Exodus 26-27

Exodus 26-27

All of Exodus 26 is a description of how the tabernacle shall be made and what it should look like. The end of the chapter ties it into the previous chapter, showing how all the pieces fit together. One of the more interesting portions of the chapter is the end where God designates a separation between the Most Holy Place and the Israelites. Just as they were not allowed to go up the mountain with the Lord (except for Moses), they were also not allowed to enter this section of the tabernacle. Remember that this is the Old Covenant, and the New Covenant has now granted us access to God. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, there is no longer this barrier, for He ripped that very veil (symbolically) to grant us access into God’s presence.

In Exodus 27, God describes the bronze altar that will be placed in the tabernacle as well. Once more this section ends with God reminding Moses that he must be careful to follow these instructions carefully in making these different pieces of the tabernacle. This once again shows the importance of remaining committed to God even when life gets hard and those mountain top experiences seem so long ago. In describing what the court will look like, God makes note that all the utensils used in the sacrifices shall be made of bronze. The first few items, which were placed in the Most Holy Place, were made of gold, and now these items are bronze. In our culture there is a distinction of significance between these two metals. I am not sure how big of a distinction was made then, but I am assuming that gold was worth more than bronze. If that be the case, this distinction in the use of metals may be expressing how God deserves the best. Gold, in this case, being the best was to be used to make the items in the portion of the tabernacle where He would dwell. So one lesson we can learn from this is that God always deserves our best. He does not want the leftovers of our lives, nor does He deserve anything less than our best.

The end of Exodus 27 shows how the tabernacle would be open around the clock. Aaron and his family were to be the ones who would work at the tabernacle from evening to morning. This is where the Israelites would eventually bring their sacrifices in order to receive forgiveness. By the tabernacle always being open, and a priest always being present, God was telling them that He was always available. They did not have a once for all sacrifice as we do today, but they did have the hope of one to come. But in the Old and New Covenants, God has always been present around the clock. He never takes a break or tires from His job. He is always available for us whenever we need to come to Him.

Matt