Exodus 40: 1 – 38
No parts left over
40 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 2 “On the first day of the first month you shall set up the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. 3 You shall put in it the ark of the Testimony, and partition off the ark with the veil. 4 You shall bring in the table and arrange the things that are to be set in order on it; and you shall bring in the lampstand and light its lamps. 5 You shall also set the altar of gold for the incense before the ark of the Testimony, and put up the screen for the door of the tabernacle. 6 Then you shall set the altar of the burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. 7 And you shall set the laver between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. 8 You shall set up the court all around, and hang up the screen at the court gate. 9 “And you shall take the anointing oil, and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it; and you shall hallow it and all its utensils, and it shall be holy. 10 You shall anoint the altar of the burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar. The altar shall be most holy. 11 And you shall anoint the laver and its base, and consecrate it. 12 “Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the tabernacle of meeting and wash them with water. 13 You shall put the holy garments on Aaron, and anoint him and consecrate him, that he may minister to Me as priest. 14 And you shall bring his sons and clothe them with tunics. 15 You shall anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may minister to Me as priests; for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations.” 16 Thus Moses did; according to all that the LORD had commanded him, so he did. 17 And it came to pass in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was raised up. 18 So Moses raised up the tabernacle, fastened its sockets, set up its boards, put in its bars, and raised up its pillars. 19 And he spread out the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent on top of it, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 20 He took the Testimony and put it into the ark, inserted the poles through the rings of the ark, and put the mercy seat on top of the ark. 21 And he brought the ark into the tabernacle, hung up the veil of the covering, and partitioned off the ark of the Testimony, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 22 He put the table in the tabernacle of meeting, on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil; 23 and he set the bread in order upon it before the LORD, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 24 He put the lampstand in the tabernacle of meeting, across from the table, on the south side of the tabernacle; 25 and he lit the lamps before the LORD, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 26 He put the gold altar in the tabernacle of meeting in front of the veil; 27 and he burned sweet incense on it, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 28 He hung up the screen at the door of the tabernacle. 29 And he put the altar of burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and offered upon it the burnt offering and the grain offering, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 30 He set the laver between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar, and put water there for washing; 31 and Moses, Aaron, and his sons would wash their hands and their feet with water from it. 32 Whenever they went into the tabernacle of meeting, and when they came near the altar, they washed, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 33 And he raised up the court all around the tabernacle and the altar, and hung up the screen of the court gate. So Moses finished the work. 34 Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. 35 And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. 36 Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would go onward in all their journeys. 37 But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not journey till the day that it was taken up. 38 For the cloud of the LORD was above the tabernacle by day, and fire was over it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.
Why is it that when putting things back together again, there will always be at least one piece left over that will not fit anywhere.
When you put things together, you combine them, creating one out of several. In some cases, the different items blend their properties and cannot be divided again, while in other cases the combined items can be picked out separately.
In Latin, the prefix com- means "together," and bini means "two by two." These were combined to create the word combinare, or "to unite."
I will be honest with you that I am not too great with putting things together or as we see from our topic ‘combine.’ My most difficult time in my life was usually on Christmas Eve when I put together the easy to combine toy parts. So, I hope you like my version of the ‘Night before Christmas’
'Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house I searched for the tools to assemble my kids gifts. Instructions were studied and I was inspired, in hopes I could manage "Some Assembly Required."
The children were quiet (not asleep) in their beds, while I their Dad faced the evening with dread: A kitchen, two bikes, and Barbie’s town house to boot! And, thanks to Grandpa, a motorized John Deer forks lift that was real cute.
When I opened the boxes, my heart skipped a beat.... Let no pieces be missing or parts incomplete! Too late for last-minute returns or replacement; if I can't get it right, it goes down in the basement!
When what to my worrying eyes should appear but 50 sheets of directions, concise, but not clear. With each part numbered and every slot named, so if there were a failure, only I could be blamed.
More rapid than flies the parts then fell out, All over the carpet they were scattered about. "Now bolt it! Now twist it! Attach it right there! Slide on the seats, and staple the stair!
Hammer the shelves, and nail to the stand." "Honey," said my supervisor wife, "you just glued my hand." And then in a twinkling, I knew for a fact that all the toy dealers had indeed made a pact
To keep parents busy all Christmas Eve night with "assembly required" till morning’s first light. I spoke not a word, but kept at my work, till my eyes went bleary and my fingers all hurt.
The coffee went cold and the night it wore thin before I attached the last rod and last pin. Then laying the tools away in the chest, I fell into bed for a well-deserved rest.
But I said to my wife just before I passed out, "This will be the best Christmas, without any doubt. Tomorrow we'll cheer, let the holiday ring, and not have to run to the store for anything!
"I did it! I did it! No part left over. The toys are all set for the most perfect Christmas ever, I bet!" Then off to dreamland, at last sweet repose I gratefully went, although I suppose there's something to say for those like me who are self-deluded because I'd forgotten that BATTERIES are never included!
We are now going to see how Moses is good at putting things together. Everything the Holy Father Yahweh God instructed him to prepare was combined properly with no parts left over.
40 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 2 “On the first day of the first month you shall set up the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. 3 You shall put in it the ark of the Testimony, and partition off the ark with the veil. 4 You shall bring in the table and arrange the things that are to be set in order on it; and you shall bring in the lamp stand and light its lamps. 5 You shall also set the altar of gold for the incense before the ark of the Testimony, and put up the screen for the door of the tabernacle. 6 Then you shall set the altar of the burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. 7 And you shall set the laver between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. 8 You shall set up the court all around, and hang up the screen at the court gate.
I love our Lord’s perfect timing. Now that all the items were finished it was time to put all the things together. All the parts were combined - ‘On the first day of the first month.’ That is on the month of Abib (Nisan) round about March or April. It was the official New Years day.
Moses is now commanded to set up the Tabernacle, and place the furniture in it.
9 “And you shall take the anointing oil, and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it; and you shall hallow it and all its utensils, and it shall be holy. 10 You shall anoint the altar of the burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar. The altar shall be most holy. 11 And you shall anoint the laver and its base, and consecrate it.
All is then to be anointed with the holy anointing oil to ‘sanctify’ it, which is to set it apart to its holy purpose. It is now Yahweh’s. All in the Sanctuary is holy, that is set apart to and belonging to Yahweh.
12 “Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the tabernacle of meeting and wash them with water. 13 You shall put the holy garments on Aaron, and anoint him and consecrate him, that he may minister to Me as priest. 14 And you shall bring his sons and clothe them with tunics. 15 You shall anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may minister to Me as priests; for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations.”
The installing of the priests follows. First in order is ‘The Priest’, and then his assistants in the priestly office. It commences with the washing of water to remove earthiness and physical defilement. Then Aaron is clothed by Moses in the holy garments set apart and Moses anoints him with the holy anointing oil and ‘sanctifies’ him, that is, sets him apart to a holy purpose and as belonging to Yahweh.
After this the sons are brought forward and Moses is to dress them in their priestly robes, and anoint them so that they too may minister in the priestly office as assistants to ‘the Priest’. And this anointing is to be seen as setting them and their descendants apart forever in an everlasting priesthood. The provision is always that if they prove unworthy the anointing will cease.
16 Thus Moses did; according to all that the LORD had commanded him, so he did. 17 And it came to pass in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was raised up.
So Moses did exactly as he was commanded, and on the New Years Day the Tabernacle was raised up and fully furnished and sanctified. The Israelites erected the Tabernacle on the first day of the first month, almost exactly one year after that they left Egypt. This was about nine months after Israel had arrived at Mount Sinai. The making of the Tabernacle had taken less than six months, a sign of their genuine dedication and enthusiasm. What a great day it was that it was now ready.
18 So Moses raised up the tabernacle, fastened its sockets, set up its boards, put in its bars, and raised up its pillars. 19 And he spread out the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent on top of it, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 20 He took the Testimony and put it into the ark, inserted the poles through the rings of the ark, and put the mercy seat on top of the ark. 21 And he brought the ark into the tabernacle, hung up the veil of the covering, and partitioned off the ark of the Testimony, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 22 He put the table in the tabernacle of meeting, on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil; 23 and he set the bread in order upon it before the LORD, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 24 He put the lampstand in the tabernacle of meeting, across from the table, on the south side of the tabernacle; 25 and he lit the lamps before the LORD, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 26 He put the gold altar in the tabernacle of meeting in front of the veil; 27 and he burned sweet incense on it, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 28 He hung up the screen at the door of the tabernacle. 29 And he put the altar of burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and offered upon it the burnt offering and the grain offering, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 30 He set the laver between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar, and put water there for washing; 31 and Moses, Aaron, and his sons would wash their hands and their feet with water from it. 32 Whenever they went into the tabernacle of meeting, and when they came near the altar, they washed, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 33 And he raised up the court all around the tabernacle and the altar, and hung up the screen of the court gate. So Moses finished the work.
So finally the Tabernacle was established, and as each part was put in place the activity for which it was prepared also took place. The Testimony was put in the Ark. The showbread was set in order on the Table, the Lamp stand was lit, incense was offered on the altar of incense, a whole burnt offering and meal offering was offered on the bronze altar, and they washed their hands and feet in the laver.
Please note how often the phrase ‘as Yahweh commanded Moses’ appears. In this chapter it occurs seven times, the number of divine perfection. It also appeared seven times in the previous chapter. Thus there were two series of seven (or fourteen in all). And further to this there were expressions which indicated the same thing. Thus there is great emphasis on the fact that the Tabernacle is in accordance with the divine pattern, and continual emphasis on the fact that Yahweh has been obeyed.
With all the work having been completed and the Sanctuary set up Yahweh Father God comes and sets His seal on it.
34 Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. 35 And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
Once the Tabernacle was set up the cloud covered it and the glory of Yahweh God filled it. The result was that such was the glory that even Moses, who had experienced so much of the glory of Yahweh, could not enter it.
36 Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would go onward in all their journeys. 37 But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not journey till the day that it was taken up. 38 For the cloud of the LORD was above the tabernacle by day, and fire was over it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.
The pillar of cloud and fire now abode in or on the Tabernacle. And while it remained there it was clear that Yahweh God wished to remain there. But when the pillar ‘was taken up’ then it was time to move on. And the pillar would then go before them. Our Holy Yahweh was fulfilling His promise to be among them to the letter.
The graciousness of God is revealed in that the pillar was always discernible, either as cloud or fire. The cloud could be seen in the daylight and the fire in the darkness. They knew that He was there.
So the book which began with Israel being brought into bondage under one king ends with Israel being led into freedom under another King, One Who dwelt in unapproachable glory.
