Exodus 26:1–6

Here we have the different aspects of "the man Christ Jesus." The "fine twined linen" pictures the spotless purity of His walk and character. The "blue, the purple, and the scarlet" present Him to us as "the Lord from heaven," who is to reign according to the divine counsels. But His royalty is to be the result of His sufferings. So we have a spotless man, a heavenly man, a royal man, a suffering man. These materials were not kept to the curtains of the tabernacle alone. They were also used for the veil, the hanging for the door of the tent, the hanging for the gate of the court, the cloths of service and the holy garments of Aaron. In a word, it was Christ everywhere, Christ in all, Christ alone.

The fine twined linen is a symbol of spotless purity. That is why the priests wore it. On the great day of atonement Aaron also wore this material, so that he might picture the absolute purity of the nature of the One he was only a shadow of. The blue is always a symbol of what is heavenly — the very colour points unmistakably to this. The purple stands for Gentile [non-Jewish] royalty… The scarlet shows human glory, and it may at the same time be Jewish royalty.

Purple is the royal colour, while scarlet stands for earthly glory, and also for the blood of sacrifice… All that these things represented was found in perfection in Christ. His holy Manhood was perfect in its texture, not one thread missing or out of place. He displayed every heavenly grace and all royal power, while in the blood of His sacrifice every judicial claim of the Divine nature was met and satisfied for ever.

The cherubim go with a judicial throne and judicial power, and so they are always judicial… The cherub always stands for God's judicial authority and power. There were cherubim on the veil in Exodus 26, as over the ark and elsewhere… only on the mercy-seat it is judgment for us. It is not only a throne judging what is wrong, though this is true, but a judgment on my behalf, according to what the blood of atonement is.

Now 28 = 7 x 4. So the length is seven times four. The breadth, being also four cubits, divides the length into seven… Seven is the perfect number… and four is the number of completeness on earth — for example, the four corners of the earth, four winds, four-square, four gospels. The dimensions of the curtains then mean perfection displayed in completeness on earth. Such a meaning could only apply to the life of our blessed Lord.

Ten is the number of responsibility towards God, as, for example, in the ten commandments, and five is responsibility towards man. This teaches us that Christ as Man met the whole of His responsibility, both towards God and towards man… And He was the only One who fully and perfectly met these responsibilities.

Suppose for a moment that the Tabernacle is complete. Then the badgers' skins alone met the outward gaze. But the priest had the privilege of entering the holy place. He saw the full beauty of the fine twined linen, the blue, the purple, and the scarlet, and of the embroidered cherubim. It was Christ outside and it was Christ inside. Outside, it was Christ as the natural eye saw Him — finding no beauty that man should desire Him. Inside, it was Christ as seen by the eye opened by the Spirit of God.

The dimensions of the curtains are not without meaning... Now 28 = 7 x 4; and so the length is seven times four; and the breadth, being also four cubits, divides the length into seven. Seven and four are the characteristic numbers here. Seven is the perfect number. It cannot be divided except by itself, and it is the highest prime number. Four is the number of completeness on earth — you see it in the four corners of the earth, four winds, four-square, four gospels. So the dimensions of the curtains stand for perfection displayed in completeness on earth. Such a meaning could only apply to the life of our blessed Lord. The curtains of the tabernacle therefore speak of the complete unfolding of His perfections as Man while He passed through this scene.

The length of each curtain was twenty-eight cubits and their breadth four cubits. Twenty-eight cubits (4 x 7) by four cubits resolves each length into seven SQUARES of four cubits each. Seven is the number of divine perfection, four sets forth that which is universal. Surely this prefigures Christ... Many have snatched at world-wide dominion. He alone shall reign universally, as likewise His atoning death has in view the whole world. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son" (John 3:16). Others have been great, virtuous and good, but all except our Lord have fallen short of perfection.

The four-square is an emblem that occurs often throughout the sanctuary. It presents the idea of a witness complete on every side, seen from all the corners of the earth. So that which is perfect throughout all time was, as it were, the measure of each curtain. Also, the cubits across the combined curtains give forty, a number that appears often in Scripture in connection with testing. So the proportions of the curtains, which made the beauty of God's dwelling, speak with one great voice: here is what is perfect and has been tested on earth.

The ten curtains had one "measure;" the word means to extend, to stretch, and so to apply the standard. This is a striking picture of the Lord's life; every part of it was according to an unvarying standard. Nothing was out of proportion. In each act and in connection with every person there was the display of the same perfection in weakness.

But we have much more in the curtains of the tabernacle than the varied and perfect phases of the character of Christ. We have also the unity and consistency of that character. Each phase is displayed in its own proper perfection; and one never interferes with, or spoils the beauty of, another... Such was the fair proportion and consistency in all the ways of Christ. He was a perfect man walking on the earth, in whatever aspect or relationship we view Him. When He acted in one character, we never find anything even slightly inconsistent with the divine integrity of another. He was, at all times, in all places, under all circumstances, the perfect man.

He was not more perfect in rebuking sin and hypocrisy than in pardoning and healing the sin-sick soul. Grace did not eclipse righteousness, nor righteousness grace. Patience was always coupled with promptness; firmness with gentleness.

Only the priests saw the ten curtains of fine twined linen. The people at large saw the curtains of the court. In both cases they measured 280 cubits. That tells us the blessed Lord was not one thing before men and another thing in the eyes of His own... Do we not present ourselves as better than we really are? How good it is to let our eye rest on perfection and find joy and satisfaction there.

This first covering of ten curtains was the tabernacle proper, or "dwelling-place," as the word literally means. The other coverings appear to have been for a special use alongside this main one: protection. The "tabernacle," with its varied colours, cherubic figures and embroidery, was far more elaborate than any of the others. It spoke of our Lord in a very complete way. This first covering, the tabernacle proper, pictured Him in a way that made the other coverings secondary.

Five curtains were "coupled to one another," so that the ten made two sets of five. Ten is the number of responsibility towards God — the ten commandments, for example. Five is responsibility towards man. So we are taught that Christ as Man met the whole of His responsibility both towards God and towards man. He loved God with all His heart, and His neighbour as Himself — and in this, we know, He went even infinitely beyond. And He was the only One who ever met these responsibilities fully and perfectly.

The word for coupling together is a suggestive one. It comes from the same root as "Hebron," which means friendship, companionship. This, too, shows the absolute unity of character in our Lord. The psalmist's longing, "Unite my heart to fear your name," came perfectly true in Him. The word for "curtains" is closely tied to the word "to fear," and so pictures the unity in the fear of God seen in our Lord.

Notice too that the curtains were joined side by side, and not end to end. So they ran parallel to each other, and they ran the same length. His life never passed through stages where the will of God laid new claims on Him that He had not known before. The path opened up before Him, and He met new experiences in this wilderness world. But the full responsibility of perfect love to God and man was with Him from the beginning to the end.

The lawyer had rightly answered that the law demanded perfect love to God and to one's neighbour. Sadly, even knowing this, he thought he could inherit eternal life by doing what he had never done and never could do. Instead of owning his sin and casting himself on the mercy of God, he wanted to justify himself. Notice that he leaves out all reference to God, the claims of the first table of the law. God is so far away, unseen and unknown — can he not take it for granted that he loves and serves Him? And if he can reduce his neighbours to a few friends he likes, may he not hope to deserve eternal life by doing his duty to them? So in the lawyer's mind there was apparently little connection between the two sets of curtains.

Looking at the tabernacle as a picture of Christ, as we surely may, we can easily trace the beauty and meaning of those "loops of blue and clasps of gold." They pictured the perfect unity and consistency in the character and ways of "the man Christ Jesus," which came from His heavenly grace and divine energy. In the life of the blessed Lord Jesus, and in every scene and circumstance of that life, we see each distinct phase and feature perfect in itself. We also see all those phases and features perfectly combined, by the power of what was heavenly and divine in Him.

Five of the curtains were to be joined together, and the other five in the same way (possibly sewn). Then 50 loops of blue material, attached to the edge of each set (v. 4), joined the two sets of five, with golden clasps to hold the loops together. This formed a covering that reached from near the ground on either side, right over the frame of the tabernacle. The loops and clasps would be in the middle. In this way the ten curtains were divided into five times two. The number five points to the reality of the Lord's responsibility to God, and the number two to the witness of this in the world.

"Looloth" (loops) comes from a root meaning to roll. There can be no question about their meaning and purpose. The word may suggest the idea of roundness, matching the "eye" through which the hook passed without entering the material of the curtains themselves. The curtains were whole, and each one was perfect. The loop put on them was an addition, in the sense that the means of uniting one set to the other did not interfere with the pattern of the curtain.

Blue is always a symbol of what is heavenly. The colour itself points clearly to this meaning.

The loops were blue, as we have seen — the colour of heaven. So His whole life of obedience was marked by this: He came from heaven, He lived in heaven, and He was to return to heaven. The mark of heaven was upon it all.

In the loops of blue and the clasps of gold we see the heavenly grace and divine energy in Christ. They enabled Him to combine and perfectly adjust the claims of God and the claims of man. In answering both, He never for a moment marred the unity of His character. Crafty and hypocritical men tempted Him with the question, "Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?" His wise reply was, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."

He loved His Father perfectly, but that was the pledge of His perfect love to man. On the other hand, no hands or heart were ever so full of love and labour for people; but there was nothing sentimental or merely humanitarian about it. The loops of blue were upon all, linking all with His Father's will.

These loops and clasps might look very small and unimportant, but without them there could have been no unity. The curtains, however beautiful in themselves, would have hung apart from each other, and so one grand feature of what the tabernacle showed would have been lost.

The loops of blue and the clasps of gold bring out the thought that everything for God, and for us, stands secure on the ground of divine righteousness (gold) and heavenly grace (blue).

In 1 Corinthians 16 we have a lovely and practical illustration of our subject. Verse 13 says, "Act like men, be strong." Here we have one fine feature of the Christian character — that manly strength which is so desirable. But taken by itself, this could easily turn into a rough, rude, high-handed way of dealing with others — the opposite of the example Christ gives us. So the Spirit in the apostle forms a loop of blue, and with a golden clasp links to this manly strength another feature that is so needed — love. "Let all that you do be done in love." Most precious combination!

In the tabernacle we have more than this. The curtains show us Christ in various ways — Christ in His human purity and righteousness — Christ in what was heavenly — Christ in His glory, whether toward the Jews or reaching over the nations too, with His right to judge declared.

Ten is the number of responsibility towards God, as in the ten commandments (see also Exodus 30:13). Five is responsibility towards man (see Gen. 47:24; Num. 5:7). So we are taught that Christ as Man met the whole of His responsibility both towards God and towards man. He loved God with all His heart, and His neighbour as Himself — and in this, we know, He went even infinitely beyond. He was the only One who fully and perfectly met these responsibilities.

The number 50, which is 5 x 10, raises the thought of responsibility both towards God and among men. But to say more than this would be only guesswork.

"Looloth" (loops) comes from a root meaning to roll. The word may suggest roundness, matching the "eye" through which the hook passed without going into the material of the curtains themselves. These were whole, and each was perfect. The loop put on them was an addition, in the sense that the thing joining one set to the other did not interfere with the pattern of the curtain.

The loops were blue — the colour of heaven. He was from heaven, lived in heaven, and was to return to heaven, and this marked His whole life of obedience. The mark of heaven was upon it all. On the curtains that spoke of His perfect love and obedience to God were the blue loops. They show that such love and obedience were to be joined to a life on earth, where its responsibilities were made one with His service to God. So the blue loops on the second set of curtains show that all was one with His devotion to God.

His love for man was as complete as if that were the whole of His life. Even unbelief has had to admit the beauty of His human character... In the same way, His love to God was as absolute as if there were not a man in existence... But on the "outermost edge" of each set God put the blue loops, to remind us that He would show a God-made link between our responsibilities to Him and to man, His creature. We cannot imagine our Lord thinking of man and leaving out God, or the other way round. He was neither a recluse nor a mere philanthropist.

In 1 Corinthians 16 we have a lovely and practical illustration of our subject. Verse 13 says, "Act like men, be strong." Here is one fine feature of Christian character — that manly strength which is so desirable. But by itself, this could easily sink into a rough, rude, high-handed way of dealing with others... So the Spirit in the apostle forms a loop of blue, and with a golden clasp links another much-needed feature on to this strength — love. "Let all that you do be done in love." A most precious combination! Untie this heavenly loop, and you will get either a high, haughty, thoughtless manner, or a soft, weak way of acting that gives up everything for peace and quiet.

The tabernacle had four coverings, in two pairs. Two formed the tabernacle itself; the other two were simply coverings. The inner one of the first pair was made of ten curtains of fine twined linen, with blue, purple, scarlet, and cherubim worked into them. This is called in our translation (26:1) "the tabernacle," but the Hebrew word means "the dwelling-place" or "habitation." It is a related word to "the shekinah," the name given to the cloud in which the LORD dwelt. These linen curtains pictured above all the dwelling-place of God. They represent to us the perfect humanity of the Lord Jesus... No one outside could see these curtains. It was the privilege of the priestly family to go inside and behold these glories.

As in the previous chapter so here the instructions start with the innermost curtain. God works from the inside to the outside — from what only the priests inside could see, to what met the eyes of the people outside.

The loops of blue and the clasps of gold joined the curtains together and kept the visible unity of the whole structure. These loops and clasps might seem very slight and unimportant, but without them there could have been no unity. The curtains, however beautiful in themselves, would have hung apart from each other. One grand feature of the display would then be missing.

The loops of blue and clasps of gold pictured that perfect unity and consistency in the character and ways of "the Man Christ Jesus" which were the result of His heavenly grace and divine energy. In the life of the blessed Lord Jesus, and in all the scenes and circumstances of that life, we see each distinct phase and feature perfect in itself. We also see a perfect combination of all those phases and features, by the power of that which was heavenly and divine in Him.

The loops of blue and clasps of gold bring out the thought that everything for God, and for us, is secured on the ground of divine righteousness (gold) and heavenly grace (blue).

Above the place where the veil hung, clasps set into loops of heavenly blue joined the two sets of five curtains into "one tabernacle." These clasps were not of brass (the metal of the altar) but of gold (the metal of the throne). So they bring before us yet again the glory of the Son of God our Risen Saviour.

Ten is the number of responsibility towards God, as, for example, in the ten commandments... and five is responsibility towards man. So we are taught that Christ as Man met the whole of His responsibility both towards God and towards man. He loved God with all His heart, and His neighbour as Himself — and in this, we know, He went infinitely beyond even that. And He was the only One who ever met these responsibilities fully and perfectly.

Admire the beauty of these many-coloured curtains, where the golden clasp of divine glory embraces the blue loop of heaven's love stooping down to us! So they are joined into one, and their folds hang down over the boards, which are overlaid with gold again. This is the Church, as we have already seen in the beauty put upon her — the glory of Christ her Lord.