UNROLL
An open-air workshop at dawn under a goat-hair awning: a small clay furnace glowing, crucibles and stone hammers on a bench, sheets of beaten gold and planks of acacia, and a gold-covered chest on trestles, its lid not yet on, beneath a pale sky and a granite ridge.

The Book of

Exodus 37

Bezalel takes up hammer and gold and makes, piece by piece, what God showed Moses on the mountain.

29 verses≈ 4 min1 personBSB

Images are artistic interpretations.

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In this chapter

Where we are

  1. 1–6Slaves in EgyptOppression and a deliverer
  2. 7–13The plaguesThe LORD against Pharaoh
  3. 14–18Through the seaRescued and led
  4. 19–24At SinaiThe covenant and the law
  5. 25–31A place to dwellThe tabernacle planned
  6. 32–40Broken and renewedThe calf, mercy, the gloryChapter 37

Constructing the Ark

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The Mercy Seat

He constructed a mercy seat of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide. He made two cherubim of hammered gold at the ends of the mercy seat, one cherub on one end and one on the other, all made from one piece of gold. And the cherubim had wings that spread upward, overshadowing the mercy seat. The cherubim faced each other, looking toward the mercy seat.

And the cherubim had wings that spread upward, overshadowing the mercy seat. The cherubim faced each other, looking toward the mercy seat.

Exodus 37:9

Reflect

Made, not just planned

In chapter 25 God gave the pattern. Here Bezalel “went on to construct the ark,” and the gold was laid on, the rings were cast and the poles slid into place. God’s plans were meant to be carried out with real hands and real work. What has God shown you in His Word that you have agreed with but not yet done? Write it down, and write the first small step you could take this week.

The Table of Showbread

In the dim Holy Place, a low table overlaid with gold, with a gold rim and molding, gold rings at its legs and gold-covered poles, gold plates, dishes, pitchers and bowls set on it.

What they made

The table

  1. Acacia, about 3 by 1½ by 2¼ feet

    He also made the table of acacia wood two cubits long, a cubit wide, and a cubit and a half high.

  2. Overlaid with pure gold

    He overlaid it with pure gold and made a gold molding around it.

  3. A rim a handbreadth wide

    And he made a rim around it a handbreadth wide and put a gold molding on the rim.

  4. For carrying

    Four gold rings at the legs

    He cast four gold rings for the table and fastened them to the four corners at its four legs. The rings were placed close to the rim, to serve as holders for the poles used to carry the table.

  5. Gold-covered poles

    He made the poles of acacia wood for carrying the table and overlaid them with gold.

  6. Drink offerings

    Plates, dishes, bowls, pitchers

    He also made the utensils for the table out of pure gold: its plates and dishes, as well as its bowls and pitchers for pouring drink offerings.

The Lampstand

In warm forge light, a hammer shaping an almond-blossom cup on one curved branch of a gold lampstand, the six branches and central shaft rising above, unlit.

Then he made the lampstand out of pure hammered gold, all of one piece: its base and shaft, its cups, and its buds and petals. Six branches extended from the sides, three on one side and three on the other. There were three cups shaped like almond blossoms on the first branch, each with buds and petals, three on the next branch, and the same for all six branches that extended from the lampstand.

And on the lampstand were four cups shaped like almond blossoms with buds and petals. A bud was under the first pair of branches that extended from the lampstand, a bud under the second pair, and a bud under the third pair. The buds and branches were all of one piece with the lampstand, hammered out of pure gold.

0:45

Narrated by Bob Souer · BSB audio, public domain

He also made its seven lamps, its wick trimmers, and trays of pure gold. He made the lampstand and all its utensils from a talent of pure gold.

Question

Quick question

Bezalel made the lampstand exactly as God had described it to Moses.

How was the lampstand made?

The Altar of Incense

He made the altar of incense out of acacia wood. It was square, a cubit long, a cubit wide, and two cubits high. Its horns were of one piece.

And he overlaid with pure gold the top and all the sides and horns. Then he made a molding of gold around it.

He made two gold rings below the molding on opposite sides to hold the poles used to carry it. And he made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold.

He also made the sacred anointing oil and the pure, fragrant incense, the work of a perfumer.

Courtyard · 100 × 50 cubitsNGate · EastTent of MeetingBronze altarBasinThe tent, enlarged · 30 × 10 cubitsArkTableLampstandIncense altarVeilScreenMost Holy PlaceHoly Place

Plan to scale in cubits · north at the top

Where it stood

The furniture of the tent

Everything Bezalel made in this chapter stood inside the tent. The ark, with the mercy seat on it, stood alone in the Most Holy Place behind the veil. In the Holy Place the table stood on the north side, the lampstand opposite it on the south, and the incense altar in the middle, right before the veil.

Pray

Gifts put to use

God filled Bezalel with skill, and Bezalel spent it on the things that brought Israel near to God: an ark, a table, a lampstand, an altar for incense, “the work of a perfumer.” Thank God for the gifts He has given you, whatever they are. Ask Him to show you how to use them for His glory and for the good of His people this week.

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Exodus 37

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A verse to carry with you

And the cherubim had wings that spread upward, overshadowing the mercy seat. The cherubim faced each other, looking toward the mercy seat.

Exodus 37:9

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