The furnishings outside the tabernacle are for assisting those who enter into the tabernacle to serve and draw near to God; the furnishings inside the tabernacle are the contents of the tabernacle, ministering to people the riches of Christ in different aspects.
The first item of the contents of the tabernacle was the table of the bread of the Presence (Exo. 40:4). Upon this table the presence-bread was to be displayed continually (Exo. 25:30). The bread was for the priests as their portion for eternity (Lev. 24:9). Therefore, the table of the bread of the Presence signifies the riches of Christ’s life as the bread of life (John 6:48) for the supply of God’s people that they may live and serve in God’s dwelling place.
The table of the bread of the Presence was made of acacia wood and was overlaid with gold (Exo. 25:23-24). Acacia wood signifies Christ’s humanity as the basic element for Him to be our feast; being overlaid with gold signifies Christ’s divinity as the expression of God. As we enjoy Christ’s humanity as the supply with which to serve God, the outcome will be Christ’s divinity as the expression of God. The more we enjoy Christ as the basic element of our feast, the more we express God.
The second item of the contents of the tabernacle was the golden lampstand (Exo. 40:4), which signifies that Christ in His divinity is the light of life that shines over God’s redeemed people. The lampstand was not made of acacia wood; it was entirely of pure gold. This indicates that it was not because of Christ’s humanity that the light was shining but because of Christ’s divinity. The Gospel of John, which unveils the divinity of Christ, tells us explicitly that Christ is the light of life. Chapter one opens with the words, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God....In Him was life, and the life was the light of men” (vv. 1, 4). In 8:12 the Lord Jesus said, “I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall by no means walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” Moreover, 1 John 1:5 says, “God is light.” Light comes from divinity; the light of life is derived from Christ’s divinity. This is the significance of the lampstand being of pure gold.
The third item of the contents of the tabernacle was the golden incense altar (Exo. 40:5). The incense altar is a place to burn incense. Burning the incense signifies praying, and incense signifies Christ with all His merit. Therefore, incense signifies Christ as the means by which God’s redeemed are accepted by God. Christ is the Intercessor to maintain the relationship between God and His people (Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:25). According to the arrangement of the furniture in the tabernacle and the outer court, the ark is the focus. However, in actual practice the center is the golden incense altar. This indicates that the intercession of Christ is the center of God’s administration. The book of Revelation is a book of God’s administration. It reveals the throne of God and the administration of God throughout the universe. However, the executing center actually is not the throne; the executing center is the incense altar in chapter eight. There, in verses 3 through 5, we see that upon this altar the prayers of the saints are offered to God and that Christ as the incense is added to these prayers. When the prayers of the saints ascend to God with the incense of Christ and are accepted by God, God executes the judgments in His administration.
Therefore, we must enjoy Christ as our prayers and allow Him to pray in our praying that the prayers of the individual Christ may become the prayers of the corporate Christ. Thus, God will execute the move of His economy on the earth.