"Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as he had appointed, speaking unto Moses, that he should make it according to the fashion (Grk. tupos- type) that he had seen" (Acts 7:44). "Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the Pattern (Grk. tupos-type) showed to thee in the mount" (Heb. 8:5).
These two texts both point up the fact that the tabernacle was a type of heavenly things, which were revealed to Moses to be copied by him. The importance of these types is implied in that Moses was constantly admonished to hew exactly to the pattern in building the tabernacle. In Exodus chapters 39 and 40 alone, sixteen times reference is made to their making or doing things "as the Lord commanded Moses," or an equivalent statement. The reason for this scrupulosity as to how each thing was made and used is not hard to discern, for the book of Hebrews holds forth the fact that the Tabernacle and its sacrifices, services and holy days was a foreshadowing of the Messiah and His redemptive work. "The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation. But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building" (Heb. 9:8-11).
The people who lived in Old Testament times did not have the plan of redemption preached to them with the clarity that it is preached since its fulfillment, but they did have it pictorially represented to them in the tabernacle and the temple, and while there were many who saw in the rituals nothing more than the outward form, even as many today see nothing in worship but its outward form, yet there can be little doubt that many had a spiritual discernment whereby they understood the spiritual import of these things. After all, both the Old Testament and the New declares that no one understands spiritual things through his intellectual abilities, but only as the Lord reveals it to him (Deut. 29:4; Isa. 29:10; Rom. 11: 7-10; 1 Cor. 2:12-14). Thus the whole matter turns, not on man’s intellectual capabilities, but rather upon God’s revelation and the insight that He gives to man.
Inasmuch as the revelation which God has given of Himself has been a progressive one, it is but natural to expect that the earlier revelation would be simpler and more visual than the later, more complex revelation. It is to this fact that we refer in speaking of the prefiguring of the atonement; the truth of redemption was pictorially represented to men in the tabernacle rituals and sacrifices. J. R. Graves says of the Jewish Dispensation:
I. THE ATONEMENT PREFIGURED IN THE SACRIFICES.
Almost from the opening of the book of Genesis we find a system of sacrifices which men offered to God in order to placate His wrath for their sins, and to this very day in lands where the Christian religion does not have large influence there are still sacrifices made to the local deities. It is wrought into the very nature of man to worship something, and though the fall has perverted man’s worship, yet he still feels the need of a propitiatory sacrifice of some sort. The first sacrifices which were made by man that we have a record of, is when Cain and Abel brought their sacrifices to the Lord (Gen. 4), but the slaying of the beasts in order to make coats of skin for Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:21, was, as we have said before, a teaching of the blood atonement. And this was, we believe, the source of Cain and Abel’s knowledge of worship in large part; they bad been taught by their parents to worsh1p God by means of a blood sacrifice, but Cain, like so many people today, was unwilling to confess his need for an atoning sacrifice, and so brought only a thank offering of the works of his own hands. The original institution of the sacrificial system was of God, and was meant to be typical until it was fulfilled in Christ.
The Meat Offering was the offering of flour baked in any one of several ways, but inasmuch as it was bloodless, it is not directly related to the atonement. It does, however, as the quotation of Dr. Haldeman above declares, set forth the sinless humanity of Jesus, and this was a necessary basis for His vicarious atonement, for no sinful person could have died vicariously, on the cross.
Leviticus 3 sets forth the Peace Offering, which pictures rather the result of Christ’s atoning work, than the work itself. It could be either a male or a female, either a bullock, sheep or goat, but it had to be without blemish. The offerer had to associate himself with this offering by placing his hand upon its head, then after the offering was made both the offerer and the priest got a portion of the animal to eat. I. M. Haldeman says:
Peace has been purchased for us by the redemptive work of Christ as a great many Scriptures declare (Eph. 2:14-18; Col, 1:20-22; 1 Pet. 5:14; Luke 7:50; Acts 10:36), but this peace, to be personally enjoyed, must be personally appropriated by faith day by day as it is written: "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee" (Isa. 26:3).
The Sin Offering and the Trespass Offering deal more specifically with the atonement, and therefore most of the references to atonement is concerned with these two offerings in Leviticus 4 and 5. The distinction between these two offerings is that the Sin Offering was provided for the nature of sin, or the sin principle, while the Trespass Offering was for the sins of nature, or sin practices; or, to put it another way, the Sin Offering was for the root of sin while the Trespass Offering was for the fruit of sin.
The Sin Offering was to be made for all classes of people, and four specific instances are detailed (Lev. 4:3,13,22,27), for while there is a difference in the degree of sin in different people, there is no difference in the fact of sin, for it is written: "...For we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin" (Rom. 3:9). "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23). "For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy on all" (Rom. 11:32).
In the case of a priest sinning or the whole congregation sinning, the bullock was taken outside the camp and burned and so an atonement was made and their sins were forgiven (Lev. 4:20-21). We are not left in doubt as to the typical significance of this, for we are told: "For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp. Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate" (Heb. 13:11-12).
The Trespass Offering is the subject of Leviticus 5, and it sets forth the Lord’s provision for the fruits of sin, several instances of which are given in verses l-5. Four times in this chapter the statement is made that when a man shall offer an offering, the priest shall make an atonement for his sin, and it shall be forgiven him, which shows that the Lord has made an adequate sacrifice, not only for the sins committed up to the time of salvation, but all subsequent ones as well. But, of course, as the man in Leviticus 5 had to bring his offering, and thereby confess his sin before he could be assured of forgiveness, so it is in the antitypical forgiveness, for 1 John 1:7-10 says: "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."
It is observable here as in Leviticus 5, that the blood that initially cleanses in salvation, continues to cleanse the sins after salvation, and here more than in any of the other offerings we see the adequacy of the atonement and the connection of atonement with forgiveness; (see Lev. 5:10,13,16,18).
The Old Testament offerings were typical only, and therefore had no real atoning efficacy in themselves; they were simply object lessons that anticipated the real atoning sacrifice of the One Who was to come.
II. THE ATONEMENT PREFIGURED IN THE SERVICES.
By this we mean that all the furniture, materials and persons involved in the worship of the tabernacle were in some way typical of the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is to this that Psalm 29:9 refers when it says, "...And in his temple doth every one speak of his glory," or, as the marginal reading is, "...every whit of it uttereth glory." The word "glory" is used of Christ’s redemptive work in Romans 9:22-24: "What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: and that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles." Jesus Himself said: "And this is eternal life, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do" (John 17:3-4).
The priesthood work of Christ was prefigured in Aaron, and in those who succeeded him as the high priest, as it is written: "Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer. For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law: who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things" (Heb. 8:1-5). A. W. Pink observes of this passage:
The Tabernacle furniture also was typical of the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ, and actually all of the materials that went into the building of it were typical as well, but lest we make this present chapter unnecessarily long: we will confine our remarks to the furniture of the Tabernacle. There were seven pieces of furniture in the Tabernacle and the adjacent court, and these were, listing them from the inside out: The Ark of the Covenant, The Mercy Seat covering the Ark, the Altar of Incense, The Table of the Shewbread, The Candlestick, The Brazen Laver and the Brazen Altar. Not only were these individually typical of the redemptive work of Christ, but even their order in the Tabernacle was significant, for they formed a cross in shape, and each was in its logical place so far as the redemptive truth signified by it was concerned.
Concerning the way of approach for man, the order of the furniture is reversed from that given above. The first thing that met one’s eye as he entered the gate of the court was the Brazen Altar. It was here that the sacrifices were brought to be offered for sins; here the burnt offering was made; it is described in Exodus 27:1-8. This altar was constructed of brass over boards; brass is a symbol of judgment while the boards symbolize the humanity of the Lord Jesus; thus, this is a symbol of Jesus bearing the judgment of sin in His own body on the tree of the cross. I. M. Haldeman says
The Golden Candlestick was of one piece of beaten gold, and the weight of it was one talent (Ex. 37:24), or approximately ninety-five pounds. It symbolized Christ, not just as the "Light of the world" but as the "true Light" (John 1:9), "a Light of the Gentiles" (Isa. 42:6), for we cannot have the spiritual light necessary to fellowship with the Father except as we find it in Him Who came to declare Him (John 1:18). This lamp stand was to lighten the darkness of the Holy Place so that the priests could fellowship around the Table of Shewbread; so we must walk "in the light as He is in the light" if we would have fellowship (1 John 1:5-7).
The Table of Shewbread, like the Candlestick and Altar of Incense, was in the Holy Place. It was made of wood overlaid with pure gold, had a crown around it, and had twelve loaves of bread placed upon it. A table suggests two things: (1) Sustenance, and (2) Fellowship. The Table of Shewbread typified the God-man (Gold and wood united), but inasmuch as it had a crown about it, it refers to Him in His glorified state (Heb. 2:9). He is not only the One who saves us, but He also sustains our spiritual life because He is the "Bread of Life" and those who feed on Him will never hunger (John 6:52-58); but He also maintains us in a state of fellowship with His Father (Heb. 7:25).
The Incense Altar was also comprised of the wood overlaid with pure gold and it also had a crown around its top, and therefore has much the same symbolism as the Table of the Shewbread. It was the closest to the Holy of Holies of all the furniture, being right next to the curtain that separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy. It was to have a perpetual incense cloud going up from it, and on it the blood of the atonement was sprinkled on the Day of Atonement each year. It was foursquare, as was the brazen altar, which speaks of universality, and so was only as extensive in its symbolism as was the Brazen Altar. This altar therefore symbolized the God-man in His glorified state in heaven, as not only the atoning sacrifices but also as the One constantly making intercession for the saints. The incense speaks of prayer and praise (Ps. 141:2; Rev. 5:8), and Christ as mediator prays for those, but those only, who are included in the atonement (John 17:9). But the connection of this altar with the Brazen Altar—the sacrifice was offered on the Brazen Altar, but the blood was applied to the Incense Altar, and the fire from the Incense Altar was taken from the Brazen Altar (Lev. 16:12-13) —shows that Christ’s mediatorial work cannot be separated from His atoning work. After quoting Hebrews 9: 24, I. M. Haldeman says:
The Mercy Seat was the cover to the Ark, and is always associated with it; it was made of solid gold: as was the Candlestick, these two pieces being the only two pieces of the furniture which were of gold alone. This speaks of pure deity. The Mercy Seat, being a covering for the Ark and all it contained, speaks of atonement, for the root meaning of the Hebrew word translated "atone" is "to cover." In Hebrews 9:5 the mercy seat is mentioned, and the Greek word is hilasterion, which is used also in Romans 3:25 of Christ as a propitiatory sacrifice. In 1 John 2:2 and 4:10, a slightly different form of the word is used (Grk. hilasmon), which views Christ as the sacrifice proper. The Mercy Seat was where God promised to meet with the Israelites (Ex. 25:22); it was God’s dwelling place (Ps. 80:1); and His throne (Ps. 99:1); yet it was a blood sprinkled throne, and the only place where sinful man could meet with God; it was a fit emblem of Christ, the one mediator between God and man (1 Tim. 2:5). The Antitype of this is found in Revelation 5:6: "I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne…stood a Lamb as it had been slain."
III. THE ATONEMENT PREFIGURED IN THE SABBATHS.
These are declared and delineated in Leviticus 23, and if we count the weekly Sabbaths, we find that Israel had eight "Holy days." This chapter is very hard on those legalists who say that the seventh day of the week only is the sabbath, for we find several instances where two consecutive days were called Sabbaths, and where in the course of twelve days there could be five days called the Sabbath. In the seventh month of the Jewish calendars we find no less than eight Sabbaths, or an average of two per week. We must remember that the Jews observed the lunar month of twenty-eight days each, and they had their own way of finishing out the year so that it would come out right according to the solar revolution. There are a number of different Sabbaths in the Old Testament. B. H. Carroll lists them as follows:
The Feast of the Passover was the first of these seven great annual feasts, and it was commemorative of Israel’s deliverance out of Egyptian bondage as ordered and observed in Exodus 12. It was on the fourteenth day of the first month of the Jewish year (Ex. 12:18; Lev. 23:5), which would correspond to around April first in our present calendars. We are not left in doubt as to the significance of this type, for we are told in language drawn from this feast, to "Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us" (1 Cor. 5:7). This feast therefore pictured the redemptive work of Christ as the passover Lamb.
The feast of Unleavened Bread was in immediate connection with the Passover for it began on the next day after it, and it actually completes the type set forth in the Passover, for the unleavened bread pictures Christ’s sinlessness as a sacrificial lamb. The feast of Unleavened Bread is analogous to the Lord’s Supper in that both commemorate the same thing; the feast of Unleavened Bread pointed forward to Christ, while the Lord’s Supper points back to Him. (See Ex. 12:14-20 and 1 Cor. 5:6-8). It is noteworthy that nine times in Leviticus 23 it is commanded that no servile work was to be done on these feast days, which shows that the things pictured were things into which the works of man had no part, but which were divinely accomplished. Redemption is by grace alone, and even the types must show this.
The Feast of Firstfruits took place in the beginning of harvest, and it was, first of all, an acknowledgement of God’s bounty in giving them the crops, but it also testified typically of Christ "the firstfruits of them that slept" (1 Cor. 15:20). The time of the offering of the sheaf of the firstfruits was on the morrow after the sabbath (Lev. 23:11), and this is fulfilled in Matthew 28:1 and Mark 16:1-6. Christ being the "firstfruits of them that slept" makes it evident that none had ever risen from the dead before Him, and this is what Peter argues in Acts 2:29, 34-36. Every orthodox Jew believed in a resurrection of the dead, but they had not heard of a resurrection from among the dead, which only has to do with Christ and believers. In the Feast of Firstfruits there is commemorated the resurrection of Christ which completes the redemptive plan, and guarantees the resurrection of all who are included in the covenant of redemption.
The Feast of Pentecost, or Harvest, was fifty days after the presentation of the sheaf of the firstfruits, when a new meat offering was presented to the Lord. The fulfillment of this feast in Acts 2 points up the fact that it symbolized the result of the redemptive work of Christ rather than the work itself; and even the loaves used in this feast points up the same thing, for they were baked with leaven (Lev. 23:17), which typifies sin, whereas the Feast of Unleavened Bread pictured the sinless life of Christ. There being two loaves pictures the fact that the saved come from among both the Jews and the Gentiles.
The Feast of Trumpets was the fifth of the great feast days, and it fell on the first day of the seventh month. In the New Testament, the word "trumpet" is often associated with the return of Christ (Matthew 24:31; 1 Cor. 15:52; 1 Thess. 4:16). Not only so, but in those portions that speak of Christ’s return, the feastly character of joy, comfort and thanksgiving is revealed (1 Cor. 15:57; 1 Thess. 4:18). If God deals with man on the basis of a "week" of ages, consisting of approximately a thousand years each, as appears to be true, then this feast is true to form. All of the feasts have been in proper chronological order thus far, and it also appears that we are now late in the evening of the world’s Friday, so that the next great event should be the blowing of the trumpet announcing the Lord’s second advent, and the seventh "day" of the world.
The Feast of Atonement followed the Feast of Trumpets by only ten days, and it differed from all of the other feasts in that it was a day of affliction of soul and mourning, whereas the other feasts were occasions of great joy. It is not without reason that this is so ordained, for it pictures the time of the national atonement of Israel’s sins, when all of the nation surviving the "time of Jacob’s trouble" (Jer. 30:7), a mere one-third of the nation (Zech. 13:8-9), shall look upon Him whom they have pierced (Rev. 1:7), and shall mourn for Him (Zech. 12:10-12; 13:1), and the whole nation shall be born again at once (Isa. 66:7-10). While the atonement of Christ was made for the Gentile as well as the Jews, yet this evidently pictures only Israel’s rebirth; the order of this feast confirms this, for it comes after that which pictures the rapture of the saints, and before that which pictures eternity.
The Feast of Tabernacles, which was also called the Feast of Ingathering (Ex. 23:16; 34:22), was also in the seventh month of the Jewish calendar; this was the end of the year according to the civil calendar, and this in itself speaks of this having to do with the end of God’s dealings with man. This feast was both commemorative and prophetic; it was commemorative of Israel’s dwelling safely in booths in the wilderness after being led out of Egypt; this is declared in Leviticus 23:42-43. It was prophetic in that it pictured God’s tabernacling with man upon the earth; this was partially fulfilled in Christ’s first advent, for the Greek word esk?n?sen in John 1:14 means literally "tabernacled." This feast will be observed by all the "sheep" nations that are privileged to enter into the millennial kingdom (Zech. 14:16-17). The final complete fulfillment of this type, however, will be the eternal tabernacling of God with man as set forth in Revelation 21:1-3. This feast began on the first of seven days, but there was also to be a holy convocation on the eighth day (Lev. 23:33-36). The number eight is almost always associated with new beginnings, and so it is here: the new beginning of eternity. Of Leviticus 23, C. A. Coates observes:
By Davis W. Huckabee, Pastor,