Ex. 38: More tabernacle stuff completed

Chapter 38 continues in the same vein and order of chapter 37. Shall we proceed? We shall.

The Altar of Burnt Offering: Commanded Ex. 27:1-8, Completed Ex. 38:1-7

Basin for Washing: Commanded Ex. 30:17-21, Completed Ex. 38:8

Again, this was made as commanded, out of bronze. Interesting that in Exodus 38, it reveals where the bronze came from: The mirrors of the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. Beautiful. So, in this case, God said for something to be done, and he wasn't so terribly exacting that he had to mention where to get the bronze, just that it be made from bronze. I think this is a lot like wanting to know the will of God. You get commands generally, and the specifics, to some extent, are up to us. So I'll have to look into my own life, see what my bronze mirrors are, and donate them to the basin.

The Courtyard: Commanded Ex. 27:9-19, Completed Ex. 38:9-20

In the command passage, it states that the east end of the courtyard, the entrance through which the sun would enter, will be toward the sunrise.

The Materials Used
At the end of Exodus 38, there is an accounting of the people, and the materials used in making the tabernacle and it's furnishings.

Bezalel and Oholiab were the main foremen in the design and building

Gold: 29 talents and 730 shekels (a little over one ton, Current exchange value: about $28,009,635.41)

Silver: 100 talents (used for the curtain bases) and 1,775 shekels (used to make the post hooks, tops, and bands) (about 3.75 tons, Current exchange value: about $1,945,429.90.) This silver was collected from about 603,000 men, which makes the average contribution of silver about $3.22. Not too much by today's standards.

Bronze: 70 talents, 2400 shekels (used for the bases for the entrance, the altar and it's essentials, and the bases and pegs for the courtyard). This is about 2.5 tons