CHAPTER 37

(1491 B.C.)

ARK OF THE COVENANT

¹And Bezaleel made the Ark of Shittim Wood: two cubits and a half (3 and 3/4 feet) was the length of it, and a cubit and a half (2 and 1/4 feet) the breadth (width) of it, and a cubit and a half the height of it (in a sense, this was Gods Dwelling Place on Earth, as it regards His association with man):

²And he overlaid it with Pure Gold within and without (signifying the Deity of Christ), and made a Crown of Gold to it round about (signifying that Jesus was a King).

³And he cast for it four rings of gold, to be set by the four corners of it; even two rings upon the one side of it, and two rings upon the other side of it.

⁴And he made staves of Shittim Wood (the wood signified the Humanity of Christ), and overlaid them with gold.

⁵And he put the staves into the rings by the sides of the Ark, to bear the Ark. (When the people were told by the Lord to move, the Ark, plus all the other Sacred Vessels of the Tabernacle, were to move as well. Due to the Cross, the Holy Spirit now lives within our hearts and lives, at least all who are Born-Again and, consequently, is with us at all times. As should be obvious, the abiding Presence of the Holy Spirit is far better than the old method, hence Paul saying that we now have a Better Covenant [Heb. 8:6].)

MERCY SEAT

⁶And he made the Mercy Seat of Pure Gold (which sat on top of the Ark of the Covenant): two cubits and a half (3 and 3/4 feet) was the length thereof, and one cubit and a half (2 and 1/4 feet) the breadth (width) thereof.

⁷And he made two Cherubims of gold, beaten out of one piece made he them, on the two ends of the Mercy Seat (meaning that the two Cherubims and the Mercy Seat were all of one piece of gold);

⁸One Cherub on the end on this side, and another Cherub on the other end on that side: out of the Mercy Seat made he the Cherubims on the two ends thereof. (The Mercy of God, based on the Holiness of God, tells us that only Christ can come near. He Alone is Holy!)

⁹And the Cherubims spread out their wings on high, and covered with their wings over the Mercy Seat (the four wings touched each other in the middle), with their faces one to another; even to the Mercy Seatward were the faces of the Cherubims (the faces looked down toward the Mercy Seat; inside the Ark were the Ten Commandments on two tablets of stone; man had broken them repeatedly; so they saw the broken Law; however, with the blood applied to the Mercy Seat, which it was once a year by the High Priest, instead of seeing the broken Law, they saw the blood [Ex. 12:13]).

TABLE OF SHEWBREAD

¹⁰And he made the Table (holding twelve loaves) of Shittim Wood: two cubits (3 feet) was the length thereof, and a cubit (1 and 1/2 feet) the breadth (width) thereof, and a cubit and a half (2 and 1/4 feet) the height thereof:

¹¹And he overlaid it with Pure Gold (as the wood signified the Humanity of Christ, which was necessary in order that He might go to the Cross, the gold typified His Deity; while He laid aside the expression of His Deity, He never laid aside the possession of His Deity), and made thereunto a Crown of Gold round about (signifying the Kingship of Christ).

¹²Also he made thereunto a border of an handbreadth round about; and made a Crown of Gold for the border thereof round about. (In essence, there were two crowns around the Table of Shewbread. They spoke of His two comings. He came the first time as a King, but was not recognized as such. When He comes back the second time, He definitely will be recognized as King, King of kings, and Lord of lords.)

¹³And he cast for it four rings of gold, and put the rings upon the four corners that were in the four feet thereof.

¹⁴Over against the border were the rings, the places for the staves to bear the Table (when it was moved).

¹⁵And he made the staves of Shittim Wood, and overlaid them with Gold, to bear the Table.

¹⁶And he made the vessels which were upon the Table, his dishes, and his spoons, and his bowls, and his covers to cover withal, of pure gold. (The above Verses portray the Table of Shewbread, a Type of Christ as the Bread of Life.)

THE GOLDEN CANDLESTICK

¹⁷And he made the Candlestick of Pure Gold (the Lampstand is a Type of Christ as the Light of the world; incidentally, the Hebrew word should have been translated Lampstand, because its not a candlestick; in fact, no candles were involved): of beaten work made he the Candlestick (beaten and shaped by the craftsmans hand, this portrays Christ in His Sufferings); his shaft (the middle stem, which portrayed Christ as the Source of all Blessings), and his branch, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, were of the same:

¹⁸And six branches going out of the sides thereof; three branches of the Candlestick out of the one side thereof, and three branches of the Candlestick out of the other side thereof (the three on each side, totaling six, which is the number of man, represent the Church, the Body of Christ; the middle prong, representing Christ, added with the six totaled seven, which is Gods Perfect Number; the idea is, the People of God cannot be complete, not at all, without Christ):

¹⁹Three bowls made after the fashion of almonds in one branch (represents the Resurrection of Christ), a knop (represents pomegranates, i.e., fruit) and a flower (was no doubt the lily, denoting purity); and three bowls made like almonds in another branch, a knop and a flower; so throughout the six branches going out of the Candlestick.

²⁰And in the Candlestick were four bowls made like almonds, his knops, and his flowers (the four bowls represent the fourfold Gospel, Salvation, Holy Spirit Baptism, Divine Healing, and the Second Coming):

²¹And 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 going out of it (the repetition of the branches proclaims the fact that all in the Church are treated the same by the Holy Spirit and, abiding by the Word, will receive the same Blessings from the Lord).

²²Their knops and their branches were of the same: all of it was one beaten work of pure gold (all being one piece signifies that the Mercy of God is based entirely upon the Holiness of God).

²³And he made his seven lamps (seven, being Gods Perfect Number, proclaims perfect illumination), and his snuffers (for the trimming of the wicks), and his snuffdishes, of pure gold (signifying that God Alone can make the Believer what the Believer ought to be).

²⁴Of a talent of pure gold made he it, and all the vessels thereof (worth about $576,000 in 2004 money).

INCENSE ALTAR

²⁵And he made the Incense Altar of Shittim Wood: the length of it was a cubit (1 and 1/2 feet), and the breadth (width) of it a cubit (the Incense Altar, which sat immediately in front of the Veil which separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies, was a Type of the Intercessory Work of our Lord, as our Great High Priest [Heb. 7:26-28]); it was foursquare (stipulating the fact that the Intercession is the same for all men everywhere, at least for those who believe); and two cubits (3 feet) was the height of it; the horns thereof were of the same (four horns protruded out from the Altar, one at each corner).

²⁶And he overlaid it with Pure Gold, both the top of it, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns of it: also he made unto it a Crown of Gold round about (once again, stipulating Christ as King).

²⁷And he made two rings of gold for it under the crown thereof, by the two corners of it, upon the two sides thereof, to be places for the staves to bear it withal.

²⁸And he made the staves of Shittim Wood, and overlaid them with gold (the staves inserted in the rings, by which the Altar of Incense could be handled when it was moved, speaks to us of the constant need of Intercession, irrespective as to where we might be).

ANOINTING OIL

²⁹And he made the Holy Anointing Oil, and the pure incense of sweet spices, according to the work of the apothecary. (For the composition of the oil, see Exodus 30:23-25. The composition of the Incense is given in Exodus 30:34-35.)