(Exodus 26:26-28) And thou shalt make bars of shittim wood; five for the boards of the one side of the tabernacle, 27 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 two sides westward. 28 And the middle bar in the midst of the boards shall reach from end to end.
These curtains of fine linen, goat’s hair, ram’s skins, and badger’s skins were held up by a massive framework of what the bible calls boards. They stood upright; vertically. There were twenty boards on either side, and eight in the back. At the bottom of these boards were silver sockets, a sort of base or pedestal that held the board in place. They were rather tall and thin; ten cubits tall by one and a half wide, roughly fifteen feet tall by two feet wide. Now to keep all these boards together, God required the Israelites to make bars. These bars ran horizontally, across the outside of these board, tying each board together. The bars ran through golden rings that were affixed to the outside of the boards. (Exodus 26:29) Make their rings of gold for places for the bars.
The boards speak to us of the assembling of God’s people; the church. We introduced that previously in And thou shalt make boards…. And the silver sockets in which they stand speak to us regarding the foundation of the disciples and the prophets to which the church stands. We explored that in Sockets of silver… But now we come to these bars; these bars that bind the boards together. I’m reminded of two things:
Firstly, when Judah Ben Hur sat below the deck of that Roman galley, and the Roman’s enemy had been sighted, and they were on a course to meet them in battle, those painful words were uttered, “Chain the rowers!” There was an iron ring on the leg of every rower. And the gaurds proceeded to run chains through those rings and bind those rowers together and to the ship. They were Roman slaves to the galley. Seeing those bars slip through those rings on those boards reminds me of this. Paul asked this question: (Romans 6:16) Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? When we were the servants of sin, we were bound to it and together. We all worked and laboured and treasured up for ourselves wrath for the day of wrath.
But to God be the glory, things are different now that you’re saved. (Romans 6:17-18) But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. 18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. We’re still servants. But praise God, we’ve changed masters. And now instead of shackles and chains, it’s golden rings and cords of love that bind us together and to him.
Which brings me to my second thought. I installed some kitchen cabinets the other day and, of course, read the installation instructions after I had installed them, and saw that there was one step I failed to perform. The instructions explained that after the cabinets were up and fastened to the wall, that they were to be fastened together by running a #8 woods screw across the two side walls towards the front of the cabinet. My first thought was, “It’s strong enough. Those cabinets aren’t going anywhere.”
But then I started to consider the wisdom in fastening them together. If a child hangs on just one of those cabinets, and the back of the cabinet to which it is fastened to the wall gives way, that cabinet is coming down. And that is very much possible. The particle board in those cabinets is pretty weak nowdays. However, if the cabinets are tied together, that single cabinet will not come down. That child would have to bring the whole assembly of cabinets down. Each and every cabinet’s connection to the wall would have to fail for just one of those cabinets to come down. Or the entire wall would have to come down. The chances of that happening are pretty slim.
(Romans 15:1) We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak… Every member of the church is tied together. Christ has put a lasso of love around all his church and there are none that stand without. Now we’re not going down with the ship like Romans slaves, but we’re all going up with the ship as servants of the most High God. (Ephesians 4:16) From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. It’s love that binds us together. It’s through love that we edify one another, strengthen one another, hold each other up. For one to fall, all would have to fall. If we’re all bound together in Christ, for one to fall, Christ would need to fall! (Galatians 6:2) Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
Christ’s law? Jesus said (John 13:34) A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. It’s His church and His law; the law of love. (Colossians 2:19) And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God. We are knit together and to Christ by love. This is the mechanism and means in which Christ has ordained for us that we might increase, grow, and develop. (1 Corinthians 9:19) For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. This is not just for the benefit of others, but for your own benefit, for your own good and gain. Learn to love.
As Preacher Allen has said, charity represents the strongest Greek word in your King James Bible for love. Paul says (1 Corinthians 8:1) Charity edifieth. And without it, (1 Corinthians 13:2) I am nothing. And all our good works, all our dedication to God, all our spiritual efforts, Paul said that if I (1 Corinthians 13:3) have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. It’s for our profit and it’s for assurance. (1 John 3:14) We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. The assurance of the salvation of God is the golden bar of love that pierces the ring of our hearts and binds us one to another.
And one last thought. The bible says And the middle bar in the midst of the boards shall reach from end to end. The love of God reaches from one end of the church to the other end of the church, from the youngest to the oldest, the richest to the poorest, the novice to the wisest, the shyest to the loudest. We are bound together from end to end. God help us.