The Building of the Ark of the Covenant and Furnishings and Courtyard of the Tabernacle

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Exodus 37:1) And Bezaleel made the ark of acacia wood; two and a half cubits was its length, a cubit and a half its width, and a cubit and a half its height.

Chapter 36 told of how Bezaleel, Aholiab, and the other skilled workers began working on the tabernacle according to the specifications the Lord had given Moses on the mount.  The work continued in chapter 37 with Bezaleel making the ark of acacia wood.  It measured 45 inches long, 27 inches wide, and 27 inches high.

(2) And he overlaid it with pure gold inside and outside, and made a molding of gold all around it.

Bezaleel overlaid the wooden ark with pure gold inside and out, and made a crown molding of gold all around the top of the chest.

(3) And he cast for it four rings of gold to be set in its four corners, two rings on one side, and two rings on the other side of it.

He made a gold ring on each corner which made for two rings on one side and two rings on the other side.

(4) And he made staves of acacia wood, and overlaid them with gold. (5) And he put the staves into the rings at the sides of the ark, to bear the ark.

He made poles or rods of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold.  He put the staves into the rings on each side of the ark so that the ark might be carried by them.  All this work on the ark was being done just as instructed by God in Exodus chapter 25.

(6) And he made the mercy seat of pure gold; two and a half cubits was its length and a cubit and a half its width.

Bezaleel made the mercy seat that was both a lid for the ark and a seat on top of it.  He made it of pure gold and it was 45 inches long and 27 inches wide.

(7) And he made two cherubim of gold, beaten out of one piece on the two ends of the mercy seat; (8) One cherub on the end on this side, and another cherub on the other end on that side; out of the mercy seat he made the cherubim on its two ends. (9) And the cherubim spread out their wings above, and covered the mercy seat with their wings; with their faces one to the other, the faces of the cherubim were toward the mercy seat.

He made the mercy seat with two cherubim, hammered and formed one with the seat, on each side of it.  The cherubim were made on each end facing each other with their wings spread above and covering the mercy seat.

(10) And he made the table of acacia wood; two cubits was its length, a cubit its width, and a cubit and a half its height. (11) And he overlaid it with pure gold, and made a crown of gold all around it.

Bezaleel then made a table of acacia wood, 36 inches long, 18 inches wide, and 27 inches high. He overlaid it with pure gold with a crown molding of gold all around it.

(12) Also he made a border of a handbreadth all around it, and made a crown of gold for the border all around it.

He made another border or frame about the width of a hand to go all around the table, and it, too, had a crown molding of gold all around it.  As first discussed when God gave Moses these instructions in chapter 25, most theologians figured this was a separate border from the one on top that may have gone from table leg to table leg all around, and acted as a brace around the middle or bottom of the table legs.

(13) And he cast for it four rings of gold, and put the rings on the four corners that were in its four feet. (14) The rings were over against the border as places for the staves to bear the table. (15) And he made the staves of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold, to bear the table.

He made four rings of gold placed on the four corners of the table at the table legs at the border that was to be made all around from leg to leg.  The rings were to be where poles were inserted with which to lift and carry the table.  He made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold.

(16) And he made the vessels which were on the table, its dishes, its spoons, its bowls, and its covers of pure gold.

Bezaleel made all the dishes and utensils that would be used on the table out of pure gold.

(17) And he made the candlestick of pure gold; of hammered work he made the candlestick; its shaft, its branches, its bowls, its knobs, and its flowers were of the same piece.

He made a candlestand of pure gold, and rather than poured into a mold, it was hammered and worked from one piece with branches, bowls, knobs, and flowers.

(18) And six branches going out of its sides, three branches of the candlestick out of one side, and three branches of the candlestick out of the other side.

The original word for candlestick in the scripture above is "menorah" and the seven-branched candelabrum that word brings to mind is more likely what is meant in this scripture rather than a single candlestick.  Bezaleel made it with three branches on one side of the main stick or shaft and three branches on the other side, making seven places for oil lamps, including the shaft in the middle. 

(19) There were three bowls made like almond blossoms on one branch, with a knob and a flower, and three bowls made like almonds in another branch, with a knob and a flower, and so throughout the six branches going out of the candlestick. (20) And in the candlestick were four bowls made like almonds, each with its knobs and its flowers.

The bowls for the oil lamps on each of the branches that extended from each side of the main candlestick were made as almond blossoms, each with an ornamental knob and flower.  The main shaft of the candlestick was made with four bowls made like almond blossoms, each with an ornamental knob and flower.

(21) And a knob under two branches of the same, and a knob under two branches of the same, and a knob under two branches of the same, according to the six branches going out of it. (22) Their knobs and their branches were of one piece; all of it was one hammered piece of pure gold.

The making of this part is no clearer to me than the description of how it should be made in chapter 25.  It sounds as if there was to be another knob made underneath connecting two branches, and connecting another two and the other two, making six branches with three knobs underneath, but since I thought the branches were to be arranged three on one side and three on the other, it does not make sense to me.  I had to refer back to my notes on the initial instructions for this in verse 25 to get any help in explaining it.  Even back there none of the old commentaries I read bothered to explain this, but Dr. John Gill, in his Exposition of the Entire Bible, did mention an interpretation of Jarchi, who was a medieval French rabbi and Torah commentator.  The previous scripture had just spoken of the bowls that were each to have a knob and a flower, and then the next verse speaks of "a knob under two branches of the same".  If "the same" is still referencing each bowl with its knob and flower, then verse 21's "knob" is speaking of the same knob, and what Dr. Gill said Jarchi wrote about it makes sense.  According to him, the knob was like a pomegranate (or an apple), and "two branches were drawn from the two sides of it...this clause is repeated twice in this verse, signifying there should be a knop under each of the three branches on one side, and three on the other side."  Once again these knobs and branches were to be hammered from one mass of gold, and not poured into molds and soldered together.

(23) And he made its seven lamps, its snuffers, and its snuff dishes of pure gold. (24) Of a talent of pure gold he made it, and all its vessels.

He made seven lamps, snuffers, and snuff dishes for each of the bowls at the end of each of the branches (three on each side) and one for the middle shaft.  He made the candlestick and all its utensils from a full talent of gold.  The old theologians and commentators that I read varied greatly in their opinions about exactly how much gold this was, but as discussed in chapter 25, I gathered that generally a talent was understood to be about the weight of a person, and was considered to be roughly 120 pounds.

(25) And he made the incense altar of acacia wood; the length of it was a cubit and the width of it a cubit; it was foursquare; and two cubits was the height of it; its horns were of the same.

"He", I assume Bezaleel is the one still making these items, made an incense altar of acacia wood.  It was square, 18 inches on each side, and 36 inches high.  It was made with horns, or some similar projections pointing upward that resembled horns, from the same acacia wood as the altar, probably carved from the same piece of wood.

(26) And he overlaid it with pure gold, the top of it and its sides all around, and its horns; he also made for it a crown of gold all around it.

He overlaid the incense altar with pure gold on its top and sides and on the horns of it.  He also made for it a crown molding of gold.

(27) And he made two rings of gold for it under its crown, by its two corners on both sides, to be places for the staves with which to bear it. (28) And he made the staves of acacia wood, and overlaid them with gold.

Two golden rings were made for the altar under the crown molding on each side, into which poles or bars would be placed in order to carry the altar.  The poles were also made of acacia wood like the altar itself, and overlaid with gold.

(29) And he made the holy anointing oil and the pure incense of sweet spices, according to the work of the apothecary.

It was said that he made the holy anointing oil and the incense of sweet spices, "according to the work of the apothecary".  An apothecary was one who pounded and mixed drugs and perfumes.  There was an art to making the perfect anointing oil and pure incenses, and he had the talent for it.

(Exodus 38:1) And he made the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood; five cubits was its length and five cubits its width, it was square, and its height was three cubits.

"He" still refers to Bezaleel from chapter 37.  Either he personally made the altar of burnt offering, or it was made under his direction.  He made it of acacia wood, square, 7 1/2 feet on each side, and 4 1/2 feet high.

(2) And he made its horns on its four corners; the horns were of the same piece; and he overlaid it with brass.

He made horns or some similar projections on the four corners of the altar, of the same piece of wood as the altar, not made separately and applied to the altar.  The altar was then overlaid with brass.

(3) And he made all the vessels for the altar, the pots, the shovels, the basins, the forks, and the firepans; all its vessels he made of brass.

He made all the vessels and utensils for the altar from brass.  As discussed when God first gave Moses the instructions for these in chapter 27, there were pans for receiving the ashes of the burnt sacrifices, basins for the blood, shovels and forks for handling the pieces of flesh and animal parts, and fire pans for the burning embers or coals of fire.

(4) And he made a grate of brass network for the altar, under its rim, in the midst of it. (5) And he cast four rings for the four corners of the grate of brass, to be places for the staves.

He made a brass grate for the altar probably over a hollowed area in the middle of the altar, where the fire would burn. As discussed in chapter 27, in the "midst" meant the "middle".  Exodus 27:5 expressed it with a little more detail:  "And you shall put it under the rim of the altar beneath, that the network may be even to the midst of the altar."  He made four rings in the four corners of the grate in which to put poles or bars to move it.

(6) And he made the staves of acacia wood, and overlaid them with brass. (7) And he put the staves into the rings on the sides of the altar, with which to bear it; he made the altar hollow with boards.

He made poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with brass.  He put the poles into the rings on the side of the altar with which to carry it.  As I had confusion when I first read the description of this altar's poles in chapter 27, I still have it.  I originally thought the rings were on the brass grate and that poles would remove the grate, not carry the entire altar.  Perhaps the brass grate was one piece with the entire overlay of brass and therefore poles through those rings would carry the entire altar.  For the first time I am picturing this altar a little differently; maybe instead of the brass being on top and going down to the middle of the sides, perhaps it was on the bottom going halfway up to the middle.  It does say the altar was hollow.  Perhaps it was open at the top and the ashes would fall through the sides.  If the brass grate was on the sides and under the top, it could be carried by rings on the corners of the brass.  I got no help from the old commentaries that I read, so I was on my own to try to imagine this!  :-)

(8) And he made the laver of brass, and the foot of it of brass, from the mirrors of the women assembling, who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

He made a brass basin with a brass foot or stand.  He made them from the mirrors of the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle.  We can assume these were devoted women, attending more consistently at the place of public worship than others.  Their mirrors were likely highly reflective brass rather than glass with brass handles as we might picture today.

(9) And he made the court; on the south side southward the hangings of the court were of fine twined linen, one hundred cubits long. (10) There were twenty pillars for them, with twenty brass sockets; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver.

"He" would still seem to be Bezaleel, but I am beginning to believe more certainly that he alone didn't personally do all this work, but that it was done under his direction.  As I assumed that the "he" in chapter 36 referred back to "every wise hearted man among them who worked on the tabernacle" (Exodus 36:8), I believe all this work being discussed now must be done by other talented and skilled workers than just Bezaleel.  After all, we did read that he was more than a talented craftsman; he had the ability to teach others (Exodus 35:4).

They now made the courtyard for the tabernacle, enclosed on the south side with hangings of fine woven linen, fifty yards long.  The hangings hung on twenty pillars set in brass sockets.  As discussed in chapter 27 when God first gave Moses these instructions, the silver fillets were probably some sort of connecting rods between the pillars.  The rods probably went across the top of the pillars as a sort of curtain rod upon which the hooks holding the hangings were attached.  Since there were only twenty pillars in a length of fifty yards, the hangings couldn't have hung on the pillars alone, so surely hung on hooks on the fillets or rods.

(11) And for the north side the hangings were one hundred cubits long, with twenty pillars and their twenty brass sockets; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver. (12) And for the west side were hangings of fifty cubits, with ten pillars and their ten sockets; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were silver. (13) And for the east side fifty cubits.

The north side was made identical to the south side, with hangings fifty yards long on twenty pillars set in sockets of brass, with silver rods and hooks.  On the east and west sides the hangings were made 25 yards long set on ten pillars set in ten sockets, with silver rods and hooks.

(14) The hangings of one side of the gate were fifteen cubits long, with their three pillars and their three sockets, (15) And for the other side of the court gate, on this side and that were hangings of fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and their three sockets.

At the gate or entrance to the court they made hangings 7 1/2 yards long hanging on three pillars in three sockets on both sides of the entrance.

(16) All the hangings of the court all around were of fine woven linen.  (17) And the sockets for the pillars were of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were silver; and the overlaying of their capitals were silver; and all the pillars of the court were filleted with silver.

All the hangings of the courtyard were made from fine woven linen.  All the sockets for the pillars were made of brass, the hooks and rods were made of silver, and the capitals or tops of the pillars were overlaid with silver.  All the pillars were banded with silver, or perhaps this referred to the rods upon which hung the silver hooks.  

(18) And the hanging for the gate of the court was needlework, of blue, purple, and scarlet, and of fine woven linen; twenty cubits was the length, and the height in the width was five cubits, corresponding to the hangings of the court.

Hangings or curtains were made for the gate itself of the courtyard of fine woven linen embroidered in blue, purple, and scarlet.  They were ten yards long and 7 1/2 feet high like the hangings of the courtyard walls.

(19) And there were four pillars with their four sockets of brass; their hooks were silver, and the overlay of their capitals and their fillets was silver. (20) And all the pins of the tabernacle, and of the court all around, were of brass.

There were four pillars on which the hangings of the gate itself hung.  They stood in brass sockets, their capitals were overlaid with silver, and they had bands or rods of silver and silver hooks.  All the tent pins or pegs were made of brass.

(21) This is the inventory of the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the Testimony, which was counted according to the commandment of Moses, for the service of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar, son of Aaron the priest.

The preceding account contained a detail of all the articles which had been commanded by Moses (from commandment of the Lord)  for the tabernacle for the service of the Levites, over whom Ithamar, the son of Aaron, apparently presided.

(22) And Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the LORD commanded Moses. (23) And with him was Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver and designer, and an embroiderer of blue, purple, and scarlet, and fine linen.

Bezaleel and Aholiab, men gifted and chosen by God (Exodus 35), had done and overseen the work.

(24) All the gold that was used in all the work of the holy place, that is, the gold of the offering, was twenty-nine talents and seven hundred and thirty shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary.

The gold that was used in the work of the tabernacle, the gold that had been offered freely by the people, amounted to 29 talents and 730 shekels.  A talent was 3000 shekels.  What the exact weight of a talent of gold was varies from "expert" to "expert", some saying 60 pounds and some saying as much as 120 pounds; regardless, we are talking about hundreds, even thousands, of pounds of gold!

(25) And the silver from those who were numbered of the congregation was one hundred talents and one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary: (26) A bekah for every man, that is, half a shekel, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, for everyone included in the numbering from twenty years old and above, for six hundred and three thousand, five hundred and fifty men.

The silver that was counted here appears to be the silver that was collected in numbering the people, where everyone of twenty years old and upwards (603,550 men) paid half a shekel (Exodus 30:12-14).  The silver amounted to 100 talents and 1775 shekels.  The measuring of weight of silver may have varied a little from the weight of gold (again I get conflicting reports), but again, we are talking about hundreds, actually thousands, of pounds of silver!

(27) And from the hundred talents of silver were cast the sockets of the sanctuary and the sockets of the veil; one hundred sockets from the hundred talents, one talent for each socket.

The hundred talents of silver were used for the sockets of the sanctuary and for the veil, one talent of silver for each socket.  I didn't personally count each of the sockets, but according to this scripture there were a hundred, and Dr. John Gill wrote, "there were ninety six sockets for the sanctuary or tabernacle, and four for the vail".  A talent being from 50 to 100 pounds of silver, there was a lot of value in the bases of the pillars!

(28) And of the one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five shekels he made hooks for the pillars, overlaid their capitals, and filleted them.

From the remaining 1775 shekels of silver, the hooks, fillets, and overlaying of the capitals for the pillars of the court were made.

(29) And the brass of the offering was seventy talents, and two thousand four hundred shekels. (30) And with it he made the sockets for the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, the brazen altar, the brazen grate for it, and all the vessels of the altar, (31) And the sockets of the court all around, the sockets of the court gate, and all the pins for the tabernacle, and all the pins for the court all around.

The brass from the freewill offerings totaled 70 talents and 2400 shekels.  Once again, I didn't find a definitive answer as to exactly how much brass this was, but it would be in the thousands of pounds.  With this brass were made the brass altar and grate, the vessels and utensils for the altar, the sockets for the courtyard and its gate, and the tent pegs.

In these two chapters, we see how generous the people were in giving for the building of the tabernacle, and how faithful the workmen were in following the instructions of God given to them by Moses.

The People's Freewill Offerings and Work Started on the Tabernacle

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Exodus 35:1) And Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said to them, “These are the words which the LORD has commanded you to do: (2) Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you a holy day, a Sabbath of rest to the LORD; whoever does work on it shall be put to death."

In the last chapter, Moses had just come back down the mount a second time from receiving a second set of stone tablets with the Ten Commandments from the Lord, and he now addressed the congregation. He picked up with what the Lord had last told him to tell the children of Israel before the interruption of the golden calf (Exodus 31:12-18), that they were to keep the Sabbath.  This was a repeat of one of the Ten Commandments that the people had heard from the Lord Himself, but as the Lord had re-emphasized it after giving instructions on how to build the tabernacle, Moses now began with this law of the Sabbath before continuing with instructions on construction.  The people had six days in which to do their work, but there was to be strict observance of the Sabbath day.  The seventh day was to be a holy day set aside for rest in the Lord and any violators would be put to death.

(3) “You shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations on the Sabbath day.”

There was a particular prohibition against kindling fires in their personal dwellings on the Sabbath day.  Most all the old commentaries spoke of this being a temporary prohibition that was not long continued.  Albert Barnes, in his Notes on the Bible, pointed out that this law had been implied as far back as Exodus 16:23 when the people were told they were to bake and boil their manna the day before the Sabbath.  It was suggested that maybe this was a prohibition against doing work at home as might be done by smiths or plumbers.  It may have been intended to stress to the people that no work at all was to be done, occupational or personal.  However, it was said that the Jews understood this to be only a prohibition against kindling fire for the purpose of doing work and cooking, but not for light and warmth for rest.

(4) And Moses spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, “This is the thing which the LORD commanded, saying, (5) 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 brass, (6) And blue, purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair, (7) And rams' skins dyed red, badger skins, and acacia wood, (8) And oil for the light, and spices for anointing oil and for the sweet incense, (9) And onyx stones, and stones to be set for the ephod and for the breastplate."

Moses continued telling all the people what the Lord had commanded.  Whoever was willing was to bring to Moses a voluntary offering to the Lord.  Because the items were needed for the building of a tabernacle dedicated to God, there were specific items that were needed, and the people who willingly gave them were said to be offering them to the Lord.  Then began and continued in the next few verses a long list of the items needed as the Lord had first told Moses in chapter 25:  gold, silver, brass, blue, purple, and scarlet threads, fine linen, goats' hair, rams' and badger skins, acacia wood, oil, spices, onyx, and other precious stones.

(10) "And every wise hearted among you shall come and make all that the LORD has commanded:"

The original word for "wise" was "chakam" and it also meant "skilled or artful"; and "hearted" was "leb" referring more completely to the inner part of a man, his intelligence, wisdom, or talents.  The rich who were able and willing were to supply the materials, and those skilled artisans with the talent for working with the particular materials were asked to do the work.

(11) "The tabernacle, its tent, its covering, its clasps, its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its sockets, (12) The ark and its poles, with the mercy seat, and the veil of the covering, (13) The table and its poles, all its utensils, and the showbread, (14) The candlestick also for the light, its utensils, its lamps, and the oil for the light, (15) And the incense altar, its poles, the anointing oil, the sweet incense, and the hanging for the door at the entrance of the tabernacle, (16) The altar of burnt offering with its brass grating, its poles, all its utensils, the laver and its base, (17) The hangings of the court, its pillars, their sockets, and the hanging for the door of the court, (18) The pins of the tabernacle, the pegs of the court, and their cords, (19) The cloths of service, to do service in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest's office."

The next several verses were a list of all the items to be made for the tabernacle.  All were discussed in more detail when the Lord first told them to Moses (Exodus chapters 25-28).  Moses probably didn't give the details at this time, but rather wanted to impress upon them just how much work was to be done and give them an idea of how much material and what skills were needed.

(20) And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. (21) And they came, every one whose heart was stirred, and everyone whose spirit was willing, and they brought the LORD’s offering for the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all its service, and for the holy garments.

After Moses had told the people what the Lord had told him to tell them, they left from his presence.  It appears that they quickly returned, those whose hearts were stirred by what Moses had told them, and they brought the items they had been told were needed for the work on the tabernacle and its furnishings and garments.

(22) And they came, both men and women, as many as had a willing heart, and brought bracelets, and earrings, and rings, and ornaments, all jewels of gold, and every man who made an offering offered an offering of gold to the LORD.

Both men and women came, those with willing hearts, none forced to give, and brought all kinds of gold jewelry.  All who brought these items of gold jewelry were said to have made an offering of gold to the Lord.

(23) And every man, with whom was found blue, purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair, and red skins of rams, and badger skins, brought them. (24) Everyone who offered an offering of silver or brass brought the LORD’s offering; and every man, with whom was found acacia wood for any work of the service, brought it.

It is stated that every man who possessed the desired royal colored threads, fine linen, goats' hair, and ram and badger skins, brought those things as an offering.  Likewise, every man, with whom was found acacia wood, brought the wood as an offering.  I'm not sure if it was a deliberate distinction, but of the silver and brass offerings, it says that those who did offer silver or brass did bring the Lord's offering; it didn't say every man with whom silver and brass was found.  It was the same way with the gold offered; everyone who did offer it, offered an offering to the Lord, but it didn't say that every man, with whom gold, silver, or brass was found, brought it to the Lord.  These were all definitely freewill offerings brought by people whose hearts were inclined to offer them.

(25) And all the women who were wise hearted spun yarn with their hands, and brought what they had spun, of blue, purple, and scarlet, and of fine linen. (26) And all the women whose hearts stirred with wisdom spun goats’ hair.

All the women who were skilled in spinning brought what they had spun of blue, purple, and scarlet threads, and fine linen.  All the women who were skilled in spinning goats' hair, likewise spun, and we can assume brought their wares.

(27) And the rulers brought onyx stones, and stones to be set for the ephod and for the breastplate; (28) And spice, and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense.

The rulers were said to have brought the precious stones, spices, and oils, they being the ones who could afford to possess and offer them.

(29)  The children of Israel brought a willing offering to the LORD, all the men and women whose hearts made them willing to bring material for all kinds of work which the LORD, by the hand of Moses, had commanded to be done.

The children of Israel brought freewill offerings to the Lord, those whose hearts were willing.  All walks of the people offered; those who owned possessions needed, offered them, and those who had skills needed, offered those services for the work to be done for the Lord.

(30) And Moses said to the children of Israel, “See, the LORD has called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; (31) And He has filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship; (32) And to devise plans to work in gold and silver and brass, (33) And in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of wood, to make any manner of cunning work."

Moses told the children of Israel that God had called a specific craftsman by the name of Bezaleel, grandson of Hur, who may have been the same Hur that was sometimes third in charge after Moses and Aaron.  God had filled Bezaleel with special knowledge and talents in all kinds of workmanship.  He was able to come up with the design plans and was able also to perform the work of cutting and setting stones and carving wood to make any manner of work imaginable.  It is interesting to note that the original word I translated as "plans" in verse 32 is the same word translated as "cunning work" in verse 33.  The word was "machashebeth", and it meant and was most often used as "contrivance, invention, plan, imagination, thought, purpose".  The KJV used "curious works" and "cunning work".  The other translations used a multitude of other words like "skilled, artistic, craftsman, workmanship, inventive".  I believe the idea is that he had the God-given gift to imagine and design all kinds of beautiful work and he had the skills to make what he imagined.

(34) “And He has put in his heart the ability to teach, both him and Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. (35) He has filled them with wisdom of heart to work all manner of work, of the engraver, of the designer, of the embroiderer, in blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine linen, and of the weaver, those who do any work, and those who design artistic works."

Not only could Bezaleel design and do the work, but he also had the ability to teach others, as did Aholiab.  God had filled both men with the wisdom, knowledge, and talents to do all kinds of craftsmanship from designing, to engraving, embroidering, weaving, or any artistic works that surely included precious metals, wood, and stone.  They were able to both design and carry out their designs with their hands.

(Exodus 36:1) Then wrought Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whom the LORD put wisdom and understanding to know how to do all manner of work for the service of the sanctuary, according to all that the LORD had commanded.

By this verse, it appears Bezaleel, Aholiab, and all skilled men, in whom God had put the wisdom and gifts to do the work for the sanctuary, began working and doing just as the Lord had commanded them to do.  However, because the verses following speak of Moses calling the men to him and giving them the people's gifts with which they would be working, some commentators believed that verse 1 should have actually been the last verse in chapter 35, and should read in the future tense, rather than the past.  Perhaps Moses was concluding his speech to the people that Bezaleel, Aholiab, and every gifted and talented man, in whom God had given the wisdom and understanding to carry out His plans for the sanctuary, would do the work according to all that He had commanded.  Then again, maybe the men, answering their call by God, began their planning immediately.

(2) And Moses called Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whose heart the LORD had put wisdom, everyone whose heart was stirred, to come and do the work.

Here the second verse said that Moses called the men, every skilled man blessed by talents from the Lord whose heart was stirred to help, to come and do the work.  It's either as speculated after the first verse, that this is the proper first verse of the next chapter and Moses now called the men after saying they would do the work.  However, it's just as plausible that verses 1 and 2 were to be read together, stating that the men started right away after Moses's call.  It doesn't make much difference, as the main point stays the same--the workmen started without delay.

(3) And they received from Moses all the offering which the children of Israel had brought for the work of the service of making the sanctuary. And they brought to him freewill offerings every morning.

Moses gave the workers the offerings of the people for the work on the sanctuary, the gold, silver, brass, wood, threads, linen, skins, precious stones, spices, and oil (Exodus 35:22-27).  The people continued to bring freewill offerings every morning.

(4) And all the wise men who were doing all the work of the sanctuary came, each from the work he was doing, (5) And they spoke to Moses, saying, “The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work which the LORD commanded us to do.”

All the different skilled workers came together from the work each was doing to tell Moses that the people were bringing more materials than they needed to do the work the Lord had commanded them to do.  Matthew Henry, in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, pointed out that this proved what men of integrity they were.  It would have been a perfect opportunity for them to enrich themselves with the surplus of offerings, but these honest men did not consider that.

(6) And Moses gave a commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, “Let neither man nor woman do any more work for the offering of the sanctuary.” And the people were restrained from bringing. (7) For the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to be done, and too much.

Moses then gave the commandment and had it proclaimed throughout the camp that the people were to stop doing any more work or bringing any other offerings for the sanctuary, for there was more than enough for all the work that needed to be done.  It was said that the people were restrained from bringing.  So strong was their desire to offer to the Lord's sanctuary that they looked at it as a restraint upon them not to be allowed to do more for it.

(8) And every wise hearted man among them who worked on the tabernacle made ten curtains woven of fine linen, and of blue, purple, and scarlet thread; with cherubim of cunning work he made them.

I would assume that not every single one of the skilled workers made curtains, but that those among them most skilled in this type of work made ten curtains.  They made them with fine linen, and either embroidered cherubim with blue, purple, and scarlet threads, or perhaps wove the threads into a tapestry depicting cherubim.

(9) The length of each curtain was twenty-eight cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits; the curtains were all the same size.

The curtains were all made to be 42 feet long and six feet wide.

(10) And he coupled five curtains to one another, and the other five curtains he coupled to one another. (11) And he made loops of blue on the edge of one curtain on the selvedge of one set of curtains; likewise he did on the outer edge of the other curtain of the second set. (12) Fifty loops he made on one curtain, and fifty loops he made on the edge of the curtain on the end of the second set; the loops held one curtain to another. (13) And he made fifty clasps of gold, and coupled the curtains to one another with the clasps, so it became one tabernacle.

Five curtains were attached one to the other, and the other five were attached together, making two long curtains.  Fifty loops of blue were made on the edge of each set of curtains, and with fifty gold clasps, the two large curtains were fastened together to make one large tabernacle.

(14) And he made curtains of goats' hair for the tent over the tabernacle; he made eleven curtains. (15) The length of each curtain was thirty cubits, and four cubits was the width of each curtain; the eleven curtains were the same size.

Each of the skilled workers working on the curtains then made eleven curtains of goats' hair, each measuring 45 feet long and six feet wide.

(16) And he coupled five curtains by themselves and six curtains by themselves. (17) And he made fifty loops on the outermost edge of the curtain in one set, and fifty loops he made on the edge of the curtain of the second set. (18) And he made fifty clasps of brass to couple the tent together, that it might be one.

With these curtains, meant to cover and protect the inner fine linen curtain, there were two sets of curtains attached together, one having five curtains, and the other having six.  The workers made fifty loops on the edge of each of the larger curtains they had sewn together, and they made fifty brass clasps to couple the two curtains together to make it one.  The inner fine linen curtain had gold clasps, but this outer curtain had brass clasps.

(19) And he made a covering for the tent of rams' skins dyed red, and a covering of badgers' skins above that.

Then a covering of rams' skins dyed red were made for the tent, and another covering of badgers' skins was made to go over that.

(20) And he made boards for the tabernacle of acacia wood, standing upright. (21) The length of each board was ten cubits, and the width of each board a cubit and a half.

I noticed some speculation in the old commentaries about who "he" was who made each of these items.  Moses or Bezaleel were suggested, but I believe "he" refers back to verse 8 with "every wise hearted man among them who worked on the tabernacle", where "he" began being referred to in that very verse.  After the curtains, or perhaps simultaneously, by a different set of workers, boards of acacia wood were made for the tabernacle.  Each board was fifteen feet high and 27 inches wide, standing upright.

(22) Each board had two tenons, equally distant one from another; thus he made for all the boards of the tabernacle.

The original word translated as "tenons" was "yad", and that word was most often translated as "hands" in all kinds of figurative ways.  Each board was made with two tenons, equidistant from one another, so cut and shaped as if hands to fit into and fasten to each other.

(23) And he made boards for the tabernacle, twenty boards for the south side. (24) And forty sockets of silver he made under the twenty boards, two sockets under each of the boards for its two tenons.

The workers made twenty boards for the south side of the tabernacle.  They made forty silver sockets, so that each board had a socket for each of its two tenons.  As discussed in Exodus 26:19, where we first read of God's description of how the tabernacle should be built, these were to be mortises for the two tenons of each board to be placed in, and would act as the base or foundation of the entire structure.

(25) And for the other side of the tabernacle, the north side, he made twenty boards, (26) And their forty sockets of silver, two sockets under each board.

They also made twenty boards for the north side with forty silver sockets, each board having two sockets for its two tenons.

(27) And for the west side of the tabernacle he made six boards. (28) And two boards he made for the two back corners of the tabernacle.

For the west side they made six boards with two additional boards for the two back corners of the tabernacle.

(29) And they were coupled beneath and coupled together at the top by one ring; thus he did to both of them in both the corners.

As first discussed in Exodus 26, I believe the meaning is that the corner boards were coupled or doubled with twin boards coupled together with a ring at the top for extra strength at the corners.

(30) And there were eight boards and their sockets, sixteen sockets of silver, two sockets under every board.

The six boards made for the west side plus the two corner boards made eight boards across the back west side.  Each board had two silver sockets, totaling sixteen sockets for the eight boards.

(31) And he made bars of acacia wood, five for the boards on one side of the tabernacle, (32) And five bars for the boards on the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the tabernacle for the sides westward.

Five bars of acacia wood were to be made to go across the boards on each side, probably two at the top, two at the bottom, and one across the middle of the boards to act as stabilizers.

(33)  And he made the middle bar to shoot through the boards from one end to the other.

As I didn't totally understand when God first gave Moses these directions in chapter 26, I still don't understand how the middle board was any different than the other four boards.  Dr. John Gill gave a plausible explanation in his notes from chapter 26.  Exodus 26:28 spoke of "the middle bar in the midst of the boards" reaching from end to end.  Here it speaks of the middle bar shooting through the boards from one end to the other.  Perhaps the other boards were placed across or on top of the vertical boards, whereas the middle board was made to go through the vertical boards, literally bored through inside the vertical boards.

(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.

"He", the skilled worker, overlaid each of the boards with gold.  He made rings of gold to hold the bars in place, with the exception of the middle bar which may have been bored through the vertical boards rather than hung in rings over them.  He also overlaid the bars with gold.

(35) And he made a veil of blue, purple, and scarlet, and fine woven linen; with cherubim he made it of cunning work.

He made a veil in the same fashion as the ten curtains in verse 8 above, of fine woven linen, with blue, purple, and scarlet threads, used either to embroider cherubim on the curtains or woven as a tapestry with cherubim.

(36) And he made for it four pillars of acacia wood, and overlaid them with gold, with their hooks of gold; and he cast four sockets of silver for them.

The worker or workers made four pillars of acacia wood overlaid with gold upon which to hang the veil.  They made golden hooks to hang the veil and silver sockets which may have acted as feet for the pillars.

(37) And he made a hanging for the tabernacle door of blue, purple, and scarlet, and fine woven linen, of needlework; (38) And the five pillars of it with their hooks; and he overlaid their capitals and their rings with gold, but their five sockets were of brass.

They made a curtain to hang as a door for the tabernacle, of the same blue, purple, and scarlet threads, and fine woven linen, as the other curtains and the veil.  "Of needlework", or "wrought with needlework"as it was described in Exodus 26:36, probably meant embroidered by hand, rather than woven in a loom.  This "door" had five pillars of acacia wood probably in a pentagon shape that acted as a covered entrance to the tabernacle.  They also made hooks and overlaid capitals and rings with gold, but for the sockets, they used brass instead of silver as with the indoor pillars.

Most everything recorded in chapter 36 was touched upon in chapter 26 when God first gave Moses explicit instructions on how to build the tabernacle.  In those initial instructions God told Moses repeatedly to make sure they built the tabernacle "according to the pattern which you were shown on the mountain" (Exodus 26:30).  Moses recorded the execution of the plans to show that the work was indeed done according to the directions given and the pattern shown to Moses.

Moses, the Shining Mediator Between God and Israel

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Exodus 33:1) And the LORD said to Moses, “Depart and go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘To your descendants I will give it.’"

In the last chapter, the people had made a golden calf and worshiped and even celebrated it while Moses was on top of the mountain with God.  Moses had pleaded with God not to destroy His people and indeed, at the end of the last chapter, God had told Moses to go ahead and lead the people toward the promised land, that His Angel would lead them, but that He would visit their sin upon them.  I believe this verse is a repeat of that; the Lord told Moses to leave their present camp and lead the people to the promised land, and He repeated the promise He had given Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  I noticed that God was still calling them the people Moses brought out of Egypt, rather than the ones He had brought out with a mighty hand.  Although God had forgiven the nation as a whole and was allowing them to go on toward the promised land, the people were still suffering the consequences of their sin.  They had just lost 3000 of their family, friends, and neighbors, and now God wasn't before them in a cloud, but His Angel would lead them.

Once again, I am reminded of a similarity in modern day.  As I wrote the word "celebrated", I remembered how, although Moses had already been told what the people had done by the Lord, when he descended the mountain and saw the dancing and celebration around the calf, I believe that really shocked him, and that is when he threw and broke the tablets.  The sin was bad enough, but to see the joyful celebration of the sin, that took it to another level.  I am reminded of our recent Supreme Court ruling that "miraculously" found where the Constitution said that homosexuals should marry.  Legal scholars will tell you that it was a bad ruling, but the people who wanted it, don't care how it came to be, but are just glad that it did.  I was expecting it, almost 100% sure that our court would do that, so when they did, that in itself was no surprise.  But what chilled me to the core was the celebration that took place afterward.  Okay, so you have homosexual friends, and you are happy they won their case.  But to celebrate the very thing God called an abomination, to light up the country with rainbow lights, a symbol stolen from God's promise!  How is it any different from the raucous celebration of the people over their calf, their warped representation of a god?  You can bet God has turned His face from our country, as well.  I can just hear the arguments that it is not the same to compare our country with ancient Israel, and that's all well and good and understood.  However, it doesn't change the fact that a country without God will never survive!  "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord" (Psalm 33:12).  We would be blessed as a nation if we followed God, but because we have chosen to push Him out, He won't force Himself on us, but will allow us to have what we have asked for as a nation.  Rather than choosing life in God, we have chosen death, not just in the homosexual marriage ruling, but in the killing of innocent babies, among countless other laws that kill and destroy families and livelihoods and freedoms.  And the people cheered and celebrated, not having any idea what they were truly cheering.  That made me so terribly sad, and so sorry to my Lord that I live in such a country.  That is not to say that the Lord won't still bring blessing to some people in this country.  Many people come to the Lord when things get so bad they have nothing else to turn to.  Think of how merciful our God is that He would accept someone who comes to Him as their last resort!  For the first time, I have just understood the reality of that statement.  Think of how put out our prideful selves would be to be the last choice, the one someone came back to because they had nowhere else to go.  Then again, an unconditionally loving parent, would welcome their child back and celebrate the fact that he did return.  How much more would our heavenly Father?  But make no mistake, as a country, I believe we are doomed because of our choices, unless something seriously changes soon.  Back to Exodus, chapter 33:

(2) “And I will send My Angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, (3) To a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.”

Again a repeat of what was told Moses at the end of the last chapter, but there is a little more detail in the exact words of the Lord.  The Lord would send His Angel before them, and He would drive out the inhabitants of the land He had promised to His people.  However, He Himself would not be going in their midst, for if He did, the glory of His majesty would require immediate destruction of their sinful presence.

(4) And when the people heard these evil tidings, they mourned, and no one put on his ornaments. (5) For the LORD had said to Moses, “Say to the children of Israel, ‘You are a stiff-necked people. I could come up into your midst in one moment and consume you; now therefore, take off your ornaments, that I may know what to do to you.’” (6) And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by Mount Horeb.

What were the evil tidings that the people heard?  The Lord had told them that His Angel would go before them and drive out their enemies from before them.  That should be good news, but He Himself would not go with them in their midst, and that news alone caused them to mourn, and no one put on gay and celebratory ornaments at that time.  We find that the Lord had said to them through Moses that He could consume them in an instant, and He now told them to take off their ornaments and let Him decide what he should do with them.  Once again, I think of our country celebrating abominations of the Lord, not realizing that the God of the universe could instantly destroy them and the entire world!  Scripture says that they stripped off their ornaments.  Verse 4 said no one put them on, and verse 6 said they stripped them after they heard what the Lord had said.  Perhaps the point is that no one put on decorative ornaments after the Lord had spoken, and those who already had any ornaments, took them off after hearing the word of the Lord.  Everyone mourned, and stood stripped of their ornaments by the mount where the Lord had been atop.

(7) And Moses took the tabernacle and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and called it the tabernacle of the congregation. And it came to pass, that everyone who sought the LORD went out to the tabernacle of the congregation, which was outside the camp.

The tabernacle spoken of here would be one that was temporarily appointed by Moses for this purpose as the tabernacle of the congregation had not yet been built.  God had said He would not be in the people's midst, so Moses moved a tent outside the camp and far from it.  He called it the tabernacle of the congregation for now, and everyone who sought the Lord was able to go outside the camp to that tent.  Albert Barnes, in his Notes on the Bible, wrote that this word translated as "tabernacle", "ohel", was not the same word as used when the Lord told Moses how to build the tabernacle in Exodus 26.  He argued that the word used here would be better translated as "tent" rather than "tabernacle".  However, I believe the point is that Moses was providing a temporary tabernacle for the people where they could seek their Lord.  Although this tent certainly would not possess the qualities of the tabernacle that would be ultimately built, it was to serve a similar purpose now temporarily, at least with regard to the people being able to seek their Lord.

(8) And it came to pass, when Moses went out to the tabernacle, that all the people rose, and each man stood at his tent door and watched Moses until he had gone into the tabernacle. (9) And it came to pass, as Moses entered the tabernacle, the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the LORD talked with Moses. (10) And all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the tabernacle door, and all the people rose and worshiped, each man in his tent door.

I included the next three verses together as one idea.  Many of the old commentators commented after verse 8 that the people stood out of respect for Moses, their mediator with God, and watched standing until he had gone into the tabernacle.  I tend to believe that they stood because of what happened when he went into the tabernacle as stated in verses 9 and 10.  Moses obviously had to go into the tabernacle a first time before the people would see the cloud, but I believe they may have first risen out of curiosity and anxiety to see just how the Lord would greet Moses after He had been so displeased with them after their great sin.  Regardless of why they did it (and certainly their reasons may have changed as time went on), the people indeed stood as Moses went into the temporary tabernacle, and they witnessed the pillar of cloud descending to the door of the tabernacle when the Lord talked with Moses.  Scripture stated they then rose and worshiped at the sight, each man in his own tent door.  The cloud which had withdrawn from the people's camp when it was polluted with their great sin of idolatry, now returned to this temporary tabernacle some distance from the camp.  I believe it is an important and essential nugget gleaned from this passage that Moses had to go TO the Lord.  The Lord didn't immediately come back to the people.  They had to seek Him.  But when they did, He was gracious and merciful to meet them at this tabernacle.

(11) And the LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he returned to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle.

The Lord spoke to Moses as a friend.  I believe that is the meaning of the phrase "face to face".  It obviously does not mean that Moses saw God's face because just a few verses later God would say that no man could see His face and live, so we must understand this phrase to mean that God met Moses with great familiarity and as a friend, not as God in the heavens speaking down to His servant.  After the Lord spoke with him, Moses returned to the camp, but his servant Joshua, it is written, stayed in the tabernacle.  There could be a very important message in this part of the verse, but commentators are not in agreement about what it might be.  If Joshua did not want to leave the presence of the Lord out of his own volition, that might speak volumes about his dedication to the Lord.  However, as Moses's servant, he might have stayed in the tabernacle at Moses's request, as Moses planned to speedily return.  It was Dr. John Gill, in his Exposition of the Entire Bible, who speculated that because Joshua always attended Moses, and because this tabernacle was not intended as a place for worship, that the proper translation of this verse was that Moses along with his servant Joshua returned to the camp, and the LORD did not depart from the tabernacle.  Since I can find no original word or meaning for the word "but" above, I can't determine the validity of this notion.

(12) And Moses said to the LORD, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people,' but You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’ (13) Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight; and consider that this nation is Your people.”

I assume that Moses said this when he returned to the Lord.  If we take the verses literally, and assume they are in chronological order, then Moses went to the tabernacle, the Lord spoke to him, Moses then returned to the camp, possibly leaving Joshua, and he now returned to the Lord to say what followed in verse 12.  The Lord had told Moses that He would not go forward with this people, so Moses asked who God would be sending with him.  He then pleaded with the Lord, first by repeating what He had said to him, that He knew Moses by name, and that Moses had found favor in His sight.  Therefore Moses reasoned, if he had found favor with the Lord, he now asked that He show Moses His way that he may know His will and follow Him and continue to find grace in His sight.  Moses also pleaded and interceded for this nation of people he was leading.  He asked that the Lord consider that although this people had greatly sinned against Him, they were His people for whom He had done wonderful things.  Moses was acting as an intercessor for the people, a type of Christ mediator and intercessor for the sinners.  For the first time I was really struck by the image of Christ interceding for us even when we blatantly or quickly disregard God and His rules and His will.  Jesus Christ is still there to offer salvation and a way to the Lord no matter what we have done.  Sometimes we look at the accounts in the Bible and think well, at least I would never do anything like that.  However, I believe some of the extremes may have been reported for us so that we know that nothing is too much for the Lord to forgive, not when it is covered by the precious blood of the perfect Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.

(14) And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

Moses obtained assurance from the Lord that His presence would be with him, and that He would give Moses rest, perhaps as opposed to anxiety in his position.  Was this for Moses only?

(15) And he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with me, do not carry us up from here. (16) For how then will it be known that I and Your people have found grace in Your sight, except that You go with us? So we shall be separate, I and Your people, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.”

Moses was leading these people; therefore he asked the Lord that if He would not go with Moses in that capacity, leading the people, then please not lead them away from there.  Moses pleaded for the people and included them in the number of whom God had found grace.  It was true that these people were to be a separate people chosen by the Lord to be His people, and how would that be known to the world, unless the Lord continued with them?  This Moses reasoned.  Not only did Moses plead for the people, but he was pleading for the Lord's glory among the people of the world.  Only in His presence with them, could they continue to show the world that they were His people under His grace and mercy and protection.  At least that is the way Moses pleaded and reasoned with His Lord.

(17) And the LORD said to Moses, “I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.”

The Lord said He would do the thing that Moses asked, that is, His presence would go with them and they would be His separate people.  God did it because Moses found grace in His sight. It wasn't because of the people themselves doing anything in particular, but because Moses interceded for them and asked.  This is, indeed, a picture of the coming Christ, who would intercede for us sinners, and because of His sacrifice and intercession alone, we can be saved from eternal death.  It's also worthy to note that God confirmed Moses's exact assertion that the Lord had said He knew Moses's name and that he had found grace in the Lord's sight.  He confirmed that was true and that gave Moses much encouragement.

(18) And he said, “I beseech You, show me Your glory.”

Moses indeed was encouraged and even emboldened to ask more of the Lord.  He wanted an even closer or more intimate communion with His Lord.  He wanted to see something surpassing all previous revelations.  I know answered prayer greatly humbles me and can make me cry over the beauty of the fact that the God of the universe cares about me.  Moses wanted to see more of the glorious Lord who knew His name and in whose sight he had found favor.

(19) And He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will show mercy on whom I will show mercy."

Moses had asked to see God's glory.  The Lord's answer was that He would make all His goodness pass before Moses.  His glory was in His goodness, the goodness and mercy He showed to His people who were completely unworthy.  He is not bound by any laws of nature or the supernatural, as I have heard some say.  Some people believe God is bound by some laws that He Himself set into place, but I believe He is saying here that He is not bound to anything, and He will show mercy on those He wished to show mercy to, and He had chosen to show it to this undeserving people, and He would show it to all of us in the coming Christ.  God said He would proclaim the name of the Lord before Moses.  I first believed this meant that in showing him all His goodness, Moses would see the glory of His nature, but actually, He meant He would indeed announce His name and all His perfections of His glory, as seen in the next chapter.  I am reminded that the Lord has said that if you would seek the Lord with all your heart and soul, you would find Him.  Moses here had sought to see more of the Lord, and He had graciously allowed him to find more.

(20) And He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.”

The Lord would show Moses more of His glory, but told him he would not be able to really see Him face to face, as no man's mortal body could withstand the full majesty of the Lord.

(21) And the LORD said, “Behold, there is a place by me, and you shall stand on a rock. (22) And it shall come to pass, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. (23) And I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.”

The Lord arranged for a place for Moses to see more of His glory.  They were now at the door of the tabernacle with the Lord in a pillar of cloud, but He directed Moses to a place on a rock, probably on the same mount where He had been meeting with Moses before.  I am reminded that Mount Horeb and Mount Sinai were probably the same place; they may have been two different peaks within the same range, but for all practical purposes, they are interchangeable as the Mountain of God.  This particular rock on the mount had a cleft or cave in it where Moses would stand shielded by God from the brilliant dazzling light and devouring fire of God's glory while He passed.  Then God would remove His hand and allow Moses to see as much of Him from the back as he was able to withstand and live, repeating that he would not see His face.  This was really an incredible promise and answer to Moses's request to see His Lord's glory.  We will see just how it played out in the next chapter:

(Exodus 34:1) And the LORD said to Moses, “Cut two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you broke."

Meanwhile the Lord told Moses that he was to cut two more tablets of stone like the first ones, and He would write on the new stones the same words He had written on the first ones that Moses broke.  There may be some significance in the fact that God told Moses to cut these two tablets whereas it sounded as if He had Himself made the first two:  "And the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God engraved on the tablets." (Exodus 32:16)  The law was still that of God's, written by Him, but perhaps now through the ministration of Moses, as mediator and intercessor for the people for whom he had been fervently praying.  Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Moses was the one who broke the originals, and now he was the one to replace them.  For whatever reason, I believe the fact the words were still written by God is illustrative of the fact that the word of God is and always has been preserved even when apostles and disciples did the writing:  "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." (2 Timothy 3:16)

(2) "And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself to Me there on the top of the mountain. (3) And no man shall come up with you, and let no man be seen throughout all the mountain; neither let flocks nor herds feed before that mountain.”

God told Moses to be ready in the morning and to come up to the top of Mount Sinai and present himself to God there.  No man was to come up with him, not even Joshua, not Aaron nor any elders. Likewise, no flocks or herds were to feed near the mountain.  It's interesting to consider that God did not alter His method of meeting with Moses after the last time.  Even though last time the people didn't know what had become of Moses after so long a time, He didn't make it any more visible to them this time.

(4) And he hewed two tablets of stone like the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning and went up Mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tablets of stone.

Moses did as the Lord commanded and cut two tablets of stone, and then rose up early in the morning and went up Mount Sinai to meet with the Lord, with the two tablets in hand.

(5) And the LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD.

The Lord in that pillar of cloud that had been at the door of the tabernacle and then high in the air over the mount now descended to where Moses stood.  Then the Lord Himself proclaimed His name:

(6) And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, (7) Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and upon the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”

The Lord passed before Moses; or perhaps better stated His glory or whatever token of His presence that Moses could withstand, passed before him.  God had said previously to Moses that He would make all His goodness pass before Moses, and He would proclaim the name of the LORD before him.  It may be that the Lord Himself was not actually repeating Himself by saying, "The LORD, the LORD God..."  This may mean that the Lord proceeded to proclaim the meaning of "The LORD", His name "Yehovah", to show Moses what that majestic name fully implied.  "Yehovah" meant "self-existent" or "eternal"; He was not created, He always was, "I am".  He was the self-existent or eternal "God", or "El", that is, "Almighty".  He was merciful and gracious.  It was Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on the Bible, who best and most beautifully explained God's proclamation here.  While countless scholars were and had been forever trying to explain the full meaning of the original name "Jehovah", Clarke said God Himself had done it right here in these verses.  Rather than adjectives, Clarke saw these as additional names of Jehovah that fully explained the glorious name of Jehovah:

1 - Yehovah - (translated as The LORD) Self-existent, eternal
2 - El - (translated as God) Almighty
3 - Rachum - (translated as merciful) Compassionate
4 - Channun - Gracious
5 - Arek Aph - (translated as longsuffering) Patient or Slow to Anger
6 - Rab - Abundant
7 - Chesed - Goodness
8 - Emeth - Truth, Certainty, Stability
9 - Natsar Chesed - (keeping mercy) Preserver or Guard of Goodness and Mercy
10 - Nasa Avon - (forgiving iniquity) He Who Bears Away Sin or Redeemer
11 - Paqad Avon - (visiting iniquity) Attender of Justice or Punisher of Sin

God had previously made known to Moses His name of Jehovah, the Self-Existent One, when He proclaimed His name as "I Am".  He now made Himself known in the glory of His abundant grace, mercy, goodness, and trustworthy faithfulness.  He had pardoned Israel's sin in the worshiping of the calf.  It was in His power to forgive and show mercy out of His own good pleasure.  I believe that is what is meant by "no means clearing the guilty".  They were still very much guilty, but because He desired to show mercy in spite of their sin, He was very patient, compassionate, and merciful.  I believe "visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children" is a continued explanation of the fact that their sin was not just erased.  There is consequence to sin that may continue through generations, and that does not stop.  However, God in His mercy, can forgive, and work all things together for good to those who love Him (Romans 8:28).

(8) And Moses made haste and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped. (9) And he said, “If now I have found grace in Your sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray, go among us, for it is a stiff-necked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for Your inheritance.”

Moses immediately bowed his head and worshiped in humble reverence and adoration of God's glory which he had been exposed to in answer to his request to see it.  After this revelation, Moses could have no doubt that he had found grace in the Lord's sight, so this probably reads more like, "Seeing now I have found grace..."  The Lord had told Moses in Exodus 3:3 that He would not go among the people lest He consumed them on the way because they were a stiff-necked people.  Seeing the fullness of the Lord's grace and mercy, and knowing he had found favor in the Lord's sight, Moses asked that the Lord reconsider and go among them even though they were a stiff-necked people.  Moses, seeing the full nature of God, had more reason than ever to believe that the Lord could pardon their iniquity, and so asked the Lord to do this and take back this people as His inheritance.

(10) And He said, “Behold, I make a covenant: before all your people I will do marvels such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation; and all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the LORD, for it is an awesome thing that I will do with you."

The Israelites had broken the covenant with God with their idolatry.  By making this new covenant, He was actually renewing His original covenant with His people.  Part of His covenant was to do marvelous things, the like of which had never been done in all the earth.  All the people among whom Moses was also a part would see the awesome work of their Lord.  Of course, alone it was a marvelous thing to have the God of the universe leading His people to a promised land and promising to deliver it to them while it was yet inhabited by others, but we know from scriptures beyond this point that He would perform countless awesome miracles, the like of which had never been seen.

(11) “Observe what I command you this day; behold, I drive out before you the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. (12) Take heed to yourself, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you go, lest it be a snare in your midst."

The Lord vowed to drive out from before His people the inhabitants of the lands He brought them through, and the people's part of the covenant was to observe what He commanded them this day.  He told the people to guard themselves against making friendly alliances with the people of these lands because it would become a trap in which they would be ensnared and polluted with their idolatry and wickedness.

(13) “But you shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves, (14) For you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God."

As part of their care against being tempted to align themselves with these people, they were to destroy their altars, break their images which were any statues or likenesses of their idols, and cut down their "groves".  The original word was "asherah", which was the name of a Canaanite goddess.  From what I read, she was represented by a limbless tree trunk, or pillar, which was carved into a representation of the goddess.  Because they were carved trees, the places of Asherah worship were called groves.  The people were warned to do this because they were to have no other gods than their Lord, whose name He said was "Jealous", and whose nature was jealous.  "Jealous", or "qanna", has a much more comprehensive meaning that what we assign to it in this day.  Indeed, God is stating that He has no rival or competitor in worship and that He will not give his glory to another so called god, which may fit our description of jealousy, but more than that, "jealous" means "solicitous or vigilant in maintaining or guarding something".  God loved His people as the most loving husband would love his spouse, actually so much more so, and He was jealous for their fidelity, solicitous and vigilant in guarding it, because He was always about what was best for His people.

(15) “Lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice to their gods, and one calls you and you eat of his sacrifice, (16) And you take of their daughters for your sons, and their daughters go a whoring after their gods and make your sons go a whoring after their gods."

The reason for destroying the inhabitants' altars and idols was because if they didn't, they might be tempted to make an alliance with the inhabitants.  God explained what would happen after that.  The inhabitants would go "a whoring" after their gods.  The original word "zanah" meant to commit adultery, which could be a reference to the marriage relationship between the people and their one true God, but also probably meant the actual fornication that took place in their pagan worship rituals that are spoken of elsewhere in scripture.  The inhabitants would be worshiping their idols and sacrificing to them, and one of them would call one of the Israelites to eat with him, and the Israelite would wind up eating things offered to idols which was admonished in other scriptures.  Also if the Israelites intermarried with the pagan inhabitants, when the pagan spouse worshiped her idols, the Israelite spouse would be inclined to, as well.

(17) “You shall make no molded gods for yourselves."

This was the second part of the commandment the Israelites were to adhere to as their part of the covenant with God, the first part being to worship no other gods, and this one, to make no molded gods.  Just as they were to make no graven images or molded gods, they were to destroy any they found of the inhabitants of the lands to which God would bring them.

(18) “The Feast of Unleavened Bread you shall keep. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, in the appointed time of the month of Abib; for in the month of Abib you came out from Egypt."

This is a repetition of the commandment to observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, as a memorial of their exodus from Egypt.  Perhaps God reiterated this because the people had chosen to proclaim a feast in honor of their molded calf, and He wanted to impress upon them that they were to observe only the feasts that God alone had instituted.

(19) “All that open the womb are Mine, and every male firstborn among your livestock, whether ox or sheep."

Here is another repetition of a law given at the time of the exodus from Egypt, that every firstborn male was to be separated and set aside for the Lord.  Actually, all that opened the womb were the Lord's anyway, but the firstborn specifically had been saved from destruction in Egypt as all the firstborn of the Egyptians had been killed, so the firstborn being set aside for the Lord was in memory of that great event.

(20) “But the firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb; and if you do not redeem him, then you shall break his neck. All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem. And none shall appear before Me empty-handed."

This is a continuation of the repetition of the law given in Exodus 13.  The firstborn of a donkey was to be redeemed with a lamb, and if not redeemed, then its neck must be broken.  The firstborn sons of men were to be redeemed.  None were to appear before the Lord without offering something, either a firstborn from their livestock, or something redeeming a donkey or firstborn son.

(21) “Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; in earing time and in harvest you shall rest."

The commandment to rest on the seventh day was repeated here, with the additional caution that this included the times of earing, or plowing, and harvest.  Although those were times that called for the most labor, still they were to rest on the sabbath day.

(22) “And you shall observe the Feast of Weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the year’s end. (23) Three times in the year all your men shall appear before the Lord, the LORD God of Israel."

Additionally, the Israelites were to observe two other feasts during the year, the Feast of Weeks of the first fruits of the wheat harvest, or Pentecost, and the Feast of Ingathering at the year's end.  Including the Feast of Unleavened Bread in verse 18, they were to observe feasts three times a year, appearing before the Lord.

(24) “For I will cast out the nations before you and enlarge your borders; neither will any man desire your land when you go up to appear before the LORD your God three times in the year."

The Lord promised to cast out the inhabitants of the nations before them, and to enlarge their own borders so that they would have no enemies within them.  Even beyond that was the miraculous promise that their enemies would not even desire their land and want to invade it while they were absent from it while appearing before their Lord.  God would defend and protect their land while they obeyed His commandment.  It's truly a remarkable promise to direct the hearts of their enemies away from harm that they could have committed against the Israelites during these times of the feasts.

(25) “You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leaven, nor shall the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover be left until morning."

This is a repetition of the commandments surrounding the Passover lamb; it was not to be offered with leaven (Exodus 23), nor should any of it remain until morning.  In both Exodus 23:18 and here, it was called the "blood of My sacrifice".  The Passover lamb was a memorial of that first Passover when God redeemed His people from their bondage in Egypt with the blood of an unblemished lamb, an illustration of the Lamb of God who would redeem His people from the bondage of sin and death.

(26) “The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring to the house of the LORD your God. You shall not boil a kid in its mother’s milk.”

Again repeated from Exodus 23, were the laws concerning the first of the first fruits being brought to the house of the Lord, and not boiling a young goat in its mother's milk, which might have been a reference to a cruel heathen practice.

(27) And the LORD said to Moses, “Write these words, for according to the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.”

God told Moses to record these words of the Lord, for with these words beginning in verse 10, God had made a covenant with His people, and He wanted it recorded.  The word "tenor" means "the course of thought or meaning that runs through something written or spoken", but the original word "peh" literally meant "mouth".  Moses was to record these words from the mouth of God. 

(28) And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.

Moses was with the Lord on the mount for forty days and forty nights without bread or water.  That could have only been accomplished by the miraculous support of God.  And "he" wrote...  The original script didn't use capital letters, so which "he" wrote on the tablets?  It had just been said that God told Moses to write His words.  However, when it came to the stone tablets, we have confirmation from two other places in scripture that it was God Himself who wrote on those:

And the LORD said to Moses, “Cut two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you broke." - Exodus 34:1

(The words of the Lord) "And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke; and you shall put them in the ark." - Deuteronomy 10:2

(29) And it came to pass, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hand when he came down from the mount, that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him.

After forty days and forty nights, Moses again came down from the top of Mount Sinai with two stone tablets with the Testimony of God, His Ten Commandments written by His hand.  This time, while on the mount with the Lord, Moses had asked to see His glory.  The Lord had agreed to let Moses stand upon a rock in a cleft where he could be shielded from the Lord's face (which no man could see and live), and when His glory passed by, Moses would be allowed to see His back.  The brightness of God's glory was so reflected in Moses's face, or perhaps it so penetrated him, that the skin of his face literally shone, but Moses did not realize this.  The original word translated as "shone" was "qaran" and it literally meant "to shoot out horns or rays".  More than just a brightness in Moses's face, rays of brightness shot out from his face.

(30) And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him.

The sight must have indeed been very impressive and awesome, because when Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses and the rays of brightness shining from his face, they were afraid to come near him.

(31) And Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned to him; and Moses talked with them.

Not only were Aaron and the people afraid to come near Moses, but it sounds as if they ran from the sight of him.  However, Moses called to them, and Aaron and the rulers of the people came to him, and Moses talked with them.

(32) And afterward all the children of Israel came near, and he gave them in commandment all that the LORD had spoken with him on Mount Sinai. (33) And till Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face.

After Aaron and the rulers had talked with Moses, the entire congregation came forward to Moses, and he gave them all the commands he had been given by the Lord on Mount Sinai. While Moses spoke to the people, he put a veil over his face because they could not bear to look at the brightness of his countenance.  I feel like the great brightness radiating from Moses's face was illustrative of the light of Christ within us from the indwelling Holy Spirit.  John 1:9 said that Jesus the Messiah "was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world".  However, it was too much for the people at this time.  They were not ready nor could they stand to be in the presence of the full glory of God.  This is one of those passages that illustrates the plan of Christ from the beginning.  The people weren't ready for the Light and had to be shown their need for it.  The Law would show them that even at their best adherence to it, “There is none righteous, no, not one" (Romans 3:10), and "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).  For now, Moses veiled the light and brought the Law to the people.  However, there would come a time when Christ would tear in two the veil that separated the people from God.

Maybe because this speaks to me at this present time, but I especially like some additional points that Matthew Henry made about Moses's veil in his Commentary on the Whole Bible:  "This teaches us all a lesson of modesty and humility. We must be content to have our excellences obscured, and a veil drawn over them, not coveting to make a fair show in the flesh. Those that are truly desirous to be owned and accepted of God will likewise desire not to be taken notice of nor applauded by men. Secondly, it teaches ministers to accommodate themselves to the capacities of people, and to preach to them as they are able to bear it. Let all that art and all that learning be veiled which tend to amusement rather than edification, and let the strong condescend to the infirmities of the weak."  This present time certainly seems to be a time when there is much strife between Christians and the rest of the world.  There should certainly be a difference between Christians and the world, but should we be in the middle of the strife and fight for the culture?  Whereas quoting scripture is fine when discussing with Christian brothers and sisters, is blasting them to the world more of a prideful gesture that we know the truth and they don't?  As someone who was in the past an active local leader of Concerned Women for America, and am now very much tied to my home as a full-time Nana and wife to a husband in poor health, I often feel like I should be doing more to further the work of the Lord.  However, what did Jesus say were the two greatest commandments when asked in Matthew 22:36?  First, to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind.  Secondly, to love your neighbor as yourself.  What way did Jesus say over and over and over again was the way to love your neighbor as yourself?  To serve him, to be a servant.  "But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant." (Matthew 23:11)  That is only one of many, many references.

As I study on this, I am fully realizing for the first time what a truly wonderful gift I have been given to do what Jesus called the greatest work!  Perhaps all I have done in the past was to prepare me for what is now my greatest work (up to this point); I am sure my Lord continues always to mold me.  Just as the children of Israel had to come to realize their need for a Savior, perhaps I had to come to realize my need to be humble and to serve.  Although many times I would argue that I didn't have the best childhood or experiences, as I reflect on it, I have to admit many things.  I was the firstborn which gave me many rights and privileges.  In elementary school, I was always the queen of my class when I chose to run.  I was usually at the top of my class in grades.  I was usually office manager in my jobs.  I liked to be a leader.  And my personality was always one that liked to tell other people how to do it right!  Oh, I was sincerely trying to help.  And because scripture had always helped me so much, I wanted to share it with others.  I wanted to tell the country and the world how to do things better!  But now I see all the strife; I see how poorly Christians are viewed in the public square.  I have reflected on the fact that I should be a servant and love the people God has put into my life.  But I would wonder why then, was I given so many great opportunities in CWA only to have them ripped away when my husband became so ill?  I kept thinking that time was preparing me for another great work I had to do in that department.  But I am now seeing that it may have been so that I could finally see that was not the answer, and what the world needed most was love.  I have to laugh when I write that.  "What the world needs now is love."  It seems so sappy, too simplistic.  My prideful self always wanted to scream that was just a cop-out and excuse for not doing more!  But it is truly what we need--love and serving.  My sweet Lord has given me the opportunity to do the greatest work, and now I need to set about doing it in the best, most modest and humble, loving way possible.  Thank you, Lord!

(34) But when Moses went in before the LORD to speak with Him, he would take the veil off until he came out. And he came out, and spoke to the children of Israel that which he was commanded. (35) And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses's face shone; and Moses put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with Him.

Moses wore a veil over his face when he spoke to the people, but when he went into the tabernacle of the congregation to speak with the Lord, he took off the veil.  There was certainly no need for the veil when Moses spoke to the Lord.  Perhaps there is a reason for the fact this point is stressed to us.  It almost seems redundant that the veil went on before the people; it went off before the Lord; on and off again.  There is no veil when we have truly converted and come before our Lord.  Moses had seen the glory of the Lord.  Moses had direct access to the Lord; there was no need for a veil.  However, the people had need for a mediator; there was a veil between them and God, until that time when the veil would be torn in two and they, too, would have direct access to the Lord through the blood of Jesus Christ and have no need for a veil.  It is pointed out that the Israelites saw Moses's face, so it wasn't veiled so as to completely block it, or else they saw it shining in between the time he came out from meeting with the Lord until he put the veil back on.  The people understood that Moses was their mediator between them and God, and whenever he came out from speaking with the Lord, he would tell them what he had been commanded to tell them from the Lord.

These two chapters give a beautiful preview and illustration of the coming Messiah.  The people had sinned and God would no longer be in their midst.  Moses acted as intercessor and mediator between God and the people and pleaded for mercy, and God reconciled with His people.  Moses was made the visible public mediator between the people and God with his shining face, a type of the great Mediator to come.