Exodus 27:1-21 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Exodus 27:1-21. Let’s go!
Exodus 27:1-4 (NIV)
1 “Build an altar of acacia wood, three cubits high; it is to be square, five cubits long and five cubits wide.
2 Make a horn at each of the four corners, so that the horns and the altar are of one piece, and overlay the altar with bronze.
3 Make all its utensils of bronze–its pots to remove the ashes, and its shovels, sprinkling bowls, meat forks and firepans.
4 Make a grating for it, a bronze network, and make a bronze ring at each of the four corners of the network.
On verses 1-4: The altar had a bronze grating on it, like a barbeque grill. That way animals could be sacrificed on it and cooked. What can we learn from this? One lesson is that in the house of the LORD, substitutionary sacrifice would play a major role. In other words, in God’s house, forgiveness would be made possible because one living thing was sacrificed in place of another. As Hebrews 9:22 would later say, without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. So the LORD built into the blueprints of His house a way for people to draw near to Him through substitutionary sacrifice. This would be a picture pointing to what God would later do for us by sacrificing His Son Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins.
Exodus 27:5-8 (NIV)
5 Put it under the ledge of the altar so that it is halfway up the altar.
6 Make poles of acacia wood for the altar and overlay them with bronze.
7 The poles are to be inserted into the rings so they will be on two sides of the altar when it is carried.
8 Make the altar hollow, out of boards. It is to be made just as you were shown on the mountain.
On verses 5-8: Like everything else in the tabernacle, the altar needed to be portable and thus needed to be fairly lightweight and hollow. Like the ark, the altar had poles attached so that it could be carried.
Exodus 27:9-19 (NIV)
9 “Make a courtyard for the tabernacle. The south side shall be a hundred cubits long and is to have curtains of finely twisted linen,
10 with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases and with silver hooks and bands on the posts.
11 The north side shall also be a hundred cubits long and is to have curtains, with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases and with silver hooks and bands on the posts.
12 “The west end of the courtyard shall be fifty cubits wide and have curtains, with ten posts and ten bases.
13 On the east end, toward the sunrise, the courtyard shall also be fifty cubits wide.
14 Curtains fifteen cubits long are to be on one side of the entrance, with three posts and three bases,
15 and curtains fifteen cubits long are to be on the other side, with three posts and three bases.
16 “For the entrance to the courtyard, provide a curtain twenty cubits long, of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen–the work of an embroiderer–with four posts and four bases.
17 All the posts around the courtyard are to have silver bands and hooks, and bronze bases.
18 The courtyard shall be a hundred cubits long and fifty cubits wide, with curtains of finely twisted linen five cubits high, and with bronze bases.
19 All the other articles used in the service of the tabernacle, whatever their function, including all the tent pegs for it and those for the courtyard, are to be of bronze.
On verses 9-19: Here we read about how large the outer courtyard is meant to be: 100 cubits long (roughly 150 feet long) and 50 cubits wide (roughly 75 feet wide). It would be fenced in with curtains of finely twisted linen about five cubits high (about 7 feet high).
Whether it was the entrance to the courtyard (v16), or the entrance to the tent itself (see Exodus 26:36) or the curtain separating the Most Holy Place from the Holy Place (see Exodus 26:31), all of them were to be made of the same fabric: blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen. In other words, to enter any of the three sections of the tabernacle – the courtyard, the Holy Place, or the Most Holy Place – you had to pass through the same kind of fabric. Some scholars read into this lesson: whether it’s salvation (represented by entering the courtyard), or serving God (represented by being in the Holy Place), or drawing near to God (represented by being in the Most Holy Place), it’s all through the same “fabric” that is Jesus Christ.
By the way, notice that as we go from the courtyard to the Holy Place to the Most Holy Place, less and less people enter. Unfortunately, that seems to be the case often in the kingdom of God. Many people are content to stay in the outer court of just being forgiven. Less people take the next step of going to the Holy Place of serving God. Even less take the most intimate step of drawing as close to God as they can in the Most Holy Place. But the reason Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins was not just so that we could be saved and hang out in the outer court, and not even so that we could serve in the Holy Place. The curtain was torn so that all of us could have access to and enjoy the Most Holy Place of God’s presence. So if you haven’t yet put your faith in Jesus Christ, do so and come into the outer courts, but don’t stop there. Keep going. Enter His holy place of serving Him, and go further still into the Most Holy Place of enjoying His intimate presence. For that’s why Jesus died for you and me.
Exodus 27:20-21 (NIV)
20 “Command the Israelites to bring you clear oil of pressed olives for the light so that the lamps may be kept burning.
21 In the Tent of Meeting, outside the curtain that is in front of the Testimony, Aaron and his sons are to keep the lamps burning before the LORD from evening till morning. This is to be a lasting ordinance among the Israelites for the generations to come.
On verses 20-21: The lamps on the lampstand in the Holy Place were always to keep on burning before the LORD “from evening till morning”. Similarly, Jesus calls you and me the light of the world (Matthew 5:14-16), and He tells us to “keep your lamps burning” (Luke 12:35) and shining a light whether it’s day or night.
Lord Jesus, I realize today that You died not just so that I could enter into the outer courts of Your presence and be forgiven, and not just so that I could enter the Holy Place of serving You. Even more, You died so that the final curtain could be torn and I could enter into the Most Holy Place of Your most intimate presence. So may I not linger on the outer edges of Your presence, but draw near to You fully. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
