Exodus 25:1-27:21

SCRIPTURE REFERENCES FOR THIS SERMON:

Exodus 25:1-27:21

25:1 The Lord spoke to Moses, 2 “Tell the Israelites to take an offering for me; from every person motivated by a willing heart you are to receive my offering. 3 This is the offering you are to accept from them: gold, silver, bronze, 4 blue, purple, scarlet, fine linen, goats’ hair, 5 ram skins dyed red, fine leather, acacia wood, 6 oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for fragrant incense, 7 onyx stones, and other gems to be set in the ephod and in the breastpiece. 8 Let them make for me a sanctuary, so that I may live among them. 9 According to all that I am showing you—the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings—you must make it exactly so.

10 “They are to make an ark of acacia wood—its length is to be 45 inches, its width 27 inches, and its height 27 inches. 11 You are to overlay it with pure gold—both inside and outside you must overlay it, and you are to make a surrounding border of gold over it. 12 You are to cast four gold rings for it and put them on its four feet, with two rings on one side and two rings on the other side. 13 You are to make poles of acacia wood, overlay them with gold, 14 and put the poles into the rings at the sides of the ark in order to carry the ark with them. 15 The poles must remain in the rings of the ark; they must not be removed from it. 16 You are to put into the ark the testimony that I will give to you.

17 “You are to make an atonement lid of pure gold; its length is to be 45 inches, and its width is to be 27 inches. 18 You are to make two cherubim of gold; you are to make them of hammered metal on the two ends of the atonement lid. 19 Make one cherub on one end and one cherub on the other end; from the atonement lid you are to make the cherubim on the two ends. 20 The cherubim are to be spreading their wings upward, overshadowing the atonement lid with their wings, and the cherubim are to face each other, looking toward the atonement lid. 21 You are to put the atonement lid on top of the ark, and in the ark you are to put the testimony I am giving you. 22 I will meet with you there, and from above the atonement lid, from between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will command you for the Israelites.

23 “You are to make a table of acacia wood; its length is to be 36 inches, its width 18 inches, and its height 27 inches. 24 You are to overlay it with pure gold, and you are to make a surrounding border of gold for it. 25 You are to make a surrounding frame for it about three inches broad, and you are to make a surrounding border of gold for its frame. 26 You are to make four rings of gold for it and attach the rings at the four corners where its four legs are. 27 The rings are to be close to the frame to provide places for the poles to carry the table. 28 You are to make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold, so that the table may be carried with them. 29 You are to make its plates, its ladles, its pitchers, and its bowls, to be used in pouring out offerings; you are to make them of pure gold. 30 You are to set the Bread of the Presence on the table before me continually.

31 “You are to make a lampstand of pure gold. The lampstand is to be made of hammered metal; its base and its shaft, its cups, its buds, and its blossoms are to be from the same piece. 32 Six branches are to extend from the sides of the lampstand, three branches of the lampstand from one side of it and three branches of the lampstand from the other side of it. 33 Three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms are to be on one branch, and three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms are to be on the next branch, and the same for the six branches extending from the lampstand. 34 On the lampstand there are to be four cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms, 35 with a bud under the first two branches from it, and a bud under the next two branches from it, and a bud under the third two branches from it, according to the six branches that extend from the lampstand. 36 Their buds and their branches will be one piece, all of it one hammered piece of pure gold.

37 “You are to make its seven lamps and then set its lamps up on it, so that it will give light to the area in front of it. 38 Its trimmers and its trays are to be of pure gold. 39 About 75 pounds of pure gold is to be used for it and for all these utensils. 40 Now be sure to make them according to the pattern you were shown on the mountain.

26:1 “The tabernacle itself you are to make with ten curtains of fine twisted linen and blue and purple and scarlet; you are to make them with cherubim that are the work of an artistic designer. 2 The length of each curtain is to be 42 feet, and the width of each curtain is to be 6 feet—the same size for each of the curtains. 3 Five curtains are to be joined, one to another, and the other five curtains are to be joined, one to another. 4 You are to make loops of blue material along the edge of the end curtain in one set, and in the same way you are to make loops in the outer edge of the end curtain in the second set. 5 You are to make 50 loops on the one curtain, and you are to make 50 loops on the end curtain which is on the second set, so that the loops are opposite one to another. 6 You are to make 50 gold clasps and join the curtains together with the clasps, so that the tabernacle is a unit.

7 “You are to make curtains of goats’ hair for a tent over the tabernacle; you are to make 11 curtains. 8 The length of each curtain is to be 45 feet, and the width of each curtain is to be 6 feet—the same size for the 11 curtains. 9 You are to join five curtains by themselves and six curtains by themselves. You are to double over the sixth curtain at the front of the tent. 10 You are to make 50 loops along the edge of the end curtain in one set and 50 loops along the edge of the curtain that joins the second set. 11 You are to make 50 bronze clasps and put the clasps into the loops and join the tent together so that it is a unit. 12 Now the part that remains of the curtains of the tent—the half curtain that remains will hang over at the back of the tabernacle. 13 The foot and a half on the one side and the foot and a half on the other side of what remains in the length of the curtains of the tent will hang over the sides of the tabernacle, on one side and the other side, to cover it.

14 “You are to make a covering for the tent out of ram skins dyed red and over that a covering of fine leather.

15 “You are to make the frames for the tabernacle out of acacia wood as uprights. 16 Each frame is to be 15 feet long, and each frame is to be 27 inches wide, 17 with two projections per frame parallel one to another. You are to make all the frames of the tabernacle in this way. 18 So you are to make the frames for the tabernacle: 20 frames for the south side, 19 and you are to make 40 silver bases to go under the 20 frames—two bases under the first frame for its two projections, and likewise two bases under the next frame for its two projections; 20 and for the second side of the tabernacle, the north side, 20 frames, 21 and their 40 silver bases, two bases under the first frame, and two bases under the next frame. 22 And for the back of the tabernacle on the west you will make six frames. 23 You are to make two frames for the corners of the tabernacle on the back. 24 At the two corners they must be doubled at the lower end and finished together at the top in one ring. So it will be for both. 25 So there are to be eight frames and their silver bases, sixteen bases, two bases under the first frame, and two bases under the next frame.

26 “You are to make bars of acacia wood, five for the frames on one side of the tabernacle, 27 and five bars for the frames on the second side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the frames on the back of the tabernacle on the west. 28 The middle bar in the center of the frames will reach from end to end. 29 You are to overlay the frames with gold and make their rings of gold to provide places for the bars, and you are to overlay the bars with gold. 30 You are to set up the tabernacle according to the plan that you were shown on the mountain.

31 “You are to make a special curtain of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine twisted linen; it is to be made with cherubim, the work of an artistic designer. 32 You are to hang it with gold hooks on four posts of acacia wood overlaid with gold, set in four silver bases. 33 You are to hang this curtain under the clasps and bring the ark of the testimony in there behind the curtain. The curtain will make a division for you between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. 34 You are to put the atonement lid on the ark of the testimony in the Most Holy Place. 35 You are to put the table outside the curtain and the lampstand on the south side of the tabernacle, opposite the table, and you are to place the table on the north side.

36 “You are to make a hanging for the entrance of the tent of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine twisted linen, the work of an embroiderer. 37 You are to make for the hanging five posts of acacia wood and overlay them with gold, and their hooks will be gold, and you are to cast five bronze bases for them.

27:1 “You are to make the altar of acacia wood, 7½ feet long, and 7½ feet wide; the altar is to be square, and its height is to be 4½ feet. 2 You are to make its four horns on its four corners; its horns will be part of it, and you are to overlay it with bronze. 3 You are to make its pots for the ashes, its shovels, its tossing bowls, its meat hooks, and its fire pans—you are to make all its utensils of bronze. 4 You are to make a grating for it, a network of bronze, and you are to make on the network four bronze rings on its four corners. 5 You are to put it under the ledge of the altar below, so that the network will come halfway up the altar. 6 You are to make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and you are to overlay them with bronze. 7 The poles are to be put into the rings so that the poles will be on two sides of the altar when carrying it. 8 You are to make the altar hollow, out of boards. Just as it was shown you on the mountain, so they must make it.

9 “You are to make the courtyard of the tabernacle. For the south side there are to be hangings for the courtyard of fine twisted linen, 150 feet long for one side, 10 with 20 posts and their 20 bronze bases, with the hooks of the posts and their bands of silver. 11 Likewise for its length on the north side, there are to be hangings for 150 feet, with 20 posts and their 20 bronze bases, with silver hooks and bands on the posts. 12 The width of the court on the west side is to be 75 feet with hangings, with their 10 posts and their 10 bases. 13 The width of the court on the east side, toward the sunrise, is to be 75 feet. 14 The hangings on one side of the gate are to be 22½ feet long, with their three posts and their three bases. 15 On the second side there are to be hangings 22½ feet long, with their three posts and their three bases. 16 For the gate of the courtyard there is to be a curtain of 30 feet, of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine twisted linen, the work of an embroiderer, with four posts and their four bases. 17 All the posts around the courtyard are to have silver bands; their hooks are to be silver, and their bases bronze. 18 The length of the courtyard is to be 150 feet and the width 75 feet, and the height of the fine twisted linen hangings is to be 7½ feet, with their bronze bases. 19 All the utensils of the tabernacle used in all its service, all its tent pegs, and all the tent pegs of the courtyard are to be made of bronze.

20 “You are to command the Israelites that they bring to you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, so that the lamps will burn regularly. 21 In the tent of meeting outside the curtain that is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons are to arrange it from evening to morning before the Lord. This is to be a lasting ordinance among the Israelites for generations to come.