Exodus Chapter 40: Setting up the Tabernacle
In the 1970’s the Army had a modern version of the Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) called the Medical Unit Self Contained Transportable (MUST). It was an inflatable hospital able to care for 200 patients and included two intensive care units, eight medical wards, an emergency room, four operating rooms, an orthopedic room, a laboratory, an X-ray, a pharmacy, and the unit's transport vehicles. And every year we would have to go out into the field, unload the entire hospital and set it up. As you can imagine, it didn’t always go smoothly. Think of trying to assemble a child’ toy on Christmas Eve with no instructions.
In this chapter we are going to see how the Israelites set up the Tabernacle. Do you think the Israelites had an instructional video to help them set up the tabernacle? I hope it goes better for the Israelites than it did for Buster Keaton when he built his kit house.
As you read this chapter, notice the action words, the commands given to Moses. What might they have sounded like?
Set up the Tabernacle!
Place the ark over there! Lift it, don’t drag it! (It sure is hard to get good help these days.)
Bring in the table! Get some help with it. Where’s Aaron? AARON!!! Get in here and help our brother!!!
Place the lampstand against that wall! No, not that wall, the opposite wall!! Weren’t you paying attention to my instructions?
Place the basin there! A little closer . . . not that close. A little to the left. Check to see if it’s level.
Place the altar over there!
Set up the courtyard!
Take the oil and anoint Aaron!
Does God sound as if He is a drill instructor barking out orders?
Or maybe a more mild-mannered school principal calmly giving directions?
Exodus 40:16-17, “Moses did everything just as the Lord commanded him.” So, the tabernacle was set up on the first day of the first month in the second year.
Exodus 40:18, it says, “When Moses set up the tabernacle, he put the bases in place, erected the frames, inserted the crossbars and set up the posts,” etc. It goes on as if Moses was a one man show, doing all the work. I think it probably meant that Moses oversaw the erection of the tabernacle, like a construction manager or general contractor might do today. He may have been the one with the megaphone, standing on the back of a wagon, giving directions.
Exodus 40:34, “And so Moses finished the job.” Moses finished the job, and the job may have also finished Moses. Shortly thereafter he collapsed with chest pains and was later diagnosed with stress related exhaustion and was ordered to take a three- week vacation. Or maybe that’s just an ancient Jewish legend . . . that I just made up.
The project is completed, and unlike any government project, it probably was done on time and underbudget. And, I would imagine, unlike many of our Christmas toy assembly projects, there were no leftover parts.
When the building was erected and all the “furniture” was moved in, there may have been an open house for the Israelites to see the results before the “Owner” came to inspect it and then He moved in.
Exodus 40:34, “Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.”
Keep your eyes on the cloud. Whenever it lifted itself from above the tabernacle, it was a signal that the Israelites were to break camp and prepare to move out.
Exodus 40:38, “So the cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel during all their travels.” And, as an added benefit, the light served as a nightlight for, well, you know.
In the Book of Exodus, we see God fulfilling the prophecy of
Exodus 6:6-8, “Therefore, say to the Israelites: `I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you
with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hands to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the LORD.'"
You might recall that these four promises were symbolized by the four cups of wine served on Passover. The cup that Jesus gave his disciples was the third cup, the cup of redemption.
A lot went on in the Book of Exodus. The Egyptians who enslaved the Israelites were judged with plaques, the Israelites were introduced to the Passover, they journeyed to Sinai where a covenant was made between them and God, instruction were given for a tabernacle, the Israelites stumbled with the Golden Calf, the covenant was renewed, and the tabernacle was erected.
The Israelites were slaves in Egypt, now they were liberated, coming together as the chosen people of God. Who could have anticipated such momentous events? How many of us could have anticipated the events in our own lives?