January 27, 2022: Day 21 – Exodus 33-38

Most of these chapters may seem like a repeat to you of the chapters before these that described what had to be done in order to make the tabernacle the way that God wanted it.  So the description has now switched to praxis and Bezalel and Oholiab put the commands of the Lord to work and created the tabernacle as it was commanded.  A few other things that we should lift up here in these chapters as well.

In 33 we find God commanding Moses to enter the promised land but tells him that as he makes his way through the hostile nations God will not be by his side, but feel free to go up anyway.  As you can imagine Moses was not a big fan of going solo without God by his side so he beseeches God to change his mind and accompany the people and Moses as they made their way through the hostile lands towards the promised land.  Moses is able to be in the real presence of God in a way that no other person is able to do.  

In 34 we find Moses being given the tables with the 10 commandments again.  A curious thing about this chapter is that we see Moses’ face shining when he comes down from the mountain and after every appearance that he has with God.  In art history, and in Hebrew, the word “shining” can also mean “horns” so there was a tradition that Moses had horns after he encountered God and so as a result put a veil over his face to cover his horns.  You will find below one of the more famous depictions of this which is in the Vatican today and was done by none other Michelangelo himself.  The youth and adult going on the Italy Mission Trip will be able to see this in person!

 

3 thoughts on “January 27, 2022: Day 21 – Exodus 33-38

  1. Debbie

    Is the tabernacle preserved anywhere to see it today?

    Exodus 29:19 Why put blood on the altar vestments, lobes of Aaron’s ear and lobes of his sons and other parts of their bodies?

    Exodus 29: 33-34 Why waste the flesh that is left over and not allow anyone else to eat it because it is holy? If people are hungry why not feed them the holy flesh?

    Exodus 33-40 Why does the tabernacle have such specific adornment yet in 1 Peter 3 it is said to not adorn yourself outwardly by wearing gold ornaments and fine clothing?

    Reply
    1. Robert Bronkema Post author

      Thanks Debbie, the original tabernacle is nowhere preserved, but you can see a replica of it here: https://www.holylandsite.com/timna-tabernacle
      In fact, the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark was all about finding and claiming the ark of the covenant, which was housed in the tabernacle. The bloods representing the cleansing act of God of the people of Israel. Israel and his sons were the priests so they, of all people, had to be cleansed more completely and more securely. What is offered to God should not be offered to men and women. In fact, we will find later on in Samuel that the sons of Eli put their hands in the offering to take advantage of the meat and God was not happy about that. There is a constant historical tension between adorning God’s house and using those funds for the poor. Remember when Judas objected to the perfume poured on Jesus’ feet because it could have been used to help the poor. A form of that debate has continued over the centuries, even to today as we buy an organ or decide to install ADA approved bathrooms, couldn’t the money have been used for something else? That questions assumed that when you do these things that you are taking away from something else. That does not need to be the case. The glory of the Lord is completely different from the adornment of men and women.

      Reply

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *