EXODUS LESSON 60

    We will begin this lesson in Exodus 36:1 "Then wrought Bezaleel
and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whom the LORD put wisdom
and understanding to know how to work all manner of work for the
service of the sanctuary, according to all that the LORD had
commanded."

    This statement just meant that Bezaleel and Aholiab fully used the
talents God had given them and brought to pass the work.

    Exodus 36:2 "And Moses called Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise
hearted man, in whose heart the LORD had put wisdom, [even] every one
whose heart stirred him up to come unto the work to do it:" Exodus
36:3 "And they received of Moses all the offering, which the children
of Israel had brought for the work of the service of the sanctuary, to
make it [withal]. And they brought yet unto him free offerings every
morning."

    Even though this is repetitious of what we have read in previous
passages, there are lessons to be learned here. The thing that is very
obvious to me, here, is that all the congregation who loved the Lord
were in some way involved in building the sanctuary. A church and its
members are like a great big puzzle. The puzzle cannot be completed,
until every piece (member) takes his rightful place in the puzzle.
Moses was important because, he had the plan from God.  Bezaleel and
Aholiab were important, because they had the skill and wisdom. The
congregation had to bring the materials to work with. If anyone
refused to do his part, the tabernacle and its court would not be
built.

    Exodus 36:4 "And all the wise men, that wrought all the work of
the sanctuary, came every man from his work which they made;" Exodus
36:5  "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."

    What a wonderful problem to have. The people (congregation) had
brought more than they could possibly use. Many small churches have a
problem of having enough offerings to even keep the doors open. If
members of churches everywhere had the zeal in giving that these
people did, God's work could be carried on. Some have abused the gifts
God's people have given for the work, and they make it difficult for
the people to know just where to give.

    Exodus 36:6 "And Moses gave commandment, and they caused it to be
 proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, Let neither man nor woman
 make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary. So the people
 were restrained from bringing."  Exodus 36:7 "For the stuff they had
 was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much."

    We see, here, that these workers, Aholiab and Bezaleel, were honest
men.  These gifts for God's work were used for God's work, not for
selfish purposes.  There would have been a problem where to store
more, as well.

    Exodus 36:8  "And every wise hearted man among them that wrought
the work of the tabernacle made ten curtains [of] fine twined linen,
and blue, and purple, and scarlet: [with] cherubims of cunning work
made he them." Exodus 36:9 "The length of one curtain [was] twenty and
eight cubits, and the breadth of one curtain four cubits: the curtains
[were] all of one size." Exodus 36:10 "And he coupled the five
curtains one unto another: and [the other] five curtains he coupled
one unto another." Exodus 36:11 "And he made loops of blue on the edge
of one curtain from the selvedge in the coupling: likewise he made in
the uttermost side of [another] curtain, in the coupling of the
second."

    This was a detailed repetition of the instructions that the Lord
gave Moses. It might seem to some that this is unnecessary to do, but
I believe it shows that Moses, Bezaleel, and Aholiab were not adding to,
or taking away from the instructions that the Lord gave Moses. Many
builders would have a hard time following the directions this
precisely. Everything had such an exact spiritual meaning, as well as
the physical, that everything had to be exactly as the Lord gave Moses.

    Exodus 36:12 "Fifty loops made he in one curtain, and fifty loops
made he in the edge of the curtain which [was] in the coupling of the
second: the loops held one [curtain] to another." Exodus 36:13 "And he
made fifty taches of gold, and coupled the curtains one unto another
with the taches: so it became one tabernacle."

    We can see in all of these 50's just what I was saying about why
it was so important to be so exact.  The number "fifty" means jubilee,
or set the captives free. The numbers 49 or 51 do not mean that. You
can see why it was so important to be exact.

    Exodus 36:14  "And he made curtains [of] goats' [hair] for the
tent over the tabernacle: eleven curtains he made them." Exodus 36:15
"The length of one curtain [was] thirty cubits, and four cubits [was]
the breadth of one curtain: the eleven curtains [were] of one size."
Exodus 36:16 "And he coupled five curtains by themselves, and six
curtains by themselves." Exodus 36:17 "And he made fifty loops upon
the uttermost edge of the curtain in the coupling, and fifty loops
made he upon the edge of the curtain which coupleth the second."
Exodus 36:18 "And he made fifty taches [of] brass to couple the tent
together, that it might be one."  Exodus 36:19 "And he made a covering
for the tent [of] rams' skins dyed red, and a covering [of] badgers'
skins above [that]."

     We discussed before that gold was symbolic of the purity of
God, silver was symbolic of redemption, and brass had to do with
judgement. You can easily see how important it was not to vary these
metals, that the brass be located away from the Holy of Holies, and
that silver was between the gold and bronze. Even the colors had to be
the three godly colors: red, blue, and purple.

     Exodus 36:20  "And he made boards for the tabernacle [of] shittim
wood, standing up." Exodus 36:21 "The length of a board [was] ten
cubits, and the breadth of a board one cubit and a half." Exodus 36:22
"One board had two tenons, equally distant one from another: thus did
he make for all the boards of the tabernacle."  Exodus 36:23 "And he
made boards for the tabernacle; twenty boards for the south side
southward:" Exodus 36:24 "And forty sockets of silver he made under
the twenty boards; two sockets under one board for his two tenons, and
two sockets under another board for his two tenons."

     I would like to stop and mention one more time here that silver
 is symbolic of redemption. We see these silver sockets under these
 boards. It is as if redemption was between the sinful earth and this
 house of the Lord here in the wilderness.

     Exodus 36:25 "And for the other side of the tabernacle, [which
is] toward the north corner, he made twenty boards,"  Exodus 36:26
"And their forty sockets of silver; two sockets under one board, and
two sockets under another board." Exodus 36:27 "And for the sides of
the tabernacle westward he made six boards."  Exodus 36:28 "And two
boards made he for the corners of the tabernacle in the two sides."
Exodus 36:29 "And they were coupled beneath, and coupled together at
the head thereof, to one ring: thus he did to both of them in both the
corners." Exodus 36:30 "And there were eight boards; and their sockets
[were] sixteen sockets of silver, under every board two sockets."
Exodus 36:31  "And he made bars of shittim wood; five for the boards
of the one side of the tabernacle,"

     All of these sockets, boards, and couplings seem to just go on
and on to those who do not understand what each means. The symbolisms
are fantastic. Even the wood symbolizes the world. Again, I remind you
that the outer court, the Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies symbolize
the steps of a Christian. The candlestick, bread, and many other
symbols show us the Lord Jesus. Even the altar of incense symbolizes
the prayers of the saints. We need to train our eyes to see beyond the
literal in all of this, such as linen curtains (righteousness of
Christ). You see, everything in this points to the great sacrifice
Jesus made for us, His salvation He bought for us in His blood, and
how He has made the way open for us into the very Holy of Holies.

     Exodus 36:32 "And five bars for the boards of the other side of
the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the tabernacle for the
sides westward." Exodus 36:33 "And he made the middle bar to shoot
through the boards from the one end to the other." Exodus 36:34 "And
he overlaid the boards with gold, and made their rings [of] gold [to
be] places for the bars, and overlaid the bars with gold."

     We need to remember one thing here that anything that came close
to God had to be either 24 kt. pure gold, or 24 kt. pure gold overlaid.
This stretched to the smallest items such as the bars we just read
about .

     Exodus 36:35  "And he made a veil [of] blue, and purple, and
scarlet, and fine twined linen: [with] cherubims made he it of cunning
work." Exodus 36:36 "And he made thereunto four pillars [of] shittim
[wood], and overlaid them with gold: their hooks [were of] gold; and
he cast for them four sockets of silver."  Exodus 36:37  "And he made
an hanging for the tabernacle door [of] blue, and purple, and scarlet,
and fine twined linen, of needlework;"  Exodus 36:38 "And the five
pillars of it with their hooks: and he overlaid their chapters and
their fillets with gold: but their five sockets [were of] brass."

     Every little thing such as these curtains were simple, but
beautiful, as well. We will see in the next lesson the importance of
the ark of the covenant.











































                          Exodus 60 Questions

1.  What two men were really in charge of the actual building of the
    tabernacle?
2.  Describe what God had done for these people who were to work on
    the building.
3.  Who did the people bring their offerings to?
4.  Who were actually involved in the building of the tabernacle?
5.  Tell how Moses, Bezaleel, Aholiab, and the congregation fit into
    the building of the tabernacle.
6.  What unusual news did the workers bring to Moses in verse 5?
7.  What proclamation did Moses make to the men and women in answer to
    the problem?
8.  What were the curtains for the tabernacle made of?
9.  Why does the author believe that this repetition of details of
    materials is given?
10. What does the number 50 mean?
11. The curtains to go over the tent were made of what?
12. Gold is symbolic of what?
13. Silver is symbolic of what?
14. Bronze is symbolic of what?
15. What are the three godly colors?
16. Why was silver under the boards next to the earth?
17. Wood symbolizes what?
18. The outer court, Holy Place, and Holy of Holies show us what?
19. The altar of incense symbolizes what?
20. Anything in the close proximity of God had to be what?
21. The veil of the tabernacle was made of what?
22. What two words can describe the tabernacle?