| Scripture |
Expanded Comments |
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| 1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, |
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| 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering. |
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| 3 And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold, and silver, and copper, |
Gold – Representing the divine nature. T18
And silver – Symbol of truth. T114
And brass – Copper, symbol of perfect human nature. T18
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| 4 And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair, |
And blue – Symbol of faithfulness. T30
And purple – Symbol of royalty. T34
And scarlet – Symbol of the blood of the ransom. T34, T109
And fine linen – Symbol of righteousness. T29, T30, T36
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| 5 And rams' skins dyed red, and badgers' skins, and shittim wood, |
And badgers' skins – As God covered the Tabernacle with unsightly skins, so the glory and beauties of spiritual things are seen only by the "Royal Priesthood." T127
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| 6 Oil for the light, spices for anointing oil, and for sweet incense, |
Anointing oil – Symbol of the holy Spirit. T29, T37, T116; D650; R5654:5
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| 7 Onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod, and in the breastplate. |
Stones to be set – The Lord's jewels, his "Little Flock." T36
In the ephod – Type of the Abrahamic covenant (front part), and the New covenant (back part). T30
In the breastplate – Type of the Law. T34
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| 8 And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. |
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| 9 According to all that I show thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it. |
Tabernacle – The lessons of the Tabernacle represent both progress and completion. R4579:1
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| 10 And they shall make an ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof. |
Shall make an ark – It represented the eternal purpose of God for mankind in The Christ, Head and Body. T121
Wood was used as a base to make the articles more easily portable. T18
Representing Christ, in whom are hidden all the wisdom and power of God. R5680:5
Tradition says that the Jewish high priests took the ark and other temple treasures to Abyssinia for safe keeping at the time of the captivity and that they will be found in the monastery islands of Lake Zonai. R3450:5
Of shittim wood – Wood not typical, used merely for lightness. R1236:6
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| 11 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about. |
With pure gold – Representing the divine nature. T18
The fact that all things in the Tabernacle were made of gold implies that it represented the condition of such only as are called to the divine nature. T20
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| 12 And thou shalt 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, and two rings in the other side of it. |
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| 13 And thou shalt make staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold. |
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| 14 And thou shalt put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, that the ark may be borne with them. |
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| 15 The staves shall be in the rings of the ark: they shall not be taken from it. |
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| 16 And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee. |
The testimony – To show that Christ would meet in full all the requirements of God's perfect Law and also that legal authority would be vested in him as the Law-executor. T121
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| 17 And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof. |
Make a mercy seat – Representing the underlying principle of Jehovah's character-justice. T124
Representing the chariot or throne. R529:6*
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| 18 And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat. |
Make two cherubims – Representing love and power. T125
They are always connected with the immediate presence, or with the throne, of God. R529:6*
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| 19 And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof. |
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| 20 And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be. |
Toward the mercy seat – Neither love nor power can be exercised until justice is fully satisfied; hence they look inward toward justice to know when to move. T125
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| 21 And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. |
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| 22 And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel. |
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| 23 Thou shalt also make a table of shittim wood: two cubits shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof. |
Also make a table – Representing the Church as a whole, holding forth the word of life. T115
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| 24 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, and make thereto a crown of gold round about. |
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| 25 And thou shalt make unto it a border of an hand breadth round about, and thou shalt make a golden crown to the border thereof round about. |
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| 26 And thou shalt make for it four rings of gold, and put the rings in the four corners that are on the four feet thereof.
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| 27 Over against the border shall the rings be for places of the staves to bear the table. |
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| 28 And thou shalt make the staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold, that the table may be borne with them. |
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| 29 And thou shalt make the dishes thereof, and spoons thereof, and covers thereof, and bowls thereof, to cover withal: of pure gold shalt thou make them. |
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| 30 And thou shalt set upon the table showbread before me alway. |
Shewbread – Representing the truth, the word of life. T22, T115
Spiritual food. R5418:5, R5621:6
Only for the priests to eat. Granted to the fully consecrated that by these they might be strengthened to carry out fully their consecration unto death. R4782:4
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| 31 And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of the same. |
Make a candlestick – Representing the entire Church, the true light-bearers. T116; R243:3*
Representing the light of God's truth. R5621:6, R5418:5
Had seven branches, typifying perfection or completeness. R243:3*
No dimensions given. Truth, like its author, is boundless. R243:3*
We may gain an accurate conception of its appearance from the Arch of Titus in Rome. R3650:6
It was the light in the Holy, as the Shekinah glory was the light in the Most Holy. R3650:5
Does not represent the Church in the future state of glory giving light to the world; that will be as the "Sun of righteousness." (Mal. 4:2) R3650:6
Same as that in Zech. 4:2 and Rev. 1:20, showing all elopment. R1491:1
In Revelation the same candlestick is brought to our attention, but the parts are separated, the union being supplied by the antitypical High Priest. R3569:4
Of beaten work – Not cast wholesale in a mold. As is the shaft, so are the branches-all of beaten work. R243:4*
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| 32 And six branches shall come out of the sides of it; three branches of the candlestick out of the one side, and three branches of the candlestick out of the other side: |
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| 33 Three bowls made like unto almonds, with a knop and a flower in one branch; and three bowls made like almonds in the other branch, with a knop and a flower: so in the six branches that come out of the candlestick. |
Like unto almonds – In the almond tree fruit buds appear before leaves. So with the Royal Priesthood, they begin to sacrifice, to bring forth fruit, before the leaves of profession are seen. T121
The Hebrew word for "almond" is from a root meaning "to hasten." Regarded by the Jews as a harbinger of spring. Remarkable for early blossoming (even in January) and flowers appearing before the leaves. R244:1*
A knop and a flower – Representing the true Church as both beautiful and fruitful from first to last. T116
In continuous succession, typifying the beautiful graces of a Christian spirit accompanying the solid fruits of Christian life-faith and works. R243:5*
A vigorous ever-developing plant, always blooming, continually fruit-bearing; like the trees by the river of life, yielding fruit every month. R243:5*
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| 34 And in the candlestick shall be four bowls made like unto almonds, with their knops and their flowers. |
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| 35 And there shall be a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches of the same, according to the six branches that proceed out of the candlestick. |
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| 36 Their knops and their branches shall be of the same: all it shall be one beaten work of pure gold. |
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| 37 And thou shalt make the seven lamps thereof: and they shall light the lamps thereof, that they may give light over against it. |
Light – One of the most powerful forces in nature; one of the most quiet: it is peculiarly expressive of the character of God and his people. R243:2*
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| 38 And the tongs thereof, and the snuffdishes thereof, shall be of pure gold. |
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| 39 Of a talent of pure gold shall he make it, with all these vessels. |
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| 40 And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was showed thee in the mount. |
After their pattern – Because it illustrated something greater and more important to come afterward. T12
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