When Moses was on the mountain of God, he stayed with God under His glory for forty days and forty nights. In the Bible, the number forty signifies tests or trials. It is difficult for us to stand God’s tests. We prefer to see the vision very quickly, within the space of a few minutes. But to see a revelation from God requires a long period of time. It took Moses forty days and forty nights to see this vision. From my experience I can testify that it has taken me forty years to see this vision. Little by little throughout the years, the Lord has shown His revelation. We should not think that we can see the divine revelation in a hasty way.
Some experiences we had in the Lord’s recovery years ago demonstrate that it takes time to see God’s revelation. In 1964 some brothers decided that they would move to different cities in the United States to spread the church life. At first I agreed that such a move would be good for the Lord’s recovery. A few weeks later, however, I encouraged the brothers to wait for a period of time, perhaps three years. Some brothers nevertheless went out to different places and tried to have the church life. Each situation was a failure, and the brothers came back convinced that they should wait a period of time before trying to spread the church life. Three years later, in 1967, I encouraged the saints to wait for another three years. Some brothers could not pass this test of time. Unable to wait any longer, they went out on their own. History has proved that all those who went out in this way were not successful. This indicates that spiritual things take time. In order to see the vision Moses had to spend forty days and forty nights under the glory on the mountaintop.
The forty days Moses was with the Lord on the mountaintop were a test to the children of Israel. They were not able to wait for Moses to come down from the mountain. They demanded that Aaron make them a god. The people took golden rings and brought them to Aaron, and he fashioned them with a graving tool into a calf (32:3-4). Then the people said, “These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt” (v. 4). Instead of seeing a vision, the people, unable to bear the test of time, made a god for themselves. They could look at the golden calf and declare that this was the god that rescued them from Egypt. Actually, it was an idol. The situation is the same in principle among many Christians today. They may boast that they have seen a vision. Actually, what they have is nothing more than a calf, a self-made idol. Not able to take the time needed to see God’s revelation, they make idols for themselves.
In 25:1-7 God revealed to Moses the materials, the basic elements, to be used in building the tabernacle. All the materials represent basic elements we should use in building the church. Every element, however, is lacking among today’s Christians. Instead of caring for the materials which correspond to God’s revelation, Christians are taught how to organize and how to use psychology. In the Lord’s recovery we do not teach psychology or organization. We need to know all the heavenly materials in a thorough way.
All the materials described in 25:1-7 refer to the virtues of Christ’s Person and work. This means that these materials signify different aspects of Christ. They signify the virtues of what He is in His Person and of what He has done and will do in His work.