Bird's-eye view
In this passage, we are given the divine blueprint for the second layer of the Tabernacle's coverings. Having just described the beautiful, intricate inner curtains of fine linen, God now instructs Moses on the construction of a rugged, utilitarian tent of goats' hair to go over it. This is followed by two more outer layers, one of rams' skins dyed red and another of porpoise or sea cow skins. The movement is from glorious beauty on the inside to a hardy, weather-beaten exterior. This architectural detail is packed with theological significance. The Tabernacle is God's dwelling place with man, a portable Eden, and as such, every detail speaks of Christ and His work. This layering principle teaches us about the nature of the Church and of the individual believer. There is an internal glory, hidden from the world, and an external appearance that is plain, designed to bear the brunt of a hostile environment. It is a picture of the incarnation: divinity veiled in humble flesh. It is a picture of the Church: glorious within, but appearing ordinary and beleaguered to the watching world. And it is a picture of the Christian life: our true identity is hidden with Christ in God, while outwardly we bear the marks of our sojourn in a fallen world.
The precise measurements, the number of curtains, the loops, and the clasps all point to the meticulous nature of God's design. Nothing is arbitrary. The unity of the structure, emphasized by the joining of the curtains into one, prefigures the unity of Christ's body. The materials themselves are symbolic: the goats' hair speaks of our sin offering, the red rams' skins of substitutionary sacrifice, and the tough outer skins of protection from the elements of judgment. God is building a house for Himself, and He is teaching us, through these tangible instructions, profound spiritual truths about how a holy God can dwell among a sinful people.
Outline
- 1. The Outer Tent: A Covering for the Dwelling (Exod 26:7-14)
- a. The Goats' Hair Curtains: A Tent of Humility (Exod 26:7-9)
- b. The Bronze Clasps: A Judgment-Bearing Unity (Exod 26:10-11)
- c. The Overlapping Excess: A Full Covering (Exod 26:12-13)
- d. The Sacrificial Layers: A Shield of Atonement (Exod 26:14)
Context In Exodus
This section of Exodus (chapters 25-31) contains God's detailed instructions for the construction of the Tabernacle, its furniture, and the priestly garments. This comes immediately after the ratification of the covenant at Sinai (Exod 24). The sequence is crucial. First, God saves His people (the Exodus). Second, He gives them His law and they bind themselves to Him in covenant (Sinai). Third, He provides a way to dwell in their midst (the Tabernacle). The Tabernacle is the gracious provision for how a holy God can live among a stiff-necked people without consuming them. It is the gospel in architecture. These instructions are not merely for a functional tent; they are a revelation of God's character and His plan of redemption. The specific instructions in our passage for the outer coverings follow the description of the glorious inner sanctuary, showing that God's glory is to be veiled and protected. This entire section is a deep dive into the grammar of worship, teaching Israel, and us, how to approach the living God.
Key Issues
- The Symbolism of the Layers
- Goats' Hair as a Sin Offering
- Bronze as a Metal of Judgment
- The Typology of the Tabernacle as Christ and the Church
- The Relationship Between Inner Glory and Outer Humility
From Glory to Grit
One of the central principles of biblical theology is that of hiddenness. God's glory is often veiled. The Creator of the universe comes as a baby in a manger. The King of kings is executed like a common criminal. The power of the resurrection works quietly in the hearts of believers. We see this same principle at work in the structure of the Tabernacle. The innermost layer, the dwelling itself, was a masterpiece of blue, purple, and scarlet, with cherubim woven into the fabric. This was the immediate environment of God's presence, and it was glorious. But no ordinary Israelite ever saw it.
What they saw was the exterior, described in our passage. They saw a rugged tent of dark goats' hair, covered by animal skins. It would have looked plain, functional, even drab from the outside. The beauty was all on the inside, hidden from casual view. This is a profound picture of Christ. Isaiah tells us He had "no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him" (Isa 53:2). The world saw a Galilean carpenter, but hidden within that humble exterior was the fullness of deity. This is also a picture of the Church. To the world, we are a motley crew, a gathering of unimpressive people. But inwardly, we are being made into a glorious temple for the Lord. The world judges by outward appearance, but God looks at the heart, and He is building His glorious dwelling there.
Verse by Verse Commentary
7 “Then you shall make curtains of goats’ hair for a tent over the tabernacle; you shall make eleven curtains in all.
Immediately after describing the beautiful inner curtains, the instruction turns to the next layer out. This is to be a "tent" (ohel) that goes "over the tabernacle" (mishkan). The two words distinguish the inner dwelling from the outer covering. This tent is made of goats' hair. In the biblical world, goat hair was a common material for making tents. It was durable, coarse, and dark. But it also has a strong sacrificial overtone. The goat was a key animal in the sin offering, particularly on the Day of Atonement (Lev 16:7-10). So, the very material of this covering speaks of sin and its remedy. The glorious dwelling of God is covered by a reminder of the people's sin and the provision God has made for it. The fact that there are eleven curtains, an odd number, is also significant. It creates an asymmetry that is resolved in how it is draped over the structure, suggesting a complete and generous covering.
8 The length of each curtain shall be thirty cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits; the eleven curtains shall have the same measurements.
God is a God of order, not chaos. The measurements are precise. Each of these eleven curtains is to be thirty cubits long (about 45 feet) and four cubits wide (about 6 feet). This is slightly larger than the inner curtains, which were twenty-eight cubits long. This extra length is necessary so that this outer tent can completely cover and protect the inner dwelling. The uniformity of the curtains points to the consistency of God's provision. His plan of redemption is not haphazard; it is meticulously designed.
9 And you shall join five curtains by themselves and the other six curtains by themselves, and you shall double over the sixth curtain at the front of the tent.
Just like the inner curtains, these are to be sewn together into two large pieces. One piece is made of five curtains, and the other of six. This creates the two halves of the tent. The instruction to double over the sixth curtain at the front of the tent is a detail that has practical and symbolic purpose. It would create a sort of awning or reinforced entrance, marking the way in. It also uses up the extra width of the eleven curtains, ensuring a proper fit over the ten-curtain structure beneath it.
10 You shall make fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in the one set, and fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in the second set.
Again, we see a parallel with the inner curtains. Loops are to be made on the edges of the two large pieces where they will join in the middle. The number fifty is significant. It is the number of Jubilee, the number of release and freedom (Lev 25:10). It points to the ultimate release from sin that this entire structure prefigures. The means of joining the tent together points to the freedom that this union accomplishes.
11 “You shall make fifty clasps of bronze, and you shall put the clasps into the loops and join the tent together so that it will be one unit.
Here we have a crucial difference from the inner sanctuary. The inner curtains were joined with clasps of gold, the metal of divinity and glory. This outer tent is joined with clasps of bronze. Throughout the Tabernacle, bronze is associated with judgment. The altar of burnt offering, where sin was judged, was made of bronze (Exod 27:2). The laver for washing was bronze. When Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness to save the people from judgment, it was a bronze serpent (Num 21:9). Therefore, the very clasps that hold this sin-offering tent together are made of the metal of judgment. The tent of goats' hair, representing our sin, is held together by God's judgment on that sin. This is the gospel. Christ became our sin offering, and He bore the judgment for it, and in so doing He makes us one.
12 The overlapping part that is left over in the curtains of the tent, the half curtain that is left over, shall lap over the back of the tabernacle.
Because this tent is larger than the inner dwelling, there is an excess. God specifies exactly what to do with it. The extra half-curtain's worth of material is to hang down over the back (the western side) of the Tabernacle. This ensures that the glorious dwelling is completely covered, from top to bottom and from front to back. There are no gaps. God's provision for covering sin is not partial; it is total.
13 The cubit on one side and the cubit on the other, of what is left over in the length of the curtains of the tent, shall lap over the sides of the tabernacle on one side and on the other to cover it.
The extra length of the curtains (thirty cubits vs. twenty-eight) is also accounted for. This extra material, one cubit on each side, is to hang down over the north and south sides of the structure. Again, the emphasis is on a full, complete covering. The picture is of a garment that is more than adequate, generously draping over and protecting what is precious within. This is how the righteousness of Christ covers us; it is more than enough.
14 You shall make a covering for the tent of rams’ skins dyed red and a covering of porpoise skins above.
Two more layers are added. Over the goats' hair tent, there is to be a covering of rams' skins dyed red. The ram was the sacrifice of consecration for the priests (Exod 29:19-22) and was also the trespass offering (Lev 5:15). Most significantly, it was a ram that God provided to Abraham as a substitute for Isaac (Gen 22:13). The skins, dyed red, speak powerfully of substitutionary atonement, of life laid down and blood shed. Then, on the very top, is a final covering of "porpoise skins." The Hebrew word, tahash, is uncertain, but it likely refers to the tough, waterproof skin of a sea creature like a dolphin or dugong (sea cow). This was the outermost layer, exposed to the sun, wind, and rain. It was not beautiful, but it was tough and protective. It was the shield that protected the entire sanctuary from the harsh elements of the wilderness. It represents the protection Christ provides for His church, shielding us from the wrath and judgment of God that we deserve.
Application
The lessons from these ancient blueprints are intensely practical for us today. First, we must learn to see the Church as God sees it. From the outside, the world sees our flaws, our humble buildings, our internal squabbles. They see the drab, weather-beaten porpoise skin. But God sees the inner glory of the fine linen, the dwelling place He is preparing for Himself. We should not be discouraged by our outward appearance, but rather focus on cultivating that inner holiness and beauty that is precious to God.
Second, we must embrace the logic of the coverings. We cannot approach a holy God without a covering. Our own righteousness is insufficient. We need the covering of the sin offering (goats' hair), the covering of a substitutionary sacrifice (rams' skins dyed red), and the covering of divine protection (porpoise skins). All of this is a picture of Jesus Christ. He is our Tabernacle. He is our covering. To be a Christian is to be hidden in Christ. His righteousness covers our sin, His blood pays our debt, and His strength protects us from judgment. We are not to strut before God in our own merits, but to come humbly, completely shrouded in the provision He has made for us.
Finally, the unity of the tent, held together by bronze clasps, reminds us that our unity as believers is forged in the judgment that Christ bore for us. We are one body not because we all agree on every fine point of doctrine, but because we have all been saved by the same sacrifice. We are different curtains, but we are joined together by the clasps of the cross into one dwelling place for the Holy Spirit. Our unity is a blood-bought unity, and we should therefore be zealous to maintain it.