"the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest" (Heb. ix. 8.); but God could approach the altar of brass, to meet man as a sinner. "Justice and judgment" could not admit the sinner in, but "mercy and truth" could bring God out; not, indeed, in that overwhelming brightness and majesty in which He was wont to shine forth from between those mystic supporters of His throne--"the cherubim of glory," but in that gracious ministry which is symbolically presented to us in the furniture and ordinances of the tabernacle. All this may well remind us of the path trodden by that blessed One who is the antitype of all these types--the substance of all these shadows. He traveled from the eternal throne of God in heaven, down to the depth's of Calvary's cross. He came from all the glory of the former, down into all the shame of the latter, in order that He might conduct His redeemed, forgiven, and accepted people back with Himself, and present them faultless before that very throne which He had left on their account. The Lord Jesus fills up, in His own Person and work, every point between the throne of God and the dust of death, and every point between the dust of death and the throne of God. In Him, God has come down, in perfect grace, to the sinner; in Him, the sinner is brought up, in perfect righteousness, to God. All the way from the ark to the brazen altar was marked with the footprints of love, and all the way from the brazen altar to the ark of God was sprinkled with the blood of atonement; and as the ransomed worshiper passes along that wondrous path, he beholds the name of Jesus stamped on all that meets his view. May that name be dearer to our hearts! Let us now proceed to examine the chapters consecutively. It is most interesting to note here that the first thing which the Lord communicates to Moses is His gracious purpose to have a sanctuary, or holy dwelling-place, in the midst of His people--a sanctuary composed of materials which directly point to Christ, His Person, His work, and the precious fruit of that work, as seen in the light, the power, and the varied graces of the Holy Ghost. Moreover, these materials were the fragrant fruit of the grace of God--the voluntary offerings of devoted hearts. Jehovah, whose majesty "the heaven of heavens could not contain," was graciously pleased to dwell in a boarded and curtained tent erected for Him by those who cherished the fond desire to hail His presence amongst them. This tabernacle may be viewed in two ways: first, as furnishing "a pattern of things in the heavens," and secondly, as presenting a deeply significant type of the body of Christ. The various materials of which the tabernacle was composed will come before us as we pass along; we shall therefore consider the three comprehensive subjects put before us in this chapter, namely, the ark, the table, and the candlestick.