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The T t1bn1U.le washed their hands and feet before entering the holy place, was made of solid brass. At the altar sin was judged; at the !aver daily defilement was cleansed. And both altar and !aver were of brass. Thus it becomes very clear that brass speaks to us of judgment. And in the court we see also a picture of sin judged by Christ, our Sin-Bearer; for the brass pillars that upheld the linen hangings were erected in sockets of brass. On the desert sand the sockets were placed; and in the sockets, the pillars. The white linen hangings, which remind us of our righteousness in Christ, rested upon that which typified sin judged at the cross. Apart from Calvary, there could be no righteousness for us! In the desert sands of the wilderness, which is this godless world, the gift of God's righteousness to us is sure and eternal because it rests upon His finished work of redemption. Christ came into the world to die for sinners, even as He said to Nicodemus. "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so m~st the. Son.of man be lifted up: that who- soever believeth m him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:14, 15). ' When the Lord Jesus spoke these words to Nicodemus, He did not need to explain that the serpent which Moses lifted up in the wilderness was made of brass. Nicodemus knew that story, for he was a ruler of the Jews, well versed in the Old Testament Scriptures. He was familiar with the record found in Numbers 21:5-9. Israel had sinned, had despised the bread from heaven, which typified Christ, the Bread of Life. Therefore, the Lord had sent fiery serpents among them, and many died. When they confessed their sin, and when Moses prayed for them, the Lord told Moses to make a serpent of brass and to set it upon a pole. Who-
73 The Talxrnacle soever looked at it would live--not whosoever did any kind of work or righteous deed, but whosoever looked! The serpent speaks to us of the curse of sin; brass, of judgment. When our Lord was crucified, He became a curse for us; "for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree" (Gal. 3: 13). As the Israelite who looked at the brazen serpent lived, even so all who look to Jesus, "lifted up" on the accursed tree, shall have everlast- ing life. Not those who seek to obtain salvation by the deeds of the law, but those who look by faith shall live. At the cross the penalty of our sin was judged once for all. "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 8: 1). 3. The Hooks and Chapiters of Silver-Symbolic of Christ, Owr Redeemer. The white linen hangings that formed the court were hung upon the pillars by hooks of silver; and the chapiters of the pillars were ornamented with silver. This silver was a part of the redemption money given by the children of Israel. When the census was taken for the soldiers in Israel, and those "twenty years old and upward" were numbered, each one had to "give a ransom for his soul unto the Lord ... half a shekel" of silver as "an offering unto the Lord, to make an atonement" for his soul (Exod. 30:11-16). This money was to be used "for the service of the taber- nacle of the congregation," as "a memorial unto the chil- dren of Israel before the Lord." Before an Israelite could be a soldier for God's people, he had to present unto the Lord "a ransom for his soul." Before we can become soldiers of the cross, we must be redeemed by the blood of the Son of God. The Israelite looked up to the beautiful tops of the pillars and saw the atonement money. We look up, "unto Jesus," and by faith
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