Today, I am reading and commenting on Exodus 36-38.

I am not sure how I am going to tie my thoughts about today’s together.  I know I often write that.  At the beginning of this passage the workers who were putting the materials together came to Moses asking him to get the people to stop bringing more materials because they had more than enough already.  As I read this, the Israelites were donating so much more than was needed for the work that it was starting to get in the way.  The Israelites wanted to take part in the construction of the tabernacle so much that they contributed more to its construction then could be used, and they had to be told to stop.  I think sometimes we don’t really comprehend just how much they contributed.  Part of that is because we do not use the units of measure which are used in this passage (or in any of the Biblical passages for that matter).  The translators’ notes gives us some reasonable approximations.  The tabernacle and its furnishings used over 1 ton of gold, 2 3/4 tons of silver, and 2 1/2 tons of bronze.  This does not count how much wood, fabric, yarn, thread, and precious stones were used.  And that is just how much was used!  The passage tells us that the Israelites gave even more than that for the work.  Further, we need to remember that this was a people who had left Egypt in a hurry, pursued by the Egyptian army, and almost constantly on the move since then.  Finally, I want to note that the Israelites transported the tabernacle around the wilderness for a little over 40 years.  Most of it was carried, which puts a whole different light on the later accounts when Moses divided up the duties of transporting the tabernacle and its furnishings.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.