From time to time someone in the discussion will express surprise that I didn’t go into depth on a particular detail or incident and ask if they missed where I discussed a particular topic. It is important to note that my goal was never to cover every single moment and topic in the Word. My goal and intent is to equip you with the confidence and ability to know how to study, dig deeper, and digest the Word for yourself. Give a man a fish and he eats for a day, teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. It may seem like I’m giving you fish most days, but make no mistake, what we’re really doing here is giving fishing lessons. May we bring further honor and glory to our King in all we do!
GOOD MORNING!
Today’s readings are Exodus 36-38
Click here to read today’s passages on BibleGateway.
Rabbit Trails
There is a LOT to unpack today so let’s just jump on in.
Exodus 36:1 lists the two men that appear to be at the forefront of the builders of the tabernacle. Their names are Bezalel and Oholiab. Now these names are pretty special. They are building the Father’s tabernacle which is the most elaborate tent of its kind. Each name has a special meaning. Bezal means shadow. El means God or YHWH. Shadow of YHWH. Bezalel means Shadow of YHWH. Oholi means Tent and Ab means Father. Oholiab means Father’s Tent. Pretty cool, huh?
Here is a fun study tip: If you are ever reading a Bible story that doesn’t seem to tell much or leaves out more details than you’d prefer, do a word study on the names of everyone mentioned therein for additional insight.
Read Exodus 36:1 – where did their skill and intelligence come from? Isn’t it amazing that the Father called them to do a task for Him and then put within them all of the skill, intellect, and craftsmanship they needed to carry out His plan. And these skills were no amateur. I believe that even if the craftsmen had done tasks as these before, they became instant master craftsman in all their hands touched!
Exodus 36:5-7 is an amazing verse.
and said to Moses, “The people bring much more than enough for doing the work that the Lord has commanded us to do.” 6 So Moses gave command, and word was proclaimed throughout the camp, “Let no man or woman do anything more for the contribution for the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing, 7 for the material they had was sufficient to do all the work, and more.
The offerings were so great in number that Moses had to actually RESTRAIN the people from giving! Y’all, think about that a minute.
Exodus 36:9 The length of each curtain is 28 cubits. A cubit is about 18 inches so that tells us that the length of each curtain is 504 inches, or about 43 feet. The breadth, we are told, was 4 cubits, so six feet. So we are reading that the curtains were 43 feet high and six feet wide panels and the text tells us that they were all the same size.
The text goes on into great detail over every aspect of the tabernacle. What should we be seeing here?
DETAILS MATTER TO YHWH.
This is life wisdom that should be at the forefront of our minds in all things.
Pay attention to the quality of materials: wood, dyes, and precious metals used in the construction of this tabernacle. These are the best of the best. The Father is teaching us to honor Him with our first fruits, not our leftovers. These people had lived in cultures where honor and homage was given to mere idols and now YHWH, the creator of all things is going to dwell among them! A difference in attention and honor must be paid.
Exodus 37:1 The ark itself measured 45 inches long, by 27 inches wide, by 27 inches high. The covering was 45 inches by 27 inches but we don’t know the size of the cherubim on top.
Exodus 37:10 The table was 36inches long by 18 inches wide by 27 inches tall. Okay, I love y’all but I’m done doing math for the day. You get the point. 1 cubit = 18 inches.
Exodus 37:17-24 is a detailed description of the making of the first Menorah. There is a HUGE Menorah in Israel, based on extensive research and containing about $3mil worth of gold by today’s standards. It’s beautiful and gives you a little bit of a visual as to what this menorah might have looked like. They also have some articles that you can click through that show how they may have possibly built this menorah. Click here to see that menorah and start the click through to reading the articles if you like. *Note, this is an outside source. Test everything you read against the Word.
Christy’s Random Tabernacle Info:
•Contributions for the sanctuary – Many of the materials the Israelites received from the Egyptians as they left were used to build the items in the Wilderness Tabernacle
•From what we are told in Scripture, about one ton of gold was used in building the Tabernacle, about 7000 pounds of silver, and a little more than 2 tons of bronze.
•Notice that the Ark of the Covenant had loops in which poles would slide through to carry. This enabled the Levites to transport it without coming into unauthorized direct contact of its holiness.
•Use of Blue, Purple, and Scarlett throughout the tabernacle curtains. My husband zeroed in on this when we first went through the entire Bible together and those have been his favorite color combinations since then.
•In Exodus 25-27 God gave Moses an Incredibly detailed plan of EXACTLY how to construct the Tabernacle. This is the most important structure because it was to be YHWH’s dwelling place on earth. Can you imagine such an undertaking?
I love seeing how attentive our Father is to details! But we see this each and every day of our lives. This is such a comfort and wonderful reminder that every nook and cranny of our live counts to Him and every letter of His Word should be just as important to us.
Test everything, hold tight to what is good.~ 1 Thess 5:21
We are saved by Grace alone: Obedience is not the root of our salvation, it is the fruit!
May YHWH bless the reading of His Word!