I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I had been using One Year Bible Online, but it was time for a change.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Exodus 39-40.

    Today’s passage continues describing the preparation of the Tabernacle. In particular, it describes how the craftsmen prepared the clothing to be worn by the priests. It is interesting that I find I can read this and imagine how it would look, while I found my eyes glazing over when I tried to do the same with the description of the making of the Tabernacle itself. The passage goes on to describe Moses setting up the Tabernacle. I think this gives us a good example of the limits of reading the Bible literally. It says that Moses set up the Tabernacle. A literal reading of it would imply that Moses did all of the work of setting up the Tabernacle by himself. However, going back and reading the description of the making of the Tabernacle reveals that to be unlikely. The place where this is most obvious is where it states that Moses brought the Ark of the Covenant into the Tabernacle. Go back and read the description of making the Ark. It would have been too heavy for a single man to move, and it would have been too awkwardly shaped for a single person to move. The important point to remember here is that no one is called to do it all by themselves.