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Expanded Comments |
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| 1 'And thou hast made the altar of shittim wood, five cubits the length, and five cubits the breadth the altar is square and three cubits its height. |
Shalt make an altar – Representing Christ's ransom sacrifice. T22
Five cubits long and five – Being square, it typified the perfection of Christ. R101:1*
Three cubits – Comparatively low, typifying one who is easy of access, and a free salvation. R101:1
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| 2 And thou hast made its horns on its four corners, its horns are of the same, and thou hast overlaid it [with] brass. |
Make the horns – Symbols of power. T42
Pointing to Christ as our refuge and his abundance of power and grace to all. R101:1*
Upon the four corners – In every direction; so God's power to all men is unlimited. R96:1
Overlay it with brass – Copper, symbol of perfect human nature. T18
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| 3 And thou hast made its pots to remove its ashes, and its shovels, and its bowls, and its forks, and its fire-pans, even all its vessels thou dost make of brass. |
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| 4 'And thou hast made for it a grate of net-work of brass, and hast made on the net four rings of brass on its four extremities, |
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| 5 and hast put it under the compass of the altar beneath, and the net hath been unto the middle of the altar. |
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| 6 'And thou hast made staves for the altar, staves of shittim wood, and hast overlaid them [with] brass. |
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| 7 And the staves have been brought into the rings, and the staves have been on the two sides of the altar in bearing it. |
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| 8 Hollow with boards thou dost make it, as it hath been shewed thee in the mount, so do they make [it]. |
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| 9 'And thou hast made the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward, hangings for the court of twined linen, a hundred by the cubit [is] the length for the one side, |
Make the court – Representing the condition of justification. T19
Representing the justified condition. In proportion as those in the Court advance toward the Holy, in that proportion they draw nigh to God and experience a measure of justification or harmony with God, leading to complete justification. R4745:3
In the present time the Court represents the condition of divine favor of all those who, exercising faith in God, are approaching nearer and nearer to him. R4922:5, R5418:3
The picture changes at the end of this age: those who have not made a full consecration go out and cease to be represented in the Court. The Great Company is represented by the Court condition thereafter. R4876:4, R4579:1-3
Only the Levites will be in the Court. In the last analysis the Court represents the spirit-begotten ones separated from the world. R4745:6
Corresponds to Plane N on the Chart of the Ages. R276:5; A244
Hangings for the court – Representing, to those within, a wall of faith; but to those without, a wall of unbelief, which hindered their view of, and access to, the holy things within. T18
Apparently without seam, symbolizing the righteousness of Christ. R100:3*
Fine twined linen – Representing Christ's righteousness. T36, T114
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| 10 and its twenty pillars and their twenty sockets [are] of brass, the pegs of the pillars and their fillets [are] of silver; |
The twenty pillars – Representing justified believers. T113
Sockets shall be of brass – Copper, representing that, though actually imperfect, the standing of the justified believer is that of a perfect human being. T113
Hooks ... of silver – Silver being a symbol of truth, justified believers (pillars) can truthfully claim that Christ's righteousness (the linen curtain) covers all their imperfections. T114
Truth is the hook, or connection, which binds the Church to the curtain of linen and, by it, to each other. R100:5*
As we are told to search for truth as for silver (Prov. 2:4); and as David likens the wruth is symbolized by silver. R100:5*
The Great Company class was represented by the "silver." R4745:6
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| 11 and so for the north side in length, hangings of a hundred [cubits] in length, and its twenty pillars and their twenty sockets [are] of brass, the pegs of the pillars and their fillets [are] of silver. |
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| 12 'And [for] the breadth of the court at the west side [are] hangings of fifty cubits, their pillars ten, and their sockets ten. |
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| 13 And [for] the breadth of the court at the east side, eastward, [are] fifty cubits. |
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| 14 And the hangings at the side [are] fifteen cubits, their pillars three, and their sockets three. |
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| 15 And at the second side [are] hangings fifteen [cubits], their pillars three, and their sockets three. |
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| 16 'And for the gate of the court a covering of twenty cubits, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen, work of an embroiderer; their pillars four, their sockets four. |
And for the gate – "I am the way" (John 14:6), "I am the door" (John 10: T18
The way out of unbelief and sin. T22
Of blue – "True blue" is the symbol for a faithful one. Blue in countries' flags stands for fidelity. In (Num. 15:37-41) a blue fringe on Israe R100:6*
And purple – In (Judges 8:26) we find that the kings of R100:6*
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| 17 All the pillars of the court round about [are] filleted [with] silver, their pegs [are] silver, and their sockets brass. |
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| 18 'The length of the court [is] a hundred by the cubit, and the breadth fifty by fifty, and the height five cubits, of twined linen, and their sockets [are] brass, |
Height five cubits – The posts were five cubits high and five cubits apart; standing, as it were, within reach of one another, yet too far apart to lean upon one another. R100:3*
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| 19 even all the vessels of the tabernacle, in all its service, and all its pins, and all the pins of the court, [are] brass. |
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| 20 'And thou thou dost command the sons of Israel, and they bring unto thee pure beaten olive oil for the light, to cause the lamp to go up continually; |
Pure oil olive – Symbolic of the holy Spirit. T29, T37, T116; D650
For the light – Representing the spirit of truth. T116
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| 21 in the tent of meeting, at the outside of the vail, which [is] over the testimony, doth Aaron his sons also arrange it from evening till morning before Jehovah a statute age-during to their generations, from the sons of Israel. |
Aaron – Representing our High Priest, Christ. T36, T116; E449
And his sons – Who succeeded him in office. T116
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