Tabernacle Lectures (6) The Court of the Tabernacle

Exodus 27:9, 18 “You shall also make the court of the tabernacle. For the south side there shall be hangings for the court made of fine woven linen, one hundred cubits long for one side. The length of the court shall be one hundred cubits, the width fifty throughout, and the height five cubits, made of fine woven linen, and its sockets of bronze.”

The innermost place in the tabernacle is the Most Holy Place, and outside that is the Holy Place. And outside that is the court. This court was supported by pillars put above the sand, and the linen curtains were made and hung 100 cubits to the south, 100 cubits to the north, 50 cubits to the east, and 50 cubits to the west. And the curtains surrounding the court were made of white and clean fine cloth, in other words, linen. All the parts of the tabernacle represent Jesus, and likewise the linen cloth also represents Jesus Christ’s white, clean, and unspotted righteous nature.

1 Peter 2:22-23 says, “Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth; who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten.” In other words, Jesus Christ did not commit any sins at all while he was on earth, and he lived a holy and righteous life. Jesus is righteous; in contrast, none of us could be righteous.

The people of Israel lived in the wilderness for 40 years, but their clothes did not tear, and their shoes did not fall off. For 40 years their clothes did not fall off, but they were stained with dirt and dirty. It was not just a couple of people whose clothes were dirty; the entire people of Israel wore dirty clothes, so they could not really realize they were dirty. But the closer they came to the tabernacle, once they looked at the white and clean linen cloth that the outside walls were made of, they discovered their clothes were dirty.