Exodus 25. Contributions for the Sanctuary

Contributions for the Sanctuary

The Lord said to Moses, ² “Speak to the people of Israel, that they take for me a contribution. From every man whose heart moves him you shall receive the contribution for me. ³ And this is the contribution that you shall receive from them:

• The people of Israel are going to come together to make the Sanctuary/Tabernacle.

gold, silver, and bronze, 

• This was a present day multi-million dollar project!

⁴ blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, goats’ hair, ⁵ tanned rams’ skins, goatskins, 

• These would be used for coverings
• the different colors were obtained from various sources
  • Blue: People have been confused how they could produce blue. Apparently it came from the same snail used to make purple. You just have to expose the dye to sunlight.
    • an interesting article on it here! https://www.jpost.com/metro/the-secret-of-the-lost-color-452328
  • Purple: Murex snails produce a “tyrian purple”
  • red: this is fun! the word used is actually תּוֹלַעַת שָׁנִי (tolaʿat shani), literally “scarlet of the worm/insect” which comes from the scale insect. When you crush it you get a crimson color.

scale insects, acacia tree, murex snail

acacia wood, ⁶ oil for the lamps, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, ⁷ onyx stones, and stones for setting, for the ephod and for the breastpiece. ⁸ And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst. ⁹ Exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it.

• Here we have the first use of the word ‘tabernacle’ or mishkan (מִשְׁכָּן)
• It seems that God actually showed Moses instead of just telling Moses what the Tabernacle should look like “Exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle…”

The Ark of the Covenant

¹⁰ “They shall make an ark of acacia wood. Two cubits and a half shall be its length, a cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height. ¹¹ You shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and outside shall you overlay it, and you shall make on it a molding of gold around it. ¹² You shall cast four rings of gold for it and put them on its four feet, two rings on the one side of it, and two rings on the other side of it. ¹³ You shall make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. ¹⁴ And you shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry the ark by them. ¹⁵ The poles shall remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be taken from it. ¹⁶ And you shall put into the ark the testimony that I shall give you.

• testimony = ten commandments
• Hebrews 9:4 tells us “This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant.”

¹⁷ “You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold. Two cubits and a half shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth. ¹⁸ And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat. 

• Why did God say “make no likeness of anything in heaven above” (Exodus 20:4) but then later command that cherubim (heavenly beings) be placed on the ark cover (Exodus 25:18)?
• “Mercy Seat” and “Atonement Cover” are two different English translations of the same Hebrew word: כַּפֹּרֶת (kappōret) 

¹⁹ Make one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end. Of one piece with the mercy seat shall you make the cherubim on its two ends. ²⁰ The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be. ²¹ And you shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony that I shall give you. ²² There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel.

• The top of the ark, or “mercy seat” was where YHWH would meet with his people/ high priest.

The Table for Bread

²³ “You shall make a table of acacia wood. Two cubits shall be its length, a cubit its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height. ²⁴ You shall overlay it with pure gold and make a molding of gold around it. ²⁵ And you shall make a rim around it a handbreadth wide, and a molding of gold around the rim. ²⁶ And you shall make for it four rings of gold, and fasten the rings to the four corners at its four legs. ²⁷ Close to the frame the rings shall lie, as holders for the poles to carry the table. ²⁸ You shall make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold, and the table shall be carried with these. ²⁹ And you shall make its plates and dishes for incense, and its flagons and bowls with which to pour drink offerings; you shall make them of pure gold. ³⁰ And you shall set the bread of the Presence on the table before me regularly.

• Showbread is the English translation of the Hebrew “לֶחֶם הַפָּנִים” (lechem ha-panim), which literally means: “Bread of the Presence” or “Bread of the Face”
• Twelve loaves, representing the twelve tribes of Israel, were kept continually on the table before YHWH and replaced every Sabbath (Leviticus 24:5-9).
• This is the bread David eventually eats in 1 Samuel 21

The Golden Lampstand

³¹ “You shall make a lampstand of pure gold. The lampstand shall be made of hammered work: its base, its stem, its cups, its calyxes, and its flowers shall be of one piece with it. ³² And there shall be six branches going out of its sides, three branches of the lampstand out of one side of it and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side of it; ³³ three cups made like almond blossoms, each with calyx and flower, on one branch, and three cups made like almond blossoms, each with calyx and flower, on the other branch—so for the six branches going out of the lampstand. ³⁴ And on the lampstand itself there shall be four cups made like almond blossoms, with their calyxes and flowers, ³⁵ and a calyx of one piece with it under each pair of the six branches going out from the lampstand. 

• Almond blossoms appear on the lampstand in the Tabernacle seen here, and they bud on Aaron’s rod.
  • In Jeremiah, the prophet sees a שָׁקֵד (shaqed, “almond branch”), and God uses a wordplay with שֹׁקֵד (shoqed, “watching”), saying He is watching over His word to make sure it comes true (Jeremiah 1:11-12).

³⁶ Their calyxes and their branches shall be of one piece with it, the whole of it a single piece of hammered work of pure gold. ³⁷ You shall make seven lamps for it. And the lamps shall be set up so as to give light on the space in front of it. ³⁸ Its tongs and their trays shall be of pure gold. ³⁹ It shall be made, with all these utensils, out of a talent of pure gold. ⁴⁰ And see that you make them after the pattern for them, which is being shown you on the mountain.

• The seven lamps in Exodus were part of the menorah in the Tabernacle, symbolizing God’s presence and light among His people. In Revelation, we see the seven lampstands represent the seven churches, showing that God’s light now shines through the church.