April 26, 2023
Big Idea
God reveals the way and His will through His Word.
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.
1 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. 2 He made horns for it on its four corners. Its horns were of one piece with it, and he overlaid it with bronze. 3 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. 4 And he made for the altar a grating, a network of bronze, under its ledge, extending halfway down. 5 He cast four rings on the four corners of the bronze grating as holders for the poles. 6 He made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with bronze. 7 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.
8 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.
9 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.
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.
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
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand;
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?
As we gear up to release even more features for Join The Journey in 2025, our staff team, unfortunately, no longer has the margin to continue to support the comment functionality. We have big things in store for Join The Journey 2025. Stay tuned!
Hugh Stephenson
Hugh Stephenson
Michael Sisson
Sue Bohlin
Michael Scaman
Amy Lowther