The Berean Pursuit
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Tell the Israelites to bring Me an offering. You are to receive My offering from every man whose heart compels him. This is the offering you are to accept from them:
gold, silver, and bronze;
blue, purple, and scarlet yarn;
fine linen and goat hair;
ram skins dyed red and fine leather;
acacia wood;
olive oil for the light;
spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense;
and onyx stones and gemstones to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece.
And they are to make a sanctuary for Me, so that I may dwell among them. You must make the tabernacle and design all its furnishings according to the pattern I show you.
And they are to construct an ark of acacia wood, two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high. Overlay it with pure gold both inside and out, and make a gold molding around it.
Cast four gold rings for it and fasten them to its four feet, two rings on one side and two on the other. And make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. Insert the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, in order to carry it. The poles are to remain in the rings of the ark; they must not be removed. And place inside the ark the Testimony, which I will give you.
And you are to construct a mercy seat of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide. Make two cherubim of hammered gold at the ends of the mercy seat, one cherub on one end and one on the other, all made from one piece of gold. And the cherubim are to have wings that spread upward, overshadowing the mercy seat. The cherubim are to face each other, looking toward the mercy seat.
Set the mercy seat atop the ark, and put the Testimony that I will give you into the ark.
And I will meet with you there above the mercy seat, between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony; I will speak with you about all that I command you regarding the Israelites.
You are also to make a table of acacia wood two cubits long, a cubit wide, and a cubit and a half high. Overlay it with pure gold and make a gold molding around it. And make a rim around it a handbreadth wide and put a gold molding on the rim.
Make four gold rings for the table and fasten them to the four corners at its four legs. The rings are to be close to the rim, to serve as holders for the poles used to carry the table. Make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold, so that the table may be carried with them.
You are also to make the plates and dishes, as well as the pitchers and bowls for pouring drink offerings. Make them out of pure gold.
And place the Bread of the Presence on the table before Me at all times.
Then you are to make a lampstand of pure, hammered gold. It shall be made of one piece, including its base and shaft, its cups, and its buds and petals.
Six branches are to extend from the sides of the lampstand-three on one side and three on the other. There are to be three cups shaped like almond blossoms on the first branch, each with buds and petals, three on the next branch, and the same for all six branches that extend from the lampstand.
And on the lampstand there shall be four cups shaped like almond blossoms with buds and petals. For the six branches that extend from the lampstand, a bud must be under the first pair of branches, a bud under the second pair, and a bud under the third pair. The buds and branches are to be all of one piece with the lampstand, hammered out of pure gold.
Make seven lamps and set them up on the lampstand so that they illuminate the area in front of it. The wick trimmers and their trays must be of pure gold. The lampstand and all these utensils shall be made from a talent of pure gold.
See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.
"You are to construct the tabernacle itself with ten curtains of finely spun linen, each with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and cherubim skillfully worked into them. Each curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits long and four cubits wide -all curtains the same size.
Five of the curtains are to be joined together, and the other five joined as well. Make loops of blue material on the edge of the end curtain in the first set, and do the same for the end curtain in the second set.
Make fifty loops on one curtain and fifty loops on the end curtain of the second set, so that the loops line up opposite one another. Make fifty gold clasps as well, and join the curtains together with the clasps, so that the tabernacle will be a unit.
You are to make curtains of goat hair for the tent over the tabernacle-eleven curtains in all. Each of the eleven curtains is to be the same size-thirty cubits long and four cubits wide.
Join five of the curtains into one set and the other six into another. Then fold the sixth curtain over double at the front of the tent.
Make fifty loops along the edge of the end curtain in the first set, and fifty loops along the edge of the corresponding curtain in the second set. Make fifty bronze clasps and put them through the loops to join the tent together as a unit.
As for the overlap that remains of the tent curtains, the half curtain that is left over shall hang down over the back of the tabernacle. And the tent curtains will be a cubit longer on either side, and the excess will hang over the sides of the tabernacle to cover it.
Also make a covering for the tent out of ram skins dyed red, and over that a covering of fine leather.
You are to construct upright frames of acacia wood for the tabernacle. Each frame is to be ten cubits long and a cubit and a half wide. Two tenons must be connected to each other for each frame. Make all the frames of the tabernacle in this way.
Construct twenty frames for the south side of the tabernacle, with forty silver bases under the twenty frames-two bases for each frame, one under each tenon.
For the second side of the tabernacle, the north side, make twenty frames and forty silver bases-two bases under each frame.
Make six frames for the rear of the tabernacle, the west side, and two frames for the two back corners of the tabernacle, coupled together from bottom to top and fitted into a single ring. These will serve as the two corners. So there are to be eight frames and sixteen silver bases-two under each frame.
You are also to make five crossbars of acacia wood for the frames on one side of the tabernacle, five for those on the other side, and five for those on the rear side of the tabernacle, to the west.
The central crossbar in the middle of the frames shall extend from one end to the other. Overlay the frames with gold and make gold rings to hold the crossbars. Also overlay the crossbars with gold.
So you are to set up the tabernacle according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.
Make a veil of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and finely spun linen, with cherubim skillfully worked into it. Hang it with gold hooks on four posts of acacia wood, overlaid with gold and standing on four silver bases. And hang the veil from the clasps and place the ark of the Testimony behind the veil. So the veil will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.
Put the mercy seat on the ark of the Testimony in the Most Holy Place. And place the table outside the veil on the north side of the tabernacle, and put the lampstand opposite the table, on the south side.
For the entrance to the tent, you are to make a curtain embroidered with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and finely spun linen. Make five posts of acacia wood for the curtain, overlay them with gold hooks, and cast five bronze bases for them.
"You are to build an altar of acacia wood. The altar must be square, five cubits long, five cubits wide, and three cubits high. Make a horn on each of its four corners, so that the horns are of one piece, and overlay it with bronze.
Make all its utensils of bronze-its pots for removing ashes, its shovels, its sprinkling bowls, its meat forks, and its firepans. Construct for it a grate of bronze mesh, and make a bronze ring at each of the four corners of the mesh. Set the grate beneath the ledge of the altar, so that the mesh comes halfway up the altar.
Additionally, make poles of acacia wood for the altar and overlay them with bronze. The poles are to be inserted into the rings so that the poles are on two sides of the altar when it is carried.
Construct the altar with boards so that it is hollow. It is to be made just as you were shown on the mountain.
You are also to make a courtyard for the tabernacle. On the south side of the courtyard make curtains of finely spun linen, a hundred cubits long on one side, with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, and silver hooks and bands on the posts.
Likewise there are to be curtains on the north side, a hundred cubits long, with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, and with silver hooks and bands on the posts. The curtains on the west side of the courtyard shall be fifty cubits wide, with ten posts and ten bases.
The east side of the courtyard, toward the sunrise, is to be fifty cubits wide. Make the curtains on one side fifteen cubits long, with three posts and three bases, and the curtains on the other side fifteen cubits long, with three posts and three bases.
The gate of the courtyard shall be twenty cubits long, with a curtain embroidered with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and finely spun linen. It shall have four posts and four bases.
All the posts around the courtyard shall have silver bands, silver hooks, and bronze bases. The entire courtyard shall be a hundred cubits long and fifty cubits wide, with curtains of finely spun linen five cubits high, and with bronze bases. All the utensils of the tabernacle for every use, including all its tent pegs and the tent pegs of the courtyard, shall be made of bronze.
And you are to command the Israelites to bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to keep the lamps burning continually.
In the Tent of Meeting, outside the veil that is in front of the Testimony, Aaron and his sons are to tend the lamps before the LORD from evening until morning. This is to be a permanent statute for the Israelites for the generations to come.
A prayer of Moses the man of God.
Lord, You have been our dwelling place
through all generations.
Before the mountains were born
or You brought forth the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting
You are God.
You return man to dust,
saying, "Return, O sons of mortals."
For in Your sight a thousand years
are but a day that passes,
or a watch of the night.
You whisk them away in their sleep;
they are like the new grass of the morning-
in the morning it springs up new,
but by evening it fades and withers.
For we are consumed by Your anger
and terrified by Your wrath.
You have set our iniquities before You,
our secret sins in the light of Your presence.
For all our days decline in Your fury;
we finish our years with a sigh.
The length of our days is seventy years-
or eighty if we are strong-
yet their pride is but labor and sorrow,
for they quickly pass, and we fly away.
Who knows the power of Your anger?
Your wrath matches the fear You are due.
So teach us to number our days,
that we may present a heart of wisdom.
Return, O LORD! How long will it be?
Have compassion on Your servants.
Satisfy us in the morning with Your loving devotion,
that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.
Make us glad for as many days as You have afflicted us,
for as many years as we have seen evil.
May Your work be shown to Your servants,
and Your splendor to their children.
May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us;
establish for us the work of our hands-
yes, establish the work of our hands!
Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,
To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I thank my God every time I remember you. In every prayer for all of you, I always pray with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart. For in my chains and in my defense and confirmation of the gospel, you are all partners in grace with me. God is my witness how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to test and prove what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
Now I want you to know, brothers, that my circumstances have actually served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. And most of the brothers, confident in the Lord by my chains, now dare more greatly to speak the word without fear.
It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so in love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. The former, however, preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can add to the distress of my chains.
What then is the issue? Just this: that in every way, whether by false motives or true, Christ is preached. And in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, because I know that through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, my distress will turn out for my deliverance. I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have complete boldness so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.
For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. So what shall I choose? I do not know. I am torn between the two. I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better indeed. But it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.
Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my coming to you again your exultation in Christ Jesus will resound on account of me.
Nevertheless, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending side by side for the faith of the gospel, without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a clear sign of their destruction but of your salvation, and it is from God. For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him, since you are encountering the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.