Sovereign Grace Baptist Church

Free Grace Media

Of Princeton, New Jersey

 

AuthorClay Curtis
TitleThe Tent of Goats' Hair
Bible TextExodus 26:7-13
Synopsis Christ is typified in the goat’s hair, as a Man, bearing away the sins of his people forever. Listen
Date15-Sep-2019
Series Exodus 2016
Article Type Sermon Notes
PDF Format pdf
Word Format doc
Audio HI-FI Listen: The Tent of Goats' Hair (32 kbps)
Audio CD Quality Listen: The Tent of Goats' Hair (128 kbps)
Length 34 min.
 
Series: Exodus 
Title: The Tent of Goat’s Hair 
Text: Exodus 26: 7-13 
Date: September 15, 2019 
Place: SGBC, NJ 
  
Our subject today is: The Tent of Goat’s Hair 
  
Exodus 26: 7: And thou shalt make curtains of goats’ hair to be a covering upon the tabernacle: eleven curtains shalt thou make.
  
Exodus 35: 6: all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun goats’ hair.


Think of that: we have a type of Christ brought forth of a woman; Christ came forth of a woman—the Seed of Woman (Gen 3:15) So that let’s us know that this covering has something to do with Christ as a Man.  
  
Proposition: Christ is typified in the goat’s hair, as a Man, bearing away the sins of his people forever. 
  
Divisions: We will see Christ 1) In the material used  2) In the number of curtains 3) In the loops and taches 4) In the hanging of the curtains 
  
CHRIST IN THE MATERIAL USED
  
Exodus 26: 7: And thou shalt make curtains of goats’ hair to be a covering upon the tabernacle:
  
The word “curtains” is from a root word meaning “to fear and tremble.”  We can picture the goats hair curtain trembling in the rough winds of that waste howling wilderness.  You and I are conceived in sin.  Therefore, we are born with “no fear of God before our eyes” (Ps 36: 1).  We must have a representative to serve God in perfect reverence.  As the Head of his people, the GodMan served God the Father in perfect reverence, even unto the death of the cross.  The good news is that in him his people served God in perfect reverence.  This is one way Christ is our Holiness.
  
Then the “goat” used was “a kid of the goats”.   It pictures Christ, bearing the sins of people, putting our sins away, making atonement with God for our sins.  We know that because God required the same goat in the sin-offerings.  For each individual Israelite, God commanded a kid of the goats be used when they each brought an offering for their sin.  For the children of Israel together in their great feasts, God required a goat be the only animal used for a sin-offering.   We see an example of an individual sin-offering in Leviticus 4: 23-26. 
  
God commanded that the sinner shall bring his offering “a kid of the goats.” This pictures a sinner coming to God through faith in Christ.  The goat must be “a male without blemish.”  Christ knew no sin; he died the just for the unjust; even on the cross Christ never sinned (1 Pet 3: 18)  He knew no sin in thought nor in the intent of his heart.  
  
Then God commanded the sinner, “shall lay his hand upon the head of the goat.”  This was only ceremonial.  It pictured the transference of sin from the sinner to the substitute goat in type.  But Christ is the express image of the substitute being picture.  Therefore, scripture says, "he hath made him sin for us, who knew no sin…”;“the Lord laid on him the iniquity of” all his elect (2 Cor 5:21; Is 53: 6). What does that mean?  Before God, before the law, as well as in Christ’s suffering, our Substitute was made sin in every way except the corruption of his nature.  He was made sin in the guilt and curse of it, (Gal 3:13) the forsaking (Ps 22: 1,2,6), the shame (Heb 12:2), and scripture says “he was touched with feeling of our infirmities” (Heb 4: 15). He was touched in his bodily suffering with all the feeling of infirmities that our sin causes.  As that was taking place, scripture says he was “in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” 
 
Then after the goat was ceremonially made sin, God commanded, “kill it in the place where they kill the burnt offering before the LORD.”  They did not kill the goat without blemish.  It was only after it was made sin ceremonially, only after the sinners sins were laid on it in type.  Why?  God is just.   Christ crucified declares God’s righteousness.   The reason the goat was then slain is because “it is a sin offering.” The word is ‘it is sin.’  Again, this was ceremony; Christ was the express image; Christ’s was not in type. 
  
Next, God said, “And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out his blood at the bottom of the altar of burnt offering.”   The goat for the sin-offering was the only sacrifice whose blood was poured out.  It pictures Christ who "hath poured out His soul”—his life’s blood—"unto death” (Is 53:12)] 
 
At last God said, “And he shall burn all his fat upon the altar, as the fat of the sacrifice of peace offerings: and the priest shall make an atonement for him as concerning his sin, and it shall be forgiven him.”  As the burnt fat rose up a sweet smell to God so Christ made at-one-ment with God for the sins of his people.  God is just to forgives us because in Christ we have no sin to impute. 
 
So these curtains of goat’s hair picture our spotless Substitute, who was made sin for his people, to make us the righteousness of God in him.  
 
CHRIST IN THE NUMBER OF CURTAINS
 
Exodus 26: 7:…eleven curtains shalt thou make. 8: The length of one curtain shall be thirty cubits, and the breadth of one curtain four cubits: and the eleven curtains shall be all of one measure. 9: And thou shalt couple five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves,…
  
God commanded Moses to make a total of 11 curtains of goats hair: he was to couple five together by themselves and six together by themselves, making “eleven curtains of one measure.” 
  
For individual sinners, the number of times a sin-offering was required in which “goats” were used was five; collectively, the great feasts where a goat was used for a sin-offering was six.  
  
For individual sinners, there were five times a sin-offering was to be made: 
  
One, as we just read, when a ruler or common person sinned, God required their sin be laid on “a kid of the goats” and the goat be slain in the individual’s place (Lev 4:23, 27, 28). 
  
Two, at the consecration of the priesthood God required a “kid of the goats for a sin-offering” (Lev 9:2-3) 
  
Three, at the dedication of the altar each “prince” was required to offer “one kid of the goats for a sin-offering” (Nu 7:16). 
  
Four, for the sin of ignorance, God required a “kid of the goats” to make atonement (Nu 15:24, 27). 
  
Five, at the beginning of each month a special sin-offering was appointed which included "a kid of the goats” (Nu 28:11, 15). 
  
Collectively, the great feasts were a goat was required to be sacrificed for the sins of the children of Israel was six:
  
One, at the beginning of each new year in remembrance of the passover a goat was sacrificed for their sins. 
  
Two, at the seven day feast of unleavened bread (which was connected to Passover but was a feast in itself—Lu 22:1)—each day in order to purge their sin from all their other sacrifices, God required a “goat” be slain in their place (Nu 28:17, 22). 
  
Three, the feast of “weeks”/“Pentecost” God required a goat be slain for their sin as their substitute (Lev 23:15, 19). 
  
Four, at the feast of Trumpets (Nu 29:1, 5). 
  
Five, on the great annual Day of Atonement a special sin-offering was required: one goat was slain, the other had the sins and iniquities of all Israel ceremonially laid upon it then it was led away into a land not inhabited (Leviticus 16). 
  
Six, the feast of Tabernacles, feast of ingathering, when Israel rested from their work and rejoiced in the blessing of God upon them—for eight days a “goat” was slain in their place for their sin (Nu 29). 
 
And be sure to get this: “the eleven curtains [were of] one measure.”  It pictured the same as the eleven sacrifices—they covered all the sin of all the children of Israel. So these eleven curtains of one measure typify how Christ put away all the sins of all God’s elect Israel by his one offering!  The Holy Spirit bears witness to us God remembers our sins no more; now where remission of these is there is no more offering for sin (Heb 10: 15-18).  It is because, 
  
2 Corinthians 5: 19:…God was in Christ, reconciling the world [of his elect] unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them…21: For he hath made him sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. 
  
CHRIST IN THE LOOPS AND TACHES
 
Exodus 26: 10: And thou shalt make fifty loops on the edge of the one curtain that is outmost in the coupling, and fifty loops in the edge of the curtain which coupleth the second. 11: And thou shalt make fifty taches of brass, and put the taches into the loops, and couple the tent together, that it may be one. 
 
There were fifty loops with fifty taches of brass to couple the curtains together, that it may be one.  Fifty is the number of Pentecost.  It pictured the same thing as these curtains, the gathering together of Christ’s people into his holy tabernacle, that we may be one. 
  
Notice it only says “loops.” The ten white curtains were coupled with “loops of blue” (26:4), picturing Christ’s heavenly glory as the Son of God; but these were simply “loops.”  When Christ was “made sin for us” his heavenly glory was hidden, as the three hours of darkness testified. 
  
Also, remember, the curtains of fine-twined linen were coupled together with “gold” taches, but these “brass” taches.  “Brass” symbolizes divine judgment.  So the taches of brass speak of what it took to make us one with Christ and one another.  On the Cross, our Savior suffered the outpoured Judgment of God (Is 53:10; Zec 13:7). 
  
Zechariah 13: 7:  Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: 
  
So let us put all this together with some new testament scripture.  In the curtains being separate, we are reminded that sin divided God’s people from God and from one another—we are as helpless to unite ourselves to God and to one another, as these inanimate curtains were.  Yet, God the Father purposed from eternity to unite his elect—Jew and Gentile—to himself and to one another in Christ. 
  
Ephesians 1: 9: Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: 10: That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, [all his elect] both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:… 
  
So coupling these curtains together into one tabernacle with brass taches pictures Christ building his people into his holy temple through suffering the divine judgment of God on our behalf. 
  
Ephesians 2: 14: For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; 15: Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; 16: And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: 17: And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. 18: For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. 19: Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; 20: And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; 21: In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: 22: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. 
  
CHRIST IN THE HANGING OF THE CURTAINS
 
Exodus 26:9:…and shalt double the sixth curtain in the forefront of the tabernacle…12: And the remnant that remaineth of the curtains of the tent, the half curtain that remaineth, shall hang over the backside of the tabernacle. 13: And a cubit on the one side, and a cubit on the other side of that which remaineth in the length of the curtains of the tent, it shall hang over the sides of the tabernacle on this side and on that side, to cover it.
  
These goats’ hair curtains overlapped the white curtains completely and covered also the golden boards.  So you could not see that which pictured Christ’s holiness and Christ’s glory.  God is holy.  Therefore, God could not manifest his beauty and glory in our midst, he could not tabernacle among us, except first, our sin be fully dealt with.  Justice had to be satisfied.  Our sin had to be put away by the sacrifice of God’s son! 
 
Notice, “and shalt double the sixth curtain in the forefront of the tabernacle.”  The first thing you would see as you entered the door of the tabernacle, the gate called beautiful, is this black covering of goat’s hair doubled.  What did it represent?  God calls each of his people into Christ the Door, into Christ the Narrow Gate called Beautiful, into Christ our Tabernacle, one way, through the preaching of the gospel.  The goat’s hair preached the gospel to each believer every time they went to the tabernacle.  As they beheld it doubled over it preached abounding grace.  As the Lord said in Isaiah 40, God has rewarded us “double” grace for all our sins. (Is 40: 2)  “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Rom 5:20).
  
Now, let’s see the last thing.  Back in verse 7, “covering” means “clear, shining, conspicuous [even] from a distance.”  To the carnal eye there is no form nor comeliness in beholding Christ crucified on the cross.  The natural man finds nothing beautiful in what we have been seeing here.  But to the spiritual eye, we behold the clear, shining of God’s glory in Christ. 
  
2 Corinthians 4: 6: For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 
 
John 1: 14: And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. 
 
Sinner, the only way we come before God with this one sin-atoning sacrifice is by believing on Christ.   Believe on him today and you shall behold his glory—that is what he told Martha—and you shall be saved!   And for you who already believe on him, we say,  “I am black  but comely.”  In my sinful flesh I am black “as the tents of Kedar.”   They made their tents from the same black goat’s hair.  Yet, in Christ with Christ in me I am comely “as the curtains of Solomon” which were made of fine twined linen.  Before God’s eye Christ put away my sinful flesh of goats hair so that God sees us only in the fine-twined linen of Christ our Holiness and Righteousness (Cant 1:5). 
 
Amen!