Articles
God Built It
God Built It
Who built the tabernacle?
Israel built a tabernacle. But, the actual builders were named:
· Bezalel (Ex. 31:2-5; 38:22 )
· Oholiab (Ex 31:6; 38:23)
· BUT also - “ALL who are skillful I have put skill, that they may make all that I have commanded you” (Ex. 31:6).
God chose, called, and enabled these men to build, but they did the actual labor.
Who designed the tabernacle?
Exodus 25:8-9 8 "Let them construct a sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell among them. 9 "According to all that I am going to show you, as the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furniture, just so you shall construct it.
Numbers 8:4 4 Now this was the workmanship of the lampstand, hammered work of gold; from its base to its flowers it was hammered work; according to the pattern which the Lord had shown Moses, so he made the lampstand.
Exodus 38:22 Now Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the Lord had commanded Moses.
· The LORD, God
· Revealed thru Moses
· Built ‘according to all that Moses said” –
According to the pattern Ex 25:40; 26:30; Acts 7:44; Heb 8:2, 5
What it cost: reread Exod. 38:21ff –
The materials used in making the tabernacle are listed in Exodus 38:21–31. Their value would have been nine million dollars or more. (Fields, pg. 190)
According to gold/silver prices in 2015:
Just the Gold & Silver alone -
Total Gold Value (U.S. Dollar) $37,376,486.88
Total Silver Value (U.S. Dollar) $1,751,465.33
An estimate made on 2011 prices came out to 57million - http://www.proyouthworker.com/2011/01/what-would-it-cost-to-build-tabernacle.html
The difficulty obviously is not just current prices of metals, but the wood, the linen, the skins, etc… let alone the labor. (which in this case was apparently donated…).
Where did they get the materials to build it with? The people contributed it.
They were obtained from free will offerings from each man whose heart prompted him to give (Ex. 25:1-2).
Ex 25:1-2 1 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel, that they take for me a contribution. From every man whose heart moves him you shall receive the contribution for me.
The people contributed very willingly, until the builders had to say, “The people are bringing more than enough for doing the work” (Ex. 36:5). (There is a lesson for us in this.)
Exodus 36:5 and they said to Moses, "The people are bringing much more than enough for the construction work which the Lord commanded us to perform."
Where did Israel get such riches to provide for this work?
God caused Egypt to give them much treasure as they departed from Egypt. (Exod. 12:36).
Exodus 12:36 and the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have their request. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.
So, God did it. HE purposed and designed it, revealed it, provided the workers and enabled them to do their appointed tasks, provided for the people to be able to fund it. He had also brought them into an isolated place where they could freely take the time needed to build it. Before, Above, Behind – God is there and is involved in LIFE. Are you trusting God?
Hugh DeLong
