1491 B.C.

24)

 1: And He (Elohim of 20:1) said to Moses, "Come up to the Lord (Yahaveh), you, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu (Aaron's eldest two son's), and seventy of the elders of Israel (#70 = 7 x 10 = Spiritual completeness x Ordinal pefection ); and worship you all afar off. (see 20:21.)
 2: And Moses alone shall come near the Lord (Yahaveh): but they shall not come near; neither shall the People go up with him."

 3: And Moses came (Moses' 4th descent) and told the people all the words of the Lord (Yahaveh) (i.e. the Ten Commandments 20:1-17), and all the judgments (Chapters 21:23): and all the People answered with one voice, and said, "All the words which the Lord (Yahaveh) has said will we do."
 4: And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord (Yehovah) (see Ex.17:14.), and rose up early in the morning, and built an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. (#12 = Govermental perfection)
 5: And he sent young men of the sons of Israel (the whole nation as yet were priests, represented in the fathers and elder sons. Probably the redeemed firstborn from all the tribes), which offered burnt offerings, and slayed and offered up peace offerings of oxen to the Lord (Yahaveh).
 6: And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. (This was pledging Yahaveh to this to this conditional covenant, see Heb.9:19, where the Book is also said to be sprinkled.)
 7: And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, "All that the Lord (Yahaveh) has said will we do, and be obedient." (Connect this with the sprinkling of blood in the next verse; and connect both with 1 Pet.1:2.)
 8: And Moses took the (other half of the) blood (see Heb.9:20), and sprinkled it on the people (thus pledging them to their part of the covenant, which was thereby made conditional; unlike that with Abraham-Gen.15, which was unconditional), and said, "Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord (Yahaveh) has made with you concerning all these words."

24:9-32:14. The Fourth Ascent. The Making of the Tabernacle.

(Introversion and Repeated Alternation).

X4  F  24:9-11. The worship of the Seventy Elders.
     G  24:12-14. The Tables promised.
      H  24:15-18. The six days and the seventh.
       J  K¹  25:1-9. Materials.
           L¹  25:10-27:21. Furniture.
          K²  28:1-29:46. Priests.
           L²  30:1-11. Furniture.
          K³  30:12-16. Worshippers.
           L³  30:17-38. Furniture.
          K4  31:1-6. Artificers.
           L4  31:7-11. Furniture.
      H  31:12-17. The six days and the seventh.
     G  32:18. The Tables given.
    F  32:1-14. The idolatry of the People.

 9: Then went up Moses (Moses' 4th ascent, see 19:3), and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel:
 10: And they saw the God (Elohim) of Israel (Heb. håzåh, to see with the mental eye, or in a vision-Isa.1:1;2:1; 13:1. Ezek.13:7. Amos 1:1. Mic.1:1. Hab.1:1. Num.24:4,16. Hence, to discern, observe, contemplate, understand. Job. 34:32. Ps.48:8. Prov.22:29; 24:32; 29:20. Ps.62:2): and there was under His feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness. (Was this seen from beneath?)
 11: And upon the nobles of the sons of Israel He laid not His hand: also they saw God (Elohim) (see v.10), and did eat and drink. (Put for living, i.e. though they were favored with this vision, they yet lived.)

 12: And the Lord (Yahaveh) said to Moses, "Come up to Me into the mount, and be there: and I will give you tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written (see 17:14); that you may teach them."
 13: And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua: and Moses went up into the mount of God (Elohim).
 14: And he said to the elders, "Tarry you all here for us, until we come again to you: and, behold, Aaron and Hur are with you: if any man have any matters to do, let him come to them."

15-18. The Six Days and the Seventh.

(Introversion and Alternation).

H  z  15-. Ascent of Moses.
    a  b  -15. The Cloud.
        c  16-. The Glory.
    a  b  -16. The Cloud.
        c  17. The Glory.
    z  18. Ascent of Moses.

 15: And Moses went up into the mount,

and a cloud covered the mount.

7,8th - 13,14th June 1491 B.C. The fourth Sabbath.

 16: And the glory of the Lord (Yahaveh) abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: (See Matt. 17. We in this generation, the last generation, are in the 6th dispensation and many people are in a cloud of confusion.)

15,16th June

and the seventh day he called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. (Christ will be arriving at the beginning of the 7th dispensation. He will be coming in cloud, just as he left on Ascention Day.)
 17: And the sight of the glory of the Lord (Yahaveh) was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the sons of Israel.
 18: And Moses went into the midst of the cloud (would you?! Moses' first "40 days in the Mount" begins. Ends on the 18,19th of July. They were on probation.), and got him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights. (#40 = Probation.)

25)

 1: And the Lord (Yahaveh) spoke to Moses, saying,
 2: "Speak to the sons of Israel, that they bring Me a heave offering: of every man that gives it willingly with his heart you all shall take My heave offering.
 3: And (in vv.3-7, 15 objects = 3 x 5. 3=Divine perfection, 5=Grace. All numbers connected with the Tabernacle are multiples of 5.) this is the heave offering which you all shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass, (No iron in the Tabernacle. Brass, a mixture of copper and zinc was unknown then. Probably cpper, or bronze, a mixture of copper and tin.)
 4: And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair, (These colors connected with the crucifixion. Matt.27:28. John 19:2. White mentioned last. So in Rev.19:13,14)
 5: And rams' skins dyed red, and badgers' skins, and shittim wood,
 6: Oil for the lightholder (as in Gen.1:14), spices for anointing oil, and for sweet incense,
 7: Onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod, and in the breastplate.
 8: And let them make Me a sanctuary (Heb. kodesh, see 3:5); that I may dwell among them.
 9: According to all that I show you, after the pattern of the tabernacle (tabernacle = Heb. Mishkan, see note below), and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it. (Cp. Heb.8:5. Not a plan, but a model. The reality is in heaven. So with the Temple, later. 1 Chron.28:11-19. With the utmost exactitude certain representative measurements given. 9 others, vital to construction, but not for significance given. #9= judgement. Probably these Divine silences were to make any unauthorized structures impossible. These 9 were I. Thickness of sides and bottom of ark; II. Thickness of mercy seat and details of cherubim; III. Thickness of table; IV. Dimentions of lampstands; V. Thickness of boards; VI. Middle bar dimentions; VII. Size &c. of rams' skins; VIII. Ditto on the badgers' skins; IX. All thicknesses of brazen altar, the 3rd dimention.)

The Names of the Tabernacle.

   It is important to distinquish the diffent words used by the Holy Spirit to describe the Tabernacle, and to express His design. They are variously translated in the A.V. They are distinquished severally in the notes; and are brought together here, so tat the different shades of meaning may be compared and understood: It is called:-
   1. The House (Beth).
   2. The Tabernacle (Mishkan) = dwelling-place, from shakan, to dwell: or habitation, indicating it as containing the presence of Yehovah in the Light, called Shechinah, cp. Ex.25:8.
   3. The Tent (O'hel). Erected as a specal place of worship before the Tabernacle was set up. Hence to be always distinquished fom the Tabernacle proper.. Its full title was-
   4. O'hel Moh'ed = Tent of assembly, or the congregation.
   5. The Tabernacle of witness, o'hel ha-eduth = The Tent as containg the tables of the Law, which were abiding witness to their covenant with Yehovah.
   6. Sanctuary (kodesh), or holy place.
   In this connection it is well to notice that congregation is 'edah, which is general; while asssembly is kahal, which is more local and partial.

25:10-27:21. The Furniture of the Tabernacle.

(Repeated Alternation).

L¹  M¹  25:10-22. The Ark. Contents.
           23-30. The Table. Contents.
           31-40. The Lampstand. Contents.
     N  26:1-6. The Curtains. Constuction.
           7-14. The Coverings. Construction.
           15-30. The Boards. Construction.
           31-35. The Vail. Construction.
           36,37. The Hangings for Door. Construction.
    M²  27:1-8. The Altar of Burnt Offering. Contents.
     N  9-19. Hangings for Court. Costuction.
    M³  20,21. Oil for the Lamp. Contents.

   (Note in chapter 25 we have furniture, for the worship, within; in chapter 26 the protection outside.)

 10: And they shall make an ark of acacia wood (Note the order in which these things were made, and the lesson arising therefrom. God begins from within; man from outside, Matt.15:16-20. Here the work begins with the ark and ends with the gate-25:10-26:37. So with the 4 great offerings. So with His work in the heart of the saved sinner. We begin from the "gate" and with "sin-offering". God begins with the "ark" and the "burnt-offering"): two cubits and a half (about 5') shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof (about 3'), and a cubit and a half the height thereof.
 11: And you shall overlay it with pure gold, within and without shall you overlay it, and shall make upon it a crown of gold round about. (See v.24)
 12: And you shall cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in the four corners thereof; and two rings shall be in the one side of it (Heb. zeta' = rib, see v.32), and two rings in the other side of it.
 13: And you shall make staves of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold.
 14: And you shall put the staves into the rings by the ribs of the ark, that the ark may be borne with them.
 15: The staves shall be in the rings of the ark: they shall not be taken from it.
 16: And you shall put into the ark the testimony which I shall give you. (Heb. êdûth = witness, from ûd, to bear witness, give testomony. The two tables so called because they bore witness to, and were evidences of the covenant made and of its future exstention. 1 Tim.2:6, "the testimny in its own season" = "all" without distinction.)
 17: And you shall make a mercy seat (= propitiatory cover, Heb. kapporeth = cover. Cover put for the propitiation made through the blood sprinkled thereon. Cp. Heb.9:5. Hence the meaning, God's "propitiatory gift" as in Papyri. Cp. Rom.3:25) of pure gold (not overlaid, because propitiation is a Divine work throughout): two cubits and a half (5') shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half (3') the breadth thereof.
 18: And you shall make two cherubims (Pl. of Heb. cherub. See note below. Put for representation of the celetial beings, of which we know nothing. They are a reality, there, and representitive of cration, synbolical of blessing for all creation. These were not the cherubims themselves, but representations of them. See Gen.3:24: but no "sword", because of the blood of propitiation. Occ. 7 times in vv.17-22. #7 = spiritual completeness) of gold, of beaten work shall you make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat.

The Cherubim.

   It is hopeless to arive at the meaning of the Cherubim from etymology. Only the usage of the whole of Scripture can we form an approximately true idea.
   Their description is given twice - (Ezek.1:5-14; 10:20 and Rev.4:6-9).
   By a process of elimination we arrive at the fact that they are a celestial order of spirit beings, and we can form no more notion of thm than we can of other heavenly orders which are named, but not explained, and for want of btter words are called "Thrones", "Dominions", Principalities", "Powers", &c.
   They are to be distinguished from the symbolic figures of them, which are made to represent them.
   Negatively, we may note:
  1. That they cannot be the Godhead, of Divine in their nature, for likeness of any kind was stricktly forbidden (Deut.4:15,16 &c.); and the Godhead is distinguished from them by being mentioned at the same time.
  2. Though heavenly, or celestial and spritual in their nature and character, they are distinguished from the angels (who, as their name implies, were spirits used as mesengers). Compare Rev.5:8,11 and 7:11, where the first cherubim offer worship, and then the angels. They must therefore be real spirit beings, for they could hardly be represented emblematically and really in the same verse. Moreover, they are never dismissed on errands as angels are, and are never seen apart from the Throne.
  3. They cannot be merely symbols, for, though symbolic and emblematic representations of them were allowed to be made, they themselves are not symbolic, or we should have symbolic symbols of symbols, and no reality at all.
  4. They cannot be a symbol of the "Church" or any portion of redeemed humanity, for they are distinguished from them in Rev.5:9,10, according to the best readings of the most ancient MMS. and critical Greek texts, where the "us" of v.9 should be omitted, and the "us" and "we" of v.10 should be "them" and "they".Compare also Rev.7:9-11.
  5. For the same reason they cannot be symbols of "the four gospels" or books of any kind, for the cherubim are ministers associated with wrath; and call for judgement plagues. See Rev. 6 and 15:7. Moreover, there is no connection between these and the presence of the cherubim in Eden, in the Tabernacle, in the Temple, and the Throne of God.

   Positively, we may note:
  1. That the three root letters of Kerub, k, r, b, are root letters in our GRiP, GRaB, GRiPe, GRasP. In a passive sense the notion wold be that of holding something in sae keeping: and, as a matter of fact, the symbolic representation of them were held fast to the mercy-seat, being made out of the same piece of gold (Ex.25:18,23).
  2. In Gen.3:24 tey were placed to KEEP (or gaurd) th way to the Tree of Life, and preserve the hope of re-genesis for the ruined creation (Cp. Gen.2:15, where we have the word "keep" in this sense).
  3. Their presence on the mercy-seat binds this hope with atonement, and with Israel.
  4. On the vail the hope is bound up with the comming of Christ in incarnation and redemption.
  5. They are 4 in number, and 4 is the number of Creation.   6. They are represented by the symbolic heads of the four divisions of animate creation; the lion (of wild beasts), the ox (of tame beasts), the eagle (of birds), man (of humanity).
  7. They are beneath the Throne, for the earth is Yehovah's footstool.
  8. Their song, when they speak, is of creation (Rev.4:11) and is in connection with the earth.
   Redemption is a "new song" for them, relating to others.
  9. We conclude therefore, that the cherubim are celestial or real spirit-beings, associated in some way with the embodiment of creation's hope as expressed in Rom.8:19-23. The emblematic representation made of them connect that hope with "the hope of Israel" and associate it with the blood-sprinkled mercy-seat, and the rent vail (Heb.10:10,20).