Today’s message proves out that old saying; “you can’t judge a book by its cover.” The “cover” we speak of here refers to The Wilderness Tabernacle’s coverings.
All of the beauty of the tabernacle seemed to be hiding inside the place. Judging from the outside you might never know what revelations the pathway you were traveling had to offer. I read a story in a craft blog that seemed to portray a similar experience. If you wish you can share it here: https://craftyourhappiness.com/2015/01/21/how-i-learned-to-never-judge-a-book-by-its-cover/#:~:text=That%20day%20I%20learned%20you%20most
So; for starters let’s just say remember to be sure not to walk past the best experience of your life because it looks ordinary and plain on the outside.
WELCOME
Thank you for reading from one section of our blog which we have called COME AS A CHILD. These topics of our blog stay full of bible study lessons and biblical thoughts. The following commentary is a previous bible study lesson from The Book of Exodus where we are discussing themes from the wilderness tabernacle.
Backup information can be found in Exodus, Chapter 26. Further discussion and expansion of these thoughts can also be found in the author’s book called EXODUS TO FREEDOM. You can order this book by Gail Landgraf from Amazon.com.
FROM THE INSIDE OUT
In our previous study of the Exodus, we noted the plan for three of the coverings for the wilderness tabernacle. God gave Moses the instructions, starting from the inside of the tabernacle and working from there toward the outside.
The most important things were on the inside.
Less important things were on the outside.
Yet it should be noted that everything was important when you looked at the tabernacle as a whole. Each piece supported the other pieces.
There is one more covering which we need to discuss. This covering would be the covering the world would see from the outside when they first glimpsed at the wilderness tabernacle. Particularly, the covering one would see as they passed by.
THE LAST COVERING MADE OF BADGER SKINS
The last covering, the one which topped all the other coverings of the tabernacle, was made of badger skins. No specific measurements for these skins are given in the scriptures.
“Badger skins” translates in Hebrew to “tachash.” This interpretation of the word may refer to a badger or a dugong or a sea cow. A dugong is a type of aquatic mammal which could be found swimming along the shores of the Red Sea during the days of the Exodus. Most of the modern-day sages believe this may be the creature the scriptures describe. This creature is almost extinct today. It would be very rare to spot one.
BEAUTIFUL INSIDE ORDINARY OUTSIDE
With this last covering of the wilderness tabernacle added to the others, we can see a progression from a very beautiful inside to a very plain and ordinary outside.
Actually, the outside might have even been downright unattractive.
The fine white linen on the deepest inside of the tabernacle had the lovely blue, purple and scarlet threads woven artistically into its walls. It was decorated with cherubim. Obviously, this part of the tabernacle was noticeably beautiful to behold with the eyes.
The goat skin cloth that came next was also attractive; but a lot less beautiful than the white linen covering.
The ram’s skin dyed red was the next layer. It was a lot less attractive than the goats skin coverings.
FIRST GLIMPSES CAN BE WRONG
The badger skin covering which came last and showed on the outside was quite a contrast to the beautiful coverings of the inside. The outside covering wasn’t beautiful at all. It was actually the most unattractive part of the whole tabernacle.
One could not tell from looking at the ugly exterior of this tent of meeting that the interior was so beautiful. Anyone passing by and looking at the outside of this large tent from a distance might have thought it to be a very unattractive place to worship.
They probably would not have imagined the plain tent as a place of worship at all. None of the inner beauty would be noticed because it would have been totally hidden from sight.
THE HIDDEN THINGS
This is so typical of God’s Kingdom.
The most beautiful things are the hidden things.
You will not see them at first glance. They are the things you must learn to search for with all of your heart.
God must lead you to them. He must reveal them to you. The Father will do that if you ask Him.
A TREASURE HIDDEN IN A FIELD
This is one reason it has been said that the kingdom of God is like a treasure hidden in a field. One must truly be searching to find it and to discover its hidden beauty.
Even so, it is that the deeper you look into the things of God the more beauty you begin to discover.
One cannot stand on the outside and know the treasures.
You must go inside to find the real beauty.
Indeed, it isn’t always evident; but you must hunger and thirst for the truth and search for it with all of your heart, mind and soul. When you find it; you will be surprised at the magnificent beauty.
FINDING CHRIST IN THE ORDINARY
So, we have discovered that each of these coverings represent Christ in some way. True to form, the badger skins represent Him also. They represent the earthy, physical body of Christ as he lived inside the flesh of a man.
Furthermore, we are told that Jesus was not attractive in appearance. Neither were the badger skins.
Jesus appeared to be just a normal man. There was no indication of his royalty as The Son of God when you looked upon Him. He appeared very humble in character.
The badger skins on the outside of the tent which made up the tabernacle were just the same. They were very ordinary and common.
There was nothing exceptional about those badger skins that would make you think they covered a beautiful place or formed a habitat for the true worship of God. From the outside, one would not know they provided a shelter for the place where God actually dwelled among His people.
YOU CAN’T JUDGE A BOOK BY THE COVER
This reminds me of one of my favorite old sayings; “you can’t judge a book by its cover.”
No truer words were ever spoken.
The outside of the tabernacle gave no clue to what went on in the inside of the tabernacle.
LIKE JESUS
All we know specifically about the physical attributes of Jesus is that He had a beard. Almost all Israelite men wore beards. This was not a distinguishing characteristic. Actually, it would have made Him blend in with the crowd even more.
We really have no idea what the rest of the appearance of Jesus was like.
A person looking upon him and judging by his outward physical appearance would never guess who He actually was. They would never be able to grasp His deep inner beauty, or the fact that He was the True Son of God.
One would have to come to know Him and be in relationship with Him in order to see these things. Anyone seeing Him in the flesh would have to look deeper into the eyes of Christ and listen to His words in order to comprehend Who He really was.
SEEING OTHERS AS GOD SEES THEM
This could be a lesson to all of us in relation to how we deal with other people.
Sometimes the most insignificant people on the outside turn out to be the ones with the truest character. Often, they are the people of the most integrity and love. You can never discover these things without getting past the physical and coming closer to the spiritual side of relationships.
Ages and time pass on by. Some things never change.
PASSING TREASURES BY
Many people today are like those strangers passing through the dessert and gazing upon the very place where God dwelled. They were passing right by without even knowing the mysteries, beauty and treasures that were within the structure with a common outward appearance.
These travelers would be making all of their decisions based on what they saw with their eyes as they gazed upon the outside with their first glimpse of the physical appearance.
Such superficial people would not be interested in exploring the inside of the tent. They would quickly pass on down the road. Without realizing what they were doing, they would pass on by and miss the most important treasure they could ever discover.
Sadly, they would never even notice the fact that they happened upon a great treasure.
Some people get SO CLOSE; yet they never go inside.
PASSING BY A CARPENTER’S SON
When Jesus walked the earth people passed Him on the street every day. They considered him to be the common son of a carpenter. Most put no importance on the fact that He existed among them. He ate, drank and lived, breathed, worked and played, among strangers who never knew He was The Son of God.
They could not see His heart.
These people did not come close enough to experience what He truly had to offer.
How many times have we all been guilty?
WE ARE THOSE PEOPLE
There is a little piece of God hidden inside of everyone that God created. Do we stop and take the time to find this out from the people in our lives?
Are we so busy criticizing and analyzing the outward appearance that we forget to look deeper into the inside?
We can’t point a finger at those who walked right past Jesus and never noticed Him. We do it ourselves and we do it every day.
It takes living in the Kingdom of God for a long time for most people to develop enough inner beauty, strength and love to be able to look beyond the surface of things. Not many stop to find the real treasures that are hidden and lurking deep inside.
THE PEARL OF GREAT PRICE
All of this reminds me of the beautiful parable that Jesus gave us about the pearl of great price. In that parable a man was searching diligently. He kept searching until he found the treasure.
To find the beauty of the wilderness tabernacle, you would have to be searching diligently enough to stop and go inside in spite of the ordinary outward appearance.
To find the beauty of Christ, you simply have to look at His heart. It is beautiful beyond measure.
Have you seen it?
You would have to be willing to go the extra steps to look beyond the ordinary and dig deep enough to find the extraordinary that is hiding inside to come into a relationship.
This is the truth of all worship.
FINDING TRUE WORSHIP
It was true of those entering the wilderness tabernacle, and it is true for all who seek the heart of Jesus today. We must look beyond the surface to see the treasures within.
I pray that this happens to you this week.
My constant prayer is that God will reveal his glory, beauty and majesty to you because you have been willing to open your eyes wider and look beyond the surface. You must risk your heart in the process of seeking and finding the real hidden treasures of The Kingdom of God.
OVERFLOWING JOY
I pray that your life is full of God’s greatness to the point that your joy is overflowing. Just remember that you can’t judge a book by its cover.
Take the time to get to know more. You might just increase your blessings a great deal.
All of these blessings and more could be found in the studies and explorations of the wilderness tabernacle. It all existed deep within the folds of the curtains. Even more, all of this can be found within the temporary tabernacle which you walk around in as well. If you simply allow God’s Holy Spirit to set up residence inside your heart, He will bless your life.
You will suddenly find yourself living inside out and upside down. Like Jesus did.
That is the message of this blog.
This is how The IN SEASON Lifestyle is lived!