In this chapter directions are given,
I. Concerning the brazen altar for burnt-offerings,
ver. 1-8.
II. Concerning the court of the tabernacle, with the hangings of it,
Exodus 27:9-19.
III. Concerning oil for the lamp,
Exodus 27:20,21.
The Tabernacle and Its Furniture.
B. C. 1491.
1 And thou shalt make an altar of shittim wood, five cubits
long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be foursquare: and
the height thereof shall be three cubits.
2 And thou shalt make the horns of it upon the four corners
thereof: his horns shall be of the same: and thou shalt overlay
it with brass.
3 And thou shalt make his pans to receive his ashes, and his
shovels, and his basons, and his fleshhooks, and his firepans:
all the vessels thereof thou shalt make of brass.
4 And thou shalt make for it a grate of network of brass; and
upon the net shalt thou make four brasen rings in the four
corners thereof.
5 And thou shalt put it under the compass of the altar beneath,
that the net may be even to the midst of the altar.
6 And thou shalt make staves for the altar, staves of shittim
wood, and overlay them with brass.
7 And the staves shall be put into the rings, and the staves
shall be upon the two sides of the altar, to bear it.
8 Hollow with boards shalt thou make it: as it was showed thee
in the mount, so shall they make it.
As God intended in the tabernacle to manifest his presence among his
people, so there they were to pay their devotions to him, not in the
tabernacle itself (into that only the priests entered as God's domestic
servants), but in the court before the tabernacle, where, as common
subjects, they attended. There an altar was ordered to be set up, to
which they must bring their sacrifices, and on which their priests must
offer them to God: and this altar was to sanctify their gifts. Here
they were to present their services to God, as from the mercy-seat he
gave his oracles to them; and thus a communion was settled between God
and Israel. Moses is here directed about,
1. The dimensions of it; it was square,
Exodus 27:1,2.
2. The horns of it
(Exodus 27:2),
which were for ornament and for use; the sacrifices were bound with
cords to the horns of the altar, and to them malefactors fled for
refuge.
3. The materials; it was of wood overlaid with brass,
Exodus 27:1,2.
4. The appurtenances of it
(Exodus 27:3),
which were all of brass.
5. The grate, which was let into the hollow of the altar, about the
middle of it, in which the fire was kept, and the sacrifice burnt; it
was made of network like a sieve, and hung hollow, that the fire might
burn the better, and that the ashes might fall through into the hollow
of the altar,
Exodus 27:4,5.
6. The staves with which it must be carried,
Exodus 27:6,7.
And, lastly, he is referred to the pattern shown him,
Exodus 27:8.
Now this brazen altar was a type of Christ dying to make atonement for
our sins: the wood would have been consumed by the fire from heaven if
it had not been secured by the brass; nor could the human nature of
Christ have borne the wrath of God if it had not been supported by a
divine power. Christ sanctified himself for his church, as their altar
(John 17:19),
and by his mediation sanctifies the daily services of his people, who
have also a right to eat of this altar
(Hebrews 13:10),
for they serve at it as spiritual priests. To the horns of this altar
poor sinners fly for refuge when justice pursues them, and they are
safe in virtue of the sacrifice there offered.
9 And thou shalt make the court of the tabernacle: for the
south side southward there shall be hangings for the court of
fine twined linen of an hundred cubits long for one side:
10 And the twenty pillars thereof and their twenty sockets
shall be of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets
shall be of silver.
11 And likewise for the north side in length there shall be
hangings of an hundred cubits long, and his twenty pillars and
their twenty sockets of brass; the hooks of the pillars and
their fillets of silver.
12 And for the breadth of the court on the west side shall
be hangings of fifty cubits: their pillars ten, and their
sockets ten.
13 And the breadth of the court on the east side eastward
shall be fifty cubits.
14 The hangings of one side of the gate shall be fifteen
cubits: their pillars three, and their sockets three.
15 And on the other side shall be hangings fifteen cubits:
their pillars three, and their sockets three.
16 And for the gate of the court shall be an hanging of
twenty cubits, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine
twined linen, wrought with needlework: and their pillars shall
be four, and their sockets four.
17 All the pillars round about the court shall be filleted
with silver; their hooks shall be of silver, and their sockets
of brass.
18 The length of the court shall be an hundred cubits, and
the breadth fifty every where, and the height five cubits of
fine twined linen, and their sockets of brass.
19 All the vessels of the tabernacle in all the service
thereof, and all the pins thereof, and all the pins of the court,
shall be of brass.
Before the tabernacle there was to be a court or yard, enclosed with
hangings of the finest linen that was used for tents. This court,
according to the common computation of cubits, was fifty yards long,
and twenty-five broad. Pillars were set up at convenient distances, in
sockets of brass, the pillars filleted with silver, and silver
tenter-hooks in them, on which the linen hangings were fastened: the
hanging which served for the gate was finer than the rest,
Exodus 27:16.
This court was a type of the church, enclosed and distinguished from
the rest of the world, the enclosure supported by pillars, denoting the
stability of the church, hung with the clean linen, which is said to be
the righteousness of saints,
Revelation 19:8.
These were the courts David longed for and coveted to reside in
(Psalms 84:2,10),
and into which the people of God entered with praise and thanksgiving
(Psalms 100:4);
yet this court would contain but a few worshippers. Thanks be to God,
now, under the gospel, the enclosure is taken down. God's will is that
men pray every where; and there is room for all that in every
place call on the name of Jesus Christ.
20 And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they
bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp
to burn always.
21 In the tabernacle of the congregation without the vail,
which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order
it from evening to morning before the LORD: it shall be a
statute for ever unto their generations on the behalf of the
children of Israel.
We read of the candlestick in the twenty-fifth chapter; here is an
order given for the keeping of the lamps constantly burning in it, else
it was useless; in every candlestick there should be a burning and
shining light; candlesticks without candles are as wells without
water or as clouds without rain. Now,
1. The people were to provide the oil; from them the Lord's ministers
must have their maintenance. Or, rather, the pure oil signified the
gifts and graces of the Spirit, which are communicated to all believers
from Christ the good olive, of whose fulness we receive
(Zechariah 4:11,12),
and without which our light cannot shine before men.
2. The priests were to light the lamps, and to tend them; it was part
of their daily service to cause the lamp to burn always, night
and day; thus it is the work of ministers, by the preaching and
expounding of the scriptures (which are as a lamp), to enlighten the
church, God's tabernacle upon the earth, and to direct the spiritual
priests in his service. This is to be a statute for ever, that
the lamps of the word be lighted as duly as the incense of prayer and
praise is offered.
Matthew Henry "Verse by Verse Commentary for 'Exodus' Matthew Henry Bible Commentary".
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