Song of Solomon
1:10 chain(s) of gold Exodus 28:24, 39:17
1:11 Borders of gold Exodus 37:12
1:13 Myrrh Exodus 30:23
1:14 Camphire 3724 'ransom' Exodus 21:30
3:6 Frankincense Exodus 30:34
4:1 [Flock of] goats hair Exodus 26:7 [for a covering in Exodus Hair is a covering]
4:14 Calamus Exodus 30:23
4:14 Cinnamon Exodus 30:23
5:14 Gold rings Exodus 39:16
5:14 Beryl Exodus 28:20
7:1 Cunning workman Exodus 35:35

So the tabernacle, in some way, speaks of the bride of Christ.

Although the tabernacle and its court were so magnificant, it was small. It has been pointed out that the court was only one quarter the size of a British football pitch.

The altar (v.1), which was the central implement for sacrifice under the Law, foreshadows Christ, our altar.

The altar was made of hard orange-brown shittim wood. The Hebrew root for this wood is shittah which means thorny. Shittim is the plural of shittah because the principal trunk of the tree (probably acacia seyal) being described, emerges from a tangled, thorny thicket.

A crown of thorns was twisted and placed on the Lord's head just before His crucifixion (Matt 27:29).  Although I don't think it can be ascertained, I wonder if these thorns were from the acacia seyel.  If so, the significance of the use of shittim wood in the construction of the altar becomes more profound.

There were 5 cubits between each pillar (which supported curtains 5 cubits high v.18). The tabernacle had the number 5 as its all-prevailing number; nearly every measurement was a multiple of 5. 5 is thought by many as representing grace and mercy.

 The tabernacle manifested God's merciful presence in the midst of his people and pointed forward to the grace and mercy of God's offering His son (sacrifices on the brazen altar), the provision of baptism (laver) and washing of the word, entering the door (the door is Christ, John 10:9) to the holy place symbolically pointing to the place of worship (ecclesia/church, where ever two or three are gathered together, Matt 18:20) where those in Christ share fellowship, commune with Christ (who is symbolically the branched lampstand or light, ( Matt 4:16; Luke 2:25-32), feed on the bread of life (John 6:31,32,33,35,48,49,50,51), and offer prayers (incense, Rev 5:8) to God. Finally, the most holy place symbolically points to God's mercy in the future establishment of His glorious kingdom where those resurrected (in many cases) and selected at judgement by grace will have eternal life on an earth where Christ will rule in a millenial era after which he will turn things over to his Father.

27:20   Whereas Israel had to give willingly for the manufacture of the tabernacle (Exo 25:2) they were ;commanded’ to bring pure olive oil. Whereas the structure of the tabernacle represented the ecclesia and required the willingness of the members to make it work the light for the lamps – representing the word of God – and as such was left to the discretion of man. Likewise whatever we do in ‘building the house of God’ we must give attention to Scripture.

27:1 Everything associated with the altar was covered in brass, not gold. The gold showed the glory of God. God’s glory is not seen in the death of animals. Rather the sacrifices were to be offered because man was separated from God by his sins. The absence of gold and the use of brass shows this to us.

V.2 Just a reminder that where brass is seen in the KJV, copper, or possibly bronze, is meant. The Hebrew word here translated brass is necoshet, which means copper. Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, which was a much later development. Bronze, an alloy of copper and tin, was known and used at this time.

27:20 Despite the beauty and splendour of the tabernacle without light it was nothing. The same is true of the ecclesia. It is God’s building – 1Cor 3:9- but unless we show the character of the Father it is but just a shell.

82:2-4 The things mentioned here are all spoken about in the law of Moses. So we see that God is consistent in the way that He deals with His people. We have no excuse, therefore, for straying from the teaching of Scripture.

81:13-14 In reading of God's sorrow over Israel's failure to serve Him so that He could deliver them we see a pattern of how we should respond to errant brethren. Rather than simply seeking to cut them off we should be seeking actively for repentance so that they can be restored.

82:6 Ye are Gods John 10:34. Jesus use of this verse shows that the Psalmist is speaking of Israel's leaders. It seems that because of their exalted status they became proud and needed to be reminded of their mortality. A severe warning against pride.

81:7 The mention of ‘Meribah’ should alert us to the wilderness journey aspect of this Psalm. If you get this far in the Psalm  without seeing references to the time in Egypt and the wilderness and the rejection at the border of the land might I suggest you re read the Psalm and not the links.

82:7 The condemnation ‘ye shall die like men’ is a condemnation of the judges of Israel who should have judged right but who were perverting judgement (Psa 82:2)

Psalm 81 This Psalm is written in the form of God's lamentation for His people's disobedience.

Psalm 82  The writer identifies the inability of Israel's leaders to judge faithfully. Christ quotes this Psalm in John 10:34 

Psa 81:1-5 is Israel the nation speaking, then from v6 (Psa 81:6-14) it's God speaking. Then the last 2 verses (Psa 81:15,16) is in Israel's words again.

81:12    ‘I gave them up’ is quoted by Stephen – Acts 7:42 – thus demonstrating that Israel’s idolatry caused God to distance Himself from them. As Isaiah said, Israel’s sins had separated them from Him – Isa 59:2.

81:7 So God ‘proved’ Israel. A recurring theme in Scripture. Exo 15:25, Psa 17:3, 68:10, 

81v8 Hear Oh my people. Listen

81v11 Heed my voice

81v13 Oh that my people would listen!

The implication in 81v10 is that Israel wouldn't listen to who God was. He had declared Himself to them as the only God by saving them from Egypt with a mignty hand. But they gave the credit to a watered down version of God mixed up with ideas of the idols of other nations. So in 82v5 we read "They do not know, nor do they understand".

It's no coincidence that Jesus often repeated the phrase "he who has ears to hear, let him hear". Jesus was God's last and best attempt to reach His people. He showed them who He was by showing them His son.

82:2 The phrase accept the persons (KJV) literally means, from the Hebrew, lift up the faces. It implies an allowance or encouragement for (the wicked in this case) to continue their activities. 

81:8  It is only a little word. ‘if’ but salvation hinges upon it. If Israel did not listen to God they would perish. Likewise we are in the same position. Unless our ears are open to His instruction in His word we will also perish.

"Against them" - This was a straight shot, this parable of the Rejected Stone - Mark 12:10 - and the longer parable just prior, of the Wicked Husbandmen. There was no mistaking the application, for He had specifically explained the application - Matthew 21:43-45. The Sanhedrin were so angry that they actually started or sought to seize Him, but fear of the populace, now more enthusiastic for Jesus than ever, held them back. They went off in disgust seeking to join with the hated Herodians once more, to achieve their murderous design - Mark 12:13. How do we react when we feel that we are not getting our own way? Do we leave it to God to work it out? Or do we set out to gather more "political" clout to achieve our ends?

12:1      In saying that the man 'went into a far country' Jesus quotes Prov 7:19. These are the words of the strange woman who seeks to entice the son. So Israel's leaders are likened, by Jesus, to the strange woman. Instead of instructing the people they were enticing them to turn from God.

12:19-23 The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection so they looked in Scripture for passages which furthered their cause. They were not really interested in understanding the commandment of Moses. Rather they were trying to use the word of God to further their own ends. Are we ever like that in our discussions with brethren?

12:13   In saying that they ‘sent’ people to Jesus we see the prable of verses :1-11 being fulfilled. Notice the repeated use of the word ‘sent’ in the parable – mark Mark 12:2,4,5,6

12:13   In saying that they ‘sent’ people to Jesus we see the prable of verses :1-11 being fulfilled. Notice the repeated use of the word ‘sent’ in the parable – mark Mark 12:2,4,5,6

12:6 The ‘well beloved’ of this parable is found in Isa 5:1 which is the basis for this parable – see the way that verse 1 quotes Isa 5:1

Vs.25,26 Jesus confirms that the promises given to the Patriarchs will be fulfilled (Heb 11:13); that they will be changed to immortality to be like the angels (1Cor 15:53).  This also applies to their seed, the true believers in Christ (Gal 3:16,27,29).

12:17 We might think that Jesus’ answer ;render to Caesar ...’ is a rather slick answer. But no. The tribute money was minted specifically as tribute money. It belonged to Caesar so it should be given to him.