Exodus 38:18
And the hanging for the gate of the court was needlework, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen: and twenty cubits was the length, and the height in the breadth was five cubits, answerable to the hangings of the court. And the hanging for the gate of the court was needlework, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen: and twenty cubits was the length, and the height in the breadth was five cubits, answerable to the hangings of the court.
The gate stood on the eastern side of the court as a twenty-cubit-wide entrance closed by an embroidered curtain of blue and purple and scarlet and fine white linen, five cubits high to match the surrounding hangings. It was distinct from the rest of the enclosure, which was made only of fine-twined white linen hung on brass pillars five cubits high around a court one hundred cubits long by fifty cubits wide. The detail belongs to the minute account of the movable dwelling-place built in the wilderness exactly according to the pattern shown to Moses, by workers specially endowed with wisdom and supplied by the free-will offerings of Israel after deliverance from Egypt. Hanging this curtain was the last act in completing the tabernacle, when the cloud covered the tent and the glory of the Lord filled it so that Moses could not enter. The sanctuary was made holy that God might dwell among His people and center their worship, a beautiful object-lesson of the plan of salvation, in which the fine linen represents the righteousness of the saints obtainable only through Christ.
Court Gate Described
The gate of the court stood on the eastern end or side, a twenty-cubit-wide entrance opening closed by a curtain suspended at the entrance pillars. The gate hanging was needlework or richly embroidered work of blue and purple and scarlet and fine twined white linen, distinct from the other court hangings which were made only of fine-twined white linen yarn. The hanging was twenty cubits long and five cubits high, answerable to or matching the court hangings. It was a vail in the sense of a curtain or covering closing an entrance, distinct from the inner vail before the most holy place.
The court around the tabernacle measured one hundred cubits long by fifty cubits wide, seventy-five by one hundred and fifty feet, and five cubits high. It was enclosed by hangings of fine-twined linen suspended from brass pillars about five cubits high set five cubits apart, continuous except at the gate. Like all the important dimensions of the court and tabernacle, the measurements were five cubits or a multiple of five, made with strict proportion and beauty and costly material to impress every beholder with the importance, purity and sacredness of the worship connected with it.
The entrance hanging had cords to raise or slide it when the priests entered the court. The court hangings were only about half as high as the walls of the tabernacle so the building could be plainly seen by the people without.
Sanctuary Built and Purposed
Exodus 38:18 gives one detail in the very minute description in Exodus 25 to 40 of the worldly sanctuary, the movable dwelling-place of God built in the wilderness in the days of Moses. Exodus 35 to 40 records Israel's compliance with the directions for building the sanctuary and making its furniture given in Exodus 25 to 30. The completed work followed the Lord's directions explicitly and exactly according to the pattern shown to Moses in the mount.
The work was not left to human fancy for size or manner but was done by explicit instruction after a shown pattern. It was carried out by workers specially endowed by God with wisdom to carry it out. It was built from the free-will offerings of the children of Israel after their deliverance from Egyptian bondage, so that God might dwell among them. The instructions were not to be disregarded under penalty of death.
The hanging of this curtain upon the court gate was the last act in completing the tabernacle. When it was hung the cloud covered the tent of the congregation and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle so that Moses was not able to enter. The completed sanctuary and its furnishings were made as God directed, and God's blessing and glory came upon the congregation and the building.
The sanctuary is a sacred or holy place made so God might dwell among Israel brought out of Egypt, where His glory would remain and their worship would center. As the earthly center of worship its services centered on the holy of holies, where the law of God rested beneath the mercy seat. Its marvelously beautiful structure is a great multiple object-lesson comprehending by various forms and rites the great plan of salvation for a people unfitted by long slavery to comprehend God's salvation and required character. The verse belongs to the laws given through Moses, which include more than the Ten Commandments, including statutes and judgments, ceremonial laws, and instructions about offerings, sacrifices and types, preserving the shadows through which the substance of the new dispensation can be traced. Its details prompt reflection on how the soul is adorned for God's indwelling. The fine linen represents the righteousness of the saints, which they can obtain only through Christ, who is their righteousness.