Exodus 27: This chapter describes the articles outside the tabernacle in the court: The altar of burnt offering and the bronze laver. Inside the furniture was made of gold. The articles inside the tabernacle speak of the person and deity of Messiah. The articles outside the tabernacle speak of His work as the sacrifice He made for His people.
(Exo 27:1 NASB) “And you shall make the altar of acacia wood, five cubits long and five cubits wide; the altar shall be square, and its height shall be three cubits.
(Exo 27:2 NASB) “And you shall make its horns on its four corners; its horns shall be of one piece with it, and you shall overlay it with bronze.
Exo 27:2: Horns always speak of power. The altar of burnt offering had horns at it’s corners. This speaks of the power of the sacrifice of Messiah.
Criminals seeking sanctuary would grab those horns on the altar (Ex. 21:14, 1 Kings 1:50-51). Then he could not be immediately killed until his case was heard and guilt was determined.
Also, the blood of sin offerings was smeared on these horns. The horns appear to have had a practical use also (Psalm 118:27).
(Exo 27:3 NASB) “And you shall make its pails for removing its ashes, and its shovels and its basins and its forks and its firepans; you shall make all its utensils of bronze.
Exo 27:3: The furniture on the outside of the tabernacle is made of brass which speaks of judgement. The furniture on the inside is made of gold and speaks of Elohim’s perfect holiness. There is no sin where Elohim is. Man is left standing on the outside in the court with his sin. This sin question must be dealt with before man can come into the presence of Elohim.
The only way for man to approach Elohim is for a substitute to die for him. The sin question is dealt with on the altar of burnt offering. It speaks of the sacrifice of Messiah and of the fact that He died for the sins of man. There is no approach to Elohim except by the altar of burnt offering.
The brass covering the altar speaks of judgement. The acacia wood structure of the altar speaks of the perfect humanity of Messiah in His sacrifice. The strong wood also speaks of the strength of the sacrifice.
The altar is twice as tall as the mercy seat inside the tabernacle. This speaks of the fact that the sacrifice not only atones for our sins, but it glorifies Elohim.
The other piece of furniture in the courtyard is the bronze laver (Exodus 30:17-21). This speaks of the cleansing of our sins. We cannot worship Elohim in spirit and in truth until we are cleansed of our sins through confession and repentance. Elohim wants us to be clean when we approach Him. That happens through confession (1 John 1:9).
The laver is made of highly polished brass. This kind of brass is what mirrors were made of back then. Mirrors are to show us our uncleanness and our blemishes. The bronze laver represents the Word of Elohim that shows us our uncleanness. Scripture shows us our sins and we are to go to Elohim personally and confess them. Then we are made clean and can worship Elohim.
(Exo 27:4 NASB) “And you shall make for it a grating of network of bronze, and on the net you shall make four bronze rings at its four corners.
(Exo 27:5 NASB) “And you shall put it beneath, under the ledge of the altar, that the net may reach halfway up the altar.
(Exo 27:6 NASB) “And you shall make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with bronze.
(Exo 27:7 NASB) “And its poles shall be inserted into the rings, so that the poles shall be on the two sides of the altar when it is carried.
(Exo 27:8 NASB) “You shall make it hollow with planks; as it was shown to you in the mountain, so they shall make it.
(Exo 27:9 NASB) “And you shall make the court of the tabernacle. On the south side there shall be hangings for the court of fine twisted linen one hundred cubits long for one side;
Exo 27:9: A wall of curtains set apart the tabernacle from the rest of the camp. This signifies the separation of man from Elohim due to his sin.
(Exo 27:10 NASB) and its pillars shall be twenty, with their twenty sockets of bronze; the hooks of the pillars and their bands shall be of silver.
(Exo 27:11 NASB) “And likewise for the north side in length there shall be hangings one hundred cubits long, and its twenty pillars with their twenty sockets of bronze; the hooks of the pillars and their bands shall be of silver.
(Exo 27:12 NASB) “And for the width of the court on the west side shall be hangings of fifty cubits with their ten pillars and their ten sockets.
(Exo 27:13 NASB) “And the width of the court on the east side shall be fifty cubits.
(Exo 27:14 NASB) “The hangings for the one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits with their three pillars and their three sockets.
(Exo 27:15 NASB) “And for the other side shall be hangings of fifteen cubits with their three pillars and their three sockets.
(Exo 27:16 NASB) “And for the gate of the court there shall be a screen of twenty cubits, of blue and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen, the work of a weaver, with their four pillars and their four sockets.
Exo 27:16: The colors of the hangings point to Messiah also. The blue is a heavenly color and speaks of the fact that Yeshua came down from heaven. The scarlet color speaks of the blood He poured out for us. The purple is a color that speaks of His royalty.
(Exo 27:17 NASB) “All the pillars around the court shall be furnished with silver bands with their hooks of silver and their sockets of bronze.
(Exo 27:18 NASB) “The length of the court shall be one hundred cubits, and the width fifty throughout, and the height five cubits of fine twisted linen, and their sockets of bronze.
(Exo 27:19 NASB) “All the utensils of the tabernacle used in all its service, and all its pegs, and all the pegs of the court, shall be of bronze.
Exo 27:19: The bronze utensils speak of Elohim’s judgement which is satisfied in the tabernacle.
(Exo 27:20 NASB) “And you shall charge the sons of Israel, that they bring you clear oil of beaten olives for the light, to make a lamp burn continually.
Exo 27:20: According to the rabbinical teachings recorded in the Mishnah, the oil produced for the lamp was of the highest quality. It was clear and colorless, and produced a bright, pure light with little smoke.
(Exo 27:21 NASB) “In the tent of meeting, outside the veil which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall keep it in order from evening to morning before the LORD; it shall be a perpetual statute throughout their generations for the sons of Israel.
Exo 27:21: The job of the priests and the high priest was to tend to the lampstand. It was to burn continually.
This is also the picture we have of Yeshua Messiah in the Revelation (Rev. 1:9-20). The description of Messiah in Revelation shows Him in the midst of the lampstands dressed in the garments of the High Priest. The lampstands represent seven assemblies. Yeshua is maintaining the lampstands to make sure they do not go out.
Patrick McGuire
Copyright 2014 Patrick McGuire and Beit Yeshua Torah Assembly All rights reserved, no portion of this Lesson may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations in articles and reviews. Beit Yeshua Torah Assembly Fort Smith, Arkansas