Part IV: Revealing Himself from a Distance

Chapter 13: His Image in Patterns

The Old Testament is full of events, structures, and instructions which, when observed closely under the leading of the Holy Spirit, all point forward to the God who would reveal Himself as Jesus Christ. As we study these things and learn how the mystery of God was disclosed in shadow and pattern—long before the Word became flesh—we may rightly call them images of Christ. In the Old Testament, God was revealing Himself in patterns that foretold the future and unveiled, little by little, the plan and promise of redemption He had given to Adam and Eve in the garden.

These Old Testament realities reflected and prophesied the coming of God in the flesh, who would perfect all things: the design of Moses’ tabernacle and Solomon’s temple; the ark of the covenant; the instructions given to Moses; and the Angel of the LORD. Each of them reveals the hidden mystery of God’s plan—to dwell among men and to redeem them. This is not a strained or fanciful reading; it is the very way the New Testament itself teaches us to read the sanctuary, calling it “a shadow of good things to come” and “the example and shadow of heavenly things” (Hebrews 10:1; 8:5).164

Let us take a closer look at Moses’ tabernacle and Solomon’s temple. By examining their design, we can uncover the mysteries that lie within them.

[ Diagram 1: Floor plan of the Tabernacle of Moses — outer court, brazen altar, laver, Holy Place, and Holy of Holies. To be placed here. ]

[ Diagram 2: Floor plan of Solomon’s Temple — showing the corresponding structures. To be placed here. ]

Our God is holy. Both the tabernacle and the temple had an innermost room called the Holy of Holies, where the ark of the covenant rested and from which God spoke. As a worshipper approached to worship and to hear from God, there were several stages he had to pass before he could draw near. Looking at the two designs, we can observe the same main structures common to both, and each one preaches Christ.

The Outer Court: Sacrifice and Cleansing

The brazen altar is the first structure one meets on approaching either the tabernacle or the temple. Here the sacrifices were offered—and this was the very first thing required before moving any nearer. Vast numbers of animals were slain: at the dedication of the temple alone, Solomon offered twenty-two thousand oxen and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep (2 Chronicles 7:5). God was teaching a lesson written in blood: for there to be redemption and reunion between God and man, there must be sacrifice, for “without shedding of blood is no remission” (Hebrews 9:22).165

Yet the blood of animals could never be enough to take away sin—man is worth more than beasts, and “it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4). What was needed was a perfect sacrifice, one without sin (1 Peter 1:19; John 1:29). But “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23); no son of Adam could supply it. So only God Himself could provide the perfect sacrifice, in the appointed time—and the sacrifice He provided was Himself.166

Next comes the laver—in the temple, the great molten sea—a basin of water for washing. Here the priests washed before drawing nearer, a picture of the cleansing that comes “by the washing of water by the word”: “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word” (Ephesians 5:25–26; cf. John 17:17, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth”). First the blood of the altar, then the water of the word—atonement, and then cleansing.167

Then come the veils—the curtains that had to be passed to enter the Holy Place and, beyond it, the Holy of Holies. This is the barrier of separation we have met before in this book: a separation that was necessary, but never “good,” and one that God purposed one day to remove. And He did: “The veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom” (Mark 15:38) at the very moment His Son died.

The Holy Place: Light, Bread, and Incense

Passing within, into the Holy Place, the priest found three things, and each speaks of Christ and His work:169

The Holy of Holies: The Way, the Truth, and the Life

Beyond the second veil lay the Holy of Holies, and there stood the ark of the covenant, the sign of God’s covenant with Israel. Inside the ark were three things (Hebrews 9:4), and—read with the eyes of the gospel—they form a threefold portrait of the One who was to come:171

Do you see it? God was sending a message that there must be an everlasting covenant, and that it would be achieved through one Person—the perfect sacrifice, the Word who washes, and the Way, the Truth, and the Life. And thousands of years later, that very message was spoken aloud by the One who fulfilled it: “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). The ark that held the way, the truth, and the life was a shadow; Christ is the substance.

The Blood Sprinkled Seven Times

On the Day of Atonement, the high priest—the only man permitted to enter the Holy of Holies, and he only once a year—was commanded to take the blood of the sacrifice and sprinkle it before the mercy seat seven times (Leviticus 16:14). Seven is the number of completeness and perfection; the sevenfold sprinkling spoke of a perfect and complete atonement.173

It is a moving thing to set that ancient sevenfold sprinkling beside the passion of the Lord Jesus, and to remember the places from which His own blood was shed. From His face, where His sweat became as great drops of blood in the garden (Luke 22:44); from His head, pierced by the crown of thorns (Matthew 27:29); from His back, torn by the scourge (John 19:1); from His hands and His feet, driven through with nails (Psalm 22:16; John 20:25); and from His side, opened by the soldier’s spear (John 19:34). Where the blood of bulls and goats was sprinkled seven times upon a golden lid, the blood of the Son of God was poured out upon a cross—the true and final atonement, of which all the sprinklings were only the shadow.174

So both the tabernacle of Moses and the temple of Solomon pointed beyond themselves to the perfect sacrifice without blemish—the fulfillment of the law, the giver of life and truth, God the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ. And when He died, the veil was torn from top to bottom, and the barrier that had kept sinful man at a distance was taken away forever (Matthew 27:51; Hebrews 10:19–20). The way into the Holiest, once guarded, was thrown open by His blood.175

From the design of a tent in the wilderness to the glory of a temple on Mount Zion, God was quietly drawing the blueprint of redemption, patiently revealing His plan in pattern and shadow—still, as this part of our book has shown, revealing Himself from a distance. In the chapters to come we will see how the Word became flesh, walked among us, and fulfilled every shadow in Himself.

Notes

  1. 164. This is the reading of the tabernacle and temple given by the New Testament itself, especially the letter to the Hebrews, which calls the earthly sanctuary “a figure for the time then present” and “the example and shadow of heavenly things” (Heb. 8:5; 9:8–9, 23–24). The furniture and ritual are types—God-given foreshadows—that find their fulfillment in Christ. On typology, see the discussion in Hebrews 8–10; F. F. Bruce, The Epistle to the Hebrews, rev. ed., NICNT (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990), 178–256. The particular symbolic meanings assigned to individual items below are a devotional reading in the long Christian tradition; readers will find some variation in the details from one teacher to another. ↩
  2. 165. 2 Chronicles 7:5 records “twenty and two thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep” at the dedication of the temple—142,000 animals in all—offered over the days of dedication (cf. 2 Chron. 7:8–9). Some interpreters take such very large Old Testament figures as including a measure of hyperbole customary in ancient royal records; either way, the point stands: the sheer scale of sacrifice testified that access to a holy God requires the shedding of blood. ↩
  3. 166. Hebrews 9:22: “without shedding of blood is no remission.” On the insufficiency of animal blood and the need of a perfect sacrifice, see Heb. 10:1–4 (“it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins”); the fulfillment is “the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Pet. 1:19; cf. John 1:29). ↩
  4. 167. Ephesians 5:25–26; cf. John 17:17; 15:3. The laver, where the priests washed before serving, is widely read as a picture of cleansing “by the washing of water by the word.” The bronze basin was made from the mirrors of the women who served (Exod. 38:8), and the Word likewise functions as a mirror that shows us ourselves (James 1:23–25). ↩
  5. 169. The three articles of the Holy Place are commonly read as follows: the golden lampstand (menorah), with its seven lamps, as the light and the sevenfold fullness of the Holy Spirit (Rev. 1:4; 4:5; Zech. 4:2–6); the table of the bread of the Presence (“shewbread”) as the Word and the sustenance of God; and the altar of incense as the prayers of the saints ascending to God (Rev. 5:8; 8:3–4; Ps. 141:2). See the survey in the tabernacle sections of Hebrews commentaries; the specific correspondences are devotional rather than dogmatic. ↩
  6. 171. Hebrews 9:4 lists the three items associated with the ark: “the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant.” The reading offered here—law as “the way,” manna as “the truth” (the true bread, the Word; cf. John 6:32–35), and the budded rod as “the life” (dead wood brought to life; cf. Num. 17:8)—is a devotional mapping onto John 14:6. Note that 1 Kings 8:9 records that at a later time only the tablets remained in the ark; when it was made and dedicated, all three were present (Exod. 16:33–34; Num. 17:10). ↩
  7. 173. On the Day of Atonement the high priest sprinkled the blood “upon the mercy seat… and before the mercy seat… seven times” (Leviticus 16:14). The mercy seat (kapporeth) is where God met His people and where atonement was made; the New Testament presents Christ as the true “mercy seat” or hilasterion (Rom. 3:25) whose own blood accomplishes what the ritual foreshadowed. ↩
  8. 174. The seven places from which the Lord’s blood was shed—the sweat like drops of blood in Gethsemane (Luke 22:44), the crown of thorns (Matt. 27:29; John 19:2), the scourged back (John 19:1; Isa. 53:5), the pierced hands and feet (Ps. 22:16; John 20:25–27), and the pierced side (John 19:34)—are a devotional meditation often drawn in Christian preaching, set here alongside the sevenfold sprinkling of Leviticus 16:14. Scripture does not itself enumerate “seven sheddings”; the parallel is offered as an aid to worship, not as a doctrine. ↩
  9. 175. Matthew 27:51; Mark 15:38: at the death of Christ “the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.” Hebrews interprets this: the veil is “his flesh,” through which “a new and living way” into God’s presence has been opened (Heb. 10:19–20). The barrier of separation—“not good,” as we saw in the second day of creation—is at last taken away. ↩
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