1 Moses assembled all the congregation of the people of Israel and said to them, “These are the things that the Lord has commanded you to do.
They Get Ready for Construction
Exodus 35:1, Moses assembled all the congregation of the people of Israel and said to them, these are the things that the Lord has commanded you to do. Now, at this point in Exodus with this word from Moses, we are now going to shift into the people of Israel actually building the tabernacle that God had already described and prescribed to them, to Moses on Mount Sinai. The Lord has commanded them. Moses said there in verse one to build this tabernacle. And now we're going to have a record of the people of Israel construct in the tabernacle exactly as God had said. And over and over again in this passage, we're going to see them carrying out the precise words that God had already declared to them. Frankly, this next section is fairly repetitive.
Chapter 35, all the way to the end of the book. Chapter 40 is fairly repetitive in that the exact descriptions that God gave to Moses of the tabernacle on the mountain are now said by Moses, exactly as he received them to the people so that they might get busy about the mission of building this tabernacle. But the repetition need not scare us as believers today. The repetition is helpful because it helps us understand that we must heed the word of God precisely, not loosely, but we must precisely heed the word of God. You see the people of Israel when they build this tabernacle, according to God's word would watch God's presence come among them and God's blessing then flow from him as he was there in the midst of the people. And this helps us understand what obedience to the Lord does in the Christian life. Precise obedience, unlocks God's presence in our lives in a special way.
And God's presence in our lives in a special way, leads to the blessing of God, the blessings that are attached to the presence of God. So the repetition that we're about to see helps us become encouraged to heed the word of the Lord. This is what Moses said in verse one. These are the things that the Lord has commanded you to do.
Now, one other thing I need to mention before we read Moses's words, recounting what God has told them to do is to realize that our parentheses that we've been looking out over the last few studies is now complete. You see Moses had been up on the mountain, receiving the law from God. He came down from the mountain with the 10 commandments written by the finger of God only to discover that the people of Israel had strayed from God by worshiping the golden calf.
And that three chapter parentheses was a catastrophic moment. The rebellion of Israel in chapter 32, Moses is intercession for Israel in chapter 33, and then God's restoration of Israel the restoring of the covenant in chapter 34. And now we're just going to pick up right where we should have been. Moses wanted to come down the mountain and tell the people I just heard from God up on the mountain and this is what He said we should do. That's what the rest of Exodus is going to be. Moses telling Israel what God told him on the mountain. It's almost as if chapter 32, 33 and 34, the whole golden calf episode, the rebellion intercession and the restoration, it's almost as if they didn't occur. It's as if God has a plan for his people and it cannot be stopped. And that when we sin, when we rebel against the Lord, if we repent of our sin, if we cry out to him for grace and mercy, He is prone to restore us and get us back onto the track that He has designed for us originally.
The Sabbath Reiterated
2 Six days work shall be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on it shall be put to death. 3 You shall kindle no fire in all your dwelling places on the Sabbath day.”
So God now is going through Moses direct his people. And Moses begins with what God ended with on Mount Sinai. One of the last things that God told Moses about was the Sabbath. And so Moses starts with the Sabbath here. In verse two he says, six days work shall be done. But on the seventh day you shall have a Sabbath of solemn rest holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on it shall be put to death. You shall Kindle no fire in all your dwelling places on the Sabbath day.
So again, a repetition of God's commands about the Sabbath. There is a detailed that's given to us that's new here in this command, and it's the prohibition against fire. No fire He says, in all your dwelling places on the Sabbath day. Fire of course would be used to cook and to prepare meals which would be considered work and God wanted this to be a day of solemn rest before him.
Now, part of the reason that the Sabbath is mentioned first is because likely of its importance this would be a distinguishing mark for the people of Israel. Another reason that the Sabbath might've been mentioned first here by Moses is because they needed to keep the Sabbath, even while they were building the tabernacle. He's about to tell them about the tabernacle that God has revealed to him, all the elements and different materials that would be required to build this tabernacle. And he would invite them into the process of building this tabernacle his about to tell them what the tabernacle is for. He's about to introduce all this to them and they might have been tempted in their zeal to spend seven days a week building this tabernacle, but they needed to pause and take a break, even while building it to rest on the day of the Sabbath.
This might actually be helpful to even modern believers who are engaged in the work of ministry. Even if on your day off, you are serving the Lord hard with your life. That might not actually be a Sabbath for you. You might need to have another time in your life another day in your week, where you take a time to stop and rest and reflect and just recuperate from what came before and get your strength, built up for what is coming in the week to come. I know for me as a pastor who on Sundays is not just teaching one service, but at this point in my life, multiple services, up very early in the morning on Sundays preparing late at night on Saturdays and working hard at multiple services on Sundays. The Lord's day is not a Sabbath for me. It's not a day of rest.
And this is the case for many people who either have jobs on Sundays or are in the ministry in a full-time capacity on Sundays. It's good for you to have another time where you stop and you reflect and you rest before the Lord. But another reason that the Sabbath was given here, I've already mentioned is that it was the last detail that God gave to Moses on Sinai. And now it's the first detail that God gives once the covenant has been restored or renewed. And so it's almost as if God is saying through all of this, Hey, the golden calf incident occurred, but we're right back on track. We're right where we left off up on the mountaintop. Now, before I move on I should mention some benefits of the weekly Sabbath. One benefit is that it gives a human being time for reflection to just think about the way that the week just unfolded and to reflect upon it.
A lot of times we're just moving so quickly through life. We never pause to take a moment to ask how are my relationships? How am I treating the people in my life? Did I make good decisions last week? Was there any area of my life that I compromised in? Are there changes that I need to make? Am I settled and satisfied with the way I live my life over the previous six days, it also gives someone an escape from a consumerist culture and society. We might lose this a little bit in our emphasis on the concept of rest, but for the people of Israel who had to work to eat their bread, very literally it was a big deal for them not to go to the marketplace, not to sell their produce, not to earn a living on that one day, each week.
And in a sense it would help them escape from the hustle and bustle of buying and selling. It would help them to escape the concept that they were producers who needed to earn and make and save and all of that, just help them separate from that for a moment. And we live in a very consumeristic society and it might be great for us to partake of the Sabbath in part to say, Hey, there's a day, each week where I don't work, a day each week where I don't buy where I don't sell, where I'm not earning a living.
Another benefit of the Sabbath is that it gives someone the emphasis of living an ordered life. And the reason for this is that it takes planning to execute a Sabbath well. I've never met anyone with a full life who's able to rest a day each week without being on top of things.
You have to figure out how to plan and orchestrate your life so that you can take that day each week. For some reason, in our modern western culture especially here in the United States, people are admired for 70 or 80 hour work weeks. But I personally admire people who are able to figure out how to strategically spend their time so that they can live a more balanced life. And the Sabbath helps a person live with that balance.
Contributions Requested
4 Moses said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, “This is the thing that the Lord has commanded. 5 Take from among you a contribution to the Lord. Whoever is of a generous heart, let him bring the Lord’s contribution: gold, silver, and bronze; 6 blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen; goats’ hair, 7 tanned rams’ skins, and goatskins; acacia wood, 8 oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, 9 and onyx stones and stones for setting, for the ephod and for the breastpiece.
But then also another benefit of the weekly Sabbath is that it gives you a chance to recover from the previous week. And it also helps you prepare for the week that is to come build up your strength for the week to come. So these are just some of the benefits of a weekly Sabbath. But after telling them about the Sabbath, it says in verse four, that Moses said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, this is the thing that the Lord has commanded. Take from among you a contribution to the Lord. Whoever is of a generous heart let him bring the Lord's contribution, gold, silver, and bronze, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen, goats' hair, tanned rams' skins, and goatskins, acacia wood, oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense and onyx stones and stones for setting for the ephod and for the breast piece.
So here Moses tells the people of Israel it's time for you if you have a generous heart, if God puts it on your heart, it's time for you to generously give. And here are the elements that God wants you to give and everything that he lists of course is going to be used in the construction of either the tabernacle itself or the priesthoods vestments, garments, head dress, the altars, all the fabric that was required for the curtains and the fence on the perimeter of the tabernacle precincts. Everything mentioned is going to be used in constructing this tabernacle. Notice that Moses calls this contribution in verse five, a contribution to the Lord. This meant in part that it was not to Moses. It was not to Aaron. It was not to the priesthood. It was not to the eventual craftsman Bezalel and Oholiab and others, but it was to the Lord.
And I think this is good for us in our modern era when we give generously whether through tithes and offerings to our local church or to a pair church ministry, or even out of generosity from our heart to a fellow believer who is in need. It's good for us to see that this is a gift that we have given to the Lord. But this contribution to the Lord, it's very clear that it had first come from the Lord. You see, where do you think that they got all of these elements.
The yarns and the linen and the animal skins and the wood and the oil and the spices and the precious gems and metals, gold and silver and bronze. Where had they gotten these things? Well, they had gotten these things from the people of Egypt when the Israelites were delivered from their captivity on that final night, when the Passover occurred. The people in Egypt begged the Israelites to depart, and as they were departing the Egyptians brought them great treasure as if to say, hey, we're funding your escape we don't want you to ever return.
So when the Israelites then gave some of these things to God, to the Lord for the building or construction of the tabernacle, they would have or should have been conscious. Yes they were giving this to the Lord, but they first received it from the Lord. And this is a great concept for us to embrace today that we are stewards. We aren't really owners. We are stewards of what God entrusts into our lives. God may have entrusted a lot into your life, and He may have entrusted a little into your life. But at the end of the day it really isn't ours it's the Lord's. And when we give to Him, we are giving back to Him a portion of what He has already given to us, what He's entrusted into our care.
I know this takes humility to embrace that perspective. Because we love to think that we're the ones who have made our successes in life. But even the energy that we've used in earning the ingenuity or talent that we've been leaning on to earn well, these are gifts from God. We have to recognize of our position in life, our station in life, our education, our talent skills, abilities, our relationships and network that we're in. Even the nations that we're living in that enabled us in a society to earn wealth. All of these things are a gift from the Lord. They ultimately come from Him, are given to us. And so when we give, we realize we're giving to the Lord, but we've already first received from the Lord. But not only were they giving to God from God, but they were giving for God. In other words, what they were giving was meant to construct the tabernacle. Construct the space where God could be pursued by the nation.
This wasn't something that was necessarily primarily for them although it would benefit them ultimately, but it was for the Lord. They wanted God to be honored through what they gave. And then finally though it was for God, their giving was ultimately the best thing for them. It was for their benefit. Because once this tabernacle was constructed the people of Israel would have a place to become, according to God's will a place of prayer for all nations. This tabernacle was meant to help them fulfill their mission. And when you study the life of Israel God's people in the Old Testament era, one thing you discover is when the tabernacle or what eventually became the temple, when those places were hot. In other words, when sacrifices were flowing, when people were pursuing God, the nation thrived. And when the tabernacle or temple was neglected, the nation did poorly.
So in a sense, as they gave to God from the resources God had given them for the work of the Lord, they were actually doing something that was the best thing for themselves. It was good medicine for the nation. When the temple was strong, the people of God were blessed. So this is a great investment that these people are making.
10 “Let every skillful craftsman among you come and make all that the Lord has commanded: 11 the tabernacle, its tent and its covering, its hooks and its frames, its bars, its pillars, and its bases; 12 the ark with its poles, the mercy seat, and the veil of the screen; 13 the table with its poles and all its utensils, and the bread of the Presence; 14 the lampstand also for the light, with its utensils and its lamps, and the oil for the light; 15 and the altar of incense, with its poles, and the anointing oil and the fragrant incense, and the screen for the door, at the door of the tabernacle; 16 the altar of burnt offering, with its grating of bronze, its poles, and all its utensils, the basin and its stand; 17 the hangings of the court, its pillars and its bases, and the screen for the gate of the court; 18 the pegs of the tabernacle and the pegs of the court, and their cords; 19 the finely worked garments for ministering in the Holy Place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, for their service as priests.”
Now in verse 10, Moses after urging the people towards generosity, he said in verse 10, let every skillful craftsman among you come and make all that the Lord has commanded. The tabernacle, it's tent, and it's covering, its hooks and its frames, its bars, its pillars, and its bases. The ark with its poles, the mercy seat and the veil of the screen, the table with its poles and all this utensils and the bread of the presence. The lampstand also for the light with its utensils and its lamps and the oil for the light.
And the altar of incense with its poles and the anointing oil and the fragrant incense, and the screen at the door of the tabernacle, the altar of burn offering with its grading, a bronze its poles and all its utensils, the basin, and it stand. The hangings of the court, its pillars and its bases, and the screen for the gate of the court the pegs of the tabernacle and the pegs of the court and their cords.
The finely worked garments for ministering in the holy place. The holy garments for Aaron, the priest and the garments for his sons, for their service as priests. Again, Moses telling them just a long list of all the things that they needed to construct. These are all things that God had revealed to Moses up on Mount Sinai. So he says, let's make all that the Lord has commanded. And these things, according to Moses would be made by skillful craftsmen he said there in verse 10. So he's asking them to volunteer, not just their resources but if they're skilled themselves. I should take a moment just to say that good work is good worship. Whatever you do Colossians 3:23 says work heartily as for the Lord and not for men. These skilled craftsmen would come out and they would do good work as a way to offer a good worship to the Lord.
20 Then all the congregation of the people of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. 21 And they came, everyone whose heart stirred him, and everyone whose spirit moved him, and brought the Lord’s contribution to be used for the tent of meeting, and for all its service, and for the holy garments.
And maybe for some of us we need a little kick in the pants. When it comes to our labor, our work, our jobs, our nine to five, what we're doing outside the walls of the church. It's good for us to understand the good work is good worship. Then in response, verse 20, all the congregation of the people of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. And they came everyone whose heart stirred him and everyone whose spirit moved him and brought the Lord's contribution to be used for the tent of meeting. And for all its service and for the holy garments. So they came both men and women, all who were of a willing heart brought brooches and earrings and signet rings and arm lids, all sorts of gold objects.
22 So they came, both men and women. All who were of a willing heart brought brooches and earrings and signet rings and armlets, all sorts of gold objects, every man dedicating an offering of gold to the Lord. 23 And every one who possessed blue or purple or scarlet yarns or fine linen or goats’ hair or tanned rams’ skins or goatskins brought them. 24 Everyone who could make a contribution of silver or bronze brought it as the Lord’s contribution. And every one who possessed acacia wood of any use in the work brought it. 25 And every skillful woman spun with her hands, and they all brought what they had spun in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. 26 All the women whose hearts stirred them to use their skill spun the goats’ hair. 27 And the leaders brought onyx stones and stones to be set, for the ephod and for the breastpiece, 28 and spices and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense. 29 All the men and women, the people of Israel, whose heart moved them to bring anything for the work that the Lord had commanded by Moses to be done brought it as a freewill offering to the Lord.
Every man dedicating an offering of gold to the Lord and everyone who possess blue or purple or scarlet yarns or fine linen, or goats' hair, tanned rams' skins, or goatskins brought them. Everyone who could make a contribution of silver or bronze brought it as the Lord's contribution. And everyone who possessed acacia wood of any use in the work brought it. And every skillful woman's spun with her hands and they all brought what they had spun and blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twine linen. And all the women whose hearts stirred them to use their skills spun the goats' hair and the leaders brought onyx stones and stones to be set for the ephod and for the breast piece and spices and oil for the light and for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, all the men and women. The people of Israel whose heart moved them to bring anything for the work that the Lord had commanded by Moses to be done, brought it as a freewill offering to the Lord.
We knew that the tabernacle would be constructed if you know anything about Old Testament history, you know that it got built during Moses's time. That it got built out there in the wilderness. So we're not surprised. But imagine these are people who just a few chapters earlier have decided to worship at the feet of a golden calf. They've wandered in their hearts already. So Moses tells them it's time for you to offer this offering. And you'd be justified in asking the question, what are they going to do? Are they really going to obey the Lord? Are they really going to make this contribution? Now we don't know how long it took from the moment that Moses gave this command to the moment that the people responded. I imagine it as an evening, a message that Moses gave late one day and then early, the next morning, the people began to give and give and give and their giving motivated others to give.
And soon freely people are rushing to the future site of the tabernacle to offer their gifts to the Lord. And all types of people you probably saw there in the paragraph we read were giving. You have men and women that were giving. You of all who were of a willing heart that were giving. You have everyone who possessed these possessions giving. You have skillful women. You have all the women whose heart stirred them. You have the leaders and verse 29, all whose heart moved them. So God was moving on human hearts and all different types of people were responding. This is a beautiful moment, a revival kind of moment. Where the people of God collectively are working hard to make space for the seeking of God. And this is something that God's people should be fighting for in every generation. Every iteration of God's people.
The Builders Conscripted
30 Then Moses said to the people of Israel, “See, the Lord has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; 31 and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftsmanship, 32 to devise artistic designs, to work in gold and silver and bronze, 33 in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, for work in every skilled craft. 34 And he has inspired him to teach, both him and Oholiab the son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan. 35 He has filled them with skill to do every sort of work done by an engraver or by a designer or by an embroiderer in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, or by a weaver—by any sort of workman or skilled designer.
We of course today aren't going to build a tabernacle, but we should be collectively fighting for collectively space before God. Where God can be prioritized in our lives. Then Moses in verse 30 said to the people of Israel, see the Lord has called by name Bezalel the son of your Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and he has filled him with the spirit of God, with skill, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftsmanship. To devise artistic designs, to work in gold and silver and bronze and cutting stones for setting and in carving wood for work in every skilled craft.
And these inspired him to teach both him and Oholiab the son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan. He has filled them with skill to do every sort of work done by an engraver or by a designer or by an embroider in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen or by a weaver by any sort of workman or skilled designer. So God goes out of his way to mention that these men are incredibly skilled in the work that they are about to do. Moses describes them with this incredible talent. And we've already looked at these two men and in a previous study when they were first introduced to us. But Bezalel's name means in the shadow of God. He was a man of character, a man of calling. And both of these men Bezalel and his assistant and his number two Oholiab, they were both men that were chosen for the work.
God had custom created these men and put much skill in them so that they could do this work. You see, God has chosen you for a work. The Bible says in Ephesians chapter two, that there are good works that He has for ordained for his people to walk in. That you're His new creature and there is something that He has custom made for you to do. It might not be something that is as well-known as what Bezalel and Oholiab eventually did, but it's important nonetheless. God has chosen you for a work. It says in 1 Corinthians 12:7 that the manifestation of the spirit is given to each one of us. And in 1 Corinthians 12:11, it says that the spirit individually gives gifts as He wills. The spirit of God has a will for you and for me, there are things that he wants to do through our lives that he wants to empower us to perform.
And these men were chosen for the work just as you are chosen for a specific work, but these men were also given ability from God. And the Lord wants to give us ability as well. Part of the ability that these men had was from the spirit of God. And in our modern time, the spirit wants to gift us. As I just mentioned, he wants to give you Spirit infused empowered ability from the Lord. But God also used their secular ability. That's not really the right word for it. He used their natural aptitude, their natural abilities as well. Spirit filled abilities, but also the abilities that come with being made in the image of God. It's likely that they had practiced all of these trades during their time in Egypt. They'd probably learn so many of the things that they were now going to apply and building the tabernacle in their work, in their trade in Egypt. And they would take these skills and teach them to others. But God redeemed those skills for his purposes. So we will be given ability from the Lord. God wants to enable you for the work that He calls you to do.
Exodus 36 - The Work Begins
Now in turning to chapter 36, the work from the Lord is about to begin. And I already alluded to the repetition that is found in the chapters to come. 36 through 39 of Exodus is a repetition of the description of the tabernacle that Moses has already received on Mount Sinai. But one of the points that we might glean from this repetition is that the Lord doesn't change. He did not change because of the sin of the people. He didn't change the plan He kept things the same, but what He says that's what He wants to do. He spoke this and now He'll speak it again through his man, Moses.
And I think it's also important for us to see the length of scripture that is dedicated to the tabernacle itself. I mean, we would love it I think in our modern era, if the story of creation answered many more of the questions that we have. If it got into more detail, if it was longer, but really all we have is one or two chapters there at the beginning of Genesis describing in a certain way the created order. But here we have chapter after chapter, almost half of the book of Exodus devoted to the creation of the tabernacle. Not the heavens and the earth, but just this singular structure. This is really helpful to us because so often we make the story about us, but the story is really about God. And the tabernacle was just an earthly representation of God's heavenly throne room.
So if even just the earthly representation of God's real and legitimate house gets so much attention that should help us understand that the story really isn't about us it's about God. And that we are happiest and most joyful when God is at the center. And much is made of Him rather than placing ourselves at the center and much being made about us. We really can't handle that kind of attention and it doesn't bring us joy in the first place.
The Offering
1 “Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whom the Lord has put skill and intelligence to know how to do any work in the construction of the sanctuary shall work in accordance with all that the Lord has commanded.” 2 And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whose mind the Lord had put skill, everyone whose heart stirred him up to come to do the work. 3 And they received from Moses all the contribution that the people of Israel had brought for doing the work on the sanctuary. They still kept bringing him freewill offerings every morning, 4 so that all the craftsmen who were doing every sort of task on the sanctuary came, each from the task that he was doing, 5 and said to Moses, “The people bring much more than enough for doing the work that the Lord has commanded us to do.” 6 So Moses gave command, and word was proclaimed throughout the camp, “Let no man or woman do anything more for the contribution for the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing, 7 for the material they had was sufficient to do all the work, and more.
So in the beginning of chapter 36, we read of the offering that was made. We've already begun to see the offering and the way that the people responded. But it says in verse one, Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whom the Lord has put skill and intelligence to know how to do any work in the construction of the sanctuary shall work in accordance with all that the Lord has commanded.
And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whose mind the Lord had put skill, everyone whose heart stirred him to come up and do the work. And they received from Moses all the contribution that the people of Israel had brought for doing the work on the sanctuary. They still kept bringing him freewill offerings every morning. So that all the craftsmen who were doing every work of the task on the sanctuary came. Each from the task that he was doing and said to Moses, the people bring much more than enough for doing the work that the Lord has commanded us to do.
So Moses gave command and word was proclaimed throughout the camp, that no man or a woman do anything more for the contribution of the sanctuary. So the people were restrained from bringing for the material that they had was sufficient to do all the work and more. Now this is a fascinating moment. The people have been commissioned or implored to be generous and to give and many of them had this generous heart and they did. They came and they brought and brought and brought. Now the craftsmen come and they go on strike. Not because the people aren't bringing enough or not because there's not enough material for them to do the job that Moses had told them to do. But because verse five, the people bring much more than enough for doing the work. What powerful generosity overtook this early group of believers. I think the grace of God had made this congregation zealous for good works.
This is what Paul tells us in Titus chapter two, that when the grace of God appears in a person's life, it produces something in us. And that thing that's produced ultimately is a zeal for good work. And I think these people were so blown away by the gracious, merciful, loving kindness of God. That even though they had rebelled, even though they had failed, even though quite clearly, they deserve to be cut-off and for God to move on from them, He didn't. He extended them grace and mercy and love and forgiveness, just like He said, His nature was prone to do.
And so they respond. They're overwhelmed who God is, and they're overcome in a desire to be generous towards the Lord. Now the early church, you see a very similar situation play out in our church age kind of way. They weren't building a tabernacle, but it tells us in those early pages in the book of Acts that the people they began to sell their land and their homes and were giving to the church. There was just this radical generosity that came over both of these infant groups so to speak. Remember back in chapter 35, God had said through Moses, anyone who has a generous heart can do this and clearly many people had a generous heart in their lives at this moment and gave radically to the Lord.
We are called to make a difference with the tangible assets that God has given to us. In the New Testament, Paul one day went to with his missionary team, a city called Philippi. And there he met a wealthy woman. Very wealthy who was seeking the Lord. Looking for answers and she heard Paul preach the message of the gospel and she became a believer. God affected her heart. But almost immediately after God affected her heart, God affected her hands. And she opened up her home to Paul and his missionary team and became an original funder of Paul's missionary adventures. And the Philippian church always was a model of generosity for Paul and the things that he was doing throughout the world. In fact the book Philippians is basically a Holy Spirit inspired thank you letter to the church in Philippi for their financial partnership with Paul and the work of the gospel.
And Lydia was that first person who set that tone in that church. God gave to her a generous heart. She was saved not for her stuff, but she was saved and God then redeemed her stuff for His glory and honor. You might be saying to yourself well, Nate that sounds great for all the Lydia's out there who have great means. But I love the word that Jesus said when Mary the sister of Lazarus broke a costly alabaster flask on his feet. He said she has done what she could in anointing my body for burial. She has done what she could. The reality is or something that we can do and we should commit to doing that. I love the generosity that came upon them.
The Curtains and Coverings
8 And all the craftsmen among the workmen made the tabernacle with ten curtains. They were made of fine twined linen and blue and purple and scarlet yarns, with cherubim skillfully worked. 9 The length of each curtain was twenty-eight cubits, and the breadth of each curtain four cubits. All the curtains were the same size. 10 He coupled five curtains to one another, and the other five curtains he coupled to one another. 11 He made loops of blue on the edge of the outermost curtain of the first set. Likewise he made them on the edge of the outermost curtain of the second set. 12 He made fifty loops on the one curtain, and he made fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that was in the second set. The loops were opposite one another. 13 And he made fifty clasps of gold, and coupled the curtains one to the other with clasps. So the tabernacle was a single whole.
Now, the first thing that's described that they built are the curtains and the coverings of the tabernacle. So the kind of outward structure, the framework, all of that the first thing that will be mentioned by Moses is that they are going to build the kind of linen and yarn curtains that drape the sides and form the ceiling of the tabernacle. Then he's going to mention the curtains or the covering that was made with animal skins that would be on the outside of the tabernacle sort of weatherproofing it a bit. Then he'll mention the wooden frame. And the pieces that held the frame together made of various precious metals. And then he'll mention the curtains of entrance into the tabernacle or separating in the holy place.
And so the first thing that we'll see here, as I said are the outer curtains. He says in verse eight, and all the craftsmen among the workmen made the tabernacle with 10 curtains. They were made of fine twined, linen and blue and purple and scarlet yarns with cherubim skillfully worked. The length of each curtain was 28 cubits and the breadth of each curtain four cubits. All the curtains were the same size. He coupled five curtains to one another and the other five curtains he coupled to one another, he made loops of blue on the edge of the outermost curtain of the first set. Likewise, he made them on the edge of the outermost curtain of the second set.
He made 50 loops on the one curtain and he made 50 loops on the edge of the curtain that was in the second set. The loops were opposite one another and he made 50 clasps of gold and coupled the curtains one to the other with clasps. So the tabernacle was a single whole. Now again, all of this has already been mentioned to Moses by God, but now we have a record that the craftsmen have successfully heard what God said through Moses and they're building things exactly as God had described to Moses. That helps us know that Moses had faithfully communicated and that they wanted to obey the precise nature of God's word. And again we see repeated the idea of the unified covering for the tabernacle. He says the tabernacle was a single whole in verse 13, kind of highlighting God's love for unity.
14 He also made curtains of goats’ hair for a tent over the tabernacle. He made eleven curtains. 15 The length of each curtain was thirty cubits, and the breadth of each curtain four cubits. The eleven curtains were the same size. 16 He coupled five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves. 17 And he made fifty loops on the edge of the outermost curtain of the one set, and fifty loops on the edge of the other connecting curtain. 18 And he made fifty clasps of bronze to couple the tent together that it might be a single whole. 19 And he made for the tent a covering of tanned rams’ skins and goatskins.
Then we have the covering made of animals skins and animal hair. It says in verse 14, he also made curtains of goats' hair for a tent over the tabernacle. He made 11 curtains. The length of each curtain was 30 cubits and the breadth of each curtain four cubits, the 11 curtains were the same size. He coupled five curtains by themselves and six curtains by themselves. And he made 50 loops on the edge of the outermost curtain of the one set and 50 loops on the edge of the outer connecting curtain. And he made 50 clasps of bronze and coupled the tent together that it might be a single whole. And he made for the tent, a covering of tanned rams' skins and goat skins.
Again, this part of the covering the animal skins covering the tabernacle do give us a reminder of the gospel because within this house or tent would be the presence of the Lord. And there was a lot of sacrifice, a lot of deaths that was required in order for mankind to interact with God. So you might even remember there in the garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve sin, they tried to cover themselves with fig leaves, but then God came, saw what they had done. He covered them with animal skins. There was a price to be paid in other words, blood needed to be shed. And it's not that God was looking for the blood of bulls and goats. He was looking ultimately for blood that would satisfy. And the blood that would satisfy was of his only begotten son.
The Frame
20 Then he made the upright frames for the tabernacle of acacia wood. 21 Ten cubits was the length of a frame, and a cubit and a half the breadth of each frame. 22 Each frame had two tenons for fitting together. He did this for all the frames of the tabernacle. 23 The frames for the tabernacle he made thus: twenty frames for the south side. 24 And he made forty bases of silver under the twenty frames, two bases under one frame for its two tenons, and two bases under the next frame for its two tenons. 25 For the second side of the tabernacle, on the north side, he made twenty frames 26 and their forty bases of silver, two bases under one frame and two bases under the next frame. 27 For the rear of the tabernacle westward he made six frames. 28 He made two frames for corners of the tabernacle in the rear. 29 And they were separate beneath but joined at the top, at the first ring. He made two of them this way for the two corners. 30 There were eight frames with their bases of silver: sixteen bases, under every frame two bases. 31 He made bars of acacia wood, five for the frames of the one side of the tabernacle, 32 and five bars for the frames of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the frames of the tabernacle at the rear westward. 33 And he made the middle bar to run from end to end halfway up the frames. 34 And he overlaid the frames with gold, and made their rings of gold for holders for the bars, and overlaid the bars with gold.
Then verse 20, he made the upright frames for the tabernacle of acacia wood. 10 cubits was the length of a frame and a cubit and a half the breadth of each frame. Each frame had two tenants for fitting together. He did this for all the frames of the tabernacle. The frames for the tabernacle he made thus 20 frames for the south side and he made 40 bases of silver under the 20 frames. Two bases under one frame for its two tenants and two bases under the next frame for its two tenants for the second side of the tabernacle on the north side, he made 20 frames and there are 40 bases of silver, two bases under one frame and two bases under the next frame.
For the rear of the tabernacle westward he made six frames. He made two frames for corners of the tabernacle in the rear, and they were separate beneath but joined at the top at the first ring. He made two of them this way for the two corners. There were eight frames with their bases of silver 16 bases under every frame two bases. He made bars of acacia wood five for the frames on the one side of the tabernacle and five bars for the frames on the other side of the tabernacle. And five bars for the frames of the tabernacle at the rear westward. And he made the middle bar to run from end to end halfway up the frames. And he overlaid the frames with gold and made their rings of gold for holders, for the bars and overlayed the bars with gold. Now, again, this can be rather tedious reading. We've already read previously on Mount Sinai that God gave these precise directions to Moses.
And so again, we appreciate that Moses is passing on exactly what God had already said to him. But you also might be struck in your own mind with how difficult it is for you just to envision this, as you hear the words, read out loud, or even follow along reading them yourself. And that might be immediately discouraging to you, but I would encourage you to take a moment, first of all, to just Google and look up the images that people have come up with that help us envision what the tabernacle would look like. But also I would encourage you to appreciate the portions of scripture that are not immediately easily accessible.
You read them and you say, okay, I'm going to have to do some work to really understand what he's just described. I'm getting a lot of numbers, a lot of sockets, a lot of bases, a lot of frames. I'm getting a lot of information thrown at me and I just can't see it. But this is part of studying the word that we would not be lazy people who just expect trite and simplistic answers. But that we would be willing to do the digging required at times to discover the truth. And so I love it. I love the idea of allowing a little bit of just mystery in it. I'm going to have to do some work to figure this out.
I heard one theologian recently talking about the old hymn where we sing here I raise my Ebenezer. And he was talking about how many modern worship leaders will cut that out of that hymn because they know that many in the modern church audience don't know what that means. But his point was well, Hey, it's okay that people don't know what that means because when they sing that or hear that they realize I don't know what an Ebenezer is.
And it's not until they get into the world of the Bible and they go into 1 Samuel and they read of the story where Samuel led the people of Israel into battle and they got so far because God gave them the victory. And Samuel sat down an Ebenezer stone and said, thus far, the Lord has helped us. And so the believer rather than singing thus far the Lord has helped me can say, I'm putting down my Ebenezer rock and I'm going to have to do a little homework to figure out what that actually means. But it's okay for us to enter into the world of the Bible and do a little bit of work. And so I'm thankful to you for joining me in a study of Exodus.
The Veils
35 He made the veil of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen; with cherubim skillfully worked into it he made it. 36 And for it he made four pillars of acacia and overlaid them with gold. Their hooks were of gold, and he cast for them four bases of silver. 37 He also made a screen for the entrance of the tent, of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, embroidered with needlework, 38 and its five pillars with their hooks. He overlaid their capitals, and their fillets were of gold, but their five bases were of bronze.
He made in verse 35, the veil of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen with cherubim, skillfully worked into it he made it. And for eight made four pillars of acacia and overlaid them with gold. Their hooks were of gold and he cast for them for bases of silver. He also made a stream for the entrance of the tent of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twine linen embroidered with needlework and its five pillars with their hook. He overlayed their capitals and their fillets were of gold, but their bases, their five bases were of bronze. So here he's describing the veils that would be attached to the tabernacle.
Exodus 37 - The Work Continues: the Ark
1 Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood. Two cubits and a half was its length, a cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height. 2 And he overlaid it with pure gold inside and outside, and made a molding of gold around it. 3 And he cast for it four rings of gold for its four feet, two rings on its one side and two rings on its other side. 4 And he made poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold 5 and put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry the ark.
Now in chapter 37, the work continues first with a description of the ark. Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood, two cubits and a half was its length, a cubit and a half its breadth and a cubit and a half its height. And he overlaid it with pure gold inside and outside and made a molding of gold around it. And a cast for it four rings of gold for its four feet. Two rings on its one side and two rings on its other side. And he made poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold and put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry the ark.
6 And he made a mercy seat of pure gold. Two cubits and a half was its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth. 7 And he made two cherubim of gold. He made them of hammered work on the two ends of the mercy seat, 8 one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end. Of one piece with the mercy seat he made the cherubim on its two ends. 9 The cherubim spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, with their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat were the faces of the cherubim.
And on top of the ark, it says in verse six, he made a mercy seat of pure gold. Two cubits and a half was its length and the cubit and a half its breadth. And he made two cherubim of gold. He made them of hammered work on the two ends of the mercy seat, one cherub on the one end and one cherub or angel on the other end. Of one piece with the mercy seat, he made the cherubim on its two ends. The cherubim spread out their wings above overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, with their faces toward one another there toward the mercy seat were the faces of the cherubim.
The Table
10 He also made the table of acacia wood. Two cubits was its length, a cubit its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height. 11 And he overlaid it with pure gold, and made a molding of gold around it. 12 And he made a rim around it a handbreadth wide, and made a molding of gold around the rim. 13 He cast for it four rings of gold and fastened the rings to the four corners at its four legs. 14 Close to the frame were the rings, as holders for the poles to carry the table. 15 He made the poles of acacia wood to carry the table, and overlaid them with gold. 16 And he made the vessels of pure gold that were to be on the table, its plates and dishes for incense, and its bowls and flagons with which to pour drink offerings.
And so we have a description of the Ark of the Covenant. So we've seen a description now of the tabernacle itself, the framework, the veils, the drapes, the covering system. And now we're getting the furniture and we see the Ark of the Covenant along with the mercy seat. And again, we've talked about these different elements, but this was the place where God's presence would be found by the high priest. The place where God's Shekinah glory would be present. Also they made a table. It says in verse 10, he made the table of acacia wood. Two cubits was its length, a cubit its breadth and a cubit and a half its height. And he overlaid it with pure gold and made a molding of gold around it. And he made a rim around it, a hand breadth wide and made a molding of gold around the rim.
And he cast for it for rings of gold and fastened the rings to the four corners at its four legs. Close to the frame where the rings as holders for the poles to carry the table. He made the poles of acacia wood to carry the table and overlaid them with gold. And he made the vessels of pure gold that were to be on the table. It's plates and dishes for incense on its bowls and flagons with which to pour drink offerings. So he describes the table which would hold the shewbread. It had a little three inch rim all the way around it that we keep objects from falling off. It was carried like the ark. It had four rings on the side that they've put poles in and it was made of pure gold.
The Lampstand
17 He also made the lampstand of pure gold. He made the lampstand of hammered work. Its base, its stem, its cups, its calyxes, and its flowers were of one piece with it. 18 And there were six branches going out of its sides, three branches of the lampstand out of one side of it and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side of it; 19 three cups made like almond blossoms, each with calyx and flower, on one branch, and three cups made like almond blossoms, each with calyx and flower, on the other branch—so for the six branches going out of the lampstand. 20 And on the lampstand itself were four cups made like almond blossoms, with their calyxes and flowers, 21 and a calyx of one piece with it under each pair of the six branches going out of it. 22 Their calyxes and their branches were of one piece with it. The whole of it was a single piece of hammered work of pure gold. 23 And he made its seven lamps and its tongs and its trays of pure gold. 24 He made it and all its utensils out of a talent of pure gold.
He also made verse 17, the lampstand of pure gold. He made the lampstand of hammered work. Its base, its stems, its cups, it's calyxes and its flowers were of one piece with it. And there were six branches going out of its sides. Three branches of the lampstand out of one side of it in three branches of the lampstand out of the other side of it. Three cups made like almond blossoms each with calyx and flower on one branch and three cups made like almond blossoms each with calyx and flower on the other branch. So for the six branches going out of the lampstand and on the lampstand itself, are four cups made like blossoms like almond blossoms with their calyxes and flowers and the calyx of one piece with it under each pair of the six branches going out of it. Their calyxes and their branches were of one piece with it. The whole of it was a single piece of hammered work, a pure gold. And he made it's seven lamps and it's tongs and it's trays of pure gold.
He made it and all its utensils out of a talent of pure gold. So no wood in the lampstand, it was all pure gold, but hammered gold. So it would be finely designed kind of like the angels or the cherubim on the mercy seat and just absolutely stunning in its beauty. God being an artistic God and giving these workmen an artistic ability.
The Altar of Incense
25 He made the altar of incense of acacia wood. Its length was a cubit, and its breadth was a cubit. It was square, and two cubits was its height. Its horns were of one piece with it. 26 He overlaid it with pure gold, its top and around its sides and its horns. And he made a molding of gold around it, 27 and made two rings of gold on it under its molding, on two opposite sides of it, as holders for the poles with which to carry it. 28 And he made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold.
Then in verse 25, the altar of incense is mentioned. He made the altar of incense of acacia wood. Its length was a cubit and its breadth was a cubit. It was square. And two cubits was its height. Its horns were of one piece with it. He overlaid it with pure gold its top and around sides and its horns. And he made a molding of gold around it and made two rings of gold on it under it's molding on two opposites sides of it as holders for the poles, with which to carry it. And he made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold.
29 He made the holy anointing oil also, and the pure fragrant incense, blended as by the perfumer
And to go along with this altar of incense, verse 29, he made the holy anointing oil also and the pure fragrant incense blended as by the perfumer.
Now we'll stop our study at this point and pick it up in chapter 38 in our next study together to close out the book of Exodus. But before we do let me close with a meditation on these elements that we've already read about inside the tabernacle. You have the Ark of the Covenant, you have the table of shewbread, you have the lampstand and you have the altar of incense. In many ways. These four elements are beautiful pictures of a healthy, mature, balanced Christian life today. You have number one, the Ark of the Covenant. The presence of God, the blood of Jesus getting us all the way in the veil being torn and we get full access to the Lord. So we're saved, we're redeemed, we're in Christ. The law has been fulfilled for us by Jesus and we are completely in.
So we have got repossessors of God. The table of shewbread speaks of receiving our daily sustenance from God. Jesus told us to pray for our daily bread. So we are asking God to provide for us, but we're also looking to God to spiritually nourish us every day as well. So a healthy believer not only has God, but they are feasting off of God in their lives. Then the lampstand would offered light into that area it would illuminate. And we of course are called to be a light to the world, a light to the nations. So let our light so shine before men that they might see our good works and glorify our Father who is in heaven according to Jesus. So we want to be a people who evangelize, who share the reason for the hope that is inside of us with the world that we live in.
There are people that are hungry and thirsty and looking for something and they can't find it. But what they're looking for is Jesus. And you have Jesus. So be that light. But then finally the altar of incense that always spoke of prayer. God receiving the prayers of his people were called to intercede, to cry out to God for the nations and for the people that are in our lives, our neighbors. And so to be a person who is also in prayer interceding for your world, this is a healthy, believing life. Receiving from the Lord, being a light to the world, crying out to God because of the incredible access. That Jesus's blood has won for us. Well, God bless you church. Thanks for joining me in this study. And I'll see you next time when we get into Exodus chapter 38.