willing workers, continued the building of the...

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Commentary and Questions by Wayne Harlan

Landmark Publications, Inc., 1045 Maynor Street, Nashville, TN 37216, U.S.A., John C. Sewell, Ph.D., Editor.

WILLING WORKERS, CONTINUED

THE BUILDING OF THE TABERNACLE

EXODUS 36:1-38




WILLING WORKERS, CONTINUED

THE BUILDING OF THE TABERNACLE

EXODUS 36

Text:

Exodus 36:1-38,

1. So Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person in

whom the Lord has put skill and ability to know how to do all the work for the service of the sanctuary are to do the work according to all that the Lord has commanded.”

2. Moses summoned Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled

person in whom the Lord had put skill—everyone whose heart stirred him to volunteer to do the work,

3. and they received from Moses all the offerings the

Israelites had brought to do the work for the service of the sanctuary, and they still continued to bring him a

freewill offering each morning. 4. So all the skilled people

who were doing all the work on the sanctuary came from

the work they were doing 5. and told Moses, “The people are bringing much more

than is needed for the completion of the work which the

Lord commanded us to do!” 6. Moses instructed them to take his message throughout

the camp, saying, “Let no man or woman do any more

work for the offering for the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing any more.




7. Now the materials were more than enough for them to

do all the work.

8. All the skilled among those who were doing the work made the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twisted linen and blue and purple and scarlet; they were made

with cherubim that were the work of an artistic designer.

9. The length of one curtain was forty-two feet, and the width of one curtain was six feet—the same size for each

of the curtains. 10. He joined five of the curtains to one

another, and the other five curtains he joined to one

another. 11. He made loops of blue material along the edge of the

end curtain in the first set; he did the same along the

edge of the end curtain in the second set. 12. He made fifty loops on the first curtain, and he made

fifty loops on the end curtain that was in the second set,

with the loops opposite one another. 13. He made fifty gold clasps and joined the curtains

together to one another with the clasps, so that the tabernacle was a unit.

14. He made curtains of goats’ hair for a tent over the tabernacle; he made eleven curtains.

15. The length of one curtain was forty-five feet, and the

width of one curtain was six feet—one size for all eleven curtains.

16. He joined five curtains by themselves and six curtains

by themselves.

17. He made fifty loops along the edge of the end curtain in the first set and fifty loops along the edge of the

curtain that joined the second set.

18. He made fifty bronze clasps to join the tent together so that it might be a unit.




19. He made a covering for the tent out of ram skins dyed

red and over that a covering of fine leather.

20. He made the frames for the tabernacle of acacia wood as uprights. 21. The length of each frame was fifteen feet, the width

of each frame was two and a quarter feet,

22. with two projections per frame parallel one to another. He made all the frames of the tabernacle in this

way.

23. So he made frames for the tabernacle: twenty frames

for the south side. 24. He made forty silver bases under the twenty frames—

two bases under the first frame for its two projections,

and likewise two bases under the next frame for its two projections,

25. and for the second side of the tabernacle, the north

side, he made twenty frames 26. and their forty silver bases, two bases under the first

frame and two bases under the next frame. 27. And for the back of the tabernacle on the west he

made six frames. 28. He made two frames for the corners of the tabernacle

on the back.

29. At the two corners they were doubled at the lower end and finished together at the top in one ring. So he did

for both.

30. So there were eight frames and their silver bases,

sixteen bases, two bases under each frame. 31. He made bars of acacia wood, five for the frames on

one side of the tabernacle




32. and five bars for the frames on the second side of the

tabernacle, and five bars for the frames of the tabernacle

for the back side on the west. 33. He made the middle bar to reach from end to end in the center of the frames.

34. He overlaid the frames with gold and made their rings

of gold to provide places for the bars, and he overlaid the bars with gold.

35. He made the special curtain of blue, purple, and

scarlet yarn and fine twisted linen; he made it with

cherubim, the work of an artistic designer. 36. He made for it four posts of acacia wood and overlaid

them with gold, with gold hooks, and he cast for them

four silver bases. 37. He made a hanging for the entrance of the tent of

blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine twisted linen, the

work of an embroiderer, 38. and its five posts and their hooks. He overlaid their

tops and their bands with gold, but their five bases were bronze. (NET)

Introduction:

I. Main points.

A. Willing workers. Verses 1-7

1. Exodus 1-7, So Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person in whom the Lord has put skill and

ability to know how to do all the work for the

service of the sanctuary are to do the work according to all that the Lord has commanded.”




Moses summoned Bezalel and Oholiab and every

skilled person in whom the Lord had put skill—

everyone whose heart stirred him to volunteer to do the work, and they received from Moses all the offerings the Israelites had brought to do the

work for the service of the sanctuary, and they

still continued to bring him a freewill offering each morning. So all the skilled people who were

doing all the work on the sanctuary came from

the work they were doing and told Moses, “The

people are bringing much more than is needed for the completion of the work which the Lord

commanded us to do!” Moses instructed them to

take his message throughout the camp, saying, “Let no man or woman do any more work for the

offering for the sanctuary.” So the people were

restrained from bringing any more. Now the materials were more than enough for them to do

all the work. (NET)

2. Willing hearts and hands offer materials.

B. The building of the tabernacle. Verses 8-38

1. Exodus 36:8-38, All the skilled among those

who were doing the work made the tabernacle

with ten curtains of fine twisted linen and blue

and purple and scarlet; they were made with cherubim that were the work of an artistic

designer. The length of one curtain was forty-

two feet, and the width of one curtain was six feet—the same size for each of the curtains. He




joined five of the curtains to one another, and

the other five curtains he joined to one another.

He made loops of blue material along the edge of the end curtain in the first set; he did the same along the edge of the end curtain in the second

set. He made fifty loops on the first curtain, and

he made fifty loops on the end curtain that was in the second set, with the loops opposite one

another. He made fifty gold clasps and joined the

curtains together to one another with the clasps,

so that the tabernacle was a unit. He made curtains of goats’ hair for a tent over the

tabernacle; he made eleven curtains. The length

of one curtain was forty-five feet, and the width of one curtain was six feet—one size for all

eleven curtains. He joined five curtains by

themselves and six curtains by themselves. He made fifty loops along the edge of the end

curtain in the first set and fifty loops along the edge of the curtain that joined the second set.

He made fifty bronze clasps to join the tent together so that it might be a unit. He made a

covering for the tent out of ram skins dyed red

and over that a covering of fine leather. He made the frames for the tabernacle of acacia wood as

uprights. The length of each frame was fifteen

feet, the width of each frame was two and a

quarter feet, with two projections per frame parallel one to another. He made all the frames

of the tabernacle in this way. So he made frames

for the tabernacle: twenty frames for the south side. He made forty silver bases under the




twenty frames—two bases under the first frame

for its two projections, and likewise two bases

under the next frame for its two projections, and for the second side of the tabernacle, the north side, he made twenty frames and their forty

silver bases, two bases under the first frame and

two bases under the next frame. And for the back of the tabernacle on the west he made six

frames. He made two frames for the corners of

the tabernacle on the back. At the two corners

they were doubled at the lower end and finished together at the top in one ring. So he did for

both. So there were eight frames and their silver

bases, sixteen bases, two bases under each frame. He made bars of acacia wood, five for the

frames on one side of the tabernacle and five

bars for the frames on the second side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the frames of the

tabernacle for the back side on the west. He made the middle bar to reach from end to end in

the center of the frames. He overlaid the frames with gold and made their rings of gold to provide

places for the bars, and he overlaid the bars with

gold. He made the special curtain of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine twisted linen; he made

it with cherubim, the work of an artistic

designer. He made for it four posts of acacia

wood and overlaid them with gold, with gold hooks, and he cast for them four silver bases. He

made a hanging for the entrance of the tent of

blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine twisted linen, the work of an embroiderer, and its five




posts and their hooks. He overlaid their tops and

their bands with gold, but their five bases were

bronze. (NET) 2. The curtains. Verses 8-19

3. The frames for the tabernacle. Verses 20-34

4. The special curtain. Verses 35-36.

5. The curtain for the entrance of the tent. Verses 35-38

II. Key Quote. Exodus 36:5, and told Moses, “The people are bringing much more than is needed for the

completion of the work which the Lord commanded us to

do!” (NET)

Commentary:

I. Willing workers. Verses 1-7

A. With willing hearts the Israelites brought their offerings of

materials to Moses.

1. The entire camp was so moved by the Holy Spirit

that each morning more materials for the tabernacle

continued to be presented.

a. James 1:17, All generous giving and every

perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there




is no variation or the slightest hint of

change. (NET)

b. Numbers 7:4-5, Then the Lord spoke to Moses: “Receive these gifts from them, that

they may be used in doing the work of the

tent of meeting; and you must give them to the Levites, to every man as his service

requires.” (NET)

c. 2 Corinthians 9:7, Each one of you should give just as he has decided in his heart, not

reluctantly or under compulsion, because

God loves a cheerful giver. (NET)

2. So much was offered that Moses sent out a message

that no more materials could be accepted.

a. God’s people can accomplish anything when they are guided by the Holy Spirit.

3. In The Antiquities of the Jews, book 3, chapter 6,

verse 102 Josephus wrote, “. . . for they brought silver,

and gold, and brass, and the best sorts of wood . . . camels hair, also, sheep skins, some of them dyed of a

blue color and some scarlet; . . . and fine linen and

precious stones . . . they brought also a great quantity

of spices . . . now the people went on with what they had undertaken with so great alacrity, that Moses was

obliged to restrain them, by making proclamation, that

what had been brought was sufficient . . .”




4. The outpouring of the freewill offering proved that

their hearts were touched by the Holy Spirit.

II. The building of the tabernacle. Verses 8-38

A. The construction of the curtains and the tent coverings.

Verses 8-19.

1. Ten (10) curtains were made of fine linen dyed blue,

purple and scarlet embroidered with a design of

cherubim.

a. Exodus 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. (NET)

b. Each curtain measured six (6) feet by forty-two (42) feet. They were joined together with fifty

(50) gold clasps making two (2) sets of five (5) curtains.

i. Exodus 26:6, You are to make fifty gold clasps and join the curtains

together with the clasps, so that the

tabernacle is a unit. (NET)

3. The tent that covered the tabernacle: . . .

a. was made of goats’ hair.




i. Exodus 26:7, “You are to make

curtains of goats’ hair for a tent over

the tabernacle; you are to make eleven curtains. (NET)

b. Constructed using eleven (11) curtains.

i. The size of each curtain was forty five (45)

feet by six (6) feet.

ii. Five (5) curtains were joined together with fifty (50) bronze clasps.

iii. Six (6) curtains were joined together with bronze clasps.

4. The covering for the tent consisted of two layers.

a. The first layer was made of rams’ skin dyed red.

b. The second layer was made of fine leather.

i. Exodus 26:14, “You are to make a

covering for the tent out of ram skins dyed red and over that a covering of

fine leather. (NET)

c. These two (2) outer coverings were designed to protect the tent and the curtains of the tabernacle.

B. Frames for the tabernacle. Verses 20-34




1. Acacia wood was used for the tabernacle frames.

a. Exodus 26:15, “You are to make the frames for the tabernacle out of acacia wood as uprights. (NET)

2. Each frame was fifteen (15) feet by two (2) and a quarter (1/4) feet.

a. Exodus 26:16, Each frame is to be fifteen

feet long, and each frame is to be two feet three inches wide, (NET)

i. The north and south sides each consisted of twenty (20) frames. A total of forty (40)

frames.

ii. The back of the tabernacle, the west side

was constructed with six (6) frames, plus two (2) additional frames in the corners.

iii. Each frame required two (2) silver bases

for a total of ninety six (96) silver bases.

b. Exodus 36:24-30, He made forty silver

bases under the twenty frames—two bases

under the first frame for its two projections,

and likewise two bases under the next frame for its two projections, and for the

second side of the tabernacle, the north

side, he made twenty frames and their forty silver bases, two bases under the first frame




and two bases under the next frame. And for

the back of the tabernacle on the west he

made six frames. He made two frames for the corners of the tabernacle on the back. At the two corners they were doubled at the

lower end and finished together at the top

in one ring. So he did for both. So there were eight frames and their silver bases,

sixteen bases, two bases under each frame.

(NET)

i. The frames were overlaid in gold.

c. Exodus 36:34, He overlaid the frames with gold and made their rings of gold to provide

places for the bars, and he overlaid the bars

with gold. (NET)

C. The special curtain. Verses 35-36

1. The special curtain separated the Ark of the Covenant, the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place.

a. Exodus 26:33, 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. (NET)

2. It was woven of fine linen dyed blue, purple and scarlet yarn and embroidered with cherubim.




a. Exodus 26:31, “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.

(NET)

3. The curtain was hung with gold hooks from four (4)

gold posts set in silver bases.

a. Exodus 26:32, You are to hang it with gold hooks on four posts of acacia wood overlaid

with gold, set in four silver bases. (NET)

D. The curtain for the entrance of the tent. Verses 37-38

1. The yarn and linen used for this curtain were the familiar colors of blue, purple and scarlet, but lacked

the embroidered cherubim of the special curtain.

2. There were five (5) posts at the tent entrance with tops overlaid in gold. They were set in bronze bases.

3. The gradation of the precious metals is important to note.

a. All of the posts around the courtyard had silver

bands around the tops, set in bronze bases.

i. Exodus 27:17, All the posts around the

courtyard are to have silver bands; their




hooks are to be silver, and their bases

bronze. (NET)

b. The posts at the entrance of the tent were inlaid with gold on the top and set in bronze

bases.

i. Exodus 36:38, and its five posts and

their hooks. He overlaid their tops and

their bands with gold, but their five

bases were bronze. (NET)

c. The entrance of the most holy place had posts

completely covered in gold and set in silver bases.

i. Exodus 26:32, You are to hang it with

gold hooks on four posts of acacia wood overlaid with gold, set in four silver

bases. (NET)

ii. Exodus 36:36, He made for it four posts of acacia wood and overlaid them

with gold, with gold hooks, and he cast

for them four silver bases. (NET)

4. The beauty of God’s glory increases as we draw

nearer to Him. Until we meet Him in heaven we can

only guess how magnificent His glory truly is.

a. Psalm 100:1-5, Shout out praises to the

Lord, all the earth! Worship the Lord with joy! Enter his presence with joyful singing!




Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He made

us and we belong to him; we are his people,

the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give him thanks! Praise his name!

For the Lord is good. His loyal love endures,

and he is faithful through all generations. (NET)

Conclusion:

I. God’s people can do miraculous things when they are moved

by the Holy Spirit.

A. Empowered by the Holy Spirit the Israelite’s freewill

offering of materials exceeded what was needed.

B. The men and women readily donated not only their time

and skills but also their material wealth to support the Lord’s work.

C. All offerings are founded on the basic principle of

obedience. They are the physical expression of inner

devotion.

D. What we have is provided by our heavenly Father and in

grateful thanks to Him a portion of our blessings are

returned (offered back) to Him.

E. The supreme test of faith in God is obedience to Him.




1. Deuteronomy 13:4, You must follow the Lord

your God and revere only him; and you must

observe his commandments, obey him, serve him, and remain loyal to him. (NET)

2. Deuteronomy 28:1, “If you indeed obey the

Lord your God and are careful to observe all his commandments I am giving you today, the Lord

your God will elevate you above all the nations

of the earth. (NET)

3. Ecclesiastes 12:13, Having heard everything, I

have reached this conclusion: Fear God and keep

his commandments, because this is the whole duty of man. (NET)

4. Exodus 19:5, And now, if you will diligently listen to me and keep my covenant, then you will

be my special possession out of all the nations, for all the earth is mine, (NET)

5. Jeremiah 7:22-23, Consider this: When I spoke

to your ancestors after I brought them out of

Egypt, I did not merely give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices. I also

explicitly commanded them: “Obey me. If you

do, I will be your God and you will be my people.

Live exactly the way I tell you and things will go well with you.” (NET)

6. 1 John 2:4-5, The one who says “I have come to know God” and yet does not keep his




commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in

such a person. But whoever obeys his word, truly

in this person the love of God has been perfected. By this we know that we are in him. (NET)

F. What motivates us to be obedient to God? The unconditional love that our heavenly Father has for us.

1. John 3:16-17, For this is the way God loved the

world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but

have eternal life. For God did not send his Son

into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through him. (NET)

2. John 16:27, For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed

that I came from God. (NET)

3. Romans 5:8, But God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were still sinners,

Christ died for us. (NET)

4. 1 Peter 1:8-9, You have not seen him, but you

love him. You do not see him now but you

believe in him, and so you rejoice with an

indescribable and glorious joy, because you are attaining the goal of your faith—the salvation of

your souls. (NET)




G. Jesus Christ, by His death on the cross, was the ultimate

example of obedience to God.

1. Philippians 2:8-11, He humbled himself, by becoming obedient to the point of death—even

death on a cross! As a result God highly exalted

him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee

will bow—in heaven and on earth and under the

earth— and every tongue confess that Jesus

Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. (NET)




Questions

on

Exodus 36:1-38

1. What motivated the Israelites to offer an abundance of

materials for the tabernacle? _____________________________ _____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Everything that God does has a purpose. In light of that fact, what do you see as the significance of the colors blue, purple and

scarlet used for the tabernacle curtains and in priestly garments?

_____________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

3. The supreme test of faith in God is obedience to Him. How do

we show our obedience to Him? ___________________________ _____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. What motivates you to be obedient to God? _______________




_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. The posts around the courtyard had silver bands around their tops, set in bronze bases. The posts at the entrance of the tent

were inlayed with gold at the top, set in bronze bases. The

entrance of the most Holy Place had posts covered in gold, set in

silver bases. Explain the significance of this gradation of precious metals. _______________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

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