Bible Society of South Africa

Bible Reading Plan – Day 27

Bible text(s)

Making the Lampstand

17He made the lampstand of pure gold. He made its base and its shaft of hammered gold; its decorative flowers, including buds and petals, formed one piece with it.

18Six branches extended from its sides, three from each side. 19Each of the six branches had three decorative flowers shaped like almond blossoms with buds and petals. 20The shaft of the lampstand had four decorative flowers shaped like almond blossoms with buds and petals. 21There was one bud below each of the three pairs of branches. 22The buds, the branches, and the lampstand were a single piece of pure hammered gold. 23He made seven lamps for the lampstand, and he made its tongs and trays of pure gold. 24He used 35 kilogrammes of pure gold to make the lampstand and all its equipment.

Making the Altar for Burning Incense

25He made an altar out of acacia wood, for burning incense. It was square, 45 centimetres long and 45 centimetres wide, and it was ninety centimetres high. Its projections at the four corners formed one piece with it. 26He covered its top, all four sides, and its projections with pure gold and put a gold border round it. 27He made two gold carrying rings for it and attached them below the border on the two sides, to hold the poles with which it was to be carried. 28He made the poles of acacia wood and covered them with gold.

Making the Anointing Oil and the Incense

29He also made the sacred anointing oil and the pure sweet-smelling incense, mixed like perfume.

Making the Altar for Burning Offerings

(Ex 27.1–8)

1For burning offerings, he made an altar out of acacia wood. It was square, 2.2 metres long and 2.2 metres wide, and it was 1.3 metres high. 2He made the projections at the top of the four corners, so that they formed one piece with the altar. He covered it all with bronze. 3He also made all the equipment for the altar: the pans, the shovels, the bowls, the hooks, and the firepans. All this equipment was made of bronze. 4He made a bronze grating and put it under the rim of the altar, so that it reached halfway up the altar. 5He made four carrying rings and put them on the four corners. 6He made carrying poles of acacia wood, covered them with bronze, 7and put them in the rings on each side of the altar. The altar was made of boards and was hollow.

Making the Bronze Basin

(Ex 30.18)

8He made the bronze basin and its bronze base out of the mirrors belonging to the women who served at the entrance of the Tent of the LORD's presence.

The Enclosure for the Tent of the LORD's Presence

(Ex 27.9–19)

9For the Tent of the LORD's presence he made the enclosure out of fine linen curtains. On the south side the curtains were 44 metres long, 10supported by twenty bronze posts in twenty bronze bases, with hooks and rods made of silver. 11The enclosure was the same on the north side. 12On the west side there were curtains 22 metres long, with ten posts and ten bases and with hooks and rods made of silver. 13On the east side, where the entrance was, the enclosure was also 22 metres wide. 14-15On each side of the entrance there were 6.6 metres of curtains, with three posts and three bases. 16All the curtains round the enclosure were made of fine linen. 17The bases for the posts were made of bronze, and the hooks, the rods, and the covering of the tops of the posts were made of silver. All the posts round the enclosure were connected with silver rods. 18The curtain for the entrance of the enclosure was made of fine linen woven with blue, purple, and red wool and decorated with embroidery. It was nine metres long and two metres high, like the curtains of the enclosure. 19It was supported by four posts in four bronze bases. Their hooks, the covering of their tops, and their rods were made of silver. 20All the pegs for the Tent and for the surrounding enclosure were made of bronze.

Metals Used in the Tent of the LORD's Presence

21Here is a list of the amounts of the metals used in the Tent of the LORD's presence, where the two stone tablets were kept on which the Ten Commandments were written. The list was ordered by Moses and made by the Levites who worked under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.

22Bezalel, the son of Uri and grandson of Hur, from the tribe of Judah, made everything that the LORD had commanded. 23His helper, Oholiab son of Ahisamach, from the tribe of Dan, was an engraver, a designer, and a weaver of fine linen and of blue, purple, and red wool.

24All the gold that had been dedicated to the LORD for the sacred Tent weighed one tonne, weighed according to the official standard. 25The silver from the census of the community weighed 3.43 tonnes, weighed according to the official standard. 26This amount equalled the total paid by all persons enrolled in the census, each one paying the required amount, weighed according to the official standard. There were 603,550 men twenty years old or older enrolled in the census. 27Of the silver, 3.4 tonnes were used to make the hundred bases for the sacred Tent and for the curtain, 34 kilogrammes for each base. 28With the remaining thirty kilogrammes of silver Bezalel made the rods, the hooks for the posts, and the covering for their tops. 29The bronze which was dedicated to the LORD amounted to 2.425 tonnes. 30With it he made the bases for the entrance of the Tent of the LORD's presence, the bronze altar with its bronze grating, all the equipment for the altar, 31the bases for the surrounding enclosure and for the entrance of the enclosure, and all the pegs for the Tent and the surrounding enclosure.

Making the Garments for the Priests

(Ex 28.1–14)

1With the blue, purple, and red wool they made the magnificent garments which the priests were to wear when they served in the Holy Place. They made the priestly garments for Aaron, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

2They made the ephod of fine linen; blue, purple, and red wool; and gold thread. 3They hammered out sheets of gold and cut them into thin strips to be worked into the fine linen and into the blue, purple, and red wool. 4They made two shoulder straps for the ephod and attached them to its sides, so that it could be fastened. 5The finely woven belt, made of the same materials, was attached to the ephod so as to form one piece with it, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 6They prepared the carnelians and mounted them in gold settings; they were skilfully engraved with the names of the twelve sons of Jacob. 7They put them on the shoulder straps of the ephod to represent the twelve tribes of Israel, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

Making the Breastpiece

(Ex 28.15–30)

8They made the breastpiece of the same materials as the ephod and with similar embroidery. 9It was square and folded double, 22 centimetres long and 22 centimetres wide. 10They mounted four rows of precious stones on it: in the first row they mounted a ruby, a topaz, and a garnet; 11in the second row, an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond; 12in the third row, a turquoise, an agate, and an amethyst; 13and in the fourth row, a beryl, a carnelian, and a jasper. These were mounted in gold settings. 14Each of the twelve stones had engraved on it the name of one of the sons of Jacob, in order to represent the twelve tribes of Israel. 15For the breastpiece they made chains of pure gold, twisted like cords. 16They made two gold settings and two gold rings and attached the two rings to the upper corners of the breastpiece. 17They fastened the two gold cords to the two rings 18and fastened the other two ends of the cords to the two settings and in this way attached them in front to the shoulder straps of the ephod. 19They made two rings of gold and attached them to the lower corners of the breastpiece, on the inside edge next to the ephod. 20They made two more gold rings and attached them to the lower part of the front of the two shoulder straps of the ephod, near the seam and above the finely woven belt. 21Just as the LORD had commanded Moses, they tied the rings of the breastpiece to the rings of the ephod with a blue cord, so that the breastpiece rested above the belt and did not come loose.

Making the Other Priestly Garments

(Ex 28.31–43)

22The robe that goes under the ephod was made entirely of blue wool. 23The hole for the head was reinforced with a woven binding to keep it from tearing. 24-26All round its lower hem they put pomegranates of fine linen and of blue, purple, and red wool, alternating with bells of pure gold, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

27They made the shirts for Aaron and his sons, 28and the turban, the caps, the linen shorts, 29and the sash of fine linen and of blue, purple, and red wool, decorated with embroidery, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 30They made the ornament, the sacred sign of dedication, out of pure gold, and they engraved on it “Dedicated to the LORD”. 31They tied it to the front of the turban with a blue cord, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

The Completion of the Work

(Ex 35.10–19)

32All the work on the Tent of the LORD's presence was finally completed. The Israelites made everything just as the LORD had commanded Moses. 33They brought to Moses the Tent and all its equipment, its hooks, its frames, its crossbars, its posts, and its bases; 34the covering of rams' skin dyed red; the covering of fine leather; the curtain; 35the Covenant Box containing the stone tablets, its poles, and its lid; 36the table and all its equipment, and the bread offered to God; 37the lampstand of pure gold, its lamps, all its equipment, and the oil for the lamps; 38the gold altar; the anointing oil; the sweet-smelling incense; the curtain for the entrance of the Tent; 39the bronze altar with its bronze grating, its poles, and all its equipment; the washbasin and its base; 40the curtains for the enclosure and its posts and bases; the curtain for the entrance of the enclosure and its ropes; the pegs for the Tent; all the equipment to be used in the Tent; 41and the magnificent garments the priests were to wear in the Holy Place — the sacred clothes for Aaron the priest and for his sons. 42The Israelites had done all the work just as the LORD had commanded Moses. 43Moses examined everything and saw that they had made it all just as the LORD had commanded. So Moses blessed them.

Setting Up and Dedicating the Tent of the LORD's Presence

1The LORD said to Moses, 2“On the first day of the first month set up the Tent of the LORD's presence. 3Place in it the Covenant Box containing the Ten Commandments and put the curtain in front of it. 4Bring in the table and place the equipment on it. Also bring in the lampstand and set up the lamps on it. 5Put the gold altar for burning incense in front of the Covenant Box and hang the curtain at the entrance of the Tent. 6Put in front of the Tent the altar for burning offerings. 7Put the washbasin between the Tent and the altar and fill it with water. 8Put up the surrounding enclosure and hang the curtain at its entrance.

9“Then dedicate the Tent and all its equipment by anointing it with the sacred oil, and it will be holy. 10Next, dedicate the altar and all its equipment by anointing it, and it will be completely holy. 11Also dedicate the washbasin and its base in the same way.

12“Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Tent, and tell them to take a ritual bath. 13Dress Aaron in the priestly garments, anoint him, and in this way consecrate him, so that he can serve me as priest. 14Bring his sons and put the shirts on them. 15Then anoint them, just as you anointed their father, so that they can serve me as priests. This anointing will make them priests for all time to come.”

16Moses did everything just as the LORD had commanded. 17So on the first day of the first month of the second year after they left Egypt, the Tent of the LORD's presence was set up. 18Moses put down its bases, set up its frames, attached its crossbars, and put up its posts. 19He spread out the covering over the Tent and put the outer covering over it, just as the LORD had commanded. 20Then he took the two stone tablets and put them in the Covenant Box. He put the poles in the rings of the box and put the lid on it. 21Then he put the box in the Tent and hung up the curtain. In this way he screened off the Covenant Box, just as the LORD had commanded.

22He put the table in the Tent, on the north side outside the curtain, 23and placed on it the bread offered to the LORD, just as the LORD had commanded. 24He put the lampstand in the Tent, on the south side, opposite the table, 25and there in the LORD's presence he lit the lamps, just as the LORD had commanded. 26He put the gold altar in the Tent, in front of the curtain, 27and burnt the sweet-smelling incense, just as the LORD had commanded. 28He hung the curtain at the entrance of the Tent, 29and there in front of the curtain he placed the altar for burning offerings. On it he sacrificed the burnt offering and the grain offering, just as the LORD had commanded. 30He put the washbasin between the Tent and the altar and filled it with water. 31Moses, Aaron, and his sons washed their hands and their feet there 32whenever they went into the Tent or to the altar, just as the LORD had commanded. 33Moses set up the enclosure round the Tent and the altar and hung the curtain at the entrance of the enclosure. So he finished all the work.

The Cloud over the Tent of the LORD's Presence

34Then the cloud covered the Tent and the dazzling light of the LORD's presence filled it. 35Because of this, Moses could not go into the Tent. 36The Israelites moved their camp to another place only when the cloud lifted from the Tent. 37As long as the cloud stayed there, they did not move their camp. 38During all their wanderings they could see the cloud of the LORD's presence over the Tent during the day and a fire burning above it during the night.

Exodus 37:17-40:38GNBOpen in Bible reader
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