God Speaks
25 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell the people of Israel to bring me their sacred offerings. Accept the contributions from all whose hearts are moved to offer them. 3 Here is a list of sacred offerings you may accept from them:
gold, silver, and bronze;
4 blue, purple, and scarlet thread;
fine linen and goat hair for cloth;
5 tanned ram skins and fine goatskin leather;
acacia wood;
6 olive oil for the lamps;
spices for the anointing oil and the fragrant incense;
7 onyx stones, and other gemstones to be set in the ephod and the priest’s chestpiece.
8 “Have the people of Israel build me a holy sanctuary so I can live among them. 9 You must build this Tabernacle and its furnishings exactly according to the pattern I will show you.
10 “Have the people make an Ark of acacia wood—a sacred chest 45 inches long, 27 inches wide, and 27 inches high. 11 Overlay it inside and outside with pure gold, and run a molding of gold all around it. 12 Cast four gold rings and attach them to its four feet, two rings on each side. 13 Make poles from acacia wood, and overlay them with gold. 14 Insert the poles into the rings at the sides of the Ark to carry it. 15 These carrying poles must stay inside the rings; never remove them. 16 When the Ark is finished, place inside it the stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant, which I will give to you.
17 “Then make the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—from pure gold. It must be 45 inches long and 27 inches wide. 18 Then make two cherubim from hammered gold, and place them on the two ends of the atonement cover. 19 Mold the cherubim on each end of the atonement cover, making it all of one piece of gold. 20 The cherubim will face each other and look down on the atonement cover. With their wings spread above it, they will protect it. 21 Place inside the Ark the stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant, which I will give to you. Then put the atonement cover on top of the Ark. 22 I will meet with you there and talk to you from above the atonement cover between the gold cherubim that hover over the Ark of the Covenant. From there I will give you my commands for the people of Israel.
23 “Then make a table of acacia wood, 36 inches long, 18 inches wide, and 27 inches high. 24 Overlay it with pure gold and run a gold molding around the edge. 25 Decorate it with a 3-inch border all around, and run a gold molding along the border. 26 Make four gold rings for the table and attach them at the four corners next to the four legs. 27 Attach the rings near the border to hold the poles that are used to carry the table. 28 Make these poles from acacia wood, and overlay them with gold. 29 Make special containers of pure gold for the table—bowls, ladles, pitchers, and jars—to be used in pouring out liquid offerings. 30 Place the Bread of the Presence on the table to remain before me at all times.
31 “Make a lampstand of pure, hammered gold. Make the entire lampstand and its decorations of one piece—the base, center stem, lamp cups, buds, and petals. 32 Make it with six branches going out from the center stem, three on each side. 33 Each of the six branches will have three lamp cups shaped like almond blossoms, complete with buds and petals. 34 Craft the center stem of the lampstand with four lamp cups shaped like almond blossoms, complete with buds and petals. 35 There will also be an almond bud beneath each pair of branches where the six branches extend from the center stem. 36 The almond buds and branches must all be of one piece with the center stem, and they must be hammered from pure gold. 37 Then make the seven lamps for the lampstand, and set them so they reflect their light forward. 38 The lamp snuffers and trays must also be made of pure gold. 39 You will need 75 pounds of pure gold for the lampstand and its accessories.
40 “Be sure that you make everything according to the pattern I have shown you here on the mountain.
26 “Make the Tabernacle from ten curtains of finely woven linen. Decorate the curtains with blue, purple, and scarlet thread and with skillfully embroidered cherubim. 2 These ten curtains must all be exactly the same size—42 feet long and 6 feet wide. 3 Join five of these curtains together to make one long curtain, then join the other five into a second long curtain. 4 Put loops of blue yarn along the edge of the last curtain in each set. 5 The fifty loops along the edge of one curtain are to match the fifty loops along the edge of the other curtain. 6 Then make fifty gold clasps and fasten the long curtains together with the clasps. In this way, the Tabernacle will be made of one continuous piece.
7 “Make eleven curtains of goat-hair cloth to serve as a tent covering for the Tabernacle. 8 These eleven curtains must all be exactly the same size—45 feet long and 6 feet wide. 9 Join five of these curtains together to make one long curtain, and join the other six into a second long curtain. Allow 3 feet of material from the second set of curtains to hang over the front of the sacred tent. 10 Make fifty loops for one edge of each large curtain. 11 Then make fifty bronze clasps, and fasten the loops of the long curtains with the clasps. In this way, the tent covering will be made of one continuous piece. 12 The remaining 3 feet of this tent covering will be left to hang over the back of the Tabernacle. 13 Allow 18 inches of remaining material to hang down over each side, so the Tabernacle is completely covered. 14 Complete the tent covering with a protective layer of tanned ram skins and a layer of fine goatskin leather.
15 “For the framework of the Tabernacle, construct frames of acacia wood. 16 Each frame must be 15 feet high and 27 inches wide, 17 with two pegs under each frame. Make all the frames identical. 18 Make twenty of these frames to support the curtains on the south side of the Tabernacle. 19 Also make forty silver bases—two bases under each frame, with the pegs fitting securely into the bases. 20 For the north side of the Tabernacle, make another twenty frames, 21 with their forty silver bases, two bases under each frame. 22 Make six frames for the rear—the west side of the Tabernacle— 23 along with two additional frames to reinforce the rear corners of the Tabernacle. 24 These corner frames will be matched at the bottom and firmly attached at the top with a single ring, forming a single corner unit. Make both of these corner units the same way. 25 So there will be eight frames at the rear of the Tabernacle, set in sixteen silver bases—two bases under each frame.
26 “Make crossbars of acacia wood to link the frames, five crossbars for the north side of the Tabernacle 27 and five for the south side. Also make five crossbars for the rear of the Tabernacle, which will face west. 28 The middle crossbar, attached halfway up the frames, will run all the way from one end of the Tabernacle to the other. 29 Overlay the frames with gold, and make gold rings to hold the crossbars. Overlay the crossbars with gold as well.
30 “Set up this Tabernacle according to the pattern you were shown on the mountain.
31 “For the inside of the Tabernacle, make a special curtain of finely woven linen. Decorate it with blue, purple, and scarlet thread and with skillfully embroidered cherubim. 32 Hang this curtain on gold hooks attached to four posts of acacia wood. Overlay the posts with gold, and set them in four silver bases. 33 Hang the inner curtain from clasps, and put the Ark of the Covenant in the room behind it. This curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.
34 “Then put the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—on top of the Ark of the Covenant inside the Most Holy Place. 35 Place the table outside the inner curtain on the north side of the Tabernacle, and place the lampstand across the room on the south side.
36 “Make another curtain for the entrance to the sacred tent. Make it of finely woven linen and embroider it with exquisite designs, using blue, purple, and scarlet thread. 37 Craft five posts from acacia wood. Overlay them with gold, and hang the curtain from them with gold hooks. Cast five bronze bases for the posts.
Source: New Living Translation: BibleGateway.com
We Respond
Reflection: Exodus 25: Verses 1-9 cover what materials the Israelites were to donate voluntarily for the construction of the portable tabernacle, each man (as head of a household) contributing with a whole and willing heart. These included the following: gold; silver; bronze; blue, purple, and scarlet fabric; fine linen; goat hair; ram skins dyed red; porpoise skins; acacia wood; (olive) oil for lamps; spices for anointing oil and fragrant incense; onyx stones and other precious stones. Skilled craftsmen God had appointed were to assemble a moveable tent after the pattern God would give Moses. The LORD God Himself would use this place to dwell among His people. Verses 10-22 give the description and measurements for the Ark of the Covenant, the place where the ten statements of God written on stone tablets would be kept. [Some translations give measurements in cubits: a cubit was between 18 and 21 inches, the measure from the tip of the middle finger to the elbow of an average adult man of that day.] Verses 23-30 describe the construction of the table where the Bread of the Presence was to be displayed. This bread represented the God of all life and provision. Verses 31-40 depict how the golden lampstand was to be constructed after the pattern given to Moses on the mountain.
Exodus 26: Verses 1-6 concern the inner curtains of linen, and verses 7-14 describe the middle layer of goats’ hair fabric with a covering of porpoise skins. [This might make the tabernacle water repellant and possibly (?) reflect the sun’s heat.] Verses 15-30 provide a description of the boards of acacia wood and their sockets that formed the framework to support the curtains. Verses 31-37 detail the veil and screen used to separate the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies (called the Most Holy Place in the NLT) and told where assorted items were to be placed. All of this work was to be done according to the instructions God gave Moses on the mountain.
Prayer: Dear LORD God, thank You for choosing to use me to build a sanctuary for you to dwell in wherever You lead me. May I give back to You the best of what You have given me. May the heart of my being be a place where You feel at home. May the fragrance of Your presence be disseminated in me and out to bless others. May I joyfully follow Your directions exactly as You have laid them out in Your Word. May I light the way for others to follow You. May the beauty in my life reflect Your glory. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, if He wants you to work on one of the suggestions below or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will spend time alone with God daily reading and listening to His instructions on how to build my life.
- I will willingly give to God what He asks for from me for His kingdom.
- I will join with others in the work of God as He directs. Specifically, I will join others by helping at a food pantry or soup kitchen.
- I will give God my best time, effort, resources, and energy. Specifically, I will contribute time and money to go on a mission trip.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.