Exodus Chapter 38
Showing all 31 verses for Exodus Chapter 38.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"And he made the altar of burnt offering of shittim wood: five cubits was the length thereof, and five cubits the breadth thereof; it was foursquare; and three cubits the height thereof. "
"He built the altar for burnt offerings out of acacia wood. It was square in shape - about 2.3 metres long and wide - and roughly 1.4 metres high."
The altar of burnt offering, built exactly to God's measurements, was the place where sacrifice met mercy. Jesus calls you to see in this altar a shadow of Himself - the one true offering that would one day make every other sacrifice unnecessary. Let your heart rest in the fact that the costly work of atonement has already been done for you.
"And he made the horns thereof on the four corners of it; the horns thereof were of the same: and he overlaid it with brass. "
"He made horns on each of the altar's four corners, carved from the same wood as the altar itself, then covered the whole thing in bronze."
The horns on the altar's corners became a place of refuge - people in danger would run and grasp them, pleading for mercy. Jesus calls you to remember that His mercy, too, is something you can run to and hold onto in your most desperate moments, and He will never let go of you.
"And he made all the vessels of the altar, the pots, and the shovels, and the basons, and the fleshhooks, and the firepans: all the vessels thereof made he of brass. "
"He also made all the equipment for the altar - pots, shovels, basins, meat forks and firepans - all out of bronze."
Pots, shovels, basons, fleshhooks, firepans - every tool had its purpose in the work of the altar. Jesus calls you to see your own life the same way: shaped, equipped, and set apart for good and useful service, however ordinary the task may seem.
"And he made for the altar a brasen grate of network under the compass thereof beneath unto the midst of it. "
"He made a bronze grating, like a mesh screen, and fitted it under the ledge that ran around the altar, halfway up its height."
The brasen grate was hidden inside the altar, unseen by the crowd yet essential to the whole structure standing firm. Jesus calls you to value the quiet, unnoticed parts of your service to Him just as much as the visible ones - what holds things together matters even when no one applauds it.
"And he cast four rings for the four ends of the grate of brass, to be places for the staves. "
"He cast four bronze rings and fixed them to the four corners of the grating, to hold the carrying poles."
Rings were cast into the grate so staves could be slotted through, making the altar ready to travel whenever the people moved on. Jesus calls you to hold your life with that same readiness - settled in Him, yet willing to be carried forward wherever He leads next.
"And he made the staves of shittim wood, and overlaid them with brass. "
"He made the carrying poles out of acacia wood and covered them in bronze."
Ordinary shittim wood, once overlaid with brass, became strong enough to carry sacred weight. Jesus calls you to trust that He can take what is plain and unremarkable in you and cover it with His own strength, making you fit for purposes far beyond what you'd expect of yourself.
"And he put the staves into the rings on the sides of the altar, to bear it withal; he made the altar hollow with boards. "
"He slid the poles through the rings on the altar's sides so it could be carried, and built the altar itself as a hollow box made of boards."
The staves were slid through the rings so the altar could be borne along, hollow yet whole, carried rather than dragged. Jesus calls you to let Him and His people carry you when you feel hollowed out - you were never meant to bear every weight of life alone.
"And he made the laver of brass, and the foot of it of brass, of the lookingglasses of the women assembling, which assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. "
"He made the bronze basin and its bronze stand out of mirrors donated by the women who served at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting."
The women gave up their bronze mirrors - precious, personal items - so they could be melted down into the laver used for washing before worship. Jesus calls you to notice what this costs: they let go of something that reflected their own image so that something could exist to prepare hearts for God instead.
"And he made the court: on the south side southward the hangings of the court were of fine twined linen, an hundred cubits: "
"He then built the courtyard. On the south side, the curtains were made of finely woven linen, about 46 metres long."
The hangings marked out the boundary of the court with careful precision - a hundred cubits, measured and exact. Jesus calls you to trust that God is not a God of vague chaos but of order and intention, and that the boundaries He sets in your life are drawn with the same loving care.
"Their pillars were twenty, and their brasen sockets twenty; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver. "
"There were twenty posts standing in twenty bronze bases; the hooks on the posts and the connecting bands were made of silver."
Twenty pillars stood along the south side, each one fixed in its socket, holding up the fabric of the court. Jesus calls you to be the kind of steady presence that holds space open for others to draw near to God - your quiet consistency matters more than you know.
"And for the north side the hangings were an hundred cubits, their pillars were twenty, and their sockets of brass twenty; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver. "
"The north side matched it: curtains about 46 metres long, twenty posts, twenty bronze bases, with silver hooks and bands."
The north side mirrored the south, equally measured, equally cared for. Jesus calls you to trust that His attention to you is just as thorough and consistent as His attention to anyone else - no side of your life is overlooked or given less care.
"And for the west side were hangings of fifty cubits, their pillars ten, and their sockets ten; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver. "
"The west side had curtains about 23 metres long, held up by ten posts on ten bronze bases, with silver hooks and bands."
The west side, though shorter, was built with the same precision as the rest. Jesus calls you to remember that faithfulness in a smaller task is never a lesser thing in God's eyes - size is not what He measures.
"And for the east side eastward fifty cubits. "
"The east side, facing sunrise, was also about 23 metres."
The east side, facing sunrise, was where the gate stood - the one way in. Jesus calls you to see in this orientation a picture of Himself as the entrance you face towards, the direction all approach to God must come from.
"The hangings of the one side of the gate were fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three. "
"On one side of the entrance gate, the curtains were about 7 metres long, held up by three posts on three bases."
The hangings on one side of the gate were carefully measured, framing the entrance with beauty rather than leaving it plain. Jesus calls you to notice that God cares about the way in - He wants your approach to Him to be marked by welcome, not fear.
"And for the other side of the court gate, on this hand and that hand, were hangings of fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three. "
"The other side of the gate matched it: curtains about 7 metres, on three posts with three bases."
The other side of the gate matched the first, symmetrical and complete, so that no one approaching from either direction was met with something lesser. Jesus calls you to know that however you come to Him - from whatever side of life you're arriving from - the welcome prepared for you is whole and equal.
"All the hangings of the court round about were of fine twined linen. "
"All the curtains around the courtyard, the whole way round, were made of finely woven linen."
Fine twined linen surrounded the whole court, a picture of purity enclosing the space where God met His people. Jesus calls you to let His righteousness clothe you the same way - not something you weave yourself, but something given to wrap around your life.
"And the sockets for the pillars were of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver; and the overlaying of their chapiters of silver; and all the pillars of the court were filleted with silver. "
"The bases under the posts were bronze, while the hooks, the connecting bands, and the caps on top of the posts were all covered in silver."
Brass sockets held the pillars firm, but the hooks and fillets that caught the light were silver - the very metal used earlier as the price of atonement. Jesus calls you to see that what truly holds your life together, beautifully and permanently, is redemption itself.
"And the hanging for the gate of the court was needlework, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen: and twenty cubits was the length, and the height in the breadth was five cubits, answerable to the hangings of the court. "
"The curtain at the entrance gate was embroidered in blue, purple and deep red thread on fine linen. It was about 9 metres wide and 2.3 metres high, matching the height of the surrounding courtyard curtains."
The gate's hanging was needlework of blue, purple, scarlet and fine linen - the most elaborate craftsmanship reserved for the entrance itself. Jesus calls you to see how much thought and beauty God pours into the way in - He wants the first thing you encounter of Him to be glory, not drudgery.
"And their pillars were four, and their sockets of brass four; their hooks of silver, and the overlaying of their chapiters and their fillets of silver. "
"Four posts held it up, standing on four bronze bases, with silver hooks and silver-covered tops and bands."
Four pillars held the gate's hanging aloft, unseen individually but essential together. Jesus calls you to find your place among others who hold up the entrance for people to meet Him - ministry is rarely a solo pillar, but a shared structure.
"And all the pins of the tabernacle, and of the court round about, were of brass. "
"Every tent peg used for the Tabernacle and the surrounding courtyard was made of bronze."
Even the pins - small pegs driven into the ground to anchor the tent - were made of brass, given the same careful attention as the grandest vessel. Jesus calls you to trust that no part of your life is too small or hidden to matter to Him; the whole structure depends on things nobody notices.
"This is the sum of the tabernacle, even of the tabernacle of testimony, as it was counted, according to the commandment of Moses, for the service of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar, son to Aaron the priest. "
"This is the official inventory of the Tabernacle - the tent that held the covenant - recorded as Moses ordered, kept for the Levites' use, and compiled by Ithamar, son of Aaron the priest."
A careful record was kept of the tabernacle's materials, counted and accounted for under Ithamar's hand. Jesus calls you to live with the same integrity - not hiding what you've done with what's been entrusted to you, but being open and honest before both God and others.
"And Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the LORD commanded Moses. "
"Bezaleel, son of Uri, grandson of Hur, from the tribe of Judah, made everything exactly as the LORD had instructed Moses."
Bezaleel used his God-given skill to make exactly what the LORD had commanded, no more and no less. Jesus calls you to bring your own gifts, whatever they are, humbly into line with what He has actually asked of you rather than what you imagine would impress others.
"And with him was Aholiab, son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver, and a cunning workman, and an embroiderer in blue, and in purple, and in scarlet, and fine linen. "
"Working alongside him was Aholiab, son of Ahisamach, from the tribe of Dan - skilled at engraving, fine craftsmanship, and embroidery in blue, purple and deep red thread."
Aholiab worked alongside Bezaleel, a skilled craftsman in his own right, sharing the labour rather than standing apart from it. Jesus calls you to welcome partnership in your calling - the work of building His kingdom was never meant to rest on one set of hands.
"All the gold that was occupied for the work in all the work of the holy place, even the gold of the offering, was twenty and nine talents, and seven hundred and thirty shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary. "
"The total gold used for all the work on the sanctuary, all of it donated, came to about 29 talents and 730 shekels - roughly a tonne, measured by the sanctuary's own standard."
Every ounce of gold given by the people was weighed, totalled, and honoured in the record. Jesus calls you to trust that whatever you offer Him - however modest it feels beside someone else's gift - is seen, valued, and never overlooked.
"And the silver of them that were numbered of the congregation was an hundred talents, and a thousand seven hundred and threescore and fifteen shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary: "
"The silver, collected from the community's census, totalled about 100 talents plus 1,775 shekels - roughly 3.4 tonnes."
The silver came from every person counted in the census, rich and poor giving the very same amount. Jesus calls you to remember that in God's eyes your worth was never set by how much you could contribute - it was fixed, equal, and certain before you gave anything at all.
"A bekah for every man, that is, half a shekel, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for every one that went to be numbered, from twenty years old and upward, for six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty men. "
"Each man paid half a shekel - one bekah - by the sanctuary's standard weight. The census counted 603,550 men aged twenty and over."
A bekah, half a shekel, was required of everyone alike - no exceptions for wealth or poverty. Jesus calls you to see in this the levelling truth of grace: none of us can buy more of God's favour, and none of us has less claim to it.
"And of the hundred talents of silver were cast the sockets of the sanctuary, and the sockets of the vail; an hundred sockets of the hundred talents, a talent for a socket. "
"That hundred talents of silver was cast into the bases for the Tabernacle's frames and for the inner veil - one hundred bases in total, using exactly one talent of silver for each."
That same redemption silver was cast into the sockets that held up the sanctuary and the vail - the very foundation of God's dwelling place was made from the price of atonement. Jesus calls you to build your life on the same foundation: not on your own effort, but on the redemption He has already provided.
"And of the thousand seven hundred seventy and five shekels he made hooks for the pillars, and overlaid their chapiters, and filleted them. "
"The remaining 1,775 shekels of silver were used for the hooks on the posts, and to cover their tops and connecting bands."
The remaining shekels became hooks and overlays, small finishing details that still mattered enough to be made from redemption money. Jesus calls you to trust that even the finishing touches of your life - the small habits, the quiet choices - are shaped by the same grace that saved you.
"And the brass of the offering was seventy talents, and two thousand and four hundred shekels. "
"The bronze donated came to 70 talents plus 2,400 shekels - roughly 2.4 tonnes."
Seventy talents of brass were gathered from the people's offering, a vast amount given freely for the work. Jesus calls you to give generously from what you have, trusting that when many hands offer together, something far greater than any one person could build takes shape.
"And therewith he made the sockets to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the brasen altar, and the brasen grate for it, and all the vessels of the altar, "
"With that bronze he made the bases for the Tabernacle's entrance, the bronze altar, its grating, and all the altar's equipment."
That brass became sockets, the altar, its grate, and every vessel needed for worship - nothing given was wasted. Jesus calls you to trust that whatever you offer Him, however it's used, will not be lost; it becomes part of something purposeful and lasting.
"And the sockets of the court round about, and the sockets of the court gate, and all the pins of the tabernacle, and all the pins of the court round about. "
"It also went into the bases around the courtyard, the bases at the courtyard gate, and every tent peg for both the Tabernacle and the courtyard."
Every socket, every pin, for the court and the tabernacle alike, was accounted for down to the last piece. Jesus calls you to trust in the completeness of God's provision - He does not leave His plans half-finished or His people short of what they need.