April 26, 2023

The Tabernacle's Materials

Exodus 38

Cari Trotter
Wednesday's Devo

April 26, 2023

Wednesday's Devo

April 26, 2023

Big Idea

God reveals the way and His will through His Word.

Key Verse | Exodus 38:21

These are the records of the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the testimony, as they were recorded at the commandment of Moses, the responsibility of the Levites under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

Exodus 38

Making the Altar of Burnt Offering

He made the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood. Five cubits 1 38:1 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters was its length, and five cubits its breadth. It was square, and three cubits was its height. He made horns for it on its four corners. Its horns were of one piece with it, and he overlaid it with bronze. And he made all the utensils of the altar, the pots, the shovels, the basins, the forks, and the fire pans. He made all its utensils of bronze. And he made for the altar a grating, a network of bronze, under its ledge, extending halfway down. He cast four rings on the four corners of the bronze grating as holders for the poles. He made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with bronze. And he put the poles through the rings on the sides of the altar to carry it with them. He made it hollow, with boards.

Making the Bronze Basin

He made the basin of bronze and its stand of bronze, from the mirrors of the ministering women who ministered in the entrance of the tent of meeting.

Making the Court

And he made the court. For the south side the hangings of the court were of fine twined linen, a hundred cubits; 10 their twenty pillars and their twenty bases were of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver. 11 And for the north side there were hangings of a hundred cubits; their twenty pillars and their twenty bases were of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver. 12 And for the west side were hangings of fifty cubits, their ten pillars, and their ten bases; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver. 13 And for the front to the east, fifty cubits. 14 The hangings for one side of the gate were fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and three bases. 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 bases. 16 All the hangings around the court were of fine twined linen. 17 And the bases for the pillars were of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver. The overlaying of their capitals was also of silver, and all the pillars of the court were filleted with silver. 18 And the screen for the gate of the court was embroidered with needlework in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. It was twenty cubits long and five cubits high in its breadth, corresponding to the hangings of the court. 19 And their pillars were four in number. Their four bases were of bronze, their hooks of silver, and the overlaying of their capitals and their fillets of silver. 20 And all the pegs for the tabernacle and for the court all around were of bronze.

Materials for the Tabernacle

21 These are the records of the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the testimony, as they were recorded at the commandment of Moses, the responsibility of the Levites under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. 22 Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the LORD commanded Moses; 23 and with him was Oholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver and designer and embroiderer in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen.

24 All the gold that was used for the work, in all the construction of the sanctuary, the gold from the offering, was twenty-nine talents and 730 shekels, 2 38:24 A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms; a shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams by the shekel of the sanctuary. 25 The silver from those of the congregation who were recorded was a hundred talents and 1,775 shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary: 26 a beka 3 38:26 A beka was about 1/5 ounce or 5.5 grams a head (that is, half a shekel, by the shekel of the sanctuary), for everyone who was listed in the records, from twenty years old and upward, for 603,550 men. 27 The hundred talents of silver were for casting the bases of the sanctuary and the bases of the veil; a hundred bases for the hundred talents, a talent a base. 28 And of the 1,775 shekels he made hooks for the pillars and overlaid their capitals and made fillets for them. 29 The bronze that was offered was seventy talents and 2,400 shekels; 30 with it he made the bases for the entrance of the tent of meeting, the bronze altar and the bronze grating for it and all the utensils of the altar, 31 the bases around the court, and the bases of the gate of the court, all the pegs of the tabernacle, and all the pegs around the court.

Footnotes

[1] 38:1 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters
[2] 38:24 A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms; a shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams
[3] 38:26 A beka was about 1/5 ounce or 5.5 grams

S2:078 Exodus 38

Listen Now

Dive Deeper | Exodus 38

As a family working in the athletic profession, we have moved seven times in the last 20 years. It has been a rhythm of learning, letting go, and leading on with each new opportunity. It has not been easy to live a lifestyle that calls us to be somewhat nomadic. With each new assignment, however, we grow deeper in our relationships with each other and God. We also continue to build a deeper and wider testimony along the way. A little of this and a little of that from each experience shows us greater aspects of God and a greater understanding of His people.

Leading up to Exodus 38, the children of Israel were nomadic. They had experienced the Exodus, the trials of the wilderness, and now the establishment of the tabernacle to prepare an official place to worship. Up to this moment, they had simply been traveling along, popping a tent, and creating worship as they went. But now, God had given Moses specific instructions to construct a home for Himself and to "have a tabernacle" with the people.

It can feel at times when reading these portions of Scripture like you might drown in the specifics or wonder what in the world the importance could be to know the weight, materials, and measurements of each portion of the tabernacle. But here is where the weight of the materials has tremendous importance: it symbolizes the value of the testimony. The gold, silver, and bronze materials specifically laid out by Ithamar, the son of Aaron, spoke to the value of all the blessings the children of Israel had received from the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. It was the tabernacle of the Lord and the embodiment of the testimony of their faith that made it Home. Things that are expensive have weight. They have importance. The specific elements of your testimony have tremendous value. God will use every step of your journey with Him to build a testimony that carries weight and points people to Him.  

This month's memory verse

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand;

– Philippians 4:4-5

Discussion Questions

1. How has your life been like the children of Israel? What challenges have you experienced that brought you closer to Jesus?

2. For the tabernacle there were offerings of gold, silver, and bronze contributed, as well as other things. In considering the materials for your own testimony, what would be considered gold? The tribute of silver? The offering of bronze?

3. Revelation 12:11 (Amplified Bible) says, "And they overcame and conquered him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony . . . ." Have you ever written out the word of your own testimony? What would you mark as the "specific materials" God has ordered to bring together your testimony?

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Hugh Stephenson

Good morning Cari! Love the points made in your devo. Lots of change leads to a deep and wide testimony. Yes it does. For me, from birth to age 30 it was 3 cities and 9 houses/apartments. Then from 46-63 it was 2 cities and 5 houses. I should have been in the moving business. But you and the Israelites are in a league of your own. Q1. Many blessings. Many rescues. Then forgetting what He has provided. Then being reminded when I no longer possessed it. Then recovering it. Q2. The tribute of gold would be His miraculous healing of my addiction and alcoholism. The tribute of silver would be the rebuilding of my marriage as Amy and I came to faith. The tribute of bronze would be the counsel and company of friends who walked with us so faithfully and patiently. Q3. I have been blessed to have written it out and given it several times. I never make it through without breaking down in emotion. The specific materials was the absolute brokenness that I had to get to before I surrendered unconditionally.
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Hugh Stephenson

Some longer form content from the Bible Project- https://bibleproject.com/search/#?cludoquery=tabernacle&cludopage=1&cludorefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fbibleproject.com%2F&cludorefpt=Study%20the%20Story%20of%20the%20Bible%20With%20Free%20Tools&cludorefact=tabernacle&cludorefaci=1&cludoinputtype=standard More links from GQs on the tabernacle. My favorite is the link on the bronze altar. They are all worth the short time it takes to read them. https://www.gotquestions.org/brazen-altar.html ------------------------------------------------------------- https://www.gotquestions.org/tent-of-meeting.html https://www.gotquestions.org/tabernacle-of-Moses.html https://www.gotquestions.org/tabernacle-of-David.html https://www.gotquestions.org/Most-Holy-Place.html https://www.gotquestions.org/Bezalel-and-Oholiab.html https://www.gotquestions.org/mercy-seat.html https://www.gotquestions.org/shekinah-glory.html
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Michael Sisson

Re: Ex 38:8 Ex 38:8 (NASB) 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.<<< See also Ex 30:18. In this verse, we see one type of Messiah (mirrors) being used to construct another type of Messiah (the bronze laver). John Parson’s characterizes the significance thereof thusly: “From our Torah portion this week (Vayakhel) we read: ‘And he (Betzalel) 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’ (Ex 38:8). At the entrance of the Mishkan (i.e., ‘Tabernacle’) a copper ‘laver’ was built, the place where we wash and prepare ourselves to come before the Divine Presence (Ex 30:18). The Torah says the basin was made from the mirrors of women who willingly sacrificed them to help build the sanctuary (Ex 38:8). Spiritually understood, the mirror was transformed from a place where we encounter our own appearance to a place where we encounter God. Instead of focusing on our superficial face – how it looks and how we esteem ourselves, we now see ourselves in light of God’s love, with our former self-image ‘sacrificed’ or surrendered for the gift of a deeper self (2Cor 5:16). This is the ‘new self’ cleansed by the Word of God, reflecting back the radiance of His Presence, as it says: ‘put on the new self (האדם החדשׁ) created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness’ (Eph 4:24). “The sacrificed mirror represents turning to face reality, to see ourselves as God see us... Because of Yeshua, we have access to the inner heart of God (Heb 4:16). Know who you are in Messiah: ‘And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit’ (2Cor 3:18).” — Hebrew for Christians https://hebrew4christians.com/Scripture/Parashah/Summaries/Vaiyakhel/Visage/visage.html
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Sue Bohlin

Thank you, Cari! Tough chapter from which to draw a devotional. But I loved this: "Things that are expensive have weight. They have importance." Literal TONS of gold, silver and bronze that had to be moved around in the wilderness as the Israelites sojourned for 40 years speak to the importance of taking Yahweh and worshiping Him correctly, seriously. Weight is on my mind this morning as I helped launch a new re:generation group last night. As is always the case with a new group, the emotional weight of pain, guilt and shame showed on women's faces. We took a group picture because when this group commences months from now, they will look very different. The weight will be replaced by shiny, joyful faces reflecting the work of freedom and healing Jesus will have done in their lives. It's exhilarating!
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Michael Scaman

God made the tabernacle movable. The ark had rings for poles. In Numbers we see the ark is also (supposed to be ) covered with the veil of the holy of holies when moved God made the tabernacle cutter walls strong to stand dessert winds. It was high taking winds but enforced with tent pegs God puts the tabernacle in the middle of the tents of all the tribes. He dwells among them. The treasure will be the pillar of fire and cloud over the tabernacle, showing God is with them. The treasure is the same yesterday, today and forever. We see the images of the tabernacle/temple come back later. In Zechariah there are 7 almost surreal visions at th start and all relate to the things of the temple (the brick and morter fixed tabernacle) and the law RC Sproul through the wheels in wheels of the throne driven chariot in the sky may represent the ark with the rings it was carried on.
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Amy Lowther

1. I can relate to Bezalel because he made all that the LORD commanded of Moses. Bezalel shows he believed in the Lord and wanted to help others experience the goodness of the Lord whether they did the work of the Lord or not. New believers and potential believers tend to open themselves up to the Lord if you lead them by example. The switch of pastors from Todd to the teaching pastors has challenged me to know Jesus better because they present using various styles and various pieces of information we can learn and use in daily life. 2. The gold of my testimony is God’s strength. The silver of my testimony is the opportunities various churches provide to serve and interact with fellow believers. The bronze of my testimony is the opportunities I get to share values and stories with my real parents. 3. Yes. Having camp counselors who care to share stories of Jesus, having pastors ensuring there are biblical teachings every Sunday, and having churches give away bibles so guests can read about Jesus on their own have helped me know Christ best and produce a testimony to present His influence on me.