EXO37:10  says, And he made the table of shittim wood: two cubits was the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof:  Again, these next few verses simply tell us that the things that were to go into the tabernacle were built according to God's plans, now talking about the table.  Verse eleven says, And he overlaid it with pure gold, and made thereunto a crown of gold round about.  The table was also overlaid with gold.  This made it not only more ornate, but also more durable.  People might not be concerned with a table made just of wood, but one covered with gold would be valuable to them.  We might not be too interested in someone Who died on a cross, unless we realize how valuable that death was to everyone who ever lived or ever will live.  Verse twelve adds, Also he made thereunto a border of an handbreadth round about; and made a crown of gold for the border thereof round about.  This was how God told Moses to have the table built and how Moses told the builders.  Moses was still the spokesman of God who stood between God and the people.  The Holy Spirit is our representative before God today if we are followers of Christ.  The Holy Spirit guides us to do the will of God.  Verse thirteen says, And he cast for it four rings of gold, and put the rings upon the four corners that were in the four feet thereof.   The table like everything else was to be made mobile because God's people were to be on the move to the promised land.  Our service to and worship of God should keep us moving in the world round us.  We are not at home in this world.  Verse fourteen states, Over against the border were the rings, the places for the staves to bear the table.  These items were to also fit together according to God's plan.  When we as Christians are following God's plan, we all fit together to accomplish His purpose.  Verse fifteen says, And he made the staves of shittim wood, and overlaid them with gold, to bear the table.  The staves were to fit in the rings to transport the table.  Verse sixteen states, And he made the vessels which were upon the table, his dishes, and his spoons, and his bowls, and his covers to cover withal, of pure gold.  These were the vessels that were to be used in the worship service.  Verse seventeen says, And 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:  Verse eighteen adds, And 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:  Then verse nineteen concludes, Three bowls made after the fashion of almonds in one branch, a knop and a flower; and three bowls made like almonds in another branch, a knop and a flower: so throughout the six branches going out of the candlestick.  The bowls and candlesticks were made to fit together.  As I have said before and will likely say again, we as followers of Christ are meant to fit together in doing God's work.

1. Exodus 37:1 says, And Bezaleel made the ark of shittim 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:  Now, we have a record of the actual building of the items that God had instructed Moses to build.  We are told that Bezaleel started by building the ark in accordance with God's instructions to Moses.  We know that Bezaleel did not do this alone, but that others helped him.  We today must do God's work in accordance with His instructions, or direction, and we need to acknowledge that we are not alone in doing God's work.  Matthew Henry says that the instructions for the building of these items of worship are recorded more than once because first God told Moses, then Moses told Bezaleel and the others, and now it was being recorded for the rest of the people and the future generations  to see that these things were built faithfully according to God's plan. Also, some of the items would be in the holy of holies and never be seen by most of the people of Israel.  The next several verses simply record the fact that the ark and all associated with it were built following God's plan given to Moses.  Verse two says, And he overlaid it with pure gold within and without, and made a crown of gold to it round about.  This verse tells us that the ark was built of gold, a very precious metal.  Of course, we are to bring the best that we have to God today as we serve and worship Him.  Verse three states, And he cast for it four rings of gold, to be set by the four corners of it; even two rings upon the one side of it, and two rings upon the other side of it.  These rings were to make it portable, so that the ark, which represented God's presence, could go with the people of Israel as they traveled, just as the Holy Spirit, God's presence with us today, goes with us wherever we go today.  Verse four says, And he made staves of shittim wood, and overlaid them with gold.  If the ark was to be transported, there had to be a way to transport it.  If the gospel is to go into the world today, we as followers of Christ must transport, or carry it.  Verse five states, And he put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, to bear the ark.  The rings and the staves had a purpose, and they had to be used for their purpose in order to be effective.  As Christians today, we all have our purpose, and we must do what God calls us to do if we are to effectively advance God's kingdom.  Verse six says,  And he made the mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half was the length thereof, and one cubit and a half the breadth thereof.  After the ark was completed, the mercy seat was made.  Verse seven states,  And he made two cherubims of gold, beaten out of one piece made he them, on the two ends of the mercy seat; Verse eight adds, One cherub on the end on this side, and another cherub on the other end on that side: out of the mercy seat made he the cherubims on the two ends thereof. Then verse nine concludes, And the cherubims spread out their wings on high, and covered with their wings over the mercy seat, with their faces one to another; even to the mercy seatward were the faces of the cherubims.  The ark and the mercy seat were built according to God's instructions, being ornate, functional and mobile.

Exodus 36:20 says. And he made boards for the tabernacle of shittim wood, standing up.  This begins telling the way the boards of the tabernacle were made, and again this was by the design that God had given Moses.  I will basically just share the verses without comment, since they are self explanatory.  Verse twenty-one states, The length of a board was ten cubits, and the breadth of a board one cubit and a half.  Verse twenty-two says, One board had two tenons, equally distant one from another: thus did he make for all the boards of the tabernacle.  Verse twenty-three states, And he made boards for the tabernacle; twenty boards for the south side southward:  Then verse twenty-four says, 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.  Like the curtains, the boards were made to fit together and to be mobile.  The church today should likewise fit together as one body and be mobile going into the world.  Verse twenty-five states, And for the other side of the tabernacle, which is toward the north corner, he made twenty boards,  Verse twenty-six adds, And their forty sockets of silver; two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board.  Then verse twenty-seven says, And for the sides of the tabernacle westward he made six boards. Verse twenty-eight continues, And two boards made he for the corners of the tabernacle in the two sides. Then verse twenty-nine says, 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.  Then verse thirty declares, And thou shalt rear up the tabernacle according to the fashion thereof which was shewed thee in the mount.  Not only was Moses given the plans for making the tabernacle by God, but God also gave him instructions for how to raise the tabernacle up after it was made.  God still gives instructions to us today as followers of Christ about how He expects us to raise up His church.  We must all fit together to be the most effective.  No one church, or body of believers that make up a local church, can act totally on its own with no concern for other body of believers.  Verse thirty ones says, And thou shalt make a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubims shall it be made:  These next few verses speak of the making of the veil of the tabernacle.  It was not only to serve a purpose, but it was to be decorated ornately.  When we come to God today, not only does He have a purpose for us, but He will make our lives spiritually ornate.  Verse thirty-two adds,  And thou shalt hang it upon four pillars of shittim wood overlaid with gold: their hooks shall be of gold, upon the four sockets of silver. Verse thirty-three states, And thou shalt hang up the vail under the taches, that thou mayest bring in thither within the vail the ark of the testimony: and the vail shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy.  The veil was to be hung according to God's directions and was to divide the holy place from the most holy place, where only the high priest could go, and then only at specific times.  We no longer have these restrictions, because when Christ died for us, He tore the veil in half.  We, who are followers of Christ, not only have unlimited access to God, but we have the Holy Spirit living in us.  Verse thirty-four adds, And thou shalt put the mercy seat upon the ark of the testimony in the most holy place.  Verse thirty-five continues, And thou shalt set the table without the vail, and the candlestick over against the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the south: and thou shalt put the table on the north side.  The ark of the covenant and the mercy seat were to be within the veil, and the table and the candlesticks were to be outside the veil, but still in a position specified by God.  Even when we may not be as close to God as we should be, He still expects u to be guided by His law.  Verse thirty-six says, And thou shalt make an hanging for the door of the tent, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework.  Then verse thirty seven adds, And thou shalt make for the hanging five pillars of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold, and their hooks shall be of gold: and thou shalt cast five sockets of brass for them.  Then verse thirty-eight concludes, And the five pillars of it with their hooks: and he overlaid their chapiters and their fillets with gold: but their five sockets were of brass.  God still gives guidance to His church today, and we must all work together to accomplish His work.

Today I will pause in the study of Exodus to wish everyone a Merry Christmas.   We need to remember that we celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Messiah, today.  May you and your family have a wonderful Christmas.  There will never be a greater gift than the gift of salvation that He came to offer to everyone.  If you haven't accepted this gift, there will never be a better time than this Christmas day.  May God bless everyone today and every day.

Exodus 36:8 says, 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.  This verse and the next several have to do with the people completing the work of the tabernacle as God had told Moses to build it.  This verse speaks of the curtains, and once again we are told that they were made by wise hearted men.  We must do God's work in accordance with His plans, and if we are followers of Christ, we will be wise enough to do so.  Verse nine says, 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.  These were some large curtains, but they were made according to God's specifications to Moses.  This is one reason Moses was up the mountain so long.  He wasn't there just to get receive the Ten Commandments, but he also received all the specifications for the tabernacle.  We need to take the time to know all of God's plans before we attempt to implement them.  Verse ten adds, And he coupled the five curtains one unto another: and the other five curtains he coupled one unto another.  Again, this is just the fulfillment of God's plan for the tabernacle.  Though the people were doing it, it was God Who had planned the tabernacle and had empowered the people to build it, including providing the necessary supplies, because even though the people brought them to Moses, they had them because God had provided these things for them.  Verse eleven says,. 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.  Then verse twelve adds, 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.  The curtains were made to fit together, just as God's people should fit together today when the worship and serve Him.  Verse thirteen states, And he made fifty taches of gold, and coupled the curtains one unto another with the taches: so it became one tabernacle.  This is simply more about how the curtains would fit together as one tabernacle.  Verse fourteen says, And he made curtains of goats’ hair for the tent over the tabernacle: eleven curtains he made them.  These were the curtains that would protect the tabernacle from the weather and they were made to be more durable than ornate.  When we do the work of God today, we need to make sure that it is durable.  We cannot just present a pretty picture of the gospel, though the end result will be beautiful, but we must make sure that when we accept Christ as Savior and Lord that our faith is durable.  Verse fifteen says, The length of one curtain was thirty cubits, and four cubits was the breadth of one curtain: the eleven curtains were of one size.  Verse sixteen adds, And he coupled five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves.  Verse seventeen continues, 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.  Then verse eighteen adds still, And he made fifty taches of brass to couple the tent together, that it might be one.  Then verse nineteen concludes, And he made a covering for the tent of rams’ skins dyed red, and a covering of badgers’ skins above that.  The curtains were completed according to the design that God had given Moses, and when it says he did this, this does not mean that just one person was doing the work.  Today, we must all work together as Christians if we are to accomplish God's plan, and it doesn't matter who gets the credit for it.

Exodus 36:1 says, 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.  Bezaleel and Aholiab did not work alone.  We are told that every wise hearted man that God empowered worked with them.  We are not told their names.  Today, we may not know the names of everyone who is doing God's work, but that does not mean that there are not people doing His work.  Verse two states, 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:  Though this says Moses called Bezaleel and Aboliah and those that God had given wisdom and stirred up to do the work of building the tabernacle, I believe that this was because Moses was God's representative and God had led him to call them.  Moses did not just pick out these people on his own.  We today may ordain people into the ministry, or simply call on people to serve in a particular task in the church, but we must make sure that we ask if this is God's will.  We must all rely on God's calling of people if we are to be the most effective in advancing His kingdom.  Verse three declares,  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.  The builders were given the materials that the people had given to build the tabernacle with, and they freely brought offerings every day to help support them.  We must use what we have dedicated to God for a particular purpose, but we also must continue to support those who are doing God's work.  We must do all willingly and cheerfully as God leads us to do.  Verse four says, And all the wise men, that wrought all the work of the sanctuary, came every man from his work which they made;  Those who were working took time to come to Moses and speak to him about a problem.  Verse five adds, 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.  The problem was that the people were giving too much.  This is not usually a problem we have today, but it would certainly be a good one to have.  Imagine beginning a building project and having to tell the congregation that they had given too much.  Of course, we today would probably just modify our plans and make something bigger.  Verse six declares, 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.  Moses told the people that it was time to stop bring more offerings.  Once again, wouldn't it be nice to be able to say that today.  Verse seven concludes, For the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much.  Though they had just recently questioned where Moses was and made an idol of a golden calf to worship in his absence, they were now giving freely above what was needed to do God's work.  We cannot allow past failures, our own or others, to keep us from freely given everything to God today once we have asked His forgiveness.  The people had to make a choice to follow God before they began to give to Him.  We today must choose to follow Christ before our offerings will really have any meaning.  We cannot buy God's forgiveness, but once we accept it, we should give everything that God leads us to give to support His work, and we should do so freely and joyfully.

Exodus 35:22 says, 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.  Everyone who was willing hearted came, both men and women.  Before, they had brought golden earrings to Aaron to make the golden calf, but now they brought jewels and gold to offer to Moses for God's use.  We should be willing to give more to God than we do to the idols of the world.  Verse twenty-three states, 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.  Along with the jewels and gold, the brought other things necessary to build the tabernacle.  We do not all bring the same things to God, but we should work together to insure that His work is done.  Verse twenty-four declares, 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.  Some brought silver, and some brought wood.  We cannot judge the things given to God by the value that the world places on them, but if we are to judge them, then we must place the value based on the need to accomplish God's work and the attitude of the giver.  Verse twenty five says, 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.  The wise hearted women, those that believed in God, spun and brought fine linen of blue, purple and scarlet.  This actually took more effort on their part than bringing silver and gold did.  Verse twenty-six adds, And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun goats’ hair.  I believe that their hearts were stirred up by God.  We should do what God calls us to do, no matter how simply it may seem to the world.  Verse twenty-seven says, And the rulers brought onyx stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate;  The rulers were not exempt from being moved by God to bring offerings to God.  No matter our station in life, God expects us all to bring our tithes and offerings to Him.  Verse twenty-eight adds, And spice, and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense.  God led the people to bring all that was necessary too do His work, just as He does today.  Verse twenty-nine declares, 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.  All the people of Israel whose heart was made willing brought their sacrifices to Moses for God's use.  We may bring our tithes and offerings to a particular church, but they are all for God's use and should be given with a willing heart.  Verse thirty says, And Moses said unto the children of Israel, See, the LORD hath called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah;  Then verse thirty-one states, And he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship;  Moses said that God had called Bezaleel by name and filled Him with the spirit of God.  We today as followers of Christ are called by name and filled with the Holy Spirit if we accept Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Verse thirty-two adds, And to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass,  Verse thirty-three continues,  And in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of wood, to make any manner of cunning work.  Then verse thirty-four concludes, And he hath put in his heart that he may teach, both he, and Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan.  God also called Aboliab and equipped them both to do what God had called them to do.  Moses did not call these two, but God did.  We cannot decide what people should do for God, but God must call and equip them to do what He needs done.  Verse thirty-five declares, Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any work, and of those that devise cunning work.  These two men were equipped by God to oversee His work.  They were not to do it all alone.  God calls us to work together today to accomplish His work, and none is more important than the other.