October 26, 2020
The book of Exodus tells the story of the birth of the nation of Israel fulfilling God’s promise to Abraham. From the seventy descendants of Jacob, Israel was fruitful and multiplied greatly until they filled the whole land of Egypt. After four centuries of slavery, God answers the cries of His people for deliverance. God raises up Moses for this calling, to lead his people out of bondage to a land of promise and deliverance.
Some of the greatest stories of the Bible are featured in Exodus—from the Ten Plagues, and the Passover, to the crossing of the Red Sea, and the establishment of the covenant at Mount Sinai. The Passover lamb, the exodus from the land of Egypt, the seven feasts, the tabernacle, and even the high priest, are all foreshadows of the ministry of Christ.
Chapters 1-18 contains the events leading up to God’s delivering the Hebrews from their captivity in Egypt, and chapters 19-40 shares the events in the wilderness and the account of God’s instructions to Moses on Mount Sinai to direct the life and worship of the nation.
Exodus 26
The Tabernacle
1 “Moreover, you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen and blue and purple and scarlet yarns; you shall make them with cherubim skillfully worked into them. 2 The length of each curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits, and the breadth of each curtain four cubits; all the curtains shall be the same size. 3 Five curtains shall be coupled to one another, and the other five curtains shall be coupled to one another. 4 And you shall make loops of blue on the edge of the outermost curtain in the first set. Likewise you shall make loops on the edge of the outermost curtain in the second set. 5 Fifty loops you shall make on the one curtain, and fifty loops you shall make on the edge of the curtain that is in the second set; the loops shall be opposite one another. 6 And you shall make fifty clasps of gold, and couple the curtains one to the other with the clasps, so that the tabernacle may be a single whole.
7 “You shall also make curtains of goats’ hair for a tent over the tabernacle; eleven curtains shall you make. 8 The length of each curtain shall be thirty cubits, and the breadth of each curtain four cubits. The eleven curtains shall be the same size. 9 You shall couple five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves, and the sixth curtain you shall double over at the front of the tent. 10 You shall make fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in one set, and fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in the second set.
11 “You shall make fifty clasps of bronze, and put the clasps into the loops, and couple the tent together that it may be a single whole. 12 And the part that remains of the curtains of the tent, the half curtain that remains, shall hang over the back of the tabernacle. 13 And the extra that remains in the length of the curtains, the cubit on the one side, and the cubit on the other side, shall hang over the sides of the tabernacle, on this side and that side, to cover it. 14 And you shall make for the tent a covering of tanned rams’ skins and a covering of goatskins on top.
15 “You shall make upright frames for the tabernacle of acacia wood. 16 Ten cubits shall be the length of a frame, and a cubit and a half the breadth of each frame. 17 There shall be two tenons in each frame, for fitting together. So shall you do for all the frames of the tabernacle. 18 You shall make the frames for the tabernacle: twenty frames for the south side; 19 and forty bases of silver you shall make under the twenty frames, two bases under one frame for its two tenons, and two bases under the next frame for its two tenons; 20 and for the second side of the tabernacle, on the north side twenty frames, 21 and their forty bases of silver, two bases under one frame, and two bases under the next frame. 22 And for the rear of the tabernacle westward you shall make six frames. 23 And you shall make two frames for corners of the tabernacle in the rear; 24 they shall be separate beneath, but joined at the top, at the first ring. Thus shall it be with both of them; they shall form the two corners. 25 And there shall be eight frames, with their bases of silver, sixteen bases; two bases under one frame, and two bases under another frame.
26 “You shall make bars of acacia wood, five for the frames of the one side of the tabernacle, 27 and five bars for the frames of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the frames of the side of the tabernacle at the rear westward. 28 The middle bar, halfway up the frames, shall run from end to end. 29 You shall overlay the frames with gold and shall make their rings of gold for holders for the bars, and you shall overlay the bars with gold. 30 Then you shall erect the tabernacle according to the plan for it that you were shown on the mountain.
31 “And you shall make a veil of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. It shall be made with cherubim skillfully worked into it. 32 And you shall hang it on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold, with hooks of gold, on four bases of silver. 33 And you shall hang the veil from the clasps, and bring the ark of the testimony in there within the veil. And the veil shall separate for you the Holy Place from the Most Holy. 34 You shall put the mercy seat on the ark of the testimony in the Most Holy Place. 35 And you shall set the table outside the veil, and the lampstand on the south side of the tabernacle opposite the table, and you shall put the table on the north side.
36 “You shall make a screen for the entrance of the tent, of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, embroidered with needlework. 37 And you shall make for the screen five pillars of acacia, and overlay them with gold. Their hooks shall be of gold, and you shall cast five bases of bronze for them.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Reflection:
- Why was the Lord so specific about materials and construction of the tabernacle?
- Reflect on the specifics God gave for the colors, materials, and construction of every aspect of the tabernacle, and the fact that he is the Creator of the heavens and the earth and set every star in its place.
- The tabernacle would be God’s place of dwelling with his people. Reflect on the words of John 1:14, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
- Meditate on the words of Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
Prayer: I thank you God that you desire fellowship with your people. You offer us the chance to know you and love you and be loved by you. I thank you Jesus for coming to earth and enduring the cross that we might have peace with God. I thank you that you have promised to always be with me, and you will never leave me no matter what life may bring. My hope is in you alone, Lord! In Jesus’ name, amen.
Dear Heavenly Father,
You describe in specific detail every part of the tabernacle. This tells me that Your temple should have and deserves the finest of everything. When we worship You, we should give our finest and best. We have been told that even the streets of heaven will be paved in gold too with all sorts of precious stones. I pray that each of us will offer our best to you as a sacrifice of our love and hopefully one day we can live with You in glory. Please help us all to remember the price Jesus paid for our sins. He gave his all. In Jesus’ precious and holy name I pray. Amen.
What a magnificent structure that the people built for our Holy God according to his instructions. God is our Provider, Redeemer, and Savior.
For the Hebrews, God has many precise commands. For Christians, He has very few basic commands: be holy, assemble, go.
Wow!! It’s all in the details.
Lord, may I daily reach out to You and be filled with the love of Christ and continually share You with others who may not know you.
Thank you Lord for providing your word, specific instructions on how to worship you, because you are holy, present with us and one day we will be with you when you restore your creation and make all things new.
Father,
Your instructions for construction of the Tabernacle were specific. Was this to eliminate fighting and bickering between your people about what color to make this or that?
Eternity is rushing towards us and we are blinded as to what separates us from you, our Holy God.
This day, and every day, may we pause and give you glory and honor.
Open our eyes to see the evil you abhor. Help us to run from all evil so as not to cause you pain, Oh LORD.
May I not waste a breath today not serving you with my all in all.
Thank you, Father, for another day.
Amen
Thank you Lord, for being a God of order.