April 27, 2023

The People Did All the Lord Commanded.

Exodus 39

Robin Dutton
Thursday's Devo

April 27, 2023

Thursday's Devo

April 27, 2023

Big Idea

God reveals the way and His will through His Word.

Key Verse | Exodus 39:32

Thus all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting was finished, and the people of Israel did according to all that the LORD had commanded Moses; so they did.

Exodus 39

Making the Priestly Garments

From the blue and purple and scarlet yarns they made finely woven garments, 1 39:1 Or garments for worship for ministering in the Holy Place. They made the holy garments for Aaron, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

He made the ephod of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen. And they hammered out gold leaf, and he cut it into threads to work into the blue and purple and the scarlet yarns, and into the fine twined linen, in skilled design. They made for the ephod attaching shoulder pieces, joined to it at its two edges. And the skillfully woven band on it was of one piece with it and made like it, of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

They made the onyx stones, enclosed in settings of gold filigree, and engraved like the engravings of a signet, according to the names of the sons of Israel. And he set them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod to be stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

He made the breastpiece, in skilled work, in the style of the ephod, of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen. It was square. They made the breastpiece doubled, a span 2 39:9 A span was about 9 inches or 22 centimeters its length and a span its breadth when doubled. 10 And they set in it four rows of stones. A row of sardius, topaz, and carbuncle was the first row; 11 and the second row, an emerald, 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 enclosed in settings of gold filigree. 14 There were twelve stones with their names according to the names of the sons of Israel. They were like signets, each engraved with its name, for the twelve tribes. 15 And they made on the breastpiece twisted chains like cords, of pure gold. 16 And they made two settings of gold filigree and two gold rings, and put the two rings on the two edges of the breastpiece. 17 And they put the two cords of gold in the two rings at the edges of the breastpiece. 18 They attached the two ends of the two cords to the two settings of filigree. Thus they attached it in front to the shoulder pieces of the ephod. 19 Then they made two rings of gold, and put them at the two ends of the breastpiece, on its inside edge next to the ephod. 20 And they made two rings of gold, and attached them in front to the lower part of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, at its seam above the skillfully woven band of the ephod. 21 And they bound the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, so that it should lie on the skillfully woven band of the ephod, and that the breastpiece should not come loose from the ephod, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

22 He also made the robe of the ephod woven all of blue, 23 and the opening of the robe in it was like the opening in a garment, with a binding around the opening, so that it might not tear. 24 On the hem of the robe they made pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. 25 They also made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates all around the hem of the robe, between the pomegranates— 26 a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate around the hem of the robe for ministering, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

27 They also made the coats, woven of fine linen, for Aaron and his sons, 28 and the turban of fine linen, and the caps of fine linen, and the linen undergarments of fine twined linen, 29 and the sash of fine twined linen and of blue and purple and scarlet yarns, embroidered with needlework, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

30 They made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote on it an inscription, like the engraving of a signet, “Holy to the LORD.” 31 And they tied to it a cord of blue to fasten it on the turban above, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

32 Thus all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting was finished, and the people of Israel did according to all that the LORD had commanded Moses; so they did. 33 Then they brought the tabernacle to Moses, the tent and all its utensils, its hooks, its frames, its bars, its pillars, and its bases; 34 the covering of tanned rams' skins and goatskins, and the veil of the screen; 35 the ark of the testimony with its poles and the mercy seat; 36 the table with all its utensils, and the bread of the Presence; 37 the lampstand of pure gold and its lamps with the lamps set and all its utensils, and the oil for the light; 38 the golden altar, the anointing oil and the fragrant incense, and the screen for the entrance of the tent; 39 the bronze altar, and its grating of bronze, its poles, and all its utensils; the basin and its stand; 40 the hangings of the court, its pillars, and its bases, and the screen for the gate of the court, its cords, and its pegs; and all the utensils for the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of meeting; 41 the finely worked garments for ministering in the Holy Place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons for their service as priests. 42 According to all that the LORD had commanded Moses, so the people of Israel had done all the work. 43 And Moses saw all the work, and behold, they had done it; as the LORD had commanded, so had they done it. Then Moses blessed them.

Footnotes

[1] 39:1 Or garments for worship
[2] 39:9 A span was about 9 inches or 22 centimeters

"Why did priests have special outfits?"

Listen Now

Dive Deeper | Exodus 39

"The Christian is the one whose imagination should fly beyond the stars."
― Francis A. Schaeffer

The priests led God's people to worship, repent, and honor the Lord. They were leading out in the sacrifices and the festivals. Yet, their clothing wasn't simply practical or utilitarian. It was ornate and carefully designed according to God's plan! Slow down momentarily and picture how stunning the priestly garments were: gold, blue, purple, and scarlet yarns covered with emeralds, sapphires, diamonds, and many other precious jewels. The priestly garments would have been a sight to behold! God's instructions for the priestly garments are such a wonderful illustration of His divine beauty and how much He loves creating beautiful things—things that ultimately point us to His glory. After all, He is the creator God who looked at His creation and said that it was good. We have a world full of natural beauty—mountains and oceans, wildflowers and trees, sunrises and starry nights that point to His beauty. Is it any wonder that the Lord invites us to create beautiful things to help guide us to worship Him?

As an artist myself, I find it such an encouragement to see the Lord use artists to make things that are "skillfully woven" to point people to worship Him. The Lord values the skill we put into things—skill that comes from continuing to practice and learn the skill. He values our creativity, which is a tiny reflection of His ultimate creativity.

Finally, the holy crown was engraved with "Holy to the Lord," which intentionally points us to worship the Lord. As we create—whether through art, song, or any other work of our hands—how are we using it to point others to God?

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 does beauty help spur you to worship the Lord?

2. Are you using your skills to lead others to worship the Lord?

3. We see the phrase "as the LORD had commanded" used repeatedly in this chapter. Why is it important that the priestly garments were made as He had commanded?

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!

HS

Hugh Stephenson

Good morning Robin. I really love your detail and your opening piece: “The priests led God's people to worship, repent, and honor the Lord. They were leading out in the sacrifices and the festivals. Yet, their clothing wasn't simply practical or utilitarian. It was ornate and carefully designed according to God's plan!” It’s so easy to skim these passages in Exodus. The action passages are weeks old. Now we’re hearing tons of detail about acacia wood, metals, threads, linen etc. What I have seen in the chapter-a-day deep dive is a fabulous revelation similar to what you lay out for us. The notes all point to these details as a revelation of who God is and how we are to “dwell’ with Him. I don’t naturally tie in to it as I have virtually zero artistic ability. It’s hard for me to appreciate most objects of art. I can get the obvious ones but mostly I just miss it. The only clothing I have that is “ornate and carefully designed according to God's plan” is camo hunting gear that equips me to sit in a tree stand in the woods so that I can live out the Dominion Covenant of Genesis 1:26, 28. :)
HS

Hugh Stephenson

Q1. I draw a distinction between man designed beauty and God designed beauty. I walk down Park Ave in NYC or walk through Grand Central Station and see the magnificence of man made beauty. Its stunning. Yet, as God speaks and Paul writes in Romans 1, they have no comparison to God’s self revelation in: -The quiet and complex magnificence of a salt marsh at low tide. -The stunning beauty of the Canadian Rockies. -The full visible spectrum of color in a winter sunset. -The full view of the Milky Way and a sky full of stars when I’m in the countryside where there is no ground light and no moonlight. -The endless northern prairie when viewed from a hill; it just goes on forever. Q2. My skills. Hmmm. I’d guess I’d say this- God has given me some relational skills and empathy. Most of which I did not use until the weight of my own sin and rebellion crushed me into full surrender. Then I woke up and saw my true self- which enabled me to sit with others whose path paralleled mine. God’s Word, Spirit and people equipped me to walk with them as others had walked with me. And so we were all blessed with each other. Q3. Short answer- because His design is better than any human. And also because the Israelites, like me, needed constant reminders of who God is and how to relate to Him.
HS

Hugh Stephenson

What is so very interesting about this entire subject, (art), is how it draws me closer to the presence of God. 1 Corinthians 13:12 can be a very, very encouraging verse. Or discouraging. How much longer will my vision(s) and/or presence of God be to “…see in a mirror dimly”? But also give me an eternal perspective that draws my focus and “presence” towards God and away from this continually disappointing and broken world. Tuesday of this week I got a call from a friend of mine. We have been close friends since I moved to Atlanta in 1972. We have stayed in touch and remain very close as we talk about once a month for 60-90 minutes. We had a long and fun conversation. I am engaged in his life and he is engaged in mine. I feel his presence in my life and I know he’d say the same. I am very blessed to have a bunch of these friends. After I spend time with them I am walking 3 feet off the ground for days. In my struggles, it seems this is what God is holding out for me. He wants the same. Even though the perfect intimacy of the creator of the universe stands waiting for me I still find my in-box and task-list an overwhelming call.
MS

Michael Sisson

Re: Ex 39:1-31 For a deeper dive into details about the priestly garments, see the following Hebrew For Christians article: https://www.hebrew4christians.com/Scripture/Parashah/Summaries/Pekudei/pekudei.html In 2011, a bell like those described on the hem of the high priest’s garment was unearthed in Israel. You can see and read about it here: https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/rare-second-temple-period-gold-bell-discovered-in-jerusalem You can hear the unearthed bell here: https://youtu.be/vTN-uEsAAaY
MS

Michael Scaman

The priest had cloths with different kinds of yarns and linen even gold threads, stones and chains and gold metal with an inscription 'holy to the LORD'. The people more ordinary as if 'cut from one cloth'. I wonder how this worked with the prohibition against mixing different types of cloths in clothing and if there is some meaning. The high priest had elaborate mixes of blue, purple, scarlet, and even gold threads woven into white linen. gold, blue, purple, scarlet and white. "He made the ephod of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen." It seems only the high priest and the curtains of the temple used mixed material. Pomegranates on much of it. Gold on turban. Stones on his chest one for each tribe. Very different from any other person. Must have been heavy. In contrast for the other people, 'you' shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor shall you wear a garment of cloth made of two kinds of material'. Deuteronomy 22:11. Common people in that day could wear all linen or all wool I suppose but not the kind of material used in the tabernacle or by the high priest. Some say aspects of the high priest clothing a reminder of the various facets of the nature and work of Jesus? Blue form heaven,, Scarlet atonement , White purity , Gold divinity , Purple royalty Pomegranates filled with seeds representing like. The 5 materials grace. The stones over the priests heart, Jesus intersession and love for us.
SB

Sue Bohlin

Thank you, Robin. I connect with your artist's heart; as a calligrapher, the continued emphasis on blue, purple and red plus gold makes my fingers itch to create a new piece of art using these colors! Reading about the plate engraved with "Holy to the Lord" sparked the connection to Peter's teaching that Christ-followers are the "holy priesthood" (1 Peter 2:9) that these garments pointed to. We get to be clothed in garments of righteousness out of Christ's closet. I'm envisioning wearing an invisible headband with "Holy to the Lord" on it, as I go through my day as a royal priest, set apart for God's purposes and to His glory just as the high priest was. And can I just say how much I love that this privileged position is not gender restricted? That women can be--we ARE--priests in God's kingdom??! Woo-hoooo!!!!!
MS

Michael Scaman

The Bible has male pastors and elders, but I'm fine with women priests because in the New Covenant there is a priesthood of all believers, men and women.
AL

Amy Lowther

1. Beauty takes skill and practice. Sometimes it is right and sometimes it is not right. Worshiping the Lord helps you know who you are and what you want. Worshipping the Lord helps you approach life in positive ways for yourself and for others. We love because He first loved us. 2. Yes. 3. The priestly garments should honor God, respect those who wear them, and respect those people respecting those who wear them. God makes commands for all.