Of Framework and Foundations

Introduction

Regardless of what part of the world you find yourself in or the type of structures that exist there one constant that you will always find is a support structure in place. Typically we refer to these support structures as foundations and framework, especially when we are talking about building a home or other types of buildings. The foundation and the framework come together to solidify and support the overall structure, to give it strength and allow it to withstand the test of time. Many of us were introduced to this concept at a very young age as the story of the “Three Little Pigs” are recited to us. You remember the premise, each of the three pigs built a house that they were sure would protect them from the huffing and puffing of the big bad wolf, but at the end of the day, only the house with the solid construction was able to withstand the gale force winds that only a big bad wolf could muster.

Although the story is a fairy tale or perhaps more aptly defined as a fable, the principle that it teaches regarding strong foundations is a truth that withstands time. In fact, Jesus teaches this very princple as He closes out the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 7:24-29 we read:

Matthew 7:24–29 LSB

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and does them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. “And the rain descended, and the rivers came, and the winds blew and fell against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. “And everyone hearing these words of Mine and not doing them, may be compared to a foolish man who built his house on the sand. “And the rain descended, and the rivers came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.” Now it happened that when Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were astonished at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.

Obviously Jesus’ teaching here is much greater than simply where we should build a house. Verse 24 makes it clear that the foundational truth being taught in this passage is that we are to put out faith and trust in Him and His words, not in the things of this world.

Over the last two weeks we have been taking a deep dive into the instructions that God has given Moses for the construction of the Tabernacle, specifically we have looked at the Tabernacle curtain with its pure white fine linen reflecting the purity of Christ, with its cherubims emblazoned on it and how the other colors along with the white, paint us a picture of Christ. Last week we looked at the goat hair curtain of the tent along with the final two coverings, each in its own way pointing us to Christ, as the propitiation for our sin, the way Christ was set apart by God as the head of His chosen people and finally, the battle tested visage of the Savior which was, as Isaiah writes, “marred more than any man And His form more than the sons of men.” This morning, we turn our attention away from the curtains, for the moment, we will look at the final curtains next week, and take a peak “under the curtain” as it were to the very foundation and framework that held the tabernacle up, supporting it as it served the people of Israel as the dwelling place of God in their midst throughout their travels in the wilderness and even as they came into the promise land. This brings us to our text for this morning, please turn with me in your copy of God’s word to Exodus 26:15-30 and

Text

Please stand for the reading of God’s Holy, Inerrant, Infallible, Sufficient and Authoritative Word:

Exodus 26:15–30 LSB

“Then you shall make the boards for the tabernacle of acacia wood, standing upright. “Ten cubits shall be the length of each board, and one and a half cubits the width of each board. “There shall be two tenons for each board, fitted to one another; thus you shall do for all the boards of the tabernacle. “You shall make the boards for the tabernacle: twenty boards for the south side. “You shall make forty bases of silver under the twenty boards, two bases under one board for its two tenons, and two bases under another board for its two tenons; and for the second side of the tabernacle, on the north side, twenty boards, and their forty bases of silver; two bases under one board and two bases under another board. “For the rear of the tabernacle, to the west, you shall make six boards. “You shall make two boards for the corners of the tabernacle at the rear. “They shall be separated beneath, but together at their completion at its top, at the first ring; thus it shall be with both of them: they shall form the two corners. “There shall be eight boards with their bases of silver, sixteen bases; two bases under one board and two bases under another board. “Then you shall make bars of acacia wood, five for the boards of one side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the side of the tabernacle for the rear side to the west. “The middle bar in the center of the boards shall pass through from end to end. “You shall overlay the boards with gold and make their rings of gold as holders for the bars; and you shall overlay the bars with gold. “Then you shall erect the tabernacle according to its plan which you have been shown in the mountain.

Father, grant us, through Thy spirit to help us rightly worship, forgetting the world and entering into your presence, the fullness of life that You give, and be refreshed, comforted and blessed. Grant us knowledge of Your goodness. Reveal for us through Your word, Christ, our Mediator, Brother, Interpreter, Branch, Lamb, that we may be drawn near with brotherly love and boldness. Remind us as we gather to worship that the veil has been torn and that we can enter the holiest place where we can receive in rich abundance the blessings that this day, the Lord’s Day was designed to impart. Father may our hearts be guarded and protected against wordly thoughts or cares, our minds be filled with peace beyond comprehension, our meditations on Your word be sweet, our acts of worship filled with life and joy, that we would drink from the streams that flow from Your throne, our sustenance Your precious Word, our defence the shield of faith and our hearts be drawn closer to our blessed Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Father we ask these things in that very blessed name, Amen.

Precision

As we proceed forward in God’s instructions to Moses and through Moses to the people of Israel we need to once again make note of the precision by which the God delivers these details and the precision by which Moses and the people are held accountable to obeying God’s instructions. In the case of the construction of the tabernacle there is a standard unit of measure used throughout the building process, that of a cubit. In using a little math we find out quickly that the number and size of the panels totals up to the previous dimensions that are supplied to us. Each board, or possibly frame, is given as having the overall dimensions of ten cubits in height, which equates to roughly one hundred and eighty inches or fifteen feet, and one and a half cubit in width, or roughly twenty-seven inches wide, the width of twenty boards or frames would be five hundred and forty inches, or forty-five feet in total, the exact dimensions of the Tabernacle, fifteen feet tall and forty-five feet in length.

When we look at the precision of the measurements and couple that with what we find in verse 30 of our text this morning it becomes very clear very fast that the instructions are to be followed precisely as God has given them. Note in verse 30 the command of God: Exodus 26:30 ““Then you shall erect the tabernacle according to its plan which you have been shown in the mountain.” This is a statement that is repeated to Moses several times during the giving of the instructions of God and it is that repetition which should make us sit up and pay attention. As we have previously stated the specific instructions that God gives Moses regarding the construction of the Tabernacle are not for us to obey in the sense of going out and building a Tabernacle of our own to these instructions but rather in the sense of being obedient to the principles that are taught here, namely, that the commands of God are to be precisely obeyed.

This is the point where someone will likely offer the time honored classic excuse of our inability to be obedient to the commands of God. To which I would wholeheartedly agree...if we are still unregenerate. Let me be clear on this point, because this is one of those points that will get you emails. phone calls and social media comments. Once you have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit, once He has worked in your life to bring about your rebirth, you are forever altered. Your nature is changed and you are then empowered to be obedient to the commands of God. Empowerment to be obedient gives you the ability and the desire, but until you are fully glorified, the remaining flesh that is in you will continue to wage war to reclaim what it sees as it’s rightful property. As we have mentioned in the past, Paul deals with this subject in depth in Romans 7 as he describes the personal war between the regenerate person that he is and the corrupted flesh that he inhabits.

What this means is that, unlike our natural state, we have now been given the ability to resist sin, flee from temptation and perfectly obey the commands of God through the power of the Holy Spirit. It is when we attempt this obedience by trusting in our own power, strength and ability that we utterly fail. Daily we should remind ourselves of the short comings of our power, strength and ability. The following prayer is an example from the prayer book “The Valley of Vision” that is helpful to us in this remembrance.

“Yet I Sin”

Eternal Father,

Thou art good beyond all thought, but I am vile, wretched, miserable, blind: My lips are ready to confess, but my heart is flow to feel, and my ways reluctant to amend. I bring my soul to Thee; break it, wound it, bend it, mold it. Unmask to me sins’s deformity, that I may hate it, abhor it, flee from it. My faculties have been a weapon of revolt against Thee; as a rebel I have misused my strength, and served the foul adversary of thy kingdom. Give me grace to bewail my insensate folly, grant me to know that the way of transgressors is hard, that evil paths are wretched paths, that to depart from thee is to lose all good. I have seen the purity and beauty of thy perfect law, the happiness of those in whose heart it reigns, the calm dignity of the walk to which it calls, yet daily I violate and contemn its precepts. Thy loving Spirit strives within me, brings me Scripture warnings, speaks in startling providences, allures by secret whispers, yet I choose devices and desires to my own hurt, impiously resent, grieve, and provoke Him to abandon me. All these sins I mourn, lament, and for them cry pardon. Work in me more profound and abiding repentance; give me the fullness of godly grief that trembles and fears, yet ever trusts and loves, which is ever powerful, and ever confident; grant that through the tears of repentance I may see more clearly the brightness and glories of the saving cross.

As clear as the call is in this and other passages regarding our obedience, it does not call us to any random obedience, but rather to a specific standard, His standard. In order for us to be obedient to that standard however, there are certain foundational truths, a certain framework that must be understood and upheld. It is this foundation and framework that shapes and molds the lens through which we see the world.

Boards and Bases

This particular section of these instructions contains some very precise and technical language that has made it very difficult to truly grasp the specifics of what this construction looked like. For example the word that is translated board here can also mean frame, deck plank from a ship, the mast of a ship, and even cabin. While I believe that it would be great to know exactly what this word meant to Moses and the Israelites at the foot of Sinai, I believe that the importance, for us today, lies not in the specifics of the design of the frame, but in its purpose and its materials.

As we mentioned previously the frames or boards would have been twenty-seven inches wide by fifteen feet long. The wood specified is Acacia wood, which was plentiful, but you may recall from our look at the Ark, it is also a wood that is highly resistant to any type of degradation. Each of these frames was to have two tenons, or literally hands, that formed the joinery between the board and the base.

We are given very limited information about the bases themselves, even though they would serve as the foundation for the entirety of the structure, except the fact that there is to be two bases for each board and that the bases were for the tenons of the boards. The boards and bases described here form the two sides and the rear of the structure, the veil that separates the holy place from the holy of holies and the curtain that will go across the entrance have their own support structure that we will deal with next week when we discuss these two particular curtains. Once these boards were erected onto their bases and put into place a network of bars would be added to complete the framework and foundation that the curtain of the tabernacle, curtain of the tent and the tent coverings could be draped over to form the tabernacle and its tent.

In reference to these bars we, again, find limited information, except that there were five bars for each side and that the center bar would have passed from end to end. Here again, there is much disagreement about what this actually looked like and where these bars were attached. How they were attached however, is not a mystery, we are plainly told in verse 29 that their are rings of gold on the boards/frames that are to serve as holders for the bars. This brings us to the final detail regarding the boards and bars, that they were to be covered in gold.

Two Natures

The fact that gold is the choice metal here should come as no surprise to even the casual reader. As we have previously mentioned, the closer to the presence of God the more precious and pure the metal. This is also not the first time that we have seen this combination of precious metal and as the Greek version of the Old Testament translates it, incorruptible wood. Both the ark and the table of the bread of presence were identified as being constructed of acacia wood that was overlayed with gold. As we went through the discussion of these we briefly mentioned how the two materials come together to form one object remind us of the union of the two natures of Christ. While it is absolutely representational of that truth in both of the aforementioned objects, here it’s meaning grows drastically in significance.

Before we proceed in looking at this truth, however, there are some truths of which we need to be reminded again.

First we need to be reminded that the Bible is not the word of man, it is the word of the living God. Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit the collective 66 books of the canon of Scripture were written so that we might have the Word of God. While I know it seems sometimes as though we are running the risk of being repetitive or being accused of beating a dead horse, it is necessary to continually remind us of this truth. It is coming more and more common place to run into so called professing Christians who deny this truth. We must recognize that regardless of the human given credit for the writing, the message is God’s. There are those who reject any portion of scripture that does not contain what they deem to be the “actual words of Christ”, typically seen as those words written in red in Bibles that contain that feature.

Second, it is necessary to remind ourselves that because the Bible is the Word of God it is authoritative in all areas of our lives. Christ’s call to surrender our lives to Him does not limit that to the “spiritual or religious” aspects of our lives, but to every aspect, all of who we are is to be surrendered and fall under His authority, the standard of which we are given in His word.

Thirdly, the truths within the Word of God can be difficult for us to understand and there are some truths that we simply cannot and will not comprehend in the limited capacity of our minds. We can study the teachings, be exposed to the reality, yet not able to fully comprehend it, which is why faith is such an amazing gift of grace. While there may be teachings that are difficult or impossible to comprehend, the truth of God’s Word is that it is sufficient in all areas to lead to a deeper knowledge of Him and any resistance to develop this knowledge is a submission to the flesh versus a submission to God.

The reason that it is necessary to review these foundational truths often is because it is at the foundational levels where things begin to get off course. For example, take the Tabernacle, God continues to give Moses explicit instructions, both verbally and visually (Exodus 26:30 ““Then you shall erect the tabernacle according to its plan which you have been shown in the mountain.” ) . What happens if, during the construction of the tabernacle, ten of the twenty boards on one side of the tabernacle are twenty-six and three-quarters wide instead of the twenty-seven inches as God has directed? One side of the tabernacle ends up being two and one-half inces shorter than the rest, which affects the way that the curtains drape over the frame, which affects the way that the tent curtain and coverings go on and the entire structure is no longer being built to the exact specifications of God.

The same is true when we study foundational truths such as what the mixture of materials that form the foundation and framework of the tabernacle foreshadow. The incorruptible wood representing the human nature of Christ while the gold represents the divine, when you bring them together they represent what is known as the hypostatic union. This is the joining of the two natures within the one person, each existing in its fullest form but remaining separate, distinct, and never mingled. You may recall from our study of the 1689 LBCF that it contains the following statement:

Confessing the Faith: The 1689 Baptist Confession for the 21st Century VIII. Christ the Mediator

8:2 The Son of God, the second person of the Holy Trinity, is truly and eternally God. He is the brightness of the Father’s glory, the same in substance and equal with Him. He made the world and sustains and governs everything He has made. When the fullness of time came, He took upon Himself human nature, with all the essential properties and common weaknesses of it but without sin.10 He was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary. The Holy Spirit came down upon her, and the power of the Most High overshadowed her. Thus, He was born of a woman from the tribe of Judah, a descendant of Abraham and David in fulfillment of the Scriptures. Two whole, perfect, and distinct natures were inseparably joined together in one person, without converting one into the other or mixing them together to produce a different or blended nature. This person is truly God and truly man, yet one Christ, the only mediator between God and humanity.

The beauty contained within this statement and the representation of this truth within the foundation and framework of the tabernacle speaks to just how central this is to the message of the gospel.

Truly Man

For the remainder of our time here this morning we are going to look at these two natures and why our understanding of this union within the person of Christ is essential. To begin we look at the word that is used to describe this truth, hypostatic union. Although this sounds like a big word, broken down it simply means the joining of the natures. As we look at history there have been, and continue to be, those who, while they accept the two natures of Christ, they deny that they were joined together in their completeness within the person of Christ. One of the most common teachings here is that Christ took off His divine nature, like one would a coat, and left it in heaven while He was here on earth and then once He returned in the ascension, He took the coat out of the closet and put it back on. However, this view, becomes problematic in our understanding of the work of Christ.

Briefly we need to look at the necessity of each nature, this helps to understand why it is necessary that Christ remained truly God and truly man at all times. Let’s begin with the human nature of Jesus.

AW Pink is helpful in opening up this conversation, he writes:

Gleanings in Exodus 1. Their Materials

The Virgin-birth and the immaculate nature of the Savior lie at the very foundation of the Gospel message: without them there would be and could be no announcement of good news for poor sinners.

The writer of Hebrews emphasizes the importance of Christ being truly man. In Hebrews 2:14 “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,” and in Hebrews 2:17 “Therefore, He had to be made like His brothers in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.”

He literally, as John tells us in John 1:14 “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Paul says of Christ in 1 Timothy 2:5 “For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,” . It wasn’t however, enough that He became flesh, that He became truly human, but that in His humanity He retained His perfection.

Scripture describes Him as 1 Peter 2:22

1 Peter 2:22 LSB

who did no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth;

and 2 Corinthians 5:21

2 Corinthians 5:21 LSB

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

and finally in 1 John 3:5

1 John 3:5 LSB

And you know that He was manifested in order to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin.

It wasn’t just that He knew no sin, or committed no sin, but that He was entirely incapable of sinning, He had no sin nature as He was not born of the seed of Adam, even His death was of His own accord (John 10:18 ““No one takes it away from Me, but from Myself, I lay it down. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”” )

One writer summed the denial of Christ’s perfection in this way:

Either Christ can be declared unequivocally unable to sin because of his divine nature, or, he risks falling into temptation with the cunning manipulation of the devil. Thus, a tempted Christ able to succumb to trickery and commit transgression against God cannot be God. This removes the ability for believers to hold certain faith in his divine perfection as the unblemished lamb (John 1:36 “and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”” , cf. Exodus 12:5 “‘Your lamb shall be a male, without blemish, a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats.” ) offered for sacrifice to redeem the sins of believers. If Christ’s humanity cannot resist temptation in disobedience to God, or if Christ’s divinity could actually sin, then His death upon the cross would be ineffectual because of his impure state.

Truly God

Just as Christ was truly man (or very man of very man), He was also truly God (or very God of very God). Scripture testifies to this truth, Luke 2:11 “For today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” and John 1:1-14

John 1:1–14 LSB

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it. There was a man having been sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but he came to bear witness about the Light. There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens everyone. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to what was His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

There are many other places where scripture defines the deity of Christ, but as our time runs down I want to take a moment to think about the pitfalls of denying this truth:

If we deny the truth of Christ being truly God and truly man we:

Take away the certainty of the revelation of God to mankind, if He is not as Hebrews 1:3 states “who is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power; who, having accomplished cleansing for sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,” or as Colossians 2:9 “For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells bodily,” then there is no guarantee that what He revealed, what He teaches has any authority or is fully truth

Alters the inerrant Word

His sacrifice for our sin would be inferior

He is no longer the High Priest

He is no longer the first to rise

The Spirit no longer indwells the believer

The trinity is false

Satan is unstoppable

Christ would not have been exalted

There would be no reconcilliation between God and Man

George Soltau rightly states:

Gleanings in Exodus 4. Their Meaning

“The boards and bars have the same relation to the Tabernacle itself, as the truth contained in the first two chapters of the Epistle to the Hebrews has to the rest of the Epistle. In the first two chapters, the great foundations of faith are laid. The Lord Jesus Christ is presented to us as the Son; the brightness of God’s glory, and the express image of His person; God, the Creator—the Sustainer of all things. He is also presented to us as the Son of Man, partaker of flesh and blood in order to die; the Firstborn from the dead; all things put under Him; anointed above His fellows; not ashamed to call them brethren. On these great truths respecting Christ, depend all the other great verities connected with the value of His sacrifice; the glory and power of His priesthood; the eternal salvation, the eternal redemption, and the eternal inheritance which are obtained for us by His blood”

The Bases

Briefly, the bases that are mentioned fabricated of Silver are just as essential to the foundation as the boards and the bars. We will elaborate more on them when we reach Exodus 30 but Pink is again helpful here as he writes:

Gleanings in Exodus 3. Their Sockets

The ninety-six silver “sockets” formed the foundation, and upon them rested the whole fabric of the tabernacle. This tells us, in language too plain to be misunderstood, that redemption is the basis on which Christ has become the meeting-place between the ineffably holy God and His inherently sinful people. It was only through redemption that the perfect humanity and Divine glory of Christ could avail us.

Conclusion

Throughout our study of the Tabernacle, we have seen that God does not leave the structure of His dwelling place to chance. Every detail—the precise measurements, the materials, the overlays of gold, the silver bases—all point us to a foundational truth: God alone establishes the framework by which we may approach Him.

This truth extends beyond the physical tabernacle into the spiritual reality it foreshadowed. Just as the boards and bases upheld the sanctuary of God among the Israelites, so Christ—the true Tabernacle (John 1:14)—is the foundation upon which our faith must be built. His two natures, truly God and truly man, are inseparably joined, making Him the only mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5). Any deviation from this foundational truth undermines the entire structure of our faith.

Jesus illustrates this principle in Matthew 7:24-29. The wise man builds his house on the rock, anchoring his life on the words and work of Christ. The foolish man builds on sand—his own wisdom, works, or worldly security—only to see it crumble when the storms come.

So the question before us is not if the storms will come, but when. The trials of this life, the assaults of the enemy, and ultimately the judgment of God will test the foundation of every life.

What is your life built upon?

Have you placed your faith in the firm foundation of Christ, or are you clinging to the shifting sands of self-reliance and worldly confidence? Have you embraced the truth of Christ’s person and work, or are you building on a compromised foundation?

The silver bases of the Tabernacle, symbolic of redemption, remind us that our only hope rests in Christ’s atoning work. His sinless humanity and divine perfection provide the only secure ground for our salvation. The gospel is clear: A foundation built upon Christ will stand. A life without Him will fall.

The grace of God has provided everything necessary. The framework has been given, the foundation laid, the sacrifice made. The call is clear: Will you build your life upon the Rock?

Do not delay. The storms will come. Only that which is built upon Christ will endure.

Let us pray.

Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father,

We come before You, humbled by the truth of Your Word and the wisdom revealed in the foundation and framework of the Tabernacle. You are a God of perfect design, leaving nothing to chance, and in the fullness of time, You have given us the true and greater Tabernacle—Jesus Christ, the only mediator between God and man.

Lord, as we have studied Your Word, we see Your call to obedience, to build our lives upon the Rock that cannot be shaken. We confess that, in our own strength, we are incapable of keeping Your commands, but by Your Spirit, You have made us new, empowering us to walk in obedience. Keep us from the folly of trusting in our own works or resting on the shifting sands of worldly wisdom.

Father, we recognize that the storms of life will come—the trials, the temptations, the suffering, and ultimately, the judgment. We ask that You would anchor us firmly in Christ, that we would not be moved, that our faith would remain steadfast in the face of every trial. Strengthen our hearts with the truth of Your redemption, that we may walk in confidence, knowing that Christ’s finished work is our only hope.

We ask that You would search us, O God, and reveal the foundations of our hearts. If there is anything in us that is built on sand, tear it down and rebuild it upon the solid rock of Christ. Let us not be content with superficial faith but give us the grace to stand firmly upon Your Word.

Lord, let us be a people who hear Your words and do them. Let our obedience be a testimony to the world that we belong to You. May our lives reflect the glory of Christ, and may the framework of our faith be unshakable, that we may stand on the day of trial and rejoice in the day of His return.

We thank You, Father, for the foundation of our salvation, for the redemption purchased by the blood of Christ, for the hope that does not fail. May we leave here today, not just hearers of the Word, but doers, walking in the power of the Holy Spirit, standing firm in the faith, and glorifying You in all that we do.

To You alone be the glory, now and forever.

In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and our Rock, we pray.

Amen.