Thursday - Exodus 37 - Inside the Tabernacle

In this chapter we have the record of the crafting of the golden furniture for the Tabernacle. The main structure was complete and so they proceeded immediately to prepare these things which were to go inside.

The mercy seat, the cherubim, the candlestick, the dishes for the table and the implements for the candles - these things were all made of pure gold... no alloys and no wooden structures underneath the gold. The rest of the items were made of shittim wood and were plated with gold just like the boards and the bars of the Tabernacle itself had been. The ark, the table, the incense altar and the poles that were used to carry those three items were all wooden on the inside and golden on the outside. It appears that the size, shape and weight of each item may have been the practical factor used in determining the construction differences.  Still, the wood hidden under all of that gold must have symbolic significance. Indeed, it is the life, death and practical necessity of THE TREE upon which the glorious beauty of eternal worship is based. We may not always have the cross in our view, but it is always there. Surely in eternity we will be reminded of what foundation undergirds the pleasures and extravagances of heaven. The cross may recede into the background to some extent... but it will always be there ... underneath all of the glory... supporting, maintaining and guaranteeing our blessedness in the presence of the Father forever.

Now, here are the items listed: The ark, the mercy seat, the crowned table for the bread, the dishes, spoons, bowls, and lids, the fancily florally decorated candlestick, the snuffers and snuff-dishes that went with the candlestick, the horned incense altar with its crown and finally the oil that would be used to sanctify all of these things.