Tuesday - Exodus 26 - The Blueprint

The design for God's tabernacle came from God Himself. It was definitely a colorful scheme - blue, purple, red, gold... goats' hair, badgers' skin, rams' skin... it wasn't just any old tent. Surely it must have been particularly beautiful compared to the wilderness in which the people lived at the time of its construction. It was a precursor to the temple of Solomon (which was to come centuries later). And, most importantly, it was the place where God placed His name and His presence.

We might do well to establish a few definitions in our minds for future reference as we progress in our reading.  Here are some of the more obscure terms: Cubit - about 18 inches, Tache - a hook, Knop - a decorative capital or chapter at the top of a column or pillar (from the last chapter), Tenon - a joint, peg, projection, connector or handle, Shittim - a kind of wood that was supposedly not subject to decay... relatively speaking, I'm sure, and Selvedge - edge or end.  Perhaps the reading will make a little more sense with those clarifications.

Look for numeric patterns in these passages. God is the chief mathematician... He always has some reason for His numeric choices. On a more practical note, it appears to me that the open tabernacle court would fit on half of a football field while the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies (together) would be more like the size of a small single wide trailer (45 x 15 ft.). Remember, it had to be portable. Size is very important if you have to pack it up and take it with you.

I think we should all get out a blank piece of paper and try to draw a picture of the things that God described to Moses in this chapter. I can't think of any exercise that would be more profitable in this context.