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Exodus Chapter 38

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October 2, 2025

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🔥 The Big Cooking Altar

Bezalel and his helper teamᵃ built an amazing altar where they could cook offerings for God! It was like a giant outdoor grill made from strong acacia wood and covered with shiny bronze metal. The altar was really big—about as wide as a small bedroom and as tall as a dining room table! It had four pointy corners called horns that stuck out, and everything was covered in beautiful bronze that sparkled in the sunlight. They made all kinds of cooking tools too: special pans to scoop up ashes, shovels, bowls to catch things, big forks for moving meat around, and pans to carry hot coals. They even built a bronze screen that went halfway up inside the altar, kind of like a grate in a barbecue! Four bronze rings held special poles so the priests could carry this heavy altar when they moved to new places.

🪞 The Shiny Washing Bowl

Next, they made a special bronze bowl for washing! But here’s the coolest part—it was made from mirrors that belonged to the women who helped at God’s house. These women loved God so much that they gave up their pretty mirrors to help build something for Him! The washing bowl sat on a bronze stand, and it was where the priests would wash their hands and feet before serving Godᵇ.

🏡 The Big Backyard Fence

Around God’s special house, they built a huge fence made of beautiful white curtains! Imagine the biggest backyard ever—it was 150 feet long on two sides and 75 feet wide on the other two sides. That’s bigger than a football field! The curtains were made from the finest white linen and hung on tall posts with bronze bases to keep them steady. The posts had silver hooks and connecting rods that made everything look fancy and shiny. There was only one way to get into this special yard—through a gorgeous entrance that was decorated with blue, purple, and red colorsᶜ. It was like the most beautiful doorway you’ve ever seen!

📊 Counting All the Special Materials

Moses had his helpers count every single piece of gold, silver, and bronze that was used to build God’s house. Can you believe they used over 2,000 pounds of gold? That’s heavier than a small car! They also used more than 7,000 pounds of silver—that’s like having 70 washing machines made of silver! All this silver came from a special tax that every grown-up man had to pay. There were 603,550 men who each paid half a shekelᵈ, and all that money went to building God’s beautiful house. The bronze weighed over 5,000 pounds—enough to make thousands of bronze coins!

👥 The Amazing Builders

God chose special people to build His house. Bezalel was the main builder—he was super talented and could make anything beautiful! His helper was Oholiab, who was amazing at sewing and decorating with gorgeous colors. Together, they made sure everything was built exactly the way God had told Moses to build it. These men weren’t just good at building—God had given them special abilities to create beautiful things for His house. They worked with gold, silver, bronze, and colorful fabrics to make everything perfect for worshiping the King of the Universe!

✨ Why This Story Matters

This story shows us how much the people loved God! They gave their most precious things—gold, silver, and even their mirrors—to build a beautiful place where they could worship Him. Everyone worked together, from the skilled craftsmen to the women who donated their mirrors to every man who paid his tax. Just like the Israelites built a special place for God back then, we can make our hearts a special place for Him today! When we love God and want to serve Him, we’re building something beautiful too.

🤔 Questions to Think About:

  • What would you be willing to give up to help build something for God?
  • How can you make your heart a beautiful place for God?
  • What special talents has God given you that you could use to serve Him?

📚 Kid-Friendly Footnotes:

  • ᵃ Helper Team: Bezalel had lots of helpers! God gave many people special skills to work with wood, metal, and fabric.
  • ᵇ Washing Before Serving: Just like we wash our hands before dinner, the priests had to be clean before they served God. It showed respect and made them ready to do holy work.
  • ᶜ Special Colors: Blue, purple, and red were very expensive colors back then. Using them showed that this was the most important place in the whole camp!
  • ᵈ Half a Shekel: This was like paying a special tax to help build God’s house. It was the same amount for everyone, whether they were rich or poor, showing that everyone was equal before God.
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Footnotes:

  • 1
    And he made the altar of burnt offering [of] shittim wood: five cubits [was] the length thereof, and five cubits the breadth thereof; [it was] foursquare; and three cubits the height thereof.
  • 2
    And he made the horns thereof on the four corners of it; the horns thereof were of the same: and he overlaid it with brass.
  • 3
    And he made all the vessels of the altar, the pots, and the shovels, and the basons, [and] the fleshhooks, and the firepans: all the vessels thereof made he [of] brass.
  • 4
    And he made for the altar a brasen grate of network under the compass thereof beneath unto the midst of it.
  • 5
    And he cast four rings for the four ends of the grate of brass, [to be] places for the staves.
  • 6
    And he made the staves [of] shittim wood, and overlaid them with brass.
  • 7
    And he put the staves into the rings on the sides of the altar, to bear it withal; he made the altar hollow with boards.
  • 8
    And he made the laver [of] brass, and the foot of it [of] brass, of the lookingglasses of [the women] assembling, which assembled [at] the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
  • 9
    And he made the court: on the south side southward the hangings of the court [were of] fine twined linen, an hundred cubits:
  • 10
    Their pillars [were] twenty, and their brasen sockets twenty; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets [were of] silver.
  • 11
    And for the north side [the hangings were] an hundred cubits, their pillars [were] twenty, and their sockets of brass twenty; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets [of] silver.
  • 12
    And for the west side [were] hangings of fifty cubits, their pillars ten, and their sockets ten; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets [of] silver.
  • 13
    And for the east side eastward fifty cubits.
  • 14
    The hangings of the one side [of the gate were] fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three.
  • 15
    And for the other side of the court gate, on this hand and that hand, [were] hangings of fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three.
  • 16
    All the hangings of the court round about [were] of fine twined linen.
  • 17
    And the sockets for the pillars [were of] brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets [of] silver; and the overlaying of their chapiters [of] silver; and all the pillars of the court [were] filleted with silver.
  • 18
    And the hanging for the gate of the court [was] needlework, [of] blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen: and twenty cubits [was] the length, and the height in the breadth [was] five cubits, answerable to the hangings of the court.
  • 19
    And their pillars [were] four, and their sockets [of] brass four; their hooks [of] silver, and the overlaying of their chapiters and their fillets [of] silver.
  • 20
    And all the pins of the tabernacle, and of the court round about, [were of] brass.
  • 21
    This is the sum of the tabernacle, [even] of the tabernacle of testimony, as it was counted, according to the commandment of Moses, [for] the service of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar, son to Aaron the priest.
  • 22
    And Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the LORD commanded Moses.
  • 23
    And with him [was] Aholiab, son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver, and a cunning workman, and an embroiderer in blue, and in purple, and in scarlet, and fine linen.
  • 24
    All the gold that was occupied for the work in all the work of the holy [place], even the gold of the offering, was twenty and nine talents, and seven hundred and thirty shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary.
  • 25
    And the silver of them that were numbered of the congregation [was] an hundred talents, and a thousand seven hundred and threescore and fifteen shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary:
  • 26
    A bekah for every man, [that is], half a shekel, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for every one that went to be numbered, from twenty years old and upward, for six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty [men].
  • 27
    And of the hundred talents of silver were cast the sockets of the sanctuary, and the sockets of the vail; an hundred sockets of the hundred talents, a talent for a socket.
  • 28
    And of the thousand seven hundred seventy and five [shekels] he made hooks for the pillars, and overlaid their chapiters, and filleted them.
  • 29
    And the brass of the offering [was] seventy talents, and two thousand and four hundred shekels.
  • 30
    And therewith he made the sockets to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the brasen altar, and the brasen grate for it, and all the vessels of the altar,
  • 31
    And the sockets of the court round about, and the sockets of the court gate, and all the pins of the tabernacle, and all the pins of the court round about.
  • 1
    Bezalel constructed the altar of burnt offering from acacia wood. It was square, five cubits long, five cubits wide, and three cubits high.
  • 2
    He made a horn at each of its four corners, so that the horns and altar were of one piece, and he overlaid the altar with bronze.
  • 3
    He made all the altar’s utensils of bronze—its pots, shovels, sprinkling bowls, meat forks, and firepans.
  • 4
    He made a grate of bronze mesh for the altar under its ledge, halfway up from the bottom.
  • 5
    At the four corners of the bronze grate he cast four rings as holders for the poles.
  • 6
    And he made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with bronze.
  • 7
    Then he inserted the poles into the rings on the sides of the altar for carrying it. He made the altar with boards so that it was hollow.
  • 8
    Next he made the bronze basin and its stand from the mirrors of the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
  • 9
    Then he constructed the courtyard. The south side of the courtyard was a hundred cubits long and had curtains of finely spun linen,
  • 10
    with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, and with silver hooks and bands on the posts.
  • 11
    The north side was also a hundred cubits long, with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases. The hooks and bands of the posts were silver.
  • 12
    The west side was fifty cubits long and had curtains, with ten posts and ten bases. The hooks and bands of the posts were silver.
  • 13
    And the east side, toward the sunrise, was also fifty cubits long.
  • 14
    The curtains on one side of the entrance were fifteen cubits long, with three posts and three bases.
  • 15
    And the curtains on the other side were also fifteen cubits long, with three posts and three bases as well.
  • 16
    All the curtains around the courtyard were made of finely spun linen.
  • 17
    The bases for the posts were bronze, the hooks and bands were silver, and the plating for the tops of the posts was silver. So all the posts of the courtyard were banded with silver.
  • 18
    The curtain for the entrance to the courtyard was embroidered with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and finely spun linen. It was twenty cubits long and, like the curtains of the courtyard, five cubits high,
  • 19
    with four posts and four bronze bases. Their hooks were silver, as well as the bands and the plating of their tops.
  • 20
    All the tent pegs for the tabernacle and for the surrounding courtyard were bronze.
  • 21
    This is the inventory for the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the Testimony, as recorded at Moses’ command by the Levites under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.
  • 22
    Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made everything that the LORD had commanded Moses.
  • 23
    With him was Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver, designer, and embroiderer in blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine linen.
  • 24
    All the gold from the wave offering used for the work on the sanctuary totaled 29 talents and 730 shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel.
  • 25
    The silver from those numbered among the congregation totaled 100 talents and 1,775 shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel—
  • 26
    a beka per person, that is, half a shekel, according to the sanctuary shekel, from everyone twenty years of age or older who had crossed over to be numbered, a total of 603,550 men.
  • 27
    The hundred talents of silver were used to cast the bases of the sanctuary and the bases of the veil—100 bases from the 100 talents, one talent per base.
  • 28
    With the 1,775 shekels of silver he made the hooks for the posts, overlaid their tops, and supplied bands for them.
  • 29
    The bronze from the wave offering totaled 70 talents and 2,400 shekels.
  • 30
    He used it to make the bases for the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the bronze altar and its bronze grating, all the utensils for the altar,
  • 31
    the bases for the surrounding courtyard and its gate, and all the tent pegs for the tabernacle and its surrounding courtyard.

Exodus Chapter 38 Commentary

1What’s Exodus 38 about?
2The Full Context
3What the Ancient Words Tell Us
4What Would the Original Audience Have Heard?
5But Wait… Why Did They Need So Much Bronze?
6Wrestling with the Text
7How This Changes Everything
8Key Takeaway
9Further Reading

When God Gets Specific About Sacred Space

What’s Exodus 38 about?

This chapter reads like a divine construction report, detailing the exact completion of the tabernacle’s furnishings – from the bronze altar where sacrifices burned to the courtyard that defined sacred space. It’s meticulous record-keeping that reveals how seriously God takes the intersection of the material and the holy.

The Full Context

Exodus 38 comes at the climax of Israel’s most ambitious construction project – building a portable sanctuary where the infinite God would dwell among His people. After receiving detailed blueprints in chapters 25-31, enduring the golden calf crisis, and Moses securing God’s renewed presence, the Israelites finally get to work. What we’re reading here isn’t just an ancient inventory list; it’s the fulfillment of God’s promise to dwell with His people in tangible, physical reality.

This chapter specifically focuses on the completion of the tabernacle’s outer elements – the bronze altar, the bronze basin, and the courtyard with its intricate hangings and pillars. Moses is essentially giving us a final inspection report, demonstrating that every divine specification was followed precisely. The repetitive detail isn’t boring bureaucracy; it’s a theological statement about God’s character and the importance of approaching Him on His terms, not ours.

What the Ancient Words Tell Us

The Hebrew word ’asah (to make, to do) appears repeatedly throughout this chapter, but it carries more weight than our English “made” suggests. In the ancient Near East, to ’asah something meant to bring it into functional existence – not just crafting an object, but creating something that could fulfill its intended purpose.

Grammar Geeks

The Hebrew construction here uses the perfect tense consistently, emphasizing completed action. This isn’t “they were making” but “they made” – each item brought to its intended completion. The text is celebrating finished obedience.

When the text describes Bezalel making the bronze altar “as the LORD commanded Moses” (Exodus 38:7), that phrase ka’asher tzivah YHVH appears like a refrain throughout the chapter. It’s not just saying “he followed instructions” – it’s declaring that human craftsmanship became a vehicle for divine will.

The bronze basin mentioned in Exodus 38:8 gets a fascinating detail: it was made “from the mirrors of the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting.” The Hebrew word for mirrors (mar’ot) literally means “things for seeing,” and these bronze mirrors were prized possessions in the ancient world. These women weren’t just donating random metal – they were surrendering their means of self-reflection for God’s house.

What Would the Original Audience Have Heard?

Picture the Israelites hearing this detailed inventory after living through the golden calf disaster just chapters earlier. When they had tried to make God visible through their own initiative, everything fell apart. Now they’re hearing about a sanctuary built exactly according to God’s specifications – and it worked.

Did You Know?

Bronze was incredibly valuable in the ancient world, often more precious than silver. The amount of bronze used in the tabernacle (70 talents plus 2,400 shekels according to Exodus 38:29) represented massive community investment – roughly equivalent to several million dollars today.

For former slaves who had spent generations watching Egyptian priests manage elaborate temple rituals from a distance, this inventory would have been revolutionary. They were the ones building God’s house. Their skilled craftsmen were creating sacred space. Their community donations were becoming the materials for divine encounter.

The detail about the courtyard dimensions (100 cubits by 50 cubits, according to Exodus 38:9-18) wasn’t just architectural information. In a world where sacred spaces were typically restricted to professional priests and royalty, God was creating a place where ordinary Israelites could approach – within limits, but approach nonetheless.

But Wait… Why Did They Need So Much Bronze?

Here’s something that might puzzle modern readers: why does God require such massive amounts of precious metal for a temporary, portable structure? The bronze altar alone required hollow construction to keep it from being impossibly heavy (Exodus 38:7), yet it still demanded enormous quantities of material.

The answer reveals something profound about how God views the relationship between the material and the spiritual. In ancient Near Eastern thinking, valuable materials weren’t just decorative – they were theological statements. The amount of bronze, silver, and gold invested in the tabernacle declared to everyone – Israelites, neighboring nations, future generations – that this God was worth the very best humanity could offer.

Wait, That’s Strange…

The census tax mentioned in Exodus 38:26 reveals that 603,550 men over twenty contributed a half-shekel each. That’s a staggering population size for a nomadic group – larger than many modern cities – yet they managed this complex construction project in the wilderness.

But there’s another layer here. Bronze in the ancient world was associated with durability and strength under fire. Every piece of bronze furniture in the tabernacle would face intense heat, constant use, and the wear of desert travel. God wasn’t just asking for expensive materials; He was specifying materials that could handle the reality of what they’d encounter in His presence.

Wrestling with the Text

The meticulous inventory in this chapter raises uncomfortable questions for modern readers. Why does God care so much about precise measurements, specific materials, and exact construction techniques? Doesn’t this kind of detailed religion feel… small?

Here’s where we need to resist our contemporary impulse to spiritualize everything. The God of Israel isn’t a purely spiritual being who barely tolerates physical reality – He’s the Creator who called the material world “very good” and chose to dwell within it. The detailed specifications aren’t divine pickiness; they’re God taking seriously the challenge of infinite holiness intersecting with finite, physical space.

“When God gets specific about sacred space, He’s not being controlling – He’s being gracious, showing us exactly how the holy and the human can safely meet.”

The repetitive phrase “as the LORD commanded Moses” isn’t just editorial emphasis – it’s celebrating the miracle of successful obedience. After the golden calf fiasco, when Israel’s own religious creativity led to disaster, this chapter documents a community that learned to find freedom within divine boundaries rather than despite them.

Consider the women donating their bronze mirrors (Exodus 38:8). They weren’t being forced to give up vanity; they were choosing to transform tools of self-focus into instruments of divine service. The basin made from their mirrors would be where priests washed before approaching God – a beautiful picture of personal sacrifice enabling communal holiness.

How This Changes Everything

This detailed inventory does something revolutionary: it declares that God cares about craftsmanship. In a world that often separates “spiritual” activities from “secular” work, Exodus 38 shows us divine appreciation for human skill, precision, and artistry in service of sacred purposes.

Bezalel wasn’t just following orders when he crafted these furnishings – he was participating in divine creativity. His metalwork, his attention to detail, his problem-solving skills weren’t separate from his spiritual life; they were his spiritual life. The text celebrates human craftsmanship as a vehicle for divine purposes.

The massive community investment documented here also reveals something powerful about shared sacred projects. The silver came from census taxes (Exodus 38:25), the bronze from voluntary donations, the skilled labor from community members. This wasn’t top-down religious construction; it was bottom-up community commitment to creating space for God.

For us, this challenges both our individualism and our tendency to separate sacred from secular. The tabernacle project required everyone – skilled craftsmen, generous donors, careful overseers, willing volunteers. Sacred space emerged from community commitment, not individual spirituality.

Key Takeaway

When God gets detailed about sacred space, He’s not being controlling – He’s showing us that the intersection of divine holiness and human craft requires both divine specification and human excellence. Our best work becomes worship when it serves His purposes.

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