Exodus 25:1-9

Exodus 25:1-9

[1] And the LORD  spake  unto Moses,  saying,  [2] Speak  unto the children  of Israel,  that they bring  me an offering:  of every man  that giveth it willingly  with his heart  ye shall take  my offering.  [3] And this is the offering  which ye shall take  of them; gold,  and silver,  and brass,  [4] And blue,  and purple,  and scarlet,  and fine linen,  and goats'  [5] And rams'  skins  dyed red,  and badgers'  skins,  and shittim  wood,  [6] Oil  for the light,  spices  for anointing  oil,  and for sweet  incense,  [7] Onyx  stones,  to be set  in the ephod,  and in the breastplate.  [8] And let them make  me a sanctuary;  that I may dwell  among  them. [9] According to all that I shew  thee, after the pattern  of the tabernacle,  and the pattern  of all the instruments  thereof, even so shall ye make  it.

What does Exodus 25:1-9 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

"Only voluntary gifts were acceptable as materials for the Lord"s house ( Exodus 25:2; Exodus 35:3; Exodus 35:21-22; Exodus 35:29), since love rather than compulsion is the basis of all truly biblical giving ( 2 Corinthians 9:7)." [1]
Moses usually employed one of four different terms to describe the tabernacle each of which emphasizes one of its purposes, though other names also appear.
1.Sanctuary ( Exodus 25:8) means "place of holiness" and stresses the transcendence of Israel"s God as an exalted being different from His people. However this verse also states that such a God would "dwell among" His people. [2]
2.Tabernacle ( Exodus 25:9) means "dwelling place" and emphasizes God"s purpose of abiding near His people. The tabernacle looked like the other nomads" tents that the Israelites lived in. They would have thought of it as God"s tent among their tents. It had furniture, just as their tents did.
"Just as they lived in tents, so God would condescend to "dwell" in a tent." [3]
3.Tent of Meeting ( Exodus 26:36; Exodus 29:42-43; Exodus 35:21) also stresses the imminence of God. God met with Moses and the Israelites in this tent. The verb translated "meeting" means a deliberate prearranged rendezvous rather than a casual accidental meeting. Some scholars believe that the tent of meeting was a structure different from the tabernacle and that it was always outside the camp of Israel. [4]
4.Tabernacle (or Tent) of Testimony ( Exodus 38:21; Numbers 9:15; Numbers 17:7-8) indicates that the structure was the repository of the Law. Moses sometimes referred to the ark of the covenant as the "ark of the testimony" ( Exodus 25:22) that contained the "two tablets of the testimony" ( Exodus 31:18) on which were the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments are the "testimony." They were the essential stipulations of the Mosaic Covenant, the heart of the relationship between God and His people.
God designed the tabernacle structure and all its furnishings to teach the Israelites about Himself and how they as sinners could have a relationship with Him.
"The thoughts of God concerning salvation and His kingdom, which the earthly building was to embody and display, were visibly set forth in the pattern shown [5]." [6]
"The tabernacle also provided a prophetic prefigurement of the redemptive program of God as focused in Jesus Christ. ... [7] was a remarkable picture of the high priestly work of Christ both here on earth and His eternal work in the heavens." [8]
"Probably the conception of the tabhnith, the "model" ( Exodus 25:9), also goes back ultimately to the idea that the earthly sanctuary is the counterpart of the heavenly dwelling of a deity." [9]