Boards and Bars. Exodus 26:15-30 The building's foundation was solid silver—probably about five tons altogether. Two silver sockets with mortises were used for each to secure the tenons of the upright boards and to lift the Tabernacle boards off the ground. Forty sockets were on each side, twelve at the west end, and eight beneath the pillars supporting the vails. These sockets could support the weight of large gold-covered boards, along with the curtains and coverings.
The silver around the bottom of the Tabernacle symbolizes redemption, which has "delivered us from this present evil world." The floor of the Tabernacle was the earth. Nothing on the floor should speak of Christ, because walking on anything that would reflect on His Person or dignity is forbidden in every way. His redemptive work has separated us from the world. "He has delivered us from this present evil world [Gal.1:4]."
The wide boards, over two feet wide and likely over six inches thick (according to the measurement of the curtain, thirty cubits in length), had to be separated from their original roots and natural form as large trees and shaped to reveal the divine pattern God intended. They were made of the same wood as the ark and the altar of incense. Each one was cut, shaped, and covered with gold, looking identical to the others placed side by side to form the wall.
The character traits of the Lord Jesus are numerous, and all are interconnected to form a single dwelling place of glory and beauty. The boards can illustrate each aspect of the Lord Jesus Christ in His Person. Every moral attribute and characteristic of our Lord is pure and holy, as shown in His Person. The boards can also depict the saints of God, who have become partakers of the divine nature, and are connected by the middle bar that spans the entire 45 feet in length.
The corners were made of three boards, each resting on sockets of silver and joined at the top by a ring that held them together as one solid piece. The three boards were “twined” together, reinforcing the entire structure. Our Lord is the “Chief Cornerstone” upon which every believer is being built today. We are a “habitation for God through the Spirit.” Each one has been redeemed – the silver, bound together by the truth of God and the Spirit of God – the gold bars, strengthened by the unity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – the corner “twined” by a gold band and unified in God's eyes as “one body in the Lord.”
Redemption is the foundation of God's house – the silver sockets. The righteousness of God has been imputed to us, binding us together with the divine nature He has given us. This enables us to “keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” The boards covered with gold depict our Lord Jesus Christ: perfect in Manhood, glorious in Deity. He is the one and only God/Man. The bars of truth, through the rings of fellowship, support the entire structure as being “fitly framed together.” The Holy Spirit unites us in Christ, who dwells within every believer. There is no distinction before God.
The unseen Holy Spirit unites us all in Christ, "one Body in the Lord." The other four bars also remind us of the doctrines of truth related to the Person of Christ, linking the entire structure into a whole that strengthens every part of the building. In this specific portion of scripture revealing Tabernacle teaching, God comes to man through each board, each bar, and each socket, showing characteristics of God that create a composite picture of Divine Persons.