COMMENTARY EXODUS 25

E X O D U S

CHAP. XXV.

At this chapter begins an account of the ordersand instructions God gave to Moses upon the mount for the erectingand furnishing of a tabernacle to the honour of God. We have here.I. Orders given for a collection to be made among the people forthis purpose, ver. 1-9.II. Particular instructions, 1. Concerning the ark of the covenant,ver. 10-22. 2. The tableof showbread, ver.23-30. 3. The golden candlestick, ver. 31, &c.

The Tabernacle and ItsFurniture. (b. c. 1491.)

1 And the Lordspake unto Moses, saying, 2 Speak unto the children ofIsrael, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth itwillingly with his heart ye shall take my offering. 3 Andthis is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold, andsilver, and brass, 4 And blue, and purple, and scarlet, andfine linen, and goats' hair, 5 And rams' skins dyedred, and badgers' skins, and shittim wood, 6 Oil for thelight, spices for anointing oil, and for sweet incense, 7Onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod, and in thebreastplate. 8 And let them make me a sanctuary; that I maydwell among them. 9 According to all that I show thee,after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of allthe instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.

We may suppose that when Moses went intothe midst of the cloud, and abode there so long, where the holyangels attended the shechinah, or divine Majesty, he saw andheard very glorious things relating to the upper world, but theywere things which it was not lawful nor possible to utter; andtherefore, in the records he kept of the transactions there, hesays nothing to satisfy the curiosity of those who would intrudeinto the things which they have not seen, but writes that onlywhich he was to speak to the children of Israel. For the scriptureis designed to direct us in our duty, not to fill our heads withspeculations, nor to please our fancies.

In these verses God tells Moses hisintention in general, that the children of Israel should build hima sanctuary, for he designed to dwell among them (v. 8); and some think that,though there were altars and groves used for religious worshipbefore this, yet there never was any house, or temple, built forsacred uses in any nation before this tabernacle was erected byMoses, and that all the temples which were afterwards so muchcelebrated among the heathen took rise from this and pattern by it.God had chosen the people of Israel to be a peculiar people tohimself (above all people), among whom divine revelation, and areligion according to it, should be lodged and established: hehimself would be their King. As their King, he had already giventhem laws for the government of themselves, and their dealings onewith another, with some general rules for religious worship,according to the light of reason and the law of nature, in the tencommandments and the following comments upon them. But this was notthought sufficient to distinguish them from other nations, or toanswer to the extent of that covenant which God would make withthem to be their God; and therefore,

I. He orders a royal palace to be set upamong them for himself, here called a sanctuary, or holyplace, or habitation, of which it is said (Jer. xvii. 12), A glorious highthrone from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary. Thissanctuary is to be considered,

1. As ceremonial, consonant to the to theother institutions of that dispensation, which consisted in carnalordinances (Heb. ix. 10);hence it is called a worldly sanctuary, Heb. ix. 1. God in it kept his court, asIsrael's King. (1.) There he manifested his presence among them,and it was intended for a sign or token of his presence, that,while they had that in the midst of them, they might never againask, Is the Lord among us or not? And, because in thewilderness they dwelt in tents, even this royal palace was orderedto be a tabernacle too, that it might move with them, and might bean instance of the condescension of the divine favour. (2.) Therehe ordered his subjects to attend him with their homage andtribute. Thither they must come to consult his oracles, thitherthey must bring their sacrifices, and there all Israel must meet,to pay their joint respects to the God of Israel.

2. As typical; the holy places made withhands were the figures of the true, Heb. ix. 24. The gospel church is the truetabernacle, which the Lord hath pitched, and not man,Heb. viii. 2. The body ofChrist, in and by which he made atonement, was the greater andmore perfect tabernacle, Heb. ix.11. The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us,as in a tabernacle.

II. When Moses was to erect this palace, itwas requisite that he should first be instructed where he must havethe materials, and where he must have the model; for he couldneither contrive it by his own ingenuity nor build it at his owncharge; he is therefore directed here concerning both.

1. The people must furnish him with thematerials, not by a tax imposed upon them, but by a voluntarycontribution. This is the first thing concerning which orders arehere given.

(1.) Speak unto the children of Israelthat they bring me an offering; and there was all the reason inthe world that they should, for (v. 1), [1.] It was God himself that hadnot only enlarged them, but enriched them with the spoils of theEgyptians. He had instructed them to borrow, and he had inclinedthe Egyptians to lend, so that from him they had their wealth, andtherefore it was fit they should devote it to him and use it forhim, and thus make a grateful acknowledgement of the favours theyhad received. Note, First, The best use we can make of ourworldly wealth is to honour God with it in works of piety andcharity. Secondly, When we have been blessed with someremarkable success in our affairs, and have had, as we say, a goodturn, it may be justly expected that we should do something morethan ordinary for the glory of God, consecrating our gain, in somereasonable proportion of it, to the Lord of the whole earth,Mic. iv. 13. [2.] Thesanctuary that was to be built was intended for their benefit andcomfort, and therefore they must be at the expense of it. They hadbeen unworthy of the privilege if they had grudged at the charge.They might well afford to offer liberally for the honour of God,while they lived at free quarters, having food for themselves andtheir families rained upon them daily from heaven. We also must ownthat we have our all from God's bounty, and therefore ought to useall for his glory. Since we live upon him, we must live to him.

(2.) This offering must be given willingly,and with the heart, that is, [1.] It was not prescribed to themwhat or how much they must give, but it was left to theirgenerosity, that they might show their good-will to the house ofGod and the offices thereof, and might do it with a holy emulation,the zeal of a few provoking many, 2 Cor. ix. 2. We should ask, not only, "Whatmust we do?" but, "What may we do for God?" [2.] Whatever theygave, they must give it cheerfully, not grudgingly and withreluctance, for God loves a cheerful giver, 2 Cor. ix. 7. What is laid out in theservice of God we must reckon well bestowed.

(3.) The particulars are here mentionedwhich they must offer (v.3-7), all of them things that there would be occasionfor in the tabernacle, or the service of it. Some observe that herewas gold, silver, and brass, provided, but no iron; that is themilitary metal, and this was to be a house of peace. Every thingthat was provided was very rich and fine, and the best of the sort;for God, who is the best, should have the best.

2. God himself would furnish him with themodel: According to all that I show thee, v. 9. God showed him an exact plan ofit, in miniature, which he must conform to in all points. ThusEzekiel saw in vision the form of the house and the fashionthereof, Ezek. xliii. 11.Note, Whatsoever is done in God's service must be done by hisdirection, and not otherwise. Yet God did not only show him themodel, but gave him also particular directions how to frame thetabernacle according to that model, in all the parts of it, whichhe goes over distinctly in this and the following chapters. WhenMoses, in the beginning of Genesis, was to describe the creation ofthe world, though it is such a stately and curious fabric and madeup of such a variety and vast number of particulars, yet he gave avery short and general account of it, and nothing compared withwhat the wisdom of this world would have desired and expected fromone that wrote by divine revelation; but, when he comes to describethe tabernacle, he does it with the greatest niceness and accuracyimaginable. He that gave us no account of the lines and circles ofthe globe, the diameter of the earth, or the height and magnitudeof the stars, has told us particularly the measure of every boardand curtain of the tabernacle; for God's church and institutedreligion are more precious to him and more considerable than allthe rest of the world. And the scriptures were written, not todescribe to us the works of nature, a general view of which issufficient to lead us to the knowledge and service of the Creator,but to acquaint us with the methods of grace, and those thingswhich are purely matters of divine revelation. The blessedness ofthe future state is more fully represented under the notion of anew Jerusalem than under the notion of new heavens and a newearth.

10 And they shall make an ark of shittimwood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, anda cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half theheight thereof. 11 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold,within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it acrown of gold round about. 12 And thou shalt cast four ringsof gold for it, and put them in the four corners thereof;and two rings shall be in the one side of it, and two ringsin the other side of it. 13 And thou shalt make stavesof shittim wood, and overlay them with gold. 14 Andthou shalt put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark,that the ark may be borne with them. 15 The staves shall bein the rings of the ark: they shall not be taken from it. 16And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall givethee. 17 And thou shalt make a mercy seat of puregold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, anda cubit and a half the breadth thereof. 18 And thou shaltmake two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thoumake them, in the two ends of the mercy seat. 19 And makeone cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end:even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on thetwo ends thereof. 20 And the cherubims shall stretch forththeir wings on high, covering the mercy seat with theirwings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward themercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be. 21 And thoushalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thoushalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. 22 And thereI will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above themercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are uponthe ark of the testimony, of all things which I will givethee in commandment unto the children of Israel.

The first thing which is here ordered to bemade is the ark with its appurtenances, the furniture of the mostholy place, and the special token of God's presence, for which thetabernacle was erected to be the receptacle.

I. The ark itself was a chest, or coffer,in which the two tables of the law, written with the finger of God,were to be honourably deposited, and carefully kept. The dimensionsof it are exactly ordered; if the Jewish cubit was, as some learnedmen compute, three inches longer than our half-yard (twenty-oneinches in all), this chest or cabinet was about fifty-two incheslong, thirty-one broad, and thirty-one deep. It was overlaid withinand without with thin plates of gold. It had a crown, or cornice,of gold, round it, with rings and staves to carry it with; and init he must put the testimony, v. 10-16. The tables of the law arecalled the testimony because God did in them testify hiswill: his giving them that law was in token of his favour to them;and their acceptance of it was in token of their subjection andobedience to him. This law was a testimony to them, to direct themin their duty, and would be a testimony against them if theytransgressed. The ark is called the ark of the testimony(ch. xxx. 6), and thetabernacle the tabernacle of the testimony (Num. x. 11) or witness, Acts vii. 44. The gospel of Christ isalso called a testimony or witness, Matt. xxiv. 14. It is observable, 1. That thetables of the law were carefully preserved in the ark for thepurpose, to teach us to make much of the word of God, and to hideit in our hearts, in our innermost thoughts, as the ark was placedin the holy of holies. It intimates likewise the care which divineProvidence ever did, and ever will, take to preserve the records ofdivine revelation in the church, so that even in the latter daysthere shall be seen in his temple the ark of his testament.See Rev. xi. 19. 2. Thatthis ark was the chief token of God's presence, which teaches usthat the first and great evidence and assurance of God's favour isthe putting of his law in the heart. God dwells where that rules,Heb. viii. 10. 3. Thatprovision was made for the carrying of this ark about with them inall their removals, which intimates to us that, wherever we go, weshould take our religion along with us, always bearing about withus the love of the Lord Jesus, and his law.

II. The mercy-seat was the covering of theark or chest, made of solid gold, exactly to fit the dimensions ofthe ark, v. 17,21. This propitiatory covering, as it might wellbe translated, was a type of Christ, the great propitiation, whosesatisfaction fully answers the demands of the law, covers ourtransgressions, and comes between us and the curse we deserve. Thushe is the end of the law for righteousness.

III. The cherubim of gold were fixed to themercy-seat, and of a piece with it, and spread their wings over it,v. 18. It issupposed that these cherubim were designed to represent the holyangels, who always attended the shechinah, or divineMajesty, particularly at the giving of the law; not by any effigiesof an angel, but some emblem of the angelical nature, probably someone of those four faces spoken of, Ezek. i. 10. Whatever the faces were, theylooked one towards another, and both downward towards the ark,while their wings were stretched out so as to touch one another.The apostle calls them cherubim of glory shadowing themercy-seat, Heb. ix. 5.It denotes their attendance upon the Redeemer, to whom they wereministering spirits, their readiness to do his will, their specialpresence in the assemblies of saints (Ps. lxviii. 17; 1 Cor. xi. 10), andtheir desire to look into the mysteries of the gospel which theydiligently contemplate, 1 Pet. i.12. God is said to dwell, or sit, between thecherubim, on the mercy-seat (Ps.lxxx. 1), and thence he here promises, for the future,to meet with Moses, and to commune with him, v. 22. There he would givelaw, and there he would give audience, as a prince on his throne;and thus he manifests himself willing to be reconciled to us, andkeep up communion with us, in and by the mediation of Christ. Inallusion to this mercy-seat, we are said to come boldly to thethrone of grace (Heb. iv.16); for we are not under the law, which iscovered, but under grace, which is displayed; its wings arestretched out, and we are invited to come under the shadow of them,Ruth ii. 12.

23 Thou shalt also make a table ofshittim wood: two cubits shall be the length thereof, and acubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the heightthereof. 24 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, andmake thereto a crown of gold round about. 25 And thou shaltmake unto it a border of an hand breadth round about, and thoushalt make a golden crown to the border thereof round about. 26 And thou shalt make for it four rings of gold, and put the ringsin the four corners that are on the four feet thereof. 27 Over against the border shall the rings be for places ofthe staves to bear the table. 28 And thou shalt make thestaves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold, that thetable may be borne with them. 29 And thou shalt make thedishes thereof, and spoons thereof, and covers thereof, and bowlsthereof, to cover withal: of pure gold shalt thou make them. 30 And thou shalt set upon the table showbread before mealway.

Here is, 1. A table ordered to be made ofwood overlaid with gold, which was to stand, not in the holy ofholies (nothing was in that but the ark with its appurtenances),but in the outer part of the tabernacle, called thesanctuary, or holy place, Heb. ix. 2, 23, &c. There must also bethe usual furniture of the sideboard, dishes and spoons, &c.,and all of gold, v.29. 2. This table was to be always spread, and furnishedwith the show-bread (v.30), or bread of faces, twelve loaves, one foreach tribe, set in two rows, six in a row; see the law concerningthem, Lev. xxiv. 5,&c. The tabernacle being God's house, in which he was pleasedto say that he would dwell among them, he would show that he kept agood house. In the royal palace it was fit that there should be aroyal table. Some make the twelve loaves to represent the twelvetribes, set before God as his people and the corn of hisfloor, as they are called, Isa.xxi. 10. As the ark signified God's being present withthem, so the twelve loaves signified their being presented to God.This bread was designed to be, (1.) A thankful acknowledgement ofGod's goodness to them, in giving them their daily bread, manna inthe wilderness, where he prepared a table for them, and, in Canaan,the corn of the land. Hereby they owned their dependence uponProvidence, not only for the corn in the field, which they gavethanks for in offering the sheaf of first-fruits, but for the breadin their houses, that, when it was brought home, God did notblow upon it, Hag. i.9. Christ has taught us to pray every day for the breadof the day. (2.) A token of their communion with God. This bread onGod's table being made of the same corn with the bread on their owntables, God and Israel did, as it were, eat together, as a pledgeof friendship and fellowship; he supped with them, and they withhim. (3.) A type of the spiritual provision which is made in thechurch, by the gospel of Christ, for all that are made priests toour God. In our Father's house there is bread enough and tospare, a loaf for every tribe. All that attend in God's houseshall be abundantly satisfied with the goodness of it, Ps. xxxvi. 8. Divine consolations arethe continual feast of holy souls, notwithstanding there are thoseto whom the table of the Lord, and the meat thereof(because it is plain bread), are contemptible, Mal. i. 12. Christ has a table in hiskingdom, at which all his saints shall for every eat and drink withhim, Luke xxii. 30.

31 And thou shalt make a candlestick ofpure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: hisshaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers,shall be of the same. 32 And six branches shall come out ofthe sides of it; three branches of the candlestick out of the oneside, and three branches of the candlestick out of the other side: 33 Three bowls made like unto almonds, with a knopand a flower in one branch; and three bowls made like almonds inthe other branch, with a knop and a flower: so in the sixbranches that come out of the candlestick. 34 And in thecandlestick shall be four bowls made like unto almonds,with their knops and their flowers. 35 And thereshall be a knop under two branches of the same, and a knopunder two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches ofthe same, according to the six branches that proceed out of thecandlestick. 36 Their knops and their branches shall be ofthe same: all it shall be one beaten work of puregold. 37 And thou shalt make the seven lamps thereof: andthey shall light the lamps thereof, that they may give light overagainst it. 38 And the tongs thereof, and the snuffdishesthereof, shall be of pure gold. 39 Of a talentof pure gold shall he make it, with all these vessels. 40And look that thou make them after their pattern, which wasshowed thee in the mount.

I. The next thing ordered to be made forthe furnishing of God's palace was a rich stately candlestick, allof pure gold, not hollow, but solid. The particular directions heregiven concerning it show, 1. That it was very magnificent, and agreat ornament to the place; it had many branches drawn from themain shaft, which had not only their bowls (to put the oil and thekindled wick in) for necessity, but knops and flowers for ornament.2. That it was very convenient, and admirably contrived both toscatter the light and to keep the tabernacle clean from smoke andsnuffs. 3. That it was very significant. The tabernacle had nowindows by which to let in the light of the day, all its light wascandle-light, which intimates the comparative darkness of thatdispensation, while the Sun or righteousness had not as yet risen,nor had the day-star from on high yet visited his church. Yet Godleft not himself without witness, nor them without instruction; thecommandment was a lamp, and the law a light, and the prophets werebranches from that lamp, which gave light in their several ages tothe Old-Testament church. The church is still dark, as thetabernacle was, in comparison with what it will be in heaven; butthe word of God is the candlestick, a light shining in a darkplace (2 Pet. i. 19),and a dark place indeed the world would be without it. The Spiritof God, in his various gifts and graces, is compared to theseven lamps which burn before the throne, Rev. iv. 5. The churches are goldencandlesticks, the lights of the world, holding forth the word oflife as the candlestick does the light, Phil. ii. 15, 16. Ministers are to lightthe lamps, and snuff them (v.37), by opening the scriptures. The treasure of thislight is now put into earthen vessels, 2 Cor. iv. 6, 7. The branches of thecandlestick spread every way, to denote the diffusing of the lightof the gospel into all parts by the Christian ministry, Matt. v. 14, 15. There is adiversity of gifts, but the same Spirit gives to each toprofit withal.

II. There is in the midst of theseinstructions an express caution given to Moses, to take heed ofvarying from his model: Make them after the pattern shownthee, v. 40.Nothing was left to his own invention, or the fancy of the workmen,or the people's humour; but the will of God must be religiouslyobserved in every particular. Thus, 1. All God's providences areexactly according to his counsels, and the copy never varies fromthe original. Infinite Wisdom never changes its measures; whateveris purposed shall undoubtedly be performed. 2. All his ordinancesmust be administered according to his institutions. Christ'sinstruction to his disciples (Matt.xxviii. 20) is similar to this: Observe all thingswhatsoever I have commanded you.