Portraits of Christ
BY THEODORE H. EPP
After the Israelites had been delivered from Egypt, they journeyed to the southern tip of the Sinai peninsula. There, God gave Moses the Law and also instructions concerning the tabernacle. He said, "Let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them" (Exo. 25:8).Exodus 25-27 God's compassion for His people was evident in that He wanted to dwell with them. They had not sought Him; He sought them. This is the way God has worked since the beginning of time. When Adam and Eve fell into sin, God made the first move to seek them. He called unto Adam and said unto him, "Where art thou?"
The construction of the tabernacle was not left to Moses' imagination; he was given detailed instructions for every aspect of it. God told him in verse 9, "According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it."
The tabernacle was to be built precisely as God instructed because it was the place where God came to meet man. And it represented the one Person in whom deity and humanity metthe Lord Jesus Christ. Every feature of the tabernacle prefigured the person and work of Christ.
The Work of Christ
There were three compartments to the tabernacle: the Holy of Holies, the Holy Place and the outer court. The Holy of Holies was the smaller of two rooms that were enclosed by special coverings. The other was the Holy Place, which was twice as large.
The outer court surrounded the covered structure and was fenced in on all four sides.When we think of a structure, it is common for us to think first of the courtyard outside, then the building, and then the inside furnishing. But when God gave Moses the description of the tabernacle in Exodus 25?27, He began with the ark of the covenant, what was to be placed in the Holy of Holies, and concluded with the altar of sacrifice in the outer court.
God began with the ark because, first of all, it was to be the place of His abode. God's purpose in dwelling among men was to meet their needs. Moreover, the ark symbolized the place where justice and judgment were established and where forgiveness and mercy could be obtained. In all this we find a portrait of Christ. Leaving His throne in heaven, our Lord came to Calvary's cross to meet man's need. And in Christ, the sinner is brought in perfect righteousness to meet God.
In the ark. As we consider the portrait of Christ seen in the tabernacle, note first the contents of the ark. The stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments were there. They represented the Word of God, and Christ, of course, is the Word. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
Aaron's rod that budded was also in the ark. Aaron was a priest who mediated between God and man, and in this sense he also represented Jesus Christ, our High Priest. The Bible says, "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (I Tim. 2:5).
Also in the ark was a pot of manna the miracle food God provided Israel in the wilderness. This was a constant reminder that spiritual nourishment comes only from God. The Lord Jesus says in John 6:35, "I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst."
The ark of the covenant was overshadowed by the mercy seat. This mercy seat was the place where God dwelt among men. Only because God is a God of mercy did He permit men's sins to be taken care of by another. And the blood that was sprinkled on that seat symbolizes the shed blood of Christ that satisfied the holy demands of God on behalf of all believers.
As noted earlier, God is the One who first approached us sinners. He did this by meeting us at the altar of sacrifice in the outer court. On his own, no one, being a sinner, can come directly into God's presence because God is absolutely holy and just. There first had to be a sacrifice for his sin. So, all the animals that were offered at the altar of sacrifice pointed to Christ being the Lamb of God.
It is thus evident that the way from the ark to the brazen altar was marked with love; and the way from the altar to the ark of God was sprinkled with the blood of atonement. Because of His love God sent His only Son to earth to pay the penalty for sin. And only by faith in Him is the efficacy of His shed blood applied to a person.
The Person of Christ
Besides His work, the tabernacle also gives a complete picture of the Person of Christ. Viewed from the outside, the tabernacle was unattractive. The drab leather curtains of badger skins were bleached by the hot desert sun. But there was breathtaking splendor and beauty on the inside.Isaiah prophesied the way the world would look on Christ: "He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him" (Isa. 53:2). For those who look only on the external, there is nothing about Christ that causes them to want to seek Him.
But to those who have entered the Kingdom of God, Christ is absolutely beautiful. The Psalmist wrote, "One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple" (27:4).
The Bible states why the true beauty of Jesus Christ is not appreciated by an unbeliever: "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned" (I Cor. 2:14).
Hidden truth. The stranger standing outside could see the white linen fence surrounding the court, however. (The white linen represented Christ's perfect righteousness.) Seeing the white linen, the unbeliever may admire Christ's ideals and moral character, or even His wisdom and teachings. But he fails to see the value of the atonement, the validity of the resurrection of Christ, and the reality of His coming again.
The Apostle Paul explained, "If our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them" (II Cor. 4:3,4). That "glorious gospel of Christ" can only be seen and understood by those who have put their trust in Christ.
The Declaration of Christ
Parallels can also be seen between the tabernacle and what Christ said of Himself in John 14:6: "I am the way, the truth, and the life." Consider these words in relationship to the tabernacle.The way. That Jesus is the way corresponds to the outer court where the brazen altar stood. On that altar sacrifices were made, opening thereby the way for the Israelites to enter the tabernacle. Likewise, because Jesus is the Lamb of God that was sacrificed on the altar, He is our only way to God.
Also in the outer court, between the altar and the Holy Place, was the laver. This was a tub-like receptacle with water in it. Its purpose was to provide cleansing as the priests came daily in their ministering capacity. The priests had to wash their hands and feet before entering the Holy Place.
So, too, believers are admonished to be clean from contacts with the world after they have come to God by means of the sacrifice of Christ. This is emphasized in Hebrews 10:19-22:
Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; and having anThe truth. Underneath the coverings of the tabernacle were the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. The Holy Place was where the priests entered into to worship God. In this room were the candlestick, the table of showbread and the altar of incense. Each of these represents the Lord Jesus Christ, for He is the Light of the World, the Bread of Life and the intercessor for all believers.
high priest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.When Christ was on earth, He told the woman of Samaria, "They that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth" (4:24). So, it was in this room, the Holy Place. Christ was worshipped by the priests in truth.
Those priests typified us believers. We read in I Peter 2:5, "Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ." We come into the house of God to worship Him in spirit and in truth.
The life. That Jesus is the life corresponds with the Holy of Holies, the sanctuary in which God dwelled. Only there could the high priest extend spiritual life to the Israelites by propitiating God for their sins.
Today, there is no temple on earth where a person must come to approach God. Anyone can receive forgiveness of sins and eternal life by trusting Christ as his personal Savior, because Jesus Christ has completely satisfied the holy demands of God for sin.
Hence, we read in I John 5:11,12:
"This is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life."The Fulfillment by Christ
Because the tabernacle foreshadows the Person and work of Christ, it can also be said that Christ was the ultimate fulfillment of the tabernacle. Put another way, the Old Testament tabernacle, which permitted God to dwell among the people, prefigured the time when Jesus Christ would take upon Himself a human body and tabernacle among men. This is hinted by John 1:14:The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.The Greek word for "dwelt" there literally means "tabernacled". That Christ tabernacled among men is a direct parallel to the purpose of God in the Old Testament tabernacle: "Let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them" (Ex. 25:8).In sum, the tabernacle gives a complete picture of God's plan of salvationfrom deliverance from the guilt and penalty of sin to the believer's perfect rest and peace in Christ's presence.
Personal Application
Have you entered the tabernacle to see the glorious beauty of Christthat is, have you recognized that you are a sinner in need of a Savior? There is only one way by which a person can come into right relationship with God and it is by placing his faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who shed His blood on the cross to pay the penalty of his sin.Because there was only one way to enter it, the tabernacle was both exclusive and inclusive. It excluded all who would not come through the one and only way, but it included all who have come the prescribed way. Just as it shut out all who refused to come the only way, so it shut in with God and gave true safety to those who have come the proper way.
Jesus says in John 10:27-29, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand." Once you have entered the heavenly tabernacle His way, He promises, you will always be able to behold the beauty of Christ. o
The late Theodore H. Epp was the Founding Director of the Back to the Bible ministry, P.O.Box 82808, Lincoln, Nebraska, 68501.