The Sanctuary and the Twenty-three Hundred Days of Daniel 8:14

10 WHAT IS THE SANCTUARY?

THIS is exclusively a Bible question. With the testimony of the Bible only, then, have we to do. The object of our inquiry can only be, What does the Bible reveal to us respecting the sanctuary? And we shall find its testimony neither brief nor obscure on this important subject. The word occurs in the inspired Scriptures one hundred and forty-six times; and more times than this does it offer us instruction by prediction, definition, or historic record, concerning this wonderful object. STTHD 111.1

Perhaps no language can better introduce this subject than that of the apostle Paul in his letter to the Hebrews. In chapter 8, he speaks of the two covenants, the first and the second, the old and the new, under the latter of which we now live. In chapter 9, he shows that both these covenants have a sanctuary, as follows:— STTHD 111.2

“Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary. For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the show-bread; which is called the sanctuary. And after the second vail, the tabernacle which is called the holiest of all; which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; and over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercy-seat,” etc. Verses 1-5,. STTHD 111.3

Let this language of the apostle be carefully considered. It both introduces and settles one great division of this question. It tells us definitely what, for a time, constituted the sanctuary of the Lord. During the period covered by the first covenant, while the tabernacle, ordained as thus plainly described, was in existence, there can be, in the face of these words of Paul, no controversy as to what constituted the sanctuary. Turning to the records of those times, we find a more definite mention of this singular structure, which, from its bearings and relations in the temple of divine truth, deserves to be examined with absorbing interest. STTHD 112.1

Go back to the time when Israel, crowned with deliverance, stood on the shore of the Red Sea, while the Egyptians were perishing at their feet in the returning and angry waters. Listen to that song of triumph which Moses sings, and mark this language, “The Lord is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation; he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation.” Exodus 15:2. In this we receive the first intimation of that building that was afterward to be erected by the direction of the Lord, that he might dwell among his people. In Exodus 15:17, the word sanctuary occurs for the first time in the Bible. STTHD 112.2

Pursuing the sacred record, we find in the twenty-fifth chapter of Exodus, and onward, more definite information respecting the sanctuary. Here we read the commission which God gave to Moses for the erection of this building. In the third month after their departure from Egypt, the children of Israel came to the wilderness of Sinai. Moses was then summoned up into the mount, to an audience with his Maker. Forty days and nights were consumed in that memorable interview. During this time Moses was shown the pattern of the sanctuary, and all the sacred vessels, and received full instructions in relation thereto. STTHD 113.1

A particular description of the tabernacle, as erected by Moses, is minutely set forth in Exodus, chapters 25-31. It was a structure of extraordinary magnificence, and was erected after the following plan: Its walls on the north, west, and south sides were formed of upright boards set in sockets of silver. These boards were of shittim wood, each board being ten cubits in length and one cubit and a half in breadth. As there were twenty of these boards on each side, the tabernacle was thirty cubits in length. The best critics assure us that the shorter cubit of eighteen inches was the one now in use by the Jews, as it was not till after their return from the captivity that they occasionally used the Babylonian cubit of twenty-one inches. This would give us forty-five feet in English measurement as the length of the structure. Josephus gives ten cubits, or fifteen feet, as its width. This is more difficult to determine from the Scripture record. Six boards are mentioned as provided for closing the west end. These we are to suppose were of the same dimensions as the others, which would give us nine cubits. Then two more boards are spoken of “for the corners of the tabernacle in the two sides.” Supposing these to have been each half a cubit in width, this would give the tenth cubit, and would preserve uniformity and consistency in the construction. STTHD 113.2

These boards were joined together in a manner to be easily taken apart. The two sockets which received the contiguous tenons of two boards as they stood up side by side may themselves have been joined together, which would have secured the lower ends of the boards firmly in place; while to strengthen the sides, five bars of shittim wood were provided to run through rings of gold secured to the boards. The middle bar was to reach from end to end. Both bars and boards were heavily overlaid with purest gold. So far, therefore, as this part of the structure is concerned, it presented the appearance of solid gold. STTHD 114.1

The space inclosed by these golden boards, forty-five feet in length, and fifteen in width, was divided into two apartments by a magnificent vail of blue and purple and scarlet and fine-twined linen, of cunning work, adorned with figures of cherubim, and suspended from four pillars of shittim wood overlaid with gold and set in sockets of silver. In what proportion the sanctuary was thus divided we are not informed; but it was undoubtedly the same as that afterward observed in the temple, 1 Kings 6, which two-thirds of the space was allotted to the first apartment, and the remaining one-third to the second. On this calculation, the first apartment, called the holy place, was thirty feet by fifteen, the length being just twice as much as the width, and fifteen feet high, the length of the boards being ten cubits; while the second apartment, called the most holy, was a perfect cube, being fifteen feet in all its dimensions. STTHD 115.1

The roof of the tabernacle was formed by four sets of curtains. The dimensions of two of these are very fully given in Exodus 26:1, and onward. The innermost curtains of fine-twined linen were ten in number, each four cubits wide and twenty-eight in length. These were of various colors, and ornamented with cherubim of cunning work. Five of these were sewed together so as to form larger curtains, each twenty cubits by twenty-eight; and these two when used were joined together by fifty gold buckles or clasps. This being the first curtain thrown over, would form a surpassingly beautiful ceiling for both apartments. STTHD 116.1

Above this were placed curtains of goats’ hair, each four cubits wide, and thirty cubits long, but eleven in number. These were also sewed together, six into one curtain, and five into the other, and when used were likewise joined together by fifty gold buckles. STTHD 116.2

Over these was placed a third covering of rams’ skins with the wool on, dyed red, and a fourth covering of badgers’ skins is also specified. The number of these coverings, and the material of which the two latter were composed, would suggest thorough protection against either the sun or rain. It is thought that the design could not be to provide against rain, as rain but rarely falls in the wilderness of Sinai, where the children of Israel now were. But we must remember that the sanctuary was to retain its present form after its entrance into the promised land, where provision would have to be made against heavy dews and abundant rains; and the tabernacle did remain as now constructed for over five hundred years, till the days of Solomon. STTHD 116.3

It has been a question how these coverings were applied to the tabernacle. If they were thrown straight over there would be a depression or sagging in the center, and water would certainly work through, and snow would form such a weight as to tear the curtains to pieces. Besides, applied in this way, the curtain of goats’ hair, being thirty cubits long, would hang over the walls of the tabernacle ten cubits, or in other words, reach the ground on both sides; whereas it seems to have been designed, according to Exodus 26:13, to hang down only one cubit on each side. STTHD 117.1

In view of these difficulties and objections, Smith, in his unabridged Bible Dictionary, art., Temple, argues that the sacred tent must have been raised in the center, or have had a ridge, as all tents have had from the days of Moses to the present time; and that only the inner curtain of fine linen wrought with cherubim was drawn straight across over the walls of the tabernacle, while the other coverings were raised in the form of a tent inclosing and protecting the inner structure. These views are illustrated with a diagram and perspective view, which make it appear extremely probable that the coverings were arranged in this manner. STTHD 117.2

Around the tabernacle was a larger space called the court, Exodus 27:9-18, consisting of a double square fifty cubits, or seventy-five feet, wide, by one hundred cubits, or one hundred and fifty feet, long. This was inclosed by hangings, or canvas screens of fine-twined linen, suspended from pillars of brass five cubits in height, provided with sockets of brass and hooks and fillets of silver. These posts or pillars were set five cubits apart, and the inclosure was continuous except on the eastern side where an entrance was provided twenty cubits in width, closed with curtains of fine-twined linen, wrought with needle-work, and of the most gorgeous colors. It will be noticed that all the important dimensions of the court and the tabernacle were five cubits or some multiple of five cubits. Everything was constructed with regard to beauty and of such material as would impress every beholder with a sense of the importance of these objects, and the purity and sacredness of the worship connected therewith. STTHD 118.1

Around the tabernacle and its court, the tribes of the children of Israel were to pitch their tents in four great bodies, Zabulon, Judah, and Issachar, under the standard of Judah on the east; Gad, Reuben, and Simeon, under the standard of Reuben on the south; Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh, under the standard of Ephraim on the west; and Naphtali, Dan, and Asher, under the standard of Dan on the north. Numbers 2. The grand encampment thus consisted of 186,400 men on the east, 151,450 on the south, 108,100 on the west, and 157,600 on the north. Besides these, the tribe of Levi was divided into three parts according to his three sons, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari, who were to locate in more immediate proximity to the tabernacle, the Kohathites, 2,750 strong, on the south side, the Gershonites, numbering 2,650, on the west, and the Merarites, 3,200, on the north. But on the east side of the tabernacle, Moses and Aaron and his sons were to encamp, and “keep the charge of the sanctuary.” Numbers 3:38. STTHD 119.1

Could we roll the wheels of time backward thirty-three hundred and twenty-eight years, and from some commanding height in Horeb look down upon the broad valley covered with Israel’s moving multitudes, and white with their canvas dwellings, the priests in goodly array busy with their service, the smoke of sacrifice and the odor of incense ascending, and over all the glory of God hovering in a pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night, we should doubtless say, as Balaam did when the Spirit of God came upon him, and he heard the words of God and saw the vision of the Almighty, “How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel!” Here was then the connecting link between earth and Heaven. Here was that people whom God had chosen to keep alive the knowledge of himself and of his truth in the world, moving on under his guidance to the promised land, prefiguring that vaster multitude which shall one day go up from all lands to the possession of the heavenly Canaan. Here was his organized worship with its solemn and impressive forms set before the world; and what of that worship, the tabernacle, this new-made sanctuary, was the life and the center. STTHD 120.1

Let us draw near and look at the furniture of this wonderful building. As we enter the court we find standing nearest the door the altar of burnt-offering. This was five cubits square and three cubits high. As its name implies, it was used for the many burnt-offerings to be presented by that people. It was overlaid with brass, and all its instruments were made of brass. STTHD 120.2

Between this altar and the tabernacle, which was placed in the western square of the court, stood the laver, in which the priests were to wash both their hands and their feet when they went into the tabernacle of the congregation, or when they approached the altar to offer a burnt-offering unto the Lord. This also was made of brass. STTHD 121.1

The entrance to the tabernacle was closed by a curtain or vail like the one which divided between the holy place and the most holy place. In material, workmanship, and uses, these two vails were exactly alike. The curtain at the door may be called the first vail, as the curtain leading into the most holy is called the second vail. Hebrews 9:3. These vails are described in Exodus 26:31-37, where in verse 36 the word rendered “hanging,” which was at the door, is in the Septuagint the same word which is rendered “vail” in verse 33, which divided between the holy and the most holy. STTHD 121.2

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