Tabernacle Lectures (13) The Bronze Sockets

Exodus 27:10 “And its twenty pillars and their twenty sockets shall be bronze.”

There are 60 pillars in the tabernacle. In the 60 pillars, there are twenty sockets, and the pillars are established on top of them. The sockets of the pillars are made of bronze. Bronze is mentioned a lot in the Bible, and it means the judgment of God. In Numbers 21, when the Israelites complained against God and were suffering from the bites of the fiery serpents, God told Moses, “Make a bronze serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.” The bronze serpent represents the judgment. Like how Moses raised the bronze serpent in the wilderness for the Israelites who were dying from the fiery serpents, Jesus Christ had to be judged for us, who were doomed to destruction because of sin.

It says that the pillars used in the tabernacle had to be set up above the bronze sockets. The reason is because if the sockets of the pillars are not firm, the pillars cannot stand strong no matter how good they are, and they can only shake. The pillars have to be placed firmly on the sockets so they do not shake. In the same way, the people who are used as precious pillars before God must establish their spiritual lives firmly above the bronze sockets.

Most people’s foundations are in the wrong place, so because the foundations of their spiritual lives are not solid, without them realizing it their faith is shaken. Some people place their faith on top of their emotions, so they think their spiritual life is good when they feel good, but when they feel bad they think their spiritual life is also bad. And other people establish their faith on their actions, so their faith stands strong when they act good, but when their actions get worse, we see their faith is shaken and also gets worse. The place where our faith can stand strong is none other than the bronze sockets.