## Christ in the Tabernacle

### Typical Teaching of the Tabernacle

10 - The Coverings -
  Ex 26:7-14. A tent, made of eleven curtains of goat's hair, each four cubits wide and thirty cubits long, covered the Tabernacle. These eleven curtains were bound together in two large curtains, five curtains in one, and six curtains in the other, which were coupled together as one, by fifty clasps of brass.

  A covering of rams' skins dyed red was placed over the goats' hair tent, and above and over all was the covering of badgers' skins, or seal skins.

  For us, the typical meaning of these coverings is discovered in the key verse given in Joh 1:14, ''and, the Word became flesh, and dwelt (or 'tabernacled') among us.'' Christ was God incarnate, He was God dwelling in a tabernacle of flesh, God manifest in the flesh, for ''in Him dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.'' Joh 2:19,21; 2Cor 5:1; 1Tim 3:16; Col 2:9

  The outer covering of dark brown dirty looking badgers' skins, which protected all of the Tabernacle from the defiling elements without, foreshadows the humiliation of Christ, of whom we read that ''when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.'' Isa 53:2

  This does not speak of Christ's personal appearance, but of His great humiliation in leaving His place in glory with the Father, as One who was equal with the Father, Himself the Creator of the universe, and in taking upon Himself ''the likeness of sinful flesh,'' becoming a worm of the dust. Joh 17:5; Rom 8:3; Php 2:5-8

  The humility of Christ, His absolute subjection to the mind and will of God, in being willing to take the lowest place on God's footstool, in order to save others, protected Him from everything that was defiling here on earth. Joh 6:38; Gal 1:4

  The delight which Jesus found in doing His Father's will was the yoke which kept Him continually, as the meek and lowly Ox, in God's way. Psa 40:8; Joh 8:29; Mat 11:29,30

  If, like Him, we are girded with humility, delighting to do His will in living for others, we will not only be protected from the defiling things about us, but we will find rest unto our souls, for His ''yoke is easy and His burden is light.'' Mat 11:29,30; 1Pet 5:5 [RV]

  The rams' skins dyed red at once suggests to us the object of Christ's humiliation, to offer Himself as a sacrifice for sin. (Php 2:8; Heb 9:26; Gen 22:13) This was the consummation of a life of faith and obedience. (Heb 12:2; Php 2:8) His absolute devotion unto God even unto death, made it possible for Jesus to say, ''It is finished.'' Joh 19:30

  Paul, filled with the same Spirit, said ''I count not my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.'' (Acts 20:24) At the close of his life, by the grace of God, He could say ''I have finished my course.'' 1Cor 15:10; 2Tim 4:7

  What Paul did, by the grace of God, in finishing his course, as a bond-slave of Jesus Christ, every believer can do.

  The tent, or covering of goats' hair reminds us of the result of Christ's death for us, the purification of sins. Upon the head of the scapegoat, all the sins of the children of Israel were laid on the great day of atonement, and borne away ''into a land not inhabited,'' a land where there would be no one to call them to remembrance. Lev 16:21,22

  The result for us, of the finished work of Christ, is that all our sins have been judged and put away, so that our Father ''remembers them no more.'' Heb 1:3; 10:17; Psa 103:12

Proceed to the next section of this study: 11- The Tabernacle
Return to the Table of Contents for this study on the Tabernacle.

This study can be accessed under Book Notes at Exodus chapter 25.
Go to The Book opening page.