Exodus · chapter 38 of 40
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Exodus 38 tells how the altar of burnt offering of acacia and bronze is made, along with the bronze basin made from the mirrors of the women who served at the entrance of the tent, and the courtyard with its hangings and posts. The chapter closes with the inventory of the gold, silver and bronze used, and a reminder that Bezalel and Oholiab made everything as the Lord commanded.
Exodus 38 continues the work of the tabernacle with the elements of the courtyard, the outer area where the people approached God through sacrifices. Afterward the text does something unusual: it gives an accounting. It tells how much metal was used and where it came from, to show that the people's offering was handled with transparency.
Bezalel makes the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood, five cubits long and wide and three cubits high, with a horn at each corner, and overlays it with bronze. He makes its utensils, the pots, shovels, basins, forks and fire pans, and the bronze grating with its rings and poles, and the altar is hollow, made of boards, as commanded.
Then he makes the bronze basin with its stand, using the mirrors of the women who served at the entrance of the tent of meeting. After that the courtyard is made: hangings of fine twisted linen a hundred cubits long on the south and north sides and fifty on the west, and the entrance on the east with a screen twenty cubits wide, held by bronze posts in bronze bases with silver hooks.
The tally is given, made by Ithamar, son of Aaron, under Moses' direction and with the help of the Levites. Bezalel of the tribe of Judah and Oholiab of the tribe of Dan are mentioned again. The gold of the offering totals twenty-nine talents and seven hundred thirty shekels. The silver, which came from the half-shekel of those counted, totals a hundred talents and one thousand seven hundred seventy-five shekels, and was used for the bases of the sanctuary and the veil and for the hooks and bands of the posts. The bronze totals seventy talents and two thousand four hundred shekels, and was used for the bases of the entrance, the altar, the grating, the utensils and the bases and pegs of the courtyard.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Bezalel makes the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood. It is the first element met on entering the courtyard, and it reminds us that access to God passes through sacrifice.
The basin is made from the mirrors of the women who served at the door of the tent of meeting. The women gave a personal and valuable object for worship, a detail that reveals their contribution and devotion.
An accounting is given of what was used in the tabernacle, entrusted to Ithamar with the Levites. The text shows that the handling of sacred things was to be transparent and orderly, above suspicion.
Bezalel made all that the Lord commanded Moses. The summary underlines the faithfulness of the man God called, who carried out the divine design.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Acacia wood overlaid with bronze. — Exodus 38:1-2
Answer: The mirrors of the women who served at the entrance of the tent of meeting. — Exodus 38:8
Answer: A hundred cubits. — Exodus 38:9-11
Answer: The Levites, under the direction of Ithamar, son of Aaron. — Exodus 38:21
Answer: From the half-shekel of the Israelites who were counted. — Exodus 38:25-27
Answer: All that the Lord had commanded Moses. — Exodus 38:22
Exodus 38 teaches that faith is also lived in clear accounts. The text details how much was received and what it was used for. A church or ministry can ask whether its finances are transparent and whether those who give know how their offering is used.
The detail of the women's mirrors reminds us that God values what each person gives, little or much, and that no one is left out of the work. A group can talk about what we can place at God's disposal today, time, talents or resources, so that his house is full and his people are served.
Exodus 38 ends the tally of the materials of the tent and the courtyard. Chapter 39 tells how the sacred garments of the priests are made and how Moses inspects all the finished work.
At that time mirrors were made of polished bronze. The women who served at the entrance of the tent gave them to make the basin where the priests washed. The text says nothing more about their service, but it highlights their offering.
A talent was a large unit of weight, about seventy-five pounds by the usual estimates, and equaled three thousand shekels. Exact values vary, but the figures show the enormous quantity of metal the people contributed.
To show that the work was managed with order and honesty, and that each offering was used for what had been promised. It also recalls the magnitude of what the people gave and the faithfulness of those who directed the work.