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MOMENTS WITH THE MISHKAN

By Dr. Lawrence Duff-Forbes

Content

1. PREFACE

2. THE MISHKAN ASSEMBLED 3. THE MAIN ACCESS 4. THE MAJESTIC ARGAMAN 5. THE MARK OF AGONY 6. THE MAN FROM ABOVE 7. THE MEDIATOR ADUMBRATED 8. THE MEANINGFUL ALTAR 9. THE MIRROR-MADE ABLUTIONARY

10. THE MANNA ABIDING 11. THE MENORAH AGLOW 12. THE MEDIATING ALTAR 13. THE MATERIALIZED ASSURANCE

14. THE MEMORABLE ABODE 15. THE MARVELLOUS ARK 16. THE MAXIMUM ATONEMENT 17. THE MERCIFUL AURA 18. MYTHOLOGY ATTESTS 19. THE MANUSCRIPT ANSWERS

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PREFACE Lawrence Duff Forbes, although born in Australia, spent some of his earliest years in India, Burma, China, and the Philippines. Returning to Australia, he completed his education at various accredited institutions including the select Hawthorn College in Melbourne and thus began a colorful and varied career as soldier, business executive, lecturer and examiner on educational and technical subjects, author, editor, journalist, orator, theologian, and finally, minister of the Jewish people as a congregational and radio rabbi in Messianic Judaism. His military career began at the early age of fourteen and he speedily rose to commissioned rank. Being under the prescribed enlistment age at the outbreak of World War 1 in order to serve overseas he abandoned his commission and enlisted as a private soldier for active service and for the second time speedily rose to commissioned rank. After the cessation of hostilities, he returned to Australia undecided whether the army as a career or to enter the field of commerce. Opportunity was presented to function in both fields simultaneously so, whilst maintaining his army activities, he entered the fire, marine and accident insurance business in which sphere he rose rapidly to full managerial status. An obsession for study drove him into philosophical, theological, military, and technical subjects and in competitive examination he soon secured an important educational degree with honors and was attached to the faculty of a Commonwealth educational and technical institute as lecturer and examiner. During this period he added secretarial, accountancy, and business administration degrees and was entrusted with Presidential status in various Institutes. Whilst yet occupying the twin positions of Commanding Officer of the 12th (mixed) Brigade, Commonwealth Military Forces, and State Manager and Attorney of one of Britain's oldest and largest insurance companies, Lawrence Duff Forbes, by sovereign grace, found personal peace and vital living relationship with the God of Israel through the efficacy of the promised and prophesied Messianic Redemption. Intensifying his study of the Jewish Holy Scriptures, he gradually abandoned his lucrative and promising military and commercial vocations and in due course attained ordination and graduation from two separate theological seminaries. His graduation from a fully accredited Jewish theological institution was with special mention for "Outstanding Achievement."

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Dr. Lawrence Duff Forbes was taken by death at the age of sixty-five, thus ending a most remarkable career. Among his degrees and honors were Doctor of Literature, an elected Fellow of the Philosophical Society of Great Britain, a member of the Society for Biblical Literature and Exegesis, and he had participated actively as a member of several important Jewish educational and communal organizations. Among the major works of Rabbi Lawrence Duff Forbes are his famous "TREASURES FROM

TENACH," a gripping and fascinatingly presented series of expositions of the Jewish Scriptures, which are heard over the radio both in the U.S.A. and overseas, and also appear from time to time in the periodical ISRAEL'S ANCHORAGE, of which widely circulated and popular magazine he was the editor. He also wrote several volumes which have had wide circulation and phenomenal success. Among these are "HEBREW ARE THE HAPPY WAY!," "GEMS

FROM GENESIS," "OUT OF THE CLOUDS," "PERIL FROM THE NORTH," and "EXCURSIONS INTO EXODUS." Rabbi Lawrence Duff Forbes radio ministry "TREASURES FROM TENACH" is presented by the Congregation of the Messiah within Israel, a California non-profit organization, a postal address of which is P.O. Box 64, Whittier, California, U.S.A.

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THE MISHKAN ASSEMBLED MY FRIENDS, the enlarging horizons of the mind of modern man are already wide enough, and his imaginative conceptions sufficiently tutored, to enable him to conjure with facility a mental picture of even so stupendous a spectacle as an atomic explosion. But when, at Sinai's awful mount, the Eternal God of the Universe hurled the Ten Words from His Celestial Throne and thus exploded them into the economy of humanity at large, long after the accompanying smoke, fire, thunders, lightnings, quaking, thick cloud, and Mysterious Voice had died away, the potent power of that paramount Pronouncement has reverberated down the turbulent tracings of man's meandering and has constantly challenged any one single era of human history adequately to contain it. The Law was God's shock-treatment for the lunacy of sin! And methinks the shock has been so great that the mind of man has not been able fully to retain and rejoice in the fact that from that very mount, upon that very occasion, and to that very man, Moses, that very same Eternal God of the Universe made a second superlative endowment upon mankind. There were two Revelations at Mount Sinai – not one! The initial bombshell was immediately followed by an interpretive bestowal. It was the poet Pole who cried a "curse on all laws but those which love has made," and whether the poet be right or wrong at least we acknowledge that the Laws which Heaven gave at Sinai were made by Love, for God, though Lawgiver Supreme, is yet Love at its very Source. Yes, indeed, the lofty Light that blazed from the Awful Mount was Light that streamed from Love and this sustaining and comforting verity is demonstrated by the immediate advent of a second Divine bestowal, a second grant from the Celestial Throne, for it was at this time, too, that God released the pattern and blue-prints of a structure probably unique in history, the details of which begin to be unfolded at the twenty-fifth chapter of Exodus. Think of it! A Law which claimed God Himself as its Author, Authority, and Announcer followed by a Structure which equally claimed God Himself as its Designer, Decorator, and Director. An ancient Midrash given by Rabbi Shemiaah declares that God said unto Moses: "Behold the celestial sanctuary, and erect the terrestrial sanctuary in like fashion."

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Lowered from the Light of Heaven into the very lap of man, this Symbolic Sanctuary is best understood by the various names it receives in the Hebrew Scriptures; let us look at some of them. The first words used are and (Exodus 25:8, 9). The former word translated "sanctuary" and is derived from a Hebrew root meaning "holiness," whilst the latter is derived from a Hebrew root meaning "dwelling." Here, then, we have the thought of a holy dwelling-place for the Eternal God. It is the latter word, that gives rise to the Jewish – though not actually Scriptural – word , Shechinah, a word denoting the Personal Presence of the Divine Glory. These words, and several others, combine to reveal the object of the Tabernacle, the Holy Dwelling-Place, as the place of meeting of God with His people, to commune with them and to reveal Himself to them. It stood right in the very centre of the great encampment of the people of Israel, the visible evidence of God's Personal Presence in the midst of His people. When I think of the , the Law, I think of the Divine Light; and when I think of this , the Tabernacle, I think of the Divine Love. Do you inquire why these twin concepts of Light and Love are conjured to my mind when I think of the Law and the Tabernacle? Before attempting an answer to this question let us seek a clearer understanding of what is meant by the Law generally. Philo says that the mere words of God are laws and institutions (Legum Allegor. 71), and insofar as that means that God's laws reveal God's character I would be inclined to agree. Moses declares: "I will publish the Name of the Eternal: ascribe ye greatness unto our God. He is the Rock, His work is perfect: for all His ways are judgement: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He." (Deuteronomy 32:3,4) When measured by the standard of perfection God is straightness and rightness and all His words and laws reflect this quality. Now, we cannot say this about Man. The same standard of perfection, when applied alike to Man and man's laws, becomes a light revealing the imperfection of both. What happens when a human law is broken? The law-breaker immediately becomes the subject of retribution; penalty now hangs over him, and law, if it is to be preserved and

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maintained as law effective and valid, must exact the penalty or else repudiate the assurances of security and equity implicit in its statutes. If this is so where human law is concerned is it otherwise with Divine Law? A thousand times ,No! Else the universe would again become "unformed and void." God is not going to send His laws to the repair shop to be patched up every time we choose to break them. Be assured God has His penalty, and that penalty is clear – separation from His blessed Presence! But, since every descendant of fallen Adam has, at some time and sometimes continually, broken God's law in act or attitude, then Mankind as a whole and every individual comprising Mankind is under Divine penalty and actual or potential separation from the Divine Presence. This tragic situation forces from our very hearts a most justifiable interrogation: Of what use, then, is a Perfect Law for an Imperfect Humanity? What use to ask the sparrow to soar to eagle's heights and maintain that altitude or else . . .? Let me answer this question by a parable. Let us imagine that it has been your long habit to go to work each day, catching the same public transportation at exactly the same place and exactly the same time. Indeed, habit has enabled you to reduce it to a fine art, a matter almost of seconds. You rise as late as you can, breakfast as hastily as possible and, to gain your accustomed few extra second, you take your usual short cut diagonally through a field to reach your transport. One day a miracle happens. You get up a few minutes earlier! Truly, it may never happen again, but at least on this amazing day, surfeited with surplus seconds, you decide to spend them by reading the words on that old notice-board way over in the corner of that field you cross so regularly. You've seen it a thousand times, but you have never read it! The birds are singing, the sky is blue and your step is correspondingly light, and your heart equally buoyant, as you approach the printed intimation now growing increasingly legible to your inquiring eyes. All of a sudden the birds seem to have ceased their song: the sky appears overcast and leaden with foreboding; your buoyancy of step and spirit had vanished! What has terminated your tranquility? What has cast a gloom over the erstwhile happy circumstances? What has injected agitation where calm so early reigned? Just two words on that hitherto unread

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notice-board – "Trespassers prosecuted!" My friends, never again will you be able to take that shortcut in the same carefree, abandoned spirit. If you cease using the field you will always have the conviction that your past brands you "Trespasser"; if you continue to us the field, the furtive phantom of fear will meet you at your point of entrance and accompany you to you point of exit. Similarly the Divine Law illumines our trespass to us. It is Light, and light is death to darkness. But there is not only the Law; there is also the Tabernacle. Our great commentator, Rashi, declares that God created the world strictly on the principle of justice. Seeing, however, that the world could not endure on that basis alone, He added thereto the principle of mercy; so that when man sinned, justice, which would demand his immediate punishment, might be tempered with mercy. Rashi is right. Our prophet Isaiah concentrates this thought in his great announcement: " The Eternal is our Judge, the Eternal is our Lawgiver, the Eternal is our King: He will save us" (Isaiah 33:22); Judge, Lawgiver, Ruler, yes; but Saviour-Redeemer, too! And that's where I see Love and the , the Tabernacle. As the Light manifested in the Law reveals that God is man's Judge, Lawgiver and Ruler so the Love manifested in the Tabernacle sets forth in entrancing symbolism the blessed truth that God is man's Saviour, too. This wonderful HB (Tabernacle) was created and its appointed ritual begun on the first day of the second year from the Exodus. I have some most beautiful and encouraging things to tell about this superlative structure.

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THE MAIN ACCESS

MY FRIENDS, continuing our survey of the Book of Exodus we have, in the immediate past messages, viewed the salient features of Israel's repression in Egypt, Israel's release from Egypt, and Israel's revelation at Sinai. It is impossible to over-emphasize the importance of this last-named period of Israel's history. The whole record of some 58 chapters extending from Exodus, chapter 19, verse 3, through Numbers, chapter 10, verse 10, represents a period of less than a year, yet the revelations which God vouchsafed to Israel in that brief span gave new direction to God's people, and also affected humanity at large from that time to the present day. In my last message we considered the (Law) in relation to the (Tabernacle), and found that the one more strongly reminded us of God's Light and the other of God's Love; and I promised you some fascinating facets on the tabernacle ere we resume our exploratory journey through the books of the Bible. For the elaborate details of this remarkable structure I must refer you to Exodus, chapters 26 and 36. Suffice to say here that the Mishkan was an oblong rectangular structure, 30 cubits long by 10 cubits wide; probably about 45 feet by 15 feet. It was open at the eastern end, and divided internally into the Holy of Holies and the Holy Place respectively, and it stood in an open screened enclosure, 50 cubits or 75 feet north and south, and 100 cubits or 150 feet east and west. This outer court was also opened at the eastern end, entrance thereto being through a screen doorway of gorgeous coloring. Come! Journey together with me to and through this amazing edifice. It will not only repay our visit by the richness of its outward appearance but also by the enticements of its acknowledged symbolism. Let us approach it in the golden glory of the morning sunrise. There, spread before us, is a sight never to be forgotten. Israel is encamped before us in an orderly square enclosing twelve square miles. We stand to allow our eyes to drink in the colorful scene and survey the various tribal standards fluttering happily in the inquisitive breeze. Before us, eastward, Judah's azure banner waves greeting to Zebulun's snowy ensign and Isaachar's black flag; westward, Ephraim and Manasseh each with their sable ensign give

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sombre contrast to Benjamin's eleven-colored insignia. Over to the north Dan's sapphire pennant, Asher's fire-red symbol and Naphtali's dull red-wine emblem unite to wave our eyes to their beholding; southward, we discern Reuben's red device making daring harmony with Simon's green token and warlike Gad's crystal standard. In this chromatic array we note the four principal group "degalim" bestowed upon each of the four divisions of the Israelite army at the Exodus (Numbers 1:52; 2:2 ff; 10:14 ff) bearing colors corresponding to the equivalent precious stones in the High Priest's breastplate – Judah, Ephraim, Dan and Reuben being selected for such leadership. But we must pass on through this vast tincture outer square and penetrate into the 4,000 cubit space where dwell the priests and Levites and in the centre of which is our ultimate goal, the Mishkan (Tabernacle). Reverently we enter eastward the area occupied by the beloved Moses with Aaron and Aaron's sons. Though we cannot see them from here, we know the sons of Gershon are over in the west; however, we do get a glimpse of the Levites of the family of Kohath in the south, and the sons of Merari in the north. Now, confronting the beautiful Miqdosh (Tabernacle) we can discern its gloriously colored entrance door. What daring color blendings! Blue, purple, and scarlet woven with consummate skill on the basic fabric of a material described in the Hebrew Bible as , and translated variously "fine linen" and "silk." Ezekiel (Ezekiel 27:7) notes it as being among products of Egypt which the Tyrians imported and used for the sails of their ships. But wait, my friends, do we not remind ourselves that this is a highly symbolic structure, pregnant with spiritual verities Divinely patterned and bestowed? Maybe we should arm ourselves with the symbolism as we proceed. There is a Jewish legend (20 98 ) that God expounded the Tabernacle's four colors to Moses and, drawing his attention to white robed angels, God said, "This is the color of twisted linen." Angelic white is universally known as the symbol of purity and righteousness and, in the ultimate, pertains to Deity Who alone is absolute in these attributes. It is surely symbolically appropriate that on our way to find God in the Mishkan, having broken through the ranks of man, we are initially confronted with the symbol of the Holiness of Deity.

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Since we are procreated from fallen Adam (Genesis 5:4) have no Justitia Interna or essential purity and righteousness, had we traversed the Outer Court of the Tabernacle around its northern, western, and southern sides, these same white linen screens surround in the court might have given us a sense of being shut out from the Righteous Presence. We might have thought these white linen screens were admonishing us, saying, "Stand back, child of fallen Adam, you cannot come near the Holy One of Israel lest ye die. Remember the Divine warning at Mount Sinai, 'let not . . . the people break through to come up to the Eternal, lest He break forth upon them.' " (Exodus 19:24) Ah! dear friends, did I not say that Sinai's Law reflected Light but Sinai's Tabernacle reflected Love? We are approaching God through the Tabernacle, you know, not through the Mount. Did you not notice that the very same white linen screens are five cubits in height and are supported at intervals of five cubits by pillars of , probably copper, to which the screens are attached by hooks and fillets of , silver? Here is eloquent, consistent and comforting symbolism indeed! Let us remember that whereas the symbolism of pagan nations was cosmical, and therefore idolatrous, the symbolism of Israel was spiritual and Divine and even dimensions had meaning. Surely if the white tends to strike us with awe, the silver, the copper, and the twice-presented figure "5" should fill us with gladness, for the symbolism of all these combine to teach us the precious lessons of spiritual redemption. Five is a spiritual number possessing the thought of redemption through grace, five shekels being the redemption money for the first born and silver being the symbol of atonement whilst, as we shall see in messages immediately following, , copper or brass, is the symbol of judgement vicariously borne. Here, then, is consoling symbolism. The white screens retain their height and pristine purity, but they do not exclude us from the Presence of a Holy God for they themselves bear the representation of judgement upon our sin but borne vicariously and in gracious atonement. Is there any wonder that this great white wall has a door in it? I am so glad we approached this Divine Structure from the east! But, you see, my friends, I have been here before and I knew there was a door – such a wide door, such a welcoming, warm and beckoning door,

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such an open door, such a "whosoever will may come" door; moreover, it is such a colorful door. It seems like the very door of Home to our desert-tired wandering feet. Home! Home to God in righteous rest, home to God in reconciled repose, home to God in unbroken understanding and in lasting love. All this, and more, is the symbolic promise of the door in the great white wall of the outer court of the Tabernacle in the Wilderness. As the eastern sun streams down upon its glorious colorings that same wide door seems to stand before us with out-stretched arms and cry so invitingly "I am the door myself. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture." Yes, there is access to God, freedom to man and pasture for the soul through the door. Let us hasten towards it. But stop a moment! Why, I wonder, is it such a colorful door? Its basic material is just the same white linen of the screen-wall of the outer court. Would not the very opening itself have been sufficient to instruct us that there was entry to God, particularly in such association with the silver and and two fold witness of the key-signature of grace, the figure "5"? Oh yes, my friends, the door has more, much more, to teach us and its instruction is as fascinating in hue as its bold and daring colors encourage us to anticipate.

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THE MAJESTIC ARGAMAN MY FRIENDS, there is an ancient and very picturesque Jewish sentiment that affirms that since all things were called into existence by God to give Him glory every aspect of creation has its own particular hymn of praise to express. The rivers and brooks gurgle their liquid ecstasy, the seas and oceans roar their booming benediction and the very desert bares its scant-attired bosom to pour its soothing song in unencumbered duneful waves of perfumed melody. And well the desert might sing! For hasn't God adorned its eager breast with a jewel – a veritable jewel – mined from heaven's own materials and cut with the concepts of Deity? Is not this Divine jewel sometimes described as the Tabernacle in the Wilderness? But how much more do I prefer its Hebrew name, the , for, as I have already pointed out, this Hebrew title carries with it the true idea of God dwelling in the midst of Israel. Yes, the Tabernacle was a precious jewel which God reposed upon the undulating bosom of the desert at Sinai; but it sparkled, not with the scintillating rays of reflected light, but with the very illumination of God, Self-enclosed within its universal symbolism. In my last message we reflected upon the outer courtyard of this structure which Moses was commanded to erect in the wilderness. Although its white walls seemed at first like the absolute righteousness of God shutting us poor sinners out of His Holy Presence yet, you will remember, we found a door, eloquent, inviting, and colorful. Though made of the same material as the outer courtyard, the white texture of which was still before our eyes, yet this door had, in addition, the daring combination of blue, purple and scarlet interwoven through the white. What is the symbolic secret locked up in this fourfold color-scheme of the door into God's Personal Presence? That there is symbolism is affirmed by our great Rabbi Mosheh ben Nachman, better known as Nachmanides, when he declares that the designer of the Tabernacle also understood the symbolism of every object he designed. Let us try also both to understand and to revel in this rich symbolism. What is the symbolic implication of purple? Well, no need to tense ourselves for mental effort, the answer is easy. Purple is the color of kings! The Hebrew word translated "purple" is (Argaman), a word derived from the Hebrew root conveying basically the root-idea of a fiery colored reddish purple, bright and glowing, in contradistinction to , a bluish purple. And it was a costly and distinctive color obtained, in ancient times,

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from a shell-fish known as "murex trunculus" found in Mediterranean waters. This demure denizen of the watery world secreted in its throat only one single drop of this rare precious color. When the patriarch, Jacob, went down into Egypt he is said to have seen there his son, Joseph, clad in royal robes, a crown upon his head and a purple mantle over his shoulders. In the Song of Songs we read (Song 3 10) that the palanquin of King Solomon was covered with purple. This thought recalls antique Jewish records that King Messiah dwells on a palanquin, the throne of which is purple, whilst the cloud of glory, symbol of the (Shekinah), the Personal Presence of God, reflected a purple color. Beyond doubt purple is the color of kings, and particularly of the King of Kings, the Holy One, blessed be He. But – and this is worthy of your note in addition, we must recognize that purple is also the Messianic color of the King-Messiah-Redeemer of Israel Who is to rule over all the world, the One Who, according to Jewish tradition, is appointed to bring such a salvation as will put a final end to all sinfulness (Raziel 20b & Sode Raza in Yalkut Reubeni). But why, among the four colors of the Tabernacle should we find this kingly color in the door? We know that the door in this instance signifies entrance and access to God, the King of the Universe. Is entrance and access to a King by means of a King? Ah! my friends, among the multitude of Israel's God-inspired messengers, three in particular are jostling my elbow, pressing forward to answer that question. One is the prophet Zechariah. Let our eyes turn in the direction in which his finger is pointing and hear him exclaim: :9

"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion, shout, O daughter of Jerusalem; Behold, thy King cometh unto thee; He is righteous and has salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass . . ."

(Zechariah 9:9) On these words of Zechariah, our great commentator, Rashi, exclaims – "This can only refer to King Messiah . . ." and one of our early Jewish legends refers to "the ass upon which the Messiah will appear riding at the end of days."

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The ass is as very well known as a symbol of peace as the horse is equally well known as a symbol of war. Who, the, is this Messiah-King-Saviour, righteous and lowly? What is His Name? How insistent is the second messenger, the Prophet Jeremiah, to answer this question! Well, let him speak to us and we will listen carefully:

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"Behold, the days come, saith the Eternal, that I will raise unto David a righteous shoot, and He shall reign as king and prosper, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is his name whereby he shall be called, 'the Eternal our righteousness,' " (Jeremiah 23: 5, 6) That most distinguished scholar, Rabbi Dr. H. Freedman, B.A., Ph.D., reminds us that this is a Messianic prophecy, and that the Hebrew word here employed is a "term used to denote the Messianic king." But I myself would like to call your attention to another important stream of truth flowing from Jeremiah's inspired utterance. We have seen that the Messiah-King on the human side sprouts out from King David, yet his name – YEHOVAH OUR

RIGHTEOUSNESS – confronts us with Deity as well as Humanity. Perhaps something of the uninterpreted force of Jeremiah's announcement reached and affected our Jewish tradition which concedes readily that the Messiah existed before the creation of the world (Pseudepigraphic 4th Ezra 12:32; 13:26, 52; 14:9; Ethiopic Enoch 39: 6-9 and among Baraithas of Talmud). Tradition, in this case, does provide a true reflection of Divine revelation, the combination of which, caught up into the symbolism of the Tent in the Desert, paints a purple portrait of a Human-Divine King, Lowly and Righteous and Himself the Instrument of a pre-planned redemption, One Whose initial advent is not associated with war and conquest, but with peace and righteousness. We will keep this picture in our mind, for there are others we must place alongside it in ensuing messages.

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Oh! I nearly forgot the third messenger! You've been wondering who he is! Judging from the warm and approving way he is received by Zechariah and Jeremiah, and their obviously common interest, I feel we should know his name; yet, I confess, I shall have to inquire it. I feel rather embarrassed about this, but inquire I must. Excuse me, a moment! Why, this third gentleman declares he has actually seen King-Messiah and has described in a book His prophesied journey on that very animal, the ass! He says the incident is recounted in a record he wrote and which commences with these words:

"The book of the generations of Yeshua the Messiah, son of David, son of Abraham."

Have you observed how this third messenger so strikingly ignores the chronological sequence of human generations by naming David before Abraham? I am sure this transposition is not only intentional but also Divinely inspired. The kingly line from David is placed in priority to the Patriarchal line from Abraham. The kingly color, purple, dominates this aspect of the glorious Messianic Redemptive theme. Yes, indeed, each of these God-inspired Jewish witnesses, Zechariah, Jeremiah, and Matthew the tax-gatherer – for such, I find, is the name of the third – could cry in the words of the Psalmist: "My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.

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THE MARK OF AGONY MY FRIENDS, in my last message we were standing before the curtained door of the outer courtyard of the the Tabernacle which God commanded Moses to erect in the wilderness. We were admiring the warm, spirited, and fourfold coloring of this inviting portal: "Blue, purple, scarlet, and white linen." Fortunately, we were not alone when we stood at the threshold of this initial mystic feature. From the company of God's Spirit-inspired messengers, three became articulated in expounding us to something of the regal symbolism of the , the purple, the color of kings, the color that the King of Nineveh put off when he groveled in repentant dust at the preaching of Jonah, the color with which Ahasuerus bestowed royal honors on Mordechai. But God's prophets avidly employed the symbolic purple to drape the regal figure of the prophesied King-Messiah of Israel, introduced to us by (Jeremiah) through the strange, yet eloquent, name , meaning "shoot" or "sprout" or "branch." The Messianic King is a , a sprout of righteousness, unto David, declares Jeremiah (Jeremiah 23:5; 33:15). In this declaration Jeremiah is supported, among others, by Zechariah (Zechariah 9:9) and by Matthew (). If the purple, so regal in color, is also so rich in symbolism, to whom shall we turn to learn of the mystic secrets of the , the scarlet? Ah! the prophet (Zechariah)is still with us. What will he tell us of the spiritual significance of the scarlet. Harken to his inspired words: "for, behold, I will bring forth My servant the Shoot." (Zechariah 3:8) Now, this is exceedingly interesting. This is the very same word, , "shoot," "sprout," or "branch," which the prophet Jeremiah used of the King-Messiah; now Zechariah uses it, not in relation to a King, but in reference to a Servant. Yet of these very words of Zechariah our notable modern commentator, Eli Cashdan, M.A., declares, "Modern as well as ancient interpreters agree in explaining 'the Shoot' as the expected Messiah." So it is Zechariah who begins the answer to our question, and discloses that the One known by the fascinating name of , the Shoot, is both King and Servant, One Who combines in Himself these very extremes of office. For who is higher than a king or lower than a

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servant? Of course, I remember Ben Jonson (15720-1637), in Explorata, said that "a good king is a public servant." Here comes the great prophet , Isaiah. His very name means "salvation of the Eternal," and he speaks much of the "Servant of God." Beyond doubt he employs this title in reference to the People of Israel, the Messianic Nation. But equally beyond doubt he employs this same title in reference to the Person of Israel, the Messianic Individual, King Messiah, the Messiah-Redeemer. Isaiah is surely anxious to add to our understanding. As the very mouthpiece of God, Isaiah declares of the Servant-Messiah: ". . . he was wounded because of our transgressions, he was crushed because of our iniquities: the chastisement of our welfare was upon him, and with his stripes we were healed. All we like sheep did go astray, we turned every one to his own way; and the Eternal hath made to light on him the iniquity of us all." (Isaiah 53:5, 6) "Of the travail of his soul he shall see abundance, with his knowledge My Righteous Servant shall cause the many to be justified, and their iniquities he did bear." (Isaiah 53:11, my translation) With these deathless, quickening words Isaiah declares the substitutionary, vicarious character of the Servant's service. The transgressions and iniquities were ours; the wounds – His! But hold! Isaiah has something further to add – listen carefully: "For he was cut off out of the land of the living, for the transgression of my people to whom the stroke was due. And they made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich his tomb." (Isaiah 53:8b) So! Isaiah tells us that this Servant tastes the bitterness of death itself for the transgression of Israel's people. Since Isaiah's people was the nation of Israel it certainly cannot be the nation itself as a corporate entity which was "cut off out of the land of the living." Why, we still have the nation of Israel with us today. No, it was the "stroke" of judgement that was due to Isaiah's people, the nation of Israel; but it was the Substitute-Servant Who took the stroke of judgement issuing with His death and the burial in the tomb.

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Why was this? Let Isaiah still supply the answer. Lifting up his God-inspired understanding, Isaiah addresses the Eternal with words which are themselves a sufficient exegesis, a complete commentary, an adequate explanation, of the nature, the character, the import, the purport, of the Servant's death: . . . ". . . when Thou wilt offer his soul in restitution." Now we know! The death of the Servant Individual was a God-provided offering for the sin guilt of the Servant nation, Israel. This, then, was the superlative public service of the Servant. An offering, not only for the sin of Israel, but of all the world! Commenting on this chapter of Isaiah's inspired record our revered and scholarly modern Jewish exegete, Dr. I. W. Slotki, M.A., Litt.D., remarks: "It is now frankly acknowledged that he was the victim who bore the dire penalties which the iniquities of others have incurred." Dr. Slotki is right, of that I am convinced. Moreover, Rashi declares that the Hebrew verb meaning "to bear" (whether or ) also denotes forgiveness of sins. But, see! Our loved teacher Moses has taken his stand by the side of Isaiah and, in his voice of authority, the great Law-Giver adds the unchangeable Divine decree: "It is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul" (Leviticus 17:11). Surely now we grasp the symbolism of the scarlet in the door of the Tabernacle, for scarlet best symbolizes the blood of atonement. Indeed, the very Hebrew expression, translated by the English words "scarlet" or "crimson," is itself a veritable treasure from Tenach. The Hebrew expression is (Tolaat Shani). The last Hebrew word signifies the brilliancy of the color, but the first Hebrew word relates to the worm whose death supplies the stain. Yes, my friends, the death of a despised worm supplies the brilliant blood-colored dye which stains the Door into the Holy Presence of God and I am reminded of that prophetic 22nd Psalm which begins: "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" and verse 7 of that same Psalm places yet another prophetic utterance on the lips of the sufferer: "But I am a worm, and no man." Of these words my Jewish commentary points out that "the language is not always agreeable to the hypothesis that David voices his personal distress under Saul's persecution." There is a further reminder that – "The language of this section (of Psalm 22) is reminiscent of the suffering servant of the Lord."

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Stepping across the ages, another Jewish messenger of God has joined us before the door of the Tabernacle in the Wilderness. His name is Yachanan Marcus and he is pointing to features in a sacred record which he wrote entitled: . In this record there is no genealogical table, for a servant need no such record whereas, you will remember, Matthew's record provides the purple line of Kingship back to David; here, however, in Mark's record there is a scarlet line, not back to ancestry, but onwards to agony. Obediently, Mark steps forward and through the scarlet symbolism reveals to our grateful gaze the Servant Who became obedient unto death so that now, both to Jew and Gentile, sounds the glad assurance: "Though your sins be as scarlet () they shall be white as snow; though they be red like crimson () they shall be as wool" (Isaiah 1:18).

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THE MAN FROM ABOVE MY DEAR FRIENDS, because you who honor me now with your gracious attention are human beings, members of the great family of mankind, it is quite possible that you have not sufficiently paused to consider that man is always a spectacle to behold. No matter how we view him, man is spectacular. Bloody or benevolent, conscientious or corruptible, dissipated or decorous, magnificent or mediocre, wise or witless, man is always spectacular. "What a piece of work is man," exclaims Shakespeare. But Pascal cries: "What a chimera, then, is man! What a novelty! What a monster, what a chaos, what a contradiction, what a prodigy! Judge of all things, feeble worm of the earth, depository of truth, a sink of uncertainty and error, the glory and the shame of the universe" (Blaise Pascal, 1623-1662, Pensees, Sec. Viii). Truly, any man, anywhere, at any time can echo the words of the Psalmist, "I am fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalm 139:14). Behold mankind, my friends, and marvel! Yet, on this particular occasion it is my desire to concentrate your contemplation upon one single individual, a man who is the very apex of humanity, superlative and unique. You will remember that, in past messages, we have been studying the Tabernacle in the Wilderness, the details of which were give to our great teacher, Moses, by the Eternal God of the Universe. Let me again confront you with the rich-hued Door of the Tabernacle in the Wilderness through which access was gained into the manifest Presence of the God of Israel. We are finding in this Door a quartet of colors – blue, purple, scarlet and white – colors uniting in symbolism to present us with a precious portrait of the superlative and unique individual to whom your attention is invited. We found the purple color signified the regal office of Messiah as Theocratic King; the scarlet color symbolized the redeeming office of Messiah as Suffering Servant. Now, what of the blue color? What is its symbolic connotation? Well, since blue now fills our horizon, surely our mind is flooded with conceptions of that which makes horizons and fills them with blue – the skies above! This index is no mere figment of my own imagination but rather a true pigment of recognized symbolism, for blue

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is an excellent and ancient emblem of the sky, as both Josephus (iii. 7:7) and Philo declare. Indeed, our ancient Jewish tradition declares that, on the march, the Ark of the Tabernacle was covered over with a cloth wholly of blue, because blue is similar to the color of the celestial Throne. But, excuse me! As we stand in the desert admiringly contemplating this door of the Tabernacle and drinking in its symbolism, someone has crossed the ages and is gesticulating to us, eagerly desiring to claim our attention. Who could it be? Why! it is the Prophet , Zechariah, who has contributed so much to our spiritual understanding. Surely we will be wise if we hear him once again. Pointing to the blue color in the door, he exclaims:

… 12

"Thus speaketh the Eternal of Hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is the sprout." (Zechariah 6:12) Why! This is becoming more and more fascinating. We have already heard the word applied to Messiah as King by Jeremiah (Jeremiah 23:5): again, we heard it applied to Messiah as Servant by the same Zechariah (Zechariah 3:8), now we hear it applied to a man, obviously the same person, the prophesied Messiah. Then Messiah is a man, a king , and a servant. But what sort of a man? Let us see if we can secure a clue to this question. Contrasting the First Adam with Messiah, one of our Holy Spirit-inspired Jewish messengers of God declares "The first man is of the earth, earthy, the second man is from heaven" (I Corinthians 15). Ah! now we begin to see. The first man, Adam, is the man from the earth. He failed. The second man, Messiah, is the man from the blue above. He doesn't fail. What a happy word is , the shoot, thus to bind together this trio of revealed truths, the King-Redeemer-Man from heaven! But Zechariah's invaluable contribution has stirred up my memory on another feature. I feel sure you have heard the expression, "Ecce homo," haven't you? It is very familiar. Indeed, I sometimes wonder whether this Latin locution is better known than its English translation "Behold the man!" however, behind the comparatively commonplace Latin phrase are the lesser known languages leading to lesser apprehended revelation. Let us explore this.

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The phrase, "Ecco homo," should suggest to you a famous painting, wherein the artist depicts the fateful figure of the King of the Jews before the Roman Procurate, Pontius Pilate. "Behold the man!" "Ecce home!" is the caption of the painting culled, I assume, from the 19th chapter of Yochanan's, John's Gospel in the New Covenant, New Testament; but whether these famous words, "Behold the man," were uttered by Pilate or by the One Who stood before him, is not absolutely clear. This may be news to you and in explanation let me ask you to observe that the actual word "Pilate" is in italics in your English version thus denoting that it is not found in the original Greek manuscripts. It matters not from whose lips this arresting exhortation issued; it still makes the Anointed One the cynosure of our gaze – "Behold the man!" My friends, it is all too little apprehended that these commanding words, which have now been set firmly into the colorful mosaic of history, have a valid background in the equally colorful mosaic of prophecy. Why, five hundred centuries before Pontius Pilate was born, Zechariah had cried – "Ecce homo!" "Behold the man!" but in a language earlier that Latin or Greek; indeed, in the very sacred tongue, Hebrew, "Behold the Man!" Moreover, Zechariah gives the Man a distinctive title, , the "shoot," the "branch"; a strange and esoteric title but which is, as we have seen, so employed in Tenach as being common to Messiah as King, Servant and Man; and this fact discloses to us that the Man Who stood in Pilate's praetorium was in Himself the King of the Jews, the Servant of the Eternal God, and the Man from Heaven's Throne. The white byssus of the Tabernacle's Door is surely patterned with blue, purple, and scarlet; but its symbolism is presenting a pattern singularly and utterly compelling, a pattern which draws within its daring and colorful threads the very pages of the New Covenant, the New Testament, and weaves them into harmonious unity with Tenach, the Old Testament. We see the purple pigments dripping from the brush which Matthew used when he was Divinely commissioned to paint the Portrait of the King. Possessing a genealogy stemming back to King David, here is a religious portrait which should be appreciated and embraced by a religious people, the Hebrews. "Behold your King!" is the sub-title of the Good News from the mouth of Matthew.

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We follow the scarlet trail from its appearance in the Door of the Tabernacle until it left us gazing in wonder at the portrait of the suffering Messiah-Redeemer painted in scarlet hues by John Mark. This portrait of the Servant obedient unto death should not only be intelligible to us Hebrews but also approved by Gentiles impregnated by the Roman culture of law and authority. Mark's record possesses no genealogy, for a servant needs none; action, not oration, is its characteristic, as is evidenced by the 42 occurrences of the one Greek word "euthos" and "eutheos," translated "straightway," "immediately," "forthwith" and "annon." Surely, the sub-title of Mark's portrait is "Behold My Servant!" And the third portrait? How apt is the artist whom God enfranchised to paint this third portrait for, according to Nicephorus (ii 43), Lucas really was a painter as well as a physician. And so Luke, whose very name (if from Lucilius) means "born at daylight" when the skies are blue, is selected to paint the portrait of the "man from heaven." Is it not exquisitely harmonious that Luke gives a genealogy right back to Adam, the first man, with whom the Second Man, the Last Adam, is so contrasted? "Ecce Homo," "Behold the Man" is surely the sub-title of Luke's Gospel. May I remind you that the Hebrew greeting was "Peace," the Roman greeting, "Safety," and the Greek greeting, "Grace." When, therefore, we hear the cry "Ecce Homo," "Behold the Man," we will surely turn our gaze upon the One Who is Himself the very Prince of Peace and the very embodiment of God's Grace and Who, by His atoning Blood, brings eternal Safety to all, whether Hebrew, Roman or Greek, whether Jew or Gentile, all who accept Him as a personal Saviour-Messiah-Redeemer – the Sent One of Whom our Tenach so clearly and so colorfully speaks.

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THE MEDIATOR ADUMBRATED MY FRIENDS, it was Henry Ward Beecher (1832-1887) who expressed his idea of the relationship between an artist and his painting in these very colorful words: "Every artist dips his brush in his own soul and paints his own nature into his pictures."

(Proverbs from Plymouth Pulpit) I have pondered this sentiment and I rather like it, don't you? I am so glad that Beecher used the plural word "pictures"; for surely no single solitary picture could reflect adequately so complex a subject as one's own nature. If this is true of man who is at once "the glory and the shame of the universe" (Pascal) how infinitely more so must this be true of God, "Who in His Person acts his own creations." (Browning) Why, creation itself, master-picture though it be, is too anaemic to impersonate the deep and iridescent hues of the Divine Artist Whose fiat brought it forth. And yet we are thankful for the portrayals we have, feeble though they be, which give us a glimpse of Him Who is "the first in glory, as the first in place" (Homer); and in the Tabernacle in the Wilderness, the which God commanded Moses to erect at Mount Sinai, we have just such a portrayal in sacred symbolism, eloquent, prefiguring and instructive. This symbolic structure in the desert may be described as a Divinely bestowed beacon of spiritual truth whose twin beams reveal two vital verities – the first of these is the glorious fact that God has made an approach to man; the second, that God has made a way for man's approach to Him. And I feel it to be of no small importance that in both these facets of Divine grace, the initiative was, and ever is, with God. At the moment our attention has been placed upon the rectangular outer court or enclosure, 100 cubits long by 50 cubits wide, the white outer walls of which were interrupted at the east side by a door, daring and conspicuous in color, having blue, purple and scarlet woven through its basic white material.

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Already, we have studied the fascinating symbolism of the blue, the purple and scarlet. There now remains for our consideration the fourth and final color in the door – the basic color through which the other three colors are woven. That foundational color is white. "Colors speak all languages," declares Joseph Addison (1672-1719) and the symbolic language of white in the Scriptures is not hard to discover. One clue out of many will suffice. The Eternal God, through the lips of His inspired prophet Isaiah, issues the hopeful promise "though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow" (Isaiah 1:18). Scarlet symbolizes sin and also the blood that atones for sin; white, as far as man is concerned, symbolizes the blessed results of atonement, the bestowal of righteousness as a free gift of God's grace. Throughout the Scriptures white is the emblem of holiness, cleanness, purity, righteousness, innocence, joy and victory. It is recorded in Daniel, chapter 12, verse 10, that "many shall be purified, and made white." But, in the case of the Door of the Tabernacle, we are considering white as the basic color, inasmuch as the blue, the purple and the scarlet are woven through it. Basically, then, white is symbolic of God Himself, the Source and Imparter of all that white could possibly signify. In this fourth and final symbolic color we are granted the fourth and final section of a fourfold revelation of supreme importance and superb beauty. Let us place this fourth gem in its spiritual relation with the three that have preceded it, and watch the perfect pattern it produces. You will remember, in the three messages preceding this one, we used an interesting Hebrew word which we discovered to be a link joining together three very precious portions of God's prophetic light. That Hebrew word is , which could be translated into English as "sprout," or "shoot" and which the English Authorized Version translates as "branch." In my three messages immediately preceding, we found this descriptive expression, , applied to the prophesied Messiah Person in his office of Theocratic King (Jeremiah 23:5); secondly, in his office as Suffering Servant of God (Zechariah 3:8); and, thirdly, in his Personal Being, as the Man from Heaven (Zechariah 6:12); and these fascinating facets answered to the purple, the scarlet and the blue in the Door of the Tabernacle.

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Is this eloquent word used a fourth and final tie in Tenach in reference to the prophesied Person of Messiah? Yes, it is; and it completes the full God-granted picture of the One Who is the song of Israel's prophets and the soul of Israel's hope. Before I recite it to you, let us all sweep from the surface of our minds any of the dust of prejudice or scepticism or incredulity and let us allow the full beam of this Divine ray of enlightenment to find complete reflection, response and receptivity from the polished surface of our spiritually enlightened intellects. This valuable preparatory attitude and disposition will be amply rewarded, for the revelation embedded in the words of the prophet Isaiah whom I am about to quote will prove immense both in circumstance and in consolation. Here, then, is the fourth use of the Hebrew word ; listen carefully:

… 2

"In that day shall the Sprout of God be beautiful and glorious."

The Sprout of God! Tremendous title! May we consider it for a moment? Have you ever had occasion to observe a felled tree? There stands the stump of the tree just a few feet above the ground. As you move towards it for a closer inspection you observe bursting greenly through its ancient stock a tender sprout, a shoot, a branch. This sprout or shoot is part of the tree, an organic part of the tree, of its very essence and substance. Such is the meaning of the word . In this fourth use of the word, which completes the picture of Messiah granted to us in our sacred Jewish Scriptures, the Tenach, Isaiah discloses that this prophesied Being is of the essence and substance of Deity. Allow me to assure you that I remain fully within our Jewish understanding of this passage of Isaiah's inspired record because, upon this very chapter 4, in the opening verses of which we find the expression, the volume of my Jewish rabbinic interpretation declares the tile as being "symbolic of the Messiah" and adds that verses 2 to 6 constitute "a further description of the Messianic Age." What, then! Is this fourth portrait of Messiah painted in the dazzling white brilliancy of Deity? I confess I believe this to be so; and as Messiah unites in Himself the very poles of

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function – those of King and Servant – so, too, I believe He unites in Himself the very poles of being – those of Humanity and Deity. The purple of Kingship, the scarlet of the Servant suffering for the sins of Israel and the world, the blue of pristine heavenly Humanity and, finally, the white holiness of essential Deity. An evidence of the Divine authorship of both the Tenach (so-called "Old testament) with (the New Testament), and a demonstration of the unity and harmony of the message and presentation of both these sections of Scripture, is observed in the fact that the four portraits from Tenach exactly coincide with the four portraits which complete the Tenach; for Matthew shows the purple color of the King and supplies a genealogy commencing with King David, the regal source of Messianic promise; Mark presents the scarlet color of the Suffering Servant, and brings no genealogy, for a servant needs none; Luke portrays the blue color of the Man from Heaven and supplies, very appropriately, a genealogy going right back to the first Man in Eden. But John shines forth the shimmering whiteness of Deity when he declares: "In the beginning the Word existed; and the Word was face to face with God; the Word was God Himself . . . so the Word became human and tabernacled among us. . . ." John gives no genealogy, for Deity has none1 Behold your King1 Behold My Servant! Behold the Man! and by, through and in this blessed Being we can re-echo Isaiah's forceful words to Israel found in the 9th verse of his 40th chapter and referring to the Triune Godhead of Israel and the world: "Behold your Gods!"

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THE MEANINGFUL ALTAR MY FRIENDS, as we swept backwards through the ancient portals of time we entered the sacred pages of Moses' second book, known reverently to us as Shmot, or in the English language as Exodus. Its hoary alphabet sprang into words which conducted us into the unwithered wilderness of remote ages and deposited us before the outer door in the courtyard which enclosed that fascinating structure which God had commanded Moses to erect in the desert. Called variously , "tent of the congregation" , "the tabernacle of testimony or of the congregation", the tabernacle of testimony or of covenant relationship"; it is more simply known as the or Tabernacle, a title which correctly conveys the idea of God dwelling in the midst of His people. In this connection there is a quaint yet rather sweet Jewish tradition to the effect that our great teacher, Moses, having received God's assurance that forgiveness had been granted to Israel, nevertheless besought the Eternal that He would vouchsafe some visible indication of this pardon, where-upon God replied: "As truly as thou livest, I will let My Shekinah dwell among them, so that all may know that I have forgiven Israel. My sanctuary in their midst will be a testimony of My sanctuary in their midst will be a testimony of My forgiveness of their sins, and hence it may well be called a 'Tabernacle of Testimony.' " ( 51 4 etc.) Turning from tradition to revelation, it is true that the Eternal declares the purpose of the Tabernacle when He commanded Moses, "Let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them" (Exodus 25:8). This, then, is the highly symbolic and spiritually instructive edifice with which we now find ourselves in alluring investigation. We have already searched the symbolism of the Door and its four-fold color scheme. Now, let us resume our symbolic advance into the Personal Presence of God. Passing through the door in the outer courtyard, the first feature that confronts us is the altar. You will find reference to this significant instrument in Exodus, chapters 27 and 38. It was a square structure, five cubits long, five broad, and three high and made from the wood of a particular species of acacia tree (sub-order Mimoseoe), hard and durable. The Tenach refers to it as the (Shittim) tree. It is not to be confused with the so-called acacias in England and U.S.A. (sub-order Papilionaceoe). This altar was overlaid with a metal named in Hebrew which, although translated into English by the word "brass," was more likely to have been copper because brass, as you know, is an alloy (i.e. copper and zinc).

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At the four corners of the altar were four projections called "horns" and these were also made of acacia-wood overlaid with copper and projected upward and in all likelihood were of one piece with the altar itself. Our ancient rabbis are correct when they declare that the separate parts of the Tabernacle each had a symbolical significance. Well, I am sure none of us will have to exert much mental exercise to solve the symbolism of the altar. The word "altar" always suggests sacrifice; indeed, the Hebrew word for "altar" – – is derived from the root , meaning to slaughter for sacrifice. The first altar of which we have any Biblical record is that built by Noah upon emerging from the ark after the Great Deluge (Genesis 8:20) and it stood alone under the heavens. Later, the patriarchs erected altars in places where God had graciously appeared to them; we read, for instance, in Genesis 12:7 that our father Abraham "builded an altar unto the eternal, Who appeared unto him." Thus the altar conjures to the mind the concept of a righteous meeting place and meeting base between a holy God and sinful man. So far as man is concerned the altar is a passage to God through which man expresses his acknowledgement that, whatever he may be or appear to be in the eyes of man, in the eyes of God he falls short; he is a sinner, a transgressor; whilst, so far as God is concerned, the altar is a medium through which God expresses to man the fact of the Divine acceptance of the sacrifice offered in substitution and expiation of man's sin and the blessed fact of Divine forgiveness and restored fellowship. Because of a reference in the first chapter of Malachi to the altar as being also God's , that is, "table," as well as the place of worship and approach through blood sacrifice, our Rabbis also regarded the altar as a symbol of mediation, and designated it by the term Paraclete () which means an intercessor, a mediator. In this regard it is most interesting to observe how well our ancient rabbis understood the symbolic implications of this eloquent furnishing as is illustrated by their quaint statement that the four Hebrew consonants which make up the word – the name of the wood from which the altar was made – stand respectively for , "Peace"; , "Good" , "Salvation"; and , "Forgiveness." If the acacia conveys such a comforting message to our hungry and dissatisfied souls, how well might we apply the words of Moore to its frondy foliage:

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"Our rocks are rough, but smile there Th' acacia waves her sweet hair, Lonely and sweet, nor loved the less For flowering in a wilderness."

(Moore – Lalla Rookh) But, my friends, there are still further Treasures from Tenach for us ere we leave our meditations on the subject of the altar. In the 20th chapter of Exodus we learn other thought-provoking and instructive features. If, for any reason, an altar was to be erected anywhere, so far, at least, as the body of the altar was concerned, there was a Divine prohibition against using any implement to build it. Such altars could only be built of earth or unhewn stone. I am persuaded that the spiritual lesson underlying this prohibition is consonant with the entire instruction latent in this theme. Earth and unhewn stone are free from the marks of man's effort; these materials appear just as they left the hands of God and I feel the Divine proscription is to educate us to realize that, as with our father Abraham (Genesis 15:6), human works and merit are not the basis of man's salvation and acceptability with God; but rather that "God will provide Himself the lamb for the burnt-offering" (Genesis 22:8). There is yet another injunction to which I would like to refer and which seems to teach the same spiritual lesson. The Eternal God forbids the priests to ascend the altar by steps (Exodus 20:26 English). A flight of steps or a stairway speaks of human effort and ingenuity in upward progress; therefore such is proscribed as being an unacceptable approach to God. Not human effort and merit, but Divine grace is set forth as the basis of reconciliation with God. Because of this restriction against steps our rabbis have conjectured that a slope of earth on the south side of the altar led gradually up to it. A final word about the horns of the altar. Psalm 118 instructs us that the substitute sacrifice was bound securely to these horns when about to be sacrificed (so Rashi and Ibn Ezra) and it was upon the horns of the altar that the sacrificial blood was sprinkled. The horn is the symbol of power and perpetuity and the blood sprinkled thereon testifies to the eternal power and efficacy of that which the sacrifice typifies.

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Ah! we've moved on a step further now. Not only does the altar provide us with very rich and satisfactory symbolism but also the sacrifices associated with it are surely typical. We have seen the spiritual reality behind the symbolism. Do you now inquire after the reality underlying the typology of the sacrifices, particularly seeing that sacrifices have now ceased? My friends, one of our ancient Rabbinic traditions, though extravagant in its sentiment, mat yet serve as an adequate pointer to our thoughts. It is said that the altar of the Celestial Sanctuary had a jewel graven on it with the Name of the Messiah, and a voice cries aloud, "Return ye children of men" (Tehillim 90:391). Like the Door, and the four colors in the door, so the Altar, too, brings us face to face with the Messiah Whose (peace) is (good) and Whose (salvation) brings eternal (forgiveness). That is why the Name of the Messiah is .

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THE MIRROR-MADE ABLUTIONARY MY FRIENDS, let's talk about mirrors for a little while; you will not find the subject uninteresting for mirrors can prove to be very revealing articles. Mirrors can reflect more than the image of tangible object within their sphere of reproduction; mirrors can reflect motives too. For instance, the coquette, absorbed with their reflection in her mirror, may behold only her features and the fruit of her own attention to enhance her personal attractiveness; but a clear-eyed and discerning observer will also behold the reflection of her unworthy character and ulterior motive. Of course, mirrors need not necessarily be made of glass to reflect virtues or the lack of them. Indeed, behaviour is the very best of mirrors for such a purpose, for was it not Goethe who remarked that, "Behaviour is a mirror in which every one shows his image"? Oh! I think we have commenced an alluring excursion. Was it not true that at the initial mention of the word "mirror" our minds flew to roost upon a single perch of silvered glass? But mirrors are made of stuff other than glass as we have seen. Is there yet more? Well, L. D. Pychowska has composed some very fragrant lines about another kind of mirror when he writes:

"High in the clefts of the rock ' the cedars Hangeth the harebell the waterfall nigh; Blue are its petals, deep-blue tinged with purple, Mystical tintings that mirror the sky."

(Harebells) But perhaps, on the human plane, the most beautiful mirror any woman could desire is that so elegantly expressed by John Tobin:

She's adorned Amply, that in her husband's eye looks lovely, - The truest mirror that an honest wife Can see her beauty in!"

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You will notice that I ventured to confine this sweet and touching sentiment to the human plane because the eye, as the mirror of love, is not the discovery of John Tobin but rather the disclosure of the God of Israel! Does this surprise you? Believe me, this sweet revelation is among the choicest of the "Treasures from Tenach" that I am able to unearth for your delight. The sacred Scriptures grant us the tender revelation that the Jewish nation and people are mirrored in the all-seeing and loving eye of the Eternal God of Israel. This delicate sentiment is first expressed in Deuteronomy, chapter 32, where in declaring that His portion is His people and Jacob is the lot of His inheritance, the Lord of Hosts affirms that He has kept Israel: "as the apple of His eye." In the second chapter of the Scripture book named after the prophet Zechariah we meet with the same expression in the English translation where God says of the relation between Israel and Himself, "Surely, he that touches you touches the apple of His eye" (Verse 8 English, 12 Hebrew). In the Zechariah passage, however, the Hebrew expression is a different one. It is: – literally – "the hollow of His eye." Now, my friends, we are in for some delicate fare as we inhale the fragrance of this rare reflection. The word used by Zechariah comes from the Hebrew root , and the imagery of the expression is daring and delicious. The expanding and contracting opening in the iris of the eye, through which light passes to the retina, is poetically conceived as a hollow liquid laver which serves as a reflecting surface, mirroring in diminutive form, the object within its proximity and range. The word in Devarim, Deuteronomy, and elsewhere (Deuteronomy 32:10; Psalm 17:8; Proverbs 7:2; Lamentations 2:18) is a delightful one and emphasizes this diminutive in the object reflected. The word means "man," but here the word is , literally meaning "little man." This will be well understood when the eye is conceived as a mirror reflecting in that which we call the pupil of the eye a diminutive representation of the full size object before it. Indeed, the very word "pupil" comes from the Latin "pupilla" and means a "little doll."

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Isn't this an exquisite notion? Israel, the Jewish people, viewed collectively as represented in the patriarch, Jacob – whose name was Divinely changed to Israel – is so close before and within the affectionate and constant regard of the Holy One that the very eye of the Eternal God of the Universe mirrors the impression of His people in diminutive form. But since, for the moment, my messages are encompassing the Tabernacle in the Wilderness as disclosed in the Book of Exodus, you are doubtless wondering why I am speaking of mirrors – however attractive the theme has proved – to the apparent neglect of our current topic. Ah! my friends, the neglect, I assure you, is only apparent for I have yet another reference to mirrors and in a setting very pertinent to our current motif. In our examination of the major furnishings of the , the Tabernacle, we have already considered the wall of the outer courtyard, its door, and the four colors comprising that door. We also had some choice minutes around the Altar of Burnt Offering inside the door. The very next object that command our attention is the laver, known in Hebrew as the . This was a vessel of copper, probably circular in shape, containing water with which the priests by command were required to wash their hands and feet before offering sacrifice to the Eternal God of the Universe. Resting on a base or foot, it stood between the Altar of Burnt Offering and the entrance to the proper. And the mirrors? Oh, yes! The laver was made entirely of the highly polished and beautifully ornamented metal which the women used as mirrors. (Exodus 38:8) The Hebrew women, during the exodus from Egypt, probably brought with them mirrors similar to the burnished copper reflectors common to Egyptian use. The mirror, in ancient Jewish tradition, was a symbol of generation and new life. Employed by the women as a necessary adjunct to guide them in the best display of their attractiveness, the resultant desire awakened in their husbands brought the blessing of many children to adorn the union. Symbolically then, the laver speaks of new life, regeneration associated with washing of purification because of having passed towards the Presence of God through the atoning blood of sacrifice shed at the door of the outer courtyard. Within the courtyard, its walls that once seemed to shut out now appear like loving arms protectively encircling the sinner redeemed by atoning blood and regenerated by the water of the laver.

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Water is a very ancient Jewish symbol for the Word of God, the Scriptures. One ancient Jewish tradition observes that "as the sand fills the whole earth, so the offspring of Abraham would scatter over the whole earth, from end to end; and as the earth is blessed only when it is moistened with water, so his offspring would be blessed through the Torah, which is likened to water." Another tradition declares that "as the thorn-bush requires ample water for its growth, so Israel can prosper only through the Torah, the celestial water." Ere we close let us gather together our Divine symbolism so far gleaned and marshal it before us so that it, too, can be a mirror picturing for our enlightenment the spiritual truths within its range of reflection. You will recall that in our approach to the Personal Presence of God in the midst of the the great white walls seemed to discourage us for they reflected the awful holiness of God and we knew we fell short of that requisite standard. It was fortunate we didn't turn back because, in the east wall, you will remember, we found a Door, colorful and eloquent. We traced its fourfold symbolism in Tenach and discovered that it, too, was a mirror reflecting Messiah as King, Servant, Man and Deity. We were then startled to find that this fourfold Tenach, Old Testament, presentation is exactly the presentation of Messiah in the New Covenant, the New Testament, the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John respectively. Moving farther on towards God through that very Door, we were confronted with the Copper Altar and found that this stately symbol of substitutionary sacrifice again mirrored the service of the Suffering Servant, Who, as Isaiah declares, was "wounded for our transgressions" (Isaiah 53). Our still further approach confronted us with the laver, and that mirror-made ablutionary mirrored for us the Word of God through which we learn these priceless truths and, believing them, receive the Second Circumcision of which our teacher Moses spoke in the 30th chapter of Deuteronomy. Regeneration, spiritual genesis, new spiritual life, is the light reflected from the laver in the Tabernacle in the Wilderness.

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How well our Jewish New Covenant, the New Testament, put it when it declares, "He saved us, not because of upright deeds that we had done, but in accordance with His mercy, through the laver of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit." May our hands, the symbol of our works, and our feet, the symbol of our daily walk, reflect abundantly that regeneration Divinely bestowed upon us through the efficacy of Messiah's atoning blood shed for all mankind.

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THE MANNA ABIDING MY FRIENDS, we have paused a little longer over the book of Exodus in order that we might make a fleeting survey of that unique edifice popularly styled "the Tabernacle in the Wilderness," and in messages immediately preceding we have basked in the lucent rays of Divine revelation provided respectively by the Door in the outer Courtyard, the Copper Altar at the entrance, and the Laver within the courtyard. I want you to picture in your mind a rectangular area greater in length than in width and divided by a beautiful curtain into two compartments. It is now our rich privilege to venture into the first of these two apartments known as , "the Holy (place)," to distinguish it from the second area which was designated , "the Holy of Holies." In this first section, three furnishings are found, the Golden Altar of Incense, the Golden Candlestick, and the Table of Shewbread. Let us spend a few minutes together over the Table of Shewbread. In size two cubits long, one cubit wide and one-and-a-half cubits high, it was made of acacia-wood and overlaid with gold. It also possesses a golden border a handsbreadth in width surrounding it like a crown, and four golden rings were provided close to the border so that the Table could be borne by four acacia-wood staves overlaid with gold which fitted through the rings. Have you captured the picture? Even this brief description is sufficient to provide our minds with a reasonable appreciation of the beauty of this eloquent article. You will find fuller details in Exodus, chapter twenty-five, verses twenty-three to thirty. Every Sabbath, on this beautiful table, were placed twelve newly-baked loaves of bread in two rows, six in each. Between these two rows were placed two bowls containing pure incense. An ancient Jewish tradition discloses that the loaves were anointed with oil in the middle in the form of a cross. These loaves so remained on the table until the following Sabbath, when they were replaced by fresh bread. The replaced loaves were then eaten by the priest in the Holy Place and the incense burned. Come, my friends, explore with me this veritable fairy-land of enchanting Divine symbolism. Let us begin with the bread. Now, I am at a loss to know from whence we

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secured our English term "shewbread" unless it came to us as a translation of that used by Martin Luther, "schaubrod." The original Hebrew expression is, however, quite arresting, for in the sacred Scriptures it is known principally by the term . Listen carefully to verse 30 in which the designation is employed:

30 Now, let me give you a literal translation of this sentence.

"And you shall set upon the table bread-of-faces before Me continually."

At first, this expression "Bread of Faces" may sound strange upon your ears, but it is similar to a phrase used elsewhere in Scripture regarding a remarkable Being known as , "the Angel of His Faces." Here the term "Faces" denotes the Person, the Presence, of God and the sentence is translated in Isaiah 63:9 as "the Angel of His Presence." With this sure precedent to guide us we are safe in recognizing as meaning Bread of His Presence. In any case the very Hebrew word , translated in English by the word "before," is – to be completely literal – "to-the-Faces-of-Me", so that basically verse 30 could read: "bread-of-Faces to-the-Faces-of-Me", and so agrees Abraham Ibn Ezra. Because this bread was to be continually in the Holy Place we find it described in Numbers 4:7 as , "continual bread," and in first Samuel 21:4-6, , "holy bread." Now gather together these definitions and we have a Divinely-granted spiritual revelation which is comforting indeed. The Bread of the Faces is therefore that manifestation of the Personal Presence of God to man which will be to man's soul as bread is to man's body. And please be careful to note that this , this bread, is not abstract but Personal, not spiritual verities nor moral precepts, not even , but the very Food-of-His-Faces. The view of God Personally vouchsafed to man from which manifestation the beholding and apprehending man will be sustained continually in ordered spiritual life. A table spread with food is ever the symbol of hospitality and the hall-mark of invitation. How well you will remember the Psalm (23:5): "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies."

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Our great commentator, Rashi, observes that here we have not only a table of wealth and eminence but, by virtue of the crown of gold, a symbol of royalty. What, then, is the eternal and expressive message of the Table of the Bread of Faces, the Table of Shewbread? Surely this: that the King of the Universe has provided a royal table, the wealth and eminence of which is indicated by the fare it holds, and upon which he invites participation by those possessing qualification. And the Bread of His Presence anointed with oil in the form of a cross? What can this mean? Well, we have seen that this Bread is not an abstraction but a Presence. The Hebrew verb for "anoint" is from whence we derive the Hebrew title , the Anointed One, the Messiah. Ancient Jewish tradition regarded the "Bread of the Faces" as the symbol of the Messiah. If this eloquent emblem signifies that God is giving us a life-giving view of Himself in the Person of our Jewish Messiah, do you recognize any , Tabernacle, background in the discourse I shall now repeat to you? Here it is:

"I most solemnly say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the real bread out of heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the real bread out of heaven, for the bread that God gives is what comes down out of heaven and gives life to the world."

Well, my friends, I am sure our study of the Bread of Faces will put us in full agreement with the declaration I have just quoted. Is it any wonder that those who heard it originally cried: "Give us that bread continually, sir." And what was the answer they received? Well, it may or may not surprise you. Anyway, here is the response:

"I am the bread that gives life. Whoever comes to me will never get hungry, and whoever believes in me will never get thirsty . . . I most solemnly say to you, whoever believes in me possesses eternal life. I am the bread that gives life . . . I am this living bread that has come down out of heaven. If anyone eats this bread, he will live forever, and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my own flesh."

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Ah! now we understand why the loaves were anointed with oil in the form of a cross. Yes, it is true; the cross claimed the Speaker of those words. You will find them recorded in the sixth chapter of John's Gospel in , the New Testament. I do suggest you read the discourse in full; I am sure you will find it very challenging and, if believed, very comforting. It is also consoling that the twelve loaves very clearly point to the twelve tribes of Israel – Josephus and Philo notwithstanding – and we are therefore comforted to know that this Divine provision is available freely to every descendant of Jacob.

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THE MENORAH AGLOW MY FRIENDS, have you ever sucked from that heartless word "darkness," the fullness of its bitter juice? Has the tongue of your probing imagination winced on contemplation of its acrid taste? Darkness! What a dread and dismal word it is. Darkness, taut, tense, terrifying; apt canopy for deeds and denizens of death. We need no protracted lesson in symbolism to enable us to apprehend the potent implications of darkness. The very word conjures to our mind groping fingers weaving fearfully through midnight's tangled tresses and giving sinister substance to the unlit, hesitant feet, binary in blindness, twin orphans latitude-lost whose lightest tread is echo-imitated by the feet of fear, constant companion in ebon's black borders. Unless the soul be kindred to the conditions, the craving is for light! Light, the sure-beamed beacon for the bewildered. How apt, how fitting, how appropriate that we should first encounter these purport-packed words in the initial beams of Divine revelation coruscating from the opening verses of Genesis:

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"Now the earth was unformed and void, and darkness was upon the faces of the deep."

What a picture! Desolate, empty, dark. A condition which only God Himself could remedy. And He did. In a command crammed with consequence, God said: . "Let there be light!" My friends, it is my conviction that this sacred record possesses verity not only in realms cosmological, but equally so in spheres spiritual, and so far as we are concerned surely the latter is the more important. I am persuaded that if the unformed within my soul is to take God-fashioned shape, if the emptiness of my human experience is to be no longer void, if the mysterious deep of my psychological and spiritual being is to be released from the frozen terrors of darkness, it will be only – and can be only – by fiat of God – , "Let there be light!" Permit me to say right here that I neither acknowledge nor trust merely human intelligence to illumine my spiritual footsteps. A little thought will grant me justification, I feel sure, for

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this attitude. To begin with, humanity itself, in large and in toto, lacks self-illumination and awaits, like the cosmic deep, the Divine light-dawn, God-bestowed. Surely, for humanity, God Himself is the sole and supreme source of spiritual light and I am convinced that He has long supplied His illuminating beams. If you should enquire of me from what device they shine, I shall be constrained to answer in the words of the inspired Psalmist:

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"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." (Psalm 119:105) Yes, I believe with all my heart that the Word of God is not only the Divine Light for mankind but also the lodestar of that Light and the touchstone by which all professing spiritual illumination should be checked. The Psalmist I quote employed the Hebrew word translated into English by the word "lamp"; however, its use carries my mind far back into the Wilderness of Sinai, right into the first apartment of the , the Tabernacle of Testimony. There, on the south side of that first apartment and opposite the table of Shewbread (Exodus 25:37), I behold the God-given , lampstand or candlestick – patterned by God at the time of the ancient Exodus and seen today as the significant emblem of , the State of Israel. Read for yourselves its description in the 25th and 37th chapters of Exodus. Not moulded but "of beaten work" and fashioned of pure gold, it had a golden base out of which arose a straight central shaft which constituted the middle light; then, from each side of this central shaft went forth three branches bent to shine their six lights in horizontal juxtaposition with the central luminary. It was regularly ornamented with golden cups made like almond-blossoms and is thought to have weighed some 229 lbs. troy (188 1/2 lbs. avoirdupois) and to have stood 5 feet high and 3 ½ feet wide. Its value has been estimated at some $20,000, so you can see it was by no means an inexpensive article. Its seven luminants were lighted every evening and dressed every morning. Nachmanides is of the opinion that the central light was to burn continually, and from it the other six were kindled each evening (Exodus 27:20, 21; Exodus 30:8. Cf. I Samuel 3:3). The oil for "the light" is specified as "beaten olive oil" (Exodus 25:6; 35:8 etc) and rabbinic estimate suggests 3 ½ logs per night were required. That would be about 2/5ths of a pint of oil per light per night (Menahoth 9:3).

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What a wealth of spiritual light is shed forth by this Divine symbol! Oh, that we had more appetite for this wonderful revelation of God! It is key-signatured with the numeral of spiritual perfection as the number seven implies; it wears the adornment of life in contradistinction to death and darkness, for the almond-blossom is the emblem of resurrection. Oil is its anointing (Exodus 30:22-27) and its light-supply, and oil is indicative of gladness (Psalm 45:8 (7). Cf. Hebrews 1:9) and the Biblical symbol of joy (Isaiah 61:3). Here is a token to attract! Light, Life and Joy is its triune message. The Light of God's Word brings Life as result of acceptance of its revelation and the issue is Joy. As we bask in the beams of this Divine luminary let us note another scintillation, this time tinged with the reddish glow of warning. You will remember that I indicated the importance of the central shaft? It is from the central shaft that the other six derive their oil-joyed light. Detach them from their position in that vital piece and they have no light even though their appearance may promise it. What do we learn from this? Well, when I remind you that six is the symbolical number of mankind, the lesson will be obvious and certainly salutary and it will serve to differentiate between the true light of Divine revelation and the merely apparent light of human tradition and human religion. So long as we draw our light from the central shat our light will be true light and will reflect its blessedness to all mankind. Is it not written of our teacher Moses that "the skin of his face sent forth beams"? (Exodus 34:29). He drew his oil from the central shaft. Of what, then, is the Central Shaft symbolic? It is true that in Baba Batra (25b) in the Talmud the candlestick is explained as representing the Torah, but it is equally true that our ancient Jewish Talmud declares that the light of the candlestick is "to symbolize the light of the , for in the future world there will be but one delight, to gaze at the light of the ." Again, our ancient Jewish understanding regarding the as the true Messiah of Israel. There was One Who came to Israel and declared: "I am the Light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life" (John 8:12). This same amazing Person made another statement, equally challenging, when He said "I am the resurrection and the life myself. Whoever continues to believe will live right on, even though he dies . . ." (John 11:25). Moreover, He added: "I have told you these things, that

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the joy which I have had may remain in you and that your joy may be complete" (John 15:11). Light; Life; Joy. I feel like echoing the words of Isaiah:

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"O House of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the Light of the Eternal" (Isaiah 2:5).

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THE MEDIATING ALTAR IN THIS MESSAGE it will be our delight to explore the rich symbolism of , the Golden Altar for Incense which stood before the second veil within the Holy Place (Exodus 30:6; 40:5). You will remember that its companion furnishings in that sacred area were the Golden Menorah and the Table of Shewbread which we have already considered in immediate past messages. Now, let me describe the Golden Altar to you. As I duly unfold the rich symbolism to you later on, your patience will be abundantly rewarded for having listened to this detail. Like the Copper Altar, the Golden Altar for Incense was made of that particular species of acacia tree designated in Torah, the Old Testament, as the Shittim tree. It was one cubit in length and one in breadth, but it was two cubits in height. It, too, had four projections at its four corners, these projections being called "horns." The horn, as you know, is the symbol of power. Around it was a border or crown beneath which were two rings on each side through which were passed staves by which it was lifted and transported by those selected and appointed for this privilege. It was attractive enough in shape but that which lent great beauty and splendour to it was its complete overlaying with pure gold; even the rings and staves were overlaid with this precious metal. Read the Biblical description of it in the 30th chapter of Exodus and again in the 39th chapter of Exodus. This glowing and glorious symbolic accoutrement had a sort of roof or top on which a specific and exclusive incense was laid and lighted filling the Holy Place with the most exquisite fragrance. You know, ladies love perfume and so do men, else ladies wouldn't use them! Therefore, my dear friends will want a word or two about the rare and hallowed incense which ascended from the Golden Altar. You will find the four-fold ingredients mentioned in the thirty-fourth verse of the thirtieth chapter of Exodus. In Hebrew they are, ,,,. The first (called stacte in English) is described by Rashi as an aromatic, resinous gum which drips from the wood of the balsam tree. The same famous Jewish commentator alludes to the second (known in English as Onycha) as the smooth, transparent root of an aromatic herb. The third ingredient, (in English, galbanum) is reasonably well-known in commerce and is a brownish resinous gum which, by itself, possesses a disagreeable odor but which,

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incorporated with the agreeable spices with which it was associated, merges with the whole to produce the total fragrance of exquisite delight. The fourth, , is a glittering and brittle vegetable resin obtained by incision in the bark of a tree. The English word for it is frankincense. You are well familiar with that word. If these four were not the only spices used, at least they are the only four actually named in Tenach, the Old Testament. The use of the Hebrew word , meaning "aromatics," leaves the door open to the idea that there may have been other spices added to the four named; indeed, Rashi says there were seven others whilst Josephus says there were nine others. Whatever may be the actualities, the Bible further tells us it was , salted, pure and holy; it was never to be imitated under penalty of excommunication (Exodus 30:33) and it was to be the only incense used for the Golden Altar – all others were forbidden (Exodus 30:9). Now, dear friends, I feel sure you are eager to press on to the equally fragrant symbolism underlying this beautiful Altar but, because that symbolism is rich and fragrant, I must not fail to call your attention to a few other arresting features. The very Hebrew word , translated "altar", connotes slaughter for sacrifice, and at first it may seem strange to you that no sacrifices were offered on the Golden Altar for Incense, it being employed predominantly for the burning of incense upon it throughout the year (Maimonides); yet, actually, it is vitally and supremely linked with blood sacrifice because once a year, on the great and awful occasion of , the Day of Atonements, the High Priest – and only the High Priest – sprinkled upon the horns of the Golden Altar the blood of the sin-offering. (Exodus 30:10) An exclusive incense, an exclusive person, an exclusive ceremony – it tantalizes us to discover its spiritual message, particularly when we add that it possesses an exclusive situation in symbolic instruction, for it is exclusively the only altar which appears in the heavenly temple (Isaiah 6:6 with Revelation 8:3,4). How may we best track down the emblematic wonders in this God-bestowed, rich symbolism? Was it not the poet Longfellow who referred to "footprints on the sands of time"? Let us capture his imagery and see if we can detect the sign prints in the sands of Sinai which will lead us unerringly to the spiritual truth enshrined within the symbolism.

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As we behold this wonderful Tabernacle in the Wilderness it, itself, is the first sure print indelibly impressed in our spiritual consciousness. It speaks of God for it came from God. The second impress is equally obvious for its purpose was for man – for holy humanity to meat and fellowship acceptably with a holy Deity. Thus far the track is clear; let us follow, faithfully shedding preconceived ideas on the way as unseasonable garments that may impede our progress. First step, God. Second step, Man. Now, do we see the third step? Blood and incense blend to beckon us surely onward. Sacrificial blood applied to the horns of the altar by the High Priest on , the Day of Atonements, should leave a gargantuan imprint on our souls like the stride of a giant verity across our path of life. Sin is the next sign-step in the sands of Sinai and in the souls of us all; the blood on the altar speaks of the Divinely provided atonement for the sins of us all. But, inevitably joined in association with the blood on the horns of the Golden Altar is the person of the High Priest; the people could bring their sacrifices but it was the High priest alone who could take the blood and sprinkle it upon the horns of the Altar. Here then is our next unmistakable footprint in the sands of revelation. Who or what is symbolized by the , the High Priest? Our ancient Jewish tradition, uninspired of course, yet very interesting, identifies the Altar with the Messiah where, rather quaintly, it is said that seven things were created before the creation of the heavens and the earth. Among the seven was the Altar in the Celestial Sanctuary directly in front of the Deity, having a jewel upon it engraved with the Name of the Messiah (Tehillim 90,391). Our great commentator, Rashi, referring to the border or crown around the Golden Altar of Incense says that it is symbolic of the crown of priesthood. But crowns pertain to kings and in the Scriptures the two offices are kept distinct in the Aaronic order. Where, then, do they combine? Let the Torah itself supply the answer. The very first time that the word "priest" is mentioned in Scripture is in connection with a mysterious being known as , Melchisedek, who, in the very same verse, Genesis 14:18, is declared both , "king," and , "priest." Our Midrashic writings suggest this important person was none other than Shem, the early ancestor of the Messianic line, whilst the Talmud (Sukkah 52b), naming four Messiahs, includes Melchisedek, "prince of justice," as one of them.

We have, however, a more reliable source of information – the Tenach itself – where we read, in Psalm 110, of a declaration of great import, a declaration of (the Eternal God)

directed to and in respect of a Person designated the Lord of King David. The Psalm begins:

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1

"The Eternal said unto my Lord . . ."

In the same inspired Scripture we read that David's Lord is declared by unalterable Divine decree:

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". . . priest for ever, after the manner of Melchisedek."

Who, then, is David's Lord, with Divinely declared rights to wear both the crown of kingship and the mitre of priesthood and Whom our most ancient Jewish tradition surrounds with Messianic aura, and whose priestly intercession and mediation like the precious incense ascends before the Throne of grace on our behalf? The full answer will be found in another Divinely inspired Jewish Scripture known as , "Letter to the Hebrews," a copy of which you may read for yourself on our Jewish New Covenant, the New Testament. It will well repay your reading for it will supply you with the key that will unlock the entire mystery of life, death, and Divine Redemption.

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THE MATERIALIZED ASSURANCE MY FRIENDS, I want you to journey with me once again across the sandy wastes of Sinai and let us gain some more treasures from the important symbolism of the Tabernacle in the Wilderness, the entire pattern for which was given by God to our great teacher Moses. Standing in the western end of the open courtyard this tent of meeting was divided internally into two compartments, the first of which was known as the Holy Place and the second as the , the Holy of Holies. The Holy of Holies was divided from the Holy Place by a screen of four pillars which supported curtains known in the Tenach as the veil. This veil is first described in Exodus, chapter 26, verses 31 to 35. Verse 33 clearly and distinctly states its purpose:

"and the veil shall divide unto you between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies." Clearly, then, the veil is a divider, a separator. Indeed, the Hebrew word, , translated by the English word "veil," comes from the Hebrew root meaning "to break apart," "to fracture." What a salutary, though saddening, lesson we have here! You see, the Holy of Holies was the place where God chose to make a manifestation of His Personal Presence whilst the Holy Place was the place appointed for man to manifest his meaningful ceremonial service and worship but, though a healthful contact was established between God and man under the prescribed Divine conditions, yet it is a fact that the veil was a constant reminder that between God and man there was a "break apart," "a fracture," an estrangement. We know why – man's sin. A study of the Torah discloses that only the blood of Divinely ordained sacrifice could achieve a satisfactory remedy. Please follow me carefully here for the spiritual treasure to be acquired is rich indeed. First of all, observe that the Divinely appointed blood is efficacious to the ordinary anointed priest who could never go beyond the veil. This is superbly illustrated in Leviticus, chapter

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4, verse 17, where we read: "And the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle it seven times before the Eternal, in front of the veil." The ordinary priest is in front of the veil; truly, the veil separates him yet, equally truly, he stands acceptably before the Lord, not because of his merits, but because of the blood perfectly – that is, seven times – applied. The veil may be between to separate; but because it is between it insures safe and acceptable contact between a holy God and unholy man. Secondly, I ask you to note that, whilst the ordinary priest could not pass beyond the veil but only before it yet, on the special occasion of the Day of Atonements, the High Priest could and did go within it; but in doing so he was obliged under penalty of death, to take with him a censer full of coals of fire off the altar "before the Lord" and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small. In addition to the incense he was obliged to take with him the blood of the sin-offering. The incense he burnt upon the fire before the Lord and the blood he sprinkled once – upon the ark-cover – and seven times – before the ark-cover. A total of eight sprinklings instead of seven as with the ordinary priests. Read the record for yourselves in the 16th chapter of Leviticus. Before passing to my third and final point I ask you to recognize that our ancient Jewish Haggadah affirms that there is such identity between the High Priest and the people he represents that, as Rashi so well puts it, the sin of a High Priest rendered all the people guilty. Here is the Jewish doctrine of imputed sin; similarly, we have the Jewish doctrine of imputed righteousness as we have already noticed in past messages when considering our father Abraham of whom the Torah declares that "he believed in the Eternal and He, the Eternal counted it to him, Abraham, for righteousness" (Genesis 15:6). In other words, his belief, not his works, brought him righteousness in the eyes of the Eternal. So, also, with High Priest. On that dreadful day of atonements, Yom Hakippurim, how the people must have waited in unrelaxed suspense until the re-appearance of the High Priest assured them that all was well with him – and with them, for their fate was locked with his. My third point is one that seems to have escaped the attention of the commentators with whom I am familiar. It is this. Admittedly the veil did separate man from God, but observe

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where that separation was symbolically represented. It was on earth and in the midst of the people! Let me be more explicit on this comforting and beautiful truth. Supposing the tent of meeting had had only one compartment, then the veil would have the end and final wall beyond which there would have been nothing but the open air and the skies above. God in His remote heavens and man constantly facing a veil of separation that had no sure hope woven into its fabric. But, my friends, be of good cheer, the veil was not the final wall. So close, just behind it, was the loving, living God of Israel dwelling in the midst of His people. There to protect, there to guide, there to encourage, there to sustain, there to commune. Then as always – even today! That veil did separate, but all the symbolic and actual circumstances, including, its penetration by Israel's High Priest – who was, as you know, himself a symbol – pointed to the consoling hope that the veil itself was to be a temporary institution destined, by Divine grace, to cease its separating function under the efficacy of blood and incense. Do you inquire of whom the High Priest was symbolical? Why, of course you do! He was symbolical of the One described in that prophetic 110th Psalm, the One declared a Priest forever belonging to the rank – not of Aaron – but of Melchizedek. The blood conveyed behind the separating veil symbolized this Great One's atonement and the incense His efficacious and unceasing intercession for us. The eight sprinklings behind the veil symbolically indicates the new order; for eight, as I shall one day demonstrate to you, is the Biblical number denoting a new beginning. In that essentially Jewish Scripture called – Letter to the Hebrews – written under Divine inspiration by a Jew to Jewish people, this High Priest is identified and His redeeming work described. Let me quote this writer to you:

"This hope we have as an anchor for our souls, secure and safe, and which reaches up behind the heavenly veil, where Yeshua has blazed the way for us and become a High Priest with the rank of Melchizedek" (Hebrews 6:19).

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The same writer supplies a Divinely inspired and authorized exposition. Let me quote part of it to you; here it is:

"But when Messiah came as the High Priest of good things that have already taken place, He went by way of that greater and more perfect tent of worship, that is, not belonging to this material creation, and not with blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He once for all went into the real sanctuary and secured our eternal redemption." (Hebrews 9:11,12)

Of whom does he write? Let another Jew supply the answer:

"Then Yeshua gave a loud cry, and expired. And the veil of the Holy of Holies was torn in two, from top to bottom" (Mark 15:37 compare Matthew 27:51 and Luke 23:45).

Ah! didn't we suspect that the separating veil was only a temporary factor? The way is now open into the Holy of Holies through the blood and intercession of our great High Priest belonging to the rank of Melchizedek, the true and only Messiah-Redeemer of Israel and of all mankind, and the One of Whom Moses and the Prophets undoubtedly spoke.

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THE MEMORABLE ABODE MY DEAR FRIENDS, in our happy journeyings together through the rich and colorful pages of our sacred Hebrew Scriptures we have spent many pleasant moments examining the symbolical wonders of , the Tabernacle in the Wilderness as disclosed in the Book of Exodus. Did you know that the Scriptures allot more chapter space to the Tabernacle and its concomitants than to any other single Biblical subject? To those of us who have been liberated from the chafing chains of the Graf-Welhausen historicocritical documentary hypotheses, and kindred specious evolutionary fallacies, the reason that this Tabernacle in the wilderness receives such expansive Scripture-mention is because its pattern and its purpose were the product of , the Holy Spirit of the Eternal God. It is a complete revelation of redemption in itself and to understand its shining, sacred, symbolism is to understand, "mit einem schlag," the entire Divinely- inspired Biblical message of the God-initiated redemption and salvation of humanity. How it has repaid our scrutiny! And now we shall have unfolded before the inquiring eyes of our understanding the mysterious and awe-inspiring wonders of , the Holy of Holies, the third and final area into which the Tabernacle was divided. Like the mystic fires flashing opalescently from the heart of some very precious jewel, the Holy of Holies is iridescent in display of spiritual treasures. Let us acquire some of these as we survey its size, its spectacle and its sacredness. The Tenach discloses that the Holy of Holies was equal in length, breadth and height. It was a cube, 10 x 10 x 10 cubits. A cube is an area bounded by six equal squares, the angle between any two adjacent faces being a right angle, so that it doesn't matter which way you turn the cube; it is always the same, perfect in all its related proportions. This arresting feature symbolizes perfection, beautiful, satisfying, harmonious perfection. Since, of the three areas of the Tabernacle, only the Holy of Holies possessed this feature, and since the Holy of Holies was the area specifically identified with Personal Presence of God, the cube of perfection reminds us of the character and conduct of the Eternal God – beautiful, satisfying, harmonious perfection.

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In the magnificent the song of Moses, found in the thirty-second chapter of – that is, Deuteronomy – in ascribing greatness to the God of Israel, Moses exclaims:

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"The rock, His work is perfect, for all His ways are justice; a God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and right is He" (Deuteronomy 32:4).

Avraham Ibn Ezra observes that the appellation, "The Rock." Indicates God's unalterability, His unchangeableness. With great power the Eternal declares this attribute of Himself through the lips of the prophet, Malachi, when He affirms:

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"For I am the Eternal; I change not" (Malachi 3:6).

How true this is. Like the cube, which ever way we view Him He is always the same. Indeed, in the English translation this sentiment is expressed in that very word, where is Psalm 102, the Psalmist declares of God "But Thou art the same" (verse 27, English; 28, Hebrew). I am sure you will be interested to know that this sentence in the Hebrew is which, translated literally, is "But Thou art He," and of this phrase Rabbi Dr A. Cohen, M.A., Ph.D., D.H.L., quotes A F Kirkpatrick as saying that this is "an emphatic assertion of the personality of God, which is in its very nature unchanging." The expression , "I am He," is a well-known Tenach affirmation of Deity and appears not infrequently throughout the Hebrew Scriptures. I mention this because I believe it has a bearing upon the immense statement made by the Messiah Yeshua which I now quote to you translated from the Greek: "You are from below; I am from above. You belong to this present world; I do not belong to this present world. So I have told you that you would die under the curse of your sins, for unless you believe that I am He, you will die under the curse of your sins" (John 8: 23ff).

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You can read the whole amazing discourse in the eighth chapter of (John) in , the New Covenant, the New Testament. It is also interesting to note that the writer of (Letter to the Hebrews) says of the Messiah Yeshua that: "Yeshua is Messiah, yesterday and today the same, and forever" (Hebrews 13:8) and quotes that very Psalm 102 (Hebrews 1:12) of the Messiah by saying: "But you are the same, and your years will never cease." Surely, the cube teaches us that constancy – not caprice – is characteristic of the changeless God of Israel and of His Anointed One, the Messiah-Redeemer. Had it been vouchsafed us to enter the Holy of Holies in those ancient days, what a spectacle would have confronted us! There would have been the sacred ark of the covenant in which reposed the tablets of the Divine Torah (Law), the pot of manna, and Aaron's rod that had budded to the discomfiture of Pharaoh's charlatans. Upon the ark was the ark-cover overshadowed by the golden cherubim, the glorious symbolism of all which will be reserved for succeeding messages. It is sufficient for our present notice to realize that this was the identical spot from which the Voice of God was heard, for we read in (Numbers) chapter 7, verse 89, that Moses "heard the Voice speaking unto him from above the ark-cover that was upon the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim; and He (God) spoke unto him" (Moses). Now we can understand the supreme sacredness of the Holy of Holies. Of the three areas, the Holy of Holies was the most exclusive. Into the first area, the Outer Court, the people were allowed to enter with their offerings; into the second area, the Holy Place, not the people but only the priests could enter; but into the Holy of Holies neither people nor priests could enter. Only the High Priest himself was allowed into this third sacred area and, even then, he was allowed in only on special occasions and only after having fulfilled the prescribed preparation. Yet this exclusiveness was not a Divine withdrawal from man and his need. Actually it was a stage in the Divine approach to man and his need. Let me conclude by showing you this beautifully increasing convergence of God upon man. In Eden, God had walked with Adam; to the early patriarchs He had spoken; he had personally appeared to our father Abraham and our teacher Moses. Now, however, in the Tabernacle and later in the Temple, He had come to dwell with His people Israel.

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Do we ask anxiously has God departed since the Temple was destroyed in the year 70 of the Common Era? A thousand times, No! Not departed. Rather He has come closer, ever closer, not only to Israel, but to all men. My friends, I believe sincerely that I should be false to the truth if I did not invite your attention to One Who declared Himself greater than the Temple, and of Whom the Spirit-inspired Jewish Sheliach, Yochanan, declares was from the beginning, yet Who became man and tabernacled among us (John 1:14 Greek); and Who, in and by the Personal Presence of – His Holy Spirit – is still ready and willing today to dwell permanently with any individual, whether Jew or non-Jew; and Who will, as prophesied in the Tenach, take up permanent residence with Israel nationally, and through Israel, with all mankind – and methinks that blessed day may not be very far distant. May it speedily dawn for us all!

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The Marvelous Ark MY DEAR FRIENDS, in our brief survey of the Tabernacle in the Wilderness and of some of its fascinating furnishings it is now our privilege and delight to spend the next few minutes together within the very Holy of Holies and to view there the awe-inspiring article of furnishing known, in simple terms, as the Ark, a term which, I assure you, has nothing whatever to do with either electricity or floods. Let me try and describe it to you. It was an oblong chest or casket, two cubits and a half in length, a cubit and a half in breadth and a cubit and a half in height. This Biblical measurement will give you a good idea of its proportions – 2 ½ x 1 ½ x 1 ½ but, of course, unless you have an idea of the length of a cubit you can hardly visualize its size. A visitor, motoring in a part of the country unfamiliar to him, hailed a passing stranger to inquire the distance to his destination and was informed that the journey yet before him was ten miles "as the crow flies." Now that motorist was a practical man, so he ventured another question, "Could you tell me how far it is if the crow got tired of flying and I let it change places with me and drive this automobile? Well, unless we remove the word "cubit" its ancient and unfamiliar garments and re-dress it in modern coat and pants, we'll be like that motorist – we will visualize that crow all right, but we will be just a little hazy about the distances we – and not the crow – will have to travel. In this case our least common denominator is the human arm, and the cubit is the distance from the elbow to the extremity of the middle finger. I know this measure would differ with different individuals but, after all, that motorist only wanted the distance to his destination in miles; he would have been amazed had the stranger added yards, feet and inches, and I am sure you would not be happy with the estimated standard of Thenius of 19.0515 inches, so let us settle at the more convenient approximation that one cubit equals eighteen inches. Now you have both the proportion and the size of the memorable Ark. It was made of a species of acacia wood known as Shittim wood and it was overlaid with pure gold both inside and outside. Many of our rabbis, including Rashi, declare that actually three lidless caskets were made, one of wood and two of gold. The wooden casket was fitted into the larger golden one and then the smaller golden one was fitted within the wooden one. Afterwards the exposed wooden rim was also covered with gold.

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Thus the golden Ark was a unity in triunity; a three in one, one in three. This very beautiful golden furnishing was further adorned with a golden crown-like moulding running completely around it and at each of the four corners of the Ark a ring was attached through which were passed staves of shittim wood also overlaid with gold. By this means the Ark was transported from place to place by the sons of Kohath (Numbers 6:9; 10:21) who were specially selected and appointed for this great privilege. Some idea of the importance and centrality of the Ark can be gained from ancient Talmudic extravagances which, in effect, declared that the construction of the whole earth was begun at its centre using the Even Shetiyyah, the foundation stone of the Temple, because the Holy Land was at the central point of the earth's surface. And Jerusalem was at the central point of the Holy Land, and the Temple was itself situated at the very centre of the Holy City. In the sanctuary itself the Hekal was the centre, and the Holy Ark occupied the centre of the Hekal, built on the foundation stone which thus was at the centre of the earth. Jewish tradition further affirms that the Ark of the Covenant was an image of the Celestial Throne and therefore the most essential part of the Tabernacle. From it the first ray of light pierced to the Holy Land, and from there illuminated the whole earth. As I said, there are extravagances where the actual statements are concerned but there is no extravagance where the statements reveal the paramount importance of the Ark and its related cover and cherubim. Indeed it can be said that the whole Tabernacle was wrapped around it, built especially for it; it is the first furnishing described by the God of Israel to His devoted servant Moses and you will find its specifications embedded in the 25th chapter of Exodus. So far I have described this beautiful triune casket by the single word "ark" but it is an article designated in Scripture in at least seven variant ways. It will be a happy thought-journey towards this particular treasure from Tenach if I mention all seven; here they are – the ark of shittim wood, the ark of testimony, the ark of the covenant, the ark of the Eternal, the ark of the covenant of the Eternal, the ark of God, the ark of the God of Israel. It is perhaps in this last setting that the title appeals to us most – the ark of the God of Israel.

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These seven variations in title are like seven electric-light switches which we can switch on to illuminate in ever increasing brilliancy the beautiful, consoling, spiritual truth underlying each. The God of the Universe is also the God of Israel; Israel with who He has graciously entered into covenant relationship, something of the nature of which we can discern when we view the contents of the Ark, and then take a further glance at the Ark itself. What, then, were the contents of the Ark? Inside this beautiful vessel were two tables of stone possessing the Divine autograph of the Ten Commandments, and in addition, a "pot of manna" – that mysterious bread from heaven Divinely provided by the Eternal God – also Aaron's rod that had budded, and was instrumental in the Divine contest with the obdurate Pharaoh of Egypt prior to the Exodus. Vital and compelling is the symbolic import of each of these three depositaries within the sacred Ark. The Torah blazes forth the Divine charter of Law for human conduct having as its aim that man might mirror the character and conduct of the Holy One Himself, blessed be He! If we should despair and faint before such a lofty goal and calling, the pot of manna – the bread of heaven – whispers of the Divine Love and aid towards the attainment of this alluring ultimate. If, still startled by this moral Matterhorn of God-likeness confronting us, we should enquire how this poor, inadequate sparrow can soar like the eagle, our eyes behold Aaron's rod of the almond tree which budded green and lively under Divine power. Then we remember that the almond tree, the first tree to bud in the Holy Land, is itself the symbol of resurrection and Life. Joyously, we drink the streams of hope flowing like living waters from this rich symbolism. No wonder the Ark and its contents were so sacred to the God of Israel that Divine retribution immediately fell upon all who trifled with it. The Divine image and likeness restored by Divine provision and power! What a glorious goal for each human soul! What a matchless message to bring to frail, frustrated, humanity. Do we now enquire how this consoling consummation is to be acquired? Well, glance at the

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Ark once again, its triunity of gold-wood-gold wherein lies that which symbolizes Law, Love and Life should stimulate our understanding. Let us step boldly into this symbolism and capture its treasure. Gold is the symbol of Deity and shittim wood the symbol of perfect humanity. The triune ark speaks of the Triune God of Israel, who sends forth from the Godhead incarnate in perfect humanity the promised Messiah-Redeemer Who thus becomes the Divinely provided Bread from Heaven and Who, by resurrection, implants the principle of endless life into all who yield their rod-like deadness to His powerful touch. Does not this blessed hope re-kindle the light in fading eyes and roll back the dark horizons for the advancing beams of blessing? Why, my friends, the half has not been told; but let me tell you some of it in my next message when we shall unearth the spiritual treasures stored within the Ark-lid and its overshadowing cherubim.

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THE MAXIMUM ATONEMENT MY FRIENDS, I ask you to accompany me in a fascinating enquiry regarding the symbolism of the or lid which covered the marvelous Ark of God which stood within the Holy of Holies. A lid or cover of a box or chest or casket is not ordinarily regarded as being of any importance beyond and above the normal purpose it serves. It is usually just a lid or cover nothing less, nothing more. But such can never be said of the lid or cover which covered the Ark of God in the Holy of Holies. In the first place it possessed a name peculiar to itself, a name never applied to any other object in the whole of Scripture record. This distinctive name is in Hebrew and this very word is, in itself, full of enlightenment for us. Let us unearth its treasure together. The Hebrew word is derived from the root and its meaning unfolds and opens out to us like the petals of some fragrant flower. The first use of this root in its verbal form occurs in Genesis, chapter six, verse fourteen, where the Eternal God commands the patriarch, Noah, in these words: "Make thee a (a vessel) of gopher wood . . . and . . . pitch it within and without with pitch." Commenting on this verse our great Jewish commentator, Rashi, observes that the fury of the waters of Divine judgement at the Great Deluge was so devastating that the vessel constructed by Noah had to be covered both outside and inside with a viscous bitumen-like substance in order to guarantee the security and protection of the vessel's living refugee cargo. Here, then, is the basic essential meaning. It signifies a Divinely-provided protective covering from Divine judgement upon sin and lawlessness, a covering available to all. We find the shadow of this basic meaning on the very next occasion the word is used in Genesis. You will remember the account of Jacob's prospective meeting with his offended brother Esau. Jacob was in great fear of the wrath and judgement of Esau, so we read that he sent on ahead gifts in order to appease Esau. The record reads that Jacob said:

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"I will appease him with the present that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face; peradventure he will accept me." (Genesis 32:21).

Rashi declares that the verb in this Piel form really means "I will wipe out his anger." Nachmanides goes a step further and affirms that the wiping out is by means of ransom. Jacob's advance messengers were to tell Esau that Jacob was sending the gift as a ransom to appease Esau's wrath. Another and most interesting shade of meaning is found in the nounal form of the root where it conveys the idea of a shelter. This appears in the Hebrew noun, , meaning a village. That locality situated on the shores of the Sea of Galilee and known popularly as Capernaum is really the village which sheltered the prophet Nahum. I'll give you one more illustration. I am sure you will be interested to learn that a verbal derivative from the same root occurs in the well-known sixth chapter of Isaiah, where Isaiah declares:

"Then flew unto me one of the seraphim, with a glowing stone in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from the altar, and he touched my mouth with it, and said Lo, this has touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin expiated." (Isaiah 6:6, 7)

Here the verbal form is translated by the word "expiated" which means to have made atonement for any offense committed, and that is precisely how the verbal form is used in our Jewish Holy Scriptures. Where judgement or wrath is imminent or incurred a cover, a shelter, a protection, a ransom, an expiation is provided which is – and here's the point – mutually satisfactory to both the outraged and the perpetrator of the outrage. Is it any wonder that in some eighty passages in the Tenach the word , in one or other of its forms, has been translated into English by the word "atone" or "atonement." Surely now we are adequately backgrounded to understand the hope-inspiring name given to the lid or cover of the Ark of God. The Book of Exodus from chapter 25 gives us insights into the construction and position of the , but it is the important sixteenth chapter of Leviticus which describes its use. There we learn that the High Priest entered into the Holy of Holies once a year, on , the Day of Atonement and, acting as mediator between God and the people, he sprinkled the blood of atonement upon and in front of the Ark-cover.

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The effect of this God-provided atonement is beautifully brought out by the use of the root-idea, in another connection, in Isaiah 28:18 where the Hebrew reads:

18 which is translated, "And your covenant with death shall be disannulled." My dictionary tells me that to disannul anything means to make it void, to treat it as non-existent. And when God provides the sinner with an atonement for sin, and the sinner avails himself of it, God treats that sinner's sin as if it had been non-existent. It would be an unfortunate mistake to imagine the atonement as something done by man to pacify God; on the contrary, it was something provided by a holy, gracious, and merciful God to shelter sinful, fallen man. Our Jewish Septuagint or Greek version of Tenach translates the Hebrew by the Greek and, using this Greek word as a clue, we find it employed in the new Testament where we read (Romans 3:25):

"For everyone has sinned and everybody continues to come short of God's glory, but anybody may have right standing with God as a free gift of His undeserved favour, through the ransom provided in Messiah Yeshua. For God once for all publicly offered Him in His blood as a sacrifice of reconciliation" –

there is that word, . Indeed, Israel's ancient sacrificial system surly taught Israel that his only hope lay in the atoning death of a representative. How well the blood-sprinkled , symbolized the atoning death of Yeshua HaMachiach, thus upholding the law of God, revealing the Love of god and bringing nigh to both Jew and Gentile the resurrection Life of God.

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The Merciful Aura MY FRIENDS, among the fascinations of Revealed Truth is that which brings us authoritative tidings of an unseen creation, that is, a creation at present unseen by us, human beings. In the Holy Scriptures we read of spiritual intelligences, their various grades and orders, their interest and agency in the achievement and development of the Divine purposes, and their attitude and intentions towards the Godhead; and whilst the material vouchsafed to us by Divine revelation is not inconsiderable, yet it is true that it seems to have been restricted to areas of disclosure as they concern mankind. It is unfortunate that man has sought either to widen these areas of disclosure with his wild, grotesque, and fanciful imaginings; or else, chained slavishly to his evolutionary hypotheses, he has whittled away these valuable deposits of truth by ascribing to them a character or origin other than that actually pertaining to them. Fortunately, however, in our sacred Jewish Scriptures we still have that deposit of Revealed Truth if we desire to turn to it for our spiritual enlightenment, and we have an early introduction to one grade of these higher intelligences in the third chapter of Genesis where, after the Fall of man, we read 24

"And He expelled the man; and He caused to dwell at the east of the garden of Eden the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every way to keep the way to the Tree of Life" (Genesis 3:24).

Who or what are these cherubim? Are they living entities; are they merely symbols, or are they emblematic of such living entities? Unfortunately, the etymology of the Hebrew word is obscure, although Dr. Julius Fuerst is convinced that the stem is of genuine Semitic origin and means to seize, catch or lay hold in a manner that could be applied to a bird of prey. If, in addition, the root is related to as the Arabic might suggest, then we gain the idea of nearness or proximity. Rashi calls the cherubim destroying angels, but my researches in Tenach, particularly in Ezekiel, incline me to the view that we have here symbolic representation of actual living intelligences unseen by us and who are in close proximity to the Eternal God and who enjoy

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a very privileged and superior function and service. Indeed, God said to sit between the cherubim and to manifest His glory from their midst. One feels that one touches the fringe of Divine mystery here, which makes is all the more interesting to find the cherubim artificially represented in pure gold and forming part of the , or lid, of the Ark of God in the Holy of Holies in the or Tabernacle which Moses was commanded to erect in the Wilderness. You will find the Biblical record commencing in the twenty-fifth chapter of Exodus. Here, at each end of the lid and forming part of it was a golden cherub; each had golden wings outspread and each faced the other but the gripping factor is disclosed in verse 22 where the Eternal God declares:

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"And there I will meet with thee, and I will speak with thee from above the ark-cover,

from between the two cherubim . . ." (Exodus 25:22). One of our ancient Jewish traditions adds that the Voice that called Moses came from heaven in the form of a tube of fire and rested over the two cherubim. Whatever may be the imperfection of the verbal mode in which tradition expresses this fiery phenomenon, there can be no doubt about the phenomenon itself; there are frequent accounts in Scripture regarding the visible manifestation of the Divine Presence dwelling with Israel and these same Scriptures convey the idea of the spectacle of a brilliant and most glorious light intimately associated with a cloud; indeed the cloud was the more constantly visible but on particular occasions the effulgence shone forth with unforgettable glory. For this uncreated illumination, this visible manifestation of the glory of our adorable God, we Jewish people have coined a beautiful word. I confess this word is not a Scriptural one but it is a designation possessing a rare and exquisite concept. I refer to the term . Its ideological origin is least Scriptural for the Eternal had commanded Moses in these words:

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"And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them" (Exodus 25:8).

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Let us take this fruitful stem in our hands and, like some sweet and juicy orange, let us squeeze from it its full and luscious meaning. In the text I have just quoted we see that it means "to dwell." Elsewhere it conveys the idea of an abiding place (Psalm 55:7); it also indicates the reposeful action of lying down or resting at ease, an action applicable to either man or beast (Deuteronomy 33:20, Numbers 24:2) and one can almost see the green pastures reflected in the still waters. Is it any wonder, then, that our Jewish tradition has seen in the heavenly fire and smoke of the altar the symbol of God's grace and reconciliation, (Tan. Tezawweh 15; Midrash Shir 28b etc.) and in the uncreated illumination the evidence of His Personal Presence abiding peacefully among Israel in harmonious and protective fellowship? It is noteworthy that the first Biblical occurrence of , "to dwell," is associated with the first Biblical occurrence of , "cherubim," in that very twenty-fourth verse of the third chapter of Genesis quoted earlier. How justified, then, is our Jewish coinage of the word as linked in association with the golden cherubim which formed an integral part of the the lid of the Ark of the God of Israel in the Holy of Holies. Let us now enrich ourselves by unearthing the supreme treasure of our present discourse. This we can do only by comparing the Genesis picture with the Exodus picture. The Genesis picture shows man being driven from the garden where once he had walked in the Personal Presence of the Living God and where the Tree of Life was located. Why the expulsion? Because man had sinned and forfeited God's Presence, fellowship and quality of Life. How sad if this was the only picture! But it isn't. The Exodus picture shows man being invited and received again representatively into the Personal Presence of the Living God and into symbolic association with Aaron's rod which has budded into life, thus stirring our memories of the Tree of Life in Eden's garden. What has caused this blessed transformation, this merciful metamorphosis? My friends, only the blood of atonement on the , the Ark-cover. The blood makes all the difference for did not our beloved Moses utter an eternal Divine principal when he declared as the mouthpiece of God:

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"For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that maketh atonement by reason of the life" (Leviticus 17:11).

Yes, indeed, where the blood of atonement is shed the shines and the redeemed man walks again with God and will indeed "dwell in the house of the Eternal forever" where guardian cherubim no longer prohibit the tree of Life but rather invite in praise to Him Who hath redeemed us by the Blood of His Messiah Who loved us and gave Himself for us.

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Mythology Attests MY FRIENDS, I understand it was Sir Winston Churchill of Britain who, in World War II, originated the inspiring gesture, sign and slogan – "V for Victory." I also understand that this ingenious incentive was proving so sustaining and effective that the astute Hitler sought to nullify it by himself adopting it. When this useful psychological device passed into other hands it would have been quite understandable if the British had forthwith abandoned it. But this would have been a tactical blunder I am sure – a blunder into which the British did not fall. On the contrary they retained tenaciously their original weapon and it served them well. All this, my friends, by way of illustration and introduction to this present message and because of its somewhat unusual character. As you know I have entitled this series "TREASURES FROM TENACH" and from my opening observations and your gracious previous attention to my discourses, I usually unfold the Tenach to you and only refer to tradition where I think it may be of interest. On this occasion, however, I am going to reverse this procedure and unfold tradition to you and only refer to Tenach as being the prime source from which such tradition flows or by means of which such tradition may be refined and purified. In my last message we spent some enjoyable moments together probing the symbolic mysteries of the cherubim and the , glory of the God of Israel, in association with the , or cover, of the Ark of the Covenant which rested in the Holy of Holies within the Tabernacle in the Wilderness. I introduced to your notice our essentially Jewish expression and indicated its origin and justification. It is on this fascinating theme of the that I invite you now to accompany me through some of the strata of Jewish tradition. Derived from the Hebrew root , meaning, "to dwell," the designation was intended to connote the Divine glory in manifestation of the Personal Presence of the Eternal God. Whatever may be the attitude adopted or imposed – or both – upon our modern Jewish theology, an impartial study of out Jewish tradition will reveal, I am convinced, that it bestowed upon the those attributes which surely can belong only to intelligent personality.

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Allow me to parade before you, ever so briefly, a sample succession of these traditions so that you yourselves may take the salute and pass your own judgement upon the cavalcade. Speech is surely an attribute of personality and our tradition declares that lest our father Jacob should feel apprehensive regarding the prophesied Egyptian bondage, the (Shekinah) addressed Jacob, calling his name twice on token of love, and reassuring him of the ultimate Exodus. ( ed. Schechter, Cambridge 1902; ed. Hoffmann, Berlin 1913-1921). A kiss is surely the exclusive bestowal of personality, and tradition quaintly affirms that Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron and Miriam – these six and these six only – ended their days on earth not by the Angel of Death, but the Shekinah who took each of these six souls with a kiss. Instruction not to sit upon a red-hot-stove may, undoubtedly come with the experience, but one could scarcely declare that the stove itself employed volition and intelligence in the tutelage! No, indeed, volition and intelligence belong to personality, and our tradition records that, in reply to a question as to the purpose of the Tabernacle, Moses said it was built "That God may let His Shekinah rest therein, and so teach the Torah to His people Israel" ( ed. Wilna 1887, 50.1-2 etc.) The exchange of mutually intelligent conversation is, again, the prerogative of personality and among those whom tradition declares held converse with the Shekinah is our great teacher Moses who, when Isaac allegedly affirmed he was greater than Moses, made reply to Isaac, "Still I am superior to thee, for thou didst indeed behold the Face of the Shekinah, but thine eyes grew dim, whereas I talked with the Shekinah face to face, and yet neither did mine eyes grow dim nor my strength wane." Now, my friends even the above will convince you not only of the attributes of personality but I am persuaded you have detected already a certain quality of personality which lifts it above the ordinary – even that realm which transcends the natural. View this further procession of Jewish traditional classics. It was the Shekinah that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah and the beholding of whom turned Lot's wife into a pillar of salt ( Amsterdam 1709 0r Warsaw 1852).

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The Shekinah is a Divine Agent in creation and Moses was taught that not even the fiery thorn-bush from the midst of which the Eternal had spoken had come into being apart from the Shekinah. We have recently considered the Edenic Tree of Life in relation to the Cherubim and the Shekinah, and it is therefore interesting to note that tradition says that when God drove Adam out from Eden's garden the Shekinah remained behind enthroned above a chreub under the Tree of Life. Suffer one or two more antiquities. The Temple was incapable of destruction so long as the Shekinah dwelt in it but, gradually, the Shekinah withdrew from between the cherubim and returned to heaven via the Mount of Olives and thus both Temple and the Holy City became vulnerable. , meaning "the exile of the Shekinah," is a well-known Jewish traditional expression which conveys the picturesque idea that the Shekinah shares Israel's exile and not until the redemption of Israel will the Shekinah return to the Holy City. Who is this Divine Personality reflected by Jewish traditional deposits down the ages? Is it the Messiah that is thus personalized? No, not the Messiah for tradition also declares that Moses, on the day of his death, was permitted to meet the Messiah in heaven. Moses beheld God build a Temple of jewels and pearls, through which, outshining the jewels, blazed forth the glory of the Shekinah and in this Temple, in the Presence of the Shekinah, Moses beheld David's son, the Messiah Who assured Moses that the Temple would be built on earth. Since this Personality is not Messiah, Whom, then, does tradition depict? Let tradition itself supply the answer. When Isaac, in his advanced age and imperfect sight, wished to bless his older son Esau before his death, he called in Esau; but tradition declares that the Holy Spirit spoke to him saying, "Though Esau should disguise his voice and make it sound sweet do not rely upon him." But because Isaac was spiritually blind as well as physically blind the Holy Spirit departed from him. Who is this Holy Spirit? None other than the Shekinah Who, according to another Jewish legend, deserted Isaac earlier because of Isaac's alleged lack of paternal love and did not return to him until the day of his death (Tan., Aggadat Bereshit; Makiri, Ps. 121, 234).

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My friends, a defective mirror reflects distorted images, yet, it is the mirror which is at fault and not the object reflected; just so, man's unenlightened imagination is too unreliable a medium to reflect accurately images of Divine truth; yet the very presence of the images itself, however distorted, is evidence of the actual existence of the perfect object so imperfectly reproduced. Eliminating distortion, what then does our Jewish tradition mirror? Why, undoubtedly, the Divine Personality of the Holy Spirit and the pre-existence of the Messiah, the true reflection of which can be found in the perfect mirror, the Tenach. Why, then, cannot these gems of Revealed Truth, these Treasures from Tenach, be readily found in modern Jewish theology? Remember the illustration I gave you about Sir Winston Churchill's "V for Victory" stimulus? Well, we didn't follow the example of the British. This is a trifle subtle and may take some thinking out, but it will be worth the effort.

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The Manuscript Answers MY FRIENDS, the American poet, Amy Lowell (1874-1925), speaks of patterns when she writes:

"I walk down the patterned garden-paths In my stiff, brocaded gown. With my powdered hair, and jewelled fan, I too am a rare Pattern. As I wander down The garden paths."

Doubtless the lady herself was a pattern, but her brocaded gown was not, of that I feel sure. It was not a pattern but rather the product of a pattern, probably a paper pattern, too. How comforted I am to know I have ladies among my listeners, for ladies know that patterns are not the dress itself but merely presage the dress. What lady ever wore the paper pattern and stored the dress away? No, indeed, the pattern is not the finished article, but merely the prospect of the finished article. When, however, we consider the Tabernacle we are confronted with a Divine phenomenon; for the Tabernacle in the Wilderness was not only the product of a pattern but was also itself a pattern for, as we should expect, the whole structure is highly symbolic of Divinely-bestowed spiritual truths of the highest importance and we have already enjoyed some of these treasures as we have surveyed then singly. But on the present occasion it is my intention to view them collectively ere we move onward through the Tenach. Now, as you gather round me for these brief moments granting me the privilege of conveying your thoughts into these realms of wonder, I am persuaded that we are on the outskirts of a Divine mystery so wonderful that it can best be expressed in terms other than those of which mere human speech is capable; indeed music and color would be more potent media but as I lack both I am compelled to the necessity of clothing so glorious a subject in the worn and threadbare garments of impoverished verbiage. Like our blessed Moses before the burning bush, let us advance with holy reverence and awe and investigate this supernatural phenomenon.

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First of all, observe that the entire Tabernacle was movable and since it journeyed through the wilderness by Divine initiative and direction, it was not only the visible evidence of Immanuel (God is with us), but it was also the visible evidence of Divinely chosen destination – a tangible hope of a journey's end under the Divine protection and care. What a comforting pattern in the bewildering wilderness of this life's journey. How good to know the Divine Presence and the Divine Haven! Of this purposively peregrinating pattern of precious promise seven articles bear the distinctive role of symbolic furnishings. The number seven is a characteristic Biblical number denoting spiritual perfection and it also bears profound significance throughout Jewish legend in expression far too numerous for me to mention here. Come, shod with imagination's sandals, let us tread the sands of Sinai and see the seven in sacred sequence. Entering the Outer Courtyard through the inviting "gate" we are confronted by the copper altar reminding us that atoning blood is the first step towards God. With the atoning blood of Divinely-appointed sacrifice as our surety, we move forward to the laver which reminds us of the Divine cleansing and regeneration. Now we reach the door of the roof-covered sanctuary itself and as we enter the Holy Place we pass from the natural light of the open courtyard into light produced by oil; since oil is symbolic of Divine enlightenment we realize we have moved from the natural light provided by creation into that greater light provided by the revelation of the Holy Spirit of God. In creation's light we saw the Divine Provision for sinners in blood-bought forgiveness, redemption, and cleansing but the rough unattractive outer exterior of badger's skins with which the Sanctuary itself was covered concealed the exquisite beauty within and maybe the words of our great prophet Isaiah suggested themselves to our minds:

"He had no form nor comeliness, that we should look upon him, nor beauty that we should delight in him." (Isaiah 53:2b)

But what a transformation when we enter the Holy Place! True, the desert sands are still beneath our feet but within is a scene of wondrous beauty and fragrance, of color and costliness. We see the Table of Shewbread and thank the God Who put it there for His gracious supply of spiritual food for our hungry souls. On our left hand (the south side) we see the source of the oil-light, the sevenfold candlestick, the Menorah, the symbol of Medinat Yisrael the State of Israel – today. May the

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blessed beams of spiritual illumination dissolve the shackles of mere human tradition and liberate Israel and all humanity into its sure and steady rays. We advance still further to the Golden Altar and trace the source of the perfumed fragrance that fills the area and delights our nostrils with a rare aroma which, ascending upwards, teaches us the efficacy of the approved intercession of a Divinely-appointed Mediator. The final step is now before us. Penetrating beyond the "veil" right into the Holy of Holies we emerge into yet another area and quality of light, for we now stand bathed in the blazing glory of the Shekinah Presence of the Eternal God Who is Himself Light. The natural light of creation has given way to the spiritual illumination of Ruach HaShem, the Holy Spirit, Who in turn and in consequence has bathed our beings in that Light which betokens the very Presence of God Himself. What a journey! Surely God Himself is the true journey's end for every soul. Since this whole beautiful typology and symbolism is Divinely bestowed, and since it is obviously pregnant with precious promise, huge with holy hope, to what – specifically and definitely – does it point us and of what is it emblematic? Personally, I am convinced that the symbolism points back to a pristine Divine promise first enunciated in Eden's fateful garden, and which I disclose to you in my book, "Gems from Genesis," that the Seed of the Woman should crush the head of the Serpent, a promise and prophecy admitted to be Messianic even in our Jerusalem Targums. Since it points us backward to this promise, then, I am equally convinced it is emblematic of the performance of that promise at a time then future to the symbols of the Tabernacle. In our quest to discover the identity of the Performer of the promise, I invite your attention to a remarkable clue. Hitherto in our search for treasure we have operated over the surface of Tenach. This time may I ask that we plunge our questing spades beneath the surface of a book in the New Covenant, the New Testament, known as Yochanin, John. I said beneath the surface because no superficial itinerant will discover the treasure we are now about to unearth. My friends, the pattern which God gave Moses in the mount is the very same pattern which God gave John, Yochanin, in the manuscript! As we progress through the reading of John's

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Gospel, we make the very same journey and in the very same Divinely-ordered sequence that we have just completed through the Tabernacle in the Wilderness. We are introduced to the Copper Altar of Sacrifice with the words "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." In chapter three we are confronted with the Laver of Regeneration, the second circumcision spoken of by Moses. Through chapters four to six we see the Messiah as the Bread of Life. In chapters eight and nine, the Menorah shines forth in the words twice repeated "I am the Light of the world." In this same Gospel of John in chapters fourteen through sixteen, we learn the secret of prevailing prayer in the name of Him Who is typified by the Golden Altar of Incense, and who, as the Great High Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek, ever lives to intercede for us. The seventeenth chapter leads us into the Holy of Holies where the Ark of the Covenant speaks of the Godhead Who sent forth the promised Messiah incarnate as the Seed of the Woman in Whom was the perfect Law of God (the tables of stone); the perfect love of God (the pot of manna); and the perfect resurrection Life of God (Aaron's rod that budded); and the blood-sprinkled Ark lid, the Kapporet, is emblematic of the predicted atonement performed in history by the Messiah; and the two cherubim with the Shekinah Presence of God demonstrate the superlative efficacy of that atonement by denoting God's consequent nearness to man through the finished work of Messiah. How amazing, then, that the twentieth chapter of John's Gospel discloses the true symbolic meaning of the Shekinah where the Lord Messiah, in premeditated purposeful action, breaths upon His disciples and says these significant words, "Receive ye the Holy Spirit." If the pattern in the mount was God-bestowed, what are we to say of the same pattern in the manuscript?