Exodus 27:1-21

Exodus: *Israel becomes a nation

God’s instructions to Moses

Exodus Chapter s 19 to 40

Hilda Bright and Kitty Pride

Chapter 27

The *altar where the priests burnt the animals that the *Israelites gave to God – verses 1-8

v1 The *LORD continued to speak. ‘Build a special *altar out of *acacia wood. Make it about 51 inches (130 centimetres) high. It should be square, about 7 feet (2.25 metres) long and 7 feet (2.25 metres) wide. v2 Make the wood stick out like a *horn at each of the upper 4 corners. These 4 *horns must be part of the *altar itself. Cover the table with *bronze. v3 Also, you should make all the tools out of *bronze that you will use at the *altar. Make *bronze pots so that you can remove the ashes in them. Also make *bronze tools so that you can move the ashes. And make *bronze bowls for the blood. Make *bronze forks for the meat. And make *bronze pans in which to carry the ashes. v4 Make *bronze bars like a metal net. It will go underneath the *altar. Make 4 *bronze rings, 1 ring at each corner of this *bronze net. v5 Put the narrow piece about half the way up the *altar. Put the *bronze net under the edge of *altar. And put it about half way up the *altar. v6 Make poles out of *acacia wood so that the men can carry this *altar. Cover the poles with *bronze metal too. v7 Put these poles through the rings. 1 pole will be on each side of the *altar when the priests carry it. v8 Make this *altar out of wooden boards so that it is like a hollow box. You must make it exactly as I showed you on the mountain.’

Verse 1 The priests used the *altar as the place to burn the people’s gifts for God. That was part of the way in which they *worshipped God. They killed a perfect animal or bird. Then they gave it to God as a present. Leviticus 1 describes the right way to give such presents. The priest had to burn the whole animal.

Verse 2 The *horns stuck out from each corner of the *altar. The priest took some blood from the animal when he killed it. Then he put blood on those *horns. Also, a person could come to that *altar to ask God for protection. The person would hold the *horns because he did not want to die. We read about Adonijah who lived many years later (1 Kings 1:50). He held onto the *horns of the *altar when he was afraid of King Solomon. He thought that Solomon would kill him. Another time captain Joab also tried to save himself. So he held onto those *horns (1 Kings 2:28).

Verses 3-5 The priests had tools like spades so that they could lift things. And they carried things on those spades. Bowls would contain the blood of the animal. The priest would scatter blood from the bowl. They would scatter the blood on the *altar and on its *horns. The forks would pick up the priests’ share of the meat (1 Samuel 2:13-14). The workers arranged the *bronze bars like a net. They fixed that net under the *altar, which was like a hollow box. They attached the net half the way up the box. Perhaps the priests used it to help the fire to burn. Or perhaps they used it for the body of the animal that they burned.

Verses 6-7 The priests carried the *altar with the poles. They fixed the poles into the rings on either side.

The yard round the tent – verses 9-19

v9 ‘Make a yard for my special tent. The south side must be 150 feet (44 metres) long. It must have curtains of *linen of good quality. v10 Attach the curtains to 20 main *bronze posts, which should stand on 20 *bronze bases. Attach thin poles and silver *hooks to the posts, and hang the curtains from them. v11 The north side of the yard must also be 150 feet (44 metres) long. It must have 20 main *bronze posts and their 20 *bronze bases. And these main posts must have silver *hooks and thin poles on which to hang curtains too.’

v12 ‘The west end of the yard must be about 75 feet (22 metres) wide. It must have 10 main *bronze poles and 10 *bronze bases, because it must have curtains also. v13 The east end will have the entrance towards the sunrise. It must be 75 feet (22 metres) wide as well. v14 On one side of the entrance you must put a curtain. It is about 20 feet (6.6 metres) long. It should have 3 main posts and 3 bases. v15 On the other side of the entrance put another curtain 20 feet (6.6 metres) long. It must have 3 main posts also, and their 3 bases.’

v16 ‘Provide a curtain for the entrance to the yard. Make it out of *linen of good quality. It should be 30 feet (9 metres) long. A skilful worker must make it and they must sew designs with purple, blue and bright red wool. And it must have 4 metal posts and 4 bases. v17 All the main posts round this yard also must have thin silver poles, silver *hooks and *bronze bases. v18 The yard must be about 150 feet (44 metres) long and 75 feet (22 metres) wide with *bronze bases. And its curtains should be about 7 feet (2.25 metres) high. v19 There is other equipment that people will use in the tent for any purpose. You must make all of it out of *bronze. This includes the large pins that keep the tent’s main posts and the yard’s main posts firmly in position.’

Verses 9-15 The yard round the tent was a large area without a roof. It was there on the *bronze *altar that the priests gave gifts to God from the people. The tent itself contained the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. But the *bronze *altar was outside the tent. The walls round the yard were curtains of *linen. They hung from silver *hooks on thin poles. They had posts to support them. This wall of *linen separated the yard from everywhere in the camp outside. Its posts stood on *bronze bases. And the entrance was a special curtain on the east side of the yard. The entrance also had curtains on each side of it.

Verses 16-18 An extra long curtain of good quality *linen hung over the entrance. A skilful worker sewed patterns onto that curtain with blue, purple and bright red wool.

Verse 19 Everything else for use in the yard was *bronze. The large pins were sharp pieces of metal. They were at the end of heavy strings. The *Israelites put those pins into the ground to hold the tent and the posts firmly.

The oil for the lamps – verses 20-21

v20 ‘Order the *Israelites to bring pure oil for the lamps. They must press *olives to obtain the oil for you. Burn this oil in the lamps. They must never go out in the night. v21 They will give light in the tent where you meet me. The lamps will be outside the curtain. And the curtain is in front of the Most Holy Place with the special box. Aaron and his sons must look after the lamps. These lamps must burn in front of the *LORD. They must burn from evening until morning every day. The *Israelites must always obey this law.’

Verse 20 Only the best *olive oil was good enough for God’s service. The workers pressed fresh fruit from *olive trees to get the oil. Then they poured the *olive oil through a cloth. As that pure oil burnt, it did not make much smoke. Sometimes it did not make any smoke.

Verse 21 The ‘tent where you meet me’. This is the Holy Place where God met with his people (Exodus 29:42-43). The lamps gave light. They were in front of the curtain. The curtain separated that part of the tent from the Most Holy Place. The priests lit the lamps on the gold *lampstand each evening (Exodus 30:8). And they put out the light each morning (1 Samuel 3:3). The light from the lamps would remind the people always that God was present. He was present inside the Most Holy Place.

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.
altar ~ a table on which people give gifts or *sacrifices to God or to a false god.
Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
LORD ~ God gave this special name to himself. It translates the word ‘Yahweh’ in the Hebrew language. It links to the words ‘I am’; it means that God has been here always.

Lord ~ a name for God. It translates the Hebrew word ‘Adonai’, which means ‘my ruler’. The word ‘lord’ (without a capital letter) means an ordinary ruler.

Hebrew ~ the language that the Israelites spoke. A Hebrew is a Jewish person or an Israelite

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.

Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew or anything that belongs to the Jews.

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
acacia ~ a kind of tree that grows in dry land.
horn ~ animals like cows and goats have horns (usually 2) that grow out of their heads. The horns stick out and end in a point. The Israelite priest used male sheep’s horns as musical instruments. They blew into them to make a loud sound. And today people call certain instruments ‘horns’. Also the altar in God’s special tent had pieces that stuck out at the altar’s 4 corners. These pieces are called horns.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.

altar ~ a table on which people give gifts or *sacrifices to God or to a false god.

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
bronze ~ a kind of metal that people make out of copper and tin.
worship ~ when people show honour to God, or to a false god. People may sing or pray. Or they may kneel down or give a gift to God.
linen ~ a special kind of cloth of good quality. People make it from the plant called *flax.
hook ~ people hang things from hooks. To make hooks people bend metal into the shape of a letter U.
olive ~ a fruit tree; people press its green or black fruit to obtain olive oil. People use the oil for cooking and for fuel in their lamps. The Israelites gave it to God as one of their gifts to him.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
lampstand ~ it held 7 lamps. They contained oil that burned, so the lamp-stand gave a lot of light.