THE ARRANGEMENT
A GENERAL plan of the manner in which the Tabernacle was set up, with its court (or "holy place") and with its vessels, is given to a small scale, to which the reader may easily refer for a reminder of the relative positions in which these all stood, so that the moral worth may be readily followed of the order in which God formed the arrangement.
In the midst of Israel's camp, a small enclosure was made of pillars and curtains, called "holy place." Its only entrance was by the "gate," a hanging curtain at the east end, stretching 20 cubits out of the entire width of 50 cubits. There were two vessels, a brazen altar, and a brazen laver, standing in the open space; the former near the gate, and the latter between the altar and the building of the Tabernacle itself.
This building, formed of boards and pillars, had its east end (towards the laver) closed by a curtain the size of the end, called the "door," and within, it was divided by a third hanging curtain called the "veil" at about two-thirds of the whole length from the door. The three hanging curtains, gate, door, veil, closed the way into the three divisions, "holy place" or court, "the holy," and "the most holy.”
On entering "the holy," the table of shewbread stood on the right hand, the north side; the candlestick opposite to it, carrying seven lamps, on the left or south, and in front of the veil stood the golden altar, Ex. 30:66And thou shalt put it before the vail that is by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee. (Exodus 30:6).
Within the veil in "the most holy," the ark was set, on which was the golden mercy seat with its cherubim, where God expressed His presence in the cloud, Lev. 16:22And the Lord said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat. (Leviticus 16:2), and whence by a voice He communicated with Moses, Num. 7:8989And when Moses was gone into the tabernacle of the congregation to speak with him, then he heard the voice of one speaking unto him from off the mercy seat that was upon the ark of testimony, from between the two cherubims: and he spake unto him. (Numbers 7:89).
These three divisions are "the holy places made with hands which are the figures of the true," in Heb. 9:2424For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: (Hebrews 9:24), so representing the first, second, and third heavens. All stood in the midst of the camp, which may therefore represent the world as distinguished from the heavens.
Or again, we have a broad figure of heavenly truth, revealed for faith in the very midst of a world that is at enmity to God. But grace and truth came by Jesus Christ, and we shall find all the features of court and building and vessels tell us of Him in His fullness first, whatever other and secondary values they may possess.