Spirit (cf. note Exo. 25:12¹), through whom Christ offered Himself on the cross to God to accomplish redemption (Heb. 9:14 and note Heb. 9:14²). The eternal Spirit is the power, the strength, the efficacy, of Christ’s redemption. The function of the rings was twofold:
1) to bear the weight of the grating, on which the wood and the sacrifices were burned,
2) to provide a way for the altar to move (Exo. 38:5, 7).

The fire on the altar came from God (Lev. 9:24; cf. 2 Chron. 7:1) and never ceased (Lev. 6:13); while the altar was moving, the fire was burning continually. Both the burning and the moving depended on the four rings. This signifies that it is the eternal Spirit who makes Christ’s redemption effective and who is the power for the move of the cross of Christ to the four corners of the earth (1 Cor. 1:18; Rom. 1:16; 15:18-19; Acts 1:8; 1 Thes. 1:5). The rings being of the same material as the grating and forming one piece with the grating indicates that the life-giving Spirit is the issue of the redeeming Christ (1 Cor. 15:45) and of His redemption (Acts 2:38; Gal. 3:13-14) and identifies Christ with the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:17). Christ and His redemption should not be separated from the Spirit (Rev. 5:6).

The ledge, located inside the altar, might have strengthened the grating and protected the acacia wood in the walls of the altar from the heat of the fire that burned continually on the grating. Thus, the ledge may signify the strengthening power that upheld Christ while He suffered the burning of God’s righteous judgment on the cross, and also the protection that enabled Christ in His humanity (signified by the acacia wood) to bear the judgment of God.

The one and a half cubits above and below the grating was equal to the height of the Ark of the Testimony (Exo. 25:10). The fact that the grating of the altar was level with the expiation cover of the Ark signifies that Christ’s redemption was accomplished according to the standard of the requirements of God’s holiness, righteousness, and glory (cf. Rom. 3:24-25). Moreover, the fact that there were one and a half cubits above the grating indicates that the effectiveness of Christ’s redemption, indicated by God’s being satisfied by the fragrant aroma ascending from the sacrifices, also comes up to the standard of God’s requirements.

The poles made of acacia wood overlaid with bronze, signifying Christ as a man under God’s judgment, were for the move of the altar (v. 7). The poles being put into the rings and being carried by men signifies the move of the redeeming Christ by the power of the Spirit with the church as a corporate Body in the coordination of the believers as a testimony (1 Thes. 1:5; Luke 10:1; Acts 1:8; 13:1-4; 16:6-10).

The outer court of the tabernacle signifies the sphere and boundary of God’s dwelling place. The area of the outer court formed a rectangle one hundred cubits in length and fifty cubits in width (vv. 9-13). This is half of a square with sides of one hundred cubits, signifying that the outer court was a testimony, with one half present and the other half yet to come. The New Jerusalem, as the consummation of God’s building, will be a complete whole, a square, not a rectangle (Rev. 21:16). Cf. note Exo. 25:10³.

When the tabernacle was observed from a distance, its most prominent feature was the fine linen hangings of the outer court. These hangings were both the outward expression and the boundary of God’s building. The hangings of the court signify Christ as God’s righteousness, who is made righteousness to the church (1 Cor. 1:30) and is lived out of the church to be its boundary and expression (see note Matt. 5:20^a, note Phil. 3:9^5c, and note Rev. 19:8^2b).

With the tabernacle, the expression of God’s building was righteousness outwardly, signified by linen, and holiness inwardly, signified by gold. Righteousness is the expression of God in His deeds, and holiness is the expression of God in His nature. The outward expression of the church should be righteousness toward man, and the inward expression should be holiness toward God (cf. Eph. 4:24). We must have the outward expression of righteousness before we can have the inward expression of holiness (see note Isa. 5:16² and note Rom. 6:19¹).

See note Exo. 25:4² and note Exo. 26:1². The church’s expression of righteousness should be the expression of Christ’s human living.

For the boundary of God’s building, the pillars of bronze signify the Christ who was judged by God, as the standing and supporting strength, and the bronze sockets signify the Christ who was judged by God, as the base (see note Exo. 26:37²). In the outer court the most prominent materials are bronze and linen. That the linen hangings were on bronze pillars that stood in bronze sockets signifies that the righteousness of God is the issue of God’s judgment. In Christ there is the element of God’s judgment. When we live the judged Christ, everything related to us is under God’s judgment. As a result, we become sockets and pillars to bear the righteousness of God, which is God’s expression as the boundary and sphere of His dwelling place.

The hooks and the connecting rods of the pillars were of silver, and the capitals of the pillars were overlaid with silver (Exo. 38:17), which was collected from the people for their expiation (Exo. 30:11-16; 38:25, 28). This signifies Christ’s redemption issuing out of God’s righteous judgment. The capitals signify glory as a crown, whereas the hooks signify holding power, and the rods, joining strength. Christ’s redemption is our glory as well as the holding power and the joining strength to link us, the pillars, to God’s righteousness and to join us to one another. The elements of the court of the tabernacle show that if we submit to God’s divine judgment (bronze), we will simultaneously experience the redemption of Christ (silver), which links us to God’s righteousness (linen) as the expression and testimony of God.

On the east side of the court was a gate of twenty cubits and linen hangings of fifteen cubits on the two sides of the gate (vv. 13-16). The screen of fine twined linen and blue and purple and scarlet strands (see note Exo. 25:4^1a and note Exo. 25:4²) for the gate signifies the redeeming Christ as the entrance into God’s building. That the gate had four pillars with four openings signifies that God’s building is open toward men from the four corners of the earth (see vv. 2, 4). The fact that there were three pillars and three sockets on the two sides of the gate, and four pillars and four sockets for the gate, signifies that the appearance of the gate of the court of the tabernacle is that of man (signified by the number four) bearing the Triune God (signified by three) as a testimony (signified by two). The goal of the gospel is to cause repentant sinners to pass through the gate of God’s judgment, where everything related to them is judged, and enter into God’s building, the church, in which they bear as a testimony the Triune God involved with man.

See note Exo. 26:1⁵.

Lit., fifty with fifty.

The linen hangings between two bronze pillars were five cubits wide by five cubits high (vv. 9-15, 18), the same as the length and width of the altar (v. 1). This signifies that Christ’s redemption (the altar) matches the requirements of God’s righteousness (linen) (cf. Rom. 3:24; 5:18).

The two sets of bronze pegs, for the tabernacle and for the outer court, signify standing and holding power. This power is of bronze, of judgment (see note Exo. 26:37²). The scene in the outer court is filled with bronze, with God’s judgment. God’s judgment is the strong base and the standing strength in God’s building. In the church life the more we place ourselves under God’s judgment, the more stable we will be.

According to the spiritual significances portrayed in the tabernacle and its furnishings, bronze issues in silver, and silver brings forth gold. Through our experience of God’s judgment (bronze) we enter into the court of the tabernacle, and through Christ’s redemption (silver) as the issue of God’s judgment, we enter into the Holy Place and into the Holy of Holies, where everything is gold, i.e., where we enjoy the divine nature and have holiness as the inward expression of God’s divine being.

The olive tree signifies Christ (cf. Rom. 11:17), and the oil of beaten olives signifies the Spirit of Christ produced through Christ’s process of incarnation, human living, crucifixion, and resurrection (1 Cor. 15:45; Rom. 8:9 and note Rom. 8:9^4a).

Lit., cause the light of a lamp to ascend. The lampstand, signifying Christ as the embodiment of the Triune God, was made of pure gold (Exo. 25:31), but the wicks that burned to give off the light were of the plant life. In order to burn so that light would shine, the wicks had to be saturated with oil. The wicks signify the uplifted humanity of Christ, which burns with the divine oil to shine out the divine light.

The tabernacle as the Tent of Meeting, the place where God met with His redeemed people and spoke to them (Lev. 1:1), typifies the meeting of the church. Thus, in typology the lighting of the lamps points to the proper way to meet. Everything done in the church meetings, whether praying, singing, praising, or prophesying, should cause the lamps to shine.

Before the Testimony means before the law in the Ark, which was behind the veil. For the most part, the meeting of God’s people is in the Holy Place, not in the Holy of Holies. However, we meet in the Holy Place with the expectation of entering the Holy of Holies. The light from the lamps enables us to see the different aspects of Christ, signified by the items of furniture in the Holy Place, and also the way leading into the Holy of Holies, into the depths of Christ within God.

The holy task of lighting the lamps was a service of holy persons, the priests, not of the common people. According to the entire Bible a priest is one who is possessed by God, filled with God, saturated with God, and living absolutely for God. Furthermore, a priest had to be clothed with priestly garments (Exo. 28:2), which signify Christ lived out of the priesthood. The lighting of the lamps in the Holy Place requires the service of this kind of person.

The light in the Holy Place was not a natural light or a man-made light. It was a light that came from the golden lampstand, i.e., from the divine nature of Christ. To experience the genuine lighting of the lamps in the church meetings, we must have Christ, the embodiment of the Triune God, as the lampstand, the divine nature as the gold, the uplifted humanity of Christ as the wick, and the Spirit of Christ as the oil with all the steps of Christ’s process, and we must be holy people as the priests, clothed with the expression of Christ as the priestly garments.

Nothing is said here about the day. The present age is the night, not the day. Hence, we need the light to shine during this age of night until the day dawns (cf. Rom. 13:12; 2 Pet. 1:19).