Exodus 38:22-31
“And Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the LORD commanded Moses. Ex 38:23 And with him was Aholiab, son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver, and a cunning workman, and an embroiderer in blue, and in purple, and in scarlet, and fine linen.” (Exodus 38:22-23)
Bezalel was called of God to oversee building the tabernacle, and he built exactly what God had commanded. Oholiab was also called of God in Exodus 31:6 to oversee the designing and decorative aspects. Once again we see that God calls particular men to each aspect of his work.
“All the gold that was occupied for the work in all the work of the holy place, even the gold of the offering, was twenty and nine talents, and seven hundred and thirty shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary.” (Exodus 38:24)
Talents and shekels were measures of weight. From the description in the next verses we learn that a talent is the equivalent of 3000 shekels. Ancient marked weights vary somewhat, but generally indicate a shekel was approximately 10 grams, or about 0.35 ounces. A talent thus would weigh about 1050 ounces, and be worth nearly $1,800,000 at today’s prices of about $1700 per ounce. The gold alone was worth more than $52 million.
“And the silver of them that were numbered of the congregation was an hundred talents, and a thousand seven hundred and threescore and fifteen shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary: A bekah for every man, that is, half a shekel, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for every one that went to be numbered, from twenty years old and upward, for six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty men.
And of the hundred talents of silver were cast the sockets of the sanctuary, and the sockets of the veil; an hundred sockets of the hundred talents, a talent for a socket. And of the thousand seven hundred seventy and five shekels he made hooks for the pillars, and overlaid their chapiters, and filleted them.” (Exodus 38:25-28)
In addition to the gold, the special offering described in Exodus 30 amounted to an additional three and a half million dollars, even though no one was allowed to give more than a half shekel or about a sixth of an ounce, roughly five dollars.
“And the brass of the offering was seventy talents, and two thousand and four hundred shekels. Ex 38:30 And therewith he made the sockets to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the brazen altar, and the brazen grate for it, and all the vessels of the altar, Ex 38:31 And the sockets of the court round about, and the sockets of the court gate, and all the pins of the tabernacle, and all the pins of the court round about.” (Exodus 38:29-31)
Brass and bronze are alloys of lead zinc or tin and copper in various proportions and were used for everyday articles, from jewelry to knives tools and cookware. While they didn’t command the high prices of gold and silver, they were in many ways even more valuable. Society tends to place the most value on the least useful and important things.
With the exception of the ransom money, all the materials were donated as free will offerings. Israel had spent four hundred years in slavery, yet God enabled them to give over fifty five million dollars in precious metals, besides the other materials they donated. It is far too easy to forget God’s ability to provide with what we have on hand, not realizing how much we have been blessed with. Building the tabernacle was not even a burden on the people. The amount of the ransom money illustrated the impact just a little from each person can have. Too often we become focused on the big donations and actions and fail to understand the importance of the smaller ones.
The metal used totaled more than six and a half tons in weight. Think what the entire Tabernacle must have weighed, since much of the metal was applied as a thin covering over the structural wood. In Numbers, God detailed special provisions to enable them to transport it.
“And Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the LORD commanded Moses. Ex 38:23 And with him was Aholiab, son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver, and a cunning workman, and an embroiderer in blue, and in purple, and in scarlet, and fine linen.” (Exodus 38:22-23)
Bezalel was called of God to oversee building the tabernacle, and he built exactly what God had commanded. Oholiab was also called of God in Exodus 31:6 to oversee the designing and decorative aspects. Once again we see that God calls particular men to each aspect of his work.
“All the gold that was occupied for the work in all the work of the holy place, even the gold of the offering, was twenty and nine talents, and seven hundred and thirty shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary.” (Exodus 38:24)
Talents and shekels were measures of weight. From the description in the next verses we learn that a talent is the equivalent of 3000 shekels. Ancient marked weights vary somewhat, but generally indicate a shekel was approximately 10 grams, or about 0.35 ounces. A talent thus would weigh about 1050 ounces, and be worth nearly $1,800,000 at today’s prices of about $1700 per ounce. The gold alone was worth more than $52 million.
“And the silver of them that were numbered of the congregation was an hundred talents, and a thousand seven hundred and threescore and fifteen shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary: A bekah for every man, that is, half a shekel, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for every one that went to be numbered, from twenty years old and upward, for six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty men.
And of the hundred talents of silver were cast the sockets of the sanctuary, and the sockets of the veil; an hundred sockets of the hundred talents, a talent for a socket. And of the thousand seven hundred seventy and five shekels he made hooks for the pillars, and overlaid their chapiters, and filleted them.” (Exodus 38:25-28)
In addition to the gold, the special offering described in Exodus 30 amounted to an additional three and a half million dollars, even though no one was allowed to give more than a half shekel or about a sixth of an ounce, roughly five dollars.
“And the brass of the offering was seventy talents, and two thousand and four hundred shekels. Ex 38:30 And therewith he made the sockets to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the brazen altar, and the brazen grate for it, and all the vessels of the altar, Ex 38:31 And the sockets of the court round about, and the sockets of the court gate, and all the pins of the tabernacle, and all the pins of the court round about.” (Exodus 38:29-31)
Brass and bronze are alloys of lead zinc or tin and copper in various proportions and were used for everyday articles, from jewelry to knives tools and cookware. While they didn’t command the high prices of gold and silver, they were in many ways even more valuable. Society tends to place the most value on the least useful and important things.
With the exception of the ransom money, all the materials were donated as free will offerings. Israel had spent four hundred years in slavery, yet God enabled them to give over fifty five million dollars in precious metals, besides the other materials they donated. It is far too easy to forget God’s ability to provide with what we have on hand, not realizing how much we have been blessed with. Building the tabernacle was not even a burden on the people. The amount of the ransom money illustrated the impact just a little from each person can have. Too often we become focused on the big donations and actions and fail to understand the importance of the smaller ones.
The metal used totaled more than six and a half tons in weight. Think what the entire Tabernacle must have weighed, since much of the metal was applied as a thin covering over the structural wood. In Numbers, God detailed special provisions to enable them to transport it.
No comments:
Post a Comment