2 On the first day of the first month you are to put up the House of the Tent of meeting.
3 And inside it put the ark of the law, hanging the veil before it.
4 And put the table inside, placing all the things on it in order; and put in the support for the lights, and let its lights be burning.
5 And put the gold altar for burning perfumes in front of the ark of the law, hanging the curtain over the doorway of the House.
6 And put the altar of burned offerings before the doorway of the House of the Tent of meeting.
7 And let the washing-vessel, with water in it, be put between the Tent of meeting and the altar.
8 And put up the hangings forming the open space all round it, with the curtain over its doorway.
9 And take the holy oil and put it on the House and everything in it, and make it and everything in it holy:
10 And put oil on the altar of burned offering, and make it and all its vessels holy; this altar is to be most holy.
11 And put oil on the washing-vessel and its base, and make them holy.
12 Then let Aaron and his sons come to the door of the Tent of meeting; and after washing them with water,
13 You are to put on Aaron the holy robes; and you are to put oil on him, and make him holy, so that he may be my priest.
14 And take his sons with him and put coats on them;
15 And put oil on them as you did on their father, so that they may be my priests: the putting on of oil will make them priests for ever, from generation to generation.
16 And Moses did this; as the Lord gave him orders, so he did.
17 So on the first day of the first month in the second year the House was put up.
18 Moses put up the House; placing its bases in position and lifting up its uprights, putting in the rods and planting the pillars in their places;
19 Stretching the outer tent over it, and covering it, as the Lord had given him orders.
20 And he took the law and put it inside the ark, and put the rods at its side and the cover over it;
21 And he took the ark into the House, hanging up the veil before it as the Lord had given him orders.
22 And he put the table in the Tent of meeting, on the north side outside the veil.
23 And he put the bread on it in order before the Lord, as the Lord had said.
24 The support for the lights he put in the Tent of meeting, opposite the table, on the south side:
25 Lighting the lights before the Lord, as the Lord had given him orders.
26 And he put the gold altar in the Tent of meeting, in front of the veil:
27 Burning sweet perfumes on it, as the Lord had given him orders.
28 And he put up the curtain at the doorway of the House.
29 And at the door of the House of the Tent of meeting, he put the altar of burned offerings, offering on it the burned offering and the meal offering, as the Lord had given him orders.
30 And between the altar and the Tent of meeting he put the vessel with water in it for washing.
31 In it the hands and feet of Moses and Aaron and his sons were washed,
32 Whenever they went into the Tent of meeting, and when they came near the altar, as the Lord had given orders to Moses.
33 And he put up the hangings forming the open space round the House and the altar, and put the curtain over the doorway. So Moses made the work complete.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Exodus 40
Commentary on Exodus 40 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 40
In this chapter,
Exd 40:1-15
The materials and furniture of the tabernacle had been viewed severally and approved, and now they must be put together.
Exd 40:16-33
When the tabernacle and the furniture of it were prepared, they did not put off the rearing of it till they came to Canaan, though they now hoped to be there very shortly; but, in obedience to the will of God, they set it up in the midst of their camp, while they were in the wilderness. Those that are unsettled in the world must not think that this will excuse them in their continued irreligion; as if it were enough to begin to serve God when they begin to be settled in the world. No; a tabernacle for God is a very needful and profitable companion even in a wilderness, especially considering that our carcases may fall in that wilderness, and we may be fixed in another world before we come to fix in this.
The rearing of the tabernacle was a good day's work; the consecrating of it, and of the priests, was attended to some days after. Here we have an account only of that new-year's-day's work.
Exd 40:34-38
As when, in the creation, God had finished this earth, which he designed for man's habitation, he made man, and put him in possession of it, so when Moses had finished the tabernacle, which was designed for God's dwelling-place among men, God came and took possession of it. The shechinah, the divine eternal Word, though not yet made flesh, yet, as a prelude to that event, came and dwelt among them, Jn. 1:14. This was henceforward the place of his throne, and the place of the soles of his feet (Eze. 43:7); here he resided, here he ruled. By the visible tokens of God's coming among them to take possession of the tabernacle he testified both the return of his favour to them, which they had forfeited by the golden calf (ch. 33:7), and his gracious acceptance of all the expense they had been at, and all the care and pains they had taken about the tabernacle. Thus God owned them, showed himself well pleased with what they had done, and abundantly rewarded them. Note, God will dwell with those that prepare him a habitation. The broken and contrite heart, the clean and holy heart, that is furnished for his service, and devoted to his honour, shall be his rest for ever; here will Christ dwell by faith, Eph. 3:17. Where God has a throne and an altar in the soul, there is a living temple. And God will be sure to own and crown the operations of his own grace and the observance of his own appointments.
As God had manifested himself upon mount Sinai, so he did now in this newly-erected tabernacle. We read (ch. 24:16) that the glory of the Lord abode upon mount Sinai, which is said to be like devouring fire (v. 17), and that the cloud covered it on the outside, and the glory of the Lord filled it within, to which, probably there is an allusion in Zec. 2:5, where God promises to be a wall of fire round about Jerusalem (and the pillar of cloud was by night a pillar of fire) and the glory in the midst of her.