May 20, 2019

God Is All About the Details

Exodus 39

Karen Hammett
Monday's Devo

May 20, 2019

Monday's Devo

May 20, 2019

Central Truth

God cares about the details of our lives just like He cares about the garb of the priests. He also cares about us following His directions just as the people of Israel followed, "as the LORD had commanded Moses" (Exodus 39:1). God works through people and, in this case, the people of Israel followed God's commands and were blessed. 

Key Verse | Exodus 39:42

According to all that the LORD had commanded Moses, so the people of Israel had done all the work.

Exodus 39

Making the Priestly Garments

From the blue and purple and scarlet yarns they made finely woven garments, 1 39:1 Or garments for worship for ministering in the Holy Place. They made the holy garments for Aaron, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

He made the ephod of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen. And they hammered out gold leaf, and he cut it into threads to work into the blue and purple and the scarlet yarns, and into the fine twined linen, in skilled design. They made for the ephod attaching shoulder pieces, joined to it at its two edges. And the skillfully woven band on it was of one piece with it and made like it, of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

They made the onyx stones, enclosed in settings of gold filigree, and engraved like the engravings of a signet, according to the names of the sons of Israel. And he set them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod to be stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

He made the breastpiece, in skilled work, in the style of the ephod, of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen. It was square. They made the breastpiece doubled, a span 2 39:9 A span was about 9 inches or 22 centimeters its length and a span its breadth when doubled. 10 And they set in it four rows of stones. A row of sardius, topaz, and carbuncle was the first row; 11 and the second row, an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond; 12 and the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; 13 and the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They were enclosed in settings of gold filigree. 14 There were twelve stones with their names according to the names of the sons of Israel. They were like signets, each engraved with its name, for the twelve tribes. 15 And they made on the breastpiece twisted chains like cords, of pure gold. 16 And they made two settings of gold filigree and two gold rings, and put the two rings on the two edges of the breastpiece. 17 And they put the two cords of gold in the two rings at the edges of the breastpiece. 18 They attached the two ends of the two cords to the two settings of filigree. Thus they attached it in front to the shoulder pieces of the ephod. 19 Then they made two rings of gold, and put them at the two ends of the breastpiece, on its inside edge next to the ephod. 20 And they made two rings of gold, and attached them in front to the lower part of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, at its seam above the skillfully woven band of the ephod. 21 And they bound the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, so that it should lie on the skillfully woven band of the ephod, and that the breastpiece should not come loose from the ephod, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

22 He also made the robe of the ephod woven all of blue, 23 and the opening of the robe in it was like the opening in a garment, with a binding around the opening, so that it might not tear. 24 On the hem of the robe they made pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. 25 They also made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates all around the hem of the robe, between the pomegranates— 26 a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate around the hem of the robe for ministering, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

27 They also made the coats, woven of fine linen, for Aaron and his sons, 28 and the turban of fine linen, and the caps of fine linen, and the linen undergarments of fine twined linen, 29 and the sash of fine twined linen and of blue and purple and scarlet yarns, embroidered with needlework, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

30 They made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote on it an inscription, like the engraving of a signet, “Holy to the LORD.” 31 And they tied to it a cord of blue to fasten it on the turban above, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

32 Thus all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting was finished, and the people of Israel did according to all that the LORD had commanded Moses; so they did. 33 Then they brought the tabernacle to Moses, the tent and all its utensils, its hooks, its frames, its bars, its pillars, and its bases; 34 the covering of tanned rams' skins and goatskins, and the veil of the screen; 35 the ark of the testimony with its poles and the mercy seat; 36 the table with all its utensils, and the bread of the Presence; 37 the lampstand of pure gold and its lamps with the lamps set and all its utensils, and the oil for the light; 38 the golden altar, the anointing oil and the fragrant incense, and the screen for the entrance of the tent; 39 the bronze altar, and its grating of bronze, its poles, and all its utensils; the basin and its stand; 40 the hangings of the court, its pillars, and its bases, and the screen for the gate of the court, its cords, and its pegs; and all the utensils for the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of meeting; 41 the finely worked garments for ministering in the Holy Place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons for their service as priests. 42 According to all that the LORD had commanded Moses, so the people of Israel had done all the work. 43 And Moses saw all the work, and behold, they had done it; as the LORD had commanded, so had they done it. Then Moses blessed them.

Footnotes

[1] 39:1 Or garments for worship
[2] 39:9 A span was about 9 inches or 22 centimeters

Dive Deeper | Exodus 39

The instructions for the construction of the priestly garments are very detailed. Thirty-one verses cover the specifics of the clothing: the colors, materials, precious metals, and stones used were all specified by God. The smallest of details were noted. Like the stones on the breastplate—not three rows of four stones, but four rows of three stones—the stones placed in a particular order. I sometimes read passages like this and wonder why they are included in the Bible. Here are some of my thoughts about why.

The Lord commanded Moses, Moses relayed the Lord's commands, and the people obeyed. Seven times we read "as the LORD had commanded Moses." (Exodus 39:1, 5, 7, 21, 26, 29, 31) This repeated phrase emphasizes the care that Moses and the people took in carrying out God's instruction. God is worthy of our careful obedience.

Beautiful garments were made by skilled artisans. Our God, Creator of all things, loves creativity. And He loves seeing us use the ways He has gifted us.

The quality of the products used in this creation is very high. God is worthy of our best.

There were twelve different stones on the breastplate. God created and loves diversity. He uses 12 stones to represent the 12 tribes—not one of them the same.

The robe was well made with binding along the edges to prevent tearing. Set a high standard for all you do.

The hem of the robe was decorated with pomegranates made of the bright yarns alternating with gold bells. To me, this represents the joy of the Lord. This robe was no staid, simple garment.

The gold crown was labeled "Holy to the LORD" (Exodus 39:30). Likewise, let your intentions be well known and clearly defined to all. 

Then, everything that was made during the last several chapters of Exodus, including the priestly garments, was brought to Moses, who saw all the work and noted that the work was done as the Lord had commanded. Our Lord gives specific instruction for us to follow.

"All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable . . . ." (2 Timothy 3:16)

Discussion Questions

1. What other reasons do you see for this text being included in the Bible?

2.  In what areas are you a skillful artisan, and how are you using those gifts?

3. What are some examples in your life of being obedient to the Lord? What is one area in which you feel challenged to be obedient?

4. How do you think Moses effectively communicated God's commands to the people of Israel, that everything was done "as the LORD had commanded Moses"?