‹‹ WEEK 1 — DAY 3 ››

Morning Nourishment

Exo. 25:12-14 And you shall cast four rings of gold for it, and put them on its four feet; and two rings shall be on one side of it, and two rings on the other side of it. And you shall make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. And you shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the Ark to carry the Ark with them.

    The Ark typifies Christ as the embodiment of God’s testimony. Far from being stationary, this testimony should be able to move. The book of Acts is a record of the acts, or the move, of Christ,...a description of the [four] rings and the [two] poles, that is,...an account of the move on earth of Christ as God’s testimony.

    Four rings of gold signify that the divine nature of Christ is the linking factor and power....A gold ring signifies the Spirit with whom we have been sealed.Because a ring has no beginning or ending, it signifies the eternal Spirit. These rings made of gold, the divine nature of Christ, signify the linking factor and power. Without the rings, there would have been no way to hold the Ark. There would have been no link, no connection. The life-giving eternal Spirit signified by
the rings is the linking factor and power. (Life-study of Exodus, pp. 997-998)

Today’s Reading

    Exodus 25:12 says that the rings were cast. They were not made of beaten work. The casting of the rings signifies that the eternal life-giving Spirit becomes the linking power through the experience of the cross. Being cast signifies tests which come through suffering. The more we experience the cross, the more the life-giving eternal Spirit will be cast to become the golden rings. Then we shall have strong rings for the move of God’s testimony.

    The number four according to the Bible signifies the four corners of the earth to reach all men (Rev. 7:1). According to Revelation 5:6 the seven Spirits of God are “sent forth into all the earth.” Christ as the embodiment of God’s testimony must reach all men.

    According to Exodus 25:12, there were to be two rings on one side of the Ark and two on its second side. Two rings on each side signifies a testimony in every aspect (Rev. 11:3). The two rings on each side imply coordination. There were two persons at each end to carry the Ark.

    When the Lord Jesus was on earth, He sent out His disciples two by two...to bear His testimony for His move on earth. The principle is the same with the Ark and its move. There were two rings, two sides, two poles, and probably two persons in front and in back. This signifies testimony and coordination....The two poles for carrying the Ark signify the move of Christ as God’s testimony.

    The poles, like the Ark itself, were made of acacia wood,...[signifying] that Christ’s human nature is the strength for His move as God’s testimony.

    The poles were put into the golden rings for carrying the Ark [Exo. 25:15]. This signifies that the move of Christ is by men bearing God’s testimony in their bodies in the uniting power of Christ’s divine nature....This indicates that the witnesses,those who bear the Ark of the Testimony, must be one with the Ark.

    We must be careful to use only the proper means to carry the Lord’s testimony today....The proper way is to have a direct connection with the Lord Jesus. We must bear Christ upon our shoulders. This means that there should not be any distance between us and Him. If we would bear Him as God’s testimony, we should be one with Him.

    According to 25:15, the poles were to stay in the rings of the Ark and not depart from it. This signifies our readiness for the move of Christ as God’s testimony. We must always be ready for the testimony of God to move. We should have the rings and the poles, and the poles should be in the rings. For a period of time, we may stay where we are. At some point the Lord may move us to another city, perhaps even to another country. We should always be ready to go, to move, with the Lord’s testimony.(Life-study of Exodus, pp. 998-999, 1001-1002, 1004-1006)

Further Reading: Life-study of Exodus, msg. 85