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Exodus 39:32 Bible in Basic English (BBE)

32 So all the work on the House of the Tent of meeting was done; as the Lord had given orders to Moses, so the children of Israel did it.

Cross Reference

Exodus 39:42-43 BBE

The children of Israel did everything as the Lord had given orders to Moses. Then Moses, when he saw all their work and saw that they had done everything as the Lord had said, gave them his blessing.

Exodus 25:40 BBE

And see that you make them from the design which you saw on the mountain.

Numbers 4:4-32 BBE

And this is to be the work of the sons of Kohath in connection with the most holy things. When all the people go forward, Aaron is to go in with his sons, and take down the veil of the curtain, covering the ark of witness with it; And putting over it the leather cover and over that a blue cloth; and putting its rods in place. And on the table of the holy bread they are to put a blue cloth, and on it all the vessels, the spoons and the basins and the cups; and the holy bread with them; And over them they are to put a red cloth, covering it with a leather cover, and putting its rods in their places. And they are to take a blue cloth, covering with it the light-support with its lights and its instruments and its trays and all the oil vessels which are used for it: All these they are to put in a leather cover, and put it on the frame. On the gold altar they are to put a blue cloth, covering it with a leather cover; and they are to put its rods in their places. All the vessels which are used in the holy place they are to put in a blue cloth, covering them with a leather cover, and put them on the frame. And they are to take away the burned waste from the altar, and put a purple cloth on it; Placing on the cloth all its vessels, the fire-baskets, the meat-hooks, the spades, and the basins; all the vessels of the altar; they are to put a leather cover over all these, and put its rods in their places. And after the holy place and all its vessels have been covered up by Aaron and his sons, when the tents of the people go forward, the sons of Kohath are to come and take it up; but the holy things may not be touched by them for fear of death. And Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, is to be responsible for the oil for the light, and the sweet perfumes for burning, and the regular meal offering, and the holy oil; the House and the holy place and everything in it will be in his care. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, Do not let the family of the Kohathites be cut off from among the Levites; But do this to them, so that life and not death may be theirs when they come near the most holy things; let Aaron and his sons go in and give to every one his work and that which he is to take up; But they themselves are not to go in to see the holy place, even for a minute, for fear of death. And the Lord said to Moses, Let the sons of Gershon be numbered by families, in the order of their fathers' houses; All those from thirty to fifty years old who are able to do the work of the Tent of meeting. This is to be the work of the Gershonites, the things they are to do and take up. They are to take up the curtains of the House, and the Tent of meeting with its cover and the leather cover over it, and the hangings for the door of the Tent of meeting; And the hangings for the open space round the House and the altar, and the curtain for its doorway, with the cords and all the things used for them; whatever is necessary for these, they are to do. From the mouth of Aaron and his sons the Gershonites will have word about all the things they are to do and take up; you are to give them their orders. This is the work of the family of the Gershonites in the Tent of meeting, and they will be under the direction of Ithamar, the son of Aaron the priest. The sons of Merari are to be numbered by families, in the order of their fathers' houses; Every one from thirty to fifty years old who is able to do the work of the Tent of meeting. And this is their part in the work of the Tent of meeting: the transport of the boards and the rods of the Tent, with the pillars and their bases; And the pillars of the open space outside it, with their bases and their nails and cords and all the instruments used, and everything which has to be done there; all the instruments for which they are responsible are to be numbered by name.

Hebrews 8:5 BBE

Being servants of that which is a copy and an image of the things in heaven, as Moses, when he was about to make the Tent, had special orders from God: for, See, he said, that you make everything like the design which you saw in the mountain.

Hebrews 3:2 BBE

Who kept faith with God who gave him his place, even as Moses did in all his house.

Matthew 28:20 BBE

Teaching them to keep all the rules which I have given you: and see, I am ever with you, even to the end of the world.

1 Chronicles 28:19 BBE

All this, said David, the design for all these things, has been made dear to me in writing by the hand of the Lord.

1 Samuel 15:22 BBE

And Samuel said, Has the Lord as much delight in offerings and burned offerings as in the doing of his orders? Truly, to do his pleasure is better than to make offerings, and to give ear to him than the fat of sheep.

Deuteronomy 12:32 BBE

You are to keep with care all the words I give you, making no addition to them and taking nothing from them.

Exodus 25:1-31 BBE

And the Lord said to Moses, Say to the children of Israel that they are to make me an offering; from every man who has the impulse in his heart take an offering for me. And this is the offering you are to take from them: gold and silver and brass; And blue and purple and red, and the best linen, and goats' hair; And sheepskins coloured red, and leather, and hard wood; Oil for the light, spices for the sweet-smelling oil, sweet perfumes for burning; Beryls and stones of value to be put on the ephod and on the priest's bag. And let them make me a holy place, so that I may be ever present among them. Make the House and everything in it from the designs which I will give you. And they are to make an ark of hard wood; two and a half cubits long, and a cubit and a half wide and high. It is to be plated inside and out with the best gold, with an edge of gold all round it And make four rings of gold for it, to be fixed on its four feet, two rings on one side of it and two on the other. And make rods of the same wood, plating them with gold. And put the rods through the rings at the sides of the ark, for lifting it. The rods are to be kept in the rings, and never taken out. Inside the ark you are to put the record which I will give you. And you are to make a cover of the best gold, two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide. And at the two ends of the cover you are to make two winged ones of hammered gold, One at one end and one at the other; the winged ones are to be part of the cover. And their wings are to be outstretched over the cover, and the winged ones are to be opposite one another, facing the cover. And put the cover over the ark, and in the ark the record which I will give you. And there, between the two winged ones on the cover of the ark, I will come to you, face to face, and make clear to you all the orders I have to give you for the children of Israel. And you are to make a table of the same wood, two cubits long, a cubit wide and a cubit and a half high, Plated with the best gold, with a gold edge all round it; And make a frame all round it, as wide as a man's hand, with a gold edge to the frame. And make four gold rings and put them at the four angles, on the four feet of the table; The rings are to be fixed under the frame to take the rods with which the table is to be lifted. Make rods of the same wood, plated with gold, for lifting the table. And make the table-vessels, the spoons and the cups and the basins for liquids, all of the best gold. And on the table at all times you are to keep my holy bread. And you are to make a support for lights, of the best gold; its base and its pillar are to be of hammered gold; its cups, its buds, and its flowers are to be made of the same metal.

Numbers 3:36-37 BBE

And in their care are to be all the boards of the Tent, with their rods and pillars and bases, and all the instruments, and all they are used for, And the pillars of the open space round it, with their bases and nails and cords.

Numbers 3:31 BBE

In their care are the ark, and the table, and the lights, and the altars, and all the vessels used in the holy place, and the veil, and all they are used for.

Numbers 3:25-26 BBE

In the Tent of meeting, the Gershonites are to have the care of the House, and the Tent with its cover, and the veil for the door of the Tent of meeting, And the hangings for the open space round the House and the altar, and the curtain for its doorway, and all the cords needed for its use.

Leviticus 8:1-9 BBE

And the Lord said to Moses, Take Aaron, and his sons with him, and the robes and the holy oil and the ox of the sin-offering and the two male sheep and the basket of unleavened bread; And let all the people come together at the door of the Tent of meeting. And Moses did as the Lord said, and all the people came together at the door of the Tent of meeting. And Moses said to the people, This is what the Lord has given orders to be done. Then Moses took Aaron and his sons; and after washing them with water, He put the coat on him, making it tight with its band, and then the robe, and over it the ephod, with its band of needlework to keep it in place. And he put the priest's bag on him, and in the bag he put the Urim and Thummim. And on his head he put the head-dress, and in front of the head-dress the plate of gold, the holy crown, as the Lord gave orders to Moses.

Exodus 40:32 BBE

Whenever they went into the Tent of meeting, and when they came near the altar, as the Lord had given orders to Moses.

Exodus 39:33 BBE

Then they took the House to Moses, the tent with all the things for it; its hooks, its boards, its rods, its pillars, and its bases;

Exodus 35:1-35 BBE

And Moses sent for all the children of Israel to come together, and said to them, This is what the Lord has said and these are his orders. Six days let work be done, but the seventh day is to be a holy day to you, a Sabbath of rest to the Lord; whoever does any work on that day is to be put to death. No fire is to be lighted in any of your houses on the Sabbath day. And Moses said to all the meeting of the children of Israel, This is the order which the Lord has given: Take from among you an offering to the Lord; everyone who has the impulse in his heart, let him give his offering to the Lord; gold and silver and brass; And blue and purple and red and the best linen and goats' hair, And sheepskins coloured red, and leather, and hard wood, And oil for the lights, and spices for the holy oil and for the sweet perfumes for burning. And beryls and jewels to be cut for the ephod and for the priest's bag. And let every wise-hearted man among you come and make whatever has been ordered by the Lord; The House and its tent and its cover, its hooks and its boards, its rods and its pillars and its bases; The ark with its cover and its rods and the veil hanging before it; The table and its rods and all its vessels, and the holy bread; And the support for the lights, with its vessels and its lights and the oil for the light; And the altar for burning spices, with its rods, and the holy oil and the sweet perfume, and the curtain for the door, at the door of the House; The altar of burned offerings, with its network of brass, its rods, and all its vessels, the washing-vessel and its base; The hangings for the open space, its pillars and their bases, and the curtain for the doorway; The nails for the House, and the nails for the open space and their cords; The robes of needlework for the work of the holy place, the holy robes for Aaron the priest, and the robes for his sons when acting as priests. And all the children of Israel went away from Moses. And everyone whose heart was moved, everyone who was guided by the impulse of his spirit, came with his offering for the Lord, for whatever was needed for the Tent of meeting and its work and for the holy robes. They came, men and women, all who were ready to give, and gave pins and nose-rings and finger-rings and neck-ornaments, all of gold; everyone gave an offering of gold to the Lord. And everyone who had blue and purple and red and the best linen and goats' hair and sheepskins coloured red and leather, gave them. Everyone who had silver and brass gave an offering of them to the Lord; and everyone who had hard wood, such as was needed for the work, gave it. And all the women who were expert with their hands, made cloth, and gave the work of their hands, blue and purple and red and the best linen. And those women who had the knowledge, made the goats' hair into cloth. And the rulers gave the beryls and the cut jewels for the ephod and the priest's bag; And the spice and the oil for the light, and the holy oil and the sweet perfumes. The children of Israel, every man and woman, from the impulse of their hearts, gave their offerings freely to the Lord for the work which the Lord had given Moses orders to have done. And Moses said to the children of Israel, See, the Lord has made selection of Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; And he has made him full of the spirit of God, in all wisdom and knowledge and art of every sort; As an expert designer of beautiful things, working in gold and silver and brass; Trained in the cutting of stones and the ornamenting of wood and in every sort of handwork. And he has given to him, and to Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, the power of training others. To them he has given knowledge of all the arts of the handworker, of the designer, and the expert workman; of the maker of needlework in blue and purple and red and the best linen, and of the maker of cloth; in all the arts of the designer and the trained workman they are expert.

Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Exodus 39

Commentary on Exodus 39 Matthew Henry Commentary


Chapter 39

This chapter gives us an account of the finishing of the work of the tabernacle.

  • I. The last things prepared were the holy garments. The ephod and its curious girdle (v. 1-5). The onyx-stones for the shoulders (v. 6, 7). The breastplate with the precious stones in it (v. 8-21). The robe of the ephod (v. 22-26). The coats, bonnets, and breeches, for the inferior priests (v. 27-29). And the plate of the holy crown (v. 30, 31).
  • II. A summary account of the whole work, as it was presented to Moses when it was all finished (v. 32, etc.).

Exd 39:1-31

In this account of the making of the priests' garments, according to the instructions given (ch. 28), we may observe,

  • 1. That the priests' garments are called here clothes of service, v. 1. Note, Those that wear robes of honour must look upon them as clothes of service; for from those upon whom honour is put service is expected. It is said of those that are arrayed in white robes that they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple, Rev. 7:13, 15. Holy garments were not made for men to sleep in, or to strut in, but to do service in; and then they are indeed for glory and beauty. The Son of man himself came not to be ministered unto, but to minister.
  • 2. That all the six paragraphs here, which give a distinct account of the making of these holy garments, conclude with those words, as the Lord commanded Moses, v. 5, 7, 21, 26, 29, 31. The like is not in any of the foregoing accounts, as if in these, more than any other of the appurtenances of the tabernacle, they had a particular regard to the divine appointment, both for warrant and for direction. It is an intimation to all the Lord's ministers to make the word of God their rule in all their ministrations, and to act in observance of and obedience to the command of God.
  • 3. That these garments, in conformity to the rest of the furniture of the tabernacle, were very rich and splendid; the church in its infancy was thus taught, thus pleased, with the rudiments of this world; but now under the gospel, which is the ministration of the Spirit, to affect and impose such pompous habits as the church of Rome does, under pretence of decency and instruction, is to betray the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free, and to entangle the church again in the bondage of those carnal ordinances which were imposed only till the time of reformation.
  • 4. That they were all shadows of good things to come, but the substance is Christ, and the grace of the gospel; when therefore the substance has come, it is a jest to be fond of the shadow.
    • (1.) Christ is our great high-priest; when he undertook the work of our redemption, he put on the clothes of service-he arrayed himself with the gifts and graces of the Spirit, which he received not by measure-girded himself with the curious girdle of resolution, to go through with his undertaking-charged himself with the curious girdle of resolution, to go through with his undertaking-charged himself with all God's spiritual Israel, bore them on his shoulders, carried them in his bosom, laid them near his heart, engraved them on the palms of his hands, and presented them in the breast-plate of judgment unto his Father. And (lastly) he crowned himself with holiness to the Lord, consecrating his whole undertaking to the honour of his Father's holiness: now consider how great this man is.
    • (2.) True believers are spiritual priests. The clean linen with which all their clothes of service must be made is the righteousness of saints (Rev. 19:8), and Holiness to the Lord must be so written upon their foreheads that all who converse with them may see, and say, that they bear the image of God's holiness, and are devoted to the praise of it.

Exd 39:32-43

Observe here,

  • I. The builders of the tabernacle made very good despatch. It was not much more than five months from the beginning to the finishing of it. Though there was a great deal of fine work about it, such as is usually the work of time, embroidering and engraving, not only in gold, but in precious stones, yet they went through with it in a little time. Church-work is usually slow work, but they made quick work of this, and yet did it with the greatest exactness imaginable. For,
    • 1. Many hands were employed, all unanimous, and not striving with each other. This expedited the business, and made it easy.
    • 2. The workmen were taught of God, and so were kept from making blunders, which would have retarded them.
    • 3. The people were hearty and zealous in the work, and impatient till it was finished. God had prepared their hearts, and then the thing was done suddenly, 2 Chr. 29:36. Resolution and industry, and a cheerful application of mind, will, by the grace of God, bring a great deal of good work to pass in a little time, in less than one would expect.
  • II. They punctually observed their orders, and did not in the least vary from them. They did it according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, v. 32, 42. Note, God's work must be done, in every thing, according to his own will. His institutions neither need nor admit men's inventions to make them either more beautiful or more likely to answer the intention of them. Add thou not unto his words. God is pleased with willing worship, but not with will-worship.
  • III. They brought all their work to Moses, and submitted it to his inspection and censure, v. 33. He knew what he had ordered them to make; and now the particulars were called over, and all produced, that Moses might see both that they had made all, omitting nothing, and that they had made all according to the instructions given them, and that, if they had made a mistake in any thing, it might be forthwith rectified. Thus they showed respect to Moses, who was set over them in the Lord; not objecting that Moses did not understand such work, and therefore that there was no reason for submitting it to his judgment. No, that God who gave them so much knowledge as to do the work gave them also so much humility as to be willing to have it examined and compared with the model. Moses was in authority, and they would pay a deference to his place. The spirit of the prophets is subject to the prophets. And besides, though they knew how to do the work better than Moses, Moses had a better and more exact idea of the model than they had, and therefore they could not be well pleased with their own work, unless they had his approbation. Thus in all the services of religion we should labour to be accepted of the Lord.
  • IV. Moses, upon search, found all done according to the rule, v. 43. Moses, both for their satisfaction and for his own, did look upon all the work, piece by piece, and behold they had done it according to the pattern shown him, for the same Being that showed him the pattern guided their hand in the work. All the copies of God's grace exactly agree with the original of his counsels: what God works in us, and by us, is the fulfilling of the good pleasure of his own goodness; and when the mystery of God shall be finished, and all his performances come to be compared with his purposes, it will appear that behold all is done according to the counsel of his own will, not one iota or tittle of which shall fall to the ground, or be varied from.
  • V. Moses blessed them.
    • 1. He commended them, and signified his approbation of all they had done. He did not find fault where there was none, as some do, who think they disparage their own judgment if they do not find something amiss in the best and most accomplished performance. In all this work it is probable there might have been found here and there a stitch amiss, and a stroke awry, which would have served for an over-curious and censorious critic to animadvert upon; but Moses was too candid to notice small faults where there were no great ones. Note, All governors must be a praise to those that do well, as well as a terror to evil-doers. Why should any take a pride in being hard to be pleased?
    • 2. He not only praised them, but prayed for them. He blessed them as one having authority, for the less is blessed of the better. We read not of any wages that Moses paid them for their work, but this blessing he gave them. For, though ordinarily the labourer be worthy of his hire, yet in this case,
      • 1. They wrought for themselves. The honour and comfort of God's tabernacle among them would be recompence enough. If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself.
      • 2. They had their meat from heaven on free-cost, for themselves and their families, and their raiment waxed not old upon them; so that they neither needed wages nor had reason to expect any. Freely you have received, freely give. The obligations we lie under, both in duty and interest, to serve God, should be sufficient to quicken us to our work, though we had not a reward in prospect. But,
      • 3. This blessing, in the name of the Lord, was wages enough for all their work. Those whom God employs he will bless, and those whom he blesses are blessed indeed. The blessing he commands is life for evermore.