Exodus 27:16-28:116And for the gate of the court shall be an hanging of twenty cubits, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework: and their pillars shall be four, and their sockets four. 17All the pillars round about the court shall be filleted with silver; their hooks shall be of silver, and their sockets of brass. 18The length of the court shall be an hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty every where, and the height five cubits of fine twined linen, and their sockets of brass. 19All the vessels of the tabernacle in all the service thereof, and all the pins thereof, and all the pins of the court, shall be of brass. 20And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always. 21In the tabernacle of the congregation without the vail, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to morning before the Lord: it shall be a statute for ever unto their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel. 1And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's sons. (Exodus 27:16‑28:1)
The hangings for the gate of the court were the same as those for the door of the tabernacle.
They were of blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen. We have noticed before that these colors speak to us of the glories of Christ. The sinner cannot see any beauty in Him, like one looking at the white hangings of the court, but the moment he feels his need and comes to Christ, the true Door, his eyes are opened and he sees something of His beauty. As he enters he sees infinitely more, but he must enter first, and that by the only way of entrance—the door.
Our chapter closes with the command to the children of Israel that they bring beaten olive oil to be used in the seven-branched candlestick. It was always to be burning and must be attended to every morning and every evening. Oil is used in the Scripture to speak to us of the Holy Spirit of God, and therefore how important it was that there should always be oil to keep this great lamp burning. There can be no testimony in our lives apart from the Spirit of God who is the power for it.
Undoubtedly there is a good reason why the instruction to bring the oil conies in just here, long after the description of the candlestick itself. Perhaps it is because there is always a danger of getting truth into our heads and knowing all the theory, so that we can answer every question, and yet very little testimony for Christ may be seen in our lives. It would be like the beautiful candlestick without any oil. May we, who have learned something of the beauty of all these wonderful pieces of furniture in the tabernacle, remember that it is only in the measure in which they have been made good in our hearts by the Spirit of God that there will be any light and testimony in our lives for Christ. As the children of Israel needed diligence to be sure that there was enough oil for every morning and evening, so we need the daily reading of the Word and prayer that our souls may be kept in communion by the Spirit day by day.
Now we come to the garments for Aaron and his sons. Aaron was the high priest and his sons were priests. Aaron was a type of the Lord Jesus, our Great High. Priest, and his sons were types of all believers, who are now priests. Perhaps some of our young readers may wonder why there were only certain men chosen as priests in those days. Every Israelite was not a priest.
We know that the tabernacle with all its furniture and ritual was only “a shadow of good things to come” (Heb. 10:11For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. (Hebrews 10:1)). The way into the presence of God could not be known until the Lord Jesus had died, risen, and ascended to God’s right hand. Now the Spirit of God has come down to bear witness to Christ’s finished work, and to teach EVERY believer that he has a place of nearness. Yes, EVERY believer is NOW a priest, and can draw near to God and offer up his spiritual sacrifices, assured that they are acceptable to God by Jesus Christ (1 Peter-2:5). How blessed it is to be in the liberty of this place, and to know that the “shadow of good things to come” has been replaced by the “good things” themselves. Although we know that some people still look up to a certain class of men as priests, let us be careful that we do not deny Christ’s finished work in this way.
ML 01/29/1950