E
X O D U S
CHAP. XXXIX.
This
chapter gives us an account of the finishing of the work of the tabernacle. I.
The last things prepared were the holy garments. The ephod and its curious
girdle, ver. 1-5. The onyx-stones for the shoulders, ver. 6, 7. The
breastplate with the precious stones in it, ver. 8-21. The robe of the ephod,
ver. 22-26. The coats, bonnets, and breeches, for the inferior priests, ver.
27-29. And the plate of the holy crown, ver. 30, 31. II. A summary account of
the whole work, as it was presented to Moses when it was all finished, ver.
32, &c.
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The
Tabernacle and Its Furniture.
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B.
C. 1491.
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1 And of the blue, and
purple, and scarlet, they made cloths of service, to do service in the holy place,
and made the holy garments for Aaron; as the LORD
commanded Moses. 2 And he made the ephod of gold, blue, and
purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen. 3 And they did beat
the gold into thin plates, and cut it into wires, to work it in
the blue, and in the purple, and in the scarlet, and in the fine linen, with
cunning work. 4 They made shoulderpieces for it, to couple it
together: by the two edges was it coupled together. 5 And the
curious girdle of his ephod, that was upon it, was of the same,
according to the work thereof; of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet,
and fine twined linen; as the LORD
commanded Moses. 6 And they wrought onyx stones inclosed in ouches
of gold, graven, as signets are graven, with the names of the children of
Israel. 7 And he put them on the shoulders of the ephod, that
they should be stones for a memorial to the children of Israel; as the LORD
commanded Moses. 8 And he made the breastplate of cunning
work, like the work of the ephod; of gold, blue, and purple, and
scarlet, and fine twined linen. 9 It was foursquare; they made the
breastplate double: a span was the length thereof, and a span the
breadth thereof, being doubled. 10 And they set in it four
rows of stones: the first row was a sardius, a topaz, and a
carbuncle: this was the first row. 11 And the second row,
an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond. 12 And the third row, a
ligure, an agate, and an amethyst. 13 And the fourth row, a beryl,
an onyx, and a jasper: they were inclosed in ouches of gold in their
inclosings. 14 And the stones were according to the names
of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the
engravings of a signet, every one with his name, according to the twelve
tribes. 15 And they made upon the breastplate chains at the ends, of
wreathen work of pure gold. 16 And they made two ouches of
gold, and two gold rings; and put the two rings in the two ends of the
breastplate. 17 And they put the two wreathen chains of gold in
the two rings on the ends of the breastplate. 18 And the two ends
of the two wreathen chains they fastened in the two ouches, and put them on
the shoulderpieces of the ephod, before it. 19 And they made two
rings of gold, and put them on the two ends of the breastplate, upon
the border of it, which was on the side of the ephod inward.
20 And they made two other golden rings, and put them on the two sides
of the ephod underneath, toward the forepart of it, over against the other
coupling thereof, above the curious girdle of the ephod. 21 And
they did bind the breastplate by his rings unto the rings of the ephod with a
lace of blue, that it might be above the curious girdle of the ephod, and that
the breastplate might not be loosed from the ephod; as the LORD
commanded Moses. 22 And he made the robe of the ephod of
woven work, all of blue. 23 And there was an hole in
the midst of the robe, as the hole of an habergeon, with a band round
about the hole, that it should not rend. 24 And they made upon the
hems of the robe pomegranates of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and
twined linen. 25 And they made bells of pure gold,
and put the bells between the pomegranates upon the hem of the robe, round
about between the pomegranates; 26 A bell and a pomegranate, a
bell and a pomegranate, round about the hem of the robe to minister in;
as the LORD
commanded Moses. 27 And they made coats of fine linen of
woven work for Aaron, and for his sons, 28 And a mitre of
fine linen, and goodly bonnets of fine linen, and linen breeches of
fine twined linen, 29 And a girdle of fine twined linen,
and blue, and purple, and scarlet, of needlework; as the LORD
commanded Moses. 30 And they made the plate of the holy crown of
pure gold, and wrote upon it a writing, like to the engravings of a
signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD. 31 And they tied unto it a lace of
blue, to fasten it on high upon the mitre; as the LORD
commanded Moses.
In this account of the making of the priests' garments, according to the
instructions given (ch. 28), we may observe, 1. That the priests' garments are
called here clothes of service, v. 1. Note, Those that wear
robes of honour must look upon them as clothes of service; for from those upon
whom honour is put service is expected. It is said of those that are arrayed
in white robes that they are before the throne of God, and serve him day
and night in his temple, Rev. vii. 13, 15. Holy garments were not made for
men to sleep in, or to strut in, but to do service in; and then they are
indeed for glory and beauty. The Son of man himself came not to be
ministered unto, but to minister. 2. That all the six paragraphs here,
which give a distinct account of the making of these holy garments, conclude
with those words, as the Lord commanded Moses, v. 5, 7, 21, 26,
29, 31. The like is not in any of the foregoing accounts, as if in these, more
than any other of the appurtenances of the tabernacle, they had a particular
regard to the divine appointment, both for warrant and for direction. It is an
intimation to all the Lord's ministers to make the word of God their rule in
all their ministrations, and to act in observance of and obedience to the
command of God. 3. That these garments, in conformity to the rest of the
furniture of the tabernacle, were very rich and splendid; the church in its
infancy was thus taught, thus pleased, with the rudiments of this world; but
now under the gospel, which is the ministration of the Spirit, to affect and
impose such pompous habits as the church of Rome does, under pretence of
decency and instruction, is to betray the liberty wherewith Christ has made
us free, and to entangle the church again in the bondage of those carnal
ordinances which were imposed only till the time of reformation. 4. That they
were all shadows of good things to come, but the substance is Christ, and the
grace of the gospel; when therefore the substance has come, it is a jest to be
fond of the shadow. (1.) Christ is our great high-priest; when he undertook
the work of our redemption, he put on the clothes of service--he arrayed
himself with the gifts and graces of the Spirit, which he received not by
measure--girded himself with the curious girdle of resolution, to go through
with his undertaking--charged himself with the curious girdle of resolution,
to go through with his undertaking--charged himself with all God's spiritual
Israel, bore them on his shoulders, carried them in his bosom, laid them near
his heart, engraved them on the palms of his hands, and presented them in the
breast-plate of judgment unto his Father. And (lastly) he crowned himself with
holiness to the Lord, consecrating his whole undertaking to the honour
of his Father's holiness: now consider how great this man is. (2.) True
believers are spiritual priests. The clean linen with which all their clothes
of service must be made is the righteousness of saints (Rev. xix. 8),
and Holiness to the Lord must be so written upon their foreheads that
all who converse with them may see, and say, that they bear the image of God's
holiness, and are devoted to the praise of it.
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The
Tabernacle Completed.
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B.
C. 1491.
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32 Thus was all the work
of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation finished: and the children
of Israel did according to all that the LORD
commanded Moses, so did they. 33 And they brought the tabernacle
unto Moses, the tent, and all his furniture, his taches, his boards, his bars,
and his pillars, and his sockets, 34 And the covering of rams'
skins dyed red, and the covering of badgers' skins, and the vail of the
covering, 35 The ark of the testimony, and the staves thereof, and
the mercy seat, 36 The table, and all the vessels thereof,
and the showbread, 37 The pure candlestick, with the lamps
thereof, even with the lamps to be set in order, and all the vessels
thereof, and the oil for light, 38 And the golden altar, and the
anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the hanging for the tabernacle
door, 39 The brazen altar, and his grate of brass, his staves, and
all his vessels, the laver and his foot, 40 The hangings of the
court, his pillars, and his sockets, and the hanging for the court gate, his
cords, and his pins, and all the vessels of the service of the tabernacle, for
the tent of the congregation, 41 The cloths of service to do
service in the holy place, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest,
and his sons' garments, to minister in the priest's office. 42
According to all that the LORD
commanded Moses, so the children of Israel made all the work. 43
And Moses did look upon all the work, and, behold, they had done it as the LORD
had commanded, even so had they done it: and Moses blessed them.
Observe here, I. The builders of the tabernacle made very good despatch. It
was not much more than five months from the beginning to the finishing of it.
Though there was a great deal of fine work about it, such as is usually the
work of time, embroidering and engraving, not only in gold, but in precious
stones, yet they went through with it in a little time. Church-work is usually
slow work, but they made quick work of this, and yet did it with the greatest
exactness imaginable. For, 1. Many hands were employed, all unanimous, and not
striving with each other. This expedited the business, and made it easy. 2.
The workmen were taught of God, and so were kept from making blunders, which
would have retarded them. 3. The people were hearty and zealous in the work,
and impatient till it was finished. God had prepared their hearts, and then the
thing was done suddenly, 2 Chron. xxix. 36. Resolution and industry, and a
cheerful application of mind, will, by the grace of God, bring a great deal of
good work to pass in a little time, in less than one would expect.
II. They punctually observed their orders, and did not in the least vary from
them. They did it according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, v.
32, 42. Note, God's work must be done, in every thing, according to his own
will. His institutions neither need nor admit men's inventions to make them
either more beautiful or more likely to answer the intention of them. Add
thou not unto his words. God is pleased with willing worship, but not with
will-worship.
III. They brought all their work to Moses, and submitted it to his inspection
and censure, v. 33. He knew what he had ordered them to make; and now
the particulars were called over, and all produced, that Moses might see both
that they had made all, omitting nothing, and that they had made all according
to the instructions given them, and that, if they had made a mistake in any
thing, it might be forthwith rectified. Thus they showed respect to Moses, who
was set over them in the Lord; not objecting that Moses did not understand
such work, and therefore that there was no reason for submitting it to his
judgment. No, that God who gave them so much knowledge as to do the work gave
them also so much humility as to be willing to have it examined and compared
with the model. Moses was in authority, and they would pay a deference to his
place. The spirit of the prophets is subject to the prophets. And
besides, though they knew how to do the work better than Moses, Moses had a
better and more exact idea of the model than they had, and therefore they
could not be well pleased with their own work, unless they had his
approbation. Thus in all the services of religion we should labour to be
accepted of the Lord.
IV. Moses, upon search, found all done according to the rule, v. 43.
Moses, both for their satisfaction and for his own, did look upon all the
work, piece by piece, and behold they had done it according to the pattern
shown him, for the same Being that showed him the pattern guided their hand in
the work. All the copies of God's grace exactly agree with the original of his
counsels: what God works in us, and by us, is the fulfilling of the good
pleasure of his own goodness; and when the mystery of God shall be finished,
and all his performances come to be compared with his purposes, it will appear
that behold all is done according to the counsel of his own will, not one iota
or tittle of which shall fall to the ground, or be varied from.
V. Moses blessed them. 1. He commended them, and signified his approbation of
all they had done. He did not find fault where there was none, as some do, who
think they disparage their own judgment if they do not find something amiss in
the best and most accomplished performance. In all this work it is probable
there might have been found here and there a stitch amiss, and a stroke awry,
which would have served for an over-curious and censorious critic to
animadvert upon; but Moses was too candid to notice small faults where there
were no great ones. Note, All governors must be a praise to those that do
well, as well as a terror to evil-doers. Why should any take a pride in being
hard to be pleased? 2. He not only praised them, but prayed for them. He
blessed them as one having authority, for the less is blessed of the better.
We read not of any wages that Moses paid them for their work, but this
blessing he gave them. For, though ordinarily the labourer be worthy of his
hire, yet in this case, 1. They wrought for themselves. The honour and comfort
of God's tabernacle among them would be recompence enough. If thou be wise,
thou shalt be wise for thyself. 2. They had their meat from heaven on
free-cost, for themselves and their families, and their raiment waxed not old
upon them; so that they neither needed wages nor had reason to expect any. Freely
you have received, freely give. The obligations we lie under, both in duty
and interest, to serve God, should be sufficient to quicken us to our work,
though we had not a reward in prospect. But, 3. This blessing, in the name of
the Lord, was wages enough for all their work. Those whom God employs he will
bless, and those whom he blesses are blessed indeed. The blessing he commands
is life for evermore.
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