Thursday, January 26, 2023

Exodus 25 - 27

Exodus 25
Contributions for the Sanctuary
Ark of the Covenant
Table for the Bread of the Presence
Golden Lampstand

Exodus 26
Curtains of Linen
Curtains of Goats’ Hair
Boards and Bases
Veil and Curtain

Exodus 27
Bronze Altar
Courtyard of the Tabernacle
Oil for the Lamp

9 comments:

  1. Something that was pointed out during our bible reading time is that almost everything in the Tabernacle was either made completely out of gold or overlaid in gold. Gold reflects light, so with all of the fire, (including the golden lamp stand) it would have been pretty bright in there. I have always pictured it as a dark secretive room. But truthfully, that's not who God is. I think this is a good reminder that there's a lot in the Word that we don't notice. Even the the small unimportant things can give us a better picture of who God is.
    Hopefully I got my point across clearly.
    -Christopher

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    1. Good thought! I hadn’t ever considered that

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    2. Shannon also mentioned that, in addition to the gold surfaces being highly reflective, it's likely that the linen tent panels were likely light colored, too, so it would be a pretty "bright" interior.
      - jeffrey

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  2. The "contributions" for the tabernacle - that was quite an offering taken up in the wilderness, and a rather specific one, too. Here we have a great example of the foreknowledge and the providence of God. He told Moses (back in Ex.3:21-22) who then had the Israelites plunder Egypt back in 12:35-36, which brought in the resources they would need for the Tabernacle construction. That's pretty amazing.
    - jeffrey

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    1. Not only that, but he most likely had specific men working on specific projects in Egypt. I think that God was preparing specific men for specific projects related to the tabernacle. (skilled carpenters, stone cutters, blacksmiths, etc.)
      I think that this is a good reminder that no matter what job God has us doing, we need to do it with all the strength we have. Because, who knows? We may be called to use our skill to help build a tabernacle. (probably not, but still)
      -Christopher

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    2. Yep, I agree. Who knows what he's preparing us for? OK, well, *he* does. We should serve well and be good stewards of what he's given us because, well...*he* gave it to us. When we are faithful to the one in whom we trust, he's likely to trust us with more to be faithful with. (At least that's what Jesus implied in his stories on stewardship)
      - jeffrey

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  3. A few years back we came across a guy who theorized that it's plausible that the Tabernacle was built like a yurt rather than the traditional rectangular layout we're all familiar with. I'm no engineer, but that guy is, and he laid out a pretty convincing case that the yurt works and the shoebox doesn't. if you're interested, you can check out his website at https://project314.org. (or you can look at our copy of the book if you want to come over for a cup of coffee 🙃)
    - jeffrey

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    1. I’ll look at the site but the description speaks of length and width, aren’t yurts all round? Also chapter 36 says ‘south side’, ‘north side’, etc. if it was round it would be very counterintuitive to the description and construed as intentionally misleading?

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    2. ...I know. It's quite a left turn. But as the engineer described (and illustrated) in his book, there's a way that the yurt concept worked, and the shoebox/rectangle concept just couldn't come together with the description we're given. Not saying he's right and the traditional model is wrong; only that he makes a good case. If I had to choose one or the other, I'd probably go with the yurt because his concept makes sense. But you know, I've been wrong a lot (and still am, all the time).
      - jeffrey

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Ecclesiastes 1-4

  Editor's Note:  Wearied, often pessimistic observations and life lessons shared from an anonymous author  who has "been there, do...