Exodus 40 ✒️ Apply the Scriptures to Your Life

1 And of the blue, and purple, and scarlet, they made cloths of service, to do service in the holy place, and made the holy garments for Aaron; as the LORD commanded Moses.

 2And he made the ephod of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen.

 3And they did beat the gold into thin plates, and cut it into wires, to work it in the blue, and in the purple, and in the scarlet, and in the fine linen, with cunning work.

 4They made shoulderpieces for it, to couple it together: by the two edges was it coupled together.

 5And the curious girdle of his ephod, that was upon it, was of the same, according to the work thereof; of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen; as the LORD commanded Moses.

 6And they wrought onyx stones inclosed in ouches of gold, graven, as signets are graven, with the names of the children of Israel.

 7And he put them on the shoulders of the ephod, that they should be stones for a memorial to the children of Israel; as the LORD commanded Moses.

 8And he made the breastplate of cunning work, like the work of the ephod; of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen.

 9It was foursquare; they made the breastplate double: a span was the length thereof, and a span the breadth thereof, being doubled.

 10And they set in it four rows of stones: the first row was a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this was the first row.

 11And the second row, an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond.

 12And the third row, a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst.

 13And the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper: they were inclosed in ouches of gold in their inclosings.

 14And the stones were according to the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet, every one with his name, according to the twelve tribes.

 15And they made upon the breastplate chains at the ends, of wreathen work of pure gold.

 16And they made two ouches of gold, and two gold rings; and put the two rings in the two ends of the breastplate.

 17And they put the two wreathen chains of gold in the two rings on the ends of the breastplate.

 18And the two ends of the two wreathen chains they fastened in the two ouches, and put them on the shoulderpieces of the ephod, before it.

 19And they made two rings of gold, and put them on the two ends of the breastplate, upon the border of it, which was on the side of the ephod inward.

 20And they made two other golden rings, and put them on the two sides of the ephod underneath, toward the forepart of it, over against the other coupling thereof, above the curious girdle of the ephod.

 21And they did bind the breastplate by his rings unto the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it might be above the curious girdle of the ephod, and that the breastplate might not be loosed from the ephod; as the LORD commanded Moses.

 22And he made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue.

 23And there was an hole in the midst of the robe, as the hole of an habergeon, with a band round about the hole, that it should not rend.

 24And they made upon the hems of the robe pomegranates of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen.

 25And they made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates upon the hem of the robe, round about between the pomegranates;

 26A bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, round about the hem of the robe to minister in; as the LORD commanded Moses.

 27And they made coats of fine linen of woven work for Aaron, and for his sons,

 28And a mitre of fine linen, and goodly bonnets of fine linen, and linen breeches of fine twined linen,

 29And a girdle of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, of needlework; as the LORD commanded Moses.

 30And they made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote upon it a writing, like to the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD.

 31And they tied unto it a lace of blue, to fasten it on high upon the mitre; as the LORD commanded Moses.

 32Thus was all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation finished: and the children of Israel did according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so did they.

 33And they brought the tabernacle unto Moses, the tent, and all his furniture, his taches, his boards, his bars, and his pillars, and his sockets,

 34And the covering of rams' skins dyed red, and the covering of badgers' skins, and the vail of the covering,

 35The ark of the testimony, and the staves thereof, and the mercy seat,

 36The table, and all the vessels thereof, and the shewbread,

 37The pure candlestick, with the lamps thereof, even with the lamps to be set in order, and all the vessels thereof, and the oil for light,

 38And the golden altar, and the anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the hanging for the tabernacle door,

 39The brasen altar, and his grate of brass, his staves, and all his vessels, the laver and his foot,

 40The hangings of the court, his pillars, and his sockets, and the hanging for the court gate, his cords, and his pins, and all the vessels of the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of the congregation,

 41The cloths of service to do service in the holy place, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and his sons' garments, to minister in the priest's office.

 42According to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so the children of Israel made all the work.

 43And Moses did look upon all the work, and, behold, they had done it as the LORD had commanded, even so had they done it: and Moses blessed them.

COMMENTARY by Dr. Dave Burnette

Written By: God through Inspiration

Penned By: Moses

Date Penned: (1450-1410 BC)

Overview: The Record of God's Deliverance of Israel (c 1-40)

Theme: Israel at Sinai (c 19-40)

Message: Putting the Tabernacle Together (v 1-38)

Exodus 40 Commentary

(40:1-11) Moses was careful to obey God's instructions to the smallest detail. Notice that he didn't make a reasonable facsimile of God's description but instead made an exact copy. We should follow Moses' example and be detailed about our obedience. If God has told you to do something, do it, do it right, and do it completely.

(40:12-15) The Lord Chooses Aaron - Why did the Lord select Aaron and his sons to be priests? Selecting an entire family line would greatly reduce the tendency for others to grab for power or control of the priesthood. A person was either a descendant of Aaron or not. All male children born into this family understood from an early age that they would have special duties to perform in the worship of the Lord. This was not because they were superior in some way but because God had chosen their family line for these acts of service.

(40:16) Working Together - God told Moses how to build the tabernacle, and Moses delegated jobs in order to do it. God allows people to participate with him in carrying out his will. Your task is not just to sit and watch God work but to give your best effort when work needs to be done.

(40:17) Simple Tasks have Great Meaning - The physical care of the tabernacle required a long list of tasks, and each was important to the work of God's house. This principle is important to remember today, when God's house is the church. Many seemingly unimportant tasks must be done to keep your Church building maintained. Washing dishes, painting walls, and shoveling snow may not seem very spiritual, but these things are vital to the ministry of the church and play an important role in our worship of God.

(40:34) A Place to Worship - The tabernacle was God's home on earth. He filled it with his glory- the overpowering sense of his presence. Almost 500 years later, Solomon built the temple, which replaced the tabernacle as the central place of worship. God also filled the temple with his glory (2 Chronicles 5:13-14). But when Israel turned from God, his glory and presence departed from the temple, and the building was destroyed by an invading army (2 Kings 25). The temple was rebuilt in 515 BC, and God's glory returned in even greater splendor about five centuries later when Jesus Christ, God's Son, entered it and taught. When Jesus was crucified, God's glory again left the temple. However, God no longer needed a physical building after Jesus rose from the dead. God's temple is now his church, the body of believers.

(40:38) An Applicaton of Exodus - The Israelites were once slaves in Egypt making bricks without straw. But now they were following the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire, carrying the tabernacle they had built for God. Exodus begins in gloom and ends in glory. This parallels our progress through the Christian life. We begin as slaves to sin, are redeemed by God, and end our pilgrimage living with God forever. The lessons the Israelites learned along the way are ones we also need to learn.

LIFE APPLICATION by Dr. Dave Burnette

Each day we walk through the Bible chapter by chapter making an application of our text to help us grow in the Lord. Many applications can be made from each day's text. Today we Continue in the book of Exodus with Chapter 40 and in today's text we conclude the Book of Exodus. In our text today we see the importance of Applying what we receive from the Lord into our Lives. What catches my Eye is the Growth of Moses from Beginning to End of this Great Book. Moses was not a perfect man but he did learn from the instruction of God to become a great role model for you and me. In making applications I see the need to Apply Scripture to Our Lives. Today we have the completed Canon of the Word of God, the Bible. It has all the instructions for all the issues of life. If we are wise, like Moses, we will apply the Scripture to our lives, and in doing so, will reap the benefits of a successful life. How About You? Do you Read and Apply the Bible to Your Life? Let us learn from our text today and the life of Moses to Apply God's Instructions to Our lives so we can live the Abundant Life here on Earth before we meet the Lord one day.