11 - STUDIES IN THE TABERNACLE

11 - STUDIES IN THE TABERNACLE

December 16, 1964

Pastor Henry F. Kulp

We have been showing you the tabernacle, and telling you it is a beautiful picture of the Lord Jesus Christ, His Person and His work, but before we go into the study of the laver—let us understand one thing about this tabernacle. It will show us how rites and rituals fitted into the Old Testament but not in our lives today. 

Hebrews 9:9  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;

Of course, the book of Hebrews is the book in the New Testament that deals with the tabernacle, and the offerings and the high priest. Here are men who went to the tabernacle with an offering because he had sinned, saw the high priest take that offering, kill it, offer the blood and put that animal on the brazen altar, perhaps burn it entirely as a burnt sacrifice yet, he could not go away with the consciousness of his sins being gone. Today, we have this in our lives—our sins are gone—they did not have that, for their sins were not gone, their sins were covered by blood. There was an atonement made, but as God says here—it was a type of that which was to come. The Old Testament, the tabernacle, did not give them the consciousness of sins taken away.

1/  Hebrews 10:11  And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:

There is one word that is important in that verse, and maybe it is not the word that you would naturally choose as the important word. It is the word, standers. And every priest standers daily. You will remember, there were no chairs in the tabernacle for a priest to sit down. In the tabernacle there were just three pieces of furniture. When you went into the holiest of all, there was the ark, and the mercy seat, and in the holy place there was the altar of incense, the candlesticks and the table of shewbread. The priest could not say to a man, your sins are gone. He, himself, could not feel that his work was ever done, and he was able to sit down. 

Now go to Hebrews10:12 But this Man, that is Christ, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever—what did He do? He sat down. Why? Because His work was done—it never has to be done again. That is the contrast in those two verses. The priest in the tabernacle never sat down. The Lord Jesus Christ came, and the tabernacle pictured Him, and He did His work, and He sat down. Let me ask you—isn’t that sort of restful? Jesus went home and sat down, for His work was done.

2/  Now let us go back to Hebrews 9: 26  For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

Here again is the contrast between the Old Testament priest and Jesus Christ. Their work was never done. But notice this 26th verse, For then, must He also have suffered since the foundation of the world—that is, if He had been like other priests, He would have had to die again and again. If His death didn’t do more than their offerings had done. But look at the rest of the verse. But now, once in the end of the world, hath He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. Sin is gone, gone. God put our sins on Christ, He died for them, went down to the grave, rose again from the dead, ascended on High, and our sins are gone. I want you to see this contrast. All of this in the Old Testament, was to show us God’s method for putting away sin, but it was only a type, and that type did not do the work—Jesus Christ did the work. So let us remember that very carefully.

3/  All the rites and ritualism was good for its time, but it could never take away sin. But when Christ came, the rites and rituals were done away with, and Christ Himself, Who was pictured in these rites and rituals, completed all the work, and He is all-sufficient to us.

4/  Exodus 38: 8 And he made the laver of brass, and the foot of it of brass, of the lookingglasses of the women assembling, which assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

In our study tonight, we have the laver of brass. When you come to the door of the outer court, you came to the brazen altar, you saw the streaming blood, and there salvation is accomplished. 

Our sin is put away as Hebrews 9: 26 tells us. For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

But suppose you were one of the priests. A priest who did the work in the court and the holy place. When the time came for a priest who perhaps had been working at the altar, or he had been on the outside helping to kill the animals that were brought for sacrifice—when he came to the altar, he saw the streaming blood, and then perhaps it was his turn to go into the holy place and minister, perhaps to trim the lamp-stand, or to change the shewbread, or to burn incense on the incense altar, his hands would have been defiled, so he could not minister in that Holy Place. So God had a laver, a wash basin where he could go and wash his hands and his feet. 

Let us go back to Exodus 30: 18, 19 where it tells us the priest had to wash his hands and his feet at the laver that was just outside the Holy Place. Thou shalt also make a laver of brass, and his foot also of brass, to wash withal: and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein. For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat:

5/  The laver, or the wash basin was made of solid brass, and filled with pure water. Brass in Scripture, as we have already pointed out, speaks of the judgement of God. Able to withstand the fire of testings, water is symbolic of the Word of God. Actually, water is used three different ways in a symbolic form. When it is in large bodies of water, it speaks of judgment, such as Jonah being thrown out of the ship into the sea—is a picture of Jonah being judged. Then, when water is used as for drinking purposes, it is a picture of the Holy Spirit. But when water is used as cleansing. It is then a picture of the Word of God.

Psalm 119: 9 Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.

The words speak of a cleansing agent.

6/  Remember, we are in the tabernacle—it is a picture of being in Christ. We get into Christ through the brazen altar, through the shedding of the blood. This speaks of Christ in our every day life. Christ is the Word of God, the Bible is the Word of God—actually, the Bible is Christ, and it is pictured in Christ as the written Word, as He is able to cleanse our every day life.

7/  John 15: 3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.

Where He says, Now are ye clean through the Word which I have spoken. The Word which I have spoken unto you, He is talking to His children, and He says, Ye are clean through the Word which I have spoken unto you. 

Let’s get something else firmly planted in our minds. Remember, there was an absence of a floor in the tabernacle proper, as there were no chairs, the priest could never sit down, his feet, were therefore, always on the floor, but there was no floor except the ground, the earth on which he walked. As a result, he became defiled every step he took—even in the service of the Lord, for that is what he was in there for. Remember, he could not sit down and raise his feet from the floor, but in all his service, he was in continual contact with the ground which was dirty. His hands, after he had finished with the operation at the brazen altar. Before he could go into the Holy Place, he had to wash his hands and his feet. This is a picture of us being in Christ, and every day we serve Him, we become defiled in our hands and our feet. Our feet speak of our walk and our hands speak of our service. Billboards, newspaper, magazines, conversations all tend to defile us, and how do we get cleansed from it? By Christ and the Word which He has spoken. 

Psalm 119: 1 Thy Word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee.

8/  Matthew 4: 4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

This is when Jesus Christ was tempted by Satan. Then He answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word of God. You do not live by eating your daily food. If you do not have the Word of God, you have not lived that day. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word of God. We do not fully realize this, but it is true. 

Perhaps I can illustrate it like this. You say, I hope to get time to read the Word, the Bible, today, but you don’t say that about your meals. You don’t say, I hope I get time to eat today, I hope I find time to eat today. You’ll see to that, all right. To you it is more important to eat than to have the Word, but not so to God. According to this verse, the Word of God is just as important as your daily food, for we do not live by bread alone, but we live by the Word and by bread. That’s why a lot of the Lord’s people are not really living day by day. They are not really clean. God gave us the Word for a purpose. Not just to lead us to Jesus Christ to be saved. But to cleanse us. He didn’t give us the Book to read on Sunday, and then to close it up and leave it to the next Lord’s Day. He gave us this Book to be our daily bread.

9/  John 17: 17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

Jesus Christ prays—Sanctify them through Thy Truth, Thy Word is truth—and that should be holify them—make them clean, make them holy.

Ephesians 5: 26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,

That He might sanctify and cleanse it—make them clean, make them holy with the washing of the water by the Word. The Word is the cleansing power in the believer’s life. We are not only regenerated, by the washing of the water of the Word, but we are kept clean by constant study of the Word—living in the Word.

10/  Many, many folks say to me—I read the Bible, and it’s all right at the time I read it, but I soon forget it—I can’t remember it. Did you ever take a sieve that’s dirty, and you run water through it? It doesn’t hold the water, it pours right through the sieve—but what does it do to the sieve? It cleans it. Even if the Word of God does not stay with you as you read it, it is a cleansing agent.

11/  Noticed what Paul says in II Timothy 3: 16  All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

The Word of God is for reproof, it is for correction.

12/  Luke 11: 38 - 41  And when the Pharisee saw it, he marvelled that he had not first washed before dinner. And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness. Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without make that which is within also? But rather give alms of such things as ye have; and, behold, all things are clean unto you.

Christ reproved Martha and commanded and defended Mary. What was Mary commended for? Mary was not praying—she was sitting at the feet of our Lord Jesus Christ, and heard His Words—she was there drinking in all he had to say. This was the one essential thing which Mary had chosen, and from which our Lord said, this could not be taken from her. This is what the laver speaks to us—it is Christ’s Word, that which He has spoken—and of course, that which He has written, the Bible—for this is the Word, the Christ.

13/  Exodus 38:8  And he made the laver of brass, and the foot of it of brass, of the lookingglasses of the women assembling, which assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

And the laver was made of the looking glasses of the women in the assembly. The woman had to give up their looking glasses to make the laver. For they were made of polished brass. What does this mean? It means less time at the mirror and more time in the Word. In other words, they used this mirror to look into to fix themselves up, and so the brass when it was in mirror form meant self-occupation, filled with self. But when they were taken and made into the laver, it meant looking away from self into the Word of God, and this is necessary. Then, too, the brass was highly polished. When they looked into the laver, they could see themselves—just as the Word of God reveals ourselves, and we see exactly what we are. So there is a great lesson for us here in the laver. 

AMEN

12/16/1964 / 11 - STUDIES IN THE TABERNACLE / 03/28/2025

10 - STUDIES IN THE TABERNACLE

10 - STUDIES IN THE TABERNACLE

DECEMBER 9, 1964

PASTOR HENRY F. KULP

In studying the book of Exodus and the Tabernacle in the wilderness, as in studying all the Bible, we ought to have ever in our minds that the Bible is about the Lord Jesus Christ and nothing else. When a man appears in the Bible, it is because God has something to tell us about the Lord Jesus Christ through that man. God doesn’t talk of anything but His Son. Christ is the Son of His love. The Son is in the bosom of the Father, the affection of the Father.

John 1: 18 No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

He is ever in the bosom, the affection the Father. There is nothing in the mind of god except His Son, Jesus Christ, and Hew wants us to read this book, called the Bible to find out all about His Son. The only reason God has in letting Abraham stand before you in the Bible is because he is a type of the Father offering up His son, and so it goes throughout the Bible. Even Samson is a type in the Bible. People don’t like Samson, and I’ll admit for many years as I studied the Bible, I wasn’t very happy about Samson, but suppose we link at Samson as a type. Samson is the only one in the Bible who did everything without anyone’s help. 

Then notice, Isaiah 63: 3  I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.

He trod the winepress alone, and among the people there was none with Him. Samson never had any help. He judged and delivered Israel for twenty Years and not one hand helped him. He did it single-handed. Then, Samson did more by dying than He did by living.

Judges 16: 30  And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.

His death accomplished more than his life. Isn’t that a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ? So, the Bible is all about Jesus Christ. I think this is a love letter, from God to us about His Son that He loves. He wants us to love hIm and that is why He has given us the Bible.

1/ Exodus 30: 1 - 8 And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim wood shalt thou make it. A cubit shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof; foursquare shall it be: and two cubits shall be the height thereof: the horns thereof shall be of the same.  And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, the top thereof, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns thereof; and thou shalt make unto it a crown of gold round about. And two golden rings shalt thou make to it under the crown of it, by the two corners thereof, upon the two sides of it shalt thou make it; and they shall be for places for the staves to bear it withal. And thou shalt make the staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold. And thou shalt put it before the vail that is by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee. And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it. And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations.

Now we come to the altar of the incense, and this is a very wonderful lesson. If you want into the Holy Place, it would be directly in front of you as you went into the door of the Holy Place. In back of it would be the beautiful veil. It was made of wood and gold, that meant the humanity and the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. It was about three feet high—just about the height of an ordinary table. It was higher than the table of shewbread. And it was 1 1/2 feet square. The altar was always to have incense upon it. When you went into the Holy Place, you were conscious of that sweet smelling incense.

2/ Where did the incense come from? 

It was directed to us in Exodus 30: 34 - 48  And the Lord said unto Moses, Take unto thee sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum; these sweet spices with pure frankincense: of each shall there be a like weight: And thou shalt make it a perfume, a confection after the art of the apothecary, tempered together, pure and holy: And thou shalt beat some of it very small, and put of it before the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation, where I will meet with thee: it shall be unto you most holy. And as for the perfume which thou shalt make, ye shall not make to yourselves according to the composition thereof: it shall be unto thee holy for the Lord. Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell thereto, shall even be cut off from his people.

But notice the last two verses, 37, 38 And as for the perfume that thou shalt make—ye shall not make it to yourselves according to the composition thereof. It shall be unto thee holy for the Lord. Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell thereto, shall even he cut off from his people. 

God said to Moses, I will tell you how to make it, and do not let anyone else make anything like it. If any man make anything like this, it means death to him. This was a special odor for God and God alone.

3/ The table was a picture of Christ, of course. The wood His manhood, and the gold His deity. What about the odor that was always burning there? Incense is a symbol of prayer. 

Psalms 141: 2 Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.

Then notice, Revelation 5: 8 And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.

Odors, and that is incense, which are the prayers of saints. So, in the Bible, incense is a picture or a type of prayer, or a symbol of prayer.

4/ the incense on the altar was offered by Aaron, the high priest.

Exodus 30: 7, 8 And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it. And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations.

And Aaron is a figure of the Lord Jesus Christ in Heaven, offering up prayer in behalf of those who are His. 

Hebrews 9: 24 For Christ has not entered into the Holy Places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into Heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:

5/ There is a fact that is very important here. As Aaron offered up this incense exclusively for the children of Israel, so it is true that our Lord Jesus Christ prays only for those who are His. He doesn’t pray for the world, but only for those who are saved. As a matter of fact, this principle is laid out in John 17: 9 I pray not for the world, but for them which Thou hast given Me.

6/ Let us notice how effectual the praying of Jesus Christ is, for those who are His own. 

Luke 22: 31, 32  And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:  But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

And here Jesus Christ said, Simon, Simon, Satan hath desired to have you that he may sift you as wheat, but the important point—only for Israel in the Old Testament

John 17: 9  I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.

Luke 23: 39, 42  And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.  And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.

But I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not, and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren—in other words, Peter, you are going to have trial and temptation—you are going to fail, but I am praying that in the end, you will come back and this is exactly what happened—the prayer of Jesus Christ was answered—His prayers are sure to be answered. Here was sweet incense that went before the Father.

7/ Isn’t it wonderful to know that someone is praying for us, and it is the One Who never fails, Who never makes a mistake, Whose every prayer is heard. That is the Lord Jesus Christ.

8/ But this was Christ when He was on earth, praying for His own. But there was a time when Christ was not the Intercessor as such. Back under the Old Testament economy, when the tabernacle was being used by god as a dwelling place alone Men.

Isaiah 59: 16  And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him.

Isaiah looked into Heaven, and he saw there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor. Because this is true, the high priest, is representing God, the Lord Jesus Christ, on earth. He goes and He makes sure this incense is burning all day long before the Lord. This is the picture of the intercessory prayer of Jesus Christ before God the Father for His very own the children of Israel. The One Who was to be an intercessor in the Heavens, had to be a man, and God was not a man as yet until He was born of the Virgin—so this tabernacle takes that place and the temple takes that place until Jesus Christ becomes a Man. When He was on earth, as a Man, He prayed for His own, and they did not fail, they were not lost. But now He has ascended into Heaven, He is praying for us.

9/ What about the incense that is in the Catholic churches and in some Protestant churches and I believe in some heathen temples? There was a time when God said there was to be the burning of incense, but no longer. No longer is that necessary. The tabernacle, the temples are now gone, and Jesus Christ is in the heavenliness praying for us, and so we do not need this shadow, this type, this symbol today. It shows that the religion that uses incense does not have a complete picture—it does not have the whole story of God.

10/ Christ is not able to pray and intercede for those who are lost. Do you want a good example of that? Go with me to Luke 23: 39 - 42 And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.

There are two thieves one on either side of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the one prays, and he says if thou be the Christ—he is not sure He is the Christ—he says, save Thyself, and us. Actually, what he was doing was praying. He did not pray for Christ to save him by the weight of His death, but to save him without death, and Christ never answered that prayer. But the other man, recognized that Christ was praying for Him, he believed on Him as Lord, believed that He would be resurrected from the dead, and the Lord said, Your prayer will be answered—today shalt thou be with Me in Paradise. So Christ as the intercessor can only pray for those who are saved.

11/ Now do you recognize that not one single prayer of ours would ever get to God the Father were it not for the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, in the Heavenlies. But it would not be there, were it not for the blood of the brazen altar—the intercession and the incense receive their value completely and exclusively from the brazen altar at the entrance of the tabernacle proper. Everything rests upon the blood of the cross. The priest could not enter into the Holy Place without blood, without first stopping at the altar of the burnt offering and making the proper sacrifice. 

Notice, Exodus 30: 10  And Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it once in a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonements: once in the year shall he make atonement upon it throughout your generations: it is most holy unto the Lord.

The horns of the golden altar of incense were stained once a year with the blood of atonement from the brazen altar—the sin offering was offered at the brazen altar and that is a symbol of the cross and then the blood was applied to the horns of the altar of incense.

12/ Then the burning of the incense on the golden altar was to be continual.

Exodus 30: 8  And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations.

The intercession of our Lord Jesus Christ was perpetual—that is it was continuing—it never varies, it never falters, it never fails, because we read in Hebrews 7: 25 He is able to save them from the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them.

13/ Revelation 8: 3 And another angel stood at the altar, having a golden censor and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar. 

Do you realize there is a golden altar in Heaven? That is exactly what this Scripture teaches. When God said to Moses, You make one down there, I’m going to show you this one up here, so you can make one like this down on earth. Do you think that prayer is precious to God? I think that God is listening all the time for prayer—He loves it. When you pray, your prayers comes up to Him as incense, as a sweet-odor in His nostrils. Perhaps we haven’t offered very much incense today, and here it says, the incense shall be perpetual, it shall never stop. Every morning, Aaron was to go and put new incense upon the hot coals, taking hot coals form off the altar—the priests during the day had to keep the incense there, and at night they put fresh incense so that night and day the incense was burning. I wonder how much incense the Lord is getting from you and from me. The prayers of the saints are precious to Him. Every prayer sin the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ is important to Him.

14/ Now let us go to the book of Romans and notice something beautiful.

Romans 8: 34  Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

Who is he that condemneth? Now listen to the answer—it is Christ that died. That in itself should be sufficient to still every fear to answer every doubt. If Christ has taken my place and died ion my stead, who should I fear? It is a proven fact, but there is more than the fact that Christ died for my sins. 

Listen to Romans again. Yea, rather that is risen again. Christ died—that is great—but Christ is risen—that is greater still. His resurrection is proof that God the Father accepted His sacrifice for my sins. Then, notice, Who is even at the right hand of God. For He is now to appear in the presence of God for us. For it says, Who also maketh intercession for us, and this makes Hebrews 4: 15, 16 so wonderful to me, that I can come boldly to the Throne of Grace. Christ is our golden altar, and He is offering up His incense unto God for me 

For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

15/ Psalms 139: 17, 18  How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.

That is, still before thee—still the object of His thinking. How wonderful to know this Christ and to be in Him.

AMEN

12/9/1964 / 10 - STUDIES IN THE TABERNACLE / 02/25/2025