Exodus 38:17
And the sockets for the pillars were of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver; and the overlaying of their chapiters of silver; and all the pillars of the court were filleted with silver. And the sockets for the pillars were of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver; and the overlaying of their chapiters of silver; and all the pillars of the court were filleted with silver.
The verse records how the pillars of the court around the sanctuary were finished, standing in bases of brass with hooks and connecting bands of silver and capitals overlaid with silver, so that all the pillars were joined with silver and the silver hooks held the hangings. They belonged to the uncovered court one hundred cubits long and fifty cubits wide, with sixty pillars twenty on each side and ten on each end, standing about five cubits high and five cubits apart in sockets fixed in the ground. This minute detail is part of the record in Exodus 25 to 40 of the sanctuary built exactly according to the pattern shown to Moses in the mount, with Exodus 33 to 40 recording Israel carrying out in order the directions given in Exodus 25 to 30. The building was made to be God's dwelling place among His people so their worship might center there, not left to man's fancy but given as an object lesson by forms and rites to teach the plan of salvation and the character He required, and its construction and service were a pattern of the heavenly sanctuary and Christ's priestly work. Its court of fine linen represents the righteousness of the saints which can be obtained only through Christ as their righteousness, and the glory manifested at its completion showed God's acceptance, applying also to the soul as a temple for His indwelling.
Sanctuary Setting and Construction
Exodus 38:17 belongs to the minute record in Exodus 25 to 40 of the worldly sanctuary built in the days of Moses exactly according to the pattern shown him in the mount. It stands in the account in Exodus 35 to 40 of how Israel carried out the directions for building the sanctuary given in Exodus 25 to 30, showing exact compliance with God's explicit instructions and shown pattern. It belongs to Exodus 33 to 40, which records the building and setting up of the sanctuary, coming immediately after the instruction concerning the sanctuary given to Moses in the mount in Exodus 25 to 31 and in chronological order after the events of Exodus 19 to 32 inclusive. Exodus 38 is part of the account of the sanctuary's construction and records that the Lord's directions for building it were explicitly carried out.
The sanctuary was composed of two apartments separated by a veil, the holy place twenty cubits long, ten cubits wide and ten cubits high, and the most holy place ten cubits in each dimension. Its sides and west end were boards of acacia wood overlaid with gold, secured at the bottom by tenons fitting into sockets or bases of silver each weighing a talent, and held at the top by bars through rings attached to the boards. The specific description of the five entrance pillars concerns the tabernacle's east end, not the court pillars named in this verse.
The verse shows the construction of the court around the sanctuary, an uncovered oblong one hundred cubits long and fifty cubits wide. The court had sixty pillars of brass with silver capitals and mountings, twenty on each side and ten on each end, holding hangings or curtains. The pillars stood five cubits apart and were about five cubits long, the same length as the curtains that hung on them. The pillars rested in sockets of brass fastened to the earth with brass pins, with the lower ends of the structure resting in sockets fixed in the ground and its parts held in position by bars and rings.
Their sockets or bases were of brass or bronze, while their hooks, fillets or connecting bands, and chapiters or capitals were of silver or overlaid, covered, or made with silver. All the pillars of the court were filleted or joined with silver, with silver bands joining them and embellishing them. The silver hooks held the curtains.
Exodus 38:17 is included among the laws given through Moses that are to be remembered. That law included more than the Ten Commandments, encompassing statutes and judgments as well as laws about offerings, sacrifices, and ceremonial matters.
Purpose and Spiritual Meaning
The wilderness sanctuary described in Exodus 38 was erected by Israel at God's command as His dwelling place among them. Its court pillars stood on bronze bases with silver fittings, hooks, connecting bands, and coverings for their capitals, while worship centered on the holy of holies where the law of God rested beneath the mercy seat. The record in Exodus 35-40 shows Israel carrying out the directions given in Exodus 25-30, giving the materials of the court pillars as brass sockets with silver hooks, fillets, and overlaying of the chapiters in exact compliance with the explicit instructions and shown pattern. The building was not left to man's fancy because its object was sacred, a holy place made so that God might dwell among Israel and their worship might center there.
After redeeming Israel from Egyptian bondage with a mighty hand, God gave the sanctuary as a great, multiple object-lesson that by various forms and rites would teach the great plan of salvation and the character He required, because hundreds of years of slavery had unfitted Israel to comprehend them. The people were to bring free-will offerings of all the materials used in building, that they might make God a sanctuary that He might dwell among them, the pattern for the work being divine, given to Moses in the mount, with God specially endowing the workmen to build the marvelously beautiful structure. The construction and service of that earthly sanctuary were a pattern and object lesson of the heavenly sanctuary and Christ's priestly work, so that the details of the court's pillars form part of a sanctuary pattern which teaches God's way and helps in understanding Christ's work. The worldly sanctuary first pitched in the wilderness after God brought Israel out of Egypt and commanded Moses on Mount Sinai to make Him a sanctuary that He might dwell among them had its dimensions, material, furnishings, and all, including the court and its pillars, made exactly according to the explicit directions given to Moses in the mount, forming God's dwelling-place with men. That earthly sanctuary was always typical of and foreshadowed the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched and not man, serving unto the shadow of heavenly things, with all its rites and ceremonies as object lessons pointing to the Lamb of God that takes away sin and to His power to forgive sin and transform character, and true worship centered in this worldly sanctuary until the sacrifice of Christ, when with the rending of the temple veil its typical and shadowy service passed away entirely and forever.
The fine linen of the tabernacle court represents the righteousness of the saints, which they can obtain only through Christ, who is their righteousness. The account of building and setting up the sanctuary and its services, to which the description of the court pillars with brass sockets and silver hooks, connecting fillets, and capitals belongs, closes with blessing and glory attending the completed building. The manifestation of God's glory at its inauguration showed His acceptance of the people's repentance. Its adornment applies to the soul as a temple for God's indwelling.