Verse 18 says, “And you shall make the boards for the tabernacle: twenty boards for the south side southward.” According to verse 20, there were to be twenty boards also on the north side, the second side of the tabernacle. On each side there were ten pairs forming ten times three cubits. To repeat, three signifies the Triune God in resurrection, and ten is the number of human completion. Therefore, ten times three gives us the complete and perfect humanity in resurrection with the Triune God. This is the testimony of the built up church.
Verse 22 says, “And for the rear of the tabernacle westward, you shall make six boards.” The number six refers to man who was created on the sixth day and then became fallen. In the Bible six signifies the natural, fallen man. In ourselves we are the number six, for we are fallen and natural. But when we are coupled together, we form three pairs of boards, each three cubits in width. This means that when fallen, natural persons are coupled together, they become three times three, three pairs of three. They become persons in resurrection with the Triune God.
Verse 23 says, “And you shall make two boards for the corners of the tabernacle at the rear.” The tabernacle was ten cubits wide. According to verse 22, there were six boards for the rear of the tabernacle. These boards covered nine cubits of the width of the tabernacle, leaving a gap of less than one cubit, when the thickness of the side boards is taken into account. We simply do not know how this gap was filled. There is something here in God’s building which we cannot figure out.
Verse 24 is difficult to understand: “And they shall be double from below, and in like manner they shall be complete at its top to the first ring; thus it shall be for both of them; they shall be for the two corners.” The word “they” refers to the two boards mentioned in verse 23. They were to be doubled from below, and this doubling was to be complete at the top to the first ring. As we shall see in the next message, each board had three rings into which the connecting bars were inserted so that the boards could be joined together. It is very difficult to determine where to put the top ring on the corner boards. Because these boards were doubled in thickness, we are left with the problem of how the ring would be in line with the rings on the other boards and also how the bar could fit into it.
Although we cannot understand all the details concerning the corner boards, we can appreciate something of the spiritual significance of these boards being doubled. The corner is a place of turning. Whenever there is a turn in the Lord’s move, there is the need for doubling, strengthening, reinforcing. For example, the church life spread from Jerusalem to Antioch. Antioch was a corner, a place of turning toward the Gentile world. If you study Acts 13, you will see that an important turn took place at Antioch. However, just as we cannot have a thorough understanding of the corner boards of the tabernacle, so we cannot have a complete understanding of the turn which took place at Antioch. Likewise, we do not have a full understanding of the turns the Lord has made in His recovery. In 1949 there was a turn from the mainland of China toward Taiwan. Even though I participated in that turn in a full way, I cannot adequately explain what took place. No one among us can fully figure out this turn. But we do know that when that turn took place, there was a doubling, a strengthening, a reinforcing. The fact that we cannot figure out all the details of the corners of the tabernacle indicates that we shall always be somewhat puzzled by the turns the Lord makes in His recovery. In 1970 there was a migration for the spreading of the church life in the United States. Those who shared in this migration know that it was a turning. Nevertheless, this turn was puzzling and difficult to understand. Although it is difficult to explain, we know this turning involved a doubling, a strengthening. Today there are corners in the Lord’s testimony. Every corner needs to be strengthened and doubled. This strengthening is immeasurable, and we have no way to understand it in full.