LOOKING UNTO JESUS OR CHRIST IN TYPE AND ANTITYPE. BY ...

Mr. Barnes says:-- p. 103, Para. 2, [LOOKING].
"No one acquainted with the history of interpretation can
doubt that a vast injury has been done by a fanciful mode
of explaining the Old Testament, by making every pin and
pillar a type, and every fact in its history an allegory.
Nothing is better fitted to bring the science of interpretation
into contempt, nothing more dishonors the Bible,
than to make it a book of enigmas. The Bible is a book of
sense." p. 103, Para. 3, [LOOKING].
But very naturally certain impressive and profitable ideas
would be conveyed to their minds, which it is even yet
worth while for people to consider. There was but one tabernacle
and one temple connected at any one time with the
true worship of Israel. This, through all their history,
furnished a standing testimony against the idolatries of
all the countries by which they were surrounded, and where
every special locality had its deity, and every hill its
grove and separate solemnities of their idol worship. The
acacia wood, which entered so largely into the structure of
the tabernacle and most of its furniture, was a symbol of
durability. It was called by the Orientals, the "lignum imputrabile,"
or incorruptible wood, as indicating that it
would never decay. p. 103, Para. 4, [LOOKING].
Gold, among all people, stands for that which is glorious
and beautiful. Kings and princes seek it to ornament their
palaces or their persons. Silver is regarded as a symbol of
purity, and brass, of strength. Coming to the woven tapestry
for the coverings and hangings, did not the fine white
linen speak of holiness? the blue, of the vault of heaven?
the purple, of the royal robes in which kings array themselves?
and the scarlet, of a free and joyful life such as
God desires his children to enjoy? The whole cost of the
materials used in the construction of the sanctuary, is estimated
to have amounted to one and a quarter million dollars.
Professor Bush suggests that the employment of so
much wealth in its construction, "was twofold: (1) to impress
the minds of the chosen people with the glory and
dignity of the divine majesty; and (2) to convey through
the gorgeousness and splendor of the external ritual, an
intimation of the essential and transcendent excellence and
glory of the spiritual things which were shadowed out by
it." p. 103, Para. 5, [LOOKING].