207 The Tabernacle derness of this world, from Egypt to Canaan, as it were, we can not fall from our Father's omnipotent safekeeping! The gold of His eternal deity insures that; for He is "able to keep" us "from falling," and to present us "faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy" (Jude 24) ! We are kept by His everlasting love! As the priests covered the holy table of shewbread, in preparation for the march, they were reminded by the cloth of blue of the heavenly character of Him, upon whom their souls were to feed. By the cloth of scarlet they could foresee the costly price of their redemption by His own precious blood. And by the covering of badgers' skins, they could tell that this heavenly One was to come down, in the form of a servant, the Man, Christ Jesus. Just how much of this beautiful symbolism the priests in the wilderness could actually understand, we can not tell; but living on this side of the cross, we who are members of the bride of Christ can see these things clearly. This we do know: The priests in Israel and Moses and every saved soul before the cross-all were redeemed by faith in the promised Messiah and Saviour of the world. The shedding of blood, from the time of Abel; yes, from the time when God provided "coats of skins" to clothe Adam and Eve, pointed on to Jesus, "the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" {John 1: 29). Concerning Abraham, who lived some two thousand years before Christ, our Lord said, as He was talking to the unbelieving Jews, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad" (John 8: 5 6). Abraham saw the day of Christ by faith; even as Moses did in the keeping of the passover and in the beautiful tabernacle, the pattern for which God gave him in the
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The Tabernaclt all "of pure gold." The "dishes" were evidently to hold the shewbread, which, we are told, Moses was to "set upon the table" always before the Lord (Exod. 25:29, 30; Lev. 24:6). The "bowls" were doubtless for the powdered frankincense, which was to be spread over the twelve loaves of shewbread. And the "covers" (A. V.) were "flagons" (R. V.), which must have been vessels for wine used in the drink offerings mentioned in Num. 15: 1-12. Not only was the "bread of God" to be placed before Jehovah "continually"; but the twelve loaves also repre- sented the twelve tribes of Israel. We shall see, as we con- tinue to search the Scriptures in this lesson, that the priests were to partake of this holy bread in the Holy Place. ow the table and the bread were one! We are not to think of them as separate the one from the other. Both speak to us of our Lord. The incorruptible wood once again reminds us of His sinless humanity; the gold, of His eternal glory and deity· the bread, of satisfaction for the heart of His Heavenly Father and for the hearts of His blood-bought children. Now the twelve tribes were all represented at the table-- a loaf for each tribe; and these loaves were encircled with a crown of gold. What a picture of our eternal security in Him who is the "Living Bread"! Even as Israel jour- neyed on the march, the loaves were still to be upon the table "continually" (Num. 4:7, 8). Covered by the priests with "a cloth of blue," over which were spread "a cloth of scarlet" and "a covering of badgers' skins," the "continual shewbread" (II Chron. 2:4), together with all the holy vessels, was still to "be thereon." But the loaves could not fall off the table; they could not be moved; be- cause they were encircled by a crown of gold! My Christian friend, as we journey through the wil-
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