“And thou shalt make curtains of goats’ hair, to be a covering upon the tabernacle: eleven curtains shalt thou make. The length of one curtain shall be thirty cubits, and the breadth of one curtain four cubits: and the eleven curtains shall be all of one measure. And thou shalt couple five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves, and shalt double the sixth curtain in the forefront of the tabernacle. And thou shalt make fifty loops on the edge of the one curtain that is outmost in the coupling, and fifty loops in the edge of the curtain which coupleth the second. And thou shalt make fifty taches of brass, and put the taches into the loops, and couple the tent together, that it may be one. And the remnant that remaineth of the curtains of the tent, the half curtain that remaineth, shall hang over the backside of the tabernacle.”
The Goats’ Hair Curtains.
And thou shalt make curtains of goats’ hair, to be a tent upon the tabernacle: eleven curtains shalt thou make. The ten curtains of fine twined linen formed the tabernacle; these eleven curtains of goats’ hair compose the tent.
Looking on the tent as typical of the Lord Jesus when on earth, it presents him as taking upon him the form of a servant, and made in the likeness of men. (Phil. 3:7.) Yea more, oh marvelous stoop of condescending love, as Made in the likeness of sinful flesh. (Romans 8:3.) For the goat in Scripture was especially selected for the sin offering, as typical of Christ; though it was only on the cross that he was “made sin for us.” And the parable in Matthew 25:31, to the end, shows the marked distinction in figure between the sheep and the goat. We know that he personally “knew no sin;” yet, in outward form and appearance, he was found in fashion as a man at the same time, like the tabernacle enclosed by the tent, he was the habitation of God, the glory of the godhead dwelt within.
In the second place, looking at the tent as typical of the Church of God on earth, it presents us the Church as composed of individuals living in the world: not as the Church inwardly in Spirit, but the Church outwardly in the flesh.
It is called the tent of the congregation, as representing those who are associated, or gathered together, to the confession of the name of Jesus—the assembly, or assemblies, of the saints.
And the tent of witness, as representing them as the witnessing company for Christ in the earth.
“I am black, but comely,” says the bride (Song of Solomon 1:5), “as the tents of Kedar;” such is the Church’s outward appearance in the flesh, “as the curtains of Solomon;” such she is within, as the workmanship of the Divine and Eternal Spirit.
The Dimensions of the Curtains.
The length of one curtain shall be thirty cubits, and the breadth of one curtain four cubits. The dimensions and limits of the curtains, of the tent of the congregation, as well ‘as of the’ tabernacle, are fixed and laid down by God himself in his word.
There are two cubits more in the curtains of the tent than in those of the tabernacle, and this is significant.
The quickening and indwelling of the Spirit of God, and faith in the Lord Jest’s Christ, is all that is requisite in order to any one’s forming part of the Church in Spirit now, as the body of Christ; “for by one Spirit we. are all baptized into one body.” (1 Corinthians 12:13.) Where there is the revelation of the Son by the Father in the power of the Holy Ghost, there is a living stone; but, in order to form part of the Church as the witnessing company to Christ in the earth, there must also be the confession, of Christ, the Son of the living God, as the result of Divine teaching. (See Matthew 16:13-18.) And those who are built upon the foundation, and associated together in this confession, compose the Church of Christ, as the witness for him in the world. (John 12:42,43.) There must also be consistency with this confession; for the brother that has offended, and will not hear the Church, or the assembly of those who are gathered together in the name of the Lord Jesus, such an one is to be regarded as a heathen man, and a publican. (Matthew 18:15-20.) He is outside of that Which is the witness for Christ in the earth.
The inscription on the curtains of the tabernacle is, “The foundation of God standeth sure; having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are his.”
The inscription on the curtains of the tent is, “Let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” (2 Timothy 2:19.)
As to the Church of God in Spirit—the tabernacle of God—the Lord Jesus knows every one of those who belong to him. They may not be able to apprehend themselves with certainty that they belong to Jesus; the world may riot know it; they, may be hidden ones; but the foundation of their security is this: the Lord knows them, and all they that are his at his coming, shall be raised to the first resurrection, and every member of his mystic body shall form part of the Bride in the glory. But as the witness to Christ in the earth—the tent of the congregation—the pillar and ground of God’s truth separation from evil is the principle of its very existence: without this it crumbles into ruins. Moral or doctrinal evil, admitted into an assembly of witnesses for Christ, is like a fretting leprosy in one of the curtains of the tent, which will destroy it in the warp and woof. (Leviticus 47-52.)
“Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” This is true of all who compose the tabernacle, or Church of God in Spirit.
And, “Let everyone that nameth—the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” This is the precept which, is imperative on all who form part of the tent of the congregation—the witness to the name and truth of Christ on the earth.
The Uniformity of the Measure of the Curtains.
The eleven curtains shall be all of one measure. As each curtain of the tabernacle represents all those believers who, in any particular place, form. the Church of God in Spirit in that place, so each distinct curtain of the tent represents those saints of God, and disciples of Christ, who may be associated together around the person, and to, the confession of the name of the Lord Jesus Christ in a given locality; forming a local Church there, such as was the Church at Ephesus, or at Philippi, or at Colosse.
But it. is the will of God, and according to the Word of God, that each distinct gathering of believers should have the same principles of association and of discipline; so that a person, received in any one place as a believer, who is walking consistently and confessing the truth, should be admitted into full communion in every other assembly of God’s saints; not as a member of any particular church, but as a member of the Body of Christ.
And an evangelist, a pastor, or a teacher, laboring acceptably in any one place, should, be received in every other place, and be perfectly at liberty to perform his service there, as one under responsibility to Christ, and a steward in the household of God.
So, on the other hand; any person not received on sufficient grounds in one place, or put out of communion by the assembly there, with the sanction of Christ, and under the guidance of his Spirit, should be regarded as outside every other gathering of saints everywhere. That the godly discipline of one assembly may not be nullified by the ungodly laxity of another.
And there is another thing. There is a fellowship of churches as well as of individuals; and the same principles’ which apply to individuals, will apply with accumulated force to assemblies.
If we are to avoid communion with a person who refuses to judge or to renounce evil in conduct or doctrine, how much more are we called on to refuse communion with assemblies which refuse to judge evil or heresy, and to maintain collectively the holiness and truth Which becomes the house of God, and the honor and authority of Christ.
The Coupling Together of the Curtains.
And thou, shalt couple the five curtains by themselves, and the six curtains by themselves, and shalt double the sixth, curtain, in the forefront of the tent. How beautifully and expressively this sets forth the happy fellowship of assemblies, where holiness, and truth, and subjection to Jesus has been maintained! And God would have this fellowship experimentally and practically realized.
“Thou shalt couple the five Curtains by themselves, and the six curtains by themselves.” And does not this also express the communion together which God would have enjoyed by assemblies of believers in any particular district, more or less extended? —such as between the Churches of Galatia, or the Seven Churches of Asia; while provision is made, as we shall see presently, that all may be one.
The Loops and Brazen Tames.
And thou shalt make fifty loops on the edge of the one curtain, that is outmost in the coupling, and fifty loops in the edge of the coupling which coupleth the second. And thou, shalt make fifty taches of brass, and put the taches into the loops, and couple the tent together, that it may be one.) We have just seen the ‘arrangement of God, that the curtains may be united. We have here his provision, that the tent may be one; for church union is not only an ‘association of churches, but ONE CHURCHAPTER
Bezaleel and his companions were endued with skill and wisdom from God, to make the tabernacle and the tent according to the pattern shown to Moses in the Mount—one tabernacle and one tent.
The Spirit of God baptizes into one body all believers in Jesus, as the tabernacle or dwelling-place of God; and the apostles and their fellow-laborers, under the direct guidance and control of the Spirit, carried out the Divine thought in the original formation of the outward Church; for it was one, in a manifest, and unbroken outward unity, one tent.
And God had made full provision for the continuance of this Oneness, in the one doctrine of his Word, the one teaching of his Spirit, and the supreme Lordship of his Son. But human traditions having been permitted to mingle with, and to supersede the pure doctrines Of the Word; and the teachings of the so-called Church to interfere with the teaching of the Spirit; and the authority of than to set aside the sole Lordship of Christ in his Church, the outward oneness which once existed, exists no longer. But God’s principles are unchangeably the same. The Word of God continues to be the depository and. criterion of revealed’ truth; ‘the Comforter remains, and the Lord ‘Jesus retains his supremacy;’ and the blessing, and the privilege; and the profit, is to be realized and enjoyed ‘still, whenever two or three are found to carry into practice God’s original instructions, by meeting together on God’s principles.’ The testimony of the Lord Jesus to the Church in Philadelphia is the witness of this. (Revelation 3:7-13.)
There were one hundred-loops, (of what material or color we are not told; probably of the same material as the curtains,) forming one hundred links of union, but not of blue, not of. heavenly perfectness. And fifty taches of brass, strong and enduring, but not taches of gold, the emblem of Divine and eternal oneness.
The loops of blue and taches of gold uniting in one the tabernacle of God, prefigured the oneness of the Church in Spirit, in the bond of charity or love—a bond Divine, heavenly, and perfect.
These loops of goats’ hair and taches of brass coupling the tent together that it might he one, spews the outward Church united in the bond of brotherly kindness, a bond strong and lasting indeed, but still human.
This distinction is marked in 2 Peter 1:5-7: “Giving all diligence add to your brotherly kindness, charity.”
The tache of gold never lets go, for it is the emblem of Divine charity. The loop of blue never gives way, for it is the figure of perfect love. Not so the taches of brass and the loops of the tent, for they represent the human affections; the brotherly kindness which, by the command of God, we are —to manifest the one to another, as belonging to the family of God and the household of faith, whilst walking worthy of God.
“If any man obey not the Word of God, we are to have no company with him; that he may be ashamed.” (2 Thessalonians 3:14.) The outward expression of brotherly love has received a check yet we are not to count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother: (2 Thessalonians 3:15.) The tache of gold remains intwined with the loops of blue. That is, in the exercise of Divine charity, we are to be perfect, as our Father which is in heaven is perfect.
In the deep love of our hearts we may grieve over, pray for, and seek the restoration of our erring brother; but if he brings, not the pure doctrine of a true Christ, we are not to receive him into our house, neither bid him Godspeed, for in bidding him God speed we should be partakers of his evil deeds. (2 John 10,11.)
John was the disciple whom. Jesus loved; one who was wont to lie in the bosom of Jesus, and whose heart there learned to beat in unison with the heart of him in whom Divine love, in all its fullness, dwelt. Yet we hear John saying, “I wrote unto the Church, but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the pre-eminence among them, receiveth us not. Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth.”
(3 John 9,10.) John was one of those, and prominent among them, whose constant effort it was to maintain the truth of the Person of Christ, and who would admit of no compromise.
Diotrephes was one who sought to maintain his own place in the Church, in indifference to the truth of Christ. This is manifest, for rather than have his own influence interfered with, he kept the witnesses for the truth of Christ outside. “Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good.” (3 John 11.)
Divine love led the Father to give his Son to die for sinners. The same love leads him to chasten his children for their sins. Christ loved the Church, and gave himself for it. But he himself says, “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. (Revelation 3:19.) Divine love led Jesus to be a sacrifice for sin. The same love constrained him to pray, “If it be possible, let this cup pass from me;” for contact with sin, and to be numbered with transgressors, is intolerable to Divine love in its intrinsic holiness.
Divine love in a believer clings to a brother with an undying grasp; but Divine love will never allow him to rejoice in his iniquity, nor to have fellowship with his untruthfulness. For it is love in the truth for the truth’s sake which Divine charity manifests.
Jesus prayed for his Church, that it might be one, and it is one, divinely, perfectly, and forever one. Jesus commanded his disciples that they should love one another, and they are taught of God to do so. He who does not love, gives no evidence that he is born of God. And we do love one another, just in proportion as the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, and as we are thus made partakers of the Divine nature, for God is love, and love is of God. But in the manifestation of this love, and in the exercise of brotherly kindness, there is need of Divine wisdom, for real love can neither connive at sin, nor be indifferent to error. “Charity rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth.” (1 Corinthians 13:6.) It manifests itself in faithfulness; faithfulness to God, to Christ, and to the brethren.
The Tent Covering the Tabernacle.
And the remnant that remaineth, of the curtains of the tent, the half curtain that remaineth, shall hang over the back side of the tabernacle. And a cubit on the one side, and a cubit on the other side of that which, remaineth in the length of the tent, it shall hang over the sides of the tabernacle on this side and on that side, to cover it. By this arrangement, the beautifully wrought curtains forming the tabernacle were entirely enclosed and hidden by the curtains of the tent; the tabernacle, as we have shown, representing the Church inwardly in Spirit, and the tent the Church in outward manifestation.
T. N.