“You shall make...a covering of porpoise skins above.”  (Exodus 26:14).

The outer covering was porpoise skins which were probably obtained from the Red Sea where they were abundant.  These skins served as an excellent water-resistant shelter that protected the inner sanctuary from the outer elements.  The only other place porpoise skins are mentioned is in Ezekiel 16:10 where the skins were used as material for sandals.  This signifies the durability of the material.

The color of these skins was a drab, dark, bluish grey.  There was nothing attractive about them.  Again we see a perfect picture of the Lord Jesus.  Speaking of the coming Messiah Isaiah prophesied in 53:2, “He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.”  There was nothing of the outer appearance of Jesus that drew men to Him.  The draw was who He was on the inside and what He came to do for sinners.  Christ came to the earth in the form of a man (porpoise skins), died on the cross for the sin of the world (rams’ skins dyed red), atoned for sin (black goat’s hair), that we may be made the righteous of God (inner curtains).  Just as the priest saw the work from the “inside out,” we too should look at our redeemed lives from the inside out!

Today is March 31.  Give Jesus the full praise He is due!

Blessings,

Jim