Exodus 36
BSASBThe work on the tabernacle begins. Bezalel, Oholiab and the Spirit-gifted workers receive the people’s gifts, and the people give so much that Moses must tell them to stop. The rest of the chapter records the building of the curtains, coverings, frames, bars, veil and entrance screen, following the pattern God had given in Exodus 26.
Exodus 36:1
Bezalel, Oholiab and all the gifted workers are to carry out exactly what the LORD commanded. Their ability was not self-made. God had given it for this very purpose. Skill in craft, used in His service, becomes holy work.
BSA: skilled (“wise-hearted, with God-given wisdom”): Their craftsmanship is called wisdom of the heart, so it is a gift from God and not only a trained talent.
See also: Exodus 31:1-6.
Exodus 36:2
Moses called in Bezalel, Oholiab and everyone else whom God had gifted and whose heart moved them to join in. Two things come together: God’s gift and a willing heart. Neither ability nor willingness alone was enough.
BSA: heart (“feelings, will, and intellect”): In Scripture the heart is the whole inner person, so their willingness was a decision of the whole self.
Hebrew: נְשָׂאוֹ (nesaʾo, H5375) — “lifted him up, stirred him.” The verb means ’lifted’. Their hearts were raised up and carried them forward to the work, rather than being pushed from outside.
See also: Exodus 35:21.
Exodus 36:3
The workers took charge of the gifts the people had already brought. But the people kept bringing more freewill offerings every morning. Their giving did not fade after the first rush. It became a daily habit of joyful generosity.
BSA: freewill offerings (“gifts, sacrifices”): These were gifts, not taxes. Each person chose to give. morning after morning (“every day, continually”): The giving was steady and daily, not a single burst.
Hebrew: נְדָבָה (nedavah, H5071) — “a freewill, voluntary gift.” The word comes from the idea of being willing or generous. The offering is defined by the spirit in which it is given.
See also: 2 Corinthians 9:7.
Exodus 36:4-5
The craftsmen stopped their work and came to Moses with an unusual report. The people were bringing more than enough. It is rare for workers to say, ‘We have too much.’ Here God’s people gave so freely that the need was fully met.
BSA: more than enough (“sufficient, ample”): The supply went beyond what the task required.
See also: 2 Corinthians 8:1-3.
Exodus 36:6-7
Moses ordered a proclamation through the camp: no more gifts. The people were held back from giving, because what they had was already more than enough. Real generosity listens when it is told the need is met. God’s work is never short of what He asks for.
BSA: restrained (“to hold something back or restrict it”): The people had to be held back from giving. Their eagerness was so great that it needed a limit.
Hebrew: וַיִּכָּלֵא (vayyikkale, H3607) — “and they were restrained, held back.” The same root means to shut up or confine. The people were being kept from giving, which is the opposite of the usual problem.
Exodus 36:8
The skilled workers made the ten inner curtains of the tabernacle from fine twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn. Figures of cherubim were worked into them. Anyone standing inside would be surrounded by pictures of heavenly beings who serve before God.
BSA: cherubim (“angelic beings, heavenly guardians”): These beings guard God’s holy presence, so the tent’s very ceiling declared that this was sacred ground.
Hebrew: כְּרֻבִים (keruvim, H3742) — “cherubim.” These are the winged guardians of God’s presence, the same kind of beings placed at Eden’s entrance after the Fall.
See also: Genesis 3:24; Exodus 26:1.
Exodus 36:9-10
Every curtain was the same size, about forty-two feet long and six feet wide. Five were joined into one set, and five into another. Many equal pieces were made into two larger pieces, ready to be joined into one covering.
See also: Exodus 26:2-3.
Exodus 36:11-13
Blue loops were made along the edge of each set, fifty to a side, and fifty gold clasps joined the two sets together. Many separate pieces were thus made one. The tabernacle was a single dwelling, a picture of the unity God’s people are meant to have.
BSA: clasps (“hooks, fasteners”): The clasps did the quiet work of holding the two halves together, and they were made of gold. unit (“single, unified”): The finished tabernacle was meant to be one dwelling, not two halves side by side.
Hebrew: הַמִּשְׁכָּן (hammishkan, H4908) — “the dwelling place.” It comes from a verb meaning to settle or dwell. The tabernacle is above all the place where God chooses to live among His people.
See also: John 17:21.
Exodus 36:14-15
Over the linen curtains came a tent of eleven curtains woven of goat hair. Each was a little longer than the inner ones, thirty cubits, about forty-five feet. This tougher cloth was the first layer against sun, wind and rain.
Hebrew: אֹהֶל (ohel, H168) — “tent.” Here the word names the goat-hair covering that stood over the inner dwelling, a plain tent above the beautiful curtains within.
See also: Exodus 26:7-8.
Exodus 36:16-18
These curtains were joined in a set of five and a set of six, with fifty loops on each set. This time the fifty clasps were bronze, not gold. They fastened the outer tent into one piece, just as the gold ones united the inner curtains.
BSA: bronze (“copper or something made of it”): The outer covering used a humbler metal than the gold of the inner curtains.
Exodus 36:19
Two more coverings went on top: ram skins dyed red, and above them a covering of fine leather. From outside, the tabernacle looked plain and weatherproof. Its glory was inside, where the worshiper entered.
BSA: ram (“strong, powerful animal”): The covering came from a strong animal, a fitting protective layer for the whole structure.
See also: Exodus 26:14.
Exodus 36:20-22
Upright frames of acacia wood formed the walls, each about fifteen feet tall and two and a quarter feet wide. Two tenons, or pegs, on each frame fitted into its bases. Acacia grows in the desert, which made it a good choice for a camp on the move.
Hebrew: קְרָשִׁים (qerashim, H7175) — “boards, frames.” These were solid upright boards, not a light framework. They gave the dwelling real strength and permanence.
See also: Exodus 26:15-17.
Exodus 36:23-26
Twenty frames stood on the south side and twenty on the north. Each rested on two silver bases, forty on each side. The weight of the whole house rested on silver. In Israel, silver was the metal the people had paid when counted, so the dwelling stood on ransom.
BSA: bases (“sockets, foundations”): These were the solid foundations that held every frame in place.
Hebrew: אַדְנֵי (adne, H134) — “sockets, bases.” The word means foundation sockets. They were the hidden supports on which the whole structure stood.
See also: Exodus 30:11-16.
Exodus 36:27-30
The back, or west, wall had six frames, and two more were set at the corners and joined firmly from bottom to top. That made eight frames with sixteen silver bases. The corners were bound tightly so the back of the tabernacle held together.
See also: Exodus 26:22-25.
Exodus 36:31-33
Five crossbars of acacia wood ran along each of the three sides to tie the frames together. A central bar ran through the middle of the frames from end to end. The walls were bound together as one strong whole.
See also: Exodus 26:26-28.
Exodus 36:34
The frames and the crossbars were overlaid with gold, and gold rings held the bars. Inside, the visitor saw gold on every wall. Plain acacia wood was covered with the most precious metal. That fits a place where the holy God would live among sinful people.
BSA: overlaid (“covered with a layer of”): The wood stayed wood beneath, but gold covered it completely.
Exodus 36:35
Next came the veil, in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, with cherubim worked in. It hung between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. The cherubim on it were a reminder that the way into God’s presence was guarded.
BSA: veil (“a curtain or screen”): It was a barrier that shielded and separated, marking the line between God’s throne room and the rest.
Hebrew: פָּרֹכֶת (parokhet, H6532) — “the veil, a dividing curtain.” This is the particular word for the inner curtain before the Most Holy Place, a curtain that screens off the most sacred spot.
See also: Matthew 27:51; Hebrews 10:19-20.
Exodus 36:36
Four acacia posts overlaid with gold, with gold hooks, held up the veil. They stood on four silver bases. Silver and gold at the veil marked the most sacred spot in the tabernacle.
See also: Exodus 26:31-32.
Exodus 36:37-38
For the entrance to the tent, a screen was made in the same colors, but embroidered, not decorated with cherubim. It hung from five posts. The post tops were gold, but their bases were bronze, not silver, a sign that the outer court was a step away from the holiest place.
Hebrew: מָסָךְ (masakh, H4539) — “screen, covering.” It is a different word from the inner veil. This screen covered the doorway to the tent, so it marked the first threshold of approach.
See also: Exodus 26:36-37.