Exo 26:19-37  Instructions About the Construction of the Tabernacle, Part 2

[Study Aired October 31, 2022]

Exo 26:19  And thou shalt make forty sockets of silver under the twenty boards; two sockets under one board for his two tenons, and two sockets under another board for his two tenons. 
Exo 26:20  And for the second side of the tabernacle on the north side there shall be twenty boards: 
Exo 26:21  And their forty sockets of silver; two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board. 
Exo 26:22  And for the sides of the tabernacle westward thou shalt make six boards. 
Exo 26:23  And two boards shalt thou make for the corners of the tabernacle in the two sides. 
Exo 26:24  And they shall be coupled together beneath, and they shall be coupled together above the head of it unto one ring: thus shall it be for them both; they shall be for the two corners. 
Exo 26:25  And they shall be eight boards, and their sockets of silver, sixteen sockets; two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board. 
Exo 26:26  And thou shalt make bars of shittim wood; five for the boards of the one side of the tabernacle, 
Exo 26:27  And five bars for the boards of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the side of the tabernacle, for the two sides westward. 
Exo 26:28  And the middle bar in the midst of the boards shall reach from end to end. 
Exo 26:29  And thou shalt overlay the boards with gold, and make their rings of gold for places for the bars: and thou shalt overlay the bars with gold.
Exo 26:30  And thou shalt rear up the tabernacle according to the fashion thereof which was shewed thee in the mount. 
Exo 26:31  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: 
Exo 26:32  And thou shalt hang it upon four pillars of shittim wood overlaid with gold: their hooks shall be of gold, upon the four sockets of silver. 
Exo 26:33  And thou shalt hang up the vail under the taches, that thou mayest bring in thither within the vail the ark of the testimony: and the vail shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy. 
Exo 26:34  And thou shalt put the mercy seat upon the ark of the testimony in the most holy place.
Exo 26:35  And thou shalt set the table without the vail, and the candlestick over against the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the south: and thou shalt put the table on the north side.
Exo 26:36  And thou shalt make an hanging for the door of the tent, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework. 
Exo 26:37  And thou shalt make for the hanging five pillars of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold, and their hooks shall be of gold: and thou shalt cast five sockets of brass for them. 

This second part of Exodus chapter 26 continues with instructions given to Moses regarding the building of the tabernacle. Today’s study continues with the instructions about the boards to be used for the construction and other items such as bars, the four pillars and the veil. The tabernacle was constructed with boards made of acacia wood. Apart from the fact that acacia wood grows wild in the desert, it is considered incorruptible. It is very dense and resistant both to disease and insects, just like cedar. Each of the boards is required to stand upright, not lying down and must have two tenons. A tenon is an end of a piece of wood that is cut into a special shape to fit into a hole on another piece of wood to make a strong joint. Twenty boards were to be fixed in the southern part of the tabernacle. The Boards of shittim wood represent the elect whom the Lord is using to build His temple. The fact that the boards must stand upright is to remind us of standing in the presence of the Lord.

Rev 11:4  These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. 

We are the two candlesticks and the two olive trees that are standing before the presence of the Lord, just as the boards are standing before the Lord. Each of the boards must have two tenons for support. As indicated, a tenon must be shaped to fit into another wood to make a strong joint. As boards, we are being shaped to fit the standard of Christ. This is being done through the judgment of our old man in this life. The result of the judgment process we are going through is to form a strong joint with Christ for the building of His temple.

Eph 2:19  Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; 
Eph 2:20  And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; 
Eph 2:21  In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: 
Eph 2:22  In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

In Exodus 26:18, twenty boards were to be used for the southern side of the tabernacle. The number twenty, on a positive note, refers to those who are mature enough to wage war. This means that the twenty boards on the southern side signify the fact that those whom the Lord is using to build His temple are those who are mature enough to wage war with the flesh to overcome it.

Num 1:20  And the children of Reuben, Israel’s eldest son, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, by their polls, every male from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;

Num 1:24  Of the children of Gad, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;

Today’s study focuses mainly on the sockets of the board which give firm stability to the upright boards.

Exo 26:19  And thou shalt make forty sockets of silver under the twenty boards; two sockets under one board for his two tenons, and two sockets under another board for his two tenons.
Exo 26:20  And for the second side of the tabernacle on the north side there shall be twenty boards: 
Exo 26:21  And their forty sockets of silver; two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board. 
Exo 26:22  And for the sides of the tabernacle westward thou shalt make six boards. 

As indicated, each of the boards must be supported by two tenons. A tenon must be shaped to fit into another wood which in this case is the socket to hold the boards firm. Since there were twenty boards for the southern side, there must be forty sockets which were made of silver. The northern side also had twenty boards which were also supported by forty sockets of silver. The forty sockets on each side of the tabernacle – the south and the north sides show us that trials (the significance of the number forty) form an integral part of becoming part of the temple that the Lord is building. 

Psa 95:9  When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work.
Psa 95:10  Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways: 
Psa 95:11  Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.

On the west side, there were sixteen sockets supporting eight boards. Thus, in total, there were 100 sockets for the boards. Apart from supporting the boards, it is the sockets on which stood the pillars that support the veil.  These sockets therefore represent the foundation of the tabernacle. What this means is that the hundred sockets of silver symbolize the atonement and the redemptive work of Christ on our behalf. The strength of the whole structure depended on this foundation which rested on the silver of atonement. Fellowship with God can only be based on redemption.

1Ki 20:39  And as the king passed by, he cried unto the king: and he said, Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle; and, behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man unto me, and said, Keep this man: if by any means he be missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talent of silver.

Jesus Christ therefore has laid the foundation for our temple to be built. 

1Co 3:11  For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 
1Co 3:12  Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 
1Co 3:13  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.

Silver also signifies the doctrine of Christ as shown in the following verse:

Eze 16:17  Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them, 

Joe 3:5  Because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things: 

As we are aware, Christ is the word of God. This means that the materials we need for the foundation of the Lord’s temple within us is Christ’s work of atonement and redemption, and His words. 

Joh 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Exo 26:23  And two boards shalt thou make for the corners of the tabernacle in the two sides.
Exo 26:24  And they shall be coupled together beneath, and they shall be coupled together above the head of it unto one ring: thus shall it be for them both; they shall be for the two corners. 
Exo 26:25  And they shall be eight boards, and their sockets of silver, sixteen sockets; two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board.

At the two corners at the rear, the setup was different. Two boards were made for each corner, thus a total of four boards. The corner boards, however, were to be coupled together by a ring at the top and at the bottom. The two corner boards, plus six boards, totaling eight boards were to be at the west end. The Bible does not describe in detail how the corner boards were made. The joining of the boards at the corner provided the needed stability to the rear of the tabernacle. It is through our coming together as one that we become witnesses of Christ (the meaning of the number two) and therefore become established in Christ. What brings us together is the spirit of the Lord, which in this case refers to the ring at the top and the bottom used to couple the corner boards together.

Act 1:8  But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. 

Act 5:32  And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.

The coupling of the two boards at each corner results in eight boards being at the rear of the tabernacle. As we are aware, the number eight signifies a new beginning. In the process of becoming a habitation of the Lord, we are turned into new creatures before God – the old things are gone!!

2Co 5:16  Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. 
2Co 5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Exo 26:26  And thou shalt make bars of shittim wood; five for the boards of the one side of the tabernacle, 
Exo 26:27  And five bars for the boards of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the side of the tabernacle, for the two sides westward. 
Exo 26:28  And the middle bar in the midst of the boards shall reach from end to end. 
Exo 26:29  And thou shalt overlay the boards with gold, and make their rings of gold for places for the bars: and thou shalt overlay the bars with gold.

Along with the boards and the sockets, the LORD commanded that bars be made. They were needed to reinforce the frame of the tabernacle walls. The Israelites were to make bars of acacia wood. The bars mentioned here, were probably crossbars that supported the sides of the tabernacle. As we have indicated in previous studies, the bars being made of acacia, which were found growing wild in the Sinai desert and the Jordan River valley, means that they were not planted and taken care of by man. In other words, it is not the work of man. If we are to become a habitation for the Lord, then we need to know that from the beginning to our maturity it is all the work of God – not man. Even our sins are all part of the work of God. All we do to become like Christ is to believe in Him.

Joh 6:28  Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? 
Joh 6:29  Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

There were to be fifteen bars in all. Ten bars were to be used for the boards on each side; five on the north side and five on the south side. Another five bars were to be used on the back (west) side of the tabernacle. The middle bar in the center of the boards shall pass through from end to end. This might mean that the middle bar was longer than the rest. It apparently passed through a hole drilled in the boards, whereas the other bars passed through rings.  

Overlaying the bars with gold means that to become like Christ, we must be refined just like gold refined in the fire. This is the judgment of our old man which brings us to learn righteousness. That is what will qualify us to be crowned with gold just as our Lord Jesus Christ overcame and is wearing a crown of gold. 

Job 23:10  But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

Rev 3:18  I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

Exo 26:30  And thou shalt rear up the tabernacle according to the fashion thereof which was shewed thee in the mount. 

In the process of becoming a habitation for the Lord to dwell, we are to fashion our lives according to the pattern the Lord Jesus has shown us with His life here on earth. 

1Jn 4:17  By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world.

Let’s look at the few examples of how the Lord was made a habitation in which God can dwell. Our Lord Jesus Christ learned obedience by the things He suffered. We are also to learn obedience through the judgment of our old man.

Heb 5:7  In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. 
Heb 5:8  Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. 
Heb 5:9  And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, 
Heb 5:10  being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. 

Isa 26:8  Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee. 
Isa 26:9  With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

Jesus Christ was motivated by the reward ahead of Him. Therefore, He despised the shame He was to go through in this life and rather focused on the reward He was to receive.

Heb 12:2  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Php 2:5  Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Php 2:6  Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 
Php 2:7  But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 
Php 2:8  And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. 
Php 2:9  Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

We are also to focus on the reward. If we are not excited about what lies ahead of us in terms of our glorification, then we have lost the driving force which will bring us to our expected end. This is what Paul has to say about this:

Php 3:15  Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. (ESV)

Our Lord laid down His life for His sheep – the church. We must also lay down our lives for His church. We do this through what every joint supplies. What we need to note is that this supply is possible only through the assembling together of the saints. 

Joh 10:11  I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. 
Joh 10:12  But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. 
Joh 10:13  The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. 
Joh 10:14  I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
Joh 10:15  As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. 

Php 2:19  But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timotheus shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort, when I know your state (the state of the church).
Php 2:20  For I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state [the church].
Php 2:21  For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s.

Jesus pressed on toward the mark of His higher calling by God. Without dying on the cross, Jesus did not consider Himself as having already attained even though He had not sinned while in this life. We are also to follow His example, just as Paul did, if we are to become the dwelling place of God. 

Php 3:12  Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. 
Php 3:13  Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 
Php 3:14  I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. 
Php 3:15  Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. 
Php 3:16  Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.

Exo 26:31  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: 

The word “vail” in the Hebrew language means “to separate.” The veil was at the gate of the entrance into the tabernacle just before the bronze altar. We are the veil. What this means is that it is through us that all the people of the world, including Babylon, will have access to the Lord. 

Rom 11:29  For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. 
Rom 11:30  For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: 
Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. 
Rom 11:32  For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

The veil acted as a barrier between the Lord and the world. The fact that Cherubims must be woven on the veil was to remind us that just as the Cherubims served as a barrier to Adam and Eve from accessing the tree of life, which is Christ, as the veil, we are playing the same role as the Cherubims in preserving the things of God from the world in this age. 

Gen 3:24  So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

The veil must be of fine linen and colored blue, purple and scarlet. The color red or scarlet, symbolizes the first Adam being of the earth, while the color blue symbolizes the last Adam – Jesus Christ coming to be in our heavens. The colors purple and scarlet reminds us of our sojourn in Babylon where our adamic nature became obvious while living under the law as shown in the following verses:

Rev 18:15  The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, 
Rev 18:16  And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!

What this means is that the process of becoming a veil, through whom salvation will come to the world, starts with us recognizing our spiritual poverty (purple and scarlet linen) while in Babylon before we are turned into blue linen, that is, Christ coming to us. All humanity must pass through the same process to become a habitation for the Lord to dwell.

Ecc 9:2  All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.

Exo 26:32  And thou shalt hang it upon four pillars of shittim wood overlaid with gold: their hooks shall be of gold, upon the four sockets of silver.

The four pillars upon which the veil must be hung represent the whole of the elect in every generation. The fact that the pillars were made of shittim wood and were overlaid with gold means that to become the dwelling place of God is the Lord’s work as He takes us through fiery trials to learn righteousness.

Gal 2:9  And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.

Exo 26:33  And thou shalt hang up the vail under the taches, that thou mayest bring in thither within the vail the ark of the testimony: and the vail shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy.
Exo 26:34  And thou shalt put the mercy seat upon the ark of the testimony in the most holy place.

There were three veils within the tabernacle. The first one is at the entrance to the tabernacle. The second one is hung at the door to the Holy place and therefore separates the outer courts from the Holy place. The third veil divided the inside of the tabernacle into two rooms: the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. It is in the Holy of Holies that we have the ark of testimony which represents the Lord. As we have indicated, the veil (curtain) represents the elect. It is through us that the whole of humanity can come to the presence of the Lord.

Heb 11:39  And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: 
Heb 11:40  God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

Exo 26:35  And thou shalt set the table without the vail, and the candlestick over against the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the south: and thou shalt put the table on the north side.
Exo 26:36  And thou shalt make an hanging for the door of the tent, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework. 
Exo 26:37  And thou shalt make for the hanging five pillars of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold, and their hooks shall be of gold: and thou shalt cast five sockets of brass for them. 

At the Holy Place, there was the table with the shewbread and the candlestick placed at the north and south sides respectively. We have already talked about the color of the hanging being blue, purple and scarlet. What is insightful here in these verses is that there must be five pillars of shittim wood, overlaid with gold for the hanging of the veil at the entrance to the tent. As indicated, the pillars represent the elect. The number five signifies that to enter into the presence of the Lord is by faith through grace.  What is insightful about verse 37 is that the five sockets for the pillars were made of brass. All the other sockets were made of silver signifying the redemptive work of Christ. However, it is through the brass sockets that we get access to the tabernacle. These brass sockets represent the elect. It should be noted that when the Lord appeared to Apostle John to unveil Himself to him, His feet were like fine brass. This is to show us that Christ does everything through His saints who are still in bodies of corruptible flesh and blood.

Rev 1:15  And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. 

Rev 2:18  And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass; 

May the Lord continue to prepare us to be counted worthy recipients of the glory to be revealed. Amen!!!