Now, I'd like for you to take
your Bibles, and I want to read two verses of Scripture to you
from the book of Exodus. Exodus chapter 27 is the first
verse. Exodus chapter 27 and verse 19.
Actually, verses 18 and 19. Now we've got one here tonight
who's not been in on these studies, and I'm not sure how much you
know about this tabernacle. But this tabernacle, which was
designed of God, had a courtyard. And it was to be 150 cubits long,
which is from the tip of your finger to your elbow is a cubit. So that's about 150 feet. And
then it was 50 cubits wide, this courtyard was, which is about
75 feet. And all the way around this courtyard
was a white linen fence. And it had a pole every so often. And then a linen fence, 7 feet
tall, stretched from pole to pole all the way around this
courtyard. Then it had a 30-foot gate. They had a hanging there that
hung down for a closure over that opening. And this is where
the children of Israel came with their sacrifices as they were
commanded and handed them through that closure to the priests. And the priests would take them
then to the altar burn offering and so on and go inside. And then in the middle of this
courtyard was a tent which is called the tabernacle proper.
And that's what this is talking about. So here in verse 18, Exodus
chapter 27. The length of the cork shall
be a hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty everywhere. That is front and back. And the
height five cubits of fine twined linen. And then their sockets,
that is the sockets under these poles, of brass, and all the
vessels of the tabernacle, and all the service thereof, and
all the pins thereof. Now these pins, this is not talking
about a pin like a sewing pin, this is talking about a stake,
a pretty good size stake that was driven down into the ground
out of solid brass. And the pins thereof and all
the pens of the court shall be of brass." And then turn over
just a few chapters to Exodus 35. We're not given a lot of
information about these pens and these cords. Exodus 35, verse
18. The pens of the tabernacle, and
the pens of the court, and their cords. I've read half a Bible
to you tonight, and I don't have time to go through Exodus and
show you how I arrived at some of the things that I'm going
to tell you. But my subject tonight is about how and where God secures
His house and His glory. I have, I hope, four very easy
to be understood points And I hope when I'm finished, we'll set
this beautiful picture of Christ before your eyes. First of all,
let's begin, as we have with so many of the things that we've
studied, and where the Holy Spirit begins, and that's with the materials. He makes an issue out of these
pins being made of brass. There's actually only one material
mentioned in the scriptures when we talk about the cords
that were used and the pins. The only material mentioned in
the scripture is that the pins shall be made of brass. But those
cords were made of linen. Now, to do that, You'll go back
to the beginning of Exodus chapter 35 and read through there. He'll
list all the materials that were given to build the ark. And he
didn't use goat's hair to make these cords that's going to secure. It secured. Each post had two
cords and two pins all the way around that compound. All the posts on the doors that
entered into the tabernacle had cords and pins. And then there
was cords that went up over top of the layer of the main tent
and secured ever so often. And each one of those had a pin
on each side and a cord attached to it going over the top. And then these pins were to be
made out of brass. And brass speaks of strength,
but it also speaks On all, everything, it speaks of satisfied judgment. Now, how do I get that? Because
the very first thing, you remember I studied on the brazen altar,
the very first thing that you came to when you walked into
this compound was this brazen altar where the substitute was
to be roasted with fire. He's to be slain, his blood is
to be shed, and he's to be put on the fire of God. And then
from there, you went to a labor, and then from there, inside the
tent. So brass speaks of judgment,
and it speaks of strength. And so when we talk about these
pins being made of brass and these sockets being made of brass,
which was the foundation under all these folds that went around,
brazen sockets, We're talking about a strength derived from
satisfied justice. The strength, the very strength
of that tabernacle, the very strength of our hope today in
Jesus Christ is the fact that when He came and offered Himself
up to God, He satisfied what God's justice demanded from the
sinner. He satisfied it. He satisfied
the wrath of God that was due unto our sins. He drank that
thing dry. He drank the bitter dregs of
God's wrath. He exalted God's holy law and
made it honorable. And so when we're talking about
this brass over here, it's a totally different picture. This brass
is not hot to handle. But it is cool to the touch.
The labor where they washed was made from brass. And it wasn't
hot and boiling from the heat of God's wrath, but it was cool.
Why cool? It still speaks of judgment,
but it speaks of judgment satisfied. You see that? Judgment satisfied. Brass was used in the labor to
cleanse. and to serve as a foundation
for the tabernacle and to secure that which God designed for the
faith of His elect. These brazen things speak of
the accomplished redemption and satisfied justice of God. And
the cords must have been made from fine twine linen. And this
linen speaks of His holiness and of His righteousness. But
it doesn't speak of those things in an abstract way. Rather, as
they are, the linen was used for the dress of the great high
priest. So when we look at these linen
cords, we're looking at things that secure the glory of God
and secure the church of God by the active work of the priest. Can you follow me with that?
This is the high priest. When Christ came, He came as
our priest. And He offered those things which
God demanded from Him. The dress of that priest was
linen. Head to toe, linen. Linen girdle,
linen apron, all these things made from fine twine linen. They
were the dress of the high priest of Israel. as he was ordained
of God for men and things pertaining to God. Now you can read about
that over in Hebrews chapter 5 and verse 1. These linen cords
and brass pins speak then of the person and work of Jesus
Christ. That's the first thing I want
you to see. These things, what would be the purpose? If we had
them here today, if I went out and had some brazen pins made
and had some fine twine, linen all wove together to make some
cord, put them up over the top of the chair, it wouldn't accomplish
anything, would it? It wouldn't mean anything. There's
no holiness in there. There's no offering for sin in
those things. There's nothing in there. There
wasn't anything in it back in this day either. But they served
as a picture. as a picture of Christ. Everything
in this tabernacle, the tent, the coverings, the veil, we've
looked at so much, the table, and the candlestick, and the
golden altar of worship, and the ark of the covenant, and
the mercy seat, and all of those things. Each one of those things
speaks of Christ. They speak of Christ. These linen
cords and brass pins speak of the person and work of Jesus
Christ. And then secondly, I want you
to see their design. The pins of brass and the linen
cords were designed specifically to secure both the perimeter
of the courtyard and the tabernacle itself. Now the perimeter of
the courtyard takes in all that God has sanctified concerning
approaching Him, communion with Him, acceptance with Him, and
service of and worship of the living God. Everything within
that perimeter was sanctified of God. Not just anybody could
walk through the gate. Only those that God had set apart. Only that tribe of Levi that
was set apart. That's the Levitical priesthood.
And everything inside that perimeter. So let's just think about that
perimeter. What's in that perimeter? Everything
God has for sinners within that perimeter, sanctified of God. And it's held secure by brazen
pins, and fine twine linen coats. It takes in all that God had
sanctified concerning approaching Him. And everything within this
perimeter was sanctified, set apart, and considered holy to
the Lord. Is not our sanctification 100%
of the Lord? How did those priests get to
be priests? God ordained them. God ordained them. Moses didn't
tell God, now, look, we could get the Levites to do it. No.
God told Moses to set apart the Levites. Set apart Aaron's family
and all his children, and they're going to be priests under God.
Aaron was a high priest, and all the rest of his family all
the way down, they served in that Levitical priesthood. Not our sanctification completely
and wholly secured by the Lord Himself. Nobody is coming past
this perimeter who is not chosen of God. Nobody. Nobody. Upon penalty of death,
nobody is going to come within this perimeter except those chosen
of God. Now, I want you to listen to
something. I want you to listen to how Jude opened his letter
This is the last book of the Bible before you get to the book
of Revelations, the book of Jude. And he says here that he is writing
this to these believers and he tells them this, you are sanctified
by God the Father. You have been set apart just
as he set apart that Levitical priesthood and everything inside
that compound. You are sanctified by God the
Father. And you're preserved, he said,
in Jesus Christ. And you're called by the Holy
Spirit of God. You see what I'm talking about?
That compound is important because inside this compound is everything
sanctified of God. And by choosing them in Christ
before the foundation of the world, that's how God the Father
sanctified His church. He chose them in Christ. He provided
for them a Savior and a substitute and a representative. He chose
one to be the mediator of His everlasting covenant of grace. And He chose them in Christ,
it says in Ephesians chapter 1, I think it's verse 3, before
the foundation of the world. Listen to this over in 1 Corinthians
1, verse 30. He said, but of Him, talking
about God the Father, of Him are you in Christ Jesus. That's
how you got in Christ. That's how you got in Christ.
God put you in Him. He chose you in Him. Of Him are
you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom Righteousness,
now listen, sanctification and redemption. God's blessings are sealed within
the courtyard of His divine purpose and made accessible to the world
through His church. There was nobody outside this
gate in all of history who could access God apart from coming
to that courtyard. It's the only way. And the only
way any sinner in this world can access God is through his
church. The church is the pillar and
ground of the truth. The only people on the top side
of God's earth who know anything at all about approaching God
is God's church. Those who have been made wise
unto salvation. The rest of them are deceived.
Now I'm telling you the truth. They run around and they talk
about salvation and they talk about eternal life and they use
the words saved and Jesus and Holy Ghost and all these things.
But when you sit down and take this book and open it up and
show them in plain language what this salvation is all about,
they don't know what to say. Am I telling the truth? They
don't know what to say. They've got no answers. Election,
which I didn't know anybody was running for office. I never heard,
I went to church all my life, never heard the word election.
It's in the Bible time after time after time. And where the
word election or elected or that is not there, then it talks about
choosing. It talks about being chosen of
God. It goes all the way through the
scripture. Yet I never heard of it growing
up. And election is a vital part of this salvation. battle part
of it. That's how you got in Christ.
Well, if you're not in Christ, then Christ didn't die for your
sins. If you're not in Christ, then
God didn't quicken you to gather with Him in love and raise you
up with Him and seat you in heavenly places in Him. How do you get in Christ? You
don't. God put you in Christ. He put you in Christ. God's blessings
are sealed within the courtyard of His divine purpose and made
accessible to the world through His church. These courts of God,
you can read about it in Psalm 87.6. His church is the pillar
and ground of the truth. And all communication to Israel
came within this compound. This courtyard is secured by
pins and cords. Everything God the Father has
designed to do For chosen sinners, He's secured in Christ. All things
secured in Him. And the tabernacle itself is
secured by the same pins and the same cords. If Jesus Christ
had not done exactly what God commanded for Him to do, He would
never have been raised from the dead. And then here's the third
thing. What do these cords and pins
typify? Well, they typify the person
and work of Christ, securing all the blessings which the Father
has blessed us with from the beginning. When Paul spoke to
the Corinthian church about man's blindness, that which he could
not see within the spiritual realm of faith, he said, I hath
not seen, nor ear heard, Neither have entered into the heart of
man the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him."
No man. It's never entered into his mind,
never entered into his thought. I can testify to that. I've never
one time ever had any kind of a thought about a substitute
or God having sanctified me from the foundation of the world or
chosen me or redeemed me through Christ. Not one time. Never had
a thought about God's sovereignty securing my salvation. Never
had a thought about a reigning king sitting on the throne having
accomplished redemption and securing that redemption from His throne
in glory. Not one time ever had a thought.
That's what He's telling you here. Eye hath not seen or ear
heard, neither have entered into the heart of man. That is mankind. the things which God has prepared
for them that love Him. But He hath revealed them unto
us by His Spirit. By His Spirit. Everything God has purposed to
give to chosen sinners, He secured in the person of Christ and accomplished
by His hand. And then secondly, I see pictured
in these brazen pins and linen cords the resurrection of both
Christ and His church. Turn with me to Isaiah chapter
22. Everywhere where these pins were
driven, there were two pins. Two pins. If you can just imagine,
just for a minute, out here a fence going around, a wood fence going
around a field. These posts were out in the desert
and in this sand, and they were to be set down in these brazen
sockets. That was the foundation. This
thing went down. But they were secured in place
by driving a pin on this side of the fence and a pin on this
side of the fence, and these brazen cords went up and either
wrapped around or hooked onto something onto that post and
came down and secured it from both sides all the way around.
And you remember now, they're in one of the biggest, most harshest
deserts in the world. They're out there in the wilderness
of Sinai. And they get storms and winds
out there that are just unbelievable. And during all that time, that
thing was never shaken. That fence was never blown down.
The tabernacle didn't come unraveled. That thing stayed in place because
of these cords and pins. two stakes buried deep in the
earth, and two stakes raising up to hold fast the cords which
secured all things which God purposed to do." Now look here
in Isaiah 22, verse 20. And it shall come to pass in
that day that I will call My servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah,
and I will clothe him with Thy robe. Now this is a prophecy
concerning Christ. And I'll strengthen him with
thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand,
and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and
to the house of Judah. And the key of the house of David
will I lay upon his shoulder, so he shall open and none shall
shut, and he shall shut and none shall open." Now, if you want
to know how I arrived at the idea that that might be Christ,
you can read Revelation chapter 3. It uses the quotation from
here to describe him. And listen to this, 23, I'll
fashion him as a nail in a sure place. And he shall be for a
glorious throne to his father's house. And they shall hang upon
him all the glory of his father's house. offering in the issue
in all vessels of small quantity from the vessels of guts even
to all vessels of flakens. And in that day, saith the Lord
of hosts, shall the nail that is fastened in the sure place
be removed and be cut down and fall, and the burden that was
upon it shall be cut off, for the Lord has spoken." Now, in
Isaiah's prophecy, this cutting off and the fall of him who was
fastened in a sure place by God Himself is never said to cause
the loss of everything that was hung upon him, everything that
was secured to him. But his cutting off was to ensure
the security of these things. He was taken from prison and
from judgment. And who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off out of the
land of the living. For the transgression of my people
was he cut off, was he stricken." That's Isaiah 53, verse 8. And
then over in Romans 4, verse 25, it said, He was delivered
for our offenses. and raised again for our justification. Can you see that? His cutting
off was, he's not, the prophet's not talking about him losing
those things, but he's talking about how those things are secured. They're secured because he came
and accomplished the work. They're secured because he was
cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression
of his people. And then he tells us, therefore,
being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our
Lord Jesus Christ. Now, this is security. He who
was cut off was raised again to secure everything which God
purposed to secure in Him. When our Lord Jesus Christ came
to this earth, the Jews questioned who He was. what He was talking
about and what He was manifesting right before their eyes. God
Himself confirming who He was by miracles and wonders and signs,
which He did right in their midst. And in John 6, verse 39, He said,
This is the will of Him that sent Me, that of all which He
hath given Me I should lose nothing. You see the security in His person
and work. He said, I'm not going to lose
anything, but raise it up again at the last day. Let the storms come, let the
winds blow, let the dust cut like it will. Everything in God's
perimeter is held secure by Him who cannot be shaken. Isaiah
said, look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities. Thine eye
shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation. Jerusalem represents the church. That's the holy city. That's
the church. And he said, Jerusalem is going
to be a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down.
Not one of its stakes thereof shall ever be removed, neither
shall any of the cords thereof be broken." In Adam, the first
tabernacle, all was lost. His image was marred, his glory
was gone, and everything attached to him fell with him. But in
Christ, all things lost in Adam are held secure in him. In Christ
we have a hope which is an anchor of the soul, Paul said, both
sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the
veil. And then what about these cords? What do they represent?
They represent the very name of God. That name manifested
in the priesthood of Christ, which He attached to His Son,
the Lord Jesus Christ. None other name, Paul, said,
under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. That
name is the very manifestation of the character of God. Chords
of love. You read the book of Hosea and
he talks about those chords of love. Chords of justice, binding
us. Chords of righteousness. Chords
of unchangeableness. Chords of sovereignty and wisdom. And then Paul sums it all up
like this in Romans 8. He said, if God be for us, who
can be against us? If God be for us in providing
that person of the Lord Jesus Christ, if God be for us in His
death on the cross, in that holy life He lived as our representative,
clothing us with His righteousness, if God be for us in His resurrection
and ascension into glory, if God be for us in our reigning
King in glory, Who is going to be against us? Can you see the
security in these cords and pins? You read through the Scriptures
and these things just seem totally insignificant until they are
applied to Him. Until you see them in their spiritual
light. And then you see that hope. That
hope of God's elect. That hope given us by the Holy
Spirit of God. If God be for us. If God justifies,
who shall condemn? If Christ died, who shall accuse? If Christ loved, who shall separate? If Christ reigns over Zion, who
would dare challenge His kingdom? Huh? That's security. Now, one last thing, and I'll
quit. Trusting in the pins and the
cords. There might have been some doubt
in that harsh wilderness in which these men sojourned when they
received that commandment of Moses to make these cords and
these brazen pins and put them in and see its design and whether
or not they were going to hold. Whether or not they were going
to hold. It's one thing to sit on a calm day and build something. It's another thing when the storm
comes. You stand out there take that
little brace, I built houses for years. And we'd frame up
a wall, we'd put some two by four down, boy you could, that
wall's solid, that'd be right there. And then later on that
night a big storm comes. And it vibrates the house you're
sitting in and you're sitting there wondering, boy I hope that
wall's standing when I go out. And go out next day and there
it is. And then the next time you frame a wall and put them
braces, you don't worry quite so much. And that's what I feel
like went on in that wilderness. They received that design, they
put those cords, they drove those pins, storm after storm after
storm. And each time a storm hit that
thing and shook that thing, that security meant a little bit more
to them, didn't it? They had a little bit more confidence
in it each time. And that's the way faith is.
We learn a little bit about Christ enough to trust Him, and we trust
Him, but we're still filled with doubt. And then the storms come. And He conquers the storm. And
next time, we have a little bit more confidence in Him. And then
finally, if you'll read there in Romans chapter 5, you'll find
out that you begin to rejoice even in the storms coming because
you know when the storm comes and it's over, you're going to
gain in that confidence in Him. God will secure all the glory
of His Father's house and all the glory of His sanctified means
and all the glory of His priesthood and all the glory of His name
in Christ. And in Christ we have obtained
an inheritance. That's what Paul wrote to these
Ephesians. I was told the first time I ever
heard this word, the preacher of that church, the pastor of
that church, he said, oh, he said, don't even open that can
of worms. He said, don't even use that
word. I said, why not? It's in the Word of God. You
mean there's words in here that we can't say and can't speak
and can't learn from? There's actually things in here
that I can't believe? If there is, we need to just
chunk it out in the yard and go get another book. Listen to this. Paul said, we
have obtained an inheritance being predestinated. Isn't that
the word he used? Being predestinated by Him who
worketh all things after the counsel of His own will. That
we should be to the praise of His glory who first trusted in
Christ. Who took all those things, trusted
in Him. All the glory of the Father's
house, He trusted to those pins and cords. That's Christ. That's
Christ. Securing that house, securing
His glory. Assurance is not confidence in
your confidence. It's not faith in your faith.
It's a solid, grounded hope in the Lord Jesus Christ that He
is sufficient to save to the uttermost those who come unto
God by Him. Picture in your mind that bunch
of freed slaves now totally dependent upon the God who delivered them.
And think of their weakness and ignorance and inability. Now listen to what Paul says
to the church. He said, when I'm weak, then
am I strong. God didn't lead them out in that
wilderness to toughen them up. He didn't lead them out in that
wilderness hoping that they'd get stronger.
He led them out in that wilderness to show them their weakness and
to show them His strength. And that's what He did. And that's
what these pins and these cords are all about. When I'm weak,
Paul said, Then am I made strong, because in my weakness, in my
weakness, we lay hold of His strength. May God teach you this
lesson and teach me. Our Father, we thank You tonight
for Your Word. We look into these things It
may seem strange to us. I remember how strange they seemed
to me the first time I heard them. But you were pleased to create
in me an appetite and a hunger to hear more and to know something
about this book and what it teaches. Be pleased to do that tonight
for Christ's sake. Amen.