Exodus 37 English Standard Version (ESV)

The Ark

 ¹ Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood—two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high. ² He overlaid it with pure gold, both inside and out, and made a gold molding around it. ³ He cast four gold rings for it and fastened them to its four feet, with two rings on one side and two rings on the other. ⁴ Then he made poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold. ⁵ And he inserted the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry it.  ⁶ He made the atonement cover of pure gold—two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide. ⁷ Then he made two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover. ⁸ He made one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; at the two ends he made them of one piece with the cover. ⁹ The cherubim had their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim faced each other, looking toward the cover.

The Lampstand

 ¹⁷ They made the lampstand of pure gold and hammered it out, base and shaft; its flowerlike cups, buds and blossoms were of one piece with it. ¹⁸ Six branches extended from the sides of the lampstand—three on one side and three on the other. ¹⁹ Three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms were on one branch, three on the next branch and the same for all six branches extending from the lampstand. ²⁰ And on the lampstand were four cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms. ²¹ One bud was under the first pair of branches extending from the lampstand, a second bud under the second pair, and a third bud under the third pair—six branches in all. ²² The buds and the branches were all of one piece with the lampstand, hammered out of pure gold.  ²³ They made its seven lamps, as well as its wick trimmers and trays, of pure gold. ²⁴ They made the lampstand and all its accessories from one talent of pure gold.

REFLECTION

• Read this passage, or read the whole chapter if time allows.
• The importance of the tabernacle and its furnishings is seen in the fact that Exodus 35-40 repeats, often word for word, the description of Israel’s worship center in Exodus 25-30. For nearly 500 years Israel worshiped at this portable tent, which with its furnishings symbolized basic truths about personal relationship with God.
• The tabernacle and its furnishings, the writer of Hebrews says, are “a copy and shadow of what is in heaven”(8:5). God still uses symbols, and the symbol that most frequently serves as a bridge between God and the lost is a human symbol – the believer.
• Others do see Christians as representatives of God. We are symbols whether we chose to be or not. What kind of a representative of God are you? Does your life or your interaction with others reveal the majesty of God? Do you respect and appreciate those believers that are different from you? Do you realize how expensive your worth is? Or do you have a very low self-evaluation?
• Mentally go through every sacred article in the tabernacle. Use the eyes of your heart to look at their beauty and glory. Thank God for bringing you out of the pit to become a pure, bright and beautiful symbol of Him. Thank God for His continued redemption to purify you of all the blemishes so that God’s glory may be further shone through you.