Title: The Tabernacle of Fine Twined Linen
Text: Ex 26: 1-6
Date: Sept 8, 2019
Place: SGBC, NJ
The tabernacle in the wilderness was typical of Christ
himself. Hebrews 9 says it was “a
figure for the time then present…but Christ being come a greater more perfect
tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building.” (Heb 9:
9, 11)
Also, the tabernacle
was representative of God’s individual elect and the church as a whole. God told Moses to build this tabernacle that
God might dwell or tabernacle among them.
So we read of Christ, “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt
among us” or tabernacled among us ((Jn 1: 14). Our body is called a tabernacle. In this sense, there are ways in which the
tabernacle in the wilderness pictures the individual believer and the church as
a whole in whom Christ dwells or tabernacles.
Christ is “a minister of the sanctuary”—the holy, sanctified
place, which is sanctified by his indwelling—“and of the true tabernacle,
which the Lord pitched, and not man” (Heb 8: 2).
Revelation
21:3: And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of
God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and
God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
Today, we are looking
at the inner most covering. But to give
us context, let’s read about all four of the coverings.
Second, over the linen, was a covering of black goats’
hair. This layer is distinctly called “the
tent.” It was to be a covering for the
inner most covering, which is called the tabernacle, which was made of fine
twined linen—Exodus 26: 7: And thou shalt make curtains of goats’ hair to be
a covering upon the tabernacle. Notice verse 14 calls this layer of goat’s
hair the tent, “And thou shalt make a covering for the tent.” This layer of black goat’s hair typifies
our humanity. Christ was not sinful but
he was made in the likeness of sinful flesh. Then, at last, he was made sin for his people. Yet, like as the fine twined linen was under
the tent of goat’s hair, Christ was holy within. We always find two things mentioned
concerning Christ crucified and that is he was made sin for his people yet he
knew no sin (2 Cor 5:21).
The third cover was ram’s skins dyed red—Exodus 26: 14:
And thou shalt make a covering for the tent of rams’ skins dyed red. This typifies Christ who died as a sacrifice to
cover our black sins, like as the ram died to make this covering for the black
tent of goat’s hair. Christ died to cover
our sins with his precious blood like these red ram skins covered the tent of
black goats’ hair. From the outside, this
layer was between the black goat’s hair and God above, covering the black goat’s
hair, like as Christ’s blood is between us and God, covering our sins. From the inside, the fine linen made it so
you could not see the black goat’s skin.
By Christ’s holiness within and his righteousness covering us God does
not see our sinful flesh.
The fourth and outer covering was a very, very tough kind
of leather—Exodus 26: 14…and a covering above of badgers’ skins. If you looked upon the tabernacle all you
saw was badger’s skins. There was
nothing comely about it to men. This pictures
Christ who made himself of no reputation.
There was no comeliness about him to make us desire him. But this covering was a tough leather to
protect the rest. So Christ is our
Protector, our Shield and Defender
Subject: The Tabernacle of
Fine Twined Linen
Proposition: This
inner layer typifies the holiness of Christ who is the holiness of his people.
CHRIST’S HOLINESS AND RIGHTEOUSNESS
Exodus 26: 1: Moreover thou shalt make the tabernacle with
ten curtains of fine twined linen,
These ten curtains of fine twined linen points to the
person of our Lord Jesus Christ, the LORD our Righteousness, in his holiness and
righteousness. The number “ten” points
us to the Ten Commandments. Christ is
the righteousness of the law who God has provided for his people.
Romans 10: 3: Christ is the end of the law
for righteousness to everyone that believeth.
The “fine twined linen” typifies Christ’s holiness. “Fine”
means it was the very best material. Christ
is the only begotten Son of God, the very best.
“Twined” means the threads were doubled.
Some say they were twined six times so that it was of the finest quality. Christ fulfilled the law for his people from his
perfect, pure holy heart.
Revelation 19: 8: And
to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white:
for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
Believer, righteousness and holiness is granted to us
only from Christ. Christ is both our
Righteousness and our Sanctification. He
is the purity and righteousness by whom we are made holy and righteous. In contrast, in ourselves, “we are all as
an unclean thing, and all our righteousness’s are as filthy rags” (Is 64: 6) So, sinner, we must have Christ grant to us
his “fine linen clean and white” which is “the righteousness of”
of those he sanctifies.
THE UNION IT TOOK TO UNITE US
Exodus 26: 1…and blue, and purple, and scarlet: cherubims of cunning work shalt thou make them.
Fine twined linen of blue, purple and scarlet was used to
interweave cherubims into the white fine twined linen. The cherubim were one with the fine twined
linen. Some say the cherubs typify
Christ’s angels who are ministering spirits continually ministering to his
people. But the picture is of Christ dwelling
in his people, making us one with him, holy and righteous, and one with God our
Father. Therefore, in the color of this thread and the
fact the cherubim which were made from it were woven into the fine twined linen
so as to be one, we see a type of what it took for Christ to unite his people
with God.
These cherubim were woven by a “cunning work.” It took skilled weavers who cunningly made these
cherubim one with the fine twined linen.
We are made holy and righteous by Christ’s “cunning work” whereby
he made us one with him and one with the Father.
We see Christ and his work typified in these colors by
which the cunning workmen made these cherubim to be one with the fine linen. The order of these colors is significant because
everywhere we find these three colors mentioned this is the order—“blue, and
purple and scarlet.” Here are a few
examples:
Exodus
25:4: And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair,
Exodus
35:6: And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair,
Exodus
35:23: And every man, with whom was found blue, and purple, and scarlet, and
fine linen, and goats’ hair, and red skins of rams, and badgers’ skins, brought
them.
So on one side is “blue.”
This reminds us of the blue heaven.
In order to make us holy and righteous and one with him, it took the Son
of God coming down out of heaven.
On the other side is “scarlet.” This is the color of blood. In order to make us holy and righteous and one
with God, the Son of God had to be made flesh like unto his brethren so that he
could lay down his life in our place for “without the shedding of
blood there is no remission of sins” (Heb 9:22).
In the middle is “purple.” This is the color of royalty. When they mocked Christ our King they put a
crown of thorns on his head, a reed as a scepter in his hand and they put on
his back a purple robe. This color is made
by combining these other two colors. Here is the picture. By the blood of Christ’s humanity, he purged
our sins. By the eternality of his Deity,
he accomplished our eternal redemption. So
like as blue and scarlet combine to make the color of royalty so by God and Man
coming in one person and finishing this work for his people, Christ is now exalted
in his royal, kingly, mediatorial glory, as both Lord and Christ, the Prince
and Savior of his people for to grant us repentance and faith. It is by the GodMan and his sacrifice for us
that we are one with God our Father in him.
CHRIST UNITES HIS
PEOPLE WITH GOD
Exodus 26: 2:
The length of one curtain shall be eight and twenty cubits, and the
breadth of one curtain four cubits: and every one of the curtains shall have
one measure. 3: The five curtains shall be coupled together one to another; and
other five curtains shall be coupled one to another. 4: And thou
shalt make loops of blue upon the edge of the one curtain from the selvedge in
the coupling; and likewise shalt thou make in the uttermost edge of another
curtain, in the coupling of the second. 5: Fifty loops shalt thou make in the
one curtain, and fifty loops shalt thou make in the edge of the curtain that is
in the coupling of the second; that the loops may take hold one of another. 6: And
thou shalt make fifty taches of gold, and couple the curtains together with the
taches: and it shall be one tabernacle.
These curtains were grouped together with five on one
side and five on the other. Then they
were united by the blue loops with the gold taches coupling them together.
One side of the ten commandments are toward God, the
other side toward man. Christ fulfilled both. As the Representative of his people, he loved
God with all his heart, and his neighbor as himself. He was the only one by whom the law is fully
and perfectly fulfilled and therefore discharged from his people. Thereby, Christ is pictured in blood loops
and the gold couplings that unites God and his people so that we are one
tabernacle, one holy and righteous dwelling place of our God.
THE TABERNACLE AND THE TENT
Brethren, it is significant that God calls the inner fine
linen “the tabernacle” and the next covering of goat’s hair, God calls “the tent.” I realize the words “tabernacle” and “tent” sometimes
carry the same meaning in scripture as temporary dwellings. But here they are two different words because
they picture two different things.
The inner curtains of fine twined linen are called the tabernacle,
typifying Christ our holy dwelling who dwells in us and in whom we dwell. He is our holiness and our holiness in Christ
is eternal. But the tent of goat’s hair typifies
our sinful flesh, which is a tent, a temporary dwelling place. This tent of flesh is the sinful part of us
which is of Adam—including our sin nature and our sinful bodies. Since it is of Adam and sinful, one day we
will die and put off these tents.
Still, our lasting dwelling is in Christ our Holiness! Our inward man is created in the righteousness
and holiness of Christ with Christ in our new man and our new man in Christ so
that we are united and inseparable. Christ
is our permanent dwelling place and we his.
The following passage uses the word “tabernacle” to describe our flesh
but the meaning is that it is a temporary dwelling like a tent. So this passage declares what we see in the
tabernacle of fine linen and the tent of goat’s hair.
2 Corinthians 5: 1: For
we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we
have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2:
For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house
which is from heaven: 3: If so be that being clothed we shall not be found
naked. 4: For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened:
not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be
swallowed up of life. 5: Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is
God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. 6: Therefore we
are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we
are absent from the Lord: 7: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) 8: We are
confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to
be present with the Lord.
Amen!