Exodus 26:1-37   Click here for Bible Verses

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Exodus 26:1-37.  Today we’re looking at the making of the tabernacle.  So to give you a picture of what the tabernacle looks like, check out this video showing a life-size replica of the tabernacle described in Exodus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mFGsLEpKKk

Exodus 26:1-37 (NIV)
 “Make the tabernacle with ten curtains of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, with cherubim worked into them by a skilled craftsman.
 All the curtains are to be the same size–twenty-eight cubits long and four cubits wide.
 Join five of the curtains together, and do the same with the other five.
 Make loops of blue material along the edge of the end curtain in one set, and do the same with the end curtain in the other set.
 Make fifty loops on one curtain and fifty loops on the end curtain of the other set, with the loops opposite each other.
 Then make fifty gold clasps and use them to fasten the curtains together so that the tabernacle is a unit.
 “Make curtains of goat hair for the tent over the tabernacle–eleven altogether.
 All eleven curtains are to be the same size–thirty cubits long and four cubits wide.
 Join five of the curtains together into one set and the other six into another set. Fold the sixth curtain double at the front of the tent.
10  Make fifty loops along the edge of the end curtain in one set and also along the edge of the end curtain in the other set.
11  Then make fifty bronze clasps and put them in the loops to fasten the tent together as a unit.
12  As for the additional length of the tent curtains, the half curtain that is left over is to hang down at the rear of the tabernacle.
13  The tent curtains will be a cubit longer on both sides; what is left will hang over the sides of the tabernacle so as to cover it.
14  Make for the tent a covering of ram skins dyed red, and over that a covering of hides of sea cows.
15  “Make upright frames of acacia wood for the tabernacle.
16  Each frame is to be ten cubits long and a cubit and a half wide,
17  with two projections set parallel to each other. Make all the frames of the tabernacle in this way.
18  Make twenty frames for the south side of the tabernacle
19  and make forty silver bases to go under them–two bases for each frame, one under each projection.
20  For the other side, the north side of the tabernacle, make twenty frames
21  and forty silver bases–two under each frame.
22  Make six frames for the far end, that is, the west end of the tabernacle,
23  and make two frames for the corners at the far end.
24  At these two corners they must be double from the bottom all the way to the top, and fitted into a single ring; both shall be like that.
25  So there will be eight frames and sixteen silver bases–two under each frame.
26  “Also make crossbars of acacia wood: five for the frames on one side of the tabernacle,
27  five for those on the other side, and five for the frames on the west, at the far end of the tabernacle.
28  The center crossbar is to extend from end to end at the middle of the frames.
29  Overlay the frames with gold and make gold rings to hold the crossbars. Also overlay the crossbars with gold.
30  “Set up the tabernacle according to the plan shown you on the mountain.
31  “Make a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen, with cherubim worked into it by a skilled craftsman.
32  Hang it with gold hooks on four posts of acacia wood overlaid with gold and standing on four silver bases.
33  Hang the curtain from the clasps and place the ark of the Testimony behind the curtain. The curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.
34  Put the atonement cover on the ark of the Testimony in the Most Holy Place.
35  Place the table outside the curtain on the north side of the tabernacle and put the lampstand opposite it on the south side.
36  “For the entrance to the tent make a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen–the work of an embroiderer.
37  Make gold hooks for this curtain and five posts of acacia wood overlaid with gold. And cast five bronze bases for them.

On verses 1-37:  Here God goes into great detail when He instructs Moses on how to build the tabernacle.  God didn’t just give Moses a general idea. He gave Moses specifics on everything from measurements to colours to the types of materials to be used and how each part of the tabernacle connected to all the others.  Like a skilled craftsman, God was paying attention to details that most of us would not notice.

In business they say that “the devil is in the details”.  In other words, a business idea might sound great, but you won’t know for sure unless you drill into the details and read the fine print.  But in Exodus 26, we learn an even more important lesson: God is into the details!

Similarly, if you want to be excellent and skilled at anything, have an eye for detail.  Don’t just be a big picture guy or a big picture girl.  Take the time to fine tune the details of what you do until you get it just right.  That’s the difference between a skilled craftsman and a mediocre amateur.

If you don’t pay attention to details and just gloss over things, shooting first and aiming later, you will make unnecessary mistakes.  People will regard you as careless, lazy or both.  But if you will pay attention to the details and try to get them just right, there will be an excellence to your work that others will notice.

So in your work, your ministry and your relationships, may you pay attention to the details and gain the reputation of a skilled craftsman.

Heavenly Father, I praise You for being a detail-oriented God.  Your excellence shows in the details of the work that You do.  Thank You for putting so much care and detail into the things You do.  I pray I would work that way too.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN!