Exodus 37

Exodus 37 Explained: The Construction of the Sanctuary’s Most Holy Objects

Exodus 37 records the making of the most sacred objects in the tabernacle: the ark, the mercy seat, the table of the bread of the Presence, the lampstand, and the altar of incense.

Earlier, on the mountain, Yahweh revealed the pattern and gave the instructions for these things. He also named Bezalel and said that He had filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, understanding, and skill to make everything that He commanded. Now Bezalel makes these things in the camp. The chapter shows the objects that Yahweh gave instructions for on the mountain being constructed, and it shows the man whom Yahweh filled with His Spirit carrying out the work. What Yahweh commanded is now made exactly as He said.

The chapter begins with the ark. Bezalel makes it from acacia wood and overlays it with pure gold inside and out. He casts the rings, makes the poles, and prepares the ark to hold the testimony. The covenant tablets will be placed inside this ark. The covenant word of Yahweh stands at the centre of the sanctuary and at the centre of Israel’s life. Israel does not live by its own wisdom or law. Israel lives under the word that Yahweh has spoken.

Bezalel then makes the mercy seat of pure gold and forms the cherubim at the two ends, with their wings overshadowing the cover and their faces turned toward it. The mercy seat covers the ark that contains the covenant tablets. The law is inside the ark, and the place of atonement covers it from above. Yahweh said that He would meet with Moses there, from above the mercy seat, from between the cherubim. The ark and the mercy seat together form the place of meeting between Yahweh and His people. The cherubim spread their wings over this place, marking it as a guarded and holy throne in the midst of the camp.

After the ark and mercy seat, Bezalel makes the table and its utensils and overlays them with pure gold. The bread of the Presence will be set on this table before Yahweh continually. The twelve loaves represent the twelve tribes of Israel, set before Yahweh at all times. The table shows that the tribes are continually before His face and that their life and provision come from Him. Israel lives in the presence of Yahweh and is sustained by Him.

After this, Bezalel makes the lampstand of pure gold. He hammers it out of one piece, forming its shaft, branches, cups, bulbs, and blossoms. The lampstand is shaped like a tree in bloom. It stands in the holy place and gives light inside the tabernacle, where no sunlight enters. The only light in the dwelling place of Yahweh comes from the lampstand that He commanded to be made and kept burning. The light in the sanctuary is not natural light. It is light that Yahweh provides in His dwelling place, so that His house is a place of light in the midst of darkness.

Finally, Bezalel makes the altar of incense from acacia wood and overlays it with gold. He makes its horns, its rings, and its poles. This altar stands before the veil, near the most holy place. Incense will burn on this altar before Yahweh, and the smoke will rise, making its way into the holy of holies before Him. The altar stands close to the place where Yahweh said He would meet with Moses, but still outside the veil. Nearness to Yahweh is real, but it takes place in the way He has commanded, and the priest must approach only in the way Yahweh has appointed.

Throughout the chapter the same pattern appears again and again. Bezalel makes each object as Yahweh commanded Moses. The chapter shows careful and exact obedience. Yahweh spoke on the mountain, Yahweh showed the pattern, Yahweh filled Bezalel with His Spirit for this work, and now His word is carried out in the camp by the man He appointed. The pattern shown on the mountain becomes the reality in the midst of Israel.

Exodus 37 therefore shows the centre of the sanctuary being prepared. The ark for the covenant, the mercy seat for the place of meeting, the table for the bread of the Presence, the lampstand for the light, and the altar of incense for the incense before Yahweh are all made according to His command. The dwelling place of Yahweh is not built according to human design, but according to His word, and it is built by the man whom Yahweh equipped with His Spirit. What Yahweh revealed is now built, and the place where He will dwell among His people continues to take shape at the centre of the camp.