Exodus
26:1 ¶ Moreover thou shalt make the
tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and
purple, and scarlet: with
cherubims of cunning work shalt thou make them. 2 The length of one curtain shall be eight and twenty cubits, and
the breadth of one curtain four cubits: and every one of the curtains shall
have one measure. 3 The five curtains
shall be coupled together one to another; and other five curtains shall
be coupled one to another. 4 And
thou shalt make loops of blue upon the edge of the one curtain from the
selvedge in the coupling; and likewise shalt thou make in the uttermost edge of
another curtain, in the
coupling of the second. 5 Fifty loops
shalt thou make in the one curtain, and fifty loops shalt thou make in the edge
of the curtain that is in the
coupling of the second; that the loops may take hold one of another. 6 And thou shalt make fifty taches of gold, and
couple the curtains together with the taches: and it shall be one tabernacle.
What follows
are detailed instructions for putting together the tabernacle. Something
interesting here to begin with are the cherubims. There is a description of
them in Ezekiel, chapter one, and another in Ezekiel, chapter ten, where a
cherub is called a living creature.
Ezekiel
10:20 This is the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel by the
river of Chebar; and I knew that they were
the cherubims.
Note that as
cherubims are called living creatures an angel is a presence so they are not
the same in that regard either. Cherubims are not angels and angels are never
said to have wings. Angels are typically the appearance of God, men, children
in heaven, or churches in the context they are written.
Isaiah
63:9 In all their affliction he was
afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved
them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and
carried them all the days of old.
It appears
that, from reading Ezekiel, chapter one, and Revelation, chapter four, that
they have the appearance of living creatures representing everything from man,
to domestic animals, to wild animals, to birds. Does the difference in the
number of wings between the four beasts around
the throne in Revelation, who, like the seraphims
in Isaiah, chapter six, have six wings while the beasts in Ezekiel have four,
have any significance?
Whether they
are represented as having two wings as in 1Kings 8:7 or four or six wings we
must consider the obvious. They appear at different times slightly different.
Six wings in Isaiah for seraphims, four in Ezekiel, and then six in Revelation
although depicted over the mercy seat, two, means only that they can be
depicted differently in different contexts. Ezekiel, Isaiah, and John were
three different men of God who saw things that were given to them and recorded
them for our learning. Do not make the mistake of reading the Bible like your
car-owner’s manual. There is, however, significance in each description and
numbers are interesting.
Numbers in
the Bible are very significant. There are ten curtains of fine twined linen that make up the tabernacle. Ten is very significant in the Bible. Noah was the tenth generation
from Creation. Of course, you’ve seen the Ten Commandments given. There were
ten plagues given to Egypt. There are ten days of tribulation for saints in
Revelation 2:10. There are ten kingdoms run by the Beast in Revelation with ten
kings in Revelation 17:12 as symbolized in Daniel, chapter two, by the toes of
the image.
There are so
many tens in the Bible that you would find it a very interesting study. The
number clearly represents some kind of divine order put in place by God and
which man is unable to get away from in his dealings.
The length of
a curtain is twenty eight cubits, or four times seven. Twenty eight or eight and
twenty has its place in other contexts. Seven is significant as God’s
number of completion, of perfecting or finishing a thing as in the six days of
creation and the day of rest. Seven is a number that appears like no other
number in the Bible. Much has been written about it.
When we think of four we think
of the four gospels automatically.
Five can
represent the wounds in Christ; the side pierced by a spear, the hands, and the
feet. As you can see if you look at numbers there is a huge about of
information that can be gleaned from their study. However, you can wind up lost
in an occultic numerology that takes you away from the literal words in the
text as you become obsessed with the symbolic that is very subjective. When
something has to be interpreted for you beware of the interpreter. Satan loves
to deceive.
While there
are a great many other and, perhaps, more important observations one could make
on this passage I want to try to keep the digressions to a minimum to keep the
narrative moving.
No comments:
Post a Comment