COMMENTARY EXODUS 26

E X O D U S

CHAP. XXVI.

Moses here receives instructions, I. Concerningthe inner curtains of the tent or tabernacle, and the coupling ofthose curtains, ver. 1-6.II. Concerning the outer curtains which were of goats' hair, tostrengthen the former, ver.7-13. III. Concerning the case or cover which was tosecure it from the weather, ver.14. IV. Concerning the boards which were to be reared upto support the curtains, with their bars and sockets, ver. 15-30. V. The partitionbetween the holy place and the most holy, ver. 31-35. VI. The veil for the door,ver. 36, 37. Theseparticulars, thus largely recorded, seem of little use to us now;yet, having been of great use to Moses and Israel, and God havingthought fit to preserve down to us the remembrance of them, weought not to overlook them. Even the antiquity renders this accountvenerable.

The Tabernacle and ItsFurniture. (b. c. 1491.)

1 Moreover thou shalt make the tabernaclewith ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, andpurple, and scarlet: with cherubims of cunning work shaltthou make them. 2 The length of one curtain shall be eightand twenty cubits, and the breadth of one curtain four cubits: andevery one of the curtains shall have one measure. 3 The fivecurtains shall be coupled together one to another; and otherfive curtains shall be coupled one to another. 4 And thoushalt make loops of blue upon the edge of the one curtain from theselvedge in the coupling; and likewise shalt thou make in theuttermost edge of another curtain, in the coupling of thesecond. 5 Fifty loops shalt thou make in the one curtain, and fiftyloops shalt thou make in the edge of the curtain that is inthe coupling of the second; that the loops may take hold one ofanother. 6 And thou shalt make fifty taches of gold, and couple thecurtains together with the taches: and it shall be onetabernacle.

I. The house must be a tabernacle ortent, such as soldiers now use in the camp, which was both amean dwelling and a movable one; and yet the ark of God had notbetter, till Solomon built the temple 480 years after this,1 Kings vi. 1. Godmanifested his presence among them thus in a tabernacle, 1. Incompliance with their present condition in the wilderness, thatthey might have him with them wherever they went. Note, God suitsthe tokens of his favour, and the gifts of his grace, to hispeople's wants and necessities, according as they are,accommodating his mercy to their state, prosperous or adverse,settled or unsettled. When thou passest through the waters, Iwill be with thee, Isa. xliii.2. 2. That it might represent the state of God's churchin this world, it is a tabernacle-state, Ps. xv. 1. We have here no continuingcity; being strangers in this world, and travellers towards abetter, we shall never be fixed till we come to heaven.Church-privileges are movable goods, from one place to another; thegospel is not tied to any place; the candlestick is in a tent, andmay easily be taken away, Rev. ii.5. If we make much of the tabernacle, and improve theprivilege of it, wherever we go it will accompany us; but, if weneglect and disgrace it, wherever we stay it will forsake us.What hath my beloved to do in my house? Jer. xi. 15.

II. The curtains of the tabernacle mustcorrespond to a divine pattern. 1. They were to be very rich, thebest of the kind, fine twined linen; and colours verypleasing, blue, and purple, and scarlet. 2.They were to be embroidered with cherubim (v. 1), to intimate that the angels ofGod pitch their tents round about the church, Ps. xxxiv. 7. As there were cherubim over themercy-seat, so there were round the tabernacle; for we find theangels compassing, not only the throne, but the elders; seeRev. v. 11. 3. There were tobe two hangings, five breadths in each, sewed together, and the twohangings coupled together with golden clasps, or tacks, so that itmight be all one tabernacle, v.6. Thus the churches of Christ and the saints, thoughthey are many, are yet one, being fitly joined together inholy love, and by the unity of the Spirit, so growing intoone holy temple in the Lord, Eph. ii. 21, 22; iv. 16. Thistabernacle was very strait and narrow; but, at the preaching of thegospel, the church is bidden to enlarge the place of hertent, and to stretch forth her curtains, Isa. liv. 2.

7 And thou shalt make curtains of goats'hair to be a covering upon the tabernacle: eleven curtainsshalt thou make. 8 The length of one curtain shall be thirtycubits, and the breadth of one curtain four cubits: and the elevencurtains shall be all of one measure. 9 And thou shaltcouple five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves,and shalt double the sixth curtain in the forefront of thetabernacle. 10 And thou shalt make fifty loops on the edge of theone curtain that is outmost in the coupling, and fifty loopsin the edge of the curtain which coupleth the second. 11 And thoushalt make fifty taches of brass, and put the taches into theloops, and couple the tent together, that it may be one. 12 And theremnant that remaineth of the curtains of the tent, the halfcurtain that remaineth, shall hang over the backside of thetabernacle. 13 And a cubit on the one side, and a cubit on theother side of that which remaineth in the length of the curtains ofthe tent, it shall hang over the sides of the tabernacle on thisside and on that side, to cover it. 14 And thou shalt make acovering for the tent of rams' skins dyed red, and acovering above of badgers' skins.

Moses is here ordered to make a doublecovering for the tabernacle, that it might not rain in, and thatthe beauty of those fine curtains might not be damaged. 1. Therewas to be a covering of hair camlet curtains, which were somewhatlarger every way than the inner curtains, because they were toenclose them, and probably were stretched out at some littledistance from them, v. 7,&c. These were coupled together with brass clasps. The stuffbeing less valuable, the tacks were so; but the brass tacks wouldanswer the intention as effectually as the golden ones. The bondsof unity may be as strong between curtains of goats' hair asbetween those of purple and scarlet. 2. Over this there was to beanother covering, and that a double one (v. 14), one of rams' skins dyedred, probably dressed with the wool on; another of badgers'skins, so we translate it, but it should rather seem to havebeen some strong sort of leather (but very fine), for we read ofthe best sort of shoes being made of it, Ezek. xvi. 10. Now observe here, (1.) Thatthe outside of the tabernacle was coarse and rough, the beauty ofit was in the inner curtains. Those in whom God dwells must labourto be better than they seem to be. Hypocrites put the best sideoutwards, like whited sepulchres; but the king's daughteris all glorious within (Ps. xlv.13); in the eye of the world black as the tents ofKedar, but, in the eye of God, comely as the curtains of Solomon,Cant. i. 5. Let our adorningbe that of the hidden man of the heart, which God values, 1 Pet. iii. 4. (2.) That where Godplaces his glory he will create a defence upon it; even upon thehabitations of the righteous there shall be a covert, Isa. vi. 5, 6. The protection ofProvidence shall always be upon the beauty of holiness. God's tentwill be a pavilion, Ps. xxvii.5.

15 And thou shalt make boards for the tabernacleof shittim wood standing up. 16 Ten cubits shall bethe length of a board, and a cubit and a half shall be thebreadth of one board. 17 Two tenons shall there be in oneboard, set in order one against another: thus shalt thou make forall the boards of the tabernacle. 18 And thou shalt make the boardsfor the tabernacle, twenty boards on the south side southward. 19And thou shalt make forty sockets of silver under the twentyboards; two sockets under one board for his two tenons, and twosockets under another board for his two tenons. 20 And for thesecond side of the tabernacle on the north side there shallbe twenty boards: 21 And their forty sockets of silver;two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board.22 And for the sides of the tabernacle westward thou shalt make sixboards. 23 And two boards shalt thou make for the corners of thetabernacle in the two sides. 24 And they shall be coupled togetherbeneath, and they shall be coupled together above the head of itunto one ring: thus shall it be for them both; they shall be forthe two corners. 25 And they shall be eight boards, and theirsockets of silver, sixteen sockets; two sockets under oneboard, and two sockets under another board. 26 And thou shalt makebars of shittim wood; five for the boards of the one side ofthe tabernacle, 27 And five bars for the boards of the other sideof the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the side of thetabernacle, for the two sides westward. 28 And the middle bar inthe midst of the boards shall reach from end to end. 29 And thoushalt overlay the boards with gold, and make their rings ofgold for places for the bars: and thou shalt overlay thebars with gold. 30 And thou shalt rear up the tabernacle accordingto the fashion thereof which was showed thee in the mount.

Very particular directions are here givenabout the boards of the tabernacle, which were to bear up thecurtains, as the stakes of a tent which had need to be strong,Isa. liv. 2. These boardshad tenons which fell into the mortises that were made for them insilver bases. God took care to have every thing strong, as well asfine, in his tabernacle. Curtains without boards would have beenshaken by every wind; but it is a good thing to have theheart established with grace, which is as the boards tosupport the curtains of profession, which otherwise will not holdout long. The boards were coupled together with gold rings at topand bottom (v. 24),and kept firm with bars that ran through golden staples in everyboard (v. 26), andthe boards and bars were all richly gilded, v. 29. Thus every thing in the tabernacle wasvery splendid, agreeable to that infant state of the church, whensuch things were proper enough to please children, to possess theminds of the worshippers with a reverence of the divine glory, andto affect them with the greatness of that prince who said, Herewill I dwell; in allusion to this the new Jerusalem is said tobe of pure gold, Rev. xxi.18. But the builders of the gospel church said,Silver and gold have we none; and yet the glory of theirbuilding far exceeded that of the tabernacle, 2 Cor. iii. 10, 11. How much better iswisdom than gold! No orders are given here about the floor ofthe tabernacle; probably that also was boarded; for we cannot thinkthat within all these fine curtains they trod upon the cold or wetground; if it was so left, it may remind us of ch. xx. 24, An altar of earth shaltthou make unto me.

31 And thou shalt make a vail of blue,and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work:with cherubims shall it be made: 32 And thou shalt hang it uponfour pillars of shittim wood overlaid with gold: their hooksshall be of gold, upon the four sockets of silver. 33 Andthou shalt hang up the vail under the taches, that thou mayestbring in thither within the vail the ark of the testimony: and thevail shall divide unto you between the holy place and themost holy. 34 And thou shalt put the mercy seat upon the ark of thetestimony in the most holy place. 35 And thou shalt set thetable without the vail, and the candlestick over against the tableon the side of the tabernacle toward the south: and thou shalt putthe table on the north side. 36 And thou shalt make an hanging forthe door of the tent, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, andfine twined linen, wrought with needlework. 37 And thou shalt makefor the hanging five pillars of shittim wood, andoverlay them with gold, and their hooks shall be ofgold: and thou shalt cast five sockets of brass for them.

Two veils are here ordered to be made, 1.One for a partition between the holy place and the most holy, whichnot only forbade any to enter, but forbade them so much as to lookinto the holiest of all, v. 31,33. Under that dispensation, divine grace was veiled,but now we behold it with open face, 2Cor. iii. 18. The apostle tells us (Heb. ix. 8, 9) what was the meaning of thisveil; it intimated that the ceremonial law could not make thecomers thereunto perfect, nor would the observance of it bringmen to heaven; the way into the holiest of all was not mademanifest while the first tabernacle was standing; life andimmortality lay concealed till they were brought to light bythe gospel, which was therefore signified by the rending ofthis veil at the death of Christ, Matt. xxvii. 51. We have not boldness toenter into the holiest, in all acts of devotion, by theblood of Jesus, yet such as obliges us to a holy reverence anda humble sense of our distance. 2. Another veil was for the outerdoor of the tabernacle, v. 36,37. Through this first veil the priests went in everyday to minister in the holy place, but not the people, Heb. ix. 6. This veil, which was allthe defence the tabernacle had against thieves and robbers, mighteasily be broken through, for it could be neither locked norbarred, and the abundance of wealth in the tabernacle, one wouldthink, might be a temptation; but by leaving it thus exposed, (1.)The priests and Levites would be so much the more obliged to keep astrict watch upon it, and, (2.) God would show his care of hischurch on earth, though it is weak and defenceless, and continuallyexposed. A curtain shall be (if God please to make it so) as stronga defence to his house as gates of brass and bars of iron.