God bless~!

For the Creator of the world gracefully loves us <3

-Love, GinniePark

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Memory Verse of the Week:

"For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a day of sabbath rest to the LORD." - Exodus 35:2a

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Making the Tabernacle - Exodus 36:8-38

Curtains for the Tabernacle

8: "All those who were skilled among the workers made the tabernacle with ten curtains of finely twisted linen and blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, with cherubim woven into them by expert hands."

9: "All the curtains were the same size - twenty-eight cubits long and four cubits wide."

10: "They joined five of the curtains together and did the same with the other five."

11: "Then they made loops of blue material along the edge of the end curtain in one set,and the same was done with the end curtain in the other set."

12: "They also made fifty loops on one curtain and fifty loops on the end curtain of the other set, with the loops opposite each other."

13: "Then they made fifty gold clasps and used them to fasten the two sets of curtains together so that the tabernacle was a unit."

14: "They made curtains of goat hair for the tent over the tabernacle - eleven altogether."

15: "All eleven curtains were the same size - thirty cubits long and four cubits wide."

16: "They joined five of the curtains into one set and the other six into another set."

17: "Then they made fifty loops along the edge of the end curtain in one set and also along the edge of the end curtain in the other set."

18: "They made fifty bronze clasps to fasten the tent together as a unit."

19: "Then they made for the tent a covering of ram skins dyed red, and over that a covering of the other durable leather."

 

Framing the Tabernacle

20: "They made upright frames of acacia wood for the tabernacle."

21: "Each frame was ten cubits long and a cubit and a half wide,"

22: "with two projections set parallel to each other."

23: "They made twenty frames for the south side of the tabernacle,"

24: "and made forty silver bases to go under them - two bases for each frame, one under each projection."

25: "For the other side, the north side of the tabernacle, they made twenty frames,"

26: "and forty silver bases - two under each frame."

27: "They made six frames for the far end, that is, the west end of the tabernacle,"

28: "and two frames were made for the corners of the tabernacle at the far end."

29: "At these two corners the frames were double from the bottom all the way to the top and fitted into a single ring; both were made alike."

30: "So there were eight frames and sixteen silver bases - two under each frame."

31: "They also made crossbars of acacia wood: five for the frames on one side of the tabernacle,"

32: "five for those on the other side, and five for the frames on the west, at the far end of the tabernacle."

33: "They made the center crossbar so that it extended from end to end at the middle of the frames."

34: "They overlaid the frames with gold and made gold rings to hold the crossbars. They also overlaid the crossbars with gold."

35: "They made the curtain of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen, with cherubim woven into it by a skilled worker."

36: "They made four posts of acacia wood for it and overlaid them with gold. They made gold hooks for them and cast their four silver bases."

37: "For the entrance to the tent they made a curtain of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen - the work of an embroiderer;"

38: "and they made five posts with hooks for them. They overlaid the tops of the posts and their hands with gold and made their five bases of bronze."

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Reflection

Curtains for the Tabernacle (36:8-19)

Now comes a very repetitive part of Exodus. The first twenty-four chapters were about salvation - how God saved and fashioned His people Israel. The second part of the book, chapters 25-31, teaches us about worship and the instructions on how to build the tabernacle. Chapters 32-34 are an interlude, providing a picture of anti-worship: how the Israelites failed to worship their true God. Finally, chapters 35-40 detail how the Israelites built the tabernacle.

Today's passage basically repeats Exodus 26:1-14, with a few omissions which commentators have been unable to explain. According to Eugene Peterson, one of the lessons from this outline of Exodus is that worship is not about us; it is a response to God's activity in salvation and is structured according to the design. The emphasis in worship is not about what tickles our fancy, but about meeting with the holy God.

 

Framing the Tabernacle (36:20-38)

This passage echoes the words written in Exodus 26:15-37 and continues to demonstrate how the Israelites faithfully and precisely obey the commands and designs of the Lord. This passage omits Exodus 26:33-35, which has to do with the placing of the elements of worship. This makes logical sense. Exodus 36 is focusing on the construction of the tabernacle; the placement is specified in Exodus 40.

Why doesn't the Book of Exodus simply end after Chapter 34, with a simple statement that Moses and the Israelites did just as they were commanded? Why bother to re-enumerate all the instructions? We learn how much precision and care God puts into His tabernacle. From this we can ifner how much precision and care He is putting into His current dwelling place, the Church, for we, "like living stone, are being built into a spiritual house" (1 Pet. 2:5).

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Application

-When you go to church, do you sometimes complain that it is boring or that it does not quite suit your needs? Ask God to help you focus on meeting with Him, the living God.

-God's Spirit is at work with us, not simply as individuals, but as the body of believers. Do an act of kindness for someone in your church, building that person up as a fellow stone.

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"Friendship is not a reward for our discrimination and good taste in finding one another out. It is the instrument by which God reveals to each the beauties of all the others."

-C.S. Lewis

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Following Instructions

in college, I had many friends who loved to bake, but one stands out in my mind for her adventurous spirit. I baked like a scientist, measuring exactly and rarely deviating from the recipe. This friend baked like an artist. She added her own flare and personality to everythin she made. Through her I learned that sometimes it's okay not to follow instructions exactly. But the truth is, not all of life can be lived the way my friend baked. Sometimes, we are meant to refrain from our own ideas and do exactly as we have been instructed. We find one example of this in the last few chapters of Exodus.

These chapters may seem repetitve because we have already read about the details of the tabernacle in earlier chapters. However, there is a difference between the two accounts. In Exodus 25-30, God explains exactly how He wants things done. And in Exodus 36-39, we see the Israelites make the tabernacle, just as they were commanded. God the Creator surely does not hate creativity. Yet in Exodus He gives very detailed instructions, leaving no room for any creativity whatsoever. Why?

J. Ligon Duncan III states, "The constant repetition that 'they did just as they had been commanded' is obviously designed to impress upon us the importance of doing exactly what God has said in His worship." Notice what we don't read here. It does not say that Bezalel and Oholiab made the altar silver because they thought it was prettier, or that they decided to make flashy designs on the curtains so that more people would be amazed at its beauty. In reverent worship, for God's ultimate glory, they made everything just as they had been instructed.

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A Letter to God

Lord God, I confess how easily I get bored with Your Word or with doing the right things.

Please forgive me.

Get my focus off of myself and help me to put my focus on You, the spring of living water.

Let me dwell in Your presence and live to Your glory.

In Jesus' name. Amen.