God Speaks
37 Next Bezalel made the Ark of acacia wood—a sacred chest 45 inches long, 27 inches wide, and 27 inches high. 2 He overlaid it inside and outside with pure gold, and he ran a molding of gold all around it. 3 He cast four gold rings and attached them to its four feet, two rings on each side. 4 Then he made poles from acacia wood and overlaid them with gold. 5 He inserted the poles into the rings at the sides of the Ark to carry it.
6 Then he made the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—from pure gold. It was 45 inches long and 27 inches wide. 7 He made two cherubim from hammered gold and placed them on the two ends of the atonement cover. 8 He molded the cherubim on each end of the atonement cover, making it all of one piece of gold. 9 The cherubim faced each other and looked down on the atonement cover. With their wings spread above it, they protected it.
10 Then Bezalel made the table of acacia wood, 36 inches long, 18 inches wide, and 27 inches high. 11 He overlaid it with pure gold and ran a gold molding around the edge. 12 He decorated it with a 3-inch border all around, and he ran a gold molding along the border. 13 Then he cast four gold rings for the table and attached them at the four corners next to the four legs. 14 The rings were attached near the border to hold the poles that were used to carry the table. 15 He made these poles from acacia wood and overlaid them with gold. 16 Then he made special containers of pure gold for the table—bowls, ladles, jars, and pitchers—to be used in pouring out liquid offerings.
17 Then Bezalel made the lampstand of pure, hammered gold. He made the entire lampstand and its decorations of one piece—the base, center stem, lamp cups, buds, and petals. 18 The lampstand had six branches going out from the center stem, three on each side. 19 Each of the six branches had three lamp cups shaped like almond blossoms, complete with buds and petals. 20 The center stem of the lampstand was crafted with four lamp cups shaped like almond blossoms, complete with buds and petals. 21 There was an almond bud beneath each pair of branches where the six branches extended from the center stem, all made of one piece. 22 The almond buds and branches were all of one piece with the center stem, and they were hammered from pure gold.
23 He also made seven lamps for the lampstand, lamp snuffers, and trays, all of pure gold. 24 The entire lampstand, along with its accessories, was made from 75 pounds of pure gold.
25 Then Bezalel made the incense altar of acacia wood. It was 18 inches square and 36 inches high, with horns at the corners carved from the same piece of wood as the altar itself. 26 He overlaid the top, sides, and horns of the altar with pure gold, and he ran a gold molding around the entire altar. 27 He made two gold rings and attached them on opposite sides of the altar below the gold molding to hold the carrying poles. 28 He made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold.
29 Then he made the sacred anointing oil and the fragrant incense, using the techniques of a skilled incense maker.
38 Next Bezalel used acacia wood to construct the square altar of burnt offering. It was 7 1⁄2 feet wide, 7 1⁄2 feet long, and 4 1⁄2 feet high. 2 He made horns for each of its four corners so that the horns and altar were all one piece. He overlaid the altar with bronze. 3 Then he made all the altar utensils of bronze—the ash buckets, shovels, basins, meat forks, and firepans. 4 Next he made a bronze grating and installed it halfway down the side of the altar, under the ledge. 5 He cast four rings and attached them to the corners of the bronze grating to hold the carrying poles. 6 He made the poles from acacia wood and overlaid them with bronze. 7 He inserted the poles through the rings on the sides of the altar. The altar was hollow and was made from planks.
8 Bezalel made the bronze washbasin and its bronze stand from bronze mirrors donated by the women who served at the entrance of the Tabernacle.
9 Then Bezalel made the courtyard, which was enclosed with curtains made of finely woven linen. On the south side the curtains were 150 feet long. 10 They were held up by twenty posts set securely in twenty bronze bases. He hung the curtains with silver hooks and rings. 11 He made a similar set of curtains for the north side—150 feet of curtains held up by twenty posts set securely in bronze bases. He hung the curtains with silver hooks and rings. 12 The curtains on the west end of the courtyard were 75 feet long, hung with silver hooks and rings and supported by ten posts set into ten bases. 13 The east end, the front, was also 75 feet long.
14 The courtyard entrance was on the east end, flanked by two curtains. The curtain on the right side was 22 1⁄2 feet long and was supported by three posts set into three bases. 15 The curtain on the left side was also 22 1⁄2 feet long and was supported by three posts set into three bases. 16 All the curtains used in the courtyard were made of finely woven linen. 17 Each post had a bronze base, and all the hooks and rings were silver. The tops of the posts of the courtyard were overlaid with silver, and the rings to hold up the curtains were made of silver.
18 He made the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard of finely woven linen, and he decorated it with beautiful embroidery in blue, purple, and scarlet thread. It was 30 feet long, and its height was 7 1⁄2 feet, just like the curtains of the courtyard walls. 19 It was supported by four posts, each set securely in its own bronze base. The tops of the posts were overlaid with silver, and the hooks and rings were also made of silver.
20 All the tent pegs used in the Tabernacle and courtyard were made of bronze.
21 This is an inventory of the materials used in building the Tabernacle of the Covenant. The Levites compiled the figures, as Moses directed, and Ithamar son of Aaron the priest served as recorder. 22 Bezalel son of Uri, grandson of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 23 He was assisted by Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, a craftsman expert at engraving, designing, and embroidering with blue, purple, and scarlet thread on fine linen cloth.
24 The people brought special offerings of gold totaling 2,193 pounds, as measured by the weight of the sanctuary shekel. This gold was used throughout the Tabernacle.
25 The whole community of Israel gave 7,545 pounds of silver, as measured by the weight of the sanctuary shekel. 26 This silver came from the tax collected from each man registered in the census. (The tax is one beka, which is half a shekel, based on the sanctuary shekel.) The tax was collected from 603,550 men who had reached their twentieth birthday. 27 The hundred bases for the frames of the sanctuary walls and for the posts supporting the inner curtain required 7,500 pounds of silver, about 75 pounds for each base. 28 The remaining 45 pounds of silver was used to make the hooks and rings and to overlay the tops of the posts.
29 The people also brought as special offerings 5,310 pounds of bronze, 30 which was used for casting the bases for the posts at the entrance to the Tabernacle, and for the bronze altar with its bronze grating and all the altar utensils. 31 Bronze was also used to make the bases for the posts that supported the curtains around the courtyard, the bases for the curtain at the entrance of the courtyard, and all the tent pegs for the Tabernacle and the courtyard.
Source: New Living Translation: BibleGateway.com
We Respond
Reflection: Exodus 37 tells how Bezalel and Oholiab made the furnishings for the Most Holy Place: the ark of the covenant and its lid called the mercy seat. This work was done according to the instructions God gave Moses on the mountain as recorded in Exodus 25:10-22. They also made the furnishings for the Holy Place just as described and prescribed by God, recorded earlier in Exodus. This included the table for the showbread and its utensils (Exodus 25:23-30), the golden lampstand (Exodus 25:31-40), the altar of incense (Exodus 30:1-10), plus the anointing oil and the sacred incense (Exodus 30:22-38).
Verses 1-20 of Exodus 38 describe how Bezalel constructed the square altar for the brunt offerings (Exodus 27:1-8), the laver for washing (Exodus 30:17-21), and the curtains for the courtyard with their posts and bases (Exodus 27:9-19). Verses 21-31 give credit to the chief designers and foremen for the finished tabernacle and an accurate account of the cost and types of materials used based on the instructions given to Moses by God. The purposes and procedures for each of these items will be discussed in other passages of scripture; however, the main lesson for us now is that things work out best when we follow the LORD’s instructions precisely.
* The following resources give a fuller explanation.
The Rational Bible by Dennis Prager, audio version, disk 14, tracks 2 and 3
Enduring Word Bible Commentary Exodus Chapter 37
Enduring Word Bible Commentary Exodus Chapter 38
Prayer: Dear Father God, thank You for leading the Israelites out of Egypt and giving them the Ten Commandments and the instructions for constructing the tabernacle as well as the rest of the Torah. Thank You for equipping Bezalel, Oholiab, and the rest of their work force to construct a place that Your people could carry with them to worship You and be aware of Your presence. Thank You, Jesus, for dying on the cross to pay for my sins so that I can now approach God. Thank You, Holy Spirit, for indwelling me. Thank You, Father God, for adopting me into Your family by faith in Jesus. Because of this, I can experience the presence of the LORD God wherever I am. Please help me to live in total dependence on Christ bringing glory to the Father forever and ever. 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 study the scriptures daily and listen to the Holy Spirit to learn what God’s plan is for me.
- I will ask the Holy Spirit to equip and empower me to carry out whatever He wants me to do.
- I will help someone newer in the faith to do the same.
- I will seek to carry these things out with an attitude of love and thanksgiving to God.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.