Materials For The Tabernacle
August 30, 2022
Commentary
The first part of this chapter continues with the construction of the tabernacle furnishings (vv. 1-8). Following this is a description of the items placed in the tabernacle courtyard (vv. 9-20).
1. The Altar for Offering Sacrifices (vv. 1-7)
The Altar of Burnt offering represents the cross, where the Lord Jesus offered Himself to the Father as a complete sacrifice. There can be no access to God apart from sacrificial death.
2. The Large Bronze Bowl (v. 8)
The Laver (bowl) was made from the bronze mirrors of the serving women. The glorification of self gave way to service for God. It speaks of the present ministry of Christ, cleansing His people by the washing of water with the Word (Eph. 5:26). The priests were required to wash their hands and feet before performing any service.
3. The Courtyard around the Sacred Tent (vv. 9-20)
The outer court around the tabernacle consisted of white hanging linen, pillars with bronze sockets and silver hooks, and an embroidered screen at the gate. The spotless linen is a picture of His spotless purity. This gate suggests Christ at the door (John 10:9), the only approach to God.
Application
We all have different talents and abilities. God didn’t ask Moses to build the tabernacle himself but to motivate the experts to do it. I just need to seek opportunities in the areas God has gifted me.
Exodus 38:1– 20 (NET)
1 Bezalel made the altar for the burnt offering of acacia wood 7½ feet long and 7½ feet wide—it was square—and its height was 4½ feet. 2 He made its horns on its four corners; its horns were part of it, and he overlaid it with bronze. 3 He made all the utensils of the altar—the pots, the shovels, the tossing bowls, the meat hooks, and the fire pans—he made all its utensils of bronze. 4 He made a grating for the altar, a network of bronze under its ledge, halfway up from the bottom. 5 He cast four rings for the four corners of the bronze grating, to provide places for the poles. 6 He made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with bronze. 7 He put the poles into the rings on the sides of the altar, with which to carry it. He made the altar hollow, out of boards.
8 He made the large basin of bronze and its pedestal of bronze from the mirrors of the women who served at the entrance of the tent of meeting.
9 Bezalel made the courtyard. For the south side the hangings of the courtyard were of fine twisted linen, 150 feet long, 10 with their twenty posts and their twenty bronze bases, with the hooks of the posts and their bands of silver. 11 For the north side the hangings were 150 feet, with their twenty posts and their twenty bronze bases, with the hooks of the posts and their bands of silver. 12 For the west side there were hangings 75 feet long, with their ten posts and their ten bases, with the hooks of the posts and their bands of silver. 13 For the east side, toward the sunrise, it was 75 feet wide, 14 with hangings on one side of the gate that were 22½ feet long, with their three posts and their three bases, 15 and for the second side of the gate of the courtyard, just like the other, the hangings were 22½ feet long, with their three posts and their three bases. 16 All the hangings around the courtyard were of fine twisted linen. 17 The bases for the posts were bronze. The hooks of the posts and their bands were silver, their tops were overlaid with silver, and all the posts of the courtyard had silver bands. 18 The curtain for the gate of the courtyard was of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine twisted linen, the work of an embroiderer. It was 30 feet long and, like the hangings in the courtyard, it was 7½ feet high, 19 with four posts and their four bronze bases. Their hooks and their bands were silver, and their tops were overlaid with silver. 20 All the tent pegs of the tabernacle and of the courtyard all around were bronze.
Illustration: The Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge is truly a miracle bridge. In 1863, a creative engineer named Washington Roebling was inspired by an idea for this spectacular span. The project was only a few months under construction when a tragic accident severely injured Roebling. He was left with permanent brain damage and was unable to talk or walk but his mind was as sharp as ever and he still had a burning desire to complete the bridge. All he could move was one finger, so he developed a code for communication, where he touched the arm of his wife with that finger, tapping out a code to communicate to her what to tell the engineers, who were building the bridge. For 13 years, Washington tapped out instruction with his finger until the spectacular Brooklyn Bridge was finally completed. Lord, give us that kind of determination and that kind of stamina. (Source Unknown)