Bird's-eye view
After the great deliverance from Egypt and the giving of the law at Sinai, God now provides instructions for His dwelling place among His people. This is a central theme of Exodus: God delivers His people, God instructs them, and God accompanies them. These chapters are not a tedious architectural appendix; they are the heart of the matter. God is condescending to pitch His tent in the midst of their tents. This is grace upon grace. The tabernacle is a portable Eden, a structured cosmos, and a pre-incarnate whisper of the Word becoming flesh and "tabernacling" among us (John 1:14). Every detail, from the color of the thread to the number of loops, is dripping with theological significance. God is teaching His people, through this intricate object lesson, the nature of holiness, the pattern of true worship, and the ultimate reality of Christ's redemptive work.
In these first six verses, we are given the blueprint for the innermost layer of the tabernacle itself, the beautiful curtains that would form the walls and ceiling of God's house. This is the fabric of heaven brought down to earth. We see here a picture of the church, beautiful and skillfully made, guarded by the very attendants of God's throne, and brought together into a perfect unity through divine and precious means. The central lesson is that God's dwelling place is to be a single, unified whole, made beautiful by His design and held together by His divine power.
Outline
- 1. The Fabric of Heaven (Exod. 26:1)
- a. The Materials of Holiness
- b. The Guardians of the Presence
- 2. The Measurements of God (Exod. 26:2)
- a. Divine Precision
- b. A Standard of Uniformity
- 3. The Structure of Unity (Exod. 26:3-6)
- a. Two Sets Made One
- b. Heavenly Connections
- c. The Golden Clasps of Christ
Clause-by-Clause Commentary
Exodus 26:1
"Moreover you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twisted linen and blue and purple and scarlet material; you shall make them with cherubim, the work of a skillful designer."
Right away, we are told what this dwelling is to be made of. This is not a crude shelter. This is the house of the King of the universe. The fine twisted linen speaks of righteousness and purity. This is the fabric worn by the saints in glory (Rev. 19:8). The colors are not arbitrary interior design choices. Blue is the color of the heavens, speaking of the divine origin and nature of this dwelling. Purple is the color of royalty; this is the tent of a great King. And scarlet is the color of blood, of sacrifice, and of life. From the very beginning, the way into God's presence is marked by the blood of a substitute. These are the colors of the gospel. And woven into this fabric are cherubim. These are the guardians of holiness, the very beings who guarded the way back to Eden (Gen. 3:24) and who surround the throne of God in heaven (Ezek. 10; Rev. 4). Their presence here signifies that this tabernacle is a new Eden, a place where God will once again walk with man. This is holy ground, and it is to be made with the highest level of craftsmanship, the work of a skillful designer, reflecting the beauty and order of the ultimate Designer.
Exodus 26:2
"The length of each curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits; all the curtains shall have the same measurements."
God is a God of precision. He is not sloppy, and He does not want sloppy worship. The numbers here are significant. Ten curtains in total, a number of order and completion. Each curtain is twenty-eight by four cubits. These are not random figures. They are God's prescribed dimensions. This teaches us that we do not approach God on our own terms, with our own inventions. We come according to the pattern He has revealed. The fact that all the curtains shall have the same measurements points to the uniformity of God's standard. There is one standard of righteousness, one way of access. God's holiness is consistent and unchanging.
Exodus 26:3
"Five curtains shall be joined to one another, and the other five curtains shall be joined to one another."
The ten curtains are made into two large sets of five. They are sewn together, edge to edge. This creates two large tapestries. Why two? Perhaps it points to the two great divisions of God's people, Israel and the Gentiles. Perhaps it points to the two tablets of the covenant, the foundation of their relationship with God. Whatever the specific symbolism, the larger point is that what was separate is now being prepared for union. God's purpose is always to bring together, to make one out of many.
Exodus 26:4-5
"And you shall make loops of blue on the edge of the outermost curtain in the one set, and likewise you shall make them on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in the second set. You shall make fifty loops in the one curtain, and you shall make fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is in the second set; the loops shall be opposite each other."
Here we see the means of connection. Loops, made of blue thread, are to be attached to the edges of these two large curtain sets. The connection points are heavenly. The unity of God's people is not a man-made, organizational unity. It is a spiritual reality, established from heaven. There are to be fifty loops on each side, a number often associated with jubilee and liberation. And they are to be set opposite each other. This speaks of a perfect, corresponding fit. The church is not a jumble of mismatched parts. In God's design, every member is made to connect with another. There is a mutuality, a reciprocity, that is essential for the structure to hold together.
Exodus 26:6
"You shall make fifty clasps of gold, and you shall join the curtains to one another with the clasps so that the tabernacle will be a unit."
This is the glorious conclusion. The two sets of curtains, with their corresponding loops, are brought together by fifty clasps of gold. Gold in Scripture consistently represents that which is divine, pure, and precious. What is it that joins the two sides together? What is it that makes the many into one? It is something divine and of infinite worth. This is a glorious type of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the golden clasp who joins Jew and Gentile into one new man (Eph. 2:14-16). He is the one who holds His church together. The result is emphatic: "so that the tabernacle will be a unit." One tabernacle. Not two, not a collection of parts, but one dwelling place for the living God. This is the goal of our redemption, that we might be one, even as the Father and the Son are one (John 17:22).
Key Issues
- The Tabernacle as a Type: The entire structure is a shadow, a physical representation of spiritual realities. It points forward to Christ, who is the true dwelling place of God, and to the Church, which is His body, the temple of the Holy Spirit.
- The Beauty of Holiness: God's dwelling is not drab or utilitarian. It is glorious, made with precious materials and exquisite craftsmanship. This reflects the inherent beauty of God's own character and the kind of beautiful holiness He is cultivating in His people.
- The Unity of the Church: The central thrust of this passage is the creation of a single unit from many parts. The unity of the church is not an afterthought; it is woven into the very design of God's house. This unity is achieved through divine means (golden clasps) and results in one body.
- Worship According to Scripture: The detailed instructions underscore the principle that God must be worshiped as He commands, not as we see fit. The pattern for worship, like the pattern for the tabernacle, is revealed by God.
Application
We are no longer under the old covenant, and we do not build a physical tabernacle. But the principles embodied in these instructions are eternal. The church is now the temple of the living God (1 Cor. 3:16). Each believer is a living stone being built into a spiritual house (1 Pet. 2:5). This means that our lives, individually and corporately, are to be constructed with the same attention to God's design.
The materials of our lives should be the fine linen of righteousness, the heavenly-mindedness of blue, the royal identity we have in Christ, and an understanding that we are bought with the scarlet blood of the Lamb. Our churches should be places where the holiness of God is guarded, where the cherubim might be said to watch over our worship.
Most importantly, we must take the unity of the body with utmost seriousness. We are to be joined together, not by flimsy man-made programs, but by the golden clasps of a shared faith in the divine Christ. He alone makes us one. Our task is to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Eph. 4:3), recognizing that the tabernacle is to be one unit, a single, glorious testimony to the God who dwells in our midst.