E
X O D U S
CHAP. XXVII.
In
this chapter directions are given,
I.
Concerning the brazen altar for
burnt-offerings, ver. 1-8. II. Concerning the court of the tabernacle, with
the hangings of it, ver. 9-19. III. Concerning oil for the lamp, ver. 20, 21.
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The
Tabernacle and Its Furniture.
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B.
C. 1491.
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1 And thou shalt make an
altar of shittim wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the
altar shall be foursquare: and the height thereof shall be three
cubits. 2 And thou shalt make the horns of it upon the four
corners thereof: his horns shall be of the same: and thou shalt overlay it
with brass. 3 And thou shalt make his pans to receive his ashes,
and his shovels, and his basons, and his fleshhooks, and his firepans: all the
vessels thereof thou shalt make of brass. 4 And thou shalt
make for it a grate of network of brass; and upon the net shalt thou
make four brasen rings in the four corners thereof. 5 And thou
shalt put it under the compass of the altar beneath, that the net may be even
to the midst of the altar. 6 And thou shalt make staves for the
altar, staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with brass.
7 And the staves shall be put into the rings, and the staves shall be upon the
two sides of the altar, to bear it. 8 Hollow with boards shalt
thou make it: as it was showed thee in the mount, so shall they make it.
As God intended in the tabernacle to manifest his presence among his people,
so there they were to pay their devotions to him, not in the tabernacle itself
(into that only the priests entered as God's domestic servants), but in the
court before the tabernacle, where, as common subjects, they attended. There
an altar was ordered to be set up, to which they must bring their sacrifices,
and on which their priests must offer them to God: and this altar was to
sanctify their gifts. Here they were to present their services to God, as from
the mercy-seat he gave his oracles to them; and thus a communion was settled
between God and Israel. Moses is here directed about, 1. The dimensions of it;
it was square, v. 1. 2. The horns of it (v. 2), which were for
ornament and for use; the sacrifices were bound with cords to the horns of
the altar, and to them malefactors fled for refuge. 3. The materials; it
was of wood overlaid with brass, v. 1, 2. 4. The appurtenances of it (v.
3), which were all of brass. 5. The grate, which was let into the hollow of
the altar, about the middle of it, in which the fire was kept, and the
sacrifice burnt; it was made of network like a sieve, and hung hollow, that
the fire might burn the better, and that the ashes might fall through into the
hollow of the altar, v. 4, 5. 6. The staves with which it must be
carried, v. 6, 7. And, lastly, he is referred to the pattern
shown him, v. 8.
Now this brazen altar was a type of Christ dying to make atonement for our
sins: the wood would have been consumed by the fire from heaven if it had not
been secured by the brass; nor could the human nature of Christ have borne the
wrath of God if it had not been supported by a divine power. Christ sanctified
himself for his church, as their altar (John xvii. 19), and by his mediation
sanctifies the daily services of his people, who have also a right to eat
of this altar (Heb. xiii. 10), for they serve at it as spiritual priests.
To the horns of this altar poor sinners fly for refuge when justice pursues
them, and they are safe in virtue of the sacrifice there offered.
9 And thou shalt make the
court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward there shall be
hangings for the court of fine twined linen of an hundred cubits long
for one side: 10 And the twenty pillars thereof and their twenty
sockets shall be of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall
be of silver. 11 And likewise for the north side in length there
shall be hangings of an hundred cubits long, and his twenty pillars
and their twenty sockets of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their
fillets of silver. 12 And for the breadth of the
court on the west side shall be hangings of fifty cubits: their pillars
ten, and their sockets ten. 13 And the breadth of the court on the
east side eastward shall be fifty cubits. 14 The hangings
of one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits: their pillars three,
and their sockets three. 15 And on the other side shall be
hangings fifteen cubits: their pillars three, and their sockets
three. 16 And 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. 17 All the pillars round about the court shall
be filleted with silver; their hooks shall be of silver, and their
sockets of brass. 18 The 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.
19 All 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.
Before the tabernacle there was to be a court or yard, enclosed with hangings
of the finest linen that was used for tents. This court, according to the
common computation of cubits, was fifty yards long, and twenty-five broad.
Pillars were set up at convenient distances, in sockets of brass, the pillars
filleted with silver, and silver tenter-hooks in them, on which the linen
hangings were fastened: the hanging which served for the gate was finer than
the rest, v. 16. This court was a type of the church, enclosed and
distinguished from the rest of the world, the enclosure supported by pillars,
denoting the stability of the church, hung with the clean linen, which is said
to be the righteousness of saints, Rev. xix. 8. These were the courts
David longed for and coveted to reside in (Ps. lxxxiv. 2, 10), and into which
the people of God entered with praise and thanksgiving (Ps. c. 4); yet this
court would contain but a few worshippers. Thanks be to God, now, under the
gospel, the enclosure is taken down. God's will is that men pray every
where; and there is room for all that in every place call on the name of
Jesus Christ.
20 And 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. 21 In 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.
We read of the candlestick in the twenty-fifth chapter; here is an order given
for the keeping of the lamps constantly burning in it, else it was useless; in
every candlestick there should be a burning and shining light; candlesticks
without candles are as wells without water or as clouds without
rain. Now, 1. The people were to provide the oil; from them the Lord's
ministers must have their maintenance. Or, rather, the pure oil signified the
gifts and graces of the Spirit, which are communicated to all believers from
Christ the good olive, of whose fulness we receive (Zech. iv. 11, 12), and
without which our light cannot shine before men. 2. The priests were to light
the lamps, and to tend them; it was part of their daily service to cause
the lamp to burn always, night and day; thus it is the work of ministers,
by the preaching and expounding of the scriptures (which are as a lamp), to
enlighten the church, God's tabernacle upon the earth, and to direct the
spiritual priests in his service. This is to be a statute for ever,
that the lamps of the word be lighted as duly as the incense of prayer and
praise is offered.
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