A widely recognized principle of hermeneutics is to garner as much information as possible regarding what the text(s) under consideration meant to its/their original audience or readership. For a Western Christian three and a half millennia hence, this is perhaps more difficult than might be imagined. But the reward is worth the effort; the prize is worth the price. Typology is the study of types and antitypes, and features heavily in this work. As each item of furniture in the tabernacle in the wilderness is subject to analysis, their fulfillment in Christ and the practical application for believers of such fulfillment is thereby exposed. The journey for the reader begins where it ended for the majority under Moses' leadership: at the brazen altar. After bathing at the brazen laver, we are then allowed to join the priests as they undertake their duties in the Holy Place, attending the table of shewbread, the golden lampstand, and the altar of incense. We then accompany the high priest into the Most Holy Place and find out why we are now permitted to stand before the ark of the covenant. It is a journey of discovery and it will do you good (Num 10:29)!
