The Tabernacle — TDW Kids

God's plan. God had told Moses, “Let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them” (25:8). Now it was time to build. A willing offering. Moses said, “Take from among you an offering to the Lord. Whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as an offering to the Lord: gold, silver, and bronze” (35:5). Many materials. They needed colored thread, fine linen, goats' hair, skins, acacia wood, oil, spices and jewels (35:6-9). Everything God showed. Gifted workers would make the tent, the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars and the priests' clothes (35:10-19). Stirred hearts. “Then everyone came whose heart was stirred, and everyone whose spirit was willing, and they brought the Lord's offering” (35:21). Gold given to God. “They came, both men and women, as many as had a willing heart, and brought earrings and nose rings, rings and necklaces, all jewelry of gold” (35:22). Not long before, gold earrings had become a calf. Everyone helped. The women spun yarn, and the rulers brought onyx stones and spices (35:25-28). What we learn. God wants gifts that come from willing hearts. Paul wrote, “God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7).

The purpose (25:8). Chapters 25-31 gave the plans; chapters 35-40 tell the building. After the golden calf (32-34), God's plan to dwell with His people still stood. He had not given up on them: “Let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.” A freewill offering (35:4-9). The materials are not taxed but invited: “Whoever is of a willing heart.” The Hebrew phrase is literally a heart that “moves” someone. Worship cannot be forced. Gold redeemed (35:22). The same people who once handed Aaron their earrings for an idol now bring “earrings and nose rings, rings and necklaces” for God's house. Restored worship takes the very things that served an idol and gives them back to God. Everyone included (35:20-29). Men and women, leaders and ordinary families, skilled spinners and those with only wood or skins all contribute. The whole community served God together, and God valued every gift. Where the materials came from. Much of this wealth likely came from the Egyptians, who gave Israel silver, gold and clothing as they left (12:35-36). God provided the materials for His own house, and the people chose to give them back.

God wanted to live in the middle of His people. He asked them to build Him a special tent. It would be called the tabernacle, or Holy Tent. Moses gathered all the people together. He told them what God wanted. Anyone who wanted to could bring a gift. God did not force anyone to give. The people went home to get their gifts. Then everyone whose heart was stirred came back. Men and women brought gold jewelry. Others brought colored thread and fine linen. Some brought silver, bronze and wood. The leaders brought jewels and spices. Everyone gave because they wanted to.

God wanted a tent to live in. The people brought gifts. They gave with happy hearts. God loves a happy giver.

Called by name. Moses said, “See, the Lord has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah” (35:30). Filled with the Spirit. “He has filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom and understanding, in knowledge and all manner of workmanship” (35:31). This is the first person in the Bible described as filled with the Spirit of God. Artist and builder. Bezalel could “design artistic works, to work in gold and silver and bronze, in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood” (35:32-33). A teacher. “He has put in his heart the ability to teach, in him and Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan” (35:34). Many helpers. Moses called Bezalel, Aholiab and “every gifted artisan in whose heart the Lord had put wisdom, everyone whose heart was stirred” (36:2). More than enough. The craftsmen told Moses, “The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work which the Lord commanded us to do” (36:5). Stop! Moses proclaimed, “Let neither man nor woman do any more work for the offering of the sanctuary” (36:6). The people had to be stopped from giving! What we learn. God gives His people different gifts and skills, and He calls us to use them for Him.

Bezalel's calling (35:30). “Called by name” is the language of personal appointment. Bezalel is the grandson of Hur, who held up Moses' hands (17:12) and helped lead the camp (24:14). Faithfulness runs in families. The Spirit and skill (35:31). This is the first explicit mention in Scripture of a person filled with the Spirit of God. The gifts listed are practical: wisdom, understanding, knowledge and craftsmanship. Scripture does not separate spiritual gifts from ordinary work; God's Spirit equips hands as well as hearts. Judah and Dan (35:34). Bezalel comes from Judah, one of the leading tribes; Aholiab from Dan, one of the smallest. The partnership shows the whole nation working together. Teaching (35:34). The craftsmen are given the ability to teach. Skill that is not passed on dies with the craftsman; God provides for the next generation of workers. Generosity restrained (36:3-7). The people keep bringing gifts “every morning” until the workers report “much more than enough.” This may be the only time in the Bible a leader had to stop people from giving. Only a few chapters earlier these same people were grumbling. Grace received produces glad giving. Paul teaches the same truth: “God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7).

God picked a man named Bezalel. He was from the tribe of Judah. His grandfather was Hur, who helped Moses. God filled Bezalel with the Spirit of God. God gave him skill to work with gold, silver and bronze. He could cut jewels and carve wood. God also chose a man named Oholiab. God gave both men the ability to teach others. Many skilled men and women helped them. Every morning the people brought more gifts. Soon the workers came to Moses. They said the people were bringing too much! So Moses told everyone to stop giving. They had more than enough.

God chose Bezalel. God filled him with His Spirit. Bezalel built with gold and wood. God gives us gifts too.

Curtains and frames. The workers “made ten curtains woven of fine linen, and of blue, purple, and scarlet thread; with artistic designs of cherubim” (36:8). Cherubim are heavenly creatures with wings. The pieces. Chapters 37-39 describe the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the courtyard and the priests' clothes. Every piece followed God's pattern. God's timing. God said, “On the first day of the first month you shall set up the tabernacle of the tent of meeting” (40:2). The ark. Moses “took the Testimony and put it into the ark… and put the mercy seat on top of the ark” (40:20). The Testimony was the stone tablets. The veil. He “brought the ark into the tabernacle, hung up the veil of the covering, and partitioned off the ark” (40:21). Bread, light and incense. Moses set out the table with bread, lit the lamps and burned incense on the gold altar (40:22-27). Obedience. Again and again Exodus 40 says, “as the Lord had commanded Moses.” “Thus Moses did; according to all that the Lord had commanded him, so he did” (40:16). Finished. “So Moses finished the work” (40:33). What we learn. God's house was built God's way. Obeying God carefully is a way to love Him.

A copy of heavenly things. Hebrews calls the tabernacle “the copy and shadow of the heavenly things,” built “according to the pattern shown you on the mountain” (Hebrews 8:5). Its details matter because they picture realities greater than themselves. Layers of holiness. The courtyard with the bronze altar and laver, the Holy Place with table, lampstand and incense altar, and the Most Holy Place with the ark behind the veil (40:3-8, 20-30). Each step inward is closer to God's presence, and more restricted. The ark and mercy seat (40:20). The Testimony, the covenant tablets, rests inside the ark; above it is the mercy seat, the kapporet (say: kah-poh-RET), a word that comes from covering or atonement. God's law is covered by the place of mercy. Careful obedience. Over and over, 40:17-33 says “as the Lord had commanded Moses.” After the disobedience of the calf, the people now obeyed God carefully in every detail. Moses' finished work also reminds us of creation: “So Moses finished the work” (40:33) recalls “God ended His work” (Genesis 2:2). Pictures of Jesus. Many Christians see Jesus pictured in the tabernacle, and Jesus' own words lead the way. He is the bread of life (John 6:35), the light of the world (John 8:12) and the one way to the Father (John 14:6), and Hebrews 10:20 says the veil pictures His flesh, torn open so we can come to God.

The workers began to build the Holy Tent. They made curtains of blue, purple and red cloth. Creatures with wings were sewn on the curtains. Wooden frames were covered with gold. The workers built the Ark of the Covenant, a gold box. God's law would go inside it. There was a table for special bread. A gold lampstand would give light. An altar and a bowl for washing were made too. They followed God's plan exactly. One year after leaving Egypt, they set it all up. Moses put the tablets inside the Ark. He hung a curtain in front of it. So Moses finished the work.

The workers built God's house. They followed God's plan. They made a gold box. Moses finished the work.

The cloud comes. “Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle” (40:34). Too much glory. “Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle” (40:35). A change. After the golden calf, God had said He would not go among them (33:3). Moses prayed, and now God's glory filled a tent in the middle of the camp. Following the cloud. “Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would go onward in all their journeys” (40:36). Waiting on God. “But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not journey till the day that it was taken up” (40:37). Day and night. “The cloud of the Lord was above the tabernacle by day, and fire was over it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys” (40:38). The end of Exodus. Exodus began with God's people as slaves in Egypt. It ends with God living among them. What we learn. God's greatest gift is His presence. Through Jesus, God lives with His people.

Glory descends (40:34). The cloud that led Israel out of Egypt (13:21) and rested on Sinai (24:15-16) now covers the tabernacle. God's kavod (say: kah-VODE), His glory, fills the tent. The word means weight: the heavy, shining greatness of God that Moses asked to see (33:18). The God who came down on the mountain now lives in the middle of the camp. Even Moses cannot enter (40:35). The man who spoke with God “face to face” cannot go in. Leviticus picks up right here, with God calling to Moses from the tent and explaining how sinful people may draw near through sacrifice and priesthood. From Eden to the tent. The cherubim on the veil recall the cherubim who guarded Eden (Genesis 3:24). God's presence returns among His people, but still behind a curtain. Guidance (40:36-38). The cloud lifting and settling directs every move (Numbers 9:17). Israel's whole life is ordered by God's presence. Exodus ends with God traveling with them. From slavery to worship. Israel began as slaves to Pharaoh, building cities for Egypt (1:11). Now they worship the Lord and have built a house for God. And God's plan keeps going: John writes that the Word “dwelt among us” (John 1:14), and Revelation promises, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men” (Revelation 21:3).

Moses finished all the work. Then the cloud came down and covered the Meeting Tent. The greatness of the Lord filled the Holy Tent. God's glory was so great that Moses could not go in. God had come to live among His people! From then on, the cloud stayed over the tent. When the cloud rose up, the people packed up. They followed the cloud to a new place. If the cloud stayed, the people stayed too. At night there was fire in the cloud. Everyone could see it. God was with them on every step of the journey. The God who rescued them now lived with them. He kept His promise.

A cloud covered the tent. God's glory filled it! God came to live with His people. The cloud led them.