1And the Lord said to Moses, 2Say to the children of Israel that they are to make me an offering; from every man who has the impulse in his heart take an offering for me. 3And this is the offering you are to take from them: gold and silver and brass; 4And blue and purple and red, and the best linen, and goats' hair; 5And sheepskins coloured red, and leather, and hard wood; 6Oil for the light, spices for the sweet-smelling oil, sweet perfumes for burning; 7Beryls and stones of value to be put on the ephod and on the priest's bag. 8And let them make me a holy place, so that I may be ever present among them. 9Make the House and everything in it from the designs which I will give you. 10And they are to make an ark of hard wood; two and a half cubits long, and a cubit and a half wide and high. 11It is to be plated inside and out with the best gold, with an edge of gold all round it 12And make four rings of gold for it, to be fixed on its four feet, two rings on one side of it and two on the other. 13And make rods of the same wood, plating them with gold. 14And put the rods through the rings at the sides of the ark, for lifting it. 15The rods are to be kept in the rings, and never taken out. 16Inside the ark you are to put the record which I will give you. 17And you are to make a cover of the best gold, two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide. 18And at the two ends of the cover you are to make two winged ones of hammered gold, 19One at one end and one at the other; the winged ones are to be part of the cover. 20And their wings are to be outstretched over the cover, and the winged ones are to be opposite one another, facing the cover. 21And put the cover over the ark, and in the ark the record which I will give you. 22And there, between the two winged ones on the cover of the ark, I will come to you, face to face, and make clear to you all the orders I have to give you for the children of Israel. 23And you are to make a table of the same wood, two cubits long, a cubit wide and a cubit and a half high, 24Plated with the best gold, with a gold edge all round it; 25And make a frame all round it, as wide as a man's hand, with a gold edge to the frame. 26And make four gold rings and put them at the four angles, on the four feet of the table; 27The rings are to be fixed under the frame to take the rods with which the table is to be lifted. 28Make rods of the same wood, plated with gold, for lifting the table. 29And make the table-vessels, the spoons and the cups and the basins for liquids, all of the best gold. 30And on the table at all times you are to keep my holy bread. 31And you are to make a support for lights, of the best gold; its base and its pillar are to be of hammered gold; its cups, its buds, and its flowers are to be made of the same metal. 32It is to have six branches coming out from its sides; three branches from one side and three from the other. 33Every branch having three cups made like almond flowers, every cup with a bud and a flower, on all the branches. 34And on the pillar, four cups like almond flowers, every one with its bud and its flower: 35And under every two branches a bud, made with the branch, for all the six branches of it. 36The buds and the branches are to be made of the same metal; all together one complete work of hammered gold. 37Then you are to make its seven vessels for the lights, putting them in their place so that they give light in front of it. 38And the instruments and trays for use with it are all to be of the best gold. 39A talent of gold will be needed for it, with all these vessels. 40And see that you make them from the design which you saw on the mountain.
Matthew Henry's Commentary
What the Israelites were to offer for making the tabernacle. (1-9) The ark. (10-22) The table, with its furniture. (23-30) The candlestick. (31-40) 1-9 God chose the people of Israel to be a peculiar people to himself, above all people, and he himself would be their King. He ordered a royal palace to be set up among them for himself, called a sanctuary, or holy place, or habitation. There he showed his presence among them. And because in the wilderness they dwelt in tents, this royal palace was ordered to be a tabernacle, that it might move with them. The people were to furnish Moses with the materials, by their own free will. The best use we can make of our worldly wealth, is to honour God with it in works of piety and charity. We should ask, not only, What must we do? but, What may we do for God? Whatever they gave, they must give it cheerfully, not grudgingly, for God loves a cheerful giver, #2Co 9:7|. What is laid out in the service of God, we must reckon well bestowed; and whatsoever is done in God's service, must be done by his direction. 10-22 The ark was a chest, overlaid with gold, in which the two tables of the law were to be kept. These tables are called the testimony; God in them testified his will. This law was a testimony to the Israelites, to direct them in their duty, and would be a testimony against them, if they transgressed. This ark was placed in the holy of holies; the blood of the sacrifices was sprinkled, and the incense burned, before it, by the high priest; and above it appeared the visible glory, which was the symbol of the Divine presence. This was a type of Christ in his sinless nature, which saw no corruption, in personal union with his Divine nature, atoning for our sins against it, by his death. The cherubim of gold looked one towards another, and both looked downward toward the ark. It denotes the angels' attendance on the Redeemer, their readiness to do his will, their presence in the assemblies of saints, and their desire to look into the mysteries of the gospel. It was covered with a covering of gold, called the mercy-seat. God is said to dwell, or sit between the cherubim, on the mercy-seat. There he would give his law, and hear supplicants, as a prince on his throne. 23-30 A table was to be made of wood, overlaid with gold, to stand in the outer tabernacle, to be always furnished with the shew-bread. This table, with the articles on it, and its use, seems to typify the communion which the Lord holds with his redeemed people in his ordinances, the provisions of his house, the feasts they are favoured with. Also the food for their souls, which they always find when they hunger after it; and the delight he takes in their persons and services, as presented before him in Christ. 31-40 The candlestick represents the light of God's word and Spirit, in and through Christ Jesus, afforded in this dark world to his believing people, to direct their worship and obedience, and to afford them consolations. The church is still dark, as the tabernacle was, in comparison with what it will be in heaven; but the word of God is a light shining in a dark place, 2Pe 1:19|, and a dark place indeed the world would be without it. In ver. #40| is an express caution to Moses. Nothing was left to his own fancy, or to that of the workmen, or the people; but the will of God must be observed in every particular. Christ's instruction to his disciples, #Mt 28:20|, is like this, Observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. Let us remember that we are the temples of the Holy Ghost, that we have the law of God in our hearts, that we are to live a life of communion with God, feast on his ordinances, and are the light of the world, if indeed we are followers of Christ. May the Lord help us to try ourselves by this view of religion, and to walk according thereto.