“For the gate of the court there shall be a screen twenty cubits long, woven of blue and purple and scarlet yarn, and fine linen thread, made by a weaver. It shall have four pillars and four sockets.”

If you were to walk around the outside of the tabernacle site, you would see only the exterior linen curtain that would bring you to the only gate, the only entrance, into the tabernacle. There was just one gate to the tabernacle. There was no other way to get into the structure other than through that one gate. This entrance was about 20 cubits (30 ft.) wide and 5 cubits (7 1/2ft.) high and was located in the eastern end of the tabernacle court.

The entrance was screened by an embroidered curtain woven from blue, purple, and scarlet material, and “finely twisted linen” (Exodus 38:18)—that is, the warp consisted of bleached linen threads and the woof of the strips of wool dyed alternately blue, purple, and scarlet.

The gate to the outer court is very similar to the gate which opened into the tabernacle, and the veil, which hid the Holy of Holies. Each one of them served as a door, hiding the interior from one approaching from the outside. All were made from the same materials, and the colors are mentioned in the same order. The total width of the enclosure on the east, as well as the west, was 50 cubits (75 ft.). So the gate in front took up nearly 40% of the space.

So the Israelite who came to the brazen altar with his offering must pass through this gate of the court; the priest who placed the incense on the golden altar must enter by the door of the tabernacle; the high priest who entered the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement must do so through the veil, thus realizing the thrice—repeated proof of the only way of access to God. The gate or door must be entered, before one can reap the benefits therein. The very specific demands that it be entered, or else it has no value.

There was only one entrance to the enclosure and therefore only one way to get to the altar of God. Jesus claimed to be the only door (John 10:9) and the only way to God (John 14:6), which explains why Peter said,

“Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Act4:12).

The one gate, and screen in front of the gate, was held up by four pillars. How many gospels are there in the Bible? There are, of course four. The screen which was in front of the gate had four colors: blue, purple, scarlet, and white.

BLUE: Blue speaks of that which is heavenly. Jesus is the only man who came directly from heaven. In John, Jesus is Deity, god manifested in the flesh. He is the Son of  living  God.

PURPLE: Purple speaks of royalty. Descended from the line of David, Jesus is the nation of Israel’s promised messiah and King. So Matthew presents Jesus as the King of Israel. There are more cross-references to the Old Testament in Matthew than the other three gospels put together. At the beginning of the book, Matthew is meticulous in pointing out that Jesus descended from the line of David. He is the King.

SCARLET: The scarlet threads interwoven throughout the screen speak of the blood of Jesus who came to die and to shed His blood for our redemption. Mark, the shortest gospel, presents Jesus as the suffering servant, the one who laid down His life for us.

WHITE: The gate was also made of fine white linen. The white speaks of Christ as the perfect servant. In Luke, Jesus is presented as the perfect man.

Jesus came from heaven as God manifested in the flesh (blue). He came as King (purple). He was perfectly pure (white). His blood was shed for our redemption (scarlet).

So what we have in that screen is a beautiful picture of our Lord and Savior, of Jesus Christ.

With that in mind, look at the beginning of Revelation4 where John is translated into heaven. He sees the very throne room of God Himself:

“…and before the throne there was something like the sea of glass, like crystal; and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind. The first creature was a like a lion, and the second creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle”.

Notice, the first creature was like a lion. Jesus is shown in the gospel of Matthew as the lion of the tribe of Judah, the King of Israel. The second creature was like a calf. A calf is an animal of servitude that was slain in the tabernacle for sins. Jesus is shown in Mark as a servant. The third creature had a face like a man. The fourth creature was the flying eagle, which is a picture of that which is heavenly, His Deity John depicts him as the Son of God. In what order are these creatures presented in Revelation?  First Matthew, then Mark, Luke, John, in the same order as the gospels appear in our Bible.

So the colors illustrate the perspective of each gospel, as do the four living creatures. Four colors, four pillars, four gospels, four views of Jesus.

With that in mind there is another little interesting side note. We often tell people when they become new Christians to read the gospel of John first. Maybe there is something to that because the order of the colors in Exodus is first John (blue), then Matthew, mark, and Luke (purple, scarlet, and white).

The courtyard was a rectangle, 100 cubits (150ft.) long on its north and south side and 50 cubits (75ft.) wide on its east and west side.

This area was not very big considering that it was for a congregation of possibly three million people. Enclosing this space was a fence, with a framework consisting of sixty acacia wood pillars, 5 cubits (7 ½ ft.) high.

The pillars were either round or square, and about 5 inches in diameter, with twenty on each side and ten at each end. The base of each pillar stood in a bronze socket, and each pillar was held upright by cords (Exodus 35:18) driven into the ground, both inside and outside the court. Curtain rods (“bands”) rested on the hooks near the top of the pillars, serving as the top rail of the fence and keeping the pillars the right distance apart. These rods were made of acacia wood, covered with silver; the hooks and protecting caps on the pillars were also made of silver ( Exodus 38:17,18). There were also hooks at the bottom of the pillars, to which the bottom edge of the curtains was fastened.

Curtains of fine-twined linen and probably white or natural in color were sewn together end to end, to form a continuous screen all around the tabernacle area. The 5 cubit fence was high enough that no one could look over and see inside. To really know what was happening on the other side of that linen wall, a person would have to go through the one and only gate.

The fence had a fourfold reason:(1) to prevent unlawful approach; (2) to keep out all wild animals; (3) to be a positive line demarcation between the world and the holy presence of God; and (4) with its single gate, to be a way of approach to God.

Many times throughout the scriptures, the outer court is referred to, directly or indirectly. In the following scriptures from the Psalms, we find reference to the court of Moses’ tabernacle or the courts of the temple of Solomon:

“Blessed is the man whom You choose, and causes to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in your courts”(Psalm65:4).

 “ Come into His courts” (Psalm96:8)

 “ Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God” (Psalm92:13)

“ My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the Lord…For a day in your courts is better than a thousand” (Psalm84:2,10).

“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise” (Psalm100:4).

It was a wonderful exhibition of righteousness. How the white linen of that court must have stood out in the thousands of black tents pitched on every side of it. It’s surely a picture of Christ’s right righteousness perverse and crooked generation.

The court is a wonderful picture of the Word of God, for the Word reveals how sin has been judged and put underfoot (bronze sockets). It holds up its head (silver capitals) the redemptive work of Christ and, at the same time, displays on every hand the righteousness of God.

The white linen is symbolic of that spotless purity of Christ. He is the only righteous man born of the entire human race, for He is “ The Lord our Righteousness.” When Christ stood before the Pharisees, the Sanhedrin, Pilate, and Herod, and when He hung before the centurion, they all had to declare that He was a righteous Man in whom no fault could be found.

The righteousness of  Christ is to become the righteousness of the church. God is not interested in our own fleshly works of righteousness, for they are as “ filthy rags” in His sight (Isaiah 64:6). God is not interested in the legal righteousness of the Law, for that is self-righteousness (Romans 10:1-6 & Philippians 3:7-9). God is looking for a people who are standing by faith in the righteousness of Christ. It is the righteousness of Christ that God accepts, and as we put on Christ we become righteous ( 2 Corinthians 5:17-21, Romans 8:4, Revelation 3:4, Revelation 19:8).

The first and largest piece of furniture that a worshiper would meet on entering the court of the tabernacle was the bronze altar, where sacrifices were offered to God.

According to the Mosaic Law, this was the only place where sacrifices could be made. Its position just inside the gate (Exodus 40:6) made it easily accessible, unavailable, and unmistakable. Its size indicated its importance and reminded the people that they could not approach God except by the place of sacrifice.

The altar was a hollow box of acacia wood, 5 cubits (7 ½ ft.) square by 3 cubits (41/2ft.) high. It has been said that all the other furniture could be put into it. It was lined with sheets of bronze inside and out to protect it from the heat, and was light enough to be carried on bronze-covered poles that passed through bronze rings fixed at each corner.

A bronze grating ran around the altar, to create a draft and to allow the sacrificial blood to flow to the base of the altar. The horns, which were on each corner, and pointing outward, were for the binding of the sacrifice to the altar (Psalm 118:27). Some of the blood of the sacrifice was put on the four horns before the rest was poured out at the base of the altar (Exodus 29:12, Leviticus 4,8,9,16). In scripture, the “horn” stands for power and strength (Habakkuk 3:4).  

The priests were responsible for maintaining the altar fire, which was never to be allowed to go out (Leviticus 6:13).

They were not to let ashes build up at the bottom of the altar, but piled them up beside the altar. Later, they took the ashes outside the camp or city.

In many ways, the Brazen Altar must be construed as the most important vessel designed by the Holy Spirit. Could it be more important than the Ark of the Covenant, over which sat the Mercy-Seat? After all, this represented the very Holy of Holies, the very throne of God! However, no one could reach that place and position except for the Brazen Altar. You simply could not enter the tabernacle till one had first passed the Brazen Altar.

The very position of this altar near the entrance of the main court indicates very clearly the absolute necessity for blood atonement before real fellowship can be initiated with an infinitely Holy God. The use of the altar was to make reconciliation upon (Leviticus 8:15), between God and His sinful people. This was done by the priests, who sprinkled upon it the blood of the atoning victims, and who also put their, carcasses, or certain pieces of them, on the fire to be consumed. The slaughter of animals on this altar was a vivid reminder to Israel that sin indeed requires a high price. Day by day, continually, now propitiatory animals were slain, fresh blood poured out, and the fire ever burning. The blood shed and poured out before and sprinkled upon the altar, was an atonement for the sins of the people. The death of the animal victim signified that the offerer deserved to die for his transgressions, and that its life was substituted for his. It was not a pleasant thing to see an innocent animal slaughtered and burned, but then sin is an ugly thing and the sacrifice here, should be a vivid reminder to everyone of the hideousness of sin and its price. Unlike the Golden Altar of incense in the holy place, the Brazen Altar was a place of bloodshed and death. These were temporal in their nature and participated in by all of Israel.

It’s important to realize that the Israelites went through that one any gate into the tabernacle for only one purpose. They came to make a sacrifice to God. Every person who entered the tabernacle had to bring a sacrifice with him, and once the sacrifice was made he left. Each morning, the priest were to offer a burnt offering on the Brazen Altar (Exodus 29:42,43), a picture of total dedication to the Lord (Leviticus 1).

“And every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins…”(Hebrews10:11).

The lamb, goat, bull, etc., were Israel’s substitutes and God accepted them by means of the altar.

These claims of God have since been fully met in Christ at Calvary when He became the offering, the altar, and the priest.

“And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma” (Ephesians5:2).

“We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat” (Hebrews13:10).

“Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God to make propitiation for the sins of the people” (Hebrews2:17).

So the Cross is now the meeting place between God and the sinner.If the Israelite rejected the Brazen Altar, he shut himself out forever from the mercy of God, and, in like manner, whoever rejects the Cross of Christ, shuts himself out forever from the hope of salvation. Ex.29:37 says:

“Whatever touches the altar shall be holy.”

So every sinner who, by faith, lays hold of Christ is cleansed ( Mark 5:27-29). Just as the altar lifted up the sacrifice in smoke; at the same time, it would lift the offerer up into fellowship with God. And later, when the Cross became the altar for the world’s greatest sacrifece, it lifted up Christ:

“And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself” (John12:32).

Even though God could speak worlds into existence, He could not and did not speak Redemption into existence.

Sin and all of its effects had to be addressed. For the old covenant it was the Bronze Altar. For the new covenant it was Jesus on the Cross. The Hebrew word for altar is mizbeach and means “slaughter place.” Calvary was indeed the slaughter place. 

As mentioned earlier the altar measured 5 by 3.

• 3 is the number of the Godhead (Father, Son, Holy Spirit).
• The number 5 is typical of the grace of God.
• The number 5 is the most prominent number in the whole tabernacle.How fitting that the number of grace should be the dominating number in the place of God’s dwelling among his people.

• The grace (5) of (by) God (3) were its measurements.
• In this connection the number 5 repeats itself, in 5 utensils (pans, shovels, basins, forks, and firepans).
• 5 animals used in the burnt offering (lamb, goat, bull, heifer and turtle dove).
• 5 offerings recorded in Leviticus (burnt, grain, sin, peace, trespass).
• Christ suffered 5 wounds; His feet, His hands, and His side.

The altar was made of acacia wood overlaid with bronze.The acacia wood spoke of the humanity of Christ. Wood is an intergal part of the message of Christ. He died on a wooden Cross and carried it to Calvary (John 19:17). Remember, Jesus had a body that was not exempt from suffering ( Hebrews 2:14). Bronze is the hardest of all metals, possessing a greater resistance to fire than gold or silver. Just as gold speaks of glory and silver of redemption, so bronze (brass) speaks of judgment (Numbers 21:9, Deuteronomy 28) and speaks of evil (Judges 16:21, 2Kings 5:27, 1Samuel 17:5,6,35, Psalm 107:16, Isaiah 48:4, Jeremiah 1:18, and Revelation 1:15).   

As the brass plates on the altar protected it from the fervent heat and prevented it from being burnt up, so, Christ passed through the fires of God’s wrath without being consumed. He became a man to bear the judgment of God for humanity, just as the wood bore the bronze. As mentioned earlier, this altar had horns on each corner.

They served two purposes.

1. The primary purpose of the horns was to bind the innocent substitute while its blood was being shed.
2. Second, it was a place of refuge in time of trouble. A person could come to the tabernacle and grab hold of a horn of the altar and cry for mercy. The altar was recognized as a place of refugee, a place of mercy (1 Kings 1:50-53, 1 Kings 2:28). In Matthew 26, it says they celebrated the Passover, they sang a hymn just before leaving. And that hymn that they sung was Psalm 118, because that is the closing hymn of the Passover:

“Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar” (Psalm118:27). What were the “cords” that bound Jesus to the “altar” of the cross? Certainly not the Roman nails. It was His love. It was the love of God that bound Jesus to the cross.

Then in turn we must:

“present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service” (Romans12:1).