Exodus Chapter 26 Verses 1 – 6

• The inner tent (and you will understand more what I mean by that as we make our way through this chapter) was comprised of ten curtains separated yet connected together in two sections of five curtains. Listen, there is significance in every nanometer of the tabernacle and by no means will we explore it all, you can deep-dive further on your own, but I will point out what the Biblical scholar would call the obvious.  HA!
• Ten in the bible is the number of the It signifies completeness, order and responsibility.  The Ten Commandments given by God are man’s responsibility to keep (which only Jesus could do and indeed did).  Therefore, and connected to that, the Passover lamb was selected on the 10^th day of the 1^st month (Exodus 12:3) and was to be sacrificed on the 10^th day of the 7^th month which was the Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur.  The tithe is the tenth of your increase that we are responsible to give to the Lord.  The ten toes of the of Daniel 2 and the ten horns of Revelation 13 and 17 represent the last great ruling kingdom of man.  You can probably think of other examples as well…
• But notice, and I love this, this completeness, this order, this responsibility, this government, divided into two sections of five. Five in the bible is the number that speaks of grace, God’s goodness and His favor towards His creation.  God’s grace flows throughout the revelation of His righteousness, purity and holiness!  Check this out, the first five books of the bible, known as the Books of Moses or the five books of God’s Law…it’s still five books…
• We will see as we continue to look at the construction instructions for the Tabernacle that it was to be built with these sections of five curtains but also five wooden bars, five pillars, five sockets and an altar that was five cubits long and five cubits wide. The holy anointing oil to be used by the priests was comprised of five parts, five spices and the proportion of these spices in making the oil were a multiple of five.  What’s my point!?  Johnny Five is alive!  No, the point is that God is righteous, holy, ever unchanging and perfect AND (cannot be detached or it falls apart) He is also mighty in mercy and rich in grace!
• Remember that. Remember that in the midst of all that God is…interwoven into His character and person…is love for you.  Grace for you.  Think of it this way…God’s mission and ministry and meaning for you simply doesn’t work, is not constructible…without grace…
• The instruction is to make ten curtains, two parts of five, (one part government, two parts grace), and those curtains are to be fine woven linen which speaks of Jesus…it all does…fine woven linen speaks of purity, cleanliness and fresh scent! HA!  That linen was to be in the pattern of blue, purple and scarlet.  The pattern of three symbolizing the Triune God (Father, Son and Spirit) while blue speaks of the heavens, purple speaks of royalty…and scarlet speaks of sacrifice. 
• From the inside of the Tabernacle the priest would look up and on the linen, (not seen from the outside, only the inside), a picture of heaven itself, cherubim would be seen.
• Fifty clasps of gold…fifty reminds us, speaks of Pentecost…God pouring Himself out onto mankind in the Person and ministry of the Holy Spirit…the set of two curtains that were roughly 40 feet by 60 feet in length were not to be sewn together but rather joined together by clasps of gold…speaking of purity and value…reminding us in our walk that grace is not earned but rather secured divinely…and without it, there is no understanding of truly God’s righteousness AND His heart for you…because righteousness without goodness is NOT God Most High. He is both.

Exodus Chapter 26 Verses 7 – 13

• Essentially, overlaying the linen layer (some call that the “heavenly layer”) was a layer of animal skins. Symbolism for days here…but I first want you to see and to note, the blue, the purple, the scarlet, the cherubim, the gold clasps, none of that would be viewable or knowable from the outside.  Unless one were to enter into the Holy Place, the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle, you’d never know these things.  Such is your walk with the Lord.  If you don’t allow Him to lead, you’ll never know where His will is to take you.  If you don’t trust Him, you’ll never know His love for you.  If you don’t go in, if you don’t seek Him, not out of spite or punishment or anything else, you just simply cannot know so much of the Lord.
• The divinity overlaid with creation speaks directly of Jesus. The five being joined to the six…five being the number of grace, six being the number of man, joined together by clasps of brass…brass being the metal of judgment.  This truly is and was the communion of God and man after sin entered the world.    And yet because of sin, (the goats hair would have most likely come from a long haired goat which are almost all jet black), because of sin, the connection, the communion of God and man…limited to judgment…unless One could be judged and yet still stand in the presence of God Most High…and that Man for all men was Jesus!
• And so, looking from the outside, a regular tent. Not unlike the other tents made with the skins of creation…but on the inside, divine…the very presence of God Himself…this is Jesus.  More….look….

Exodus Chapter 26 Verse 14

• I love this…the ram skins…symbolizing power, strength, work…dyed red which speaks of the blood and yet, no specific size or arrangement given. The mystery of Godliness, Christ in us…how?  Through the blood.  Hidden until the revelation of Jesus Christ.  1 Corinthians 2:7, “We speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages…”  Colossians 1:26-27…not revealed yet how but God would once again commune, tabernacle with His people…how?  Through the blood of the ram…(think Isaac and Abraham)…Genesis 22:13…
• And over that, another layer, the fourth layer of badger skins. Badger skins are expensive and they are resilient…often used for sandals or shoes…Ezekiel 16:10…and therefore the tabernacle, the meeting place of God, truly in this life you will have tribulation but be of good cheer, Jesus said, I have overcome and I will make you to overcome as well.  God will give us the understanding of the cross if we seek Him.  He will afford us the knowledge of Jesus Christ so that we can grasp the depths of the mystery of salvation (the goat skin), and through His grace, His righteousness, His work of the Holy Spirit through a willing and obedient servant, He will bring us into the hidden place of fellowship with Him…
• Four layers. Linen, goats hair, rams skins and badger skins…all pointing to the Person and purpose of Jesus Christ.  The four layers even reminding us that we have been given the four gospels.  John presenting Jesus the divine…the linen.  Luke presenting Jesus the Savior of all men…the scape goat.  Matthew presenting Jesus as the King, resilient and rich…the badger.  And Mark presenting Jesus as the Servant…the ram.

Exodus Chapter 26 Verses 15 – 30

• All of the boards were to be overlaid with gold but we also see the use of silver in the structural composition of the tabernacle…why? Silver in the bible is the metal of redemption or payment.  Jesus’ betrayer was paid off with 30 pieces of silver and therefore, in a way, the foundation (as the silver underlayed the boards) of the Tabernacle speaks of the betrayal of Jesus.
• This is applicable to us as well I believe. Betrayal, hardship, offense, hurt…these things are not enjoyable at all…but they lay the foundation for the work of God in my life, the lessons of God in my life and ultimately laying the fellowship with God in my life…they make me more like Him as I endure them.  So, I do despise offense (I am saying this in the Spirit) but rather I understand, without it I am only a child…with no real foundation.
• There’s something here about these bars that I want to point out as well. Four bars ran horizontally on each side linking the boards together but one bar, the middle bar, was not visible.   It ran in the midst of the other boards.  In the body of Christ, there are visible things holding us together, things out in the open like sound doctrine, order, leadership, culture…things like that.  But for the Body of Christ that is mature, there is also the unseen and invisible work of the Holy Spirit in each person…as they yield and bend their will to God, that knits us together more and stronger than anything out in the open…if we don’t have that, we will soon be gone.
• And ultimately there are two things that will progress you in your walk with the Lord and victory over the things of the flesh. 1) A real and alive and disciplined yet loving friendship and relationship with God on your own and 2) Unity in the church where you worship and fellowship.  These are seen clearly in the boards and bars of the Tabernacle.