The Sanctuary and Its Coverings

Notes

1. The linen curtain which formed the ceiling of the sanctuary was a beautiful symbol of the fine linen which is said to be the righteousness of saints. Rev. 19:8. This is obtained by faith in Christ, the antitype of the goat that was slain for a sin-offering, of which the goats'-hair curtain would be a constant reminder.

2. The first covering was of goats' hair. The goat in the type was the sin-offering whose blood cleansed the people and the sanctuary. It was a type of Christ, the true sin-offering, whose blood actually takes away sin.

3. The second covering was made of rams' skins dyed red. Our sins are said to be "red like crimson." Isa. 1:18. The wages of sin is death. Sin forfeits the life, it demands the shedding of blood, for "without shedding of blood is no remission" (Heb. 9:22), that is, no remission of sin. The blood is the life. The rams' skins "dyed red" would be emblematic of the sinner, whose sins require the shedding of blood. The outer covering was made of badger skins or sealskins, as most Bible expositors teach. The words in the original seem to indicate that they were sealskins or something similar. From this we conclude that this outer curtain was for the purpose of protection from the elements.