The Tabernacle was more of a building than a tent. It looked like a tent from the outside with the cloths of blue, purple, scarlet and linen, and with the goats’ hair, rams’ skins and badgers’ skins hanging down on either side and over the top of it. There was also the glint of glittering gold to be seen on the sides of it, which is hardly discernible under the hangings which drape the sides.

It was constructed of 48 wood boards of one and a half cubits wide, which were overlaid with pure gold, and rather looked like long bars of gold. Twenty boards on one side made it 30 cubits long, and six boards on the width made it 9 cubits wide, with two extra boards at the corners for reinforcement.

The figures must never be changed to feet, because this would spoil the symbolic meaning of the measurements.

The corner boards were coupled together with two golden rings, and all the boards were set in silver sockets, each with two tenons set in two mortises. This construction was three sided, having only one entrance at the east side which was made of curtains.

SYMBOLIC MEANINGS

No wood was visible in the Tabernacle. Wood is one of the types of flesh, and we can see that in God’s business, there is no place for flesh. All through the checkered history of the church, privileges and positions have been given to this one and that one, for reasons other than that the person is the chosen of the Lord. When we speak of flesh, we mean man’s reason and selfish motives. The gold is a type of the nature of Almighty God, and the only acceptable manifestation in the church is that of God in man.

The last act of the Outer Court before entering through the Door of the Tabernacle was symbolic of Death to Self. This must be so, because all the baser metals (brass) did the last of their work at the door of the Tabernacle, and could not have any place in the Holy Place.

THE WOMEN’S LOOKING GLASSES

Looking glasses speak of vanity, which was sacrificed to symbolize Death to Self. The woman dies in the Outer Court. Only Christ lives in the Holy Place.

It is interesting to note that the laver, which was the last piece of furniture the priest used in the Outer Court, was made of women’s’ looking glasses. It would appear that the women either used brass-handled looking glasses, or the brass was so highly polished and of such good quality, that this was ideal for the use of making this wash basin. The spiritual implication here is that even the things of the women, (which the women used), could not find their place into the Holy Place, but they were used to signify the message of death to self. Woman in the scripture carries much more significance than in our English language. In one sense, woman means complement to man. The assumption is that man is not complete in himself. He needs the woman to reproduce himself. Both physically and spiritually he needs the woman. On the other hand, there is a meaning to the word attached by scripture, which shows that woman means weakness. This meaning is derived from the fact of the woman having been tempted and deceived by the devil in the Garden of Eden. The truth of the matter is that God created one being in His image which was male and female, and separated him into male and female. Thus, the woman basically is more soulish (emotional, thinking, caring) than man. The word soul in scripture is a synonym of woman. Spiritually speaking, a woman is more susceptible to spirit work than a man. Some good sister will ask here if that is good or bad. It is both, but mostly good. No church can exist without women. God endows women with the ability to function spiritually as a delicate seismograph, and the record shows that the women were in the forefront in every missionary venture! Last at the cross and first at the tomb, even bringing the first resurrection message.

LET THE WOMEN BE SILENT?

The Holy Place is the type of being IN CHRIST. Therefore, Christ as the head of the church is the MASCULINE; natural sex does not count into the business of God. Therefore, in the Holy Place, God does not recognize physical man or physical woman. When man or woman has matured in the Spirit to a point of dying to self, and allowing the Christ to come forth in them, then they can be trusted in God’s business not to allow any form of flesh to rise up in the congregation of the saints. Nevertheless, there are those who have not matured, but the Spirit of God will manifest Himself through them. HOW DARE ANYONE rebuke the Spirit of the Lord when He works through a vessel!

WOMEN CAN BE WOMEN AT HOME WHEN THEY GIVE THEIR CHILDREN SUCK, and at the same time IN THE CHURCH SPEAK WITH THE WORD OF AUTHORITY WHEN IN THE SPIRIT.

There are some who contend that the Bible says in I Timothy 2:11, “Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection“; that it means that the woman must be silent in the church. But the same apostle of the Lord in Galatians 3:27-29 says,

“For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

IT CLEARLY SHOWS HERE that if the first statement was right, the second must be speaking to a different order of persons.

Some teachers teach that women who are spiritual are in the masculine because they are in Christ. They even say that a woman who is more spiritual than her husband is the head of the house. This is error. I have seen this kind of doctrine destroy scores of homes across the United States. The truth is, however, that in CHRIST there is no male nor female, which means that if the woman claims to be male because she is spiritual, then she is out of place in the Gospel of Jesus as much as the man who is asserting his manhood in God’s business. SEX is not considered in the Gospel. It surely has no place in spiritual things. Sex is absolutely a physical, earthly arrangement. It does not go beyond the resurrection.

The following quotes, however, need some clarification.

I Timothy 2:8-12, “I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.”

Here the apostle Paul addresses the men, which shows that he was putting matters in order which were needed. He was apparently addressing specific problems. We can see, therefore, that there was a problem in getting the men to raise their hands and praise the Lord.

Verses 9-10, “In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with braided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.”

This second problem concerned the women. Then, as now, the women were going after the styles of the world, which could be summed up in two words, worldliness and vanity. He was saying that the manifestations of worldliness and vanity are not godly qualities. Now the daughters of Zion dress more like harlots than like women professing godliness. Painting the face is almost exalted in the church as a godly virtue. Wearing pants, tights, slacks and shorts is part of the equipment of Christians as much as of sinners. The women and men of Paul’s time needed apostolic leadership then, as much as our women do now. Paul continues with the questions about women.

Verse 11, “Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection.”

“Esuchia,” translated as silence, could be better translated as quietness, without heckling from the floor and wild soulish outbursts. Here again, we see that there must have been problems along this line which needed to be corrected. Under Jewish law, women were muzzled. But in the church, no one wants to stop anyone from speaking in the Spirit, and no one should tolerate anyone speaking out of the Spirit.

Verse 12, “But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.”

Here again, we come upon the word “silence,” and this time it is in contrast to two words: “teach” and “usurp.” We have already established the meaning of the word “silence,” therefore let us look at the word “teach.” The King James translation of the verse is not as accurate as it could be, since there is no such word as usurp in the Greek rendition.

“But to be master (head of the congregation) I do not allow, nor to exercise the authority of a man.”

The Greek word used here for “teach” is “didaskein.” It means “to teach, or to be lord and master.” In this specific passage, it should be translated “master” and not “teach,” because the scripture says that the gifts of the Spirit are evenly distributed in the Body, and there are many women who have the gift of teaching. On the other hand, we have already quoted the word in Galatians 3:27-29, which clearly states that in Christ, there is neither “male nor female.” Therefore, if one scripture says the woman can teach, and another says she cannot teach, it means that someone translated the word wrongly in one of the passages. It is not difficult, therefore, to see which one of the passages has the wrong translation.

The conclusive evidence, however, is in John 13:13, where the word “didaskalos” is used and translated “Lord and Master,” in reference to Jesus.

“Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.”

Rightly dividing the word of God in this passage would allow us to see that the rightful place of man is to be head of the woman. When the woman is head, it destroys God’s divine order. Paul, then, was just affirming this position, and not putting down women.

There is a great confusion in the world today. Women no longer are striving for equality. They are striving for headship and rulership. This is a sign of the times which will bring a great evil upon the world.

In Christ there is equality. We will not all have the same job, but we will all have equal opportunity to become what God ordained us to be. Both men and women, bond and free, Jew and Gentile, are coming to that great meeting point called “In Christ.”

THE WOMAN’S PLACE

In view of the serious condition which persists in the church, and in the homes of our present modern age, it is very much necessary for every preacher to lay out in very certain terms the place of the women who name the name of the Christ.

JEZEBEL MULTIPLIED

Our modern women would make Jezebel blush, and from the account of scripture, it would be a hard thing to do. Impropriety on the part of our women is such a common place thing, that most of us do not know right from wrong. When things reach to this point, it becomes necessary to preach about it.

ERRONEOUS CHURCH BEHAVIOR

The church to a large extent, and some worldwide preachers, who call themselves Apostles, teach that the woman’s place is a subservient, back-seat, muzzled position. According to their teaching, if she does not have a husband, or if she has a husband who is not forward in the things of God, she should come under the protection of the “shepherd,” and he should play the role of “Lord and Master;” she having to get permission from him if she wants to visit the church down the street.

This is error, and has no foundation in scripture. In the first place, as co-shepherds (pastor is an unbiblical terminology), working with the Great Shepherd Jesus Christ, our duty is not to make disciples unto ourselves, but to encourage the sheep to follow Christ, and not have them tagging along behind us.

In the second place, a congregation should not only have sheep, but if the Word is being taught, then there should be every degree of maturity, and even sons will grow out of that first sheep. For this reason, a man who sets himself up as a shepherd, and only caters to sheep, would either have to so preach as to keep everybody always at the sheep stage, or would be out of place with his own sheep when they grow up.

God’s answer to this is a plurality of Elders, among whom God will endow the varying degrees of Ministry – no one-man-show.

WOMAN THE PATTERN OF THE CHURCH

Hebrews 9:23, “It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.”

The apostle Paul was speaking of the earthly Tabernacle being purified by the blood of bulls, etc., and the heavenly Tabernacle being purified with the blood of Jesus Christ.

The first thought expressed in the verse shows us that the things in the heavens do have their patterns down here.

WIVES SUBJECT TO HUSBANDS

The analogy is even more direct in Ephesians 5:23-24.

“For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the savior of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.”

The main error of understanding this verse comes from reading the word “subject” to mean being subservient, or less than or inferior. This word does not mean or even imply that the wife would be an inferior person to the husband. As a matter of fact, it suggests an AGREED POSITION, rather than a forced one. The manager of a business or program has the authority over his workers as far as his business or program is concerned, but his position should never suggest either inferiority of his workers or superiority of his own person.

We are one with Christ, brothers, but nevertheless, Christ’s position as the Only Begotten Son of God and our Savior (Savior of the Body) puts Him in a position of authority far above us and every principality and power.

CHRIST FIRST

The Offering of the Firstfruits under the Mosaic Law is a type of the Christian putting Jesus Christ as the first in his/her life.

If, then, the head of the woman is Christ, then all other heads, whether it be in business or in marriage, are subject to that one head. He is not only King of kings, but Head of heads.

UNPLEASANT SUBMISSIONS

Often in the woman’s experience, she has to submit to unpleasant situations, and it is sometimes difficult for her to draw the line when, where, and what to submit to.

Every individual should know Jesus Christ as the focal point or reason of any submission. Thus, if submission is for Christ’s sake, it is sanctified and holy.

UNHOLY SUBMISSION

When one allows oneself to be used by a devil for his own purpose, and contrary to the Spirit of God within one’s own being, then the submission is unholy and not ordained of God. In order that the reader might understand the degree of which I speak, let me tell you a story.

There was a sister, whose husband wanted her to go to the bar with him and his friends, who spent their time drinking and dancing. She was advised by certain “shepherds” that she should obey her husband and go. I advised that she should tell him in love that her Lord will not allow her to do so. She obeyed the “shepherds” and went with him, and she thought she would preach to them as they drank. She tried to speak about the Lord to them, but soon everybody kept far away from her, and she became the laughing-stock of the party. Husband and wife were living in a strained atmosphere, and so the wife came back to me for advice.

I told her to pray until she lost all feeling of animosity for her husband, then to approach him in love and to show him her love, then to explain to him the reason she will never go back with him to any more parties. He submitted to the Spirit in which she approached him, and told her he was sorry for the embarrassment he caused her, and promised never to ask her to go again. This was not the end of the story. Some months after, he accepted Jesus as his personal Savior, and the other stage of the battle began – where the woman was more advanced in the things of the Lord than the man, and had to coax him along the path of righteousness, while at the same time being in submission to him.

God cannot agree with submission unto sin.

“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God.” I John 4:7.