Thy Strong Word — Exodus 25: God's Design: Ark of the Covenant

The Rev. Dr. Curtis Deterding, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Fort Myers, FL, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Exodus 25.

Moses is up on the mountain as YHWH gives him instructions on how to build the Tabernacle, God’s portable, temporary dwelling on earth until King Solomon would build the Temple. The instructions continue through chapter 31, but here we hear about God’s design for some of the furnishings for the Tabernacle, including the Ark of the Covenant, the Table of Bread, and the golden lampstand.

It’s the true story of God reaching down into history and, through an unlikely prophet, redeeming his chosen people from slavery. It’s the story of Exodus, but it’s also the story of us all. How through Christ, God has liberated us from sin, death, and the Devil. Don’t miss this chapter-by-chapter study of the Book of Exodus on Thy Strong Word.

Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God’s Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations.

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Exodus 25

Contributions for the Sanctuary

25 The Lord said to Moses, ²“Speak to the people of Israel, that they take for me a contribution. From every man whose heart moves him you shall receive the contribution for me. ³And this is the contribution that you shall receive from them: gold, silver, and bronze, ⁴blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, goats’ hair, ⁵tanned rams’ skins, goatskins,^[a] acacia wood, ⁶oil for the lamps, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, ⁷onyx stones, and stones for setting, for the ephod and for the breastpiece. ⁸And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst. ⁹Exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it.

The Ark of the Covenant

¹⁰“They shall make an ark of acacia wood. Two cubits^[b] and a half shall be its length, a cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height. ¹¹You shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and outside shall you overlay it, and you shall make on it a molding of gold around it. ¹²You shall cast four rings of gold for it and put them on its four feet, two rings on the one side of it, and two rings on the other side of it. ¹³You shall make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. ¹⁴And you shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry the ark by them. ¹⁵The poles shall remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be taken from it. ¹⁶And you shall put into the ark the testimony that I shall give you.

¹⁷“You shall make a mercy seat^[c] of pure gold. Two cubits and a half shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth. ¹⁸And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat. ¹⁹Make one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end. Of one piece with the mercy seat shall you make the cherubim on its two ends. ²⁰The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be. ²¹And you shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony that I shall give you. ²²There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel.

The Table for Bread

²³“You shall make a table of acacia wood. Two cubits shall be its length, a cubit its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height. ²⁴You shall overlay it with pure gold and make a molding of gold around it. ²⁵And you shall make a rim around it a handbreadth^[d] wide, and a molding of gold around the rim. ²⁶And you shall make for it four rings of gold, and fasten the rings to the four corners at its four legs. ²⁷Close to the frame the rings shall lie, as holders for the poles to carry the table. ²⁸You shall make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold, and the table shall be carried with these. ²⁹And you shall make its plates and dishes for incense, and its flagons and bowls with which to pour drink offerings; you shall make them of pure gold. ³⁰And you shall set the bread of the Presence on the table before me regularly.

The Golden Lampstand

³¹“You shall make a lampstand of pure gold. The lampstand shall be made of hammered work: its base, its stem, its cups, its calyxes, and its flowers shall be of one piece with it. ³²And there shall be six branches going out of its sides, three branches of the lampstand out of one side of it and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side of it; ³³three cups made like almond blossoms, each with calyx and flower, on one branch, and three cups made like almond blossoms, each with calyx and flower, on the other branch—so for the six branches going out of the lampstand. ³⁴And on the lampstand itself there shall be four cups made like almond blossoms, with their calyxes and flowers, ³⁵and a calyx of one piece with it under each pair of the six branches going out from the lampstand. ³⁶Their calyxes and their branches shall be of one piece with it, the whole of it a single piece of hammered work of pure gold. ³⁷You shall make seven lamps for it. And the lamps shall be set up so as to give light on the space in front of it. ³⁸Its tongs and their trays shall be of pure gold. ³⁹It shall be made, with all these utensils, out of a talent^[e] of pure gold. ⁴⁰And see that you make them after the pattern for them, which is being shown you on the mountain.

Footnotes

Exodus 25:5 Uncertain; possibly dolphin skins, or dugong skins; compare 26:14
Exodus 25:10 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters
Exodus 25:17 Or cover
Exodus 25:25 A handbreadth was about 3 inches or 7.5 centimeters
Exodus 25:39 A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms

Rev. Dr. Phil Booe

Native North Carolinian Rev. Dr. Phil Booe serves pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, and host of Thy Strong Word on KFUO Radio. His parishioners probably think he can’t teach Bible study without a mug of coffee in his hand, and he’ll always be happy to eat a plate of sushi. When he’s not shepherding his flock or teaching on the radio, you might find him watching bad movies from the 50s, 60s, and 70s, and especially binging RiffTrax and MST3K episodes. Some day he’d love to travel to the Lutheran homeland in Germany, but for now he spends time in Minnesota with his wife, son, daughter, and cat, and looks forward to Holy Week every year.