Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Exodus 39:1
And of the blue, and purple, and scarlet, they made cloths of service, to do service in the holy [place], and made the holy garments for Aaron; as the LORD commanded Moses.
1. the plaited (?) garments ] See on Exo 31:10.
as Jehovah commanded Moses ] so seven times in this chapter (here, and vv. 5, 7, 21, 26, 29, 31); also seven times in ch. 40 ( vv. 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 32); and Lev 8:9; Lev 8:13; Lev 8:17; Lev 8:21; Lev 8:29.
2 5 (Exo 28:6-8). The ephod, with its shoulder-straps.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
See the notes to Exo. 28.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
CHAPTER XXXIX
Bezaleel makes the clothes of service for the holy place,
and the holy garments, 1.
The ephod, 2.
Gold is beaten into plates, and cut into wires for
embroidery, 3.
He makes the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, 4.
The curious girdle, 5.
Cuts the onyx stones for the shoulder-pieces, 6.
Makes the breastplate, its chains, ouches, rings, &c., 7-21.
The robe of the ephod, 22-26.
Coats of fine linen, 27.
The mitre, 28.
The girdle, 29.
The plate of the holy crown, 30, 31.
The completion of the work of the tabernacle, 32.
All the work is brought unto Moses, 33-41.
Moses, having examined the whole, finds every thing done as
the Lord had commanded in consequence of which he blesses the
people, 42, 43.
NOTES ON CHAP. XXXIX
Verse 1. Blue and purple, and scarlet] See this subject largely explained in the notes on Ex 25:4. See Clarke on Ex 25:4.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
1, 2. cloths of serviceofficialrobes. The ephod of the high priest, the robe of the ephod, thegirdle of needlework, and the embroidered coat were all of finelinen; for on no material less delicate could such elaboratesymbolical figures have been portrayed in embroidery, and allbeautified with the same brilliant colors. (See on Ex28:1-43).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And of the blue, and purple, and scarlet, they made cloths of service,…. Jarchi observes that there is no mention made of linen, because these were not the priestly garments in which there was linen; but these were they with which they covered the vessels of the sanctuary when they journeyed; and so says Aben Ezra; and those were covered with cloths of blue, purple, and scarlet, Nu 4:5 though some think these were clothes wore by the priests:
to do service in the holy place: and which they only wore when in it, and employed in the service of it; and therefore what follows must be by way of explanation:
and made the holy garments for Aaron, as the Lord commanded Moses; the particulars of which are given in the following verses.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Preparation of the priests’ clothes. – Previous to the description of the dress itself, we have a statement in Exo 39:1 of the materials employed, and the purpose to which they were devoted (“cloths of service,” see at Exo 31:10). The robes consisted of the ephod (Exo 39:2-7, as in Exo 28:6-12), the choshen or breastplate (Exo 39:8-21, as in Exo 28:15-29), the mel or over-coat (Exo 39:22-26, as in Exo 28:31-34); the body-coats, turbans, drawers, and girdles, for Aaron and his sons (Exo 39:27-29, as in Exo 28:39-40, and Exo 28:42). The Urim and Thummim are not mentioned (cf. Exo 28:30). The head-dresses of the ordinary priests, which are simply called “bonnets” in Exo 28:40, are called “goodly bonnets” or “ornamental caps” in Exo 39:28 of this chapter ( , from an ornament, cf. ornatus fuit ). The singular, “ girdle,” in Exo 39:29, with the definite article, “ the girdle, ” might appear to refer simply to Aaron’s girdle, i.e., the girdle of the high priest; but as there is no special description of the girdles of Aaron’s sons (the ordinary priests) in Exo 29:40, where they are distinctly mentioned and called by the same name ( abnet ) as the girdle of Aaron himself, we can only conclude that they were of the same materials and the same form and make as the latter, and that the singular, , is used here either in the most general manner, or as a generic noun in a collective sense (see Ges. 109, 1). The last thing mentioned is the diadem upon Aaron’s turban (Exo 39:30, Exo 39:31, as in Exo 28:36-38), so that the order in which the priests’ robes are given here is analogous to the position in which the ark of the covenant and the golden altar stand to one another in the directions concerning the sacred things in ch. 25-30. “For just as all the other things are there placed between the holy ark and the golden altar as the two poles, so here all the rest of the priests’ robes are included between the shoulder-dress, the principal part of the official robes of the high priest, and the golden frontlet, the inscription upon which rendered it the most striking sign of the dignity of his office” ( Baumgarten).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| The Tabernacle and Its Furniture. | B. C. 1491. |
1 And of the blue, and purple, and scarlet, they made cloths of service, to do service in the holy place, and made the holy garments for Aaron; as the LORD commanded Moses. 2 And he made the ephod of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen. 3 And they did beat the gold into thin plates, and cut it into wires, to work it in the blue, and in the purple, and in the scarlet, and in the fine linen, with cunning work. 4 They made shoulderpieces for it, to couple it together: by the two edges was it coupled together. 5 And the curious girdle of his ephod, that was upon it, was of the same, according to the work thereof; of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen; as the LORD commanded Moses. 6 And they wrought onyx stones inclosed in ouches of gold, graven, as signets are graven, with the names of the children of Israel. 7 And he put them on the shoulders of the ephod, that they should be stones for a memorial to the children of Israel; as the LORD commanded Moses. 8 And he made the breastplate of cunning work, like the work of the ephod; of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen. 9 It was foursquare; they made the breastplate double: a span was the length thereof, and a span the breadth thereof, being doubled. 10 And they set in it four rows of stones: the first row was a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this was the first row. 11 And the second row, an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond. 12 And the third row, a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst. 13 And the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper: they were inclosed in ouches of gold in their inclosings. 14 And the stones were according to the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet, every one with his name, according to the twelve tribes. 15 And they made upon the breastplate chains at the ends, of wreathen work of pure gold. 16 And they made two ouches of gold, and two gold rings; and put the two rings in the two ends of the breastplate. 17 And they put the two wreathen chains of gold in the two rings on the ends of the breastplate. 18 And the two ends of the two wreathen chains they fastened in the two ouches, and put them on the shoulderpieces of the ephod, before it. 19 And they made two rings of gold, and put them on the two ends of the breastplate, upon the border of it, which was on the side of the ephod inward. 20 And they made two other golden rings, and put them on the two sides of the ephod underneath, toward the forepart of it, over against the other coupling thereof, above the curious girdle of the ephod. 21 And they did bind the breastplate by his rings unto the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it might be above the curious girdle of the ephod, and that the breastplate might not be loosed from the ephod; as the LORD commanded Moses. 22 And he made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue. 23 And there was an hole in the midst of the robe, as the hole of an habergeon, with a band round about the hole, that it should not rend. 24 And they made upon the hems of the robe pomegranates of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen. 25 And they made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates upon the hem of the robe, round about between the pomegranates; 26 A bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, round about the hem of the robe to minister in; as the LORD commanded Moses. 27 And they made coats of fine linen of woven work for Aaron, and for his sons, 28 And a mitre of fine linen, and goodly bonnets of fine linen, and linen breeches of fine twined linen, 29 And a girdle of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, of needlework; as the LORD commanded Moses. 30 And they made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote upon it a writing, like to the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD. 31 And they tied unto it a lace of blue, to fasten it on high upon the mitre; as the LORD commanded Moses.
In this account of the making of the priests’ garments, according to the instructions given (ch. 28), we may observe, 1. That the priests’ garments are called here clothes of service, v. 1. Note, Those that wear robes of honour must look upon them as clothes of service; for from those upon whom honour is put service is expected. It is said of those that are arrayed in white robes that they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple, Rev. vii. 13, 15. Holy garments were not made for men to sleep in, or to strut in, but to do service in; and then they are indeed for glory and beauty. The Son of man himself came not to be ministered unto, but to minister. 2. That all the six paragraphs here, which give a distinct account of the making of these holy garments, conclude with those words, as the Lord commanded Moses,Exo 39:5; Exo 39:7; Exo 39:21; Exo 39:26; Exo 39:29; Exo 39:31. The like is not in any of the foregoing accounts, as if in these, more than any other of the appurtenances of the tabernacle, they had a particular regard to the divine appointment, both for warrant and for direction. It is an intimation to all the Lord’s ministers to make the word of God their rule in all their ministrations, and to act in observance of and obedience to the command of God. 3. That these garments, in conformity to the rest of the furniture of the tabernacle, were very rich and splendid; the church in its infancy was thus taught, thus pleased, with the rudiments of this world; but now under the gospel, which is the ministration of the Spirit, to affect and impose such pompous habits as the church of Rome does, under pretence of decency and instruction, is to betray the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free, and to entangle the church again in the bondage of those carnal ordinances which were imposed only till the time of reformation. 4. That they were all shadows of good things to come, but the substance is Christ, and the grace of the gospel; when therefore the substance has come, it is a jest to be fond of the shadow. (1.) Christ is our great high-priest; when he undertook the work of our redemption, he put on the clothes of service–he arrayed himself with the gifts and graces of the Spirit, which he received not by measure–girded himself with the curious girdle of resolution, to go through with his undertaking–charged himself with the curious girdle of resolution, to go through with his undertaking–charged himself with all God’s spiritual Israel, bore them on his shoulders, carried them in his bosom, laid them near his heart, engraved them on the palms of his hands, and presented them in the breast-plate of judgment unto his Father. And (lastly) he crowned himself with holiness to the Lord, consecrating his whole undertaking to the honour of his Father’s holiness: now consider how great this man is. (2.) True believers are spiritual priests. The clean linen with which all their clothes of service must be made is the righteousness of saints (Rev. xix. 8), and Holiness to the Lord must be so written upon their foreheads that all who converse with them may see, and say, that they bear the image of God’s holiness, and are devoted to the praise of it.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
EXODUS – CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Verses 1-5:
When the entire tabernacle complex was completed the workman turned their attention to the priests’ vestments. First was the high priest’s ephod, a garment made of beautifully colored fine twined linen, interwoven with threads made of gold. This garment was held in place with a girdle or sash of the same colors and fabric. Instructions for the ephod and sash appear in Ex 4-8. The workmen followed the pattern the Lord gave to Moses.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
1. And of the blue, and purple, and scarlet. The description of the sacerdotal garments, which is repeated in this chapter, is more accurate than it would have been had he been speaking of some unimportant matter. And assuredly, since Christ was vividly represented in the person of the high priest, this was a most important part of the legal service. We have elsewhere set forth how far it was from being an empty pomp, as when the Popish sacrificers now-a-days, in order to acquire dignity, dazzle the eyes of the simple by the splendor of their vestments, and their magnificent paraphernalia; but that rather it was for the purpose of placing before men’s eyes all that faith ought to consider in Jesus Christ. We have especially seen how great mysteries were contained in the mitre, which was Holiness to the Lord: and in the ephod, in which shone forth the light of truth and integrity of life, and in which were the symbols of the ten tribes, so that the priest bore the people itself upon his shoulders and before his breast, in such a manner that in the person of one all might be presented familiarly before God. For this reason he repeats seven times the clause, “as the Lord commanded Moses;” which certainly has the effect of awakening attention.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
CRITICAL NOTES.
Exo. 39:9. Doubled = kafal]. This word is repeated again at the close of the Verse to show that the length of the breastplate was one span after it was doubled, so that its actual length was two spans, and because this was not expressed with sufficient distinctness in Exo. 33:16.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Exo. 39:1-31
PREPARATION OF THE PRIESTS CLOTHES
And of the blue, and purple, and scarlet, they made cloths of service, to do service in the holy place, and made the holy garments for Aaron; as the Lord commanded MosesExo. 39:1.
I. The holy place: so called because it enshrined the Holy of Holies, which was the immediate dwelling-place of God. It is Gods presence alone that makes a holy place. In this sense the entire world is a holy place: Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord. Hence when He revealed Himself to Moses at the burning bush, He said, The ground whereon thou standest is holy ground. Hence the Christian Church is a holy place: Where two or three are met together in My Name, there am I in the midst of them. Hence heaven is by pre-eminence the Holy Place. It is called the Habitation of His Holiness. His presence fills each heart with joy, &c.
II. The holy service. Holy places are for holy services. In this case the peculiar service, which consisted of three parts, the lighting of the golden candlestick, the burning of incense on the altar, and the laying out, removing, and renewing of the shew-bread, all of which had a symbolic character to be afterwards described, was holy, as being a service done unto the Lord. And this is the essential idea in holy service, whether rendered in the temple of Nature, or the temple of the Church, or the temple of Heaven, it is service rendered to the High and Holy One whose presence fills them all. Clearly this was Pauls idea when he said: Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
III. The holy minister. This was Aaron, the high priest, and his sons, who ministered in the priests office. Holy services can only be performed by holy persons. It is so in heaven, and so it must be on earth. This was symbolised by the consecration of Aaron and his sons with the holy oil at their first appointment, and every time they went to minister before the Lord. Of course, it is not the outward consecration that makes holy, but the inward, of which the outward is but a symbol. With the inward consecration of the nature by the Holy Ghost the person is holy, even though no anointing oil should ever have been poured upon his head; while with the outward one remains unholy still, unless the Spirit of God shall have also given him another heart. In short, only a new-born child of God can either find a holy place or perform a holy service.
IV. The holy clothes. Holy persons require to be arrayed in holy garments. So God commanded with reference to Aaron and his sons. The different items of the priests dress had a special symbolic significance, for which see below; in the meantime, it may be noted that they served the purpose of certifying to the nation their consecration to the priestly office. And so does God command that they who shall minister, or do holy service to Him in the holy place of the Church of Christ, shall array themselves in the beautiful apparel of holiness (cf. Mat. 22:11-12; Rom. 13:13-14; Eph. 4:24).
1. The Ephod
And he made the Ephod of gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linenExo. 39:2-7.
Cf. Exo. 28:6-14. The ephod, Septuagint , Vulgate superhumerale, which was par excellence the official dress of the priest, was a short cloak covering the shoulders and breast. It was made of the same materials as the inner drapery and curtain of the tabernacle, blue, purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, interwoven with gold threads, or wires, which were cut from thin plates of gold. Pliny says the ancient Egyptians understood the art of weaving fabrics with gold; and Egyptian monuments show coloured costumes which were probably woven with gold thread. Exo. 39:4 seems to indicate that it was made in two parts, joined together at the shoulders by what are called shoulder-pieces. It was tied round the waist by an embroidered (curious) girdle woven of the same material. Upon each shoulderpiece was an onyx stone set in gold, graven as a signet is graven with the names of six of the sons of Israel, according to their births, which is explained by Josephus to mean that the names of the six elder sons were engraven on the precious stone upon the right shoulder, and the names of the six younger sons on the precious stone upon the left. The two stones were designed to be memorial stones for the children of Israel. All this was in accordance with Divine command, which shows that it was meant to have some special significance. What then was that significance? Well
I. The ephod, being made of the same material as the drapery of the tabernacle, indicated that the high priest was designed for the special service of the sanctuary. It was an article of dress which was only worn when engaged in the sacrificial worship of the tabernacle. So the Lord Jesus Christ is represented (Rev. 1:13) as wearing a girdle, and probably an ephod, to mark Him out as the High Priest of the better sanctuary.
II. The ephod, as resting on the shoulders of the priest, indicated that on him exclusively lay the burden of the sanctuary service. So of Christ it is said, The government shall be upon His shoulder. He is the one only High Priest in the Christian Church, to whom has been assigned the work of offering sacrifice and making intercession for the sins of the people.Heb. 5:10.
III. The ephod, as bearing on its shoulders the names of the children of Israel, indicated the nature of the high priestly service, which was to represent the nation before God. So Christ is the great Representative of His people before the throne; the special work in which He is now engaged being that of appearing in the presence of God for us.Heb. 9:24.
IV. The ephod, as being made of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and linen interwoven with gold, indicated the beauty and the glory of the high priestly service. Thou shaft make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and tor beauty, said Jehovah. What was true of all the different parts of the official dress was specially true of the ephod. It was designed to leave upon the mind an impression of the honourable and glorious character of the high priestly office. And surely there is no office that, in respect of glory and beauty, can compare with that of Jesus Christ, the High Priest of our profession. (Heb. 5:5), which clearly implies, however, that there was a glory in being a High Priest; and so we read in Heb. 2:9 : , . Even the service of the Christian ministry, though not that of a priesthood, acquires a beauty and a glory from being subservient to that of Christs. Whence thinks Dr. A. Clarke their official garments should be for beauty, for glory also, in some degree expressive of the dignity and grandeur of their calling. Certainly the service of the Christian life, which is that of a priesthood, though not exactly of the same character as Christs, is beautiful and glorious; and the garments of the Christianif not his literal clothes, at least the clothing of his spirit, his walk and conversationshould be for beauty and for glory.Ecc. 9:7-8; Rom. 13:14.
2. The Breastplate
And he made the breastplate of cunning work, like the work of the ephod, of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen. It was four squareExo. 39:8-21. See also Exo. 28:15-30.
I. Its formation. The breastplate was fashioned of the same material as the ephod. It was about ten inches square, and made double with a front and lining, so as to answer for a pouch or bag. It was adorned with twelve precious stones, arranged in three rows of four each. The order of the stones as given in the authorised version is different from that of the old versions, which is stated by Keil as follows (reading from right to left):
Emerald: Zebulon (of a brilliant green).
Topaz: Judah (golden tinged).
Sardius: Issachar. (i.e., our cornelian, or blood-red colour).
Diamond: Asher (transparent or reddish yellow).
Sapphire: Simeon (sky-blue).
Carbuncle: Reuben (the rubyfine coloured).
Amethyst: Benjamin (violet-blue).
Agate: Manasseh (transparentof divers colours).
Ligure: Ephraim (transparentorange).
Jasper: Gad (dark red).
Beryl: Naphtali (sea-green).
Chrysolith: Dan (golden coloured).
On each of these stones was engraved a name of one of the sons of Israel as above. The two upper corners were fastened to the ephod by blue ribands passing through gold rings, two on each side, one attached to the ephod and another to the breastplate. In the bag or pouch between the front and back were put the Urim and Thummim, which are mentioned in Exo. 28:30, as if they were already known. Now, however, they are unknown. No description is given of them. Nor can their meaning be traced with any certainty from their etymology. The words mean lights and perfections. Whether they denote some material objects which were deposited in the pocket of the breastplate, or whether they were only intended to signify that Divine manifestations were to be given through the breastplate, has been much disputed. Perhaps the Urim and Thummim are only a spiritual description of the sacred gems in the High Priests breastplate.Eadie. The Urim and Thummim did not represent the illumination and right of Israel, but were merely a promise of these, a pledge that the Lord would maintain the rights of His people, and give them through the high priest the illumination requisite for their protection.
Keil.
II. Its designation. The breastplate of judgment, and the memorial,Exo. 28:29. Doubtless the two names were derived from its use. It was probably styled by the first to indicate that the high priest should wear it when either asking counsel or judgment from the Lord, or administering justice and judgment in the name of the Lord. These were two given functions of the Hebrew high priest; and in discharging them he was typically foreshadowing the Lord Jesus Christ, who is both the fountain of Divine wisdom and the administrator of Divine justice in the Christian Church. The second name was equally suggestive of its use. It was designed as a remembrancer of the people when the high priest ministered before the Lord. It reminded the high priest of his representative character, in which again he foreshadowed Christ who is His peoples representative before God and within the veil.
III. Its situation. This is indicated in the name. It lay upon the breast. The heart, according to the Biblical view, is the centre of the spiritual life, not merely of the willing, desiring, thinking life, but of the emotional life, as the seat of the feelings and affections. Hence to bear upon the heart does not merely mean to bear it in mind, but denotes that personal intertwining with the life of another, by virtue of which the high priest was, as Philo expresses it, , and so stood in the deepest sympathy with those for whom he interceded.Keil and Delitsch. In short, its lying on the breast indicated
1. Nearness. So the names of Christs people are on His breast, and their persons are always near. Isaiah represents Israel as graven on the palms of Jehovahs hands: here they are pictured as graven on Christs heart.
2. Remembrance. Having the names of Israel upon his heart, the Jewish high priest could not forget them; and neither can Christ ever forget those for whom He has already shed His blood, and now presents it within the veil.
3. Affection. So the people of Christ are near His heart in the sense of being always the object of His tender love (Jer. 31:3), I have loved thee with an everlasting love (Joh. 13:1); Having loved His own
4. Representation. The names of the sons of Israel were on the high priests breast that he might represent them within the veil: so are Christs people always on His breast in the sense that He is interceding for them (Heb. 7:25; Heb. 9:24).
5. Communication. Being on the high priests breast, the people shared his fortunes. When He was accepted, so were they. When blessing was bestowed on him, it was that through him it might come down to them. And so it is with Christ. All the fulness of the Godhead dwells in Him for us, that out of His fulness we might receive.
3. The Robe
And he made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue Exo. 39:22-26.
The robe (), from , to cover, was an upper garment of dark blue purple, closely fitting to the person, and reaching to the knees, made of one piece, with an opening for the head to pass through, and, according to Josephus and the Rabbins, with armholes, but with no sleeves. The opening for the head was bound with a hem, so that it should not rend; and the skirt was bordered with a fringe, ornamented with artificial pomegranates of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and little golden bells between them round about, a bell and a pomegranate occurring alternately all round. The robe was not intended as a covering for the ephod, as then the breastplate must have been concealed. Lange thinks it was a very short garment, covering only the shoulders of the ephod. This, however, is obviously a mistake. The articles of the priests dress are clearly mentioned in the reverse order to that in which they were put on. Beginning with the outside, there is first the ephod with its breastplate, then the robe, after that the long frock or coat, then the head-dress, and finally the breeches. The robe was a covering for the coat.
Great diversity of opinion exists as to the symbolic import of this particular article of dress. The following may be considered along with other suggestions on the subject:
I. The robe of blue being an article of dress which specially belonged to the high priest, and requiring to be worn over and above the linen coats which were common to the entire priestly order, pointed to the need of special qualification for the high priestly office. Authority to exercise the office and fitness to discharge the duties of the office, seem to be the two ideas involved in the clothing of a priest with an official dress; and that these two qualifications belonged to Aaron was signified by his official robe, in addition to the linen coat, which he wore in common with the ordinary priests. The first of these ideas may have been pointed to in the dark blue colour of the robe, which indicated, says Keil, the heavenly origin and character of the office with which it was associated. Being heavenly in its origin and character, no man could take it upon himself except he was called of God as Aaron was (Heb. 5:4). So also Christ glorified not Himself to be made an high priest; but He that said unto Him, Thou art My Son, to-day have I begotten Thee, glorified Him by investing Him with high priestly authority (Heb. 5:5). The second was possibly indicated by its forms, which, being woven in one piece, set forth the idea of spiritual wholeness or integrity.Keil. A qualification which was never possessed in completeness except by Him who wore the seamless robe, and who is now the great High Priest of our profession, possessed of all the qualities which are necessary to the efficient discharge of His priestly office. For a statement of those qualities, see Heb. 4:15; Heb. 5:2.
II. The pomegranate fringe, among other things, and chiefly, was intended to remind the wearer of the necessity of attending to the Divine regulations in discharging his high priestly office. According to Num. 15:38-39, every Israelite was directed to make a fringe in the border of his garment of dark blue, in order that every time he looked upon it, he might remember all the commandments of the Lord, and do them. It was thus a symbolic injunction to order his daily walk in accordance with Divine precept; and doubtless the fringe upon the robe of Aaron signified that he, too, in discharging the duties of his high priestly office, was not to follow courses of his own, but confine himself exactly and minutely to the regulations and prescriptions which God had given. So Christ came not to do His own will, but the will of Him that had sent Him (Joh. 6:38). The duties of Christs high priestly office were not left for Him to invent when He entered on the officethey were all defined for Him in the Volume of the Book (Psa. 40:7). Accordingly in all He did He kept His eye upon His Fathers writing in the Scripture. (See Mat. 26:54; Mar. 14:21; Luk. 24:46; Joh. 19:24; 1Co. 15:3.) If the artificial pomegranates were intended to symbolise anything, perhaps it was the fragrance and fruitfulness of such high priestly service when performed in accordance with the will of God.
III. The golden bells, ever tinkling as the high priest went about his duties within the veil, intimated that he had found favour in the sight of God, and was yet alive, although looking on the glorious Presence of Jehovah, and so virtually proclaimed the efficacious intercession of his high priestly office. The common notions, as, e.g., that the ringing of the bells was to take the place of knocking at the door of Jehovahs palace (Abraham ben David); that it was meant to call the people without to accompany the high priest with their thoughts (son of Sirach, in Eccles. 45:9); that it was designed as a reverential greeting and a musical ascription of praise (Knobel); that it symbolised the sounding forth of the word of God (Keil); that the alternation of pomegranates and bells was designed to indicate the connection of nature and grace (Lange) may all have some elements of truth in them, although for the most part they are fanciful. The true interpretation of the tinkling bells, we feel persuaded, is to be found in Heb. 7:25, which speaks of the Everliving High Priest, who even now, within the veil, is making intercession for us. The testimony of the angels (Act. 1:11), the phenomena of Pentecost (Acts 2), the continuous existence of the Church, the witness of the Spirit through the Word, are the evidences to the Christian Church that Christ lives; the evidence to the Hebrew congregation that its high priest within the veil was living was the tinkling of the bells upon his garment. This is hinted at in Exo. 28:35. The robe with its pomegranates and bells was to be upon Aaron when he went to minister before the Lord, that he die not; or, and he shall not die. Entering without his official robe he was sure to die: entering with it he would live; and that would be announced to the people by the sounding bells. If the bells ceased to sound it would be an intimation that the high priest was dead.
Thus, special qualification, Divine regulation, and efficacious intercession, were the three ideas suggested by the robe, the fringe, and the bells.
4. The Mitre
And they made coats of fine linen, of woven work, for Aaron, and for his sons. And a mitre of fine linen, and goodly bonnets of fine linen.Exo. 39:27-31.
The linen coats, bonnets, and breeches, which are here referred to, were articles of dress which Aaron wore in common with the priestly order in general. They do not call for any special note. The head-dress of the high priest, in addition to the goodly bonnet, or linen turban, consisted of a mitre, or superior turban, made of fine linen, and bearing upon its front a gold plate, tied to the mitre by a blue riband, on which was inscribed, Holiness to the Lord. According to Exo. 28:38, this plate was to be upon Aarons forehead, that he might bear the iniquity of the holy things which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall be always upon his forehead that they may be accepted before the Lord.
I. Personal consecration was the first thing symbolised by the golden mitre. Through the golden plate, with its inscription, Holiness to the Lord, which was fastened upon his head-dress of brilliant white, the earthly reflection of holiness, he was crowned as the sanctified of the Lord.Keil.
II. Representative propitiation was the second thing intended by the golden mitre. Wearing the crown of holiness, Aaron was the representative of the entire congregation. In this capacity his business was to bear the iniquity of the holy offerings of the children of Israel. The stains of sin which clung to all the expiatory Offerings of the people required to be further cleansed away; and in and through him acting as their representative that expiation was effected.
III. Congregational acceptance was a third idea included in the golden mitre. When Aaron appeared before God wearing the holy crown, the people were accepted. Thus, again, we have a threefold symbol: of the Personal qualification of the Lord Jesus Christ for the high priestly officeHoliness; of the character of His official workExpiation; and of the blessed result which He secures for His peopleAcceptance with God.
The Delivery of the Work to Moses
Thus was all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation finished; and the children of Israel did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so did they. And they brought the tabernacle unto Moses, &c.Exo. 39:32-43.
I. The presentation of the work: They brought the tabernacle unto Moses. It seems that after all the different articles were finished, they were solemnly brought and presented to Moses, the chief builder of the house. So, whatever work or service is done in connection with the Christian Church should be solemnly presented to Christ, who is the Chief Builder of the Christian temple.
II. The inspection of the work: Moses did look upon all the work; and so does Christ inspect every offering that is brought to Him, whether of work or of gifts, to see if it be according to the commandment of the Lord. Paul tells us in 1Co. 3:13, that a day is coming in which every mans work will be tried of what sort it istried by firetried with the most terrible exactness. Yet even now a process of inspection is going on in which everything a person doesand especially does for Christis subjected to minute investigation.
III. The approbation of the work: Behold, they had done it as the Lord had commanded. So in Christian service nothing can be accepted that is not minutely in accordance with the Divine specification. This will be the standard at the last day as it is now. As the Lord had commanded, is the one qualification which must attach to all our labours and gifts to make them good.
IV. The remuneration of the work: And Moses blessed them. So is all faithful service done to Christ rewarded even here with spiritual blessing. So will it be in the end (1Co. 3:14). Lessons:
(1.) The dignity of Christian work as presented to Christ;
(2.) the duty of fidelity in Christian work, considering it must be inspected by Christ;
(3.) the grand aim in Christian work, to be accepted by Christ. Cf. 2Co. 5:9;
(4.) the high stimulus in Christian work, the certainty of being rewarded by Christ.
ILLUSTRATIONS
BY
REV. WILLIAM ADAMSON
Scripture-Symbolism! Exo. 39:1-43.
1. When God uses natural objects in His Word, notes Brown, as illustrations of spiritual truth, He did not take them, as we should have taken them, simply because He saw them to be apt illustrations of the subject, but that He had an eye to their use for this purpose when He made them. He did not, in fact, use them because they were apt illustrations of the truths inculcated, but He made them in order that, among other purposes, they might be such. The sun was not employed by God to emblematise the Lord Jesus, because He recognised in it a fit emblem, but God made the sun with the very object of being such, amongst other objects.
2. So with all the tabernacle and its adjuncts, God enjoined their manufacture and construction, not because they were, but because He would have them to be striking symbolssilent, symbolic sermons. The poet speaks of sermons in stones and in the running brooks. In the tabernacle accessories are such sermonsdesignedly arranged for Israels instruction in the mysteries of the kingdom of God. As such, we should recognise them. They are expressly appointed by God to be earthly shadows of heavenly realities.
The key that opens to all mysteries,
The Word in character, God in the voice.
Each page of Thine hath true life int,
And Gods bright mind expressd in print.
Vaughan.
Holiness-Hints! Exo. 39:1, &c. Who can ever forget the vision of the apocalyptic seer, known as that of the white-robed and palm-bearing multitude? (Revelation 7) The Patmos exile had just been witnessing scenes of judgment and terror. How grateful and soothing, then, to him, must have been this lull in the stormthis bright though momentary glimpse through the midst of the tempestuous clouds. The words must have fallen on his ear with serenest music. But what signify the array of white robes?
1. Such was the scene in the fourth century, in the age of Constantine, and the general conversion of the empire from Paganism to Christianity. Not, however, in the visible Church, though it had the seal of baptism, enrolled its members in church registers, and enrobed them in white, with crowns and palms. No, the allusion is to the invisible Church of that era. It had in the spirit impressing the image of Jesus a more enduring sealin the Lambs Book of Life a more enduring registrationand in the divine holiness of heart and life a more lustrous purity.
2. Such will be the scene in the latter days, before the millennial dawn. The passage, it has been said, is like a mirror set in eternity, in which the believer sees reflected his future character and condition. We all, beholding as in a glass our heavenly glory, are encouraged to look forward to the time when we shall have white robes, i.e., when the holy services of the heavenly temple shall be performed by us as holy servants of God (Rev. 7:15).
Palm-bearing, white-robed multitudes who sing
Salvation, honour, praise, and glory to their Lord the King.
Gold-Wire, &c. Exo. 39:3.
(1.) Some of the mummy cloths which are preserved are of beautiful texture, and bespeak a high degree of excellence for those who manufactured them. The finest kind resemble muslin, and are very thin and transparent. Some of them are fringed like silk shawls; others have strong salvages, with stripes of blue, the dye of which has been determined to be indigo. One specimen is covered with hieroglyphics, drawn with exceeding fineness. Gold and silver wire was used at a very early date in Egypt in weaving and embroidery.
(2.) If gold is symbolic of the divine excellence, does it not teach us that in all the hangings of the Sacred Scriptures, i.e., in all the word-veils and curtains, the elements of divine excellence is discernible? May it not also teach us that all our works for God, all our efforts of service for Him, should have the element of divine excellence interwoven with them? Not, however, that this is to be done as rendering our works works of merit, but because their beauty is thus enhanced, and as an acknowledgment that they are for His glory.
Take my life, and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee:
Take myself, and I will be
Ever only ALL for Thee.
Breastplate-Stones! Exo. 39:10-14. The minute account in Exodus and Revelation of the jewels that adorned the sacerdotal apparel and the walls of the heavenly city, indicate, says Macmillan, the symbolic reverence attached to their use by the Jews. And this belief in their mystic qualities passed from India and Persia to Greece and Rome. After playing a considerable part in the Gnostic systems of Alexandria, this belief was finally transferred to the Christian Church, as we find Bishop Marbuf of Rennes, in the eleventh century, versifying their talismanic influences in his curious Lapidarium. This is an illustration of the sure darkening of Scripture truth during the dark ages. No such influences are ascribed to these precious stones in the Word of God; though, doubtless, they symbolise moral and spiritual perfections in the Christians. They shall be Mine, faith the Lord, in that day when I make up My JEWELS. Then
Christ alone beareth me
Where Thou dost shine;
Joint-heir He maketh me
Of the Divine;
In Christ my soul shall be
Nearest, my God, to Thee,
Nearest to Thee.
Little Things! Exo. 39:20. One of the most astonishing results of the scientific expedition lately undertaken to dredge the bottom of the Atlantic was the discovery of organismsdelicate as hoarfrostliving at a depth of four or five thousand feet. All that enormous mass of water rested above them, and yet they were as safe and uninjured as the tender blossom that unfolds in the summer air. Still more wonderful, remarks Macmillan, is the discovery which the geologist is constantly making of microscopic shells and other forms of life, of most delicate organisation, in rocks that have been subjected to the most tremendous pressure. An infants touch could crush them to atoms, and yet they have shared uninjured in movements which have displaced continents, upheaved huge mountain chains, and shaken the earth to its very centre. All these, like the pins and taches of the tabernacle, have their place and functions in nature. And so all parts of Scripture have each their place and function in the mystery of God. The verses in this chapter, little and unimportant as they seem, are essential to the Bible unity. As such, God has preserved them amid the upheavings of the Jewish nation and the Gentile world. They are part of our heritage to-day. They are
Marked, with the seal of high divinity,
Their every thought bedewed with drops of love
Divine, and with the eternal heraldry
And signature of God Almighty stampt,
Pollok.
Testimony-Tabernacle! Exo. 39:21. As the Word of God is the light to direct us, and to detect errors, so it is also the standard and beam to try the weights of truth and falsehood. Therefore our Lord, knowing, says Bishop Jewell, that there should be such confusion of things in the latter days, commandeth that Christians, who live in the profession of Christian faith, and are desirous to settle themselves upon a sure ground of faith, should go to no other thing but to the Scriptures. Otherwise, if they had regard to other things, they should be offended and perish, and not understand which is the true Church. The master of a ship, when he is on the main sea, casts his eye always upon the lode-star, and so directs and guides his ways. Even so must we, who are passengers and strangers in this world, ever settle our eyes to behold the Word of God; so shall no tempest overblow us; so shall we be guided without danger; so shall we arrive safely in the haven of our rest. This is the rule of our faith. Therefore, Christ saith, Search the Scriptures; they are they that testify of Me.
O child of sorrow, be it thine to know
That Scripture only is the cure of woe;
That field of promisehow it flings abroad
Its perfume oer the Christians thorny road.
The soul, reposing in assured belief,
Feels herself happy amidst all her grief;
Forgets her labour as she toils along,
Weeps tears of joy, and bursts into a song.
Scripture-Secrets! Exo. 39:22 to Exo. 30:1. Many years age Rassam, the famous explorer and orientalist, searched the ruing in Assyria to no purpose for ancient remains. Within the last two years, he has again gone forth to examine the very same ruins, under the firm conviction that treasures are there, though he had failed to discover them. This time he has been eminently successful; and very soon the literary world will have rare gems of history set before them for study and instruction.
2. Long years ago, we searched these Mosaic mounds, but failed to discover truth-treasures hidden within. But subsequent and more recent investigation has proved successful. We have found Messianic-treasurestablets of Gospel truth among the tabernacle-articles of Moses. They were there before, but we failed to discover them. Now we rejoice in them.
3. Is it not so with all the Scriptures! Bunyan, in his Grace Abounding, says that while he was shut up in Bedford Jail he never had in all his life so great an inlet into the Word of God. Those Scriptures that I saw nothing in before are made in this place and state to shine upon one. And this experience has been the experience of others also, especially when suffering for the truths sake.
There is a Lamp, whose steady light
Guides the poor traveller in the night:
Tis Gods own Word! Its beaming ray
Can turn a midnight into day.
Belts.
Bells! Exo. 39:25. Who invented bells we know not. Probably they were devised, at a very early period of the worlds history, by the musical genius of Jubal, who is called in Genesis 4 the father of all such as handle the harp and organ. But this and Zechariah are the only two books in which we have direct reference to bells. Maurice mentions that one indispensable ceremony in the Indian Poojah is the ringing of a small bell by the officiating Brahminic priest. The women of the idol, or dancing girls of the pagoda, have little golden bells fastened to their feetthe soft harmonious tinkling of which vibrates in unison with the exquisite melody of their voices. Calmet calls attention to the fact that the ancient kings of Persia, who in fact united in their own persons the regal and sacerdotal office, were accustomed to have the fringes of their robes adorned with pomegranates and golden bells. The Arabian princesses wore rings, to which tiny golden bells were suspended. But no bells ever sounded so sweet and melodious as those on the Great High Priests robes. The ministers of Christ, when preaching the glad tidings of salvation, are those bells; and it is Jesus who enables them to send forth sweet strains.
Ye monarchs from the eastern land,
Ye heathen from far island strand,
Come up, come up, ye people all,
His voice the whole wide world doth call;
The Saviour preaches from the mount.
Mitre-Material! Exo. 39:28.
(Exo. 39:1.) In Chron Exo. 39:6, this ornament is called nezer, from a verb signifying to separate; and hence denoting a crown as a mark of separation or distinction. The same word is applied to the diadem of kings. Indeed, such turbans of fine linen, with an encircling or front ornament of gold or precious stones, seem to have been the usual diadems of ancient kings. Justin says that Alexander the Great took his diadem from his head to bind up the wounds of Lysimachus. This shows clearly that it was of linen. Probably, it had some distinguishing ornament like that of the high priest here.
2. Jahn says curiously enough that, in the time of Josephus, the shape of the mitre had become somewhat altered. It was circular, was covered with a piece of fine linen, and sat so closely on the upper part of the head that it would not fall off when the body was bent down: apparently it did not cover the whole of the head. It may be that there is mystical reference to the crown of gold worn by each of those who exulted before God in the acknowledgment that He had made them prince-priests unto Himself. Each cast his mitre-coronet down before Him, who sat upon the throne, singing
I bless Thee, gracious Father, for Thy pleasant gift to me,
And earnestly I ask Thee, that it may always be
In perfect consecration laid at Thy glorious feet,
Touched with Thine altar-fire, and made an offering pure and sweet.
Havergal.
Labour-Lessons! Exo. 39:32, &c.
1. Duty and desire! (Exo. 39:43.)
(1.) That it is the duty and should be the desire of the workmen to submit their work to the builder or surveyor. This applies to Scripture readers, teachers, and pastors.
(2.) That it is the duty and should be the desire of the builder or surveyor to scrutinise the work on its completion. This applies to chief pastors, the Church, and the Christ of God.
2. Destiny and delight! (Exo. 39:43.)
(1.) That it is the destiny and should be the delight of the surveyor to record his approval of work well done. This is true of chief pastors, the Church, and the Christ.
(2.) That it is the destiny and should be the delight of the workmen to receive the approval of the surveyor of the work when complete. This is true of Scripture readers, teachers, and pastors.
3. Dignity and design! (Exo. 40:34.)
(1.) That it is the dignity and should be the design of the proprietor to recognise the completion of his house. This may refer to the Church, the Christ, or God.
(2.) That it is the dignity and should be the design of the builder and workmen to rejoice in the proprietors recognition of their handiwork. See our Lords parables, Pauls epistles, and Johns apocalypse for admirable illustrations of the above.
Glory waits the faithful workmen
Who perform their Masters will; Then,
O Christians, will ye weary
Of this work of building still!
Allis.
Church-Building! Exo. 39:32.
1. Peep of Day furnishes a very different account of the erection of the first church in Tahiti. In the year 1800, the missionaries determined to build a place of prayer. Hitherto they had only met together in a room in their own house, just as Israel probably had held their services at the tent of Moses or Aaron. King Pomare seemed pleased with the plan, and promised to set his people to work. The brethren, however, found this assistance of little use. Pomares servants set about the work eagerly, but soon grew weary of it, as they did of all their undertakings, unless encouraged by continual feastings. They also did the work so ill, that they gave the missionaries more trouble than they did them service. In March, the first wooden pillars were reared to form the walls; and, as the workmen proceeded, they jeered at Christ, and scoffingly marked each pillar with His name. But the missionaries earnestly hoped that those pillars would hereafter be witnesses to the conversion of the heathen.
To give them songs for sighing,
Their darkness turn to light,
Whose souls, condemned and dying,
Were precious in His sight.
Montgomery.
Well-doing! Exo. 39:32. It is recorded of these Israelites that they did not weary in the work appointed. All that the Lord commanded Moses, that they did accordingly. Alas! how many, whether in the uprearing of the tabernacle of a holy life, or in the erection of a house to His name, become weary. How readily does it creep over the most vigilant man 1 Of how many has it to be said, This man began to build and was not able to finish! Not able, because not willing,not able, because inconstant,not able, because weary in well-doing. How, under the dread spell of inconstancy, exclaims Punshon, have fair plants been withered, generous youth launched into premature age, and the edifice of Christian graces stayed in its erection! Unlike Israel, they have not continued steadfast and immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. Forgetting that they have the Divine assurance that their work shall not be in vain in the Lord, when He says Well done, they have become like the stream
Which, smiling, left the mountains brow,
As if its waters none could sever;
Yet, when it reachd the plain below,
In the sand-desert sank for ever.
Ark of Testimony! Exo. 39:35. The apocalyptic seer tells us in Rev. 11:19, that he saw the temple of God opened in heaven. The impenetrable veil, which screens from mortal sight the mysteries of that true Holy of Holies, was for a moment drawn aside, And what was the disclosure made to the eye of the apostle! The ark of His testimony! What a glorious and comforting vision wherewith to terminate all the previous terrific trumpet soundingsthose symbols of wrath and judgment, more awful and awe-inspiring than the Sinaitic peals and flashes! He gazes on the familiar emblem, so often and so long associated with the fortunes and the history of the Hebrew peoplethe palladium of their libertiesthe rallying-point in every hour of disasterthe true COVENANT ARK. In it he recognises a figure of the Great Propitiatorythe true mercy-seat; in the glories of whose Divine person, and the fulness of whose mediatorial work, is the pledge and guarantee of eternal safety and peace.
O Master, at Thy feet
I bow in rapture sweet!
Before me, as in darkening glass,
Some glorious outlines pass,
Of love, and truth, and holiness, and power;
I own them THINS, O Christ, and bless Thee for this hour.
Havergal.
Candlestick! Exo. 39:37. The Church, it has been said, is a golden light-bearer, and therefore at once precious and luminous. Zion is Gods peculiar heritage; its members are His jewels, acquired by an immeasurable ransom, and therefore properly symbolised by an article made of solid gold. One of the chief functions of the Church has ever been to give light. All the true light enjoyed by the ancient world streamed out from the candlestick which God set up in His chosen people, and still more largely was this the case in the new economy. It was intended to be diffusive and propagandist; but only by the force of lightthe manifestation of the truth.
Whereer I go, whereer I stand,
In valley dark, or mountainland,
At noon, or neath the midnight drear,
That Golden Light still shines most clear.
Gerot.
Golden-Altar! Exo. 39:38. Solemn and imposing, says Macduff, must have been the scene on the Great Day of Atonement, when the Jewish high priest, divested of his wonted gorgeous robes, and habited in a pure white vestment, stood before the great brazen altar. After the preliminary sin-offerings, &c., burning coals were taken by him from the altar and deposited in a golden censer. Carrying with him a handful of sweet incense, he proceeded within the curtain into the Holiest of all. As he stood in this august presence-chamber of Jehovah, he took a portion of it beaten small, and cast it among the burning embers. The cloud enveloped the mercy-seat, the fumes filling the most holy place with grateful odours. Hence Rev. 8:3, Another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer, &c. This is Jesus, the great antitypical High Priest, standing in the heavenly temple. Therefore we need not fear: He will undertake.
Give to the winds thy fears;
Hope and be undismayed;
God hears thy sighs, and counts thy tears,
God shall lift up thy head.
Incense-Materials! Exo. 39:38.
1. Stacte! Some say the distilled myrrh or gum; but Rosenmuller points out that it has been described as a species of storax gum, transparent like a tear, and resembling myrrh. This tree is found in Syria.
2. Onycha! Kalisch says that it is found in the waters of Arabia, that it is the crustaceous covering of the shells of certain fish, that it is frequently used in the present day for incense, and that, though by no means fragrant, yet it enhances the fragrance of other ingredients.
3. Galbanum! Pliny says that it was employed as an ingredient in perfumes, and that it was so used to make the odours more lasting. It has always been used in medicine; but, though so long known, the plant itself is still a matter of dispute.
4. Frankincense! This well-known odoriferous resin is obtained from a large tree which grows in the mountainous parts of India. It is extremely fragrant, and exudes naturally from the bark. An inferior kind was found in Arabia. There can be little doubt that these have each their spiritual significance. But since it is now difficult to distinguish their origin, &c., we are without a clue, except so far as the New Testament tells us, what are the genuine ingredients of true and acceptable prayer.
Prayer is the burden of a sigh,
The falling of a tear,
The upward glancing of an eye
When none but God is near.
Montgomery.
Atonement-Day Incense. Exo. 39:38. Macmillan observes that on the golden altar a censer full of incense poured forth its fragrant clouds every morning and evening. Yearly, as the day of atonement came round, when the high priest entered the Holy of Holies, he filled a censer with live coals from the sacred fire on the altar of burnt-offerings, and bore it into the sanctuary, where he threw upon the burning coals the sweet incense. Without this smoking censer, he was forbidden, on pain of death, to enter into the awful shrine of Jehovah. Notwithstanding the washing of his flesh, and the linen garments with which he was clothed, he dare not enter the Holiest of all with the blood of atonement unless he could personally shelter himself under a cloud of incense.
I need Thee, precious Jesus!
For I am full of sin;
My soul is dark and guilty,
My heart is dead within.
Whitfield.
Tabernacle-Life! Exo. 39:42.
1. When King Pomare began to build the first Christian chapel in Tahiti some sixty years ago, he had not observed that a stream of water ran in a slanting direction through it. The builders might have tried to turn the course of this stream, which flowed from the mountains into the sea, but they decided to allow it to pass through the sanctuary. We think those who sat near it must have been reminded, by the sight of this living stream, of the living water that Jesus gives to those who ask Him, and of that crystal river that makes glad the city of God.
2. Israel did not, probably, when they at first began to construct the tabernacle, perceive that from the hills of eternal truth a river flowed onwards and downwards through it to the eternal sea. Afterwards, they did see that there was such a symbolic stream making glad the holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High. Many persons connected with the uprearing of the superstructure of temple-grace see not the Gospel-stream,the river of life,flowing through the fabric of the visible church-tabernacle in this desert of sin.
This beautiful stream is the river of life,
It flows for all nations free;
A balm for each wound
In its waters is found;
O sinner, it flows for THEE!
Duty Done! Exo. 39:42.
1. On one occasion, at a crowded dinner-table, Webster was asked what his greatest thought was. Looking about on the company, he inquired whether all were his friends. On receiving an affirmative assurance, he said, The greatest thought that ever entered my mind was that of my personal responsibility to a personal God. He expanded that idea in conversation for ten minutes and then left the room.
2. The same man on another occasion said, There is no evil that we cannot either face or flee from, but the consciousness of duty disregarded. A sense of duty pursues us ever. It is omnipresent like the Deity. Whereever we go, whatever we are busied about, duty performed, or duty violated, is still with us for our happiness or misery. We cannot escape the power, nor fly from the presence of duty.
3. What must, then, have been the emotions of Moses and Israel when their duty was done? Conscious of their works completion, how heartfelt was their sense of happiness. If we neglect our duty, we cannot escape from the consciousness of pain in its violation; and, on the other hand, if we do as the Lord commands us, there is the consolation awaiting our completed work, Well done, good and faithful servant,
When, when shall that great day appear,
In which all His that voice shall hear,
Each knee bow down in reverence deep.
All flesh before Him silence keep!
Servant of God, well done! well done.
Finished Beauty! Exo. 39:43.
1. If any one had looked in upon Raphael, while in his studio working out the first rough draught of his immortal Transfiguration, he might have seen nothing that was attractive. As Cuyler says, vague outlines or coarse blotches of paint were all that the canvass could yet show of the worlds master-piece of art. The artist himself could say to the visitor, Wait until the picture is done; it will be beautiful in its time.
2. So with the tabernacle. Hobab and the Egyptian camp-followers may have commented on the confined labours of the tabernacle-toilers. But, as the time to see Raphaels picture was when it was hung in its matchless loveliness above the dead masters coffin at Rome; so the time to see the beauty of the tent of God was whenupreared under the shadow of Sinaiit stood in all its exquisitely simple grace.
3. And so with the temple of God. His workers are men busily employed in its erection. The world remarks on the apparent roughness and confusion on all sides; yet how beautiful will that workmanship be in its time! Then the scaffoldings and seatings will all be swept away, Messiah will look upon the work and exclaim, It is finished, while all His coworkers will see on every column and frieze and architrave, the beauty of our God (Rev. 21:23).
Oh none can tell Thy bulwarks,
How gloriously they rise;
Oh none can tell Thy capitals
Of beautiful device!
Pure mansion of pure people,
Whom Gods own love and light
Promote, increase, make holy,
Identify, UNITE.
Bernard.
Scripture-Scenery! Exo. 39:43.
1. John Bunyan in his immortal allegory says, By this time the Pilgrims had a desire to go forward, and the shepherds a desire they should; so they walked together towards the end of the mountains. Then said the shepherds one to another, Let us here show the pilgrims the gates to the celestial city, if they have skill to look through our perspective glass. The pilgrims then lovingly accepted the motion; so they had them to the top of a high hill called CLEAR, and gave them the glass to look. But their hands shook so, that they could not look steadily through the glass; yet they saw some of the glory of the place.
2. The ministers of God earnestly desire that their flock should, through the glass of faith, behold the Messianic glory around and within the gates to the Pentateuch and its tabernacle. The writer has himself brought his readers towards the end of the Exodus mountains, up to the lofty summit called CLEAR; and all that he can do is to bid them take the perspective glass and behold Christs glory in these chapters Alas I how many are there who take the glass, and gaze through upon the gates, predetermined not to witness Messiahs loveliness there.
Oh may these heavenly pages be
My ever dear delight;
And still new beauties may I see,
And still increasing light.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
THE TEXT OF EXODUS
TRANSLATION
39 And of the blue, and purple, and scarlet, they made finely wrought garments, for ministering in the holy place, and made the holy garments for Aar-on; as Je-ho-vah commanded Mo-ses.
(2) And he made the eph-od of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen. (3) And they did beat the gold into thin plates, and cut it into wires, to work it in the blue, and in the purple, and in the scarlet, and in the fine linen, the work of the skilful workman. (4) They made shoulder-pieces for it, joined together; at the two ends was it joined together. (5) And the skilfully woven band, that was upon it, wherewith to gird it on, was of the same piece and like the work thereof; of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen; as Je-ho-vah commanded Mo-ses.
(6) And they wrought the onyx stones, inclosed in settings of gold, graven with the engravings of a signet, according to the names of the children of Is-ra-el. (7) And he put them on the shoulder-pieces of the eph-od, to be stones of memorial for the children of Is-ra-el; as Je-ho-vah commanded Mo-ses.
(8) And he made the breastplate, the work of the skilful workman, like the work of the eph-od; of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen. (9) It was foursquare; they made the breastplate double: a span was the length thereof, and a span the breadth thereof, being double. (10) And they set in it four rows of stones. A row of sardius, topaz, and carbuncle was the first row; (11) and the second row, an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond; (12) and the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; (13) and the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper: they were inclosed in inclosings of gold in their settings. (14) And the stones were according to the names of the children of Is-ra-el, twelve, according to their names; like the engravings of a signet, every one according to his name, for the twelve tribes. (15) And they made upon the breastplate chains like cords, of wreathen work of pure gold. (16) And they made two settings of gold, and two gold rings, and put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate. (17) And they put the two wreathen chains of gold in the two rings at the ends of the breastplate. (18) And the other two ends of the two wreathen chains they put on the two settings, and put them on the shoulder-pieces of the eph-od, in the forepart thereof. (19) And they made two rings of gold, and put them upon the two ends of the breastplate, upon the edge thereof, which was toward the side of the eph-od inward. (20) And they made two rings of gold, and put them on the two shoulder-pieces of the eph-od underneath, in the forepart thereof, close by the coupling thereof, above the skilfully woven band of the eph-od. (21) And they did bind the breastplate by the rings thereof unto the rings of the eph-od with a lace of blue, that it might be upon the skilfully woven band of the eph-od, and that the breastplate might not be loosed from the eph-od; as Je-ho-vah commanded Mo-ses.
(22) And he made the robe of the eph-od of woven work, all of blue; (23) and the hole of the robe in the midst thereof, as the hole of a coat of mail, with a binding round about the hole of it, that it should not be rent. (24) And they made upon the skirts of the robe pomegranates of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen, (25) And they made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates upon the skirts of the robe round about, between the pomegranates; (26) a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, upon the skirts of the robe round about, to minister in; as Je-ho-vah commanded Mo-ses.
(27) And they made the coats of fine linen of woven work for Aar-on, and for his sons, (28) and the mitre of fine linen, and the goodly head-tires of fine linen, and the linen breeches of fine twisted linen, (29) and the girdle of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, the work of the embroiderer; as Je-ho-vah commanded Mo-ses.
(30) And they made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote upon it a writing, like the engravings of a signet, HOLY TO JE-HO-VAH. (31) And they tied unto it a lace of blue, to fasten it upon the mitre above; as Je-ho-vah commanded Mo-ses.
(32) Thus was finished all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting: and the children of Is-ra-el did according to all that Je-ho-vah commanded Mo-ses; so did they. (33) And they brought the tabernacle unto Mo-ses, the Tent, and all its furniture, its clasps, its boards, its bars, and its pillars, and its sockets; (34) and the covering of rams skins dyed red, and the covering of sealskins, and the veil of the screen; (35) the ark of the testimony, and the staves thereof, and the mercy-seat; (36) the table, all the vessels thereof, and the showbread; (37) the pure candlestick, the lamps thereof, even the lamps to be set in order, and all the vessels thereof, and the oil for the light; (38) and the golden altar, and the anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the screen for the door of the Tent; (39) the brazen altar, and its grating of brass, its staves, and all its vessels, the laver and its base; (40) the hangings of the court, its pillars, and its sockets, and the screen for the gate of the court, the cords thereof, and the pins thereof, and all the instruments of the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of meeting; (41) the finely wrought garments for ministering in the holy place, and the holy garments for Aar-on the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priests office. (42) According to all that Je-ho-vah commanded Mo-ses, so the children of Is-ra-el did all the work. (43) And Mo-ses saw all the work, and, behold, they had done it; as Je-ho-vah had commanded, even so had they done it: and Mo-ses blessed them.
EXPLORING EXODUS: CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
1.
Topic: Priests garments; Finished Work Presented. Much of the material in this chapter is parallel to material in chapter twenty-eight. Note that seven times in this chapter (and eight times in chapter forty) it says that things were made as God commanded Moses (Exo. 39:5, passim).
2.
Outline: A. Garments of priests; Exo. 39:1-31.
(1)
Materials; Exo. 39:1.
(2)
Ephod; Exo. 39:2-5.
(3)
Onyx shoulder-stones; Exo. 39:6-7.
(4)
Breastplate; Exo. 39:8-21.
(5)
Robe of ephod; Exo. 39:22-26.
(6)
Coats, head-coverings, breeches, girdle; Exo. 39:27-29.
(7)
Golden plate; Exo. 39:30-31.
B. Tabernacle brought to Moses; Exo. 39:32-43.
3.
Parallel passages: (See the notes on the earlier parallel passages.)
(1)
Exo. 39:1 (Materials) Exo. 28:1-5.
(2)
Exo. 39:2-7 (Ephod) Exo. 28:6-13.
(3)
Exo. 39:8-21 (Breastplate) Exo. 28:15-30.
(4)
Exo. 39:22-26 (Robe) Exo. 28:31-35.
(5)
Exo. 39:27-29 (Coat mitre, girdle) Exo. 28:39-40; Exo. 28:42-43.
(6)
Exo. 39:30-31 (Golden plate) Exo. 28:36-38.
(Observe how closely the order of items described in chapter 39 follows the order in chapter 28.)
4.
Questions on Exodus 38 answerable from the Bible:
(1)
How were gold wires (or threads) obtained for weaving into the ephod? (Exo. 39:3; Exo. 28:6)
(2)
What is the golden plate on Aarons mitre called in Exo. 39:30? Compare Exo. 28:36.
(3)
How fully did Israel carry out Jehovahs commands about making the tabernacle: (Exo. 39:32; Exo. 39:42)
(4)
To whom were the items of tabernacle furniture bought? (Exo. 39:33)
(5)
What was brought with the pure candlestick? (Exo. 39:37; Compare Exo. 25:37-38.)
(6)
What is the golden altar? (Exo. 39:38; Exo. 30:3; Exo. 37:25-26; Exo. 40:26-27)
(7)
What was Moses response to the people who brought the tabernacle? (Exo. 39:43)
5.
Notes:
Exo. 39:1 Regarding the King James reading cloths of service, see Exo. 31:10. Concerning the blue, purple, scarlet, see Exo. 25:4; Exo. 35:23.
Exo. 39:3 The information about the obtaining of gold threads by cutting from thinly beaten-out sheets of gold is given only here.
Exo. 39:10-13 Exo. 39:10 may be translated And they shall fill in it four rows of stone(s). …
We do not know with certainty the identity or the modern names of all the gemstones mentioned.[463] Neither do we know how the names of the tribes were positioned upon the gemstones. But, using the arrangement of the tribes encampments in Numbers two as a guide, and arranging the names from right to left (like Hebrew writing), we propose the following:
[463] See Jewels, Interpreters Dictionary of The Bible, Vol 2 (New York: Abingdon, 1962), pp. 898902.
ZEBULUN Carbuncle (Green emerald)
ISSACHAR Topaz (Green peridot)
JUDAH Sardius (Red Carnelian)
GAD Diamond (Transparent, hard?)
SIMEON Sapphire (Blue lapis-lazuli)
REUBEN Emerald (Rich green turquoise)
BENJAMIN Amethyst (Purple quartz)
MANASSEH Agate (Banded red, white, brown)
EPHRA1M Jacinth (Orange color)
NAPHTALI Jasper (Red-brown, yellow)
ASHER Onyx (Banded milky-white, black, red)
DAN Beryl (Sea-green feldspar)
Exo. 39:22 We are not told exactly where the priest wore the robe of the ephod. We suppose it was worn under the ephod and under the breastplate, so that it did not cover the gems of the breastplate or the gorgeous ephod. The bells and pomegranates would hang below the ephod.
Exo. 39:29 The singular girdle with the definite article does appear to refer to Aarons girdle. There is no special description of the girdles of Aarons sons that are referred to in Exo. 28:40. We suppose that those were made of the same materials and in the same form as Aarons, and that the singular girdle in Exo. 39:29 is a collective, or generic, expression referring to the girdles of all priests. (See Keil and Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament, Vol. 2, pp. 253254.)
Exo. 39:30 The golden plate is called a crown (diadem) here. In Exo. 28:36 it is spoken of as a plate of gold.
Exo. 39:31 The construction details end at Exo. 39:31.
Exo. 39:32 Cassuto (op. cit., p. 476) says that the word finished in Exo. 39:32 recalls Gen. 2:1 to our minds, where God finished the work of creation. (The same verb is used in both verses.) He feels that there are intentional parallels made between the completion of creation and the completion of the tabernacle. Compare Exo. 39:43 and Gen. 1:31 (Moses/God saw.); Exo. 39:43 and Gen. 1:22; Gen. 1:28 (Moses/God blessed.) This idea seems to us rather weakly supported by the evidence.
Exo. 39:33 Tabernacle in Exo. 39:33 probably refers to the inner curtains. Tent probably refers to the goats hair curtains. See Exo. 40:19; Exo. 26:13.
Exo. 39:34 The veil of the screen (K.J.V., vail of the covering) refers to the veil between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. Compare Exo. 39:38; Exo. 35:12; Exo. 35:15; Exo. 40:3; Exo. 40:21.
Exo. 39:37 A new expression lamps of the order (or arrangement) appears in this verse. The expression uses a form of the word order employed in Exo. 27:21 : Aaron and his sons shall keep it in order from evening to morning before Jehovah. The lamps were to be positioned in such an arrangement that they would give light toward the opposite side of the room.
Exo. 39:40 Regarding the hanging of the court, see Exo. 27:9-15; Exo. 38:9-17.
Exo. 39:42 Credit was given to all the children of Israel, not just to the principal craftsmen.
Exo. 39:43 How Moses must have rejoiced to see the tabernacle completed! Less than two years before he had been a fearful shepherd. Now he has lived to see the fulfillment of Gods promise: Ye shall serve God upon this mountain (Exo. 3:12).
The work of building the tabernacle had been brief, but probably arduous. In a little over five months all the work had been done. See Exo. 19:1; Exo. 24:18; Exo. 34:28; Exo. 40:2.
The words as Jehovah had commanded describe ALL the work done. It was necessary to make the tabernacle according to HIS directions. Only God knew what was His plan to redeem man. Only God knew what pleased Him.
Jewish tradition attributes Psalms 90 to this occasion of completing the tabernacle. (J. H. Hertz, Pentateuch and Haftorahs, p. 388.) Note Psa. 90:17, the closing words of the psalm: Establish thou the work of our hands upon us; Yea, the work of our hands, establish thou it. The Psalm is attributed to Moses by its title, but the idea that it was composed for this occasion is not a certainty.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(1) Cloths of service.See Note on Exo. 31:10.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
XXXIX.
THE MAKING OF THE HOLY GARMENTS.
(1-31) This section corresponds to Exo. 28:5-40, but does not follow exactly the same order. Exo. 39:2-7 correspond to Exo. 39:5-12 of Exodus 28; Exo. 39:8-21 to Exo. 39:13-28; Exo. 39:22-26 to Exo. 39:31-35; but after this a dislocation occurs. Exo. 39:27-29 correspond to Exo. 39:39-42 of Exodus 28, and Exo. 39:30-31 to Exo. 39:36-38. It is not clear why any change was made. The order observed in Exodus 28 seems preferable.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
THE HOLY GARMENTS OF THE PRIESTS, Exo 39:1-31 See notes on Exodus 28.
ALL BROUGHT TO MOSES AND APPROVED, Exo 39:32-43.
How long the preparation of the different parts of the tabernacle required we are not told, but the zeal and diligence implied in the willing offerings of the people warrant the belief that the whole would have been completed in a few months. According to Josephus, the whole time they were engaged in this work was seven months. ( Ant., 3: 8, 4.) As Moses had received by revelation in the mount the plan and pattern of the tabernacle, it was necessary that all the parts should finally be submitted to him for acceptance and blessing.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Making of the Priestly Garments ( Exo 39:1-31 ).
Exo 39:1
‘And of the bluey-violet, and purpley-red, and scarlet, they made finely wrought garments, for ministering in the holy place, and made the holy garments for Aaron, as Yahweh commanded Moses.’
We now move on to the making of the priestly garments to be used by the priests for ministering in the Holy Place, and those made especially for the use of ‘the Priest’. All was done ‘as Yahweh commanded Moses’ (a constant refrain).
The Ephod.
Exo 39:2-5
‘And he made the ephod of gold, bluey-violet, and purpley-red, and scarlet, and fine twined linen. And they beat the gold into thin plates, and cut it into wires, to work it into the bluey-violet, and into the purpley-red, and into the scarlet, and into the fine linen, the work of the skilful workman. They made shoulder-pieces for it, joined together; it was joined together at the two ends. And the skilfully woven band, that was on it, with which to gird it on, was of the same piece and like its work. It was of gold, of bluey-violet, and purpley-red, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, as Yahweh commanded Moses.’
For further details of these see on Exo 28:6-8. Note the explanation of how the gold was interwoven with the cloth which is only mentioned here. Possibly Moses had watched them at work.
“ As Yahweh commanded Moses.” This refrain will appear throughout the chapter. It was important that Yahweh’s instructions were seen to be carried out.
The Shoulder Stones For The Ephod
Exo 39:6-7
‘And they wrought the onyx stones, enclosed in settings of gold, graven with the engravings of a signet, according to the names of the children of Israel. And he put them on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, to be stones of memorial for the children of Israel; as Yahweh commanded Moses.’
The actual making of the stones engraved with the names of the children of Israel, to be borne on the shoulder of the ephod, to keep them ever before Yahweh, is described here. See on Exo 28:9-12.
The Breastpouch.
Exo 39:8-14
‘And he made the breastpouch, the work of the skilful workman, like the work of the ephod; of gold, of bluey-violet, and purpley-red, and scarlet, and fine twined linen. It was foursquare. They made the breastpouch double: a span was its length, and a span its breadth, being double. And they set in it four rows of stones. A row of sardius, chrysolite, and beryl was the first row; and the second row, a garnet, a lapis lazuli, and an onyx; and the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; and the fourth row, a turquoise, a sardonyx, and a jaspar: they were enclosed in enclosures of gold in their settings. And the stones were in accordance with the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names; like the engravings of a signet, every one according to his name, for the twelve tribes.’
Here we have the description of the making of the breastpouch to contain the Urim and Thummim, together with its twelve stones engraved to represent the tribes of Israel. See for further details on Exo 28:13-21.
Exo 39:15-21
‘And they made on the breastpouch chains like cords, of interwoven work of pure gold. And they made two settings of gold, and two gold rings, and put the two rings on the two ends of the breastpouch. And they put the two intertwined chains of gold in the two rings at the ends of the breastpouch. And the other two ends of the two interwoven chains they put on the two settings, and put them on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, in its forepart. And they made two rings of gold, and put them on the two ends of the breastpouch, on its the edge, which was towards the side of the ephod inward. And they made two rings of gold, and put them on the two shoulder-pieces of the ephod underneath, in its forepart, close by its coupling, above the skilfully woven band of the ephod. And they bound the breastpouch by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it might be on the skilfully woven band of the ephod, and that the breastpouch might not be loosed from the ephod; as Yahweh commanded Moses.’
The making of the means by which the breastpouch was connected with the ephod is described in detail. See on Exo 28:22-28. Both the breastpouch and its connections were ‘as Yahweh commanded Moses’.
The Priestly Robe Under the Ephod.
Exo 39:22-26
‘And he made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue. And the hole of the robe in its middle, as the hole of a coat of mail, with a binding round about the hole of it, that it should not be torn. And they made on the skirts of the robe pomegranates of bluey/violet, and purpley-red, and scarlet, and twined linen. And they made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates on the skirts of the robe round about, between the pomegranates; a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, on the skirts of the robe round about, to minister in; as Yahweh commanded Moses.’
The making of the bluey-violet robe to be worn directly under the ephod is described, a kind of long, flowing tunic made to be slipped over the head, with the hole for the head having strong binding round it so that it would not tear, and thus introduce defect into the Holy Place, and decorated at the bottom of the skirt with pomegranates and bells in sequence, acting as an announcement to God that he was coming (as every servant had to be announced), and letting those outside know that he was still alive. They may also be seen as making a joyful noise to Yahweh. See for all this on Exo 28:31-35.
The Basic Robes, Head Gear and Breeches.
Exo 39:27-29
‘And they made the robes of fine linen of woven work for Aaron, and for his sons, and the turban of fine linen, and the goodly head-caps of fine linen, and the linen breeches of fine twined linen, and the girdle of fine twined linen, and bluey-violet, and purpley-red, and scarlet, the work of the embroiderer; as Yahweh commanded Moses.’
Then is described the making of the fine linen, woven robes. For Aaron this was the under-robe worn beneath the robe of the ephod. For his sons it was their basic robe, all of woven work. Also made was Aaron’s turban, the caps for the sons, the breeches, and the girdle of multi-coloured materials. It will be noted that here the breeches are mentioned along with the other garments, and not deliberately separated off as they were previously, but this is describing what was done, not initially introducing them. For all these see on Exo 28:39-43. They were all made exactly as Yahweh had commanded Moses.
The Golden Head-plate.
Exo 39:30
‘ And they made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote on it a text, like the engravings of a signet, HOLY TO YAHWEH. And they tied to it a lace of blue, to fasten it on over the turban; as Yahweh commanded Moses.’
And finally they made the golden head-plate to be worn over the turban, with its declaration that ‘the Priest’ was holy to Yahweh. See for details on Exo 28:36-38. This too was made as Yahweh had commanded Moses.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Ephod and its Girdle
v. 1. And of the blue and purple and scarlet, v. 2. And he made the ephod of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, v. 3. And they did beat the gold into thin plates, v. 4. They made shoulder-pieces for it to couple it together; by the two edges was it coupled together, v. 5. And the curious girdle of his ephod, that was upon it, was of the same, according to the work thereof, v. 6. And they wrought onyx stones, v. 7. And he put them on the shoulders of the ephod that they should be stones for a memorial to the children of Israel,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
EXPOSITION
Exo 39:1-31
THE FURTHER PROGRESS OF THE WORKTHE MAKING OF THE PRIESTS‘ DRESSES.
Exo 39:32-43
THE GENERAL APPROVAL OF THE WORK BY MOSES. The entire work for the structure of the tabernacle being completed, it only remained for Bezaleel and Aholiab to take in band the priestly vestments, which had been prescribed with the greatest elaboration in Exo 28:4-40. The present chapter is mainly occupied in relating how the vestments were made, and follows, very nearly, the order of the directions. Exo 39:1-7 correspond to Exo 28:5-14; Exo 39:8-21 to Exo 28:15-38; Exo 39:22-26 to Exo 28:31-34; Exo 39:27-29 to Exo 28:39, Exo 28:40; and Exo 39:30, Exo 39:31 to Exo 28:36, Exo 28:37. The remainder of the chapter (Exo 28:32-43) contains a recapitulation of the work done, and a statement that it was all submitted to Moses and approved by him,
Exo 39:1
Of the blue, and purple, and scarleti.e; of the blue, purple, and scarlet thread which had been spun by the women, and brought to Moses. See Exo 35:25. The omission of “fine linen” seems to be accidental. Cloths of service. See the comment on Exo 31:10.
Exo 39:3
They did beat the gold into thin plates and out it into wires. This mode of producing gold thread is remarkable, and had not been previously mentioned.
Exo 39:9
For a memorial. Compare Exo 28:12.
Exo 39:10-13
On the probable stones intended, see the comment upon Exo 28:17-20.
Exo 39:16
Two ouches of gold. Compare Exo 28:13 and Exo 28:25.
Exo 39:24
And twined linen. Rather “twined,” i.e; twisted together. There was no direction to use “fine twined linen” in making the pomegranates. See Exo 28:33.
Exo 39:27
Coats of fine linen of woven work for Aaron and for his sons. Compare Exo 27:1-21 :29 and 30.
Exo 39:28
A mitre and goodly bonnets. The “mitre” for Aaron (Exo 28:37-39), the “goodly bonnets,” or rather “caps” for his sons (Exo 28:40). The linen breeches, or “drawers,” were for both (Exo 28:42, Exo 28:43).
Exo 39:29
A girdle of fine twined linen, etc. In the directions of Exo 28:39, this is called simply, “A girdle of needlework.”
Exo 39:30, Exo 39:31
The plate of the holy crown. See Exo 29:6, and compare Exo 28:36. To fasten it on high. This was not mentioned in the directions, which only ordered that it should be placed in front (Exo 28:37).
Exo 39:32-43
Everything was brought to Moses for his approvalnot perhaps all things at once, but each as it was finishedand was judged by him “according to the pattern which he had seen upon the mount’ (Exo 25:40; Exo 26:30, etc.). The order observed in the enumeration is nearly, but not quite, the order in which it has been stated that the various things were made. We must suppose that if Moses disapproved of anything, it was rejected; but no disapproval is mentioned. Moses did look upon all the work, and behold, they had done it as the Lord commanded. Accordingly Moses concluded all by “blessing” them; thereby signifying, not his own approval only, but the Divine approval, of their diligence and obedience.
HOMILETICS
Exo 39:43
A blessing upon obedience.
It is not every kind of obedience that brings down a blessing upon it. To deserve the Divine approval, and obtain the Divine benediction, obedience must be, as was that here recorded
I. EXACT. “According to all that the Lord commanded, so the children of Israel made the work” (Exo 39:42). “As the Lord had commanded, even so had they done it” (Exo 39:43).
II. PROMPT. The work could not have commenced before the sixth or the seventh month, since Sinai was not reached till the third month (Exo 19:1), and Moses passed in conference with God nearly three months. Yet the whole was finished before the year was out (see Exo 40:1). Thus it appears that six months sufficed for the completion of everything.
III. INTELLIGENT. There was little misunderstandingfew, if any, mistakes. All comprehended the orders given to them, and each carried out his assigned portion. Unless this had been the case very generally, it is impossible that all would have been ready by the end of the year. The rapid completion of the work proves the intelligence of the workmen, Note what is said of their being “wise-hearted” (Exo 36:1, Exo 36:2, Exo 36:8). Men, for the most part, think to obtain the supreme blessing of eternal life, though their obedience has been
1. Partial and inexact;
2. tardy;
3. marred by misapprehension of the commands given them.
They do not seem to imagine that there will be any real inspection of their work, such as that which is here ascribed to Moses. “Moses did look upon all the work” (Exo 39:43). Yet surely at the last day, man’s work will be tested in some real, searching way. Whatever may be meant by the expression”The fire shall try every man’s work” (1Co 3:13), at any rate, some trial there will be. Faithful service to Christ will be rewarded by a blessing exceeding all that we can ask or think; but there will be minute inquiry, whether the service has been indeed faithful.
For further Homiletics on the subjects of this chapter, see those upon Exo 28:1-43.
HOMILIES BY J. ORR
Exo 39:1-32
The garments of the priests.
See Homily on Exo 28:1-43.J.O.
HOMILIES BY J. URQUHART
Exo 39:1-41
The Clothes of Service;
the work perfected.
I. THE PRIESTS‘ GARMENTS.
1. Their splendour. They were fashioned of gold and jewels, and blue, and purple, and scarlet. God gives glory to his servants. He makes us kings and priests unto himself. The spiritual nobleness and beauty given now are but the earnest of the glory which will be hereafter.
2. Their purpose: they were clothes of service. The honour and comeliness which God bestows are for service to him in the midst of our brethren, not to minister to our own spiritual pride and unbrotherly judgment.
II. ALL THE WORK WAS DONE IN STRICT OBEDIENCE TO THE LORD‘S COMMANDMENT, “As the Lord commanded Moses” (5, 7, 21, 26, 29, 31). “The children of Israel did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so did they” (32). “And Moses did look upon all the work; and behold, they had done it as the Lord had commanded, even so had they done it” (43).
1. There was no deficiency: no part of the work was slighted. We may not abate anything of all the Lord has commanded. The ordinances must be observed as they have been delivered to us. The cross which Jesus has called us to take up in his service must not be laid aside.
2. There was no excess. No room was given for the exercise of fancy, or taste, or judgment, as to what might better impress, or improve, the vulgar. There was only one solicitudeto do what the Lord had commanded. He alone is master here. We are merely servants. The things which God had not commanded were as carefully kept out of the worship as the things he had commanded were kept in it.
3. “And Moses blessed them.” Serving God thus, the blessing of a greater than Moses will rest upon us. And there awaits us in the eternal light the “Well done! good and faithful servant!”U.
HOMILIES BY D. YOUNG
Exo 39:42, Exo 39:43
The commanded work completed and commended.
I. THERE IS A PROFESSED COMPLETION. We know not exactly how long this work took to do. That it could not be done in a few days or even a few weeks is plain; but it is equally plain that however long the time was, the work was done with steadiness and devotion. There is no mention of any hitch or unseemly dispute; all seems to have gone on with holy industry and patience to the end. Looking, then, on this work, for which a special endowment of the Spirit’s help was given, and which was completed, we are bound also to feel that the work for which God in Christ has given his Spirit to his Church in these latter days will also be accomplished. Hindered and fragmentary is the appearance that it now presents; but it is going on. The wonderful manifestations of Pentecost are the pledge of a work that some day will have finis written upon it. Amid all the uncertainties of prophecy; amid all the hapless guesses with respect to the time of events, one thing is clear, that the prophecies point to a consummation. There is a to the work of the Church even as to this typical work of Bezaleel and Aholiab.
II. THERE IS A RIGOROUS INSPECTION. Many human observers, we may be sure, had also inspected the work of Bezaleel and Aholiab; some to praise, some also to carp. But it is not those whom men commend who are really praiseworthy, nor those whom men censure who are censurable. Moses looks, and ever as he looks there is the remembrance of his solemn sojourn in the mount. He has in his instructed mind the standard of success and excellence. Let us also, as being invited to become temples of the living Godtemple and sacrifice comprised in the varied faculties of one living organismconsider the rigorous demand which is made on us. These sacred articles, fashioned from perishable materials, and by human hands, were yet such that they could be stamped with Divine approval; and thus they are meant to direct us, that we may fashion all our life, in affections, in aims, and in service, according to the pattern given in the mountthat mount in Galilee, where Jesus talked with all who were willing to admit his authority.
III. THERE IS A HEARTY COMMENDATION. “Moses blessed them.” There had been so much disobedience and pursuit of selfish aims before, that when an obedience comes like the one mentioned here, it is important to note the way in which God smiles upon it. For the blessing of Moses is as the smile of God. God is as quick to show approval of all compliance with his wishes as he is to frown upon all disregard of them; only, as men will have it, there is more occasion for the frowning than for the favour. This commendation is more fully expressed in Exo 40:34, where the wrapping of the tabernacle with the glory-cloud signifies that what God did through Moses in the well-understood formula of blessing, he could also do himself by his own miraculous manifestations. The successful work here and the immediate recognition of it serve to show, in a more condemnatory aspect, the subsequent transgression of the people. In the making of the tabernacle-furniture, they had recognised the claims of God, and God had recognized their ability to meet his claims. He knew that they could not yet be obedient in all things; he only asked that they should be obedient as far as they were able to be obedient. They had shown their ability once; and it was their great blame that they did not show it again and again.Y.
Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary
D.the ark and the mercyseat,1 and the cherubim
Exo 37:1-9
1And Bezaleel made the ark of shittim [acacia] wood: two cubits and a half was the length of it, and a cubit and a half the breadth of it, and a cubit and a half the height of it: 2And he overlaid it with pure gold within and without, and made a crown [rim] of gold to [for] it round about. 3And he cast for it four rings of gold, to be set by [gold, on] the four corners of it [its four feet]; even two rings upon the one side of it, and two rings upon the other side of it. 4And he made staves of shittim 5[acacia] wood, and overlaid them with gold. And he put the staves into the rings by [on] the sides of the ark, to bear the ark. 6And he made the [a] mercy-seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half was the length thereof, and one cubit and a half the breadth thereof. 7And he made two cherubims [cherubim] of gold, beaten out of one piece [of beaten work] made he them, on [at] the two ends of the mercy-seat. 8One cherub on the end on this side [at the one end], and another [one] cherub on the other end on that side [at the other end]: out of [of one piece with] the mercy-seat made he the cherubims on [at] the two ends thereof. 9And the cherubims [cherubim] spread out their wings on high [upwards], and covered [covering] with their wings over [wings] the mercy-seat, with their faces one to [towards] another: even to the mercy-seatward [towards the mercy-seat] were the faces of the cherubims [cherubim].
E.the table and its vessels
Exo 37:10-16
10And he made the table of shittim [acacia] wood: two cubits was the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof: 11And he overlaid it with pure gold, and made thereunto a crown [for it a rim] of gold round 12about. Also [And] he made thereunto [for it] a border of an [a] handbreadth round about; and made a crown [rim] of gold for the border thereof round about. 13And he cast for it four rings of gold, and put the rings upon [in] the four corners 14that were in [on] the four feet thereof. Over against [Close by] the border were the rings, the places for the staves to bear the table. 15And he made the staves of shittim 16[acacia] wood, and overlaid them with gold, to bear the table. And he made the vessels which were upon the table, his dishes [its plates], and his spoons [its cups], and his [its] bowls, and his covers to cover withal [its flagons to pour out with], of pure gold.
F.the candlestick and the utensils belonging to it
Exo 37:17-24
17And he made the candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work made he the candlestick; his shaft, and his branch, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, were of the same [the candlestick, its base, and its shaft: its cups, its knobs, and its flowers wereof one piece with it]: 18And six branches going out of the sides thereof; three branches of the candlestick out of the one side thereof, and three branches of the candlestick out of the other side thereof: 19Three bowls made after the fashion of almonds in [Three cups made like almond-blossoms on] one branch, a knop [knob] and a flower; and three bowls made like almonds in [almond-blossoms on] another branch, a knop [knob] and a flower: so throughout [for] the six branches 20going out of the candlestick. And in [on] the candlestick were four bowls [cups] made like almonds [almond-blossoms], his knops [its knobs], and his [its] flowers: 21And a knop [knob] under two branches of the same [of one piece with it], and a knop [knob] under two branches of the same [of one piece with it], and a knop [knob] under two branches of the same [of one piece with it], according to [for] 22the six branches going [that go] out of it. Their knops [knobs] and their branches were of the same [of one piece with it]: all of it was one beaten work of pure gold. 23And he made his [its] seven lamps, and his [its] snuffers, and his [its] snuff-dishes, 24of pure gold. Of a talent of pure gold made he it, and all the vessels thereof.
G.the altar of incense and its appurtenances
Exo 37:25-29
25And he made the incense altar [altar of incense] of shittim [acacia] wood: the length of it was a cubit, and the breadth of it a cubit; it was foursquare; and two cubits was the height of it; the horns thereof were of the same [of one piece withit]. 26And he overlaid it with pure gold, both [gold,] the top of it, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns of it: also he made unto [for] it a crown [rim] of gold round about. 27And he made two rings of gold for it under the crown [rim] thereof, by the two corners [on the two flanks] of it, upon the two sides thereof, to be [for] places for the staves to bear it withal. 28And he made the staves of shittim 29[acacia] wood, and overlaid them with gold. And he made the holy anointing oil, and the pure incense of sweet spices, according to the work of the apothecary [spices, the work of the perfumer].
H.the altar of burnt-offering with its utensils, and the laver
Exo 38:1-8
1And he made the altar of burnt-offering of shittim [acacia] wood: five cubits was the length thereof, and five cubits the breadth thereof; it was foursquare; and three cubits the height thereof. 2And he made the horns thereof on the four corners of it; the horns thereof were of the same [of one piece with it]: and he overlaid it with brass [copper]. 3And he made all the vessels of the altar, the pots and the shovels, and the basins, and the fleshhooks, and the fire-pans: all the vessels thereof made he of brass [copper]. 4And he made for the altar a brazen grate of network [a grating of network of copper] under the compass [ledge] thereof beneath unto the midst of it [reaching to the middle of it]. 5And he cast four rings for the four ends [corners] of the grate of brass [copper grating], to be [for] places for the staves. 6And he made the staves of shittim [acacia] wood, and overlaid them with brass 7[copper]. And he put the staves into the rings on the sides of the altar, to bear it withal; he made the altar [made it] hollow with boards. 8And he made the laver of brass [copper], and the foot [base] of it of brass [copper], of the looking-glasses of the women assembling, which assembled [the serving women, who served] at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting].
I.the court.
Exo 38:9-20
9And he made the court: on [for] the south side southward the hangings of the 10court were of fine-twined linen, an [a] hundred cubits: Their pillars were twenty, and their brazen [copper] sockets twenty; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets 11[rods] were of silver. And for the north side the hangings were an [side a] hundred cubits, their pillars were twenty, and their sockets of brass [copper] twenty; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets [rods] of silExo Exo 38:12 And for the west side were hangings of fifty cubits, their pillars ten, and their sockets ten; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets [rods] of silExo Exo 38:13 And for the east side eastward fifty cubits. 14The hangings for the one side of the gate were fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three. 15And for the other side of the court gate, on this hand and that hand [So for the other side; on this hand, and on that hand, by the gate of the court], were hangings of fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three. 16All the hangings of the court round about were of fine-twined linen. 17And the sockets for the pillars were of brass [copper]; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets [rods] of silver; and the overlaying of their chapiters [capitals] of silver; and all the pillars of the court were filleted with [joined with rods of] silExo Exo 38:18 And the hanging [screen] for the gate of the court was needlework [embroidered work], of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine-twined linen: and twenty cubits was the length, and the height in the breadth was five cubits, answerable [corresponding] to the hangings of the court. 19And their pillars were four, and their sockets of brass [copper] four; their hooks of silver, and the overlaying of their chapiters [capitals] and their fillets [rods] of silExo Exo 38:20 And all the pins of the tabernacle, and of the court round about, were of brass [copper].
J.amount of the metal Used
Exo 38:21-31
21This is the sum of [These are the amounts for] the tabernacle, even the tabernacle of [of the] testimony, as it was [they were] counted, according to the commandment of Moses, for the service of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar, son to Aaron the priest. 22And Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that Jehovah commanded Moses. 23And with him was Aholiab, son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver, and a cunning workman [a skilful weaver], and an embroiderer in blue, and in purple, and in scarlet, and fine linen.
24All the gold that was occupied [used] for the work in all the work of the holy place [sanctuary], even the gold of the offering, was twenty and nine talents, and seven hundred and thirty shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary. 25And the silver of them that were numbered of the congregation was an [a] hundred talents, and a thousand seven hundred and threescore and fifteen shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary: 26A bekah for every man, that is, half a shekel, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for every one that went to be [passed over to them that were] numbered, from twenty years old and upward, for six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty men. 27And of the hundred talents of silver were cast the sockets of the sanctuary, and the sockets of the veil; an [a] hundred sockets of 28[for] the hundred talents, a talent for a socket. And of the thousand seven hundred seventy and five shekels he made hooks for the pillars, and overlaid their chapiters 29[capitals], and filleted them [joined them with rods]. And the brass [copper] of the offering was seventy talents, and two thousand and four hundred shekels. 30And therewith he made the sockets to [for] the door of the tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting], and the brazen [copper] altar, and the brazen grate 31[copper grating] for it, and all the vessels of the altar, And the sockets of the court round about, and the sockets of the court gate [gate of the court], and all the pins of the tabernacle, and all the pins of the court round about.
K.preparation of the priests vestament
Exo 39:1-31
1And of the blue, an purple, and scarlet, they made cloths [garments] of service, to do service [for ministering] in the holy place and made the holy garments for Aaron; as Jehovah commanded Moses.
1. The Ephod
2And he made the ephod of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine-twined linen. 3And they did beat the gold into thin plates, and cut it into wires [threads], to work it in the blue, and in the purple, and in the scarlet, and in the fine linen, 4with cunning work [linen, the work of the skilful weaver]. They made shoulder-pieces for it, to couple it together [joined together]: by [at] the two edges was it coupled [joined] together. 5And the curious girdle of his ephod [the embroidered belt for girding it], that was upon it, was of the same [of one piece with it], according to the work [like the work] thereof; of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine-twined linen; as Jehovah commanded Moses. 6And they wrought onyx stones inclosed in ouches [settings] of gold, graven as signets are graven [graven with theengravings of a signet], with the names of the children of Israel. 7And he put them on the shoulders [shoulder-pieces] of the ephod, that they should be stones for a memorial to [ephod, as memorial stones for] the children of Israel; as Jehovah commanded Moses.
2. The Breast-plate
8And he made the breast-plate of cunning work [with the work of the skilful weaver], like the work of the ephod; of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and 9fine-twined linen. It was four-square; they made the breast-plate double: a span was the length thereof, and a span the breadth thereof, being doubled. 10And they set in it four rows of stones: the first row was a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this was the first row: [stones: a row of sardius, topaz,and emerald was the first row]. 11And the second row, an emerald [a carbuncle], a sapphire, and a diamond. 12And the third row, a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst. 13And the fourth row, a beryl [chrysolite], an onyx, and a jasper: they were inclosed in ouches [settings] of gold in their inclosings. 14And the stones were according to the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet, every one with his name, according to 15[for] the twelve tribes. And they made upon the breast-plate chains at the ends 16[chains like cords] of wreathen work of pure gold. And they made two ouches [settings] of gold, and two gold rings [rings of gold]; and put the two rings in [on] the two ends of the breast-plate. 17And they put the two wreathen chains of gold in [on] the two rings on [at] the ends of the breast-plate. 18And the two ends of the two wreathen chains they fastened in [put on] the two ouches [settings], and put them on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, before it [on the front of it]. 19And they made two rings of gold, and put them on the two ends of the breast-plate, upon the border of it, which was on [toward] the side of the ephod inward. 20And they made two other [two] golden rings, and put them on the two sides [shoulder-pieces] of the ephod underneath, toward [on] the forepart of it, over against [close by] the other [the] coupling thereof, above the curious girdle [embroidered belt] of the ephod. 21And they did bind the breast-plate by his [its] rings unto the rings of the ephod with a lace [cord] of blue, that it might be above the curious girdle of [embroidered belt] the ephod, and that the breast-plate might not be loosed from the ephod; as Jehovah commanded Moses.
3. The Robe
22, 23And he made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue. And there was an hole in the midst of the robe, [And the opening of the robe in the middle of it was] as the hole of an habergeon [like the opening of a coat of mail], with a band [binding] round about the hole [opening], that it should not rend [might notbe rent]. 24And they made upon the hems [skirts] of the robe pomegranates of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen [scarlet, twined]. 25And they made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates upon the hem [skirts] of the robe, round about between the pomegranates; 26A bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, round about the hem of the robe [upon the skirts of the robe round about], to minister in; as Jehovah commanded Moses.
4. The Coat, Breeches, and Girdle
27And they made coats [the coats] of fine linen of woven work for Aaron and for his sons, 28And a mitre [the turban] of fine linen, and goodly bonnets [the goodly29caps] of fine linen, and linen [the linen] breeches of fine-twined linen, And a [the] girdle of fine-twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, of needle work [scarlet, embroidered work]; as Jehovah commanded Moses.
5. The Plate of Gold
30And they made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote upon it a writing, like to the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO JEHOVAH. 31And they tied unto it a lace [cord] of blue, to fasten it on high upon the mitre [turban]; as Jehovah commanded Moses.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
a. The Curtains of the Tent and their Coverings. Exo 36:8-19. Vid. Exo 26:1-14. Jacobi, in his pamphlet, Die Lehre der Irvingiten (Berlin, 1853), p. 52 sqq., has told how the Irvingites interpret, in a fantastic, allegorical way, the curtains of the tabernacle as pointing to their offices; and, in general, their arbitrary trifling with Old Testament symbols. In a similar way they deal with the Apocalypse. Vid. Stockmeyer, Kurze Nachricht ber den Irvingismus, p. 13. Keil observes that the verbs in Exo 36:8, in Exo 36:10, and in Exo 36:11, etc., are in the third Pers. Sing. with an indefinite subject. But this is not borne out by Exo 36:8, where first stands in the plural. It is more likely that the whole work is called Bezaleels.
b. The Frame-work of the Tent, Exo 36:20-34; vid. Exo 26:15-30.
c. The Veil and the Screen, Exo 36:35-38; vid. Exo 26:31-37. Exo 36:38. Not the whole of the pillars of the screen was overlaid with gold, but only the tips, and the rods running across the upper ends. The other pillars of the court only had their tips and cross-rods overlaid with silver.
d. The Ark, the Mercy-seat, the Cherubim, Exo 37:1-9; vid. Exo 25:10-22. It is called the master-workman Bezaleels own work.
e. The Table of Shew-bread and its Vessels, Exo 37:10-16; vid. Exo 25:23-30. In the direction the dishes are called , ,, and ; the same here, except that the order of the last two is inverted.
f. The Candlestick and the Utensils belonging to it, Exo 37:17-24; vid. Exo 25:31-40.
g. The Altar of Incense with its Appurtenances, Exo 37:25-29; vid. Exo 30:1-10. The Anointing Od and the Incense, Exo 30:22-28.
h. The Altar of Burnt-offering, with its Implements, and the Laver, Exo 38:1-8. On the Altar vid. Exo 27:1-8. On the Laver vid.Exo 30:17-21. Knobels notion about Exo 38:8 is very strange [vid. above, p. 127]. He thinks that on the base there were fashioned figures of the women who, as Levite women, came into the court to wash and furbish. [But Knobel does not represent the figures as on the base.]
i. The Court, Exo 38:9-20 : vid. Exo 27:9-19.
j. Summation of the Metal used, Exo 38:21-31. The estimations (Exo 38:21). Keil, The enumerated things. The duty of counting the amount was committed to the Levites under the direction of Aarons son, Ithamar.
Exo 38:24. The Gold. Thenius and Keil reckon it at 87,730 shekels, or 877,300 Thaler,a gold shekel being estimated as = 10 Thaler [ = 7 Dollars and 20 cents. Poole, in Smiths Bible Dictionary, makes it a little more.Tr.]
Exo 38:25-28. The Silver. Of the silver there is reckoned only the amount of the atonement money collected from those who were numbered, a half-shekel to every male, the voluntary gifts of silver not being mentioned (Keil). It is not to be supposed that amidst the voluntary contributions of gold, copper, etc., a legally imposed tax would be specified. But it may well be conjectured that the standard, afterwards fixed for the tax for the sanctuary, served as a guide in the voluntary contributions, as has been already remarked [p. 126]. On the abundance of gold and silver among the ancient Orientals, as showing the possibility of the actual correctness of these accounts in opposition to modern doubts, vid. Keil, page 251; Knobel, page 333.
k. Exo 39:1-31. The preparation of the priestly garments, to the description of which a transition is formed by a statement of the materials for them and of the design of them. The ephod, Exo 39:2-7, corresponds to Exo 28:6-12; the breast-plate, Exo 39:8-21, to Exo 28:15-29the Urim and Thummim, which needed no special preparation, being passed over. The robe, Exo 39:22-26, answers to Exo 28:31-34; the coats, head-pieces, breeches, and girdles for Aaron and his sons, Exo 39:27-29 to Exo 28:39-40; Exo 28:42. The head-covering of the common priests in Exo 28:40 () is here (Exo 39:28) called ornamental caps (Keil). Vid. Knobel for archological notes, p. 334.
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Fifth Section
The Religious Presentation of all the Component Parts of the Sanctuary, and Moses Blessing
Exo 39:32-43
32Thus was all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation [tent of meeting] finished: and the children of Israel did according to all that Jehovah commanded Moses, so did they. 33And they brought the tabernacle unto Moses, the tent, and all his [its] furniture, his taches [its clasps], his [its] boards, his [its] bars, and his 34[its] pillars, and his [its] sockets, And the covering of rams skins dyed red, and the covering of badgers [seals] skins, and the veil of the covering [screen], 35The ark of 36the testimony, and the staves thereof, and the mercy-seat, The table, and all the vessels thereof, and the shew-bread, 37The pure candlestick, with the lamps thereof, even with the [thereof, the] lamps to be set in order, and all the vessels [utensils]thereof, and the oil for light [the light], 38And the golden altar, and the anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the hanging [screen] for the tabernacle-door [door39of the tent of meeting], The brazen [copper] altar, and his grate of brass [its copper grating], his [its] staves, and all his [its] vessels, the laver and his foot [itsbase], 40The hangings of the court, his [its] pillars, and his [its] sockets, and the hanging [screen] for the court-gate, his [its] cords, and his [its] pins, and all the vessels [furniture] of the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of the congregation 41[of meeting], The cloths [garments] of service to do service [for ministering] in the holy place, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and his sons garments, to minister in the priests office [to minister in as priests]. 42According to all that Jehovah commanded Moses, so the children of Israel made [did] all the work. 43And Moses did look upon [saw] all the work, and, behold, they had done it as Jehovah had commanded, even [commanded,] so had they done it: and Moses blessed them.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Besides the minute enumeration of the several parts of the tabernacle, is especially noticeable the repeated observation that they had done everything according to Jehovahs commandment, Exo 39:32; Exo 39:43. The enthusiasm and the joy in making offerings was at the same time a punctilious obedience to the lawan obedience which, being rendered primarily to Moses, shows that the new order of things, or the Old covenant, is again established.
Exo 39:33-34. By are meant the two tent-cloths composed of curtains, the purple one and the one made of goats hair, which made the tabernacle () a tent (). It thence follows beyond a doubt that the variegated curtains formed the inner walls of the tabernacle, or covered the boards on the inside (? how then could they be stretched?). On the other hand, the goats hair curtains formed the outer covering (Keil). The colored curtains formed the inside even if they were stretched over the boards.
Exo 39:43. The readiness with which the people had brought in abundance the requisite gifts for this work, and the zeal with which they had accomplished the work in half a year or less (vid. xl. 17), were delightful signs of Israels willingness to serve the Lord; and for this the blessing of God could not fail to be given (Keil).
Footnotes:
[1][Lange renders lid of expiation, and remarks that the term is as difficult to translate with one word as is the name . Luthers rendering, Gnadenstuhl (mercy-seat), he commends as conveying substantially the right impression. But it is questionable whether one can properly combine the literal and the topical in a translation, as Lange does.Tr.]
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
CONTENTS
In this Chapter we have the account of the work of the tabernacle being finished. The last things in order among the tabernacle furniture, are the forming the holy garments for the priests: the ephod, the breast-plate, the robe of the ephod; the coats, bonnets, and girdle, and the plate of the holy crown. Moses examines, and gives his approbation of the whole.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
The robes of the priests may serve to remind us of what is said, Rev 7:13-15 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Exo 39:26
The golden bells on this ephod, by their precious matter and pleasant sound, do well represent the good profession that the saints make; and the pomegranates the fruit they bring forth. And as, in the hem of the ephod, bells and pomegranates were constantly connected, as is once and again observed, there was a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, so it is in the true saints. Their good profession and their good fruit do constantly accompany one another. The fruit they bring forth in life evermore answers the pleasant sound of their profession.
Jonathan Edwards, The Religious Affections (part iii.).
Exo 39:43
Though the gift of inspiring enthusiasm for duty and virtue is like other gifts, very unequally distributed among well-meaning persons, I do not believe that anyone who had himself an ardent love of goodness ever failed to communicate it to others. He may fail in his particular aims, he may use ill-devised methods, meet with inexplicable disappointments, make mistakes which cause him bitter regret; but we shall find that after all, though the methods may have failed, the man has succeeded; somewhere, somehow, in some valuable degree, he has if I may use an old classical image handed on the torch of his own ardour to others who will run the race for the prize of virtue.
Sir Leslie Stephen.
Reference. XL. 1-16. A. Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture Exodus, etc., p. 223.
Fuente: Expositor’s Dictionary of Text by Robertson
XXVII
THE TABERNACLE
Exodus 25-31; Exodus 35-40
This chapter covers thirteen chapters of Exodus, and, of course, I can only touch them in places. These chapters are 25-31; 35-40.
1. Was there a temporary tent before this tabernacle was built?
Ans. You will find in Exo 33:7-11 , that there was a temporary tent and on one occasion it was moved outside of the camp.
2. What were the names of the tabernacle and the reasons therefore?
Ans. First, the “tabernacle of testimony, or witness,” Exo 38:21 ; Num 17:7-8 . Those two names mean the same thing. The tabernacle of testimony, or of witness; and the reason of this is that this tent was the depository of the testimonials; anything that was to be kept for a testimony was to be kept in this tent; for example, in it were the tables of testimony or God’s autograph on the two tables of stone containing the Ten Commandments. That copy was kept as a witness; then in it was the book of the covenant, that is, those chapters, Exo 19:1-24:9 . That part is called the book of the covenant. That was in Moses’ handwriting. Then there were the records made by Moses, that is, the Pentateuch, the entire Pentateuch was put in the tent and kept in there; then Aaron’s rod that budded was put in there and a pot of the manna and later the brazen serpent that Moses erected. All of these were memorials. Now the tent that held these testimonials was called the tabernacle of the witness, or the testimony. That accounts for one of its names.
Next name, it is called the “temple of the Lord.” You will find this name in 1Sa 1:9 , and 1Sa 3:3 ; the reason of that name is that there God was approached and propitiated and worshiped and that gave the name “temple.”
The third name is the “house of the Lord,” because he occupied it. He was the dweller in it. As a Shekinah he dwelt in there symbolically between the Cherubim on the mercy seat and hence it was called the “house of the Lord.”
The fourth name is “sanctuary,” that is on account of its holiness. It was holy unto God; the most holy place, the holy place and the whole ground, or campus, was set apart to sacred purposes, hence, the sanctuary.
The fifth name for it was the “holy oracles”; that applied, of course, only to what is called the “most holy place”; that is very frequently in the Bible called the oracle of the temple, the most holy place. It is so called in Psa 28:2 , and in 1Ki 6:5 . Now, it obtained this name because there God spoke. An oracle is to give an answer to questions propounded. There God spoke, and it was also called the oracle, because in it were kept the written words of God, the place of the oracle; the book of the Pentateuch was kept in there. Now, the references here are very numerous on this oracle question. In 2Sa 16:23 ; in Act 7:38 , and in Rom 3:2 are some references to this most holy place as the oracle: “What advantage then hath the Jew? Much every way, but chiefly because unto them were committed the oracles of God.” There the oracles mean the same thing as the Bible, that is, as their Bible grew in volume it was kept in that place; that was the oracle for their Bible.
Now, I repeat the names of this tabernacle: (1) The tabernacle of the testimony, or witness; (2) the temple of the Lord; (3) the tabernacle is called the house of the Lord; (4) the sanctuary; (5) the oracle.
3. What can you say about the pattern of this tabernacle?
Ans. It was God’s pattern, copy, shadow, or type of a true sanctuary in heaven, that is, there is in heaven a true sanctuary, a true holy place, a most holy place, and as the poet Campbell says, “Coming events cast their shadows before,” so that reality in heaven casts its shadow before in the form of this copy or type. And when the real thing came of course the shadow disappeared. Anyone walking from a light casts his shadow before him, and the shadow will get to an object first; now when the substance gets there, the shadow is gone. I give you some very particular references on this word pattern, what it means and about God’s being the author of it. He furnishes the complete plan and every detail of the specifications. Not only for this sanctuary but for its successor, the Temple, and for the Temple’s successor, the church on earth, and for its successor, the church in glory. I give you some scriptures in point: Exo 25:40 ; Exo 26:33 ; Exo 27:9 ; Exo 39:32 ; Act 7:44 ; Heb 8:2 ; Heb 8:5 ; Heb 10:1 .
All of those refer to this sanctuary that Moses built as having been made according to a pattern which God furnished. Moses was commanded to see to it that everything be made according to the pattern. Now to give you an illustration that will come more nearly home to you, I got an architect to draw me a plan of a house to live in near the Seminary in Fort Worth. He drew four floors, that is, four floor plans; two side elevations, a front and a rear elevation; then a long list of specifications as to material, how that material was to be used, and the bill of the lumber, and of the brick and of the stone, and everything in it was put down. Now when I went to let that contract the contractor entered into a contract to build it according to the plans and specifications. If he had varied a hair’s breadth from what that architect put down, I could have held him liable.
I make this remark to you in order to correct some loose thoughts. People that insist upon sticking to God’s plans and specifications on the tabernacle and on the Temple, will deny that he has any plans and specifications on their successor, the church, and that nearly anything will do for a church, and that they can put things in nearly any sort of an order; they can commence with communion on the outside before a man is ever converted, and as a means to conversion; they can baptize him before he is converted, or they can dispense with it altogether. It is one of the most appalling signs of the times, that there is such looseness with reference to God’s positive institutions. It is a thousand times more important that the church be strictly continued and followed in all God’s plans and specifications than it was with this tabernacle, and yet there was not one-eighth of an inch variation in the measurements of this tabernacle. You may settle it that God is a God of order and not of confusion. This tells us here about certain tables and it tells us how those tables were to be constructed, and what was to go on them, and just where they must put them and just how they were to use them. Some people take the table of the church and put it outdoors and just call up Tom) Dick, and Harry to come and partake; a thing that you wouldn’t dare to do in my house; you couldn’t say where my table should be put. I do that. We certainly ought to allow God the same privilege about his table. You could not invite guests to my house, to dine; I must do that. We ought to allow God that privilege. You are the judge of what you put on your table, and we should let the Lord tell us what to put on his table. Then don’t go and invent a hundred things to tack onto what God has specified.
4. What were the materials of this sanctuary and their value?
Ans. There are eight kinds of materials specified. I will commence with the costliest. There are quite a number of very precious stones, jewels, some of them of exceeding great value and beauty. They are enumerated. The next was gold. The pattern tells you just exactly what gold must be put in it. Some of it was simply threads of gold. The gold must be beaten out very thin and then cut into the finest threads of gold and work these threads into the cloth. And the plans must not be varied from by one single thread of that battered gold.
Then the next material used was silver. It specifies in every particular where that silver was to be used. And the next was brass, and then it tells just what should be made of brass, whether the outside mold, or the brazen altar, or some brazen socket in which a pole or post rested.
The fifth material was the acacia wood, very common in that wilderness, and it was a very hard wood, hence exceedingly durable for building purposes of any kind. Now, it is a notable fact that this old tent had a good deal of acacia wood in it in certain places; it was existing up to the time that Solomon built the Temple, all the posts around it, all of acacia wood. When I read about it I am reminded of what a little boy in North Texas said with reference to bois d’arc. He said a bois d’arc fence would last through two eternities; that he and his daddy had tried it several times. In other words, it doesn’t wear out at all and it doesn’t rot. I know a bois d’arc fence now that is ninety-one years old, and it is just as sound as a silver dollar. So that acacia was the kind of wood to be used. The wood that went into the ark of the covenant consisted of a base of wood and then there was a covering of gold, and the wooden base of that ark was there in that Temple nearly a thousand years later when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the Temple. I mention that to show you how much better it was for those people to follow God’s specifications about the wood. Suppose they had put in something that would have rotted in about two years.
The sixth element of material was the various kinds of cloth. This cloth would either be what is called fine twined linen, finished linen made out of the flax, or it was a coarse cloth made of goat’s hair or it was woolen cloth, or it was made out of skins what is called badgers’ skins, though probably not badgers’. It was more likely to have been the skins of sea animals and that skin was impervious to water when the animal was in the water, and remained impervious to water. They needed cloths for all things, for the girdles, and for the different classes of garments that are specified and for the veils. The seventh element of material was olive oil, pure beaten olive oil. That was to be for the lamps, and the eighth and last specification of the material was spices, perfumes that were to be for anointing. For instance he gives a prescription of the holy anointing oil, with olive oil as a base, and his directions will tell you just what spices to put in it and precisely what proportion; so many parts of one and so many parts of another. And they are not only commanded not to vary from that but they were never to make that holy anointing oil to be used for any secular purpose whatever. A king on his throne couldn’t have as much made as would stick to his little finger.
The question says, give the materials and their value. Unfortunately we have no means of valuing all the materials that were used. There is one place in your lesson that gives you the weight, troy weight, of the gold, silver, and brass, and I can tell you what that was: 3,350 pounds, troy weight, of pure gold; 11,526 pounds, troy weight, of pure silver; 8,112 pounds of brass. The measure is given. A shekel was a weight or measure as well as a piece of money. They give it in shekels and these shekels converted into pounds, troy weight, and you can convert these pounds, troy weight, into dollars and cents so far as gold and silver are concerned, into the present worth.
5. How was this vast amount of materials obtained?
Ans. Every bit of it was by voluntary contribution. Chapter 25 commences with the word of God to Moses to call upon the people to make an offering for the sanctuary. But God declines to take any offering unless it is a free will offering; it must be on the part of the willing heart. And when you turn over to read about how David got the material for erecting the Temple it is a most thrilling part of the Old Testament; the biggest contribution the world ever saw was collected. It is a fine thing to preach on, and a good suggestion to preachers when building a sanctuary for the Lord to take contributions from the willing heart.
6. Who were the artificers that made all these things, and how were they qualified to make them?
Ans. Some of the work was very delicate and required the greatest possible skill and nicety in construction. Exo 31:2 : “And the Lord spake unto Moses saying, See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, to devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship. And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiad the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan: and in the hearts of all that are wise hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee.” Only two of them are mentioned by name.
7. What arts were implied in building this tabernacle?
Ans. Well, you can see that they couldn’t have cloths unless there were weavers and they would not have different cloths unless they had industries, and that precious stones couldn’t be cut unless there was lapidaries; and wood couldn’t be carved so beautifully unless there were skilled men in wood carving, and the structure couldn’t be planned and carried out unless there were architects. Then there bad to be the most exquisite work on the high priest’s garment there was to be on the bottom or border a row of pomegranates and bells, a pomegranate and a little bell, then a pomegranate and a bell, and so on all around it. It bad to be the most perfect thing. Whenever the high priest moved the bells would ring, and he couldn’t stop when he was performing the ceremonies in the most holy place. If the bells stopped ringing he would die instantly; and the people ‘would keep praying on the outside as long as they heard the bells on the high priest’s garments ringing. That shows that the high priest rings out to God the petition that they send up, and that shows the intercession. The bells in heaven upon his robe are always ringing, so he is praying for you all the time.
Now you see that to have the instruments to do all these things implied manufacturers; the jeweler’s tools, the carving tools, and the brass; they must have foundries. Think of the number of arts, and what a tremendous change had taken place in these people after they went into Egypt. They were nomads, ranch people, cowboys till then; when they got to Egypt they learned agriculture, city building, architecture, all sorts of fine work, and now it is all brought out with them, and when they go to leave Egypt, the Egyptians are so glad to get rid of them, God put it in the hearts of the Egyptians to bestow on the Jews gold and silver and jewels, and that is where all this gold and silver comes from that they are using now to build the tabernacle.
8. Define the whole space of the court.
Ans. Here the student should make a diagram and let that diagram show the relative places of the entire court, the heights of the curtain wall around that court and the gate of entrance and where the altar, i.e., the brazen altar, is placed, and where the laver is placed, and how they got into the holy place and then into the holy of holies. And he should show in that diagram just where Moses’ place was, and where Aaron’s place was, and the places all around that diagram of the court where the Levites were, and which of them on this side and which on that side, and then show the tribes camped around it; what three tribes on the north side, what three on the south, on the east and on the west. If you want to see a diagram so that you will have nothing to do but copy it, get (and every reader of this book ought to have what I have urged them to have) the Rand-MeNally’s Atlas by J. L. Hurlbut. You ought to read what it has to say about every lesson that we have. And if you have the Hurlbut Atlas it gives you just the picture that I have drawn mentally and orally, showing the length, breadth, and height of the court; showing you where the gate is on the east; showing you just where Moses was to be, where Aaron was to be, where the Levites were to camp, and where the other tribes were to be placed all around it; how big the tabernacle was, how big each division was, and how big the most holy place was in cubic measurement. The question is, Define the whole space of the court.
9. What are the tent divisions, and the sizes of the divisions?
Ans. The tent was divided into two divisions, the holy place and the most holy place, and they were separated by what is called the veil of the Temple, but it came to be a tremendous thing in the Herodian Temple seventy feet long and thirty feet wide, and four inches thick, and so woven that ten yoke of oxen couldn’t tear it, and yet when Jesus died it was rent in twain from top to bottom. The sizes are given in the Atlas.
10. What were the contents of the most holy place?
Ans. There were just two things in there, and don’t you ever put anything else in there. These are the articles, viz.: the ark, which is one thing, and the mercy seat which rested right on top of it; of course, the mercy seat which rested right on top of it had its propitiatory place where the atonement was made, and the Cherubim of pure gold (of course, there were things in the ark the witnesses: the pot of manna, Aaron’s rod, the brazen serpent, and so on). But two things are in there the mercy seat, which is on top of the ark: a chest with its contents inside, and the mercy seat resting on it.
11. How was the most holy place lighted?
Ans. There was no light in it, but clouds of darkness: “a thick pavilion of darkness is my habitation.” Whenever you get to the church in glory the expression, “There is no temple, there is no altar or shrine,” doesn’t mean the general structure about the shrines, just as the mercy seat on top of the ark constituted the shrine. When you get to the church in glory there is no shrine there. Why? Because the Lord God and the Lamb are the light thereof. Now down here in this tabernacle there was a shrine, the Cherubim) and the Shekinah signifying the presence of God.
12. Who enters, and how often, into the most holy place?
Ans. The high priest only, and that only one time a year. Nobody could ever see the outside of what was in there. They couldn’t see the outside of the ark nor the outside of the mercy seat. It was always carried, but it was carried covered. And the tent was first put up upon arriving at a camp and after the tent was put up the bearers of the ark carried it on the inside, and when they went out Aaron alone uncovered it. He was the only one that ever saw it.
13. What were the contents of the holy place, where were the contents set up, and what did they represent?
Ans. Just three things were in there. There was the seven-branched golden candlestick; the light of that lamp was never allowed to go out at night. It was trimmed every morning and lighted every evening just before dark. That candlestick or lampstand was just one lampstand. The one that was in the Temple when Titus captured Jerusalem was carried to Rome as a trophy. Another thing in there was a table, and on the table six loaves of bread in one place and six loaves of bread in another place and a cup; in the third place, there was a little altar called the golden altar in contradistinction from the big one on the outside, the brazen altar. This altar was covered with gold and on that was the frankincense, or incense; the material is frankincense, and it became incense, going up when it was burning in a beautiful smoke and very fragrant. Now as you enter that division from the east, the right hand will be the north. Which one of the things do you out on the north? Do you put a table, a candlestick, or a golden altar? Which one do you put to the south, and which one in the center right opposite the veil that has to be lifted aside by Aaron once a year? The Atlas shows all this.
What do those three things represent?
Ans. They represent the blessings of salvation by grace like the food and the spirit of prayer, as communicants get those spiritual blessings. That bread also represents the twelve tribes shewbread that is, it is bread for exhibition, very sacred, nobody was ever allowed to eat it. David did eat a piece once when he was very hungry and Jesus excused him under the circumstances (he was starving) though “He did eat the shewbread which was against the law.” Now we have found out the contents of the holy place, and how they were set up, and what they represented.
14. Who enters the holy place (not the most holy place) and how often?
Ans. Not the Levites but the priests. The Levites had the run of the court) Aaron the most holy place, the priests the holy place, every day.
15. What are the contents of the court and their respective positions and signification?
Ans. In the open court around the tent there were these things: (1) Near the east gate of the court was the brazen altar, the altar of burnt offering and sin offering. That was the altar of sacrifices. (2) Between that altar and the entrance into the holy place was the laver, a vessel containing water used by the priests in the ablutions necessary to the performance of their duties.
16. Who entered this court and how often?
Ans. Aaron and his sons that constituted the priesthood, and the Levites the whole tribe of Levi that served in the matters of the public worship. They all entered this court. Some of them were in there every day. There were daily offerings, one every morning and one every evening; so that was open all the time to Aaron or his sons or the Levites having special work to perform in there.
17. Where did the people come?
Ans. They came to the gate in the east; they didn’t get inside the gate except in case of their offerings. They brought their offerings to the altar before the tent of meeting.
18. Who were the ministers in the sacrifices and how were they set apart? Divide their respective duties of the court.
Ans. Your lesson tells you all about that: that the ministers consisted of Aaron, the high priest, the priests, and the Levites; just exactly how each one of them was to be consecrated to office; the ritual, etc. Aaron does certain things, and he alone; the priests, certain things, and they alone; the Levites, certain things, and they alone.
XXVIII
THE TABERNACLE (Continued)
1. What was the high priest’s apparel, its use and meaning?
Ans. Your book has a great deal to say about the clothing of the high priest but I shall confine my answer to only two articles of that apparel, viz.: the mitre and the ephod. The mitre was a headdress; towering, and on the front of it just over Aaron’s forehead was a golden plate fastened to the mitre, and on that inscribed, “Holiness to the Lord.” He was never allowed to exercise his high priestly functions unless he had that mitre on.
Now, the other portion of his dress that requires very particular mention is the ephod. The ephod was a garment, a vestment that had a hole cut in it like you see cowboys have in their blankets. It was put on by putting it over the head and the head coming up through that hole, and it came down to the knees. There was an inner robe of course, but I am talking about the ephod. It was carefully hemmed and embroidered around that hole so it wouldn’t tear, just as a buttonhole is, to keep it from widening. At the bottom of the ephod were the pomegranates and little bells that I have told you about. And the bells were to ring all the time that the high priest was performing his functions. It was death to him if they stopped, and their sound was the indication to the people that the high priest’s work was going on and they, on the outside, would pray as long as they heard the bells ringing. That is the ephod proper.
But that ephod had a breastplate, just a span square, at the shoulders; on the ephod was a hook, an ouch, on each side. This breastplate was just a span wide and on it four rows three in a row of very valuable jewels and each jewel had inscribed on it the name of one of the twelve tribes. So that whenever Aaron acted officially he carried over his heart, as a representative, the whole nation of Israel. The twelve tribes of Israel were there, carried on his heart.
The breastplate had two gold chains. The upper part of it had rings and the gold chains went up and fastened to the ouch, or hook, on the shoulder piece of the ephod. Having put on the ephod, he would then take up the breastplate by the two gold chains and hook it to the clasps on the ephod. That would let it drop down on his breast. Then the sides of the breastplate had rings and they were fastened to other hooks on the ephod and that kept it from falling forward, kept it in place.
Now, besides the twelve great jewels that represented the twelve tribes of Israel there were two other jewels, called the urim and thummirn. They went on the breastplate. I am not quite sure but that they were under the breastplate on the inside. The names, urim and thummirn, mean light and perfection. The use of the two particular jewels was to communicate with Jehovah. When the cloud would come down and rest over the tent to signify that Jehovah wanted to have a talk, the high priest would come into the holy place, and the communication would take place. Now, the two jewels Aaron would look at and how, I don’t know and nobody else knows, but through those jewels as a medium, he would understand the communication that had been given to him. Hence a high priest’s method of communicating with God was always through the urim and thummirn. Moses didn’t do it that way, because he was a prophet. God spoke to him direct. But the high priest could only communicate with God through the urim and the thummirn. If he lost those jewels he couldn’t talk with God.
Now, the ephod carrying the breastplate and the two precious stones, the urim and the thummim, was strictly an official robe; so that you often find in the accounts in the Old Testament the expression, “Get me the ephod.” “What do you want with the ephod?” “I want to communicate with God.” The ephod was the robe of communication. You read in the life of David that he went to where the high priest was and told him to put on his ephod and answer him certain questions. Well, the high priest put on the ephod, went up to the door of the holy place, propounded David’s question, looked at the urim and the thummirn, understood the answer, and gave it to David. You read in the book of Judges that Gideon when he assumed to be king had an ephod made so that he could communicate with God. And you read in the prophet Hosea that Israel shall be a long time without a king, without an ephod, and without a prophet. They shall have no means of communicating with God. That is the condition of Israel this day. They have no Temple; they have no high priest; they have lost the urim and thummirn; they have no ephod; no way of communicating with God. Since they reject Christ, the only means of communication, they are shut off. So that the particular thing about the breastplate and its urim and thummirn is that it was a God-appointed means of communicating with the people through the high priest. He adopted a different method when he spoke with the prophets. A prophet was higher than a priest. The prophets communicated with God directly. There are other things about Aaron’s dress, all the details of which had a meaning, but these are the great meanings of the dress of the high priest.
20. What were the regular times of service in this tabernacle?
Ans. Here were the regular times: The daily services every morning and every evening; the sabbath services, that is, once a week; the monthly services, the monthly sabbaths, and the annual sabbaths. Those were the great festivals, three great festivals, and then the Jubilee sabbaths, and in connection with it there came the great Day of Atonement. Those were the regular times of service, but there were provisions for special times of services that I will not now discuss.
21. What the offerings and their meanings?
Ans. I have to answer it so elaborately when I come to Leviticus, I only give now in general terms these offerings: Sin offerings, burnt offerings, eucharistic, or thank offerings; in a burnt offering, all of it had to be burned up. Now, a sin offering had to be burned, but every burnt offering was not a sin offering. I give you this example: If a man wanted to consecrate his whole life to God and brought an offering, that was a burnt offering. Now, that offering had to be burned to ashes on the brazen altar, to signify that God accepted that entire consecration. The sin offering was also burned. Nobody could eat a part of a sin offering. But certain parts of the eucharist, or thank offering, or peace offering, or meat offering could be eaten. Moses ate a certain part, and Aaron and his sons a certain part, and the Levites certain parts.
22. What was the ritual?
Ans. The ritual is that set of rules that told them just how everything was to be done. Almost the whole book of Leviticus is ritual and the larger part of Numbers. For instance, it tells just how every particular offering must be offered. The ritual is the system of rules prescribed, the service and the order of the service in all of its parts.
23. What was the place of the sanctuary in the camp and order of encampment around it?
Ans. I will answer that question more fully when we come to the book of Leviticus. We will suppose Israel is on a march and the cloud stops. As soon as the cloud stops Aaron and Moses stop. As soon as they stop, those carrying the furniture of the most holy place, that is, the ark and mercy seat, set it down there covered. And then the tent is put over it, and then all the arrangements are made about the various articles of the holy place and the court. Then the fence is put up, i.e., the court fence. Now, the Levites come in and camp on three sides, and every tribe knew just where it was to camp one on the north side, one on the east, one on the west, and so on.
24. When was this tabernacle completed and what was the order of setting it up?
Ans. In Exo 39:42 , we have this statement: “According to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so the children of Israel made all the work. And Moses saw all the work, and, behold, they had done it.” Exo 39:42 of that chapter says, “Then was all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation finished and they brought all the material together before Moses.” Now, the other part of the question was: The order of its setting up? That is explained to you in Exo 40:1-8 ; Exo 40:17 , “And it came to pass in the first month in the second year [that is, since they left Egypt], on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was reared up. And Moses reared up the tabernacle.” Then it tells how the tent was put up: “Then Moses took and put the testimony into the ark,” brought the ark into its place and then all the other things into their places in order.
25. When was it anointed?
Ans. It was anointed after the setting up, and Exo 40:9-11 , tells about that anointing, that is, setting it apart. And this is what it says on that, “And thou shalt take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and all that is therein and shall hallow it; and all the vessels thereof and it shall be holy, and thou shalt anoint the altar of the burnt-offering and all its vessels and sanctify the altar and it shall be an altar most holy.” “Thou shalt anoint the laver; thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons and make them put on their official robes and anoint them. Thus did Moses.”
26. When was it filled?
Ans. As soon as it was set up and was get apart, and anointed, the record says (Exo 40:34 ), the cloud came down and filled the tent and the glory of it was such that Moses couldn’t enter it. Then God says, “My glory sanctifies this tent.” When we get to Lev 18 , we learn that the tabernacle was sprinkled with blood as well as anointed with oil. Now, you will see from a careful reading of the last chapter of Exodus that a great many commandments are given, telling how things are to be done. Go to Leviticus and Numbers to find out how these orders given in the last chapter of Exodus are carried out. They are prescribed here and they tell you how it is to be done; the orders are given, but in Leviticus and Numbers they are carried out.
27. How dedicated?
Ans. Now, although the cloud had filled the tent, you don’t learn how that house was dedicated until you get to Num 7 . Nearly all of Leviticus and about a third of Numbers ought to be studied with the last part of Exodus. I am going to close what I have to say on this by giving you a little subsequent history of this tabernacle. It went with the children of Israel through all their wanderings. When Joshua got over into the Holy Land he set it up at Shiloh and after awhile it was moved to Nob. There it was in David’s time; then it went to Bethel; then in Solomon’s time it was at Gibeon. David erected a new tent. He didn’t make a new ark of the covenant and new altars and things of that kind, but he did make a new tent when he brought the ark up and put it in Jerusalem. Then he sent to Gibeon later on and that old tent that stood empty at Gibeon was brought but not set up, but just rolled up and when the Temple was built it was put in a chamber of the Temple and preserved, how long, I don’t know.
28. Give the parallels of a later date.
Ans. Well, just as that tabernacle was first prepared fully in all its materials, and these materials were brought together in one place, just so it was done with the Temple. So that when they started to put up the Temple they do so without the sound of hammer. Everything was so carefully prepared before it went up. Just as the church in glory will go up when the time comes. Every living stone will be thoroughly complete: body there, glorified; soul there, sanctified; no work to be done that day. It just goes into place by assembling. In my sermon on the church you will find just how the church in glory will be finally set up, and how that when our Lord built his church, John the Baptist prepared some of the material, which Jesus accepted; and Jesus prepared some of the material. But not all the work of the church was completed until Christ died. When he died he said, “It is finished.” The church was completed.
But that church was not anointed until the day of Pentecost, just as the old tabernacle had to be anointed and the smoke came and filled it. So the church that Jesus built stood open after he left it. He was the guide in it. He was the Shekinah as long as he lived, but when he went away it stood open until the day of Pentecost, when, as Daniel says, the most holy place was anointed. The Spirit came down and filled that house just as the cloud filled the house that Solomon built, and the house that Moses built.
29. What was the position of the cloud with reference to this tabernacle and its signals?
Ans. The normal place of the cloud was up in the air above the tabernacle. If the cloud moved, they moved, and they kept right under it. That was the normal place. If the cloud stopped, they stopped. So that one of the cloud’s signals was its moving, or its stopping. Another one of the cloud’s signals was its coming down and resting on the tent. That signified a communication was desired with the people through the priests. Then the high priest put on his ephod with his urim and thummirn, and went in to receive the communication. If a communication was wanted with Moses, he needed no ephod, since he was a prophet and talked direct with God.
30. What was the value of that cloud for light, shade, defense and guidance?
Ans. All night the cloud up in the air was one great pillar of fire, brighter than all the electric lights of New York City. Night couldn’t come up and touch them. Just think of it being forty years that they never saw the night. Then in the daytime the cloud spread out as a shade and kept the burning sun off them. The heat didn’t smite them for forty years. Then the cloud by its movements infallibly guided them just exactly where to go. They didn’t have to make any inquiries concerning the road they were to follow. They were to follow the cloud. They didn’t have to ask about how soon to start next morning. They were just to wait on the cloud. If it didn’t move, they were to stay right there if it was a year. The whole question was settled as to guidance by the cloud. How was it as a defense? Well, as enemies came, if the enemies were in the rear the cloud moved to the rear and got between them and the enemies with the black face of it toward the enemies. It had a black face and a light face. It would turn the light face toward the Israelites. It did that way when Pharaoh came up after them, and it looked to him like the blackest night the world ever saw, coming right between him and the Israelites, and it stayed there; Pharaoh couldn’t see through the black part of the cloud that was throwing light over Israel, and the Israelites passed through the Red Sea; as soon as they were across the cloud rose up and went on ahead of the Israelites, and Pharaoh following when he got into the midst of the sea, he and his army were swallowed up.
31. What was the value of the sanctuary as a center?
Ans. It was absolutely essential to hold this crowd together. Put three million people out and no center of unity and they will disintegrate; they will go in every direction, but no matter how many the people nor how far out the columns had to spread in marching and the herds had to go in grazing, all they had to do at any time was to look up; away yonder they could see, if in the daytime, the pillar of cloud, if at night, the pillar of fire.
32. What was the value of the sanctuary as an oracle?
Ans. An oracle is a supernatural voice that answers questions and tells you what you are to do.
33. Where was the oracle and what was it?
Ans. The most holy place is many times called the oracle, not because it was the oracle, t)ut because it was there that the oracle spoke. Nobody can estimate how much is the value of an infallible oracle. A case would come up that Moses would not know what to do. “Well, I will go and ask the oracle. I will ask God. God will tell me what to do.” In the New Testament Jesus says, “While you are now asking me questions [they were firing questions at him all the time, and right then in that very discussion of his, Philip says, “Lord, this,” and Thomas says, “Lord, this” and Jude says “Lord, this”] when the other Advacate comes, you shall ask me nothing. You will ask him. You will ask the Holy Spirit. I am going away and you think you will have nobody to answer your questions?” Disciples are interrogation points. They ask questions all the time and often very foolish questions, but Jesus patiently listened and answered, but when he went away that was the thing that troubled them: “Who will answer our questions?” “In that day when the Holy Spirit comes, you will ask me nothing. Just ask him,” says Jesus.
34. How was a communication signified?
Ans. If it was the high priest that was to ask a question, he would put on the ephod with the urim and thummirn and come to the Holy Place, and if the cloud was willing to hear him it would settle down and talk to him, and the same way with Moses, only Moses didn’t use the urim and thummirn.
35. How was the answer obtained and give examples?
Ans. If it was a priest wanting it, the answer was obtained through the urim and thummirn; I will give you some examples: 1Sa 23:9-12 ,-1Sa 28:6 ; 1Sa 30:7-8 ; Hos 3:4 . All these are cases when questions were brought, the methods by which they were brought and how answers were obtained.
36. What was the relative value of this tent and all the other tents?
Ans. A great many tents were necessary for three millions of people. I will let the psalmist answer that question. He says, “The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the tents of Israel.” That tent was worth all the rest of them put together. Without that tent the others would not stand. It was not only the center of unity and the place where the oracle spoke and by which they were defended and guided, but it was the place of God’s presence.
37. What description and explanation the best?
Ans. About the best I know is found in Rand-McNally’s Atlas of the Bible. If you had that book you could turn to a certain page and see the picture of the whole tabernacle, see the diagram showing you just how every tribe camped, where Moses stood, where Aaron stood, etc.
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible
holy. See note on Exo 3:5.
as = according as. Note this in each of the seven-fold repetition of the words “as the LORD commanded Moses” in this record of the completion of the work: and again in the work of the setting up of the tabernacle, Exo 40. Thus in Exo 39:1, Exo 39:5, Exo 39:7, Exo 39:21, Exo 39:26, Exo 39:29, and Exo 39:31; and in Exo 40:19, Exo 40:21, Exo 40:23, Exo 40:25, Exo 40:27, Exo 40:29, and Exo 40:32, the former is followed by the blessing of Moses, and the latter by the blessing of Jehovah. See the Structure “Q”, p. 124.
the LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Exo 34:33
It is a law of our being and the being of all material things that everything grows like to that with which it is conversant and familiar. Those who frequent the good gather the image of their goodness, and those who deal much with God grow Godlike.
I. What was the glory on Moses’ face? St. Paul gives us a remarkable answer to this question. He says, “They could not look steadfastly to the end of that which is abolished.” “That which is abolished” is the law, and the end of the law is Christ; therefore the glory upon Moses’ face was the Lord Jesus Christ.
II. It was not in compassion for the weakness of the Israelites that Moses put a veil upon his face. The Jews had lost the power to see the end of that which is abolished, to see the glory of God in Jesus Christ reflected in the law. The veil was judicial, the consequence of sin; it was interposed between them and the beauty of the glory of God in the person of Jesus Christ.
III. There are veiled hearts among us now, and the reason of the veil is sin. The remedy is Christ. “When they shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away.” When we have Christ within, we shall be able to look with unveiled mind upon all the beauties and glories of the Christ without. And then will come to pass that with which St. Paul sums it all up: “We, with open face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
J. Vaughan, Meditations in Exodus, p. 109.
References: Exo 35:8.-Spurgeon, Evening by Evening, p. 336. Exo 35:20-29.-Parker, vol. ii., p. 293. Exo 35:29.-J. Vaughan, Meditations in Exodus, p. 118; Preacher’s Monthly, vol. ii., p. 300. Exo 35:30-34.-Homiletic Magazine, vol. xiv., p. 165. Exo 35:30-35.-L. D. Bevan, Sermons to Students, p. 121. Exod 35.-Preacher’s Monthly, vol. ii., p. 303. 35, 36-Ibid., p. 303. Exo 36:1.-W. Arnot, Good Words, 1862, p. 318. Exo 37:7.-S. Baring-Gould, Village Preaching for a Year, vol. ii., p. 103. Exo 37:23.-Ibid., p. 145. Exo 38:8.-Parker, vol. ii., p. 301; H. Macmillan, The Olive Leaf, p. 169; S. Baring-Gould, Village Preaching for a Year, vol. i., p. 189. Exo 38:23.-Ibid., vol. ii., p. 321. Exo 38:26, Exo 38:27.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxvii., No. 1581.
Exo 39:8
A full description of the breastplate is given twice over in the Book of Exodus, and from it we may gather certain useful lessons as to the Church in all ages.
I. There were twelve stones in the breastplate, each of them different, and each bearing a different name. This shows what variety there is among believers. So long as the human race differs so much in mental structure, we shall not be able to think alike, even in those things that are spoken of in Holy Writ. There are differences with regard to worship, differences in religious feelings and experiences; the stones are not alike, yet they are all on the same breastplate.
II. This brings us to another truth-the unity of the Church, all differing, yet all on the heart of Christ. The enemy has only to show himself, and men who differ amongst themselves agree to drive him back.
III. They were all precious stones; not one was mean or contemptible. God’s Church has ever been costly. No jewel is what it afterwards becomes when first found. Let not the stone which sparkles in its setting sneer at that which only looks like a pebble. The Master has chosen it; He knows that He has put within its rude exterior that which only needs time and skill to make it “shine as the stars for ever and ever.”
IV. Why were those precious stones put upon the breastplate? They were not on the mitre; they were upon the heart, teaching us that the Church is beloved. Every believer is on the heart of God.
V. Great pains were taken to keep the breastplate from being lost. It was not only fastened to the shoulders by chains, but the bottom part of the breastplate was fastened by two rings lashed to the two rings in the ephod. This tells us of the Church’s security.
T. Champness, New Coins from Old Gold, p. 234.
Exo 39:9-10, Exo 39:14
The breastplate of the Jewish high-priest is a beautiful type of intercession. When the high-priest appeared before God in his full sacerdotal attire, there would be the twelve names upon his heart, indicative of his love and care for the whole people of Israel. The names upon the breastplate betoken the individuality of Christ’s intercession for His people. Every Christian ought to intercede, because he is in a certain important sense a priest, and intercession is one of the priestly functions.
I. Observe, first, the great importance attached to this duty in Scripture. In the Old Testament we find Abraham interceding for Sodom; in the New Testament we find the early Church winning the life of St. Peter by intercessory prayer. The Lord’s Prayer is so constructed that it is impossible to use it without praying for all other Christians besides ourselves.
II. The duty of intercessory prayer is based upon the fact that men are one body and members one of another. Whether in nature or in grace, a man is essentially the member of a family. And if this be so, the weal and woe of other men, of other Christians, must be, to a certain extent, our weal and woe, cannot ultimately fail to reach us. We must bring our relations and sympathies with us when we appear before God.
III. Although both the duty of intercessory prayer and the grounds of it are clear, there is no part of devotion which Christians so much neglect. Some shrink from intercessory prayer under a feeling that, coming from them, it would be presumptuous. The real reason, however, of our reluctance to practise intercessory prayer, is a want of sympathy with others, a want of love. He who prays with the largest sympathy, he who embraces in. his prayer the widest circle of his fellow-creatures, is most in sympathy with the mind of God when he prays, has the key of God’s heart, and therefore of God’s treasury.
E. M. Goulburn, Thoughts on Personal Religion, p. 79.
Exodus 40 – Lev 1:1.-J. Monro Gibson, The Mosaic Era, p. 133.
Fuente: The Sermon Bible
CHAPTER 39 The Priestly Garments and the Work Finished
1. The material used (Exo 39:1)
2. The ephod (Exo 39:2-7)
3. The breastplate (Exo 39:8-21)
4. The robe, the bells and pomegranates (Exo 39:22-26)
5. The coats (Exo 39:27-29)
6. The holy crown (Exo 39:30-31)
7. The work finished (Exo 39:32-43)
All is done as the Lord commanded. This expression is used seven times in chapter 39 (verses 1, 5, 7, 21, 26, 29, 31). It is again repeated exactly seven times in chapter 40, the last chapter of Exodus (verses 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 32). Seven is the number of perfection and completion. All had been well done and Jehovah was pleased and could own the work, of which He was the originator. Blue, purple, and scarlet, the colors of heaven, royalty and blood, are given in the preparation of the holy garments. It tells once more of Him who is the priest. The order is significant. The heavenly color comes first, for He came from heavens glory. The kingly color next; He manifested Himself in His kingly power, and the blood color last, He died and shed His blood. Urim and Thummim are not mentioned in the list, for they could not be made.
The work was finished and all presented to Moses for inspection. The principal parts are mentioned once more. With what joy Moses must have looked upon the ark, the curtains, the boards, the altars, the laver and the garments of beauty and glory. There was no flaw in anything. With what liberality and zeal the great work had been accomplished. Then Moses blessed the children of Israel .
Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)
the blue: Exo 25:4, Exo 26:1, Exo 35:23
cloths: Exo 31:10, Exo 35:19
holy place: Psa 93:5, Eze 43:12, Heb 9:12, Heb 9:25
the holy: Exo 28:2-4, Exo 31:10, Eze 42:14
Reciprocal: Exo 36:1 – according Exo 39:41 – cloths Lev 8:2 – garments Lev 8:4 – General Lev 8:7 – he put Num 4:6 – a cloth Num 4:13 – General 1Sa 2:28 – And did I
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Exo 39:1. The tabernacle and its court being now fitted for divine service, the next things to be wrought were the robes of the high-priest and priests, to be put on when they did service in the holy place. Hence these garments are termed clothes of service. And those that wear robes of honour, says Henry, must look upon them as clothes of service; for, from them upon whom honour is put, service is expected. Holy garments were not made for men to sleep in, but to do service in, and then they are indeed for glory and beauty. These also were shadows of good things to come, but the substance is Christ. He is our great High-Priest; he put upon him the clothes of service when he undertook the work of our redemption; arrayed himself with the gifts and graces of the Spirit, which he received not by measure; charged himself with all Gods spiritual Israel, bare them on his shoulder, carried them in his bosom, and presented them in the breast-plate of judgment unto his Father. And, lastly, he crowned himself with holiness to the Lord, consecrated his whole undertaking to the honour of his Fathers holiness. And all true believers are spiritual priests. The clean linen, with which all their clothes of service must be made, is the righteousness of saints: and holiness to the Lord must be so written upon their foreheads, that all who converse with them may see they bear the image of Gods holiness.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
REFLECTIONS.After the short space of four or five months, we find this mystical tabernacle fully completed. It was a portable and temporary habitation of the most high God, and a figure of his true church in her pilgrimage to a better world.
The several parts of the sanctuary are here repeated, says Mr. Ainsworth, to show that every thing was made after the model exhibited on the mount, and according to the divine command. God who alone saw the future glory of his church, and knew how he would be approached by Jesus Christ, must be his own architect. Hence in this sacred pavilion, we have the glory of the church and kingdom of God presignified to the ancient world.
The dress of Aaron seemed as though it had collected the most tasteful of patriarchal propriety, or borrowed the plumage of the most beautiful birds. His mitre, or bonnet, inscribed with Holiness to the Lord, marked the dignity of his office, as crowned with glory and righteousness. The whiteness of his raiment, decorated with lace of blue; the ephod or sash of blue curiously flowered with gold; the fringe, the pomegranates, and the bells pendent to his robe, gave it a splendid termination, and announced his approach with pardon and peace to Israel. Above all, the breastplate of judgment, so called because God gave the answers to enquiries by Urim and Thummim. Num 27:21. The breastplate, whose precious stones reflected the light of the sun with all the tints of the prism or rainbow, gave a lustre to his sacred person becoming the majesty of his high service, and made him a glorious figure of Jesus Christ, in whom are concentrated the perfection of beauty, and all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
All this splendour was not given for vain parade, but for the most serious and arduous service of the sanctuary. The highpriest was to make atonement for the sins of the people; he was to love them, to pray for them, to enforce discipline, and to publish by his life and doctrine, the laws and righteousness of the Most High. Let us, while we revere his character, see in his person the glory of our Redeemer, and in the superior glory of his priesthood, the real object of all the shadows, and the captivating grandeur of the ritual law. When the workmen had given an astonishing finish to the several parts of all their work, Moses revised the whole; and on finding it done according to the Lords command, he rewarded them with his approbation and blessing. It does not appear that they asked or coveted any greater reward. The people gave gifts, and the artists gave labour; all were happy and content; and when the Lord Jesus shall come to take account of his servants work; if it shall be found that our poor services have been done according to his commands, and in his spirit; if he shall say, well done good and faithful servants; if he shall add, come ye blessed children of my Father, the reward is infinite, and the glory ineffable. We shall all be kings and priests unto God, and dwell in his house for ever.
Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Exodus 35 – 40
These chapters contain a recapitulation of the various parts of the tabernacle and its furniture; and inasmuch as, I have already given what I believe to be the import of the more prominent parts, it were needless to add more. There are, however, two things in this section from which we may deduce most profitable instruction, and these are, first, the voluntary devotedness; and, secondly, the implicit obedience of the people with respect to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation. And first, as to their voluntary devotedness, we read, “And all the consecration of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the Lord’s offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments. And they came, both men and women, as many as were willing-hearted, and brought bracelets and earrings, and rings, and tablets, all jewels of gold : and every man that offered offered an offering of gold unto the Lord. And every man with whom was found blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair, and red skins of rams, and badgers’ skins, brought them. Every one that did offer an offering of silver and brass, brought the Lord’s offering: and every man with whom was found shittim wood? for any work of the service, brought it. And all the women that were wise-hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen. And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun goats’ hair. And the rulers brought onyx stones, and stones to be set for the ephod, and for the breastplate: and spice and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense. The children of Israel brought a willing offering unto the Lord every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring, for all manner of work which the Lord had commanded to be made by the hand of Moses.” (Ex. 35: 20-29.) And, again, we read, “And all the wise men that; wrought all the work of the sanctuary, came every man from his work which they made; and they spake unto Moses, saying, The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work, which the Lord commanded to make, . . . . for the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much.” (Ver. 4-7.)
A lovely picture this of devotedness to the work of the sanctuary! It needed no effort to move the hearts of the people to give, no earnest appeals, no impressive arguments. Oh! no; their “hearts stirred them up.” This was the true way. The streams of voluntary devotedness flowed from within. “Rulers,” “men,” “women” – all felt it to he their sweet privilege to give to the Lord, not with a narrow heart or niggard hand, but after such a princely fashion that they had “enough and too much.”
Then, as to their implicit obedience, we read, “according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so the children of Israel made all the work. And Moses did look upon all the work, and, behold, they had done it as the Lord had commanded, even so had they done it: and Moses blessed them.” (Ex. 39: 42, 43) The Lord had given the most minute instructions concerning the entire work of the tabernacle. Every pin, every socket, every loop, every tach, was accurately set forth. There was no room left for man’s expediency, his reason, or his common sense. Jehovah did not give a great outline and leave man to fill it up He left no margin whatever in which man might enter his regulations. By no means. “See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern showed to thee in the mount. (Ex. 25: 40; Ex. 26: 30; Heb. 8: 5) This left no room for human device. If man had been allowed to make a single pin, that pin would, most assuredly, have been out of place in the judgement of God. We can see what man’s “graving tool” produces in Ex. 32. Thank God, it had no place in the tabernacle. They did, in this matter, just what they were told – nothing more – nothing less. Salutary lesson this for the professing church! There are many things in the history of Israel which we should earnestly seek to avoid – their impatient murmurings, their legal vows, and their idolatry; but in those two things may we imitate them. May our devotedness be more whole hearted, and our obedience more implicit. We may safely assert, that if all had not been done “according to the pattern showed in the mount,” we should not have to read, “then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.” (Ex. 40: 34, 35) The tabernacle was, in all respects, according to the divine pattern, and, therefore, it could be filled with the divine glory. There is a volume of instruction in this. We are too prone to regard the Word of God as insufficient for the most minute details connected with His worship, and service. This is a great mistake, a mistake which has proved the fruitful source of evils and errors, in the professing Church. The word of God is amply sufficient for everything, whether as regards personal salvation and walk, or the order and rule of the assembly. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. (2 Tim. 3: 16, 17) This settles the question. If the Word of God furnishes a man thoroughly unto “all good works,” it follows, as a, necessary consequence, that whatever I find not in its pages, cannot possibly be a good work. and, further, be it remembered, that the divine glory cannot connect itself with ought that is not according to the divine pattern.
– – – – – – –
Beloved reader, we have now travelled together through this most precious book. We have, I fondly hope, reaped some profit from our study. I trust we have gathered up some refreshing thoughts of Jesus and His sacrifice as we passed along. Feeble, indeed, must be our most vigorous thoughts, and shallow our deepest apprehensions, as to the mind of God in all that this Book contains. It is happy to remember that through grace, we are on our way to that glory where we shall know, even as we are known; and where we shall bask in the sunshine of His countenance who is the beginning and ending of all the ways of God, whether in creation, in providence, or redemption. To Him I do most affectionately commend you, in body, soul, and spirit. May you know the deep blessedness of having your portion in Christ, and be kept in patient waiting for His glorious advent. Amen.
C. H. M.
Fuente: Mackintosh’s Notes on the Pentateuch
Exodus 39. Ps. Vestments and Summary.
Exo 39:1 a and Exo 39:1 b are doublets, and Exo 39:1 a perhaps once began a full account of the woven fabrics, now given in another place. The explanation in Exo 39:3 as to the way in which they worked in the gold is new here. There is abridgment in some verses, and after a sentence concluding the full account of the constructive process a fresh summary follows, the workers being generalised (Exo 39:32; Exo 39:42) as the children of Israel. The chapter closes with the inspection of the work by Moses and his benediction upon the workers, a feature reproduced in the Order for the Consecration of Churches as commonly used.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
THE EPHOD
(vs.2-7)
Various hangings for the tabernacle and the court were made of blue, purple and scarlet and fine twined linen, and these same materials were employed in making the priest’s garments.
However, the ephod also included gold, which was beaten into thin sheets and cut into threads, to be woven into the blue, purple, scarlet and fine linen in an artistic design. Thus, in this most important article of clothing, the Lord Jesus is typified in His divine glory first, as God over all, then His heavenly character (the blue), his royal character (purple), His universally attractive glory (the scarlet) and His spotless humanity (the fine linen). Shoulder straps coupled the ephod together.
The encircling band of the ephod was made of the same materials, impressing us with the various aspects of the glory of the Lord Jesus, our Great High Priest. Then an onyx stone in a setting of gold was placed on each shoulder of the ephod. These stones were engraved with the names of the sons of Israel, six names on each stone (Exo 28:10). This speaks of the Lord’s sustaining all His saints on the shoulders of His strength. They are “memorial stones,” for Israel is always in His memory.
THE BREASTPLATE
(vs.8-21)
The breastplate was of the same material as the ephod, but doubled to make a more solid background for the precious stones set in it. It would be about 12 inches square. The stones were set in four rows of three stones each, the first row a sardius, a topaz and an emerald; the second row a turquoise, a sapphire and a diamond; the third row a jacinth, an agate and an amethyst; the fourth row a beryl, an onyx and a jasper. These were all placed in settings of gold. Each of these stones was engraved with one of the names of the sons of Israel. Thus, the high priest wore their names on his breast, typical of the Lord Jesus holding His saints constantly in His affections.
Golden rings were placed on the two ends of the breastplate, to be connected by two chains of gold to the settings of the onyx stones on the shoulders of the ephod. Two more gold rings were placed on the lower corners of the breastplate and two rings also in the corresponding places on the ephod, so that these could be bound together by a blue cord. The ephod was vital in the high priest’s inquiring of God on behalf of the people, for it denotes the unity of all the tribes of Israel, and none of these was to be ignored when God was asked for His directing will.
OTHER GARMENTS FOR THE PRIESTS
(vs.22-31)
The robe of the ephod was all of blue. It was worn beneath the ephod, forming a heavenly background for the beauty of the ephod. The opening of it that circled the neck was strengthened by a woven binding so that it would not tear. On the lower hem of the robe were pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet and fine twined linen, interspersed with bells of pure gold, thus one bell, one pomegranate in order. This reminds us that God expects true worship when entering His presence, the golden bells indicating what is vocal, “the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name” (Heb 13:15), and the pomegranates speaking of the fruitfulness of a godly life: “But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased” (Heb 13:15).
The tunics both for Aaron and his sons were made of fine linen, and similarly their turbans and their short trousers, all emphasizing moral purity. Their girdles (or sashes) were made of fine linen, blue, purple and scarlet, however. For the high priest a golden plate was made to be set in his headdress, with the inscription. “Holiness to the Lord.” This was fastened by blue cords to the turban.
COMPLETED, INSPECTED AND APPROVED
(vs.32-43)
Thus all the work was done in accordance with the Lord’s instructions. It must be so if God was to dwell in the tabernacle, just as is true today if the Church is be a suitable dwelling place for Him. All of these components of the tabernacle were then brought to Moses, the list of which is given in verses 33 to 41. The fact that these things are spoken of so often indicates how deeply important they are to our God and Father, so that they call for our attention and meditation.
Moses inspected the work, and found it had been done precisely as the Lord had commanded him. Therefore he blessed the people. Ten times in this chapter (39) the expression is found, “as the Lord commanded Moses.” In Chapter 40 the same expression is found eight times.
Fuente: Grant’s Commentary on the Bible
39:1 And of the blue, and purple, and scarlet, they made {a} cloths of service, to do service in the holy [place], and made the holy garments for Aaron; as the LORD commanded Moses.
(a) As coverings for the ark, the candlestick, the altars and such like.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The priests’ clothing 39:1-31
Moses described the preparation of the priests’ clothes at length, as is appropriate in view of their importance. [Note: See John E. Johnson, "The Old Testament Offices as Paradigm for Pastoral Identity," Bibliotheca Sacra 152:606 (April-June 1995):182-200.]
The ephod Exo 39:2-7 (cf. Exo 28:6-12)
The breastplate Exo 39:8-21 (cf. Exo 28:15-29)
The robe Exo 39:22-26 (cf. Exo 28:31-34)
The other accessories Exo 39:27-31 (cf. Exo 28:39-40; Exo 28:42)
Note the repetition of the fact that the craftsmen followed the Lord’s instructions to Moses precisely (Exo 39:1; Exo 39:5; Exo 39:7; Exo 39:21; Exo 39:26; Exo 39:29; Exo 39:31).
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
-35
CHAPTER XXXV.
THE CONCLUSION.
Exo 35:1-35 – Exo 40:1-38.
The remainder of the narrative sets forth in terms almost identical with the directions already given, the manner in which the Divine injunctions were obeyed. The people, purified in heart by danger, chastisement and shame, brought much more than was required. A quarter of a million would poorly represent the value of the shrine in which, at the last, Moses and Aaron approached their God, while the cloud covered the tent and the glory filled the tabernacle, and Moses failed to overcome his awe and enter.
Thenceforth the cloud was the guide of their halting and their march. Many a time they grieved their God in the wilderness, yet the cloud was on the tabernacle by day, and there was fire therein by night, throughout all their journeyings.
That cloud is seen no longer; but One has said, “Lo, I am with you all the days.” If the presence is less material, it is because we ought to be more spiritual.
* * * * *
Looking back upon the story, we can discern more clearly what was asserted when we began–the forming and training of a nation.
They are called from shameful servitude by the devotion of a patriot and a hero, who has learned in failure and exile the difference between self-confidence and faith. The new name of God, and His remembrance of their fathers, inspire them at the same time with awe and hope and nationality. They see the hollowness of earthly force, and of superstitious worships, in the abasement and ruin of Egypt. They are taught by the Paschal sacrifice to confess that the Divine favour is a gift and not a right, that their lives also are justly forfeited. The overthrow of Pharaoh’s army and the passage of the Sea brings them into a new and utterly strange life, in an atmosphere and amid scenes well calculated to expand and deepen their emotions, to develop their sense of freedom and self-respect, and yet to oblige them to depend wholly on their God. Privation at Marah chastens them. The attack of Amalek introduces them to war, and forbids their dependence to sink into abject softness. The awful scene of Horeb burns and brands his littleness into man. The covenant shows them that, however little in themselves, they may enter into communion with the Eternal. It also crushes out what is selfish and individualising, by making them feel the superiority of what they all share over anything that is peculiar to one of them. The Decalogue reveals a holiness at once simple and profound, and forms a type of character such as will make any nation great. The sacrificial system tells them at once of the pardon and the heinousness of sin. Religion is both exalted above the world and infused into it, so that all is consecrated. The priesthood and the shrine tell them of sin and pardon, exclusion and hope; but that hope is a common heritage, which none may appropriate without his brother.
The especial sanctity of a sacred calling is balanced by an immediate assertion of the sacredness of toil, and the Divine Spirit is recognised even in the gift of handicraft.
A tragic and shameful failure teaches them, more painfully than any symbolic system of curtains and secret chambers, how little fitted they are for the immediate intercourse of heaven. And yet the ever-present cloud, and the shrine in the heart of their encampment, assure them that God is with them of a truth.