(Exodus 27:9-19) And thou shalt make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward there shall be hangings for the court of fine twined linen of an hundred cubits long for one side: 10 And the twenty pillars thereof and their twenty sockets shall be of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver. 11 And likewise for the north side in length there shall be hangings of an hundred cubits long, and his twenty pillars and their twenty sockets of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver. 12 And for the breadth of the court on the west side shall be hangings of fifty cubits: their pillars ten, and their sockets ten. 13 And the breadth of the court on the east side eastward shall be fifty cubits. 14 The hangings of one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits: their pillars three, and their sockets three. 15 And on the other side shall be hangings fifteen cubits: their pillars three, and their sockets three. 16 And for the gate of the court shall be an hanging of twenty cubits, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework: and their pillars shall be four, and their sockets four. 17 All the pillars round about the court shall be filleted with silver; their hooks shall be of silver, and their sockets of brass. 18 The length of the court shall be an hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty every where, and the height five cubits of fine twined linen, and their sockets of brass. 19 All the vessels of the tabernacle in all the service thereof, and all the pins thereof, and all the pins of the court, shall be of brass.
One question that has plagued me through this tabernacle study is this: What exactly was the court for? I know the altar and the laver were there, but there was alot of space around them. If you’ve seen pictures of the tabernacle, there’s much room inside the tabernacle between the walls and the holy place; between the laver and the altar. Or was there?
Speaking of the westward side, which I’ve always considered to be the back, the bible says (Exodus 26:25) And they shall be eight boards… The boards were a cubit and a half so that is approximately 18 feet. The court of the tabernacle was fifty cubits: (Exodus 27:13) And the breadth of the court on the east side eastward shall be fifty cubits. That is about 75 feet. So you see, if you do the math, you’ll find that leaves 28 1/2 feet on each side of the holy place. So the question to me is: what did they do in those large areas of space.
My inclination is that the priests hung out there and did the auxiliary work to support all the sacrificing that was going on. I don’t think that people brought their sacrifice and then hung out in the court. There wasn’t room for that. I think they brought their sacrifice to the gate, it was handed over to the priest, they tied it to the horns of the altar right there, and it was most likely immediately slain as prescribed. If the Israelite whom was offering would stick around to watch, it would not be for long. I think that it was very busy in that court. Some offerings were commanded to be slain there at the door by the base of the altar. Some were not. So it is possible that some animals were brought into the court. I find it more likely that the court was for the animals, not the people. If they weren’t slain immediately at the door, they might have been brought into the court for preparation or whatever and would soon have their turn. So priests were cowboys and the court was truly a corral.
The court was big; but not that big considering all the animals and Levite workers required to carry out the work. I know when we see the word court, we picture green grass, a pretty fountain, and plenty of space to walk around and frolic in the open air. No. There was much work to be done and many people needed for it to get done. Pictures always depict maybe four or five priest working at that altar. I think not. There may have been several hundred workers to accomplish the work. There may even have been shifts. I don’t know. But I try to stay within the reality of the matter. It was very busy and any space in the court no doubt was used up fast.
Don’t forget the choir! (2 Chronicles 5:12) Also the Levites which were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets:) Now this was in the temple and the temple was much bigger (I think). Maybe we will get a better picture of this when we get into the actual work that took place; the sacrifices and offerings.
My thoughts turn to the person who has brought a sacrifice. I just don’t see how they could go into the court. I just don’t see that there was space, time, or even a need for them to go in. The priests were sanctified and purified for the work of the tabernacle. It makes me wonder if the other Israelites were ever allowed into the court during the sacrifices. I don’t find any particular command to keep them out. But there are examples in the bible of non-Levites being in the outer court. Both Adonijah and Joab caught hold on the horns of the altar (1 Kings 1:50; 1 Kings 2:28). Strangers were definitely not allowed in. The Lord said unto Aaron and the Levites: (Numbers 18:7) Therefore thou and thy sons with thee shall keep your priest’s office for every thing of the altar, and within the vail; and ye shall serve: I have given your priest’s office unto you as a service of gift: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.
Now where did Hannah pray and vow her vow? The bible says (1 Samuel 1:9-11) So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh… Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the LORD. 10 And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore. 11 And she vowed a vow… Now she was in Shiloh and this was before the days of Solomon when the first temple was built. So I’m not sure as to why the word temple was used, but no doubt this post of the temple must have been one of the pillars of the tabernacle holding up the fine linen curtain around the outer court. Now was she inside or outside the court? One may reason that they were inside because Eli was there and he needed to oversee the work. However his sons, Hophni and Phinehas, got away with much wickedness; there may have not been proper supervision. So maybe he was outside? Also, consider that much of law required inspection of animals and people. Unclean was certainly not allowed in the court. So it does make sense that Eli would be outside the court for judgment purposes.
Today, Jews from all over the world travel to the holy sight of the temple and pray and pour out their hearts and weep outside what is known as the Wailing Wall. This wall is actually a retaining wall that Herod built while expanding the size of the temple. And this wall was known as the western wall. The holy and most holy place were setup against the western side of the temple. So this makes this place the closest that Jews could get to the most holy place in this day. So when I think of Hannah weeping before God, it reminds me of how the Jewish people pray and weep outside the Wailing Wall no doubt yearning in their hearts that one day God will give them what they don’t have.
So like I said, the person that brought sacrifice could not go into the court. There was no space, time, or need for them to go in. They left it at the gate with the priests. This speaks to us of faith in the intercessor. They’d walk away and perhaps if they looked back, they’d see their sacrifice collapse, they’d see the flames go up and the smoke. They’d hear all the commotion behind the flapping curtains. They would breathe a sigh of relief. They would have peace. For upon that animal was their sin. And they knew that in those walls the work was done. They could walk away with a clear and clean conscience.
If they could do that then, how much more can we not do that now? (Hebrews 9:14) How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? Those Israelites had to come back the next year with a sacrifice and do it again. We don’t have to do that again. (Romans 10:4) For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. And what he did, he did once, never to do it again. (Hebrews 10:12,14) But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; 14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
The priestly service that Christ administered on my behalf went way past what Aaron and the Levites were able to accomplish. (Hebrews 9:24) For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us. Notice, it says holy places. From the gate, through the court, through the holy place, into the holiest of all, our high priest has completed all the work. So when I imagine, looking from a distance on the outside, the flapping curtains in the wind hanging on those pillars, and the blood flowing on the ground, and the smoke ascending to heaven, and all the commotion inside those walls, I see the commotion of Calvary.
When I see the fine linen curtain that contained all the work of God, I consider that I didn’t have to go in there and do the work. Someone did it for me. I wasn’t qualified, purified, or sanctified for what needed to be done behind those walls. All I had to do was bring the offering that God had provided. (Isaiah 53:10) When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin… (2 Corinthians 5:21) For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. I have peace knowing that the work is done. (John 19:30) It is finished.