Tuesday, September 23, 2003

 

 

Making Curtains

 

Dear Family:

 

Recently my beautiful daughter-in-law, Suzanne, gave Ardyce and me some very fine bed linens. As I looked at the tag I noticed the thread count and was impressed. Not because I know much about linen but because I had been studying the construction of the tabernacle in the wilderness. As a part of that study I discovered that curtains were very important, for the curtains not only separated the inner and outer courts, they also covered the inner walls and ceiling as well as the roof and outer walls. Notice what this one writer records about the curtains.

 

THE WISE-HEARTED WOMEN WERE THE SPINNERS

(EXOD. 35:25; 35:35).

 

Some render "shesh" silk (Variorum Bible, mar., Exod. 25), but they are certainly mistaken, for in ancient times the Egyptians used only linen and cotton. It was not till a few centuries before our era that the use of wool and silk.., was introduced. Egyptian linen was exceedingly fine: Herodotus, describing the breastplate sent to the Lacedaemonians by King Amasis, tells us it was made of linen... Each slender thread was composed of three hundred and sixty distinct threads (See Eugene Muntz, Short History of Tapestry, pp. 5, 6).

 

 

God chose gifted artisans….. all the women whose hearts stirred with wisdom..

He didn't choose just anyone; He chose the women whose hearts stirred with wisdom.

 

Exod 35:25-26 All the women who were gifted artisans spun yarn with their hands, and brought what they had spun, of blue purple, and scarlet, and fine linen. And all the women whose heart stirred with wisdom spun yarn of goats' hair. (NKJ)

 

Exod 35:35 "He has filled them with skill to do all manner of work of the engraver and the designer and the tapestry maker, in blue purple, and scarlet thread, and fine linen, and of the weaver-- those who do every work and those who design artistic works. (NKJ)

 

I will revisit the women in a different writing. Here, it is the curtains we are to consider.

 

These curtains were made of the very finest material ever devised, for they had tremendous significance. The colors represented the sacrificial blood of Christ, the Holiness of God and all His glory among others. The entire tabernacle was shrouded in the curtains representing the loving protection of God around His people. The interior was laced with the finest blue background with white cherubim's covering the walls and ceiling representing the crowd of angles constantly watching over those in the inner sanctuary. The tabernacle itself represented the dwelling place of God among His people; more specifically it represented the heart of mankind filled with the Spirit of God.

 

Mankind throughout all of history has built curtains to filter out the light, to insulate against the elements and to serve as decoration. And mankind has built these same kinds of curtains in his mind and heart. These curtains are used to prevent the light of the gospel from shining in. They are used to keep out the warmth of God's love and to protect our cold, cold hearts from the warmth of His presence.  Mankind hangs curtains as decoration when it is in his interest to do so. Politicians use the G-- word when it is politically correct but would not consider hanging these curtains for everyone to see at all times.

 

God wants us to remove all the curtains we have that shield us from Him and His love for us.  

 

When Solomon's temple was built, it included curtains as well and it is said that the curtain separating the holy of holies from the inner and outer courts was more than a foot thick. You will remember that at the moment of Christ's death the veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom. Why did that happen? It was torn from the top so that mankind could not take credit for it, and He did it to send the message that He was not contained in that room but was everywhere and the most important message was that He was accessible to any and everyone who would come into His presence.

 

God spent thousands of years, hundreds of lives who spent hours in labor to make curtains to draw you and me a picture of His glorious light of life, His truth, His love, His Son.  Don't let the curtains in your home prevent God's light, love and protection from shining in.

 

Love ya

 

Dad