Deeper Commentary
Exo 37:1 Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood. Its length was two
and a half cubits, and its breadth a cubit and a half, and a cubit and a
half its height-
Ex. 25:10 "They shall make an ark" becomes "I made an ark" in Moses'
autobiography (Dt. 10:3), although apparently Bezaleel made the ark (Ex.
37:1). The people were generous when asked, but were
not real workers. Perhaps Moses himself had to make the ark because they
didn't get to it. Or maybe his work was counted as theirs, as happens
between the Lord Jesus and ourselves.
A cubit is about 18 inches (45 cm.). The ark was not at all large, for God's glory doesn't require grandiose human artistry nor anything large scale. His glory is manifested in the small and humble things. This was a lesson which David and Solomon failed to learn in their obsession about building a grandiose building for God's glory to dwell in.
Bezaleel means shelter of / for God, appropriate for a man who built
His tent / tabernacle. This reinforces the idea that God prefers to dwell
in a tent, and not in a physical brick building. David and Solomon
willfully ignored this in their obsession with building a temple. It's
possible (although see my commentary on 1 Chron. 2:18) that Bezaleel was
little more than a child. For 1 Chron. 2:19,20 says that Caleb was the
father of Hur. Caleb was only 40 when he first spied out the land (Josh.
14:7). "The son of..." is not a precise term in Hebrew and can simply mean
a relative, but there is still the idea of a relative in a younger
generation than the 'father'. Bezaleel was a generation or two older than
Bezaleel; and when Caleb was 40, Bezaleel made the tabernacle that same
year. This would be typical of how God works through the weak and those
considered inappropriate by men. He gave His Spirit to the young Bezaleel,
who may have been only 12 years old, and through him built His dwelling
place. We can be sure there would have been many older and experienced
builders, who had worked for the Egyptian building projects, who would
have been far more qualified in secular terms.
Exo 37:2 He overlaid it with pure gold inside and outside, and made a
moulding of gold for it around it.
The weak acacia wood was to be overlaid with gold. "Overlay" in
Hebrew carries the idea of to be seen, to be looked at. This was how God
looked at that weak acacia wood, as if it was the finest gold. This was an
Old Testament anticipation of what the New Testament calls imputed
righteousness; we the weak acacia wood, the thorn bush, are looked at as
pure gold. Beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder, and one outcome of
love is to consider the beloved as far more glorious than they are. The
mention of a "crown" or "moulding of gold" is as if it represented a person, a King- the Lord Jesus.
Exo 37:3 He cast four rings of gold for it, in its four feet-
The ark had feet, literally "walking feet", feet bent as if walking, to
symbolize how the ark was always moving on. We recall that God spoke of
how He had "walked" in the tabernacle and therefore didn't want a fixed
temple (2 Sam. 7:6).
Even two rings on its one side, and two rings on its other side-
The continual mention of rings and poles is because all the
tabernacle had to be portable, as Israel were constantly on the move. This
is proof enough that much of the "law of Moses" was only relevant to the
wilderness generation. God's desire to be continually on the move,
dwelling in a tent, was still evident at the time when Israel settled in
the land. For He told David that He didn't want a temple because He was
dynamic, always moving on. But the way of religion is to have a permanent,
stable closed system, rather than the dynamic way of the Spirit and true
spirituality. "Rings" in Hebrew is literally 'that which sinks in', and
refers to a signet ring. If a literal ring was solely in view, a different
word would have been used. It was as if this mobile, ever moving onwards
style of the tabernacle was the signature or hallmark of God. See on Ex.
25:27.
Exo 37:4 He made poles of acacia wood, and overlaid them with gold-
Exo 37:5 He put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, to bear
the ark-
This was a deconstruction of the Egyptian religious arks, which were
displayed and carried in processions. God's ark was concealed, and only
carried when it was without religious significance, being moved between
sanctuaries.
Exo 37:6 He made a mercy seat of pure gold. Its length was two and a half
cubits, and a cubit and a half its breadth-
This was the cover or lid of the ark, with the wings of the cherubim
overshadowing it, and upon this the blood of atonement was sprinkled each
year at the day of atonement. The blood would have built up over the
years. Paul interprets this as symbolic of the blood of the Lord Jesus on
the cross. It is a seat or throne in that it is upon that that God's glory
is enthroned. But we note the small size of it. God doesn't need anything
large scale by human standards. "Mercy seat" is a form of the Hebrew word
for 'covering' which is usually used for the covering of sins; literally
"the means of propitiation". The LXX word used here is directly applied to
the Lord Jesus in Rom. 3:25. It was the blood which was the basis of
atonement (Lev. 17:11), but the actual mercy seat, the slab of gold which
was the cover of the ark, was put by metonymy for the blood. It is upon
this that God's glory dwells and is revealed. His forgiveness is Yahweh at
His most glorious, and it is in this that God meets with man (Ex. 25:22).
We note that the mercy seat or cover was of pure gold, not acacia word
overlaid with gold. It may have been a literal cover over the ark which
was detachable.
The mercy seat is clearly stated in Rom. 3:25 to represent the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom has been set forth for all to see the salvation of God in Christ. But note that only the High Priest once / year was able to view the mercy seat covered in the blood of atonement. It's as if we are each now the High Priest, if we are in Christ. We can now with boldness, not as the fearful High Priest, enter the Most Holy place (Heb. 10:29). The veil has been opened. We can enter, in order to gain atonement for others. The "seat" implies someone sat upon it- there God was enthroned in all the glory of His forgiveness of men through the blood of Christ. He "dwelt between the cherubim" (Ps. 80:1; 99:1). There was the impression held by Hezekiah (2 Kings 19:15) and David (2 Sam. 6:2) that God dwelt between the cherubim, over the mercy seat. "Justice and judgment" are where God was enthroned (Ps. 89:14), and this refers to the blood sprinkled mercy seat where God was especially enthroned in glory on the day of Atonement. His forgiveness and salvation has integrity, it's not a turning of a blind eye, a waiving of principle. In this is the wonder of our salvation. Note that the cherubim peered down upon the blood- alluded to in 1 Pet. 1:11,12, which says that the Angels earnestly look into the things of the blood of Christ. The cherubim were of gold, of one piece with the mercy seat, but Jesus was not an Angel by nature (see Heb. 1)- which warns us not to over-interpret tabernacle types.
Exo 37:7 He made two cherubim of gold. He made them of beaten work, at the
two ends of the mercy seat-
The cherubim had wings (:9) and could have human and animal forms,
according to Ez. 1,10. In this sense they could be said to resemble the
sphinx forms which were such a common part of Egyptian religion. The
similarity is in the fact that God was deconstructing Egyptian religion,
just as the plagues were aimed at the gods of Egypt. Instead of openly
displayed sphinx like creatures memorializing the dead, these were the
hidden symbols of God's living presence amongst His people, hidden away in
the holiest place, and only briefly seen once every year by the high
priest.
Exo 37:8 one cherub at the one end, and one cherub at the other end. He
made the cherubim of one piece with the mercy seat at its two ends-
The cherubim represented those through whom God was manifested, be it
Angels or His people. For this is how the cherubim are used in Ezekiel.
But they are of one part with the mercy seat, which represented the Lord
Jesus (Rom. 3:25). This speaks of His deep unity with us, shown in His
life by His being of our nature, and now through the presence of His
Spirit within those who are "in" Him.
Exo 37:9 The cherubim spread out their wings on high, covering the mercy
seat with their wings, with their faces toward one another. The faces of
the cherubim were toward the mercy seat-
Speaking of the things of the blood of the Lord Jesus, Peter
comments: "Which things the angels desire to look into" (1 Pet. 1:12), as
if he saw in the cherubim some representation of the Angels looking down
at the blood of atonement sprinkled upon the mercy seat. And yet Peter
implies that we too "look into" those things. And thus we note that the
cherubim were looking down at the blood, not at each other; as our focus
should be upon the Lord's blood, and not each other.
The pagan god tabernacles all feature some kind of throne, upon which the god visibly sits. The cherubim of the Israelite tabernacle are similar to the Mesopotamian karibu, cherubim, upon which their gods sat. Phoenician and Egyptian art uncovered by archaeologists shows they believed in cherubim very similar in form to those described in Ezekiel's visions of Yahweh's cherubim. The throne of Yahweh was the ark, covered by the cherubim. There, above the blood spattered lid of the ark (or "mercy seat"), supported by the cherubim, the pagan mind expected to see Israel's God enthroned. The similarities to the pagan shrines were intentional- to set up this expectation. But there was nothing there. It was, to their eyes, an empty throne- just as God appears to be absent to so many people today. There was no visible image resting upon the wings of the cherubim, nothing on the throne / lid of the ark but the blood of atonement (which pointed forward to that of God's Son).
Exo 37:10 He made the table of acacia wood. Its length was two cubits, and
its breadth was a cubit, and its height was a cubit and a half-
The Ugaritic poems speak of the furniture in Baal's
heavenly temple, and it's very similar to that in the Most Holy Place. But
the poems especially focus upon Baal's bed and chests of drawers for his
clothing. These are noticeably absent in Yahweh's tabernacle furniture.
The table of show bread was to be made of acacia wood, which was effectively the weak wood from a thorn bush; but David planned to make it of pure gold, and even worked out the weight of gold required for it (1 Chron. 28:16). And Solomon indeed made it of gold (1 Kings 7:48), leading to it being known as "the pure table" (2 Chron. 13:11). Religion had overtaken spirituality, form had eclipsed content. Likewise the "tables of silver" David ordered to be made (1 Chron. 28:16) do not feature in the tabernacle. He was missing the point- that God wanted His holiest symbols made of common, weak things like acacia wood. For His strength and glory is made perfect in weakness. David claims these plans were from God (1 Chron. 28:19), although as discussed on 1 Chron. 28:12, they were in fact from his own mind. The way these things were taken into captivity, with no record of this golden table ever being returned, surely reflects God's judgment upon this kind of religious show. He prefers a humble house church in an inner city room, rather than a gold plated cathedral. The way some exclusive churches speak of 'maintaining a pure table' suggests they have made the same essential mistake as David did.
Exo 37:11 He overlaid it with pure gold, and made a gold moulding around
it-
The table of shewbread looked ahead to the breaking of bread in the
Christian experience. It had a crown (NEV "moulding") around it, as if it
were the king's table. And indeed it is. We sit there as guests at the
king's table, and it is not for us to use it as "our" table, excluding or
ejecting others from it.
Exo 37:12 He made a border of a handbreadth around it, and made a golden
moulding on its border around it-
Exo 37:13 He cast four rings of gold for it, and put the rings in the four
corners that were on its four feet-
Exo 37:14 The rings were close by the border, the places for the poles to
carry the table-
Exo 37:15 He made the poles of acacia wood, and overlaid them with gold,
to carry the table-
Exo 37:16 He made the vessels which were on the table, its dishes, its
spoons, its bowls, and its pitchers with which to pour out, of pure gold-
Ex. 25:30 adds: "You shall set bread of the presence on the table before me
always".
"The bread of the presence" doesn't simply mean that it was bread
which was in God's presence; for that is the meaning covered by "before Me
always". Rather the idea is that God's especial presence was there in the
eating of the bread. The God who dwelt the other side of the veil, over
the mercy seat, as it were came out from there and was present when the
bread was eaten. We may have here some hint that there is a special
presence of the Father and Son at the breaking of bread, which is the
Christian equivalent of this table (Mt. 18:20; 1 Cor. 11:10).
Exo 37:17 He made the lampstand of pure gold. He made the lampstand of
beaten work. Its base, its shaft, its cups, its buds, and its flowers were
of one piece with it-
"The candlestick" or menorah is only ever spoken of in the law of
Moses in the singular, but in 1 Chron. 28:15 David decided there were to
be multiple such candlesticks. By doing so, he ignored the symbolism of
the one candlestick, the one people of God; such was his obsession with
mere religion. See on :10.
The candlestick represents the assembly of believers
(Rev. 1:20). It was made of beaten work, representing how all those in the
true church will be beaten into a shape through which they can be lights
for God.
Exo 37:18 There were six branches going out of its sides: three branches
of the lampstand out of its one side, and three branches of the lampstand
out of its other side-
Exo 37:19 three cups made like almond blossoms in one branch, a bud and a
flower, and three cups made like almond blossoms in the other branch, a
bud and a flower: so for the six branches going out of the lampstand-
Israel was one nation under God; they were
represented by one seven-branched candlestick. But in the New Testament
vision of Rev. 1:20, each church is represented by an individual
candlestick, and the body of Christ as a whole is represented by seven
candlesticks, seven being the number of completion. This suggests that
each local congregation is seen as autonomous by Christ; no other
candlestick can dictate to another what they should do. If they fail to
give light as they should, then this is dealt with by Christ Himself, the
One who walks amongst the seven candlesticks and is in their midst (Rev.
1:13); He alone can remove a candlestick (Rev. 2:5).
Exo 37:20 In the lampstand were four cups made like almond blossoms, its
buds and its flowers-
Exo 37:21 and a bud under two branches of one piece with it, and a bud
under two branches of one piece with it, and a bud under two branches of
one piece with it, for the six branches going out of it-
The language of buds, flowers and branches invites us to see the candlestick as a tree of life giving light in the darkness of the tabernacle, which had no natural light. The candlestick represents the local church in our times (Rev. 1:20); we as communities of believers are to be as the tree of life, offering eternity to a dark world; hence Prov. 11:30 likens the fruit of the righteous to the tree of life, which results in winning people for eternity. In this sense the ecclesia, the community of believers, is to be as the tree of life to others by their words (Prov. 3:18; 11:30; 15:4).
Exo 37:22 Their buds and their branches were of one piece with it. The
whole thing was one beaten work of pure gold-
Exo 37:23 He made its seven lamps, and its snuffers, and its snuff dishes,
of pure gold-
Gold wasn’t the strongest or most practical material
for these instruments. But it represents faith (1 Pet. 1:7). We aren’t the
best instruments for God to use in His house, but He prefers to use the
soft and those who aren’t humanly qualified for His work- because He works
by faith in us, and by our faith in Him rather than our human strength.
Exo 37:24 He made it of a talent of pure gold, with all its vessels-
A talent was 94 pounds or 42.6 kg. This was a huge amount of gold,
but all the same, due to the dense weight of gold, the candlestick would
have been quite small if it were solid. 42 kg. of solid gold is about the
size of two standard size books. This fits the theme that everything in
the tabernacle was small scale, not large. The ecclesia of God,
represented by the candlestick (Rev. 1:20), is small but gives huge light
in a dark place, pointing towards the entrance to the most holy place. It is depicted
as large and a source of particular glory in the famous depiction of the
capture of Jerusalem by Titus, but either the candlestick of those times
was only gold plated, or the size was exaggerated.
Exo 37:25 He made the altar of incense of acacia wood. It was square: its
length was a cubit, and its breadth a cubit. Its height was two cubits.
Its horns were of one piece with it-
Exo 37:26 He overlaid it with pure gold, its top, its sides around it, and
its horns. He made a gold moulding around it-
The mention of a "crown" or "moulding of gold" is as if it represented a
person, a King- the Lord Jesus.
Exo 37:27 He made two golden rings for it under its moulding crown, on its
two ribs, on its two sides, for places for poles with which to carry it-
"Rings" in Hebrew is literally 'that which sinks in', and refers to a
signet ring. If a literal ring was solely in view, a different word would
have been used. It was as if this mobile, ever moving onwards style of the
tabernacle was the signature or hallmark of God. See on :3.
Exo 37:28 He made the poles of acacia wood, and overlaid them with gold-
"Pole" is s.w. "strength". There is again a juxtaposition of ideas-
the weak acacia wood, which is no more than a thorn bush, was to be turned
into God's strength through being overlaid with gold.
Exo 37:29 He made the holy anointing oil and the pure incense of sweet
spices, after the art of the perfumer-
The specific perfumer in view was Bezaleel.
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