Construction of the Courtyard

Exodus 38:1-21

“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.  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. 


And he made all the vessels of the altar, the pots, and the shovels, and the basins, and the fleshhooks, and the firepans: all the vessels thereof made he of brass.  And he made for the altar a brazen grate of network under the compass thereof beneath unto the midst of it.  And he cast four rings for the four ends of the grate of brass, to be places for the staves.  And he made the staves of shittim wood, and overlaid them with brass.  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. 


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.” (Exodus 38:1-8) 

The brazen altar was made just as specified by God, with all the tools and appliances of brass representing judgment.  The brazen laver or lavatory was also made of brass, as was the washstand.  The base was made from the mirrors of the women who ministered.  The lavatory provided the opportunity to clean oneself, but the mirrors showed what needed to be cleaned.  While Christ provides the means of cleaning our lives, it is critical that we see what is needed.  James 1:23-25 addresses the need.  “For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.  But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.”

The women who ministered at the door of the Tabernacle had no official role, simply coming like so many women serve today, because of their love for the Lord.  It was this group that Eli’s sons were taking advantage of in I Samuel 2:22.  “Now Eli was very old, and heard all that his sons did unto all Israel; and how they lay with the women that assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.”  Ungodly leaders still take advantage of women’s love for the Lord to involve them in sin.

While little is known about these women, Luke 2:36-38 describes one of them.  “And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity; And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.  And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.”  While they may hold no official position in the church,  it is often the women who are most devoted and faithful to the Lord.  They play a vital part in the church and should not be discouraged.

“And he made the court: on the south side southward the hangings of the court were of fine twined linen, an hundred cubits: Their pillars were twenty, and their brazen sockets twenty; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver.  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.  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.  And for the east side eastward fifty cubits. 


The hangings of the one side of the gate were fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three.  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. 


All the hangings of the court round about were of fine twined linen.  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. 


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.  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.  And all the pins of the tabernacle, and of the court round about, were of brass.” (Exodus 38:9-20)

Like the pillars supporting the veil and door, the posts for the courtyard were capped with a silver overlay.

“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.” (Exodus 38:21) 

Ithamar was responsible for recording all the things that were made so they would not forget anything when they moved the Tabernacle.