The Tabernacle Erected
40:1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “On the first day of the first month you shall erect the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. 3 And you shall put in it the ark of the testimony, and you shall screen the ark with the veil. 4 And you shall bring in the table and arrange it, and you shall bring in the lampstand and set up its lamps. 5 And you shall put the golden altar for incense before the ark of the testimony, and set up the screen for the door of the tabernacle. 6 You shall set the altar of burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, 7 and place the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. 8 And you shall set up the court all around, and hang up the screen for the gate of the court.
9 “Then you shall take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it, and consecrate it and all its furniture, so that it may become holy. 10 You shall also anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar, so that the altar may become most holy. 11 You shall also anoint the basin and its stand, and consecrate it. 12 Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting and shall wash them with water 13 and put on Aaron the holy garments. And you shall anoint him and consecrate him, that he may serve me as priest. 14 You shall bring his sons also and put coats on them, 15 and anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may serve me as priests. And their anointing shall admit them to a perpetual priesthood throughout their generations.”
16 This Moses did; according to all that the Lord commanded him, so he did. 17 In the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, the tabernacle was erected. 18 Moses erected the tabernacle. He laid its bases, and set up its frames, and put in its poles, and raised up its pillars. 19 And he spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent over it, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 20 He took the testimony and put it into the ark, and put the poles on the ark and set the mercy seat above on the ark. 21 And he brought the ark into the tabernacle and set up the veil of the screen, and screened the ark of the testimony, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 22 He put the table in the tent of meeting, on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil, 23 and arranged the bread on it before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 24 He put the lampstand in the tent of meeting, opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle, 25 and set up the lamps before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 26 He put the golden altar in the tent of meeting before the veil, 27 and burned fragrant incense on it, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 28 He put in place the screen for the door of the tabernacle. 29 And he set the altar of burnt offering at the entrance of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and offered on it the burnt offering and the grain offering, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 30 He set the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it for washing, 31 with which Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet. 32 When they went into the tent of meeting, and when they approached the altar, they washed, as the Lord commanded Moses. 33 And he erected the court around the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the screen of the gate of the court. So Moses finished the work.
The Glory of the Lord
34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35 And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 36 Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out. 37 But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken up. 38 For the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys. (ESV)
Wow! All this activity, laid out in exact detail, What for? I guess that approaching the place where the CREATOR of the WHOLE UNIVERSE will come to you requires some serious thought and preparation. Maybe we take it too lightly???
I challenge you all to find verses that tell us what our heart should be like when seeking God today!
16 Moses did everything just as the LORD commanded him.
I think this verse sums how our heart should respond to the commands of God. To love God is to obey his commands and his commands are not burdensome. This means if we really love God we would read the bible often and spend time in prayer. Christians should have these basic Godly disciplines. How else will we grow?, how else we will know what the Lord requires? Dear Lord please give me the strength and the perseverance to seek after you daily.
32 They washed whenever they entered the Tent of Meeting or approached the altar, as the LORD commanded Moses.
A perfect example for followers of Christ. Before they would enter the tent or approached the altar, they washed just as the LORD commanded. Hopefully, we are all followers of Christ and leaders of our Christian faith.
38 So the cloud of the LORD was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel during all their travels.
GOD is always with us. Even though he is not physically with us like he was with the Israelites, he still lives within us. Every moment of every day, GOD is there waiting for you to speak to him, to ask of him. It amazes me how much GOD loves us.
38 So the cloud of the LORD was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel during all their travels.
Just what I was thinking, “Old Man, New Heart”! The Maker of all things cannot be approached flippantly and He has spelled out so many things here for coming to Him. I need to make sure I am coming to Him in a right way, not ignoring Him half the time and then only approaching Him when I want something. Scripture talks about seeking God with a whole heart, a clean heart. Hebrews 10:22 says: “let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.”
3 Place the ark of the Testimony in it and shield the ark with the curtain.
The Ark of the Testimony was in the Most Holy Place of the Tabernacle. Only the High Preist could enter the Most Holy Place, and even then, only once a year. The curtain stopped the everyday Israelite from having direct access to God’s presence. As Easter approaches this verse stood out to me because Christ’s death caused this curtain to rip, symbolizing that every Christian now has direct access to God. Matthew 27:51 talks about Christ’s death ripping the curtain and Hebrews 9 gives another great explanation of Jesus’ death removing the curatin that separated us from God. I am so thankful today that I am living under the New Covenant where Jesus’ sacrificial death tore that curatin that limited my access to God and now I have the ability through Christ to go directly to God’s presence.
This is a great passage, one verse that really stuck out to me was 38 So the cloud of the LORD was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel during all their travels.
Its amazing how God was always over them watching and how they wouldnt leave until the cloud had left from above them.
16 Moses did everything just as the LORD commanded him.
This is what we are called to do. We are called to live by God’s commands, but we do not take that seriously enough. We always make it seem like an enormous burden but we should not see it that way. We should delight in the Lord
16 Moses did everything just as the LORD commanded him.
I love this verse because, like what the Truth Warrior said, this verse should reflect what our hearts are and how we do with what the LORD commanded of us. We have a purpose on this earth, of which is in God’s will and we need to fulfil it like what God commands it and when we do we need to have a servants heart and not a heart like Jonah when he went to Ninavah. :]
***HAVE A SERVANTS HEART FOR THE LORD***
I am going to agree with Christ and “old man new heart”; it is so true that we take coming into the presence of the Lord WAY too lightly. We need to make sure that we are focusing on who we are talking to when we are in prayer, and that we give Him the reverence that is due His name! Do we only talk to him as if he is some cosmic genie in the sky whenever we want something? Do we really ascribe him the thanks and glory due His name! We cannot take it lightly, but at the same time it should motivate us to having a heart of thanksgiving for who He is and all He has done..
38 So the cloud of the LORD was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel during all their travels.
How awesome to be able to “see” God. They couldn’t actully see God but they could see the presence of God. He guided them through all their travels. How encouraging, but how scary, to have God in your midst. The thing is, God is with us today as well! We can’t see a cloud of pillar of fire, but he is still here. We need to remember that God sees and hears everything we do. This should be a check on our behavior!
35 Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled upon it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
What an exciting conclusion to the book of Exodus! God is now dwelling with his people. He has given them the law so they can know him. He has given them specific instructions to build the tabernacle so he can be with them. And now all of this has culminated in the relationship between God and Israel finally being like he wanted.
Unfortunately, this did not last as we know from the rest of the Old Testament.
Fortunately, we have the New Testament where God provides a new way to have a relationship with him through his Son Jesus Christ. I’m looking forward to diving into the middle of the book of John as we approach Good Friday and Easter and reading about what Christ suffered for us and how he rose from the dead!
But most of all I am looking forward to being in a place where I can dwell with God and see his glory: The New Jerusalem. He will once again be united with his people in a relationship like this, except that time it will never come to an end! Maranatha!
I agree Bobby! It was a great ending, with the glory of the Lord filling the tent! And the awe and respect God’s people had for Him! We may not see the glory of the Lord coming down like a cloud, but we have the scriptures which show us the things He has done and will do in the future. Thank God for that!
Bienvenidos Norteanos Verdades!
As I read about the construction of the Tabernacle in all of its majestic detail, my mind kept flashing back to the pathetic little calf that the Isrealites had made, and how they were SO excited to worship it. It sound so rediculous to us, but its the same thing with our pathetic little ipods and computers etc.etc. ! I know we keep coming back to this point, but the bible does call us “sheep” and sheep are pretty dumb animals, that left to their own devices will keep repeating the same mistake over and over!
38 So the cloud of the LORD was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel during all their travels.
This is such a powerful visual picture! Today, we dont have a cloud and fire to look at but we do have SOO many other things! We have The Risen Christ that created a way for us to cummune with the Lord DIRECTLY!! We have the Holy Spirit that resides with us personally!!! We have the body of Christ – Each other!! That we can lift each other up, intercede in prayer for one another, be the hands and feet of Jesus to impact ech other and the world all for the Glory of the Lord!! And we have the Holy written word of God that we can hold in our hands and read again and again as it transforms our lives because it is the living word!! Chances are we have several of these laying around! God is so immensely gracious that we need to make an effort not to forget how Powerful and Just He trully is. Lets take time to meditate on Gods greatness, Psalm 36:5-8.
Maranatha!!
woops I meant Psalm 36:5-9! :)
38 So the cloud of the LORD was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel during all their travels.
This last verse is so powerful! God was constantly with his people. What a comforting thing to know! We should always be in God’s word and in prayer. Just like Meisha said, God is with us everyday too! We need to remember that he can see and hear all we do and think! Joshua 1:8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
“he did just as the LORD had commanded him”
It seems like almost everyone is commenting on this, but I seriously thought this was a pretty good point. Moses was such a faithful man, and very obedient also. He is a very good example of what God wants from us. I’m glad that God gave us examples in the Bible of how to live so that we could try to live up to his expectations. I want to be able to hear the words “Well done, good and faithful servant” this would be wonderful
16 Moses did everything just as the LORD commanded him.
I also love this verse and it stood out to me. Are we doing everything just as the Lord commanded us? Not a day goes by where I don’t break one of His commands or I feel like I could’ve done more for God. The Bible is right here for us to read so we can know all of His commands…that’s why it’s so important to read it – and to be on SOTD! :] If we don’t know his commands how can we follow them? But then once we know them, and start to not follow them, we’ll become convicted to do the right things in the sight of the Lord. At that point it’s what we do with the conviction – listen to it or ignore it. But doesn’t hearing this verse encourage you to do everything the Lord has commanded you?!
35 Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled upon it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
How amazing it must have been to know that all that hard work was put to good use!! God’s presence filled this tabernacle!! It is just like good works, and staying away from sin! God will reward us treasures in heaven, even though we don’t deserve to go to heaven, he still blesses us!! Our God is PHENOMENAL and we should praise him for all that he is!! :D
35 Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled upon it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
38 So the cloud of the LORD was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel during all their travels.
The Glory of the Lord shows it’s self once more! The cloud was so big and just so exquisite (lol) that Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting.
Fire inside the cloud WOAHH!!! Reminds me of the burning bush…I am so suprised after reading how many times it talks about the glory of the Lord! It’s over, Exodus and Genesis, I loved reading all 90 chapters they were amazing, now to John! I am going to miss these first two books in the Bible :/
19 Then he spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering over the tent, as the LORD commanded him.
Moses was a great example for us because he does what God tells him to do. We need to also act that way not only with God but also those that God has put over us as our authority ( parents, teachers) Are we obeying promptly when we are suppose to?
Jeff not small fry ( my sister)
Moses does everything God commands him to do to the slightest detail. God really asked a lot of Moses and he sure brought the heat. We need to be more like Moses even if we are weary and tired we should still work 100% for God’s glory. If Jesus died for us and took the pain and humiliation then we should be able to do a simple task for God. Like Bobby was talking about being a prisoner for the LORD. Today we worry about not being liked. Back then it was worrying about jail or even death, inhumane death at that.
16 Moses did everything just as the LORD commanded him.
This is what we need to be trying to do every second of our lives! this verse really helps me realize how much more we could be doing to glorify God. I want to be like Moses and do everything the LORD commands me. Its not something thats very easy though but this is where we should all be striving to be in our daily lives.
38 So the cloud of the LORD was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel during all their travels.
This final verse stuck out to me because as I have been thinking about sin, I’ve been realizing that every time we sin we are doing it in front of GOD! Having God constantly over them in the form of a cloud or fire must have brought heightened accoutability to the Isrealites. We need to do everything remembering that God is watching!
I love reading all of these posts! Exodus was also awesome. It portrayed God’s magnificent power in delivering the Israelites from the Egyptians. We could see the power he has in all the plagues that wiped out Egypt. It is comforting to know that that same power that destroyed the Egyptians lives in us.
16 Moses did everything just as the LORD commanded him.
We need to do exactly as the Lord commands. Thats laid out plain and clear for us!
31 and Moses and Aaron and his sons used it to wash their hands and feet.
Does this ceremonially washing have anything to do with the washing away of sins? Maybe symbollically?
16 Moses did everything just as the LORD commanded him.
We can see in the next several verses that moses did ________________ just as the LORD commanded him. Moses is fully obedient to do whatever God calls him to do, we need to have the same mindset and attitude and obey every thing God commands us to do!
God please help me when things are rough help me to get through them wash away my sins God help me to obey my parents in every way.
16 Moses did everything just as the LORD commanded him.
This verse is simple and straight to the point, yet many people do not take obeying The Lord seriously. It is not optional, in fact, it is what we are called to do! As Christians, we should have a desire and a passion to do what we are commanded to do. Not only does Moses have a great attitude towards the Lord, but we will be rewarded if we do our best and obey God in EVERYTHING! It pleases God to see that we are taking his laws seriously and it is something we all need to take seriously and to apply it to our lives daily.
Great comments everyone! and Mrs. Burke, good point! We do have the risen king, the Holy Spirit, annnnd the body of Christ, so why are we so afraid sometimes to talk to people about Christ???? I think our focus should be on God and God only and that will give us the boldness and courage to talk to ANYONE about God!!! :D
annnnnd the ceremonial washing…God commanded them to do it! It reminded me of how we need to be before we come before our Heavenly Father, pure. We can’t ask Him for help or throw up all these prayer requests if we have not been cleansed! Just a reminder to check our hearts everyday, to see if we are right before God. challenge made my Old Man New Heart : Psalm 119:9-12 How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Praise be to you, O Lord; :)
16 Moses did everything just as the LORD commanded him.
Perfect. We should be like this even if God is commanding us to just set up a tabernacle, a holy place, and we should make exactly as God wants because it is supposed to be holy and God is the most holiest!!!
Also agreeing with most other people, great ending and how cool and such a site it must have been!
38 So the cloud of the LORD was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel during all their travels.
Reading about everything Moses and the Israelites were commanded to do: set up the tabernacle, burn incense, wash their hands and feet, etc, I can’t help but be grateful that we can have a personal relationship with the Father through Christ. These rituals no longer apply. We are free to come before the Lord in prayer and worship anytime and anywhere. This in no way means we can treat it casually, but we are to come before the Lord in reverence, with fear and trembling.
33 Then Moses set up the courtyard around the tabernacle and altar and put up the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard. And so Moses finished the work.
34 Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
35 Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled upon it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
38 So the cloud of the LORD was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel during all their travels.
The work on the tabernacle is complete! The lord approves of the work and His glory filled the tabernacle. This reminded me of 1 Corinthians 3:10-16 we too are spiritual workers, building on a foundation laid by Jesus Christ. One day our work will become evident and fire will test the quality of our workmanship. How awesome it will be to have our work approved, and rewarded by God, as we enter into his kingdom forever!! The thought just makes me want to serve him all the more; no longer desiring to waste my time on worthless things. Let us continue to seek the Lord, follow His commands and persist in the work He has called each of us to do.
Sorry, typo! Instead of laid by, it should read…A foundation which is Jesus Christ :)
I am so thankful that God is in control of every aspect of this entire universe. Science can never explain what God does. I am even more thankful that we can have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and that faith and repentance saves us. No longer do we need to perform rituals like these. We have Jesus Christ, our humble Savior!
38 So the cloud of the LORD was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel during all their travels.
In response to the challenge about approaching God, I thought about the first chapter in Malachi (Malachi 1:14), where God is angry at the Israelites for sacrificing the second-rate animals. God wants us to approach Him with obedient, humble hearts. Only the humble man realizes that God DEMANDS and DESERVES a complete sacrifice, rather than the left-over sacrifice that we are too often quick to offer.
Throughout this chapter, Moses is so obedient to what God tells him to do. The rest of the Israelite people follow in his example. We need to learn from this. We will be blessed when we obey God and do His will.
wow allready the last chapter of Exodus!
34Then the cloud covered the Tent of the Meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
How cool is that! Can’t wait to see our Lord’s glory in Heaven! Where it will be filled with all of His glory for eternity!
Moses did as the Lord commanded every time he was told to do something. He did everything exactly like he was told and that is what we should do. We should listen to Him and follow what He commands while having a great attitude about it!
16 Moses did everything just as the LORD commanded him.
16 Moses did everything just as the LORD commanded him.
Last chapter WOW!!
Moses did everything the Lord had commanded him and look where he got the Israelites. God watched over and protected them throughout the journey. God kept them safe in the worst times and even when they turned from God Moses kept them inline and turned them back to God.
38 So the cloud of the LORD was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel during all their travels.
When i read this, I couldn’t help but think about how this must of been a great source of acountability for the Isrealites. Every night before they went to sleep and every morning when they woke up the presence of the Lord was visible. Unlike the Isrealites we do not have a physical reminder of God’s presence, but that does not change the fact that He is with us. 1Cor. 6:19 says that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit…does this affect who we are or do we continue to live like God is far from us? If God is living in us then we need to live like it!
34 Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle
Like others said before me, THIS IS AN AWESOME IMAGE! Even the outside of the tent had something abnormal about it! The cloud covered the tent so the people outside would know that God’s presence was inside it.
38 So the cloud of the LORD was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel during all their travels.
At least then no one could doubt the existence and divinity of their God!
32 They washed whenever they entered the Tent of Meeting or approached the altar, as the LORD commanded Moses.
This shows how the people cleaned before entering the meeting place. And today us as Christians need to make sure that we are coming before God with a clean and pure heart. Let us make sur that we are doing this so that we do not do it in vein!!!
34 Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
Wow! How awesome is our Lord in heaven! Just going off w/ everybody else had said, is that what an amazing image of the glory of God. With the cloud covering the Tent of meeting, just to let everyone else know that He is always with us. What a great way to end it with such a extraorinarily site.
34 Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
How awesome it would be to know that you are in the presence of God. When the cloud of God was over the tent it must have been a great fealing to know that you were protected and to see the awesome glory of God all around you!!!
I really enjoyed reading the book of Exodus!!!!!
While I was reading this chapter I was thinking about how much more enjoyable the Bible gets everytime you read it becuase the more you read it, the more you understand. It is also more enjoyable when you understand what words really mean like the word holy and consecrated….I am so thankful that God has given us the gift of his word to learn about him. It is really a shame that we don’t always take it seriously and we treat it like it isn’t that big of a deal when there are Christians in other countries that don’t have Bibles or they have to hide there Bibles while we say that we don’t have the time to read it. I am ashamed that I am not in it more than I am. A chapter or two a day is nothing we should be excited to soak up God’s Word.
Exodus 40
34 Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. 35 Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled upon it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
I love meditating on (the Glory of the Lord) His Divine Presence. Our Heavenly Fathers character reveals His perfect nature. God’s very goodness is expressed in mercy and compassion, judgment and forgiveness thru Christ.
I pray that our view of God’s Glory would be so detailed that it would bring God more Glory.
Compass Bible Church distinctive #3 We seek to maintain a high view of God.
Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.