Exodus 38:1-31

Exodus: *Israel becomes a nation

God’s instructions to Moses

Exodus Chapter s 19 to 40

Hilda Bright and Kitty Pride

Chapter 38

The special *altar where the priests gave the animals to the *LORD – verses 1-7 (Compare Exodus 27:1-8)

v1 Bezalel built the special *altar out of *acacia wood. The priests burnt the animals that the *Israelites gave to God on this *altar. It was about 51 inches (130 centimetres) high. The top was square. It was 7 feet (2.25 metres) long and 7 feet (2.25 metres) wide. v2 He made *horns on it at each of the 4 corners. The *horns and the *altar were all one piece of wood. And he covered the whole *altar with *bronze. v3 He made all its equipment out of *bronze too. There were pots, special spades, bowls and forks for the meat. There were pans in order to carry away the ashes. And he made them all out of *bronze. v4 He made *bronze bars like a net to go underneath the *altar. This *bronze net was half the way up underneath the *altar. v5 Then he made 4 *bronze rings and he attached the rings to the net’s 4 corners. v6 He made 2 poles out of *acacia wood and he covered these poles with *bronze. v7 Then he put the poles through the rings on each side of the *altar. Then men could carry it. He made this *altar out of boards, so that it was like a hollow box.

Verse 1 On that *altar they burnt animals that they gave to God. Exodus 27:1-8 describes that *altar after it describes the special tent. But in this chapter the account comes after the *altar where they burnt the special powder. This powder has a sweet smell.

The large *bronze basin – verse 8 (Compare Exodus 30:18-21)

v8 Bezalel made the *bronze basin and its *bronze base. He used the*bronze mirrors that belonged to the women. These women served God at the entrance to the special tent.

Verse 8 includes information about the basin where the priests washed (Exodus 30:17-21). The women provided their *bronze mirrors to make the basin. Their mirrors were not glass. They made the mirrors out of *bronze and then they polished them. The women were servants who helped the priests at the entrance to the tent. But they were not like the women at the *Canaanite places where their people *worshipped false gods. Those *Canaanite women had sex with many men. It was part of the way that they *worshipped. In 1 Samuel 2:22 we read about Eli’s sons who imitated that custom. God blames them because of their bad behaviour. They did not obey God. They behaved as if the *LORD’s servants belonged to the *Canaanite society. But the *Canaanites did not believe God and they did not *worship God.

The yard round God’s special tent – verses 9-20 (Compare Exodus 27:9-19)

v9 Next Bezalel made a fence for the yard that was round God’s special tent. The south side was 150 feet (44 metres) long. He made a curtain for it out of *linen of good quality. v10 He made 20 *bronze posts to support the curtain. And he fitted them into 20 *bronze bases. He attached thin silver poles to them. And he hung the curtain from those silver poles with silver *hooks. v11 The north side was also 150 feet (44 metres) long. He made another 20 main *bronze posts with 20 *bronze bases for them. In the same way, he hung a curtain on them. He hung the curtain from thin silver poles with silver *hooks. v12 The west end was 75 feet (22 metres) wide and had a curtain also. He hung it in the same way from thin silver poles with silver *hooks. He attached them to 10 main *bronze metal posts in 10 *bronze bases. v13 The east end, toward the sunrise, was also 75 feet (22 metres) wide. The entrance was on that side. v14 He put 3 main *bronze posts in 3 *bronze bases on each side of the entrance. And he hung a curtain that was 20 feet (6.6 metres) long on one side. v15 He hung another curtain on the other side of the entrance to the yard. The curtain was 20 feet (6.6 metres) long. And 3 main posts with 3 bases supported this curtain. v16 He used *linen of good quality in order to make all the curtains. The curtains went round the yard. v17 And the bases for all the main posts were *bronze. The *hooks and the thin poles were silver. He covered the tops of the main posts with silver too.

v18 He made the curtain that was at the entrance to the yard. He used *linen of good quality in order to make the curtain. He sewed blue, purple and bright red patterns on it. The curtain was 30 feet (9 metres) long and it was 7 feet (2.25 metres) high. It was the same height as the curtains round the yard. v19 He put 4 main *bronze posts with 4 *bronze bases to support the curtain. The *hooks and thin poles were silver. And he covered the tops of the main posts with silver. v20 Large *bronze pins kept God’s special tent in place. The curtains were round the yard. And the pins kept the curtains in the right position.

The valuable metals that the workers used – verses 21-31

v21 Moses ordered the men from the family called Levi to keep the records. And Ithamar must direct them. He was the son of Aaron the priest. They must record all the amounts of the material that the workers used to build God’s special tent. This special tent contained the flat stones on which God had written his laws. The laws on these flat stones reminded everyone about God’s special promise to the people. v22 It was Bezalel, who was Uri’s son and Hur’s grandson, who directed the work. He was from the family called Judah. And Bezalel made everything that the *LORD had ordered Moses. v23 Oholiab was the son of Ahisamach. And Oholiab was from the family called Dan. Oholiab helped Bezalel. He was a skilful artist and he designed things well. He was also very skilful. He sewed with blue, purple and bright red wool on *linen of good quality. v24 The people had given the gold freely for all the work that these workers did for the holy place. The weight of all the gold was almost 1 ton (1000 kilos). But they weighed this gold as *talents and *shekels. They used those special *talent and *shekel measurements only in God’s holy place.

v25 Moses had counted all the men earlier and each man gave silver as his tax. The total silver weighed more than 3¼ tons (3430 kilos). They weighed it with the special *talents and *shekels. v26 Each man paid one half of a special *shekel. And there were 603 550 men who were 20 years old or more. v27 They used the silver to make the bases for the walls of the Holy Place and for the curtain. There were 100 bases, so they used 100 silver *talents. That is 1 *talent for each base. v28 The workers used the silver *shekels to make the *hooks. And they used more silver *shekels to cover the thin poles and the tops of the main poles.

v29 The people had given the *bronze freely and it weighed more than 2¼ tons (2425 kilos). They weighed it with the special *talents and *shekels also. v30 The workers used some *bronze to make the bases for the entrance to God’s tent. And they used some more for the *bronze *altar with its *bronze net underneath. And they used *bronze for all its tools. v31 They used some *bronze for the bases for the walls of curtains. Those curtains were for the yard round the special tent. And they used some *bronze for the bases at the entrance to the yard. They used the rest of the *bronze to make all the pins for the tent. These pins held firmly the poles and the posts in God’s special tent. And they held firmly the walls of curtains round it.

Verses 21-23 Moses had appointed the *Levites to help the priests (Numbers 3:5-10). Aaron’s son, Ithamar, must direct them. They must record the amounts of the materials. And they must record what those materials made. They weighed the amounts because they did not have coins when Moses led the *Israelites. The priests balanced the metal against standard lumps called *talents and *shekels. They used those special *talents and *shekels only in the *Tabernacle. Also they used them in the *Temple.

Verse 24 The amount of gold was about 1 ton. Most of the gold probably came from the gifts that the *Israelites received from the *Egyptians (Exodus 12:35).

Verses 25-28 The amount of the silver was the largest quantity. Each man who was 20 years old or more was of military age. He had to pay half a *shekel as his tax (Exodus 30:11-16). The *Israelites recorded 603 550 men who were over 20 years (Numbers 1:44-45). 100 *talents were worth 300 000 *shekels. That tax a total of 301 775 *shekels. But the total weight of all the silver that the people gave was about more than 3 tons.

Verses 29-31 The people gave more than 2 tons of *bronze. And the workmen used it for all the other furniture and equipment.

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.
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.
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.
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.
Canaanite ~ the people who originally lived in the country called Canaan; something that comes from the country called Canaan.

Canaan ~ the country that God gave to Israelites. Canaanites lived here, and people called Amorites, Hittites, Hivites, Jebusites and Perizzites lived there also.

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.
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.
talent ~ it weighed 3000 times as much as a shekel. It was the heaviest standard that they used to weigh things like gold, silver and other metals.

shekel ~ shekels weighed about 0.4 ounces (11 grams). It was the standard that they used to weigh things (especially gold and silver); they used it for God’s special tent and later, for the Temple.

temple ~ the special building in Jerusalem where the Jews worshipped God. King Solomon built the first temple.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.

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.
shekel ~ shekels weighed about 0.4 ounces (11 grams). It was the standard that they used to weigh things (especially gold and silver); they used it for God’s special tent and later, for the Temple.

temple ~ the special building in Jerusalem where the Jews worshipped God. King Solomon built the first temple.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.

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.
Levite ~ someone who belonged to the family called Levi. Levi was a son of Jacob. Levites had special duties. They helped the Israelites to worship God in the proper way. All Israelite priests were Levites.

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

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.

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.
Tabernacle ~ God’s special tent.
temple ~ the special building in Jerusalem where the Jews worshipped God. King Solomon built the first temple.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.

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.
Egyptian ~ someone from the country called Egypt; anything that has a relationship with Egypt.