[Exodus 36] . In this chapter Bezaleel and his helper, Aholiab commence the project of building the Tabernacle, it’s furnishings, and the priestly garments. For New Testament believers, the Tabernacle foreshadows who we are in Christ, and our connection to the broader scope of the Kingdom in our relationship to the community of faith called the body of Christ.
[Exo 36:1-38 KJV] 1 Then wrought Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whom the LORD put wisdom and understanding to know how to work all manner of work for the service of the sanctuary, according to all that the LORD had commanded. 2 And Moses called Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whose heart the LORD had put wisdom, [even] every one whose heart stirred him up to come unto the work to do it: 3 And they received of Moses all the offering, which the children of Israel had brought for the work of the service of the sanctuary, to make it [withal]. And they brought yet unto him free offerings every morning. 4 And all the wise men, that wrought all the work of the sanctuary, came every man from his work which they made; 5 And they spake unto Moses, saying, The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work, which the LORD commanded to make. 6 And Moses gave commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary. So the people were restrained from bringing. 7 For the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much. 8 And every wise hearted man among them that wrought the work of the Tabernacle made ten curtains [of] fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: [with] cherubims of cunning work made he them. 9 The length of one curtain [was] twenty and eight cubits, and the breadth of one curtain four cubits: the curtains [were] all of one size. 10 And he coupled the five curtains one unto another: and [the other] five curtains he coupled one unto another. 11 And he made loops of blue on the edge of one curtain from the selvedge in the coupling: likewise he made in the uttermost side of [another] curtain, in the coupling of the second. 12 Fifty loops made he in one curtain, and fifty loops made he in the edge of the curtain which [was] in the coupling of the second: the loops held one [curtain] to another. 13 And he made fifty taches of gold, and coupled the curtains one unto another with the taches: so it became one Tabernacle. 14 And he made curtains [of] goats’ [hair] for the tent over the Tabernacle: eleven curtains he made them. 15 The length of one curtain [was] thirty cubits, and four cubits [was] the breadth of one curtain: the eleven curtains [were] of one size. 16 And he coupled five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves. 17 And he made fifty loops upon the uttermost edge of the curtain in the coupling, and fifty loops made he upon the edge of the curtain which coupleth the second. 18 And he made fifty taches [of] brass to couple the tent together, that it might be one. 19 And he made a covering for the tent [of] rams’ skins dyed red, and a covering [of] badgers’ skins above [that]. 20 And he made boards for the Tabernacle [of] shittim wood, standing up. 21 The length of a board [was] ten cubits, and the breadth of a board one cubit and a half. 22 One board had two tenons, equally distant one from another: thus did he make for all the boards of the Tabernacle. 23 And he made boards for the Tabernacle; twenty boards for the south side southward: 24 And forty sockets of silver he made under the twenty boards; two sockets under one board for his two tenons, and two sockets under another board for his two tenons. 25 And for the other side of the Tabernacle, [which is] toward the north corner, he made twenty boards, 26 And their forty sockets of silver; two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board. 27 And for the sides of the Tabernacle westward he made six boards. 28 And two boards made he for the corners of the Tabernacle in the two sides. 29 And they were coupled beneath, and coupled together at the head thereof, to one ring: thus he did to both of them in both the corners. 30 And there were eight boards; and their sockets [were] sixteen sockets of silver, under every board two sockets. 31 And he made bars of shittim wood; five for the boards of the one side of the Tabernacle, 32 And five bars for the boards of the other side of the Tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the Tabernacle for the sides westward. 33 And he made the middle bar to shoot through the boards from the one end to the other. 34 And he overlaid the boards with gold, and made their rings [of] gold [to be] places for the bars, and overlaid the bars with gold. 35 And he made a vail [of] blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen: [with] cherubims made he it of cunning work. 36 And he made thereunto four pillars [of] shittim [wood], and overlaid them with gold: their hooks [were of] gold; and he cast for them four sockets of silver. 37 And he made an hanging for the tabernacle door [of] blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, of needlework; 38 And the five pillars of it with their hooks: and he overlaid their chapiters and their fillets with gold: but their five sockets [were of] brass.
After receiving instructions, skilled volunteers, and materials from Moses, Bezaleel, with his assistant Aholiab set to work fashioning the Tabernacle, the articles to be kept therein and the priestly garments (vs. 1-4). Verse 1 uses the word “wrought” to describe how the work was done; that is, Bezaleel and Aholiab WROUGHT the work – the word WROUGHT here means “to advance.” Every believer has a mandate from heaven to ADVANCE the purposes of God and the prerogatives of the Kingdom in His life.
[Rom 14:7 KJV] 7 For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.
This suggests to us that Bezaleel, Aholiab, and all those whose “hearts were stirred up” were utterly committed to something beyond themselves, i.e., the building of the Tabernacle to accommodate the presence of God in their midst and to facilitate the people of God in their approach to Jehovah. Sociologists suggest that of the several core needs of mankind (including food, shelter, etc.), it is absolutely vital for men and women to be a part of something larger than themselves. Paul touches this in his first letter to the Corinthians:
[1Co 12:27 KJV] 27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.
As we know it today, the church has largely lost its connection to one another as a vital corporate body carrying out the broader initiatives of the Kingdom. Instead, the church is seen as a clearinghouse for meeting the needs of the individual and seldom gets involved further than certain humanitarian enterprises common to the needs of third world projects, anti-poverty campaigns, etc., These may be good as far as they go, but as the church of the Living God we are to be Christo-centric in our thinking and utterly committed to advancing the gospel for the gospel’s sake (instead of justifying the gospel to a non-believing world by embracing humanism and man-centered altruism as a corporate ethic.) Jesus makes this clear for us in the gospel of Matthew:
[Mat 6:33 KJV] 33 But seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Those that assisted Bezaleel and Aholiab in these projects are described in our chapter as being “wise-hearted.” These people built a natural Tabernacle that was the shadow of the Tabernacle that we are in our bodies and that the Corporate Body of Christ is an expression of. To build the Corporate Body of Christ, we also need wisdom, but for us, in the New Covenant, we understand that Christ is our wisdom:
[1Co 1:30 KJV] 30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
Being wise-hearted means being “Christ-inside” Minded. Jesus said, “He that would be greatest let him be a servant of all …”
(Matt. 23:10-12). This is the Christ-Mind. Paul further taught on the need for believers to live beyond their own creature comforts mere lives of self-direction when he penned the following in the book of Philippians:
[Phl 2:4-9 KJV] 4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. 5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
With these things in view, there should be very prominent in every believer’s life evidence of activity and commitment to the larger purposes of God.
In vs. 5-7, an unusual problem crops up. The people are giving so much to the work of the Tabernacle that the actual activity of building the Tabernacle was being hindered. V. 5 tells us that the people bring in much more than enough. For this reason, Moses (v. 6) restrains the people from God, for there was more than sufficient for the need. Were they wrong to give in such a way? Certainly not. They reflected in their giving their perception of God being the “God of More Than Enough” and the God of “All Sufficiency.” Thus we understand that the character and quality of your giving reflect your personal understanding (or lack thereof) of God and His generosity toward us. John 3:16 tells us, “God so loved that He gave…” We are to live godly in Christ Jesus. If we are not givers, we are not godly. If we do not give as a reflection of the gift of Christ – heaven’s best – we are demonstrating a deficient understanding of who God is.
Material things were required to build the Tabernacle in the wilderness. Gold, silver, jewels, furs, etc. These were all gathered by the people of God as they were exiting Egypt. The Egyptians who hated and feared the Israelites gave them to them because they knew there was something different about them, and they feared their God. This is the transfer of the wealth. If there is a transfer of the wealth under the fading glory of the law of sin and death, how much more is there a transfer of the wealth under the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. What is the verse in the Bible for the Transfer of the Wealth in the End Times?
[Isa 60:11 KJV] 11 Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that [men] may bring unto thee the wealth of the Gentiles, and [that] their kings [may be] brought. 12 For the nation and Kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, [those] nations shall be utterly wasted.
People who have issues with giving are bound by the curse of the vow of poverty that has contaminated the church and Christianity from the Middle Ages. These ancient Jews had no such twisted thinking. God supplied them, and they rendered up MORE than was necessary to finance God’s purposes in the earth.
In vs. 8-13, we see that the first thing they made was the blue (representing prayer), scarlet (protection), and purple (wealth and royalty) coverings. The blue dye was also a key ingredient in the incense that represents prayer. This is where we get the idea of a “prayer covering.” Notice that the Lord instructed that figures of cherubim be embroidered into these curtains. The scriptures say that the Lord inhabits your PRAISES (yes He does), and here we see the visual statement that angels inhabit your PRAYERS. As praise brings God’s presence, so prayers bring the angels into our lives and situations to carry out the promise of God’s word.
The numbers here are not without significance: 28, 4, 5, 50.
Twenty-eight curtains – connected with the phrase “the Lamb”, which occurs 28 times in the New Testament.
Four cubits (the size of the curtains) – a number of completion and appointed times. The earth was completed for population on the fourth day, and there are four seasons – or “appointed times” in the year. Prayer brings God’s appointed times online in our lives.
Five curtains coupled together – is a number connected with empowering grace. Grace, as God’s unmerited favor, empowerment through the 5-fold ministry that brings us to the full measure of the stature of Christ.
Fifty loops on each curtain to hold curtains together on four sides – 50 are the number of Spiritual Endowment and Liberty, of Jubilee and Pentecost.
In verse 13, all of these diverse components come together to create ONE TABERNACLE in the purposes of God. This testifies to us of the ONE body of Christ that God acknowledges. The divisions, sects, groups, and so forth that divide Christianity are in direct contradiction to the testimony of the Tabernacle that we are called as Paul says in Romans 12:4 into “ONE BODY.”
In verses 14-19, we see additional curtains of goat’s hair and of rams skin dyed red. The goat’s hair covering was visible to those outside looking into the center of the camp. The goat’s hair represents Jesus as the scapegoat upon whom all our sins were pronounced. When he looks at us, the enemy sees Calvary’s purchase price and that our sins are paid for. When the enemy looked at Job, he told God, “skin for skin – take your hand off Job, and he will curse you to your face…” Job did not have a mediator, but we do. Satan cannot accuse us without being immediately confronted by the price that Jesus paid on Calvary. The ram’s skin dyed red speak also of Jesus as the “ram that God provided” just as when Abraham sacrificed Isaac; instead, God provided a ram caught in the thicket as Isaac’s substitute.
In vs. 20-38, focus is made on the upholding structures of the Tabernacle. The structure of the Tabernacle was made of Acacia wood which was a very gnarly, twisted wood very difficult to work with – yet God showed Bezaleel and Aholiab how to take this very difficult material and make it stand up, and connect together with other boards and form the structure within which God places His glory in the wilderness. Likewise, God calls apostles and prophets and teachers today to work with very gnarly people, twisted and difficult to work with that we might be made to STAND UP, and connect together with others to form the structure spiritual that God places His glory in the wilderness of the modern world.
