Exodus 26:1-14

26:1 “Further instructions: you should make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen and blue and purple and scarlet yarns; you should make them with cherubim skillfully embedded into them. ² The length of each curtain should be twenty-eight cubits, and the breadth of each curtain four cubits; all the curtains shall be the same size. ³ Five curtains should be coupled to one another, and the other five curtains should be coupled to one another. ⁴ And you should make loops of blue on the edge of the outermost curtain in the first set. Likewise you should make loops on the edge of the outermost curtain in the second set. ⁵ You should make fifty loops on the one curtain, and you should make fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is in the second set; the loops shall be opposite one another. ⁶ And you should make fifty clasps of gold, and couple the curtains one to the other with the clasps, so that the tabernacle may be a single whole. ⁷ “You should also make curtains of goats’ hair for a tarp over the tabernacle; you should make eleven such curtains. ⁸ The length of each curtain should be thirty cubits, and the breadth of each curtain four cubits. The eleven curtains should be the same size. ⁹ You should couple five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves, and the sixth curtain you should double over at the front of the tent. ¹⁰ You should make fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in one set, and fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in the second set. ¹¹ “You should make fifty clasps of bronze, and put the clasps into the loops, and couple the tent together that it may be a single whole. ¹² And the part that remains of the curtains of the tent, the half curtain that remains, shall hang over the back of the tabernacle. ¹³ And the extra that remains in the length of the curtains, the cubit on the one side, and the cubit on the other side, should hang over the sides of the tabernacle, on this side and that side, to cover it. ¹⁴ And you should make for the tent a covering of tanned rams’ skins and a covering of goatskins on top.

the LORD among us

The tabernacle symbolized the presence of God among the Israelites. The construction of the tabernacle had to be of precise specifications because each of its elements told the Israelites something about the LORD who chose to dwell among them.

1. The fine twined linen which made up the inner tabernacle was a precious and pure fabric, and suggests that God is holy and unlike any of the base gods of the nations.

2. The heavy and protective outer coverings of the tabernacle suggests that the LORD is strong and protective, and cannot be harmed by anything. He is omnipotent.

3. The tabernacle was to be built so that it fit together as one piece. This suggests another difference between the LORD and his rival gods in the Gentile lands. The LORD is one. He is not one among many, but he is the only one of his kind. He has no true rival. As the tabernacle moved from place to place, God’s people followed his presence. They were not to follow the gods of the nations, nor were they to adopt their ways of worshipping. The LORD is one.

LORD, we honor you this day because you alone are God; you alone are holy, you alone are omnipotent. We declare our allegiance to you alone.