Exodus 25:8

And let them make me a sanctuary,.... An holy place to dwell in, and so called from his dwelling in it, as follows: that I may dwell amongst them; in the midst of them, where the tabernacle was

And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. Let them make me a sanctuary , [ miqdaash (H4720)] - anything consecrated (Numbers 18:29); but here a hallowed place, a sanctuary.

A place of public and solemn worship, that I may dwell among them; not by my essence, which is every where, but by my grace and glorious operations.

Exodus 25:8 And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.Ver. 8. That I may dwell among them.] "But will God in very deed dwell with men upon earth?" What can he do more to make them happy? As he in Plutarch said of the Scythians, that although they had no music nor vines among them, yet, as a better thing, they had gods: and as the philosopher, having little else in his house, yet could say of it, ενθαδεοι Yεοιεισιν, Here be gods: so may every good man boast of his house and of his heart, This is the habitation of the Most High. As for the public assembly of saints, "This is the house of God, this is the gate of heaven."

THE AND ITS .(8) Let them make me a sanctuary.—The enumeration of the gifts (Exodus 25:3-7) has been subordinate to this. Hitherto Israel had had no place of worship, no structure dedicated to God. God now brings this state of things to an end, by requiring them to “make him a sanctuary.” In Egypt they had seen structures of vast size and extraordinary magnificence erected in every city for the worship of the Egyptian gods. They are now to have their own structure, their “holy place,” their “house of God.” As, however, they are still in a nomadic condition, without fixed abode, continually shifting their quarters, a building, in the ordinary sense of the word, would have been unsuitable. They must soon have quitted it or have foregone their hopes of Palestine. God therefore devised for them a structure in harmony with their condition—a “tent-temple”—modelled on the ordinary form of the better Oriental tents, but of the best materials and of an unusual size—yet still portable. It is this structure, with its contents and its adjuncts, which forms the main subject of the rest of the book of Exodus, and which is now minutely and elaborately described in six consecutive chapters (Exodus 25-30) That I may dwell among them.—Compare Exodus 29:42-46; Exodus 40:34-38. Though God “dwelleth not in temples made with hands” (Acts 7:48), is not confined to them, cannot be comprehended within them, yet since it pleases Him to manifest Himself especially in such abodes, He may be well said to “dwell there” in a peculiar manner. His dwelling with Israel was not purely spiritual. From time to time He manifested Himself sensibly in the Holy of Holies, where He dwelt continually, and might be consulted by the temporal ruler of the nation.

Verse 8. Let them make me a sanctuary] מקדש mikdash, a holy place, such as God might dwell in; this was that part of the tabernacle that was called the most holy place, into which the high priest entered only once a year, on the great day of atonement. That I may dwell among them.] "This," says Mr. Ainsworth, "was the main end of all; and to this all the particulars are to be referred, and by this they are to be opened. For this sanctuary, as Solomon's temple afterwards, was the place of prayer, and of the public service of God, Leviticus 17:4-6; Matthew 21:13; and it signified the Church which is the habitation of God through the Spirit, 2 Corinthians 6:16; Ephesians 2:19-22; Revelation 21:2-3; and was a visible sign of God's presence and protection, Leviticus 26:11, Leviticus 26:12; Ezekiel 37:27-28; 1Kg 6:12-13; and of his leading them to his heavenly glory. For as the high priest entered into the tabernacle, and through the veil into the most holy place where God dwelt; so Christ entered into the holy of holies, and we also enter through the veil, that is to say his flesh. See the use made of this by the apostle, Hebrews 9:1-28; Hebrews 10:1-18. Thus the sanctuary is to be applied as a type, 1. To Christ's person, Hebrews 8:2; Hebrews 9:11-12; John 2:19-21. 2. To every Christian, 1 Corinthians 6:19. 3. To the Church; both particular, Hebrews 3:6; 1 Timothy 3:15; and universal, Hebrews 10:21: and it was because of the very extensive signification of this building, that the different things concerning this sanctuary are particularly set down by Moses, and so variously applied by the prophets and by the apostles." - See Ainsworth. As the dwelling in this tabernacle was the highest proof of God's grace and mercy towards the Israelites, so it typified Christ's dwelling by faith in the hearts of believers, and thus giving them the highest and surest proof of their reconciliation to God, and of his love and favour to them; see Ephesians 1:22; Ephesians 3:17.

8. sanctuary] about 12 times in H and P (as Leviticus 19:30; Leviticus 12:4); often in Ezek., of the Temple (as Ezekiel 5:11, Ezekiel 8:6, Ezekiel 44:1; Ezekiel 44:5, &c.), and occasionally besides (as ch. Exodus 15:17, Jeremiah 17:12, Psalms 73:17). that I may dwell in their midst] Cf. Exodus 29:45 f., Numbers 5:3 : also Ezekiel 43:7; Ezekiel 43:9, Zechariah 2:10-11; Zechariah 8:3; and, in the ideal consummation, Revelation 21:3. This is the essential aim and object of the Tent of Meeting as conceived by P. Cf. the next note but one. The verb is the one from which Shekinah, ‘that which dwelleth,’ the post-Bibl. term for the Presence or Manifestation of Jehovah, is derived: see the Jewish Encycl. or DB. s.v. It is very common in the Targums: thus Deuteronomy 1:42 is in Onk. ‘for my Shekinah is not among you.’ For the idea of Jehovah’s being, or ‘dwelling,’ ‘in the midst’ (áúåê) of His people see also Leviticus 15:31; Leviticus 16:16; Leviticus 22:32; Leviticus 26:11-12, Numbers 16:3; Numbers 18:20; Numbers 35:34 (all P or H).

8. A sanctuary — This word, î÷ãùׁ, has occurred but once before this place, namely, in Moses’s song, (Exodus 15:17,) where a general prophecy is made that the chosen people shall be established in