Exodus 38-40: “The
Tabernacle Construction Is Completed And Its Erected, Then The Shekinah Glory
Of God Enters”
By
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In our last study in the book of Exodus, we looked at Exodus 35-37.
1.1.1. The Lord told the people to now begin to build all of
the elements of the Tabernacle. The Lord
told the people that whoever desires to do so can bring their contributions for
the construction of the various elements of the Tabernacle. We looked at the fact that the Lord never
wants us to give to Him unless we do it from our hearts.
1.1.2. We saw that the people responded by giving generously.
1.1.3. The people will began to build the Tabernacle following
the instructions that the Lord had given to them. Then, we saw that the curtains, the
1.1.4. We saw that beginning with chapter 35 that we are not
going to look in depth at the individual elements in the Tabernacle, nor their
symbolism or significance, because we already did that in this book study.
1.1.4.1.We saw that it is a bolster to our faith to see this
incredibly complex set of design constraints commanded by the Lord actually
come into fruition and be built just as the Lord commanded that they should be
built.
1.2.
In our study
today, we are going to finish up the book of Exodus and look at the last three
chapters of the book, 38-40.
1.2.1. Moses and the children of
1.2.2. Moses and the children of
1.2.3. Again, we are not going to look at all of the details
or symbolisms in the construction of these things because we have already done
that when they were originally introduced in the book. We saw at that time that all of the elements
symbolized Jesus Christ and what He has done for mankind in going to
1.2.4. Moses will then inspect all that has been manufactured
and determine that it was all made according to the pattern given to him by the
Lord on
1.2.5. Next, Moses and the children of
1.2.6. Then, the children of
1.2.7. Finally, the shekinah glory of the Lord will come and
fill the Tabernacle, and the Lord will dwell among His people.
1.2.8. We will end by reviewing what we have seen
accomplished in this book as well as the lessons we have learned.
1.2.9. Warren Wiersbe has written the following about how to the
Lord it was important that every element of the construction of these things
was made according to precise detail: “Moses
names the various parts of the tabernacle one by one, as well as the garments
of the priests. God is concerned with every detail of our work and does not
minimize any aspect of it. The smallest hook for the curtains was as important
to Him as the brazen altar. If we are faithful in the small things, God can
trust us with the bigger things (Luke 16:10).”
2.
VS 38:1-7 - “1
Then he made the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood, five cubits long,
and five cubits wide, square, and three cubits high. 2 He made its horns on its four corners, its horns
being of one piece with it, and he overlaid it with bronze. 3 He made all the utensils of the altar, the pails
and the shovels and the basins, the flesh hooks and the firepans; he made all
its utensils of bronze. 4 He made for the altar a
grating of bronze network beneath, under its ledge, reaching halfway up. 5 He cast four rings on the four ends of the bronze
grating as holders for the poles. 6 He made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them
with bronze. 7 He inserted the poles
into the rings on the sides of the altar, with which to carry it. He made it
hollow with planks.”
– Moses and the children of
3.
VS 38:8 - “8
Moreover, he made the laver of bronze with its base of bronze, from the
mirrors of the serving women who served at the doorway of the tent of meeting.” - Moses and the children of
3.1.
A Commentary,
Critical and Explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments states the following
about how that the “looking glasses of the women” (as some translations
render it) were used to make the Bronze Laver : “laver of brass … of the
looking glasses of the women—The word mirrors should
have been used, as those implements, usually round, inserted into a handle of
wood, stone, or metal, were made of brass, silver, or bronze, highly polished [Wilkinson]. It was customary for the
Egyptian women to carry mirrors with them to the temples; and whether by taking
the looking glasses of the Hebrew women Moses designed to put it out of their
power to follow a similar practice at the tabernacle, or whether the supply of
brass from other sources in the camp was exhausted, it is interesting to learn
how zealously and to a vast extent they surrendered those valued accompaniments
of the female toilet. of the women
assembling … at the door—not priestesses but women of pious character and
influence, who frequented the courts of the sacred building (Lu 2:37), and
whose parting with their mirrors, like the cutting the hair of the Nazarites,
was their renouncing the world for a season.”
4.
VS 38:9-17 - “9
Then he made the court: for the south side the hangings of the court were
of fine twisted linen, one hundred cubits; 10 their twenty pillars, and their twenty sockets, made
of bronze; the hooks of the pillars and their bands were of silver. 11 For the north side there were one hundred
cubits; their twenty pillars and their twenty sockets were of bronze,
the hooks of the pillars and their bands were of silver. 12 For the west side there were hangings of
fifty cubits with their ten pillars and their ten sockets; the hooks of
the pillars and their bands were of silver. 13 For the east side fifty cubits. 14 The hangings for the one side of the
gate were fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and their three
sockets, 15 and so for the other
side. On both sides of the gate of the court were hangings of fifteen
cubits, with their three pillars and their three sockets. 16 All the hangings of the court all around were of
fine twisted linen. 17 The sockets for the pillars were of bronze,
the hooks of the pillars and their bands, of silver; and the overlaying of
their tops, of silver, and all the pillars of the court were furnished with
silver bands.” – Moses and the children of
5.
VS 38:18-20 - “18
The screen of the gate of the court was the work of the weaver, of blue and
purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen. And the length was
twenty cubits and the height was five cubits, corresponding to the
hangings of the court. 19 Their four pillars and
their four sockets were of bronze; their hooks were of silver,
and the overlaying of their tops and their bands were of silver. 20 All the pegs of the tabernacle and of the court
all around were of bronze.” – Moses and the children of
6.
VS 38:21 - “21
This is the number of the things for the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the
testimony, as they were numbered according to the command of Moses, for the
service of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.” – The number
of the things for the Tabernacle were completed
7.
VS 38:22-23 - “22
Now Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of
8.
VS 38:24-31 - “24
All the gold that was used for the work, in all the work of the sanctuary,
even the gold of the wave offering, was 29 talents and 730 shekels, according
to the shekel of the sanctuary. 25
The silver of those of the congregation who were numbered was 100 talents
and 1,775 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary; 26 a beka a head (that is, half a shekel
according to the shekel of the sanctuary), for each one who passed over to
those who were numbered, from twenty years old and upward, for 603,550 men. 27 The hundred talents of silver were for casting the
sockets of the sanctuary and the sockets of the veil; one hundred sockets for
the hundred talents, a talent for a socket. 28 Of the 1,775 shekels, he made hooks for the
pillars and overlaid their tops and made bands for them. 29 The bronze of the wave offering was 70 talents and
2,400 shekels. 30 With it he made the
sockets to the doorway of the tent of meeting, and the bronze altar and its
bronze grating, and all the utensils of the altar, 31 and the sockets of the court all around and the
sockets of the gate of the court, and all the pegs of the tabernacle and all
the pegs of the court all around.” – All of the gold and silver collected for the
Tabernacle is recalled as well as what it was used on
8.1.
This passage
reveals that what it took to complete these designs was no trivial amount. Wiersbe has written the following about the
amount that it took to create these things:
“Scholars have estimated that in the construction of the tabernacle,
the people used nearly a ton of gold, about three and a quarter tons of silver,
and two and a quarter tons of bronze. It was not an inexpensive structure!” A ton (32,000 ounces) of gold at today’s
conversion rate of $877.00 per ounce = $28,064,000.00. Three and one quarter tons (104,000 ounces)
of silver at today’s conversion rate of $13.34 per ounce = $1,494,080.00.
8.2.
We saw previously
that everything that it took to build the Tabernacle came from the donations of
the children of
9.
VS 39:1-3 - “1
Moreover, from the blue and purple and scarlet material, they made
finely woven garments for ministering in the holy place as well as the holy
garments which were for Aaron, just as the Lord
had commanded Moses. 2 He made the ephod of
gold, and of blue and purple and scarlet material, and fine
twisted linen. 3 Then they hammered out
gold sheets and cut them into threads to be woven in with the
blue and the purple and the scarlet material, and the fine linen, the
work of a skillful workman.” – Moses and the children of
9.1.
Here we see how
the golden threads were made: ‘they hammered out gold
sheets and cut them into threads to be woven in with the blue and
the purple and the scarlet material, and the fine linen.’
10.
VS 39:4-7 - “4
They made attaching shoulder pieces for the ephod; it was attached at its
two upper ends. 5 The skillfully woven band
which was on it was like its workmanship, of the same material: of gold and of
blue and purple and scarlet material, and fine twisted linen, just as
the Lord had commanded Moses. 6 They made the onyx stones, set in gold filigree settings;
they were engraved like the engravings of a signet, according to the
names of the sons of
10.1.
As we mentioned
earlier in our discussion of the making of the Ephod, the high priest carried
the engraved names of six of the tribes of
11.
VS 39:8-19 - “8
He made the breastpiece, the work of a skillful workman, like the
workmanship of the ephod: of gold and of blue and purple and scarlet material
and fine twisted linen. 9
It was square; they made the breastpiece folded double, a span long and a
span wide when folded double. 10
And they mounted four rows of stones on it. The first row was a row
of ruby, topaz, and emerald; 11
and the second row, a turquoise, a sapphire and a diamond; 12 and the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an
amethyst; 13 and the fourth row, a
beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They were set in gold filigree settings when
they were mounted. 14 The stones were
corresponding to the names of the sons of
11.1.
As we mentioned
when we first discussed the design of the breastpiece, each of the twelve
stones representing a tribe of
11.2.
We leaders in the
church need to also learn from this symbolism that we need to love the people
God gives us, know their names, know their needs, and lift them continually up
before the throne of God. We leaders must
love the people foremost, and then endure the rest of the ministry.
11.3.
In the early
church as seen in the New Testament epistles and the book of Acts, the apostles
and leaders followed Jesus style of ministry which involved loving those under
your ministry and serving them. This is
seen continually in many passages, as for example:
11.3.1. 1 Thessalonians 2:7-13: “But WE proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing
mother tenderly cares for her
own children. Having so fond an
affection for you, WE were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of
God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us. For
you recall, brethren, our labor and hardship, how working night and day so as not to be a burden to any of
you, WE proclaimed to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, and so is God, how devoutly and uprightly
and blamelessly WE behaved toward you believers; just as you know how WE were exhorting and encouraging and
imploring each one of you as a father would
his own children, so that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God
who calls you into His own kingdom and glory. For this reason WE also
constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard
from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of
God, which also performs its work in you who believe.”
11.3.2. Philippians 4:1:
“Therefore,
my beloved brethren whom I long to see,
my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.”
12.
VS 39:20-21 - “20
Furthermore, they made two gold rings and placed them on the bottom of the
two shoulder pieces of the ephod, on the front of it, close to the place where
it joined, above the woven band of the ephod. 21 They bound the breastpiece by its rings to the
rings of the ephod with a blue cord, so that it would be on the woven band of
the ephod, and that the breastpiece would not come loose from the ephod, just
as the Lord had commanded Moses.” – Moses and
the children of
13.
VS 39:22-26 - “22
Then he made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue; 23 and the opening of the robe was at the top in
the center, as the opening of a coat of mail, with a binding all around its
opening, so that it would not be torn. 24 They made pomegranates of blue and purple and
scarlet material and twisted linen on the hem of the robe. 25 They also made bells of pure gold, and put the
bells between the pomegranates all around on the hem of the robe, 26 alternating a bell and a pomegranate all around on
the hem of the robe for the service, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.” – Moses and the children of
14.
VS 39:27 - “27
They made the tunics of finely woven linen for Aaron and his sons,” – Moses and
the children of
15.
VS 39:28-31
- “28 and the turban of fine
linen, and the decorated caps of fine linen, and the linen breeches of fine
twisted linen, 29 and the sash of fine
twisted linen, and blue and purple and scarlet material, the work of the
weaver, just as the Lord had
commanded Moses. 30 They made the plate of
the holy crown of pure gold, and inscribed it like the engravings of a signet,
“Holy to the Lord.” 31 They fastened a blue cord to it, to fasten it on
the turban above, just as the Lord
had commanded Moses.”
– Moses and the children of
16.
VS 39:32-41
- “32 Thus all the work of the
tabernacle of the tent of meeting was completed; and the sons of
17.
VS 39:40-42 - “42
So the sons of
17.1. Everything that had been manufactured for the
Tabernacle and the ministering priests had been completed, but it all had to be
reviewed and inspected by Moses to make sure that it met every last requirement
of the Lord. Moses knew that the Lord
would only be pleased with their work if it was done exactly according to plan,
and that if it had not been done exactly so that the Lord would not come to
dwell with them in the Tabernacle and be their God.
17.2. We Christians need to realize from this the fact that
we shall all give an account of all that we have done in this life because
Jesus Christ, Moses’ anti-type, one day will also review all of our work: 2 Corinthians 5:10, “10 For we must all appear
before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his
deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”
17.3. God has given us His word and it provides all that we
need for ministry, and thus we need to pay careful attention to all that it
teaches and commands us: 2 Timothy
3:16-17, “16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for
teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped
for every good work.” Obedience and faithfulness are
what is required of us as Christians, not success.
18.
VS 40:1-15 - “1
Then the Lord spoke to Moses,
saying, 2 “On the first day of the
first month you shall set up the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. 3 “You shall place the ark of the testimony there,
and you shall screen the ark with the veil. 4 “You shall bring in the table and arrange what
belongs on it; and you shall bring in the lampstand and mount its lamps. 5 “Moreover, you shall set the gold altar of incense
before the ark of the testimony, and set up the veil for the doorway to the
tabernacle. 6 “You shall set the altar
of burnt offering in front of the doorway of the tabernacle of the tent of
meeting. 7 “You shall set the laver
between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it. 8 “You shall set up the court all around and hang up
the veil for the gateway of the court. 9 “Then you shall take the anointing oil and anoint
the tabernacle and all that is in it, and shall consecrate it and all its
furnishings; and it shall be holy. 10 “You shall anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its
utensils, and consecrate the altar, and the altar shall be most holy. 11 “You shall anoint the laver and its stand, and
consecrate it. 12 “Then you shall bring
Aaron and his sons to the doorway of the tent of meeting and wash them with
water. 13 “You shall put the holy garments
on Aaron and anoint him and consecrate him, that he may minister as a priest to
Me. 14 “You shall bring his sons
and put tunics on them; 15 and you shall anoint them
even as you have anointed their father, that they may minister as priests to
Me; and their anointing will qualify them for a perpetual priesthood throughout
their generations.”” – The Lord told Moses to set up the Tabernacle and all of its
implements on the first day of the first month, and then anoint each of the
implements along with the priests
19.
VS 40:16 - “16
Thus Moses did; according to all that the Lord
had commanded him, so he did.” – Moses did all that the Lord told him to do in
regard to the construction of all of the elements of the Tabernacle
19.1.
Here, we see the
faithfulness of Moses recounted. Not
only did Moses pay close attention to every detail spoken to him up on the holy
mountain, he also made sure that each design was made in every aspect according
to the commandments received concerning it.
20.
VS 40:17-33 - “17
Now in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the
month, the tabernacle was erected. 18 Moses erected the tabernacle and laid its sockets, and
set up its boards, and inserted its bars and erected its pillars. 19 He spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the
covering of the tent on top of it, just as the Lord
had commanded Moses. 20 Then he took the
testimony and put it into the ark, and attached the poles to the ark,
and put the mercy seat on top of the ark. 21 He brought the ark into the tabernacle, and set up
a veil for the screen, and screened off the ark of the testimony, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 22 Then he put the table in the tent of meeting on
the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil. 23 He set the arrangement of bread in order on it
before the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 24 Then he placed the lampstand in the tent of
meeting, opposite the table, on the south side of the tabernacle. 25 He lighted the lamps before the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 26 Then he placed the gold altar in the tent of
meeting in front of the veil; 27
and he burned fragrant incense on it, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 28 Then he set up the veil for the doorway of the
tabernacle. 29 He set the altar of burnt
offering before the doorway of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting,
and offered on it the burnt offering and the meal offering, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 30 He placed the laver between the tent of meeting and
the altar and put water in it for washing. 31 From it Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their
hands and their feet. 32 When they entered the
tent of meeting, and when they approached the altar, they washed, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 33 He erected the court all around the tabernacle and
the altar, and hung up the veil for the gateway of the court. Thus Moses
finished the work.”
– Moses erected the Tabernacle and placed all of its elements into it on the
first month of the second year on the first day of the month
20.1.
The Bible
Knowledge Commentary states the following about the timeline of when the
Tabernacle was completed: “The
tabernacle was erected (v. 1) about a year after the Exodus from
20.2.
Warren Wiersbe
has written the following about how that Moses is seen here performing as a
high priest prior to Aaron being installed as high priest: “Of particular interest in this passage is
the fact that Moses appears to have ministered as a priest until Aaron
was installed: Moses . . . burned . . . incense (40:27) on the golden altar
of incense and he offered . . . burnt offerings and grain offerings on
the altar of burnt offering.”
20.3.
Note here that a
burnt offering and consecration of Moses, Aaron, and Aaron’s sons by the
washing of water was necessary before the shekinah glory of God could come and
fill the Tabernacle and the Lord could come and dwell among His people. This corresponds to the fact that we as God’s
people must repent of our sins and consecrate ourselves fully to God before His
Spirit can begin to work in and through our lives in this world. If we do this then for us too the Lord shall
come and dwell among us, be our God, and build His church around us.
20.4.
Warren Wiersbe
wrote this about how long it had taken for the children of
21.
VS 40:34-38 - “34
Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35 Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting
because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 36 Throughout all their journeys whenever the cloud
was taken up from over the tabernacle, the sons of Israel would set out; 37 but if the cloud was not taken up, then they did
not set out until the day when it was taken up. 38 For throughout all their journeys, the cloud of
the Lord was on the tabernacle by
day, and there was fire in it by night, in the sight of all the house of
21.1.
The glory of the
Lord descends upon the Tabernacle as the Lord comes to dwell there, and we are
told that though Moses evidently tried to enter the Tabernacle at that point he
was unable to do so. The inauguration of
God’s presence into the Tabernacle was too holy even for Moses, God’s earthly
representative to His people, to enter in.
21.2.
The book of Exodus
ends on a positive note. The Lord comes
to dwell with His people promising to lead them to their inheritance in the
21.3.
It is hard to
imagine how great a joy and comfort it was to the children of
21.4.
Warren Wiersbe
has written the following about the importance of God coming to dwell with the children
of
21.5.
Numbers 9:15-23
tells us how that the children of Israel always followed the Lord when the
cloud would leave the Tabernacle and go before them: “15 Now on the day that the
tabernacle was erected the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the
testimony, and in the evening it was like the appearance of fire over the
tabernacle, until morning. 16
So it was continuously; the cloud would cover it by day, and the
appearance of fire by night. 17
Whenever the cloud was lifted from over the tent, afterward the sons of
21.6.
In the church
era, we who are believers in Christ are the Tabernacle in whom the Lord
dwells. We too need to look to the
leading of the Lord through the Holy Spirit in all that we do. He promises to lead us in Romans 8:14: “14 For all who are being led by the
Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”
21.7.
The “Comforter” who is the Holy Spirit remains
always within the believer and really everything that the Lord does through our
lives He accomplishes through the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives. He teaches us, comforts us, gives us wisdom,
reveals God’s will to us, gives boldness and the words to speak when we
witness. Like the Israelites here in the
book of Exodus, we need to learn to watch His every movement and impetus in our
lives.
21.8.
Arthur Pink concludes his commentary on the book of
Exodus with these words: “Notwithstanding
man’s failure, notwithstanding
22.
So, using Warren
Wiersbe’s outline of the book of Exodus, lets review what we have seen and
learned from the book of Exodus:
I. Redemption—God’s Power
(1–17)
A. The slavery of sin
(1–4)
B. The stubbornness of
Pharaoh (5–11)
C. The salvation of God
(l2–17)
1. Passover—Christ the
slain Lamb (12–13)
2. Crossing the
sea—resurrection (14–l5)
3. Manna—Christ the Bread
of Life (16)
4. Smitten rock—the
Spirit—(17:1–7)
5. Amalek—flesh vs. the
Spirit—(17:8–16)
II. Righteousness—God’s
Holiness (18–24)
A. The nation prepared
(18–19)
B. The law revealed
(20–23)
1. The commandments
(Godward) (20)
2. The judgments
(manward) (21–23)
C. The covenant ratified
(24)
III. Restoration—God’s
Grace (25–40)
A. The tabernacle
described (25–31)
B. The tabernacle needed—
C. The tabernacle
constructed (35–40)
23.
CONCLUSIONS:
23.1.
Us who are
leaders in the church, let’s keep the people we serve over our hearts as the
Lord keeps us. Let’s be sure to always
pray and intercede for them and lead them as a good shepherd and following the
example of our good shepherd. Know their
names, their needs, and their concerns.
23.2.
Carefully watch
and listen so as to following the leading and impetus of the Holy Spirit who
indwells you in all that you day. Your
bodies as believers in Christ are the temple of God wherein He dwells.