Chapter 26

(Verses 1 through 6) Moreover thou shalt make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with cherubims of cunning work shalt thou make them. The length of one curtain shall be eight and twenty cubits, (42 ft.,) and the breadth of one curtain four cubits: (6 ft.) and every one of the curtains shall have one measure. The five curtains shall be coupled together one to another; and other five curtains shall be coupled one to another. And thou shalt make loops of blue upon the edge of the one curtain from the selvedge in the coupling; and likewise shalt thou make in the uttermost edge of another curtain, in the coupling of the second. Fifty loops shalt thou make in the one curtain, and fifty loops shalt thou make in the edge of the curtain that is in the coupling of the second; that the loops may take hold one of another. And thou shalt make fifty taches (clasps) of gold, and couple the curtains together with the taches: and it shall be one tabernacle.

Here we have the beginning of the instructions for the making of the tabernacle itself. As can readily be seen, the curtains of which it was to be made were very beautiful. There were to be ten of them. All were to be of the same size, forty-two feet by six feet. Then preparation was to be made for fastening them together in two sections, with ten of them in each section. This was to be done by means of loops of blue in the selvedge edge of each curtain, where it joined another.  And fifty clasps of pure gold were to be made to fasten the two sections together, that the whole might be one tabernacle.

(Verses 7 through 14) And thou shalt make curtains of goats’ hair to be a covering upon the tabernacle: eleven curtains shalt thou make. The length of one curtain shall be thirty cubits, (45 ft.,) and the breadth of one curtain four cubits; (6 ft.) and the eleven curtains shall be all of one measure. And thou shalt couple five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves, and shalt double the sixth curtain in the forefront of the tabernacle. And thou shalt make fifty loops on the edge of the one curtain that is outmost in the coupling, and fifty loops in the edge of the curtain which coupleth the second. And thou shalt make fifty taches of brass, and put the taches into the loops, and couple the tent together, that it may be one. And the remnant that remaineth of the curtains of the tent, the half curtain that remaineth shall hang over the backside of the tabernacle. And a cubit on the one side, and a cubit on the other side of that which remaineth in the length of the curtains of the tent, it shall hang over the sides of the tabernacle on this side and on that side, to cover it And thou shalt make a covering for the tent of rams’ skins dyed red, and a covering above of badgers’ skins.

After giving the instructions for making the curtains of “fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet; with cherubims of cunning work,” the LORD told Moses that there were also other coverings to be made to go above these beautiful curtains. First there must be a covering made of curtains of goats’ hair. And exact dimensions were given for these, as well as instructions as to how they were to be put together. Then two more coverings are to be made. One is to be made of rams’ skins dyed red, and the other is to be made of badgers’ skins. No instructions are given as to the sizes or the manner of fastening these coverings together. No doubt the first curtains were to be primarily for beauty, and the others for protection of the tabernacle.

(Verses 15 through 25) And thou shalt make boards for the tabernacle of shittim wood standing up. Ten cubits (15 ft.) shall be the length of a board, and a cubit and a half (27 in.) shall be the breadth of one board. Two tenons shall there be in one board, set in order one against another: thus shalt thou make for all the boards of the tabernacle. And thou shalt make the boards for the tabernacle, twenty boards on the south side southward. And thou shalt make forty sockets of silver under the twenty boards; two sockets under one board for his two tenons, and two sockets under another board for his two tenons. And for the second side of the tabernacle on the north side there shall be twenty : and their forty sockets of silver; two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board. And for the sides of the tabernacle westward thou shalt make six boards. And two boards shalt thou make for the corners of the tabernacle in the two sides. And they shall be coupled together beneath, and they shall be coupled together above the head of it unto one ring: thus it shall be for them both; they shall be for the two corners. And they shall be eight boards, and their sockets of silver, sixteen sockets; two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board.

All the curtains and coverings previously described seem to have been for the top of the tent. Then He gives instructions for the sides of the tabernacle. They are to be made of wood boards twenty seven inches wide and fifteen feet long each. All are to be prepared with tenons and sockets for assembling without the use of any kind of tools. All their sockets are to be made of silver. The numbers of the boards for each location are given. For corners two boards are to be coupled together, but all others are to be set up and taken down when the tabernacle is to be set up, or when it is to be moved, as it will have to be done many times on their journeys.

(Verses 26 through 30) And thou shalt make bars of shittim wood; five for the boards of the one side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the other side of the tabernacle, for the two sides westward. And the middle bar in the midst of the boards shall reach from end to end. And thou shalt overlay the boards with gold, and make their rings of gold for places for the bars: and thou shalt overlay the bars with gold. And thou shalt rear up the tabernacle according to the fashion thereof which was shewed thee in the mount.

Here the LORD gave instructions for making bars to hold the boards together. He also commanded that the boards and the bars be overlaid with gold. Then He commanded that the tabernacle be erected according to the manner He had already shown Moses while he was in the mount with Him

(Verses 31 through 32) And thou shalt make a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubims shall it be made: and thou shalt hang it upon four pillars of shittim wood overlaid with gold, upon four sockets of silver.

Another item that was to be made was a vail to separate the holy place from the most holy. It was to be made of similar pattern to the first curtains ordered for the tabernacle, and to be hung upon four pillars of shittim wood overlaid with gold. No detailed size is given for the pillars. Neither is the thickness of the vail given; but some have said that it was, perhaps, as much as four or six inches thick. Of that I can give no assurance. The hooks of the vail were of gold, while the sockets in which they were hung were of silver.

(Verses 33 through 37) And thou shalt hang up the vail under the taches, that thou mayest bring in thither within the vail the ark of the testimony: and the vail shall divide unto you between the Holy place and the most holy. And thou shalt put the mercy seat upon the ark of the testimony in the most holy place. And thou shalt set the table without the vail, and the candlestick over against the table on the side of the tabernacle on the south: and thou shalt put the table on the north side. And thou shalt make an hanging for the door of the tent, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework. And thou shalt make for the hanging five pillars of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold, and their hooks shall be of gold: and thou shalt cast five sockets of brass for them.

In this the LORD gives instructions for the hanging of the vail, and the placement of the furniture of the tabernacle. Then the final item, the hanging for the door of the tent, is described. It was to be, essentially, like the first curtains of the tabernacle, and the vail. And it was to be hung upon five pillars made like the four upon which the vail was hung, except that, the sockets of the pillars upon which it was hung were to be of brass instead of silver.

(Verses 1 through 8) And thou shalt make an altar of shittim wood, five cubits long, (7 ft. and 6 ins.) and five cubits broad; the altar shall be foursquare: and the height thereof shall be three cubits. (4 ft. and 6 ins.) And thou shalt make the horns of it upon the four corners thereof: his horns shall be of the same: and thou shalt overlay it with brass. And thou shalt make his pans to receive his ashes, and his shovels, and his basins, and his fleshhooks, and his firepans: all the vessels thereof thou shalt make of brass. And thou shalt make for it a grate of network of brass; and upon the net shalt thou make four brasen rings in the four corners thereof. And thou shalt put it under the compass of the altar beneath, that the net may be even to the midst of the altar. And thou shalt make staves for the altar, staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with brass. And the staves shall be put into the rings, and the staves shall be upon the two sides of the altar, to bear it. Hollow with boards shalt thou make it: as it was shewed thee in the mount, so shall they make it.

It is to be noted that this altar and the staves with which it was to be carried were made of shittim wood, like all other wooden items that have been mentioned; but they were to be overlaid with neither gold nor silver, but with brass. And all the vessels and utensils of this altar were to be made of brass. And from this fact comes the idea that, in figure, brass always denotes judgment. Because this is the altar upon which the sin offerings of the Israelites were to be offered. Again we find the LORD reminding Moses to be sure that all things were made exactly according to the patterns shown him in the mount.

(Verses 9 through 15) And thou shalt make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward there shall be hangings for the court of fine twined linen of an hundred cubits long (150 ft.) for one side: and the twenty pillars thereof and their twenty sockets shall be of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver. And likewise for the north side in length there shall be hangings of an hundred cubits long, and his twenty pillars and their twenty sockets of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver. And for the breadth of the court on the west side shall be hangings of fifty cubits: (75 ft.) their pillars ten, and their sockets ten. And the breadth of the court on the east side eastward shall be fifty cubits. The hangings of one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits: (22 ft. and 6 ins.) their pillars three, and their sockets three. And on the other side shall be hangings fifteen cubits: their pillars three, and their sockets three.

After the tabernacle was set up, a court was to be established around it. It was to be enclosed with a set of curtains hung from pillars around it. These curtains, or hangings were to be made of fine linen, and the size of them was given. For the north and south sides of the court, the hanging for each was to be one hundred cubits long, and, though it is not given here, the height was to be five cubits. On the west side there was to be a hanging of fifty cubits length, and five cubits in height. The east side was to have an opening in it of twenty cubits width, set in the center, with a hanging on each side of the opening of fifteen cubits length and five cubits height. The hangings on the south  and north sides were each to be hung on twenty pillars, with each pillar having a socket of brass, and the hangings having hooks of silver. On the west side there were to be ten pillars with their sockets of brass, and the hooks of the hangings were silver. On the east side there were for each of the hangings three pillars with their sockets and the hooks as for the others. Nothing is said at this point to that effect, but one would think that the pillars were shittim wood overlaid with brass.

(Verses 16 and 17) And for the gate of the court shall be an hanging of twenty cubits, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework: and their pillars shall be four, and their sockets four. All the pillars round about the court shall be filleted with silver; their hooks shall be of silver, and their sockets of brass.

The hanging for the gate of the court was to be twenty cubits in length, and of a pattern similar to the first curtains of the sanctuary, and hung on four pillars with their sockets and hooks as described for the other pillars of the court.

(Verses 18 and 19) The length of the court shall be an hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty every where, and the height five cubits of fine twined linen, and their sockets of brass. All the vessels of the tabernacle in all the service thereof, and all the pins of the court, shall be brass.

This seems very easy to follow and understand without comment.

(Verses 20 and 21) And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always. In the tabernacle of the congregation without the vail, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to morning before the LORD: it shall be a statute for ever unto their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel.

In the tabernacle the area behind the vail was called the most holy place, or the holy of holies, while that before the vail was called the tabernacle of the congregation. The lamp, which the LORD commanded Moses to have the children of Israel to make, was to be placed in the tabernacle of the congregation, not in the most holy place. Moses was to command the Israelites that they bring pure olive oil to use as fuel for the lamp; and it was to be burning from evening to morning before the LORD. And this was an ordinance to be observed by the priests every evening and morning throughout their generations.

(Verses 1 through 5)And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto Me in the priest’s office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons. And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty. And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron’s garments to consecrate him, that he may minister unto Me in the priest’s office. And these are the garments which they shall make; a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle: and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister unto Me in the priest’s office. And they shall take gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen.

This is the general commandment that the garments of the priests be made. The LORD names the garments that are to be made, but gives no details concerning them. These He will give as we go along. Aaron and his sons are chosen for the priesthood. This shows that God always chooses who shall serve Him, and in what capacity he shall serve. He did not advertise for people to come, and make application for the office; and neither did He let the people vote to elect those who would serve. He also instructed Moses to speak to “all that are wise hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron’s garments.” Even the ones who were to work on this project were chosen of God. It was He who had filled them with “the spirit of wisdom.” So it ever is with the works of the LORD. He calls whom He will, and qualifies them for the work.

(Verses 6 through 12) And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, and of purple, of scarlet, and fine twined linen, with cunning work. It shall have the two shoulderpieces thereof joined at the edges thereof; and so it shall be joined together. And the curious girdle of the ephod, which is upon it, shall be of the same, according to the work thereof; even of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen. And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and grave on them the names of the children of Israel: six of their names shall be on one stone, and the other six names of the rest on the other stone, according to their birth. With the work of the engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, shalt thou engrave the two stones with the names of the children of Israel: thou shalt make them to be set in ouches (settings) of gold. And thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulders of the ephod for stones of memorial unto the children of Israel: and Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD upon his two shoulders for a memorial.

The LORD here gave Moses the description of the ephod that the children of Israel were to make for the priest, as well as the “curious girdle of the ephod.” Since the LORD had already said that Moses was to speak to those “that were wise hearted, whom I have filled with wisdom, that they may make Aaron’s garments,” it was unnecessary that He give exact details of everything that was to be done. He just gives a general description, and tells of what materials these items were to be made. He did say that they were to take two onyx stones, engrave the names of the twelve tribes of Israel on them, in the order of their birth, and put them in settings on the shoulders of the ephod, that Aaron might bear the names of the Israelites “before the LORD upon his two shoulders for a memorial.”

(Verses 13 through 21) And thou shalt make ouches of gold; and two chains of pure gold at the ends; of wreathen work shalt thou make them, and fasten the wreathen chains to the ouches. And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment with cunning work; after the work of the ephod thou shalt make it; of gold, of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine twined linen, shalt thou make it. Foursquare it shall be, being doubled; a span shall be the length thereof, and a span shall be the breadth thereof. And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones: the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be the first row. And the second row shall be an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond. And the third row a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst. And the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper: they shall be set in gold in their inclosings, and the stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to the twelve tribes.

There are two of the stones named here that there seems to be some disagreement concerning what gems they are according to the modern names of gems. They are the sardius and the ligure. The sardius is thought by some to be the ruby, and by others to be a carnelian. They do agree that it was of a deep red color. The ligure is thought to, probably, be a jacinth. All of these stones were to be arranged in settings on the breastplate of judgment that was to be worn by the priest when he should go in before the LORD. And each stone was to have engraved upon it the name of one of the sons of Israel. They were to be arranged in the order given, in four rows, and the names were to be in the order of the births of the sons of Jacob, thus representing the twelve tribes of Israel.

(Verses 22 through 30) And thou shalt make upon the breastplate chains at the ends of wreathen work of pure gold. And thou shalt make upon the breastplate two rings of gold, and shalt put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate. And thou shalt put the two wreathen chains of gold in the two rings which are on the ends of the breastplate. And the other two ends of the two wreathen chains thou shalt fasten in the two ouches, and put them on the shoulderpieces of the ephod before it. And thou shalt make two rings of gold, and thou shalt put them upon the two ends of the breastplate in the border thereof, which is in the side of the ephod inward. And two other rings of gold thou shalt make, and shalt put them on the two sides of the ephod underneath, toward the forepart thereof, over against the other coupling thereof above the curious girdle of the ephod. And they shall bind the breastplate by the rings thereof unto the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it may be above the curious girdle of the ephod, and that the breastplate be not loosed from the ephod. And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the LORD continually. And thou shalt put in the breastplate of Judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron’s heart, when he goeth in before the LORD: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the LORD continually.

This gives the manner of attaching the ephod, the curious girdle of the ephod, and the breastplate of judgment together as they were to be worn by Aaron when he went in before the LORD. These garments were very ornate. The LORD had said that they should be made for glory and beauty; and certainly they were. But the precious stones attached to them were also for the purpose of Aaron’s bearing in them the names of the children of Israel before the LORD, when he went in before Him. And as he bore their names before the LORD, since the names were in the breastplate of judgment, he was also bearing before the LORD the judgment of the children of Israel. Thus as their high priest he was their mediator. We might here quote what the author of CRUDEN’S CONCORDANCE gives concerning “Urim and Thummim.” “According to the Hebrew, Ex. 28:30, the literal signification of these two words is, lights and perfections, or the shining and the perfect. According to St. Jerome, doctrine and judgment. According to the LXX, declaration or manifestation and, truth. They were worn in or attached to the breastplate of the high priest when inquiring of God.” Little, if any description is ever given of them.

(Verses 31 through 35) And thou shalt make the robe of the ephod all of blue. And there shall be a hole in the top of it, in the midst thereof: it shall have a binding of woven work round about the hole of it, as it were the whole of an habergeon, that it be not rent. And beneath upon the hem of it thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the hem thereof; and bells of gold between them round about. And it shall be upon Aaron to minister: and his sound shall be heard when he goeth in unto the holy place before the LORD, and when he cometh out, that he die not.

This is a description of the robe that the high priest was to wear when he went into the holy of holies to appear before the LORD. The most significant thing about it are the golden bells that are around the hem of it. The Pomegranates were for beauty only, but the bells also had a practical use. Since no one but the high priest was ever to be allowed to go into the holy of holies, the high priest always had to go alone; and these bells, as they rang, would tell those waiting outside of his movements, assuring them that he still lived. If something displeasing to the Lord took place, and the high priest was struck dead, the silence of the bells would alert the people to this fact. Nothing is said in scripture about such, but it has been said that a rope was attached to the leg of the high priest, when he went into the holy of holies, by which he could be dragged out, since it was unlawful for anyone except him to enter therein.

(Verses 36 through 39) And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave upon it, like the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD. And thou shalt put it upon a blue lace, that it may be upon the mitre; upon the forefront of the mitre it shall be. And it shall be upon Aaron’s forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the LORD. And thou shalt embroider the coat of fine linen, and thou shalt make the mitre of fine linen, and thou shalt make the girdle of needlework.

This is the conclusion of the description of the special garments that were to be made for Aaron (and, of course, for the high priests who would succeed him.) In addition to the garments already described he was to have a special cap, or mitre, and to the front of that they were to attach a solid gold plate upon which was engraved HOLINESS TO THE LORD. When He went in before the LORD this was always to be on his forehead that the children of Israel might be accepted before the LORD. He was also to be dressed in a coat of fine linen embroidered with needlework. His mitre was also to be of fine linen, and his girdle was to be of needlework.

(Verses 40 through 43) And for Aaron’s sons thou shalt make coats, and thou shalt make them girdles, and bonnets shalt thou make for them, for glory and  for beauty. And thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him; and shalt anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister unto Me in the priest’s office. And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness; from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach: and they shall be upon Aaron, and upon his sons, when they come into the tabernacle of the congregation, or when they come near unto the altar; that they bear not iniquity, and die: it shall be a statute for ever unto him and his seed after him.

These are the garments that were to be made for Aaron and his sons to wear when they were ministering in their offices in the tabernacle of the congregation, and at the altar. Aaron was to wear the garments already described, when he went into the holy of holies, but not when in the tabernacle of the congregation, or at the altar. And, of course, his sons were not to go into the holy of holies. Only the one who became high priest after his death could do that. And he could not do so until he became high priest.

(Verses 1 through 14) And this is the thing that thou shalt do unto them to hallow them, to minister unto Me in the priest’s office; Take one young bullock, and two rams without blemish, and unleavened bread, and cakes unleavened tempered with oil, and wafers unleavened anointed with oil: of wheaten flour shalt thou make them. And thou shalt put them into one basket, with the bullock and the two rams. And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shalt wash them with water. And thou shalt take the garments, and put upon Aaron the coat, and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with the curious girdle of the ephod: and thou shalt put the mitre upon his head, and put the holy crown upon the mitre. Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him. And thou shalt bring his sons, and put coats upon them. And thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and put the bonnets on them: and the priest’s office shall be theirs for a perpetual statute: and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons. And thou shalt cause a bullock to be brought before the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the bullock. And thou shalt kill the bullock before the LORD, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger, and pour all the blood beside the bottom of the altar. And thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul that is above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and burn them upon the altar. But the flesh of the bullock, and his skin, and his dung, shalt thou burn with fire without the camp: it is a sin offering.

There should be nothing in this to need any explanation, since it is so clearly stated. But one should notice with what exactness each action is laid out. Notice that in verses 1 through 7 very clear directions are given for consecrating Aaron to the office of high priest. For this he was to be dressed in the garments that he was to wear when he went into the holy place. While thus fully dressed, he was to have the anointing oil poured upon his head. And the anointing oil was not to be just a drop or two, but a significant amount, so that it would indeed be poured instead of being sprinkled, or dripped. Then they were to take Aaron and his sons, and dress them in the garments made for them to wear in the tabernacle of the congregation, and at the altar, and consecrate them. At this time they were to bring a bullock to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, have Aaron and his sons put their hands upon the head of the bullock, and kill the bullock at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. Then Moses was to dip his finger in the blood of the bullock, put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar, and pour all the remainder of the blood beside the bottom of the altar. Then he was to take the specified parts of the bullock, and burn them on the altar. But all the remainder of the bullock was to be carried outside the camp, and burned. This was done because this was a sin offering. This has been considered a type of the offering of our Lord Jesus. Isaiah says, Is. 53:10, “Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He hath put Him to grief: when thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand.” And He was offered (crucified) outside the camp, that is outside the city of Jerusalem.

(Verses 15 through 24) Thou shalt also take one ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram. And thou shalt slay the ram, and thou shalt take his blood, and sprinkle it round about upon the altar. And thou shalt cut the ram in pieces, and wash the inwards of him, and his legs, and put them unto his pieces, and unto his head. And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it is a burnt offering unto the LORD: it is a sweet savour, an offering made fire unto the LORD. And thou shalt take the other ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram. Then shalt thou take of his blood, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and upon the tip of the right ear of his sons, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about. And thou shalt take of the blood that is upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon the garments of his sons with him: and he shall be hallowed, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons’ garments with him. Also thou shalt take of the ram the fat and the rump, and the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and the right shoulder; for it is a ram of consecration: and one loaf of bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer out of the basket of the unleavened bread that is before the LORD: and thou shalt put all in the hands of Aaron, and in the hands of his sons; and shalt wave them for a wave offering before the LORD.

Back in verses 1 through 3 we find that Moses was commanded to provide a young bullock, two rams without blemish, and a basket containing certain items of bread. We then have seen what was to be done with the bullock. Now we have the instructions concerning what was to be done with the first ram, and a part of those concerning the second ram. The first ram was to be brought before the door of the tabernacle of the congregation; whereupon Aaron and his sons were to put their hands upon his head, and the ram was to be killed. Then after sprinkling the ram’s blood around upon the altar and properly dressing the ram they were to burn the entire ram on the altar for a burnt offering unto the LORD. The laying on of hands, whether upon a sacrificial animal, or upon a man, symbolically made him the representative of those who laid hands upon him, and is even so considered until the present time. With this ram thus disposed of they were to bring the second ram, have Aaron and his sons put their hands upon his head, and kill him. Then they were to put a little of his blood upon the tip of the right ear, upon the thumb of the right hand, and upon the big toe of the right foot, of Aaron and his sons. Then they were to take some of the blood and some of the anointing oil, and sprinkle them upon Aaron and his sons, and upon their garments. Then they were to take specified parts of the ram, with one loaf of bread, one oiled cake, and one wafer from the basket of unleavened bread, put them in the hands of Aaron and his sons, and have them wave them as a wave offering before the LORD.

(Verses 25 through 28) And thou shalt receive them of their hands, and burn them upon the altar for a burnt offering, for a sweet savour before the LORD: it is an offering made by fire unto the LORD. And thou shalt take the breast of the ram of Aaron’s consecration, and wave it for a wave offering before the LORD: and it shall be thy part. And thou shalt sanctify the breast of the wave offering, and the shoulder of the heave offering, which is waved, and which is heaved up, of the ram of the consecration, even that which is for Aaron, and of that which is for his sons: and it shall be Aaron’s and his sons’ by a statute for ever from the children of Israel: for it is an heave offering: and it shall be an heave offering from the children of Israel of the sacrifice of their peace offerings, even their heave offering unto the LORD.

After performing this wave offering, Moses was to take these things that had been so waved before the LORD, and burn them on the altar for a burnt offering unto the LORD. Notice that only part of the ram was thus offered. The breast of the ram was not of that part. So Moses was to take it and wave it before the LORD, and it was given him of the LORD for his own use. It is not specifically so stated, but apparently the other parts of the ram that were not used in the wave offering of verse 24 were to be given to Aaron and his sons. And a statute was ordained that perpetually the heave offerings of their peace offerings would be given to Aaron and to his sons.

(Verses 29 and 30) And the holy garments of Aaron shall be his sons’ after him, to be anointed therein, and to be consecrated in them. And that son that is priest in his stead shall put them on seven days, when he cometh into the tabernacle of the congregation to minister in the holy place.

Thus the LORD gives instruction as to the succession of the high priest. He who shall be high priest after Aaron will be permitted to put on the consecrated garments of Aaron, and be consecrated therein. At that time he will wear these garments “seven days, when he cometh into the tabernacle of the congregation to minister in the holy place.”

(Verses 31 through 37) And thou shalt take the ram of the consecration, and seethe his flesh in the holy place. And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And they shall eat those things wherewith the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them: but a stranger shall not eat thereof, because they are holy. If aught of the flesh of the consecrations, or of the bread, remain unto the morning, then thou shalt burn the remainder with fire: it shall not be eaten, because it is holy. And thus shalt thou do unto Aaron, and to his sons, according to all things which I have commanded thee: seven days shalt thou consecrate them. And thou shalt offer every day a bullock for a sin offering for atonement: and thou shalt cleanse the altar, when thou hast made an atonement for it, and thou shalt anoint it to sanctify it. Seven days thou shalt make an atonement for the altar, and sanctify it; and it shall be an altar most holy: whatsoever toucheth the altar shall be holy.

Here the LORD gives instructions for the use of the flesh of the ram of consecration. It is to be noted that no stranger shall be allowed to eat thereof, for it is holy. If any of the flesh, or of the bread is left until the morning it shall be burned with fire. It cannot be eaten, because it is holy. Aaron and his sons shall be consecrated seven days, and an atonement shall be made for the altar for seven days to sanctify it.

(Verses 38 through 44) Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar; two lambs of the first year day by day continually. The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer at even: and with the one lamb a tenth deal of flour mingled with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil; and the fourth part of an hin of wine for a drink offering. And the other lamb thou shalt offer at even, and shalt do thereto according to the meat offering of the morning, and according to the drink offering thereof, for a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the LORD. This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD: where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee. And there will I meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by My glory. And I will sanctify the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar: I will sanctify also both Aaron and his sons, to minister to Me in the priest’s office.

The LORD here gives a commandment that two burnt offerings shall be offered upon the altar, one in the morning and the other in the evening, each day throughout the generations of the children of Israel. He also tells exactly what shall be offered with these offerings, both the “meat offering” and the drink offering. And He declares that at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation is where He will meet with, and speak with Moses. He also promises that He will sanctify the tabernacle by His glory, and that he will also sanctify both the tabernacle and the altar, as well as Aaron and his sons to minister unto Him.

(Verses 45 and 46) And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God. And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them: I am the LORD their God.

This is simply the declaration of the LORD that He will dwell among the children of Israel, and cause them to know that He is the One Who brought them forth out of the land of Egypt for the very purpose of being their God, and dwelling among them. Notice that absolutely nothing conditional is mentioned in this declaration.

(Verses 1 through 10) And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim wood shalt thou make it. A cubit shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof; foursquare shall it be: and two cubits shall be the height thereof: the horns shall be of the same. And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, the top thereof, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns thereof: and thou shalt make unto it a crown of gold round about. And two golden rings shalt thou make to it under the crown of it, by the two corners thereof, upon the two sides of it shalt thou make it; and they shall be for places for the staves to bear it withal. And thou shalt make the staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold. And thou shalt put it before the vail that is by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee. And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it. And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations. Ye shall offer no strange incense thereon, nor burnt sacrifice, nor meat offering; neither shall ye pour drink offering thereon. And Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it once in a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonements: once in the year shall he make atonement upon it throughout your generations: it is most holy unto the LORD.

This is the description of, and the instructions for the use of the altar of incense. Whereas the altar of burnt offering was overlaid with brass, this one is overlaid with pure gold. It is also much smaller than the altar of burnt offering. This altar is to be set in the tabernacle of the congregation, but in a position where only the vail of the tabernacle is between it and the ark of the testimony and the mercy seat. Each morning Aaron is to burn incense upon it as he dresses the lamps, and each evening as he lights them. This is to be done daily throughout the generations of the children of Israel. And once each year he shall put the blood of the sin offering upon the horns of this altar to make an atonement. Nothing else shall ever be offered upon it.

(Verses 11 through 16) The LORD spake unto Moses, saying, When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel after their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the LORD, when thou numberest them; that there be no plague among them, when thou numberest them. This they shall give, every one that passeth among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary: (a shekel is twenty gerahs:) an half shekel shall be the offering of the LORD. Every one that passeth among them that are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering unto the LORD. The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an offering unto the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls.

The LORD commanded Moses to number, or take a census of, the children of Israel. And when this census was taken, every male Israelite twenty years of age and older must make an offering unto the LORD. This was to be an offering of money, and all of these offerings must be the same amount, one half a shekel. None could give more, and none could give less. This offering was to make an atonement for the souls of those making the offering. This was to continue as a memorial to the children of Israel before the LORD. That is, it was to be done year by year.

(Verses 17 through 21) And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Thou shalt also make a laver of brass, and his foot also of brass, to wash withal: thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein. For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat: when they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the LORD: so they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not: and it shall be a statute for ever to them, even to him and his seed throughout their generations.

Here the LORD gives Moses instructions for making, and for the use of the laver that was to be put between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar. Aaron and his sons, and succeeding generations of priests were to wash their hands and their feet at this laver when they were going into the tabernacle of the congregation or when they were going to approach the altar.

(Verses 22 through 33) Moreover the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Take thou also unto thee principal spices, of pure myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and fifty shekels, and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty shekels, and of cassia five hundred shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, and of oil olive an hin: and thou shalt make it an oil of holy ointment, an ointment compound after the art of the apothecary: it shall be an holy anointing oil. And thou shalt anoint the tabernacle of the congregation therewith, and the ark of the testimony, and the table and all his vessels, and the candlestick and his vessels, and the altar of incense, and the altar of burnt offering with all his vessels, and the laver and his foot. And thou shalt sanctify them, that they may be most holy. And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister unto Me in the priest’s office. And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, This shall be an holy anointing oil unto Me throughput your generations. Upon man’s flesh shall it not be poured, neither shall ye make other like it, after the composition of it; it is holy, and it shall be holy unto you. Whosoever compoundeth any like it, or whoever putteth any of it upon a stranger, shall be cut off from his people.

Having given instructions for the building and setting up of the tabernacle and all the furniture thereof, and instructions for consecrating Aaron and his sons, and those who should succeed them, the LORD here gives instructions for making the anointing oil that was to be used in the consecration of all things, and all persons that were to be anointed. This anointing oil was never to be used for anything except that for which He has authorized it. Anyone who makes any like it, or uses it for any other purpose except that authorized will be “cut off from his people.” No explanation is given for the phrase, “cut off from his people.” It might mean that he would be put to death, or it might mean that he would only be disowned by the Israelites, and exiled from them. Either way it was not a pleasant prospect for one who would do such.

(Verses 34 through 38) And the LORD said unto Moses, Take unto thee sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum; these sweet spices with pure frankincense: of each there shall be a like weight: and thou shalt make it a perfume, a confection after the art of the apothecary, tempered together, pure and holy: and thou shalt beat some of it very small, and put it before the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation, where I will meet with thee: it shall be unto you most holy. And as for the perfume which thou shalt make, ye shall not make to yourselves according to the composition thereof: it shall be unto thee holy for the LORD. Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell thereto, shall even be cut off from his people.

This is a description of the holy perfume that was to be put “before the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation.” Whoever shall make any of this for himself, or use it for his own pleasure is subject to the same sentence as one who made any oil like the holy anointing oil, or used any of it for his own pleasure. He would be cut off from his people.

Chapter 31

(Verses 1 through 11) And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, and understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, to devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work all manner of workmanship. And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan: and in the hearts of all that are wise hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee; the tabernacle of the congregation, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy seat that is thereupon, and all the furniture of the tabernacle, and the table and his furniture, and the pure candlestick with all his furniture, and the altar of incense, and the altar of burnt offering withal his furniture, and the laver and his foot, and the cloths of service, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest’s office, and the anointing oil, and sweet incense for the holy place: according to all that I have commanded thee shall they do.

The LORD did not leave Moses to select workmen for doing all the various works needed to accomplish all that He had commanded him. He called two men by name two men to whom He had given the necessary wisdom for doing this work, not that they should do it by themselves, but that they should be able to instruct all those to whom the LORD had given wisdom, and had made wise hearted. So there would be plenty of workmen to do all this work, under the supervision of Bezaleel and Aholiab. The LORD never commands one of his servants to accomplish something without providing the proper means for accomplishing the project.

(Verses 12 through 17) And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily My sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you. Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from his people. Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He rested, and was refreshed.

Although the LORD had already given the commandment to remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy, He here enlarges upon it. He commands Moses that the children of Israel shall keep this commandment for ever, throughout their generations. And He pronounces upon any violator thereof the penalty of death. He says that such shall surely be put to death, leaving no room for appeal, or commutation of sentence.

(Verse 18) And He gave unto Moses, when He had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of stone, written with the finger of God.

Thus the LORD finished His instructions to Moses at this time, and gave to him two stone tablets which He had himself prepared, and written with His own hand.

(Verses 1 through 6) And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. And Aaron said unto them, break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after, he had made it a golden calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD. And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat, and rose up to play.

This account is certainly clearly enough written that there should be no difficulty in understanding it; but there are several things therein that should be especially noticed. First, it had been only about forty days since the children of Israel had all witnessed the greatest display of the glory of the LORD on the top of mount Sinai that anyone has ever seen. Yet in that little while they had so completely fallen from their faith that they wanted some kind of a man made god to follow, and to which they might ascribe the glory of having brought them out of the land of Egypt. When they came to Aaron with their demand, he without any hesitation told them to strip off the gold that they had, at the command of the LORD, taken from the Egyptians, and give it to him. Then he, having received it, not only molded it into the shape of a calf, but even worked on it with an engraving tool to get it like he wanted it. When he got that done, he set it up, and built an altar before it. Then he announced that the next day would be a feast to the LORD, while, in reality, it was to be a feast to the golden calf. The next morning all the people got up early, offered burnt offerings and peace offerings to the calf. The last statement in this account certainly shows it as it was: “And the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.” In all this it seems that Aaron was fully as much to blame as any of the people. Then when Moses will later rebuke him for it, he puts up a very lame excuse.

(Verses 7 through 14) And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down, for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: they have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: now therefore let Me alone, that My wrath may wax hot against them: and I will consume them: and will make of thee a great nation. And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD why doth Thy wrath wax hot against Thy people, which Thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand? Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did He bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from Thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Thy servants, to whom Thou swarest by Thine own self, and sadist unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever. And the LORD repented of the evil He thought to do unto His people.

The first thing we wish to say concerning this is, that it shows clearly that none can do anything without the LORD’S knowing all about it. He was giving all these commandments and instructions to Moses while the Israelites had Aaron make for them a golden calf, and while they worshipped that idol. But He knew every detail of what they had done. He told Moses what they had done, and commanded him to get himself back down the mountain to where they were. He further told him to not interfere while He in His great wrath completely destroyed them, and made of Moses a great nation. Had Moses been one who was seeking greatness for himself, it appears that this was a great opportunity for him. But the LORD knew what kind of a man he was, for, indeed, He had made him so. And when Moses, concerned for the glory of the LORD only, begged Him to turn away from His great wrath, and spare the Israelites, in order that the Egyptians not be able to blaspheme the LORD because of the destruction of the children of Israel, the LORD did turn away from His wrath, and set aside the destruction He had threatened to bring upon them.

(Verses 15 through 18) And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand: the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written. And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables. And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp. And he said, It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome: but the noise of them that sing do I hear.

Evidently Joshua had remained with Moses, or, at least, near by, for he accompanied Moses as he went down from the mount. Moses was carrying the two stone tables, or tablets, that God had given him, containing all that He had commanded him. Joshua remarked that he heard the noise of war in the camp, but Moses told him that what he heard was not the noise of war, but the noise of singing.

(Verses 19 through 24) And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount. And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel to drink of it. And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them? And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot; thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief. For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go before us: for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it me: and I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf.

Moses took no time to ask questions until he had destroyed the golden calf, and had made the children of Israel to drink of the water where he had sprinkled the residue of the calf. Then he questioned Aaron as to why he did such a thing as to make this idol. (In the event one might wonder why Aaron made choice of a calf, or as some render it, a bull, for this idol, it likely was that this is what the Israelites had seen the Egyptians worshipping, since it was one of their most important gods.) Aaron’s answer to Moses, clearly shows a tendency that is natural to all people. In humanity there is a natural bias, that causes us, when telling of something we have done that we ought not have done, to make our blame much less than it actually is. In verse 4 we are told, “And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf.” Now he says, “then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf.” According to his story, he had nothing to do with the making of the calf, he only cast the gold into the fire, and the calf came out. But the reality of the matter is that he made a molten calf, and then finished it with an engraving tool, to make it like he wanted it. As we have said, this is a natural tendency of humanity.

(Verses 25 through 29) And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:)then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the LORD’S side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. And he said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor. And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men. For Moses had said, Consecrate yourselves today to the LORD, even every man upon his son, and upon his brother; that He may bestow upon you a blessing this day.

This may seem to us a very severe punishment to inflict upon anyone, and especially upon our kinsmen and neighbors. But it was ordered by the LORD. And although we would not want to take a deadly weapon, and go forth to kill those who have turned away from the LORD, we have the duty to cut them off from our fellowship, when we know that they are guilty of forsaking Him. One of the things that are wrong with some churches today is that members have become unwilling to exercise discipline upon one who is, in the flesh, akin to them. So fleshly ties are used to hang on to them when they should be excommunicated. And for that reason the LORD is not bestowing upon those churches the blessing that He would if they were following His commandments.

(Verses 30 through 35) And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people, Ye have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto the LORD; peradventure I shall make an atonement for your sin. And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them other gods of gold. Yet now, if Thou wilt forgive their sin----; and if not, blot me I pray Thee out of Thy book which Thou hast written. And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against Me, him will I blot out of My book. Therefore now go, and lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee: behold, Mine Angel shall go before thee: nevertheless in the day when I visit I will visit their sin upon them. And the LORD plagued the people because they made the calf which Aaron made.

Moses was so burdened because of the sin of the people that he prayed the LORD to forgive their sin, and he also asked that if He would not forgive them He would blot him out of His book. This is the same as asking Him to destroy him, if he is not going to forgive the sin of the people. But the LORD declares that the one that has sinned will also be the one that will be destroyed. And He commands Moses to lead the people to the place He had earlier told him to lead them. And He promised that His Angel would go before Moses in the journey. But He declared that he would visit the sin of the people upon them. The LORD also did send plagues upon the people for their sin of making the golden calf.

Chapter 33

(Verses 1 through 3) And the LORD said unto Moses, Depart, and go up hence, thou and the people which thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt, unto the land which I sware unto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, Unto thy seed will I give it: And I will send an angel before thee; and I will drive out  the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite: unto a land flowing with milk and honey: for I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiffnecked people: lest I consume thee in the way.

The LORD again commands Moses to leave the place where he was. And lead the people up to the land He had given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and their seed after them. But, although He would send His angel before them, and would drive out the nations before them, He would not go up in their midst, because of their being so stiffnecked. Otherwise He might destroy them in the way.

(Verses 4 through 11) And when the people heard these evil tidings, they mourned: and no man did put on him his ornaments. For the LORD had said unto Moses, Say unto the children of Israel, Ye are a stiffnecked people: I will come up into the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee: therefore now put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee. And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by mount Horeb. And Moses took the tabernacle, and pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp, and called it the Tabernacle of the congregation. And it came to pass, that every one which sought the LORD went out unto the tabernacle of the congregation, which was without the camp. And it came to pass, when Moses went out unto the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended, and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the LORD talked with Moses. And all the people saw cloudy pillar stand at the tabernacle door: and all the people rose up and worshipped, every man in his tent door. And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.

When the LORD told the Israelites that because of their being stiffnecked He would not go along in the midst of them lest he consume them in the way, He also told them to take off all their ornaments until He decided what to do unto them. at this they were made very sorrowful, and mourned; but they did leave off their ornaments. And Moses set up the tabernacle at considerable distance away from the camp, and called it the Tabernacle of the congregation. Every one who wanted to seek the LORD went out from the camp to the tabernacle. When Moses went to the tabernacle, the pillar of cloud descended and stood beside the door, and the LORD talked with him. When all the people saw Moses go to the tabernacle, they stood in the door of their tents and watched him. And when he had entered the tabernacle, and the cloud had taken its position at the door, the people all worshipped. “And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend.” This is a statement that is not to be taken as we would normally consider it. For one would think from it that Moses saw the face of the LORD just as would a man who was talking to his friend. However when we come to verse 20, we shall see that this was not the case. Therefore we can only conclude that the LORD spoke directly to him just as one man might speak to another, but still Moses was not permitted to see his face. The expression, “face to face,” has to do with the speaking, and not with His being seen by Moses.. After the conversations between the LORD and Moses, Moses would return to the camp. But Joshua, who was his minister, and who accompanied him when he was in the mount with the LORD, did not depart from the tabernacle.

(Verses 12 through 23) And Moses said unto the LORD, See, Thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and Thou hast not let me know whom Thou wilt send with me. Yet Thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in My sight. Now therefore, I pray Thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me Thy way, that I may know Thee, that I may find grace in Thy sight: and consider that this nation is Thy people. And He said, My Presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. And he said unto Him, If Thy Presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. For wherein shall it be known here that I and Thy people have found grace in Thy sight? Is it not in that Thou goest up with us? so shall we be separated, I and Thy people, from all the people that are on the face of the earth. And the LORD said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in My sight, and I know thee by name. And he said, I beseech Thee, shew me Thy glory. And He said, I will make all My goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy. And He said, Thou canst not see My face: for there shall no man see Me, and live. And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by Me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: and it shall come to pass, while My glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with My hand while I pass by: and I will take away Mine hand, and thou shalt see My back parts: but My face shall not be seen.

Surely this is clear enough that none can fail to understand it. But one thing is outstanding in this text. And that is that no man has ever seen the face of God while living in this world. God has declared that that cannot be done. That is, none has seen, or can see, the face of the Father, Who is referred to in the Old Testament as the LORD. Certainly men saw the face of Jesus the Son of God, while He walked here on earth. And most theologians think that the various Theophanies in the Old Testament were actually appearances of the Son, and not the Father, although Jesus did declare that He and the Father are one.

Chapter 34

(Verses 1 through 3)And the LORD said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest. And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to Me in the top of the mount. And no man shall come up with thee, neither let any man be seen throughout all the mount: neither let the flocks nor herds feed before the mount.

So the LORD commanded Moses to make two tables of stone like the ones he had broken, and bring them with him the next morning, and come up into the mount, and present himself before the LORD in the top of the mount. This time he was to bring no one with him, was to allow no one to be seen throughout the whole mount, and to permit no livestock to even feed before the mount. All men and beasts were to be kept away from the mount.

(Verses 4 through 9) And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone. And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and fourth generation. And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped. And he said, If now I have found grace in Thy sight, O LORD, let my Lord, I pray Thee, go among us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity, and our sin, and take us for Thine inheritance.

Moses obeyed the commandment of the LORD, and went up early in the morning, and went up unto the mount, carrying the two stone tablets that he had made. Then the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him. And, as He had promised Moses He would, He proclaimed the name of the LORD before him. Verses 6 and 7 give this proclamation. This proclamation is the most important part of this text; and it is so clearly stated that none should have any difficulty in understanding it. It declares His omnipotence in His very name, “The LORD, The LORD God.” There is no other like Him. Also He is “merciful, and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.” Yet He will not clear the guilty. This may seem somewhat strange, in view of the fact that He forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin. What it sets forth is that He has the right, and will exercise it, to maintain His sovereignty in choosing whose sins He will forgive, and whose sins He will retain. Remember that in Chapter 33, verse 19, He said, “And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy to whom I will shew mercy.” And those who are thus counted guilty, He will visit their iniquities “upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and fourth generation. Since this is the LORD’S own declaration, there is no profit in hunting loopholes in it. At this proclamation, Moses quickly bowed his head, and worshipped. Then he prayed that the LORD would go up to the land of Canaan with them, and confessed that they were a stiffnecked people. But he prayed that the LORD would pardon their iniquity and sin, and take them for His inheritance.

(Verses 10 through 17) And He said, Behold, I make a covenant: before all thy people I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation: and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of the LORD: for it is a terrible thing that I will do with thee. Observe thou that which I command thee this day: behold, I drive out before thee the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite. Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee: but ye shall destroy their altars, break down their images, and cut down their groves: for thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God: lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee, and thou eat of their sacrifice; and thou take of their daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters go a whoring after their gods, and make thy sons go a whoring after their gods. Thou shalt make no molten gods.

Here the LORD makes a covenant that He will do marvels before the children of Israel such as have never been done before anywhere in the world. One of the great things He will do is that he will drive out before them six nations that are already settled in the land of Canaan. At the same time He commands them to be careful that they make no covenants with any of the inhabitants of the land. He warns them that if they do make such covenants, they will thereby be enticed to take part in worshipping the gods of those nations. They are not to intermarry with them for the same reason. The final statement of this text is a very important one. “Thou shalt make thee no molten gods.” This commandment was already given them in Chapter 20, verse 4; but, probably, one reason for its being repeated here is that they had already broken it in making the golden calf. And this is given as a reminder that this is something they are not to do for any reason.

(Verses 18 through 20) The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, in the time of the month Abib: for in the month Abib thou camest out from Egypt. All that openeth the matrix is Mine; and every firstling among thy cattle, whether ox or sheep, that is male. But the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb: and if thou redeem him not, then thou shalt break his neck. All the firstborn of thy sons thou shalt redeem. And none shall appear before Me empty.

God reminds Moses of the Passover, and commands him to observe it, just as has already been commanded, and at the proper time. Then he repeats to him the commandment of the offering of the firstborn. The firstborn male of an animal used for sacrifice is to be offered to the LORD, while the firstborn of an “unclean” animal must either be redeemed with a lamb, or have his neck broken. They are commanded that all the firstborn of their sons must be redeemed. And anyone who comes before the LORD must have a suitable offering with him. None can appear before Him “empty.”

(Verses 21 through 28) Six days shalt thou work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest. And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year’s end. Thrice in the year shall all your men children appear before the LORD God, the God of Israel. For I will cast out the nations before thee, and enlarge thy borders: neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the LORD thy God thrice in the year. Thou shalt not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leaven; neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of the Passover be left unto the morning. The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk. And the LORD said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel. And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; and he did neither eat bread nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.

Here we have a repetition of some of the commandments already given, as well as God’s promise to cast out the nations of the land of Canaan before the Israelites. He also promised that when the children of Israel would leave their places to come before Him in the feasts that He had commanded, He would not let anyone “desire,” or try to take over, their places in their absence. So they had nothing to fear when leaving their homes without any protection except the LORD when serving Him. In verse 1, the LORD told Moses, “and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest.” But in verse 27, He said to Moses, “Write thou these words.” This makes the matter of who wrote the words on the tables a little obscure, unless the LORD’S commandment to Moses to write them embraced only the words of the covenant that He had just made with Moses and the children of Israel, and God Himself wrote all the words that were on the first tables. The statement, “And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments,” since the phrase, “the ten commandments,” is set in apposition to “the words of the covenant,” this statement could well refer to the covenant as formerly delivered.

(Verses 29 through 35) And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of the testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while He talked with him. And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone: and they were afraid to come nigh him. And Moses called unto them; and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him: and Moses talked with them. And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh: and he gave them in commandment all that the LORD had spoken with him in mount Sinai. And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail on his face. But when Moses went in before the LORD to speak with Him, he took the vail off, until he came out. And he came out, and spake unto the children of Israel that which he was commanded. And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone: and Moses put the vail upon his face again, until he went in to speak with Him.

The subject of primary concern in this text is the shining of the face of Moses, after having been so long upon the mount with the LORD. certainly it was the reflection of the glory of the LORD. The best commentary ever written on this subject is to be found in II Corinthians 3:7-18. It is so far ahead of anything I might write that I refer the reader to that instead of attempting to write my own thoughts.

(Verses 1 through 3) And Moses gathered all the children of Israel together, and said unto them, These are the words which the LORD hath commanded that ye should do them. Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the LORD: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death. Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day.

It seems that this chapter is out of its proper sequence in the arrangement of this book. In Chapter 33, we have seen Moses going into the Tabernacle of the congregation, and there speaking with the LORD. And we also saw that his servant, Joshua, stayed in the tabernacle of the congregation. Yet in the present chapter we shall find preparations being made to make the tabernacle, its furniture, and the holy garments for Aaron and his sons to wear in their office as priests. Nevertheless, we shall try to follow the record as given here. In preparation for making to Israel the announcement of the offering the LORD had commanded for the making of all these things, Moses called all the children of Israel together, and gave to them one of the commandments of God, the commandment of the sabbath day. Notice that the requirements for the sabbath were so rigid that none was to even kindle a fire in his dwelling. No work of any kind was to be done.

(Verses 4 through 20) And Moses spake unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the LORD commanded, saying, Take ye from among you an offering unto the LORD: whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, an offering of the LORD; gold, and silver, and brass, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair, and rams’ skins dyed red, and badgers’ skins, and shittim wood, and oil for the light, and spices for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense, and onyx stones, and stones to be set  for the ephod, and for the breastplate. And every wise hearted among you shall come, and make all that the LORD hath commanded; the tabernacle, his tent, and his covering, his taches , and his boards, his bars, his pillars, and his sockets, the ark, and the staves thereof, with the mercy seat, and the vail of the covering, the table, and his staves, and all his vessels, and the shewbread, the candlestick also for the light, and his furniture, and his lamps, with the oil for the light, and the incense altar, and his staves, and the anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the hanging for the door of the entering in of the tabernacle, the altar of burnt offering, with his brasen grate, his staves, and all his vessels, the laver and his foot, the hangings of the court, his pillars, and their sockets, and the hanging for the door of the court, the pins of the tabernacle, and the pins of the court, and their cords, the cloths of service, to do service in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest’s office.

This is Moses’ announcement of the offering, item by item, that the LORD had commanded the children of Israel to bring to make all things pertaining to the tabernacle, and the court thereof. Since it is only a list of items, all of which have been mentioned previously, it seems unnecessary to add any comment concerning them.

(Verses 20 through 30) And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the LORD’S offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments. And they came, both men and women, as many as were willing hearted, and brought bracelets, and earrings, and rings, and tablets, all jewels of gold: and every man that offered, offered an offering of gold unto the LORD. And every man, with whom was found blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair. And red skins of rams, and badgers’ skins, brought them. Every one that did offer an offering of silver and brass brought the LORD’S offering: and every man, with whom was found shittim wood for any work of the service, brought it. And all the women that were wise hearted did spin with their hands, and brought what they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen. And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun goats’ hair. And the rulers brought onyx stones, and stones to be set for the ephod, and for the breastplate; and spice, and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense. The children of Israel brought a willing offering unto the LORD, every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring for all manner of work, which the LORD had commanded to be made by the hand of Moses.

Thus the children of Israel, both men and women whom the LORD had blessed to be stirred up in their hearts, and made willing began to work with, and bring forth all the materials that were required for this offering of the LORD for the making of the tabernacle and all those things that went with it, as well as all the things necessary for the holy garments of Aaron and his sons, and for their consecration and their use in the office of priests.

(Verses 30 through 35) And Moses said unto the children of Israel, See, the LORD hath called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; and hath filled him with wisdom, in understanding, and knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship; and to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of wood, to make any manner of cunning work. And He hath put in his heart that he may teach, both he, and Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. Them hath He filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any work, and of those that devise cunning work.

So Moses announced to the children of Israel that the LORD had chosen, and qualified two men, Bezaleel, of the tribe of Judah, and Aholiab, of the tribe of Dan, not only to do all manner of work that was needed in the preparation of the tabernacle and all things pertaining thereto, but also to devise whatever workmanship was to be used, and to teach workmen the skills needed to accomplish the same. These two men were chosen of God for this work, which, again shows the sovereignty of God in all things that He does. He did not ask for volunteers for these positions. It was He Who gave them the wisdom and understanding to do this work, and it was He who called them by name when He told Moses of their abilities. Nothing was left to chance.

(Verses 1 through 7) Then wrought Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whom the LORD put wisdom and understanding to know how to work all manner of work for the service of the sanctuary, according to all that the LORD had commanded. And Moses called Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whose heart the LORD had put wisdom, even every one whose heart stirred him up to come unto the work to do it. And they received of Moses all the offering, which the children of Israel had brought for the service of the sanctuary, to make it withal. And they brought yet unto him free offerings every morning. And all the wise men, that wrought all the work of the sanctuary, came every man from his work which he made; and they spake unto Moses, saying, The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work, which the LORD commanded to make. And Moses gave commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary. So the people were restrained from bringing. For the stuff they had brought was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much.

Notice should be taken that not only did the LORD choose Bezaleel and Aholiab, and qualify them, but it was also He Who put the wisdom in the hearts of all the workers, and stirred them up to come and do the work. There was such great willingness throughout the whole congregation that they brought so much material for the work that those doing the work went to Moses, and informed him that there was more material than would be needed to make those things that the LORD had commanded. So it was proclaimed that none should bring anything more for the offering of the sanctuary.

(Verses 8 through 13) And every wise hearted man among them that wrought the work of the tabernacle made ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with cherubims of cunning work made he them. The length of one curtain was twenty and eight cubits, and the breadth of one curtain four cubits: the curtains were all of one size. And he coupled the five curtains one unto another: and the other five curtains he coupled one unto another. And he made loops of blue on the edge of one curtain from the selvedge in the coupling: likewise he made in the uttermost side of another curtain, in the coupling of the second. Fifty loops made he in the edge of the curtain which was in the coupling of the second: the loops held one curtain to another. And he made fifty taches of gold, and coupled the curtains one to another with taches: so it became one tabernacle.

One might find this account a little misleading because of the fact that, as we use the language today, it might seem that however many wise hearted men may have been working on the project, every one of them made ten curtains. But this is not the case. As we continue reading the account we find the repetitive use of “he” instead of they. So it seems that they were all working so harmoniously together that the whole unit is referred to as “he” instead of “they.” Or it may be that the singular is used in reference to Moses because he is the one to whom the LORD gave the commandment, and the one who is in charge of a project is often referred to as the one who has done it, though he may not have done any of the work. Indeed there were only ten curtains made thus, because that is all that were commanded. Each curtain was of the same size, and that size was the same as the LORD had commanded, twenty-eight cubits by four cubits. And they were all joined together exactly as the LORD had commanded Moses in the beginning. Thus it became one tabernacle.

(Verses 14 through 19) And he made curtains of goats’ hair for the tent over the tabernacle: eleven curtains he made them. The length of one curtain was thirty cubits, and four cubits was the breadth of one curtain: the eleven curtains were of one size. And he coupled five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves. And he made fifty loops upon the uttermost edge of the curtain in the coupling, and fifty loops made he upon the edge of the curtain which coupleth the second. And the fifty taches of brass to couple the tent together, that it might be one. And he made a covering for the tent of rams’ skins dyed red, and a covering of badgers’ skins above that.

We remember that the LORD had told Moses to carefully follow the exact details shown him in the mount, not only for the tabernacle, but also for every item that he was to make. So as he gives us the record of the making of each item we find that he did very meticulously follow these instructions. Each of these curtains was made of exactly the material specified, and to the exact size given. The same is true also of the coverings of red rams’ skins, and badgers’ skins. There is no deviation.

(Verses 20 through 34) And he made boards for the tabernacle of shittim wood, standing up. The length of a board was ten cubits, and the breadth of a board was one cubit and a half. One board had two tenons, equally distant one from another: thus did he make for all the boards of the tabernacle. And he made boards for the tabernacle; twenty boards for the south side southward: and forty sockets of silver he made under the twenty boards; two sockets under one board for his two tenons, and two sockets under another board for his two tenons. And for the other side of the tabernacle, which is toward the north corner, he made twenty boards, and their forty sockets of silver; two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board. And for the side of the tabernacle westward he made six boards. And two boards made he for the corner of the tabernacle in the two sides. And they were coupled together beneath, and coupled together at the head thereof, to one ring: thus he did to both of them in both corners. And there were eight boards; and their sockets were sixteen sockets of silver, under every board two sockets. And he made bars of shittim wood; five for the boards of the one side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the tabernacle for the sides westward. And he made the middle bar to shoot through the boards from one end  to the other. And he overlaid the boards with gold, and made their rings of gold to be places for the bars, and overlaid the bars with gold.

Thus we continue with a description of the tabernacle, and we find that just as were the curtains and coverings, the boards and bars for it were made exactly as the LORD had commanded. No variation was permitted.

(Verses 35 and 36) And he made a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen: with cherubims made he it of cunning work. And he made thereunto four pillars of shittim wood, and overlaid them with gold: their hooks were of gold; and he cast for them four sockets of silver.

This vail, together with its pillars, and their hooks and sockets, was made also exactly according to that which the LORD commanded.

(Verses 37 and 38) And he made an hanging for the tabernacle door of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, of needlework; and the five pillars of it with their hooks: and he overlaid their chapiters and their fillets with gold: but their five sockets were of brass.

Thus the tabernacle was completed according to the pattern shown to Moses in the mount. All things were just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

(Verses 1 through 5) And Bezaleel made the ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half was the length of it, and a cubit and a half the breadth of it, and a cubit and a half the height of it: and he overlaid it with pure gold within and without, and made a crown of gold to it round about. And he cast for it four rings of gold, to be set by the four corners of it; even two rings upon the one side of it, and two rings upon the other side of it. And he made staves of shittim wood, and overlaid them with gold. And he put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, to bear the ark.

The work of the tabernacle itself having been completed, Bezaleel begins the work on the furniture of the tabernacle. The first item was the ark of the testimony. In making it he followed the commandment of the LORD exactly as given to Moses.

(Verses 6 through 9) And he made the mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half was the length thereof, and one cubit and a half the breadth thereof. And he made two cherubims of gold, beaten out of one piece made he them, on the two ends of the mercy seat; one cherub on the end on this side, and another cherub on the other end on that side: out of the mercy seat made he the cherubims on the two ends thereof. And the cherubims spread out their wings on high, and covered with their wings over the mercy seat, with their faces one to another, even to the mercy seatward were the faces of the cherubims.

The ark of the testimony was made of wood, and overlaid with gold, but the mercy seat, which essentially served as the lid of the ark, was made of solid gold, with its ornaments, the cherubim, made as an integral part thereof, beaten out of the same piece with the remainder of it. And it was all made exactly as the LORD had commanded Moses. The description given is clear enough to need no explanation.

As we continue, we find that all the furniture of the tabernacle of the congregation was made with no deviation from the patterns already given. In verses 10 through 16 we find the description of the table for the shewbread, together with its spoons, bowls, dishes, and covers. The table and its staves were of wood overlaid with gold, and the other items were of solid gold. Then we take up the candlestick, with the lamps thereof, which were all of solid gold, as were the snuffers and snuffdishes thereof. And a whole talent of gold was used in the making of these. Then, in verses 25 through 28 we are told how the incense table and its staves were made. They were all of wood overlaid with gold, just as the LORD had commanded Moses. And finally he made the holy anointing oil and the pure incense according to the commandment that had been given Moses.

In verses 1 through 7 we find the description of the altar of burnt offering, together with its vessels and its staves. The altar and its staves were made of wood, and overlaid with brass. And its grate and its vessels were made of solid brass. Every item was made exactly as the LORD had commanded Moses, and the descriptions have already been given at the time that the LORD gave him the commandment, so it seems unnecessary to repeat them here. Verse 8 tells us that the laver and its foot were made of brass just as ordered. And the brass for these was taken from the “looking glasses” of the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. In that era, probably, the art of making glass had not been developed to the point that it would give as good a reflection as it will today. So for a mirror they used a brass plate polished very highly. And it was of this brass that the laver and its foot were made.

In verses 9 through 20 all the items for the court of the tabernacle, such as the hangings, the pillars, the sockets, the hooks, etc., are all described as made, all of which is in perfect agreement with the commandment the LORD gave Moses. Then in verses 21 through 23, we are told that the sum of all the things made for the tabernacle was counted up by the men who were involved in the making of them. In verse 24 we are told, “All the gold that was occupied for the work in all the work of the holy place, even the gold of the offering, was twenty and nine talents, and seven hundred and thirty shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary.” And verse 25 gives us the sum of the silver. “And the silver of them that were numbered of the congregation was an hundred talents, and a thousand seven hundred, and threescore and fifteen shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary: a bekah for every man, that is, a half shekel, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for every one that went to be numbered, from twenty years old and upward, for six hundred thousand and five hundred and fifty men.” (In one Bible that I have someone has calculated the value in dollars of the silver, and gives that value at $28,627,200. But I have no figure as to the dollar value of the gold that was used. Verses 27 and 28 tell us how the silver was divided among the various items in which it was used.

Verse 29 gives us the sum of the brass that was given for the work of the tabernacle. It was “seventy talents, and two thousand and four hundred shekels.” Then verses 30 and 31 tell us how it was all used. Thus the tabernacle, its furniture, and its court were all made according to the commandment given by the LORD to Moses.

This chapter, in verses 1 through 31, is given to the description of the holy garments as they were made for Aaron and his sons in which they would minister in the office of priest. And since all was done exactly as the LORD had commanded Moses, there seems to be no need of going back through all of them at the present time. Nothing new has been added since the command was given to Moses. Then verses 32 through 42 tell us that the children of Israel made all the things the LORD had commanded them to make, just as He had commanded them, and brought them all to Moses. Verse 43 declares; “And Moses did look upon all the work, and, behold, they had done it as the LORD had commanded, even so had they done it: and Moses blessed them. There appears to be nothing in this chapter that requires any further comment.

(Verses 1 through 11) And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, On the first day of the first month shalt thou set up the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation. And thou shalt put therein the ark of the testimony, and cover the ark with the vail. And thou shalt bring in the table, and set in order  the things that are to be set in order upon it; and thou shalt bring in the candlestick, and light the lamps thereof. And thou shalt set the altar of gold for the incense before the ark of the testimony, and put the hanging of the door to the tabernacle. And thou shalt set the altar of the burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And thou shalt set the laver between the tent of the congregation and the altar, and shalt put water therein. And thou shalt set up the court round about, and hang up the hanging at the court gate. And thou shalt take the anointing oil, and anoint the tabernacle, and all that is therein, and shalt hallow it, and all the vessels thereof: and it shall be holy. And thou shalt anoint the altar of the burnt offering, and all his vessels, and sanctify the altar: and it shall be an altar most holy. And thou shalt anoint the laver and his foot, and sanctify it.

Thus the LORD instructs Moses as to exactly how and when the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation is to be set up. It is to be set up on the first day of the first month, the month Abib, which the LORD had commanded them to observe as the first month of the year. Since it was in the month Abib that they came out of the land of Egypt, they must have wandered a year in the wilderness before they got the tabernacle finished. So it was on the first day of this month that they were to set up the tabernacle. The first thing to be placed in the tabernacle was the ark of the testimony. After it was properly placed, in the holy place, it was to be “covered” by the vail. That is the vail was to be hung in front of it to separate it and the holy place from the tabernacle of the congregation. Then the table of the shewbread, and those things that were to be set in order upon it were to be placed as commanded. Next was the candlestick with its lamps; and the lamps were then to be lighted. Then the golden altar of incense was to be placed directly in front of the ark of the testimony, but in the tabernacle of the congregation, with the vail between it and the ark. After this the hanging for the door of the tabernacle was to be put in place. Thus all things that were to be in the tabernacle were properly set. Then the altar of the burnt offering was to be set outside the tabernacle of the congregation before the door of the tabernacle, but at a little distance away from it. Then between it and the door was to be set the laver; and it was to have water therein. Finally the hangings for the court of the tabernacle were to be put in place with their pillars, and all things pertaining thereunto, and the court gate put into place. Then to sanctify all these things Moses was commanded to take the holy anointing oil and with it anoint all these things that they might be holy.

(Verses 12 through 16)And thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons unto the door of the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and wash them with water. And thou shalt pot upon Aaron the holy garments, and anoint him, and sanctify him; that he may minister unto Me in the priest’s office. And then shalt thou bring his sons, and clothe them with coats: and thou shalt anoint them, as thou didst their father, that they may minister unto Me in the priest’s office: for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations. Thus did Moses according to all that the LORD commanded him, so did he.

After the tabernacle had been set up and anointed, Moses was to take Aaron to the door of the tabernacle, wash him, dress him in his holy garments, and anoint Him for the office of high priest. Then he was to take the sons of Aaron, bring them to the door of the tabernacle, dress them in the coats that had been prepared for them, and anoint them for their offices as priests. Although nothing is here said about the offerings that were to be offered for them, surely this was to be done as already commanded in Chapter 29. So Moses did all of this as the LORD had commanded him.

(Verse 17 through 19) And it came to pass in the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was reared up. And Moses reared up the tabernacle, and fastened his sockets, and set up the boards thereof, and put in the bars thereof, and reared up his pillars. And he spread abroad the tent over the tabernacle, and put the covering of the tent above upon it; as the LORD commanded Moses.

Thus we find that all things were set up exactly as the LORD had commanded. And this was done on the first day of the first month of the second year since the children of Israel had come out from the land of Egypt.

Verses 20 through 33 tell us that not only was the tabernacle and the court thereof set up as the LORD had commanded Moses, but all the furniture was set in place just as commanded by the LORD. So all the work was finished exactly as ordered of the LORD.

(Verses 34 through 38) Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. And when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward in all their journeys: but if the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not till the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of the LORD was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.

When all things had been done according to His commandment, the LORD showed His approval of the work by covering the tent with a cloud, and filling the tabernacle with His glory. His glory so filled the tabernacle that even Moses could not enter therein. This was only temporary, for after this the cloud covered the tabernacle in the day time, and the fire of the LORD covered it at night. When the cloud remained upon it the Israelites remained in their camp, and did not continue their journey; but when the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle, they journeyed as it led them.