NUMBER FIVE (5-8)
(Message by Tanny Keng)
0. Introduction
a) The number 5 is mentioned 318 times in the Bible. 5 is the number of GRACE. It is interesting to note what other mention(s) for 5 can be found in the Bible.
1. How is the number 5 represented in God's tabernacle?
a) The Tabernacle had five for its all-pervading number; nearly every measurement was a multiple of 5. Before mentioning these measurements we ought to notice that worship itself is all of grace! No one can worship except those who are sought and called of the Father (John 4:23).
i) "Blessed is the man whom Thou choosest and causest to approach unto Thee, that he may dwell in Thy courts; we shall be satisfied with the goodness of Thy house, even of Thy holy temple" (Psalm 65:4).
b) The Divine title of the book we call Leviticus is in the Hebrew Canon "He CALLED." It is the book of worship, showing how those who are to worship must be called by God, and showing how He wills to be approached. The book opens with the direction that if any man will bring an offering to the Lord he shall bring such and such an offering. The offerers and the priests are told minutely all that is to be done. Nothing is left to their imagination.
c) We have seen that Leviticus is the third book of the Bible. It comes to us stamped with the number of Divine perfection. The opening words are, "And God spake," an expression which occurs in the book 36 times (3x3x2x2).
d) Indeed, this third book is unique, consisting, as it does, almost wholly of the words of Jehovah. No other book of the Bible is so full of Divine utterances. It is fitting, therefore, that the number three should be stamped upon it.
i) "I AM JEHOVAH" occurs 21 times (3x7).*
ii) "I AM THE JEHOVAH YOUR GOD" occurs 21 times (3x7).**
iii) "I JEHOVAH AM" occurs three times (19:1, 20:26; 21:8); and "I JEHOVAH DO" twice (21:15, 22:9), or five times together.
Notes:
* Leviticus 11:45, 28:5,6,22, 19:12,14,16,18,28,30,32,37, 20:8, 21:12, 22:2,8,31,32,33, 26:2,45.
** Leviticus 11:44, 28:4,30, 19:3,4,10,25,31,34,36, 20:7,24, 23:22,43, 24:22, 25:17,38,55, 26:1,13,44.
e) Here then we have Divine communication, and the number of Deity stamped upon it. This might have been brought out under the number three, but it is well to have it here in connection with worship as springing from the will of God, and being founded in grace.
f) The Tabernacle has this number of grace (5) stamped upon it.
g) The outer court was 100 cubits long and 50 cubits wide. On either side were 20 pillars, and along each end were 10 pillars, or 60 in all; that is 5 x 12, or grace in governmental display before the world, 12 being the number of the Tribes.
h) The pillars that held up the curtains were 5 cubits apart and 5 cubits high, and the whole of the outer curtain was divided into squares of 25 cubits (5x5). Each pair of pillars thus supported an area of 52 cubits of fine white linen, thus witnessing to the perfect grace by which alone God's people can witness for Him before the world. Their own righteousness (the fine linen) is "filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6), and we can only say "by the grace of God I am what I am" (1Corinthians 15) - a sinner saved by grace. This righteousness is based on atonement, for 5 x 5 was also the measure of the brazen altar of burnt offering. This was the perfect answer of Christ to God's righteous requirements, and to what was required of man.
i) True, this brazen altar was only 3 cubits high, but this tells us that the provision was Divine in its origin, that atonement emanates solely from God.
j) The building itself was 10 cubits high, 10 cubits wide, and 30 cubits long. Its length was divided into two unequal parts, the Holy place being 20 cubits long; and the Holy of Holies 10 cubits, being therefore a perfect cube of 10 cubits. It was formed of forty-eight boards, twenty on either side, and eight at the end, the front being formed of a curtain hung on five pillars. These forty-eight boards (3x42) are significant of the nation as before God in the fullness of privilege on the earth (4x12). The twenty boards on each side were held together by five bars passing through rings which were attached to them.
k) The curtains which covered the Tabernacle structure were four in number. The first was made of ten curtains of byssus in various colors adorned with embroidered cherubim. Each curtain was 28 (4x7) cubits long and four wide. They were hung five on each side, probably sewn together to form one large sheet (20x28); the two sheets coupled together by loops, and gold. The second covering was formed of eleven curtains of goats' hair, each 30 cubits long and four wide, joined together in two sheets fastened by loops. The third was of rams' skins dyed red, and the fourth was of tachash (or colored) skins, of which the dimensions are not given.
l) The Entrance veils were three in number. The first was "the gate of the court," 20 cubits wide and 5 high, hung on 5 pillars. The second was "the door of the Tabernacle," 10 cubits wide and 10 high, hung like the gate of the court on 5 pillars. The third was the "beautiful veil," also 10 cubits square, which divided the Holy place from the Holy of Holies. One feature of these three veils is remarkable. The dimensions of the veil of the court and those of the Tabernacle were different, but yet the area was the same. The former was 20 cubits by 5 = 100 cubits; the latter were 10 cubits by 10, equaling 100 cubits also. Thus while there was only one gate, one door, one veil, they each typified Christ as the only door of entrance for all the blessings connected with salvation. But note that the "gate" which admitted to the benefits of atonement was wider and lower (20 cubits wide, and 5 cubits high); while the door which admitted to worship was both higher and narrower, being only 10 cubits wide, half the width, and twice the height (10 cubits high); thus saying to us, that not all who experience the blessings of atonement understand or appreciate the true nature of spiritual worship. The highest worship - admittance to the mercy-seat - was impossible for the Israelites except in the person of their substitute - the high priest; for the beautiful veil barred their access. Yet this veil was rent in twain the moment the true grace which came by Jesus Christ was perfectly manifested. And it was rent by the act of God in grace, for it was rent "from the top to the bottom."
m) It is worthy of note, and it is a subject which might well be further investigated by those who have leisure, that the Gematria (substituting numbers for letters) of Hebrews 9, which gives an account of the Tabernacle, yields the number five as a factor. Taking each letter as standing for its corresponding figure, the value of Hebrews 9:2-10, describing the Tabernacle and its furniture, is 103,480. The factors of this number are all full of importance, viz., 5 x 8 x 13 x 199; where we have five the number of grace, four the number of the world, the sphere in which it is manifested, while in thirteen we have the number of sin and atonement.
n) In like manner the second section of the chapter (Hebrews 9:11-28), which relates to the application of the type to Christ and His atoning work, is a simple multiple of thirteen, viz., 204,451 (13x15,727).
o) While the important digression in verses 16, 17, and 18, amounts to 11,830, which is 132 x 14 x 5, where we have the same great important factors.
The End ...
0. Introductiona) The number 5 is mentioned 318 times in the Bible. 5 is the number of GRACE. It is interesting to note what other mention(s) for 5 can be found in the Bible.
1. How is the number 5 represented in God's tabernacle?
a) The Tabernacle had five for its all-pervading number; nearly every measurement was a multiple of 5. Before mentioning these measurements we ought to notice that worship itself is all of grace! No one can worship except those who are sought and called of the Father (John 4:23).
i) "Blessed is the man whom Thou choosest and causest to approach unto Thee, that he may dwell in Thy courts; we shall be satisfied with the goodness of Thy house, even of Thy holy temple" (Psalm 65:4).
b) The Divine title of the book we call Leviticus is in the Hebrew Canon "He CALLED." It is the book of worship, showing how those who are to worship must be called by God, and showing how He wills to be approached. The book opens with the direction that if any man will bring an offering to the Lord he shall bring such and such an offering. The offerers and the priests are told minutely all that is to be done. Nothing is left to their imagination.
c) We have seen that Leviticus is the third book of the Bible. It comes to us stamped with the number of Divine perfection. The opening words are, "And God spake," an expression which occurs in the book 36 times (3x3x2x2).
d) Indeed, this third book is unique, consisting, as it does, almost wholly of the words of Jehovah. No other book of the Bible is so full of Divine utterances. It is fitting, therefore, that the number three should be stamped upon it.
i) "I AM JEHOVAH" occurs 21 times (3x7).*
ii) "I AM THE JEHOVAH YOUR GOD" occurs 21 times (3x7).**
iii) "I JEHOVAH AM" occurs three times (19:1, 20:26; 21:8); and "I JEHOVAH DO" twice (21:15, 22:9), or five times together.
Notes:
* Leviticus 11:45, 28:5,6,22, 19:12,14,16,18,28,30,32,37, 20:8, 21:12, 22:2,8,31,32,33, 26:2,45.
** Leviticus 11:44, 28:4,30, 19:3,4,10,25,31,34,36, 20:7,24, 23:22,43, 24:22, 25:17,38,55, 26:1,13,44.
e) Here then we have Divine communication, and the number of Deity stamped upon it. This might have been brought out under the number three, but it is well to have it here in connection with worship as springing from the will of God, and being founded in grace.
f) The Tabernacle has this number of grace (5) stamped upon it.
g) The outer court was 100 cubits long and 50 cubits wide. On either side were 20 pillars, and along each end were 10 pillars, or 60 in all; that is 5 x 12, or grace in governmental display before the world, 12 being the number of the Tribes.
h) The pillars that held up the curtains were 5 cubits apart and 5 cubits high, and the whole of the outer curtain was divided into squares of 25 cubits (5x5). Each pair of pillars thus supported an area of 52 cubits of fine white linen, thus witnessing to the perfect grace by which alone God's people can witness for Him before the world. Their own righteousness (the fine linen) is "filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6), and we can only say "by the grace of God I am what I am" (1Corinthians 15) - a sinner saved by grace. This righteousness is based on atonement, for 5 x 5 was also the measure of the brazen altar of burnt offering. This was the perfect answer of Christ to God's righteous requirements, and to what was required of man.
i) True, this brazen altar was only 3 cubits high, but this tells us that the provision was Divine in its origin, that atonement emanates solely from God.
j) The building itself was 10 cubits high, 10 cubits wide, and 30 cubits long. Its length was divided into two unequal parts, the Holy place being 20 cubits long; and the Holy of Holies 10 cubits, being therefore a perfect cube of 10 cubits. It was formed of forty-eight boards, twenty on either side, and eight at the end, the front being formed of a curtain hung on five pillars. These forty-eight boards (3x42) are significant of the nation as before God in the fullness of privilege on the earth (4x12). The twenty boards on each side were held together by five bars passing through rings which were attached to them.
k) The curtains which covered the Tabernacle structure were four in number. The first was made of ten curtains of byssus in various colors adorned with embroidered cherubim. Each curtain was 28 (4x7) cubits long and four wide. They were hung five on each side, probably sewn together to form one large sheet (20x28); the two sheets coupled together by loops, and gold. The second covering was formed of eleven curtains of goats' hair, each 30 cubits long and four wide, joined together in two sheets fastened by loops. The third was of rams' skins dyed red, and the fourth was of tachash (or colored) skins, of which the dimensions are not given.
l) The Entrance veils were three in number. The first was "the gate of the court," 20 cubits wide and 5 high, hung on 5 pillars. The second was "the door of the Tabernacle," 10 cubits wide and 10 high, hung like the gate of the court on 5 pillars. The third was the "beautiful veil," also 10 cubits square, which divided the Holy place from the Holy of Holies. One feature of these three veils is remarkable. The dimensions of the veil of the court and those of the Tabernacle were different, but yet the area was the same. The former was 20 cubits by 5 = 100 cubits; the latter were 10 cubits by 10, equaling 100 cubits also. Thus while there was only one gate, one door, one veil, they each typified Christ as the only door of entrance for all the blessings connected with salvation. But note that the "gate" which admitted to the benefits of atonement was wider and lower (20 cubits wide, and 5 cubits high); while the door which admitted to worship was both higher and narrower, being only 10 cubits wide, half the width, and twice the height (10 cubits high); thus saying to us, that not all who experience the blessings of atonement understand or appreciate the true nature of spiritual worship. The highest worship - admittance to the mercy-seat - was impossible for the Israelites except in the person of their substitute - the high priest; for the beautiful veil barred their access. Yet this veil was rent in twain the moment the true grace which came by Jesus Christ was perfectly manifested. And it was rent by the act of God in grace, for it was rent "from the top to the bottom."
m) It is worthy of note, and it is a subject which might well be further investigated by those who have leisure, that the Gematria (substituting numbers for letters) of Hebrews 9, which gives an account of the Tabernacle, yields the number five as a factor. Taking each letter as standing for its corresponding figure, the value of Hebrews 9:2-10, describing the Tabernacle and its furniture, is 103,480. The factors of this number are all full of importance, viz., 5 x 8 x 13 x 199; where we have five the number of grace, four the number of the world, the sphere in which it is manifested, while in thirteen we have the number of sin and atonement.
n) In like manner the second section of the chapter (Hebrews 9:11-28), which relates to the application of the type to Christ and His atoning work, is a simple multiple of thirteen, viz., 204,451 (13x15,727).
o) While the important digression in verses 16, 17, and 18, amounts to 11,830, which is 132 x 14 x 5, where we have the same great important factors.
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