Holy Bible

Commentary not found for Exodus 37

Benson Commentary Exodus 37:1 And Bezaleel made the ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half was the length of it, and a cubit and a half the breadth of it, and a cubit and a half the height of it: Exodus 37:1 . The house of God being thus finished, the furniture is next made for it. The several articles and ornaments of this the people were not admitted to see, but the priests only; and therefore it was requisite that they should be largely described, as they are in this chapter, particularly to them. And Moses would thus show the great care which he and his workmen took to make every thing exactly according to the pattern showed him in the mount. Thus he appeals to every reader concerning his fidelity to him that appointed him, in all his house. And thus he teacheth us to have respect to all God’s commandments, even to every jot and tittle of them. Bezaleel made the ark of shittim-wood — The ark, with its glorious appurtenances, the mercy-seat and the cherubim, was the principal part of the furniture of the tabernacle. It was placed in the most sacred apartment of the house, and was the great symbol of the divine presence and protection. “It represented,” says Henry, “the glory of a holy God, the sincerity of a holy heart, and the communion that is between them by a Mediator. It is the glory of a holy God, that he dwelleth between the cherubim, that is, he is continually attended by the blessed angels, whose swiftness was signified by the wings of the cherubim, and their unanimity in their services, by their faces being one toward another. It is the character of an upright heart, that, like the ark of the testimony, it hath the law of God hid and kept in it. By Jesus Christ, the great propitiation, there is reconciliation made, and a communion settled between us and God: he interposeth between us and God’s displeasure; and through him we become entitled to God’s favour. Exodus 37:2 And he overlaid it with pure gold within and without, and made a crown of gold to it round about. Exodus 37:3 And he cast for it four rings of gold, to be set by the four corners of it; even two rings upon the one side of it, and two rings upon the other side of it. Exodus 37:4 And he made staves of shittim wood, and overlaid them with gold. Exodus 37:5 And he put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, to bear the ark. Exodus 37:6 And he made the mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half was the length thereof, and one cubit and a half the breadth thereof. Exodus 37:7 And he made two cherubims of gold, beaten out of one piece made he them, on the two ends of the mercy seat; Exodus 37:8 One cherub on the end on this side, and another cherub on the other end on that side: out of the mercy seat made he the cherubims on the two ends thereof. Exodus 37:9 And the cherubims spread out their wings on high, and covered with their wings over the mercy seat, with their faces one to another; even to the mercy seatward were the faces of the cherubims. Exodus 37:10 And he made the table of shittim wood: two cubits was the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof: Exodus 37:10 . Observe how much the dispensation of the gospel exceeds that of the law. Though here was a table furnished, it was only with show-bread, bread to be looked upon, not to be fed upon, while it was on the table, and afterward only by the priest: but to the table Christ has spread, in the new covenant, all good Christians are invited as guests, and to them it is said, Eat, O friends, come, eat of my bread. What the law gave but a sight of at a distance, the gospel gives the enjoyment of. Exodus 37:11 And he overlaid it with pure gold, and made thereunto a crown of gold round about. Exodus 37:12 Also he made thereunto a border of an handbreadth round about; and made a crown of gold for the border thereof round about. Exodus 37:13 And he cast for it four rings of gold, and put the rings upon the four corners that were in the four feet thereof. Exodus 37:14 Over against the border were the rings, the places for the staves to bear the table. Exodus 37:15 And he made the staves of shittim wood, and overlaid them with gold, to bear the table. Exodus 37:16 And he made the vessels which were upon the table, his dishes, and his spoons, and his bowls, and his covers to cover withal, of pure gold. Exodus 37:17 And he made the candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work made he the candlestick; his shaft, and his branch, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, were of the same: Exodus 37:17 . This candlestick, which was not of wood overlaid with gold, but all beaten work of pure gold only, signified that light of divine revelation with which God’s church upon earth (which is his tabernacle among men) hath always been enlightened, being always supplied with fresh oil from Christ the good olive, Zechariah 4:2-3 . The Bible is a golden candlestick, it is of pure gold; from it light is diffused to every part of God’s tabernacle, that by it the spiritual priests may see to do the service of his sanctuary. This candlestick has not only its bowls for necessary use, but its knops and flowers for ornament; many things which God saw fit to beautify his word with, which we can no more give a reason for than for these knops and flowers, and yet must be sure they were added for some good purpose. Let us bless God for this candlestick, have an eye to it continually, and dread the removal of it out of its place! Exodus 37:18 And six branches going out of the sides thereof; three branches of the candlestick out of the one side thereof, and three branches of the candlestick out of the other side thereof: Exodus 37:19 Three bowls made after the fashion of almonds in one branch, a knop and a flower; and three bowls made like almonds in another branch, a knop and a flower: so throughout the six branches going out of the candlestick. Exodus 37:20 And in the candlestick were four bowls made like almonds, his knops, and his flowers: Exodus 37:21 And a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches of the same, according to the six branches going out of it. Exodus 37:22 Their knops and their branches were of the same: all of it was one beaten work of pure gold. Exodus 37:23 And he made his seven lamps, and his snuffers, and his snuffdishes, of pure gold. Exodus 37:24 Of a talent of pure gold made he it, and all the vessels thereof. Exodus 37:25 And he made the incense altar of shittim wood: the length of it was a cubit, and the breadth of it a cubit; it was foursquare; and two cubits was the height of it; the horns thereof were of the same. Exodus 37:25 . The incense burned on this altar daily. signified both the prayers of saints and the intercession of Christ, to which is owing the acceptableness of them. Exodus 37:26 And he overlaid it with pure gold, both the top of it, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns of it: also he made unto it a crown of gold round about. Exodus 37:27 And he made two rings of gold for it under the crown thereof, by the two corners of it, upon the two sides thereof, to be places for the staves to bear it withal. Exodus 37:28 And he made the staves of shittim wood, and overlaid them with gold. Exodus 37:29 And he made the holy anointing oil, and the pure incense of sweet spices, according to the work of the apothecary. Benson Commentary on the Old and New Testaments Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.

Expositor's Bible Commentary Exodus 37:1 And Bezaleel made the ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half was the length of it, and a cubit and a half the breadth of it, and a cubit and a half the height of it: CHAPTER XXXV. THE CONCLUSION. Exodus 35:1-35 - Exodus 40:1-38 . The remainder of the narrative sets forth in terms almost identical with the directions already given, the manner in which the Divine injunctions were obeyed. The people, purified in heart by danger, chastisement and shame, brought much more than was required. A quarter of a million would poorly represent the value of the shrine in which, at the last, Moses and Aaron approached their God, while the cloud covered the tent and the glory filled the tabernacle, and Moses failed to overcome his awe and enter. Thenceforth the cloud was the guide of their halting and their march. Many a time they grieved their God in the wilderness, yet the cloud was on the tabernacle by day, and there was fire therein by night, throughout all their journeyings. That cloud is seen no longer; but One has said, "Lo, I am with you all the days." If the presence is less material, it is because we ought to be more spiritual. * * * * * Looking back upon the story, we can discern more clearly what was asserted when we began--the forming and training of a nation. They are called from shameful servitude by the devotion of a patriot and a hero, who has learned in failure and exile the difference between self-confidence and faith. The new name of God, and His remembrance of their fathers, inspire them at the same time with awe and hope and nationality. They see the hollowness of earthly force, and of superstitious worships, in the abasement and ruin of Egypt. They are taught by the Paschal sacrifice to confess that the Divine favour is a gift and not a right, that their lives also are justly forfeited. The overthrow of Pharaoh's army and the passage of the Sea brings them into a new and utterly strange life, in an atmosphere and amid scenes well calculated to expand and deepen their emotions, to develop their sense of freedom and self-respect, and yet to oblige them to depend wholly on their God. Privation at Marah chastens them. The attack of Amalek introduces them to war, and forbids their dependence to sink into abject softness. The awful scene of Horeb burns and brands his littleness into man. The covenant shows them that, however little in themselves, they may enter into communion with the Eternal. It also crushes out what is selfish and individualising, by making them feel the superiority of what they all share over anything that is peculiar to one of them. The Decalogue reveals a holiness at once simple and profound, and forms a type of character such as will make any nation great. The sacrificial system tells them at once of the pardon and the heinousness of sin. Religion is both exalted above the world and infused into it, so that all is consecrated. The priesthood and the shrine tell them of sin and pardon, exclusion and hope; but that hope is a common heritage, which none may appropriate without his brother. The especial sanctity of a sacred calling is balanced by an immediate assertion of the sacredness of toil, and the Divine Spirit is recognised even in the gift of handicraft. A tragic and shameful failure teaches them, more painfully than any symbolic system of curtains and secret chambers, how little fitted they are for the immediate intercourse of heaven. And yet the ever-present cloud, and the shrine in the heart of their encampment, assure them that God is with them of a truth. The Expositor's Bible Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.