Exodus 25:1-40
And they shall make an ark... On one level the Ark of the Covenant is the symbol of the Father in the Tabernacle and the Temple, while the Menorah represents the Holy Spirit, and the Showbread Table represents the Son. (On another level, the entire Tabernacle is a model for every individual.) Likewise, the Heavenly Father is an example for earthly fathers, the Holy Spirit is an example for earthly mothers, and the Son is an example for earthly children, especially the firstborn son of his father. The details of all three articles are significant for every single person, as we occupy a spectrum of traits and roles, and we can never say that one person or one gender can never be allowed to fill the role of another. But the characteristics of the Heavenly Father as revealed in the Ark more precisely apply to fathers than to anyone else, and likewise the characteristics of the Heavenly Son as revealed in the Showbread Table apply to firstborn sons. The Menorah is specifically a pattern for women, but also for all types of deacons, servants, and helpers. The instructions contained in Exodus 25 are repeated in minute detail in Exodus 37, demonstrating the great weight which God assigns to these things.
I am certain that all of the precise measurements have important meanings, both spiritual and mundane (Ezekiel 43:10-11), but I will not pretend to know what all of those meanings are. The best that I can do is to prayerfully consider these instructions and the teaching I have received and ask God for understanding. What mistakes I make are purely my own. I do not claim this to be prophecy or infallible revelation from God. The same is true for the instructions concerning the Showbread Table and the Menorah.
Exodus 25:9
...after the pattern of the tabernacle... The stuff of the wilderness tabernacle was not made according to a design only written on paper or fashioned into a small scale model. It was patterned after the real Tabernacle in Heaven in which Yeshua serves as our divine High Priest. That Tabernacle is a shadow of something yet higher: God himself. It is also an image after which we are to pattern ourselves, both as individuals and as families.
Exodus 25:10
...shittim wood... According to Scofield, wood represents humanity, and John Gill wrote that acacia (translation of shittim) wood is decay resistant. According to
Easton's Bible Dictionary, it is also a gnarled, thorny tree like a hawthorne from which it would be very difficult to obtain a significant amount or length of lumber. Our flesh is often twisted and gnarled, making it very difficult for us to work toward creative purposes. A father should, as far as possible, avoid the things that corrupt the flesh: drunkenness, licentiousness, excessive leisure, fear, et cetera. The raw material out of which he is made must be cultivated and trained in order to produce lengths of lumber sufficient to make anything of real substance and size.
(See Exodus 25:13 and 15:23.)
...two cubits and a half...a cubit and a half...a cubit and a half... I know that the dimensions of the Ark and the other articles of the Tabernacle are recorded for our benefit, but at present I can only make wild guesses as to what we are to learn from them. I offer this small bit of speculation only as one possibility and not as anything certain. The volume of the Ark, at least as measured by these external dimensions, is five and five-eighth cubic cubits. Five could represent life as creatures "that hath life" were first created on the fifth day or it could represent the five books of the Torah. Eight represents new beginnings or rebirth. The Ark was the heart of the Tabernacle. Within it were the stone tablets, while the staff, and a jar of manna were placed before it. When we have God's Law (the tablets) written in our hearts, when we have made him our supreme authority (the staff), and when we have put our faith completely in him (the manna), then we will have life both in this world (five cubits) and eventual resurrection into eternal life (five-eighths cubit).
(See 1 Kings 8:9 and Hebrews 9:4.)
Exodus 25:11
...overlay it with pure gold, within and without... Gold represents purity and righteousness. A father must exemplify righteousness in his family, not just in his actions ("without") but in his heart and mind ("within") as well.
(See Exodus 25:13 and 25:24.)
...a crown of gold round about. A father is to rule his house with righteousness, according to the laws of God, and not of man, or else this crown would be of wood instead of gold. However, this is not exactly the same word usually used for a royal crown, but it is the root of that word.
Zer is used here, whereas
nezer is the usual word for a royal crown.
(See Exodus 25:24 and 25:25.)
Exodus 25:35-36
…one beaten work of pure gold. The six side branches of the Menorah were assembled in sets of two, one on the left and one on the right. The pairs of branches were made out of a single piece of gold with a ring in the center connecting it to the stem. Each pair represents a pair of inextricably linked character traits, and each side balances the other. The fear of God is balanced against knowledge of God’s promises and love. Understanding of God’s creation is balanced against wisdom in its proper use. Strength is moderated by good council. These spirits only engender a right relationship with God if they are in proper union and order. If strength is not complemented by council, then they separately beget tyranny and manipulation. If worldly understanding is not united with wisdom, then they separately beget pride and foolishness. If fear is not united with knowledge, then they separately beget legalism and licentiousness.
Updated: 2/13/2018
