Exodus 39:42 Commentary | + Memorization Tutorial (Video)

Verse of the Day 5.2.18: Exodus 39:42

Today, C4C is studying Exodus 39:32-43, which tells of how the Israelites completed the work on all of the items that were to be placed in the tabernacle. Moses inspects the items and ensures that they were constructed in accordance with the instructions he had received from the LORD.

  1. Text
  2. Translation
  3. Commentary
  4. Memorization

Text

42 כְּכֹ֛ל אֲשֶׁר־צִוָּ֥ה יְהוָ֖ה אֶת־מֹשֶׁ֑ה כֵּ֤ן עָשׂוּ֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אֵ֖ת כָּל־הָעֲבֹדָֽה׃1

The Israelites had done all the work just as the LORD had commanded Moses.2





Translation

Just as the LORD had commanded Moses, so the people of Israel did all the work.

Commentary

This section of scripture is bracketed by an inclusio — “a literary device, an envelope of sorts that encloses a portion of text within the same statement or material (e.g., Pss. 8:1 and 8:9).”3 Notice how the passage begins and ends by stating that the Israelites completed all of the work according to the LORD’s instructions (Ex 39:32b, 42).4

Old Testament Tabernacle

Part of the reason why the tabernacle and its furniture had very precise, divine specifications was probably due to the fact that the tabernacle was to be the divine residence. Though the LORD could not be confined to any one place on earth (Is 66:1-2), the tabernacle was to be where His special Presence (cf. Ex 33:14, more literally translated “face”) would reside.

After the LORD brought the Israelites out of Egypt (Exodus 11-12), and led them through the wilderness to Mount Sinai (Exodus 13-18), while they remained there for about a year (Ex 19:1, Num 10:11), the Israelites built the tabernacle (Exodus 35-40), in accordance with the LORD’s instructions (Exodus 25-31).5

When the tabernacle was fully completed (Exodus 40), the tent of meeting was filled with the glory of the LORD (Ex 40:34-35). His presence was made manifest by the cloud that covered the tabernacle by day, and the cloud of fire that hovered above it at night (Ex 40:36–38; Num 9:15–23; 10:11–12, 33–34).6

This precursor to Solomon’s Temple (1 Kings 6) is where (among other things), sacrifices were offered to the LORD (Leviticus 1-16)7 — often to make atonement for sin (Leviticus 16).

New Testament Tabernacle

In the New Testament, we read in John that Jesus, the One and Only Son, made His dwelling (or more literally translated: tabernacled) among us — full of glory (Jn 1:14).8

Moreover, Jesus says that He has given the glory — that the Father gave Him — to His followers (Jn 17:22-23).9 As foretold in the Old Testament (Eze 36:26-27 cf. Jer 31:31-33), followers of Christ under the New Covenant have become temples of the Spirit of God (Jn 14:16-17)– individually (1 Cor 6:18-20) and corporately as the Church (1 Cor 3:16-17, cf. Eph 2:21-22, 1 Pet 2:4-5).10

As the clouds covering the tabernacle manifested the glorious Presence of the LORD among His people, so Christians are to reflect the glorious Presence of the LORD in the world (2 Cor 3:18).11

And, eventually, when there is a new heaven and a new earth (Rev 21:1), we will need no tabernacle nor temple in which the special Presence will reside. For:

God will be immediately present in all his glory and fully accessible in his profound holiness, surrounded by a people who will have been purified and sanctified through the redemptive work of the divine Son of God, the mediator of the New Covenant and the cornerstone of the church (Eph 2:19–22).12

Memorization

Memorize Exodus 39:42 after watching a brief video tutorial demonstrating the How to Memorize Any Bible Verse in Less Than Five Minutes method below:

Sources

  1. Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia: With Werkgroep Informatica, Vrije Universiteit Morphology; Bible. O.T. Hebrew. Werkgroep Informatica, Vrije Universiteit. (Logos Bible Software, 2006), Ex 39:42.
  2. The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Ex 39:42
  3. “…An inclusio may either set off the enclosed material or provide a thematic frame for a larger narrative.” Victor H. Matthews, The Hebrew Prophets and Their Social World: An Introduction, Second Edition (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2012), 219.
  4. James K. Hoffmeier, “Exodus,” in Evangelical Commentary on the Bible, vol. 3, Baker Reference Library (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1995), 63.
  5. R. E. Averbeck, “Tabernacle,” ed. T. Desmond Alexander and David W. Baker, Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2003), 807.
  6. R. E. Averbeck, “Tabernacle,” ed. T. Desmond Alexander and David W. Baker, Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2003), 807.
  7. R. E. Averbeck, “Tabernacle,” ed. T. Desmond Alexander and David W. Baker, Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2003), 819.
  8. R. E. Averbeck, “Tabernacle,” ed. T. Desmond Alexander and David W. Baker, Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2003), 825.
  9. R. E. Averbeck, “Tabernacle,” ed. T. Desmond Alexander and David W. Baker, Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2003), 825.
  10. R. E. Averbeck, “Tabernacle,” ed. T. Desmond Alexander and David W. Baker, Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2003), 825.
  11. R. E. Averbeck, “Tabernacle,” ed. T. Desmond Alexander and David W. Baker, Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2003), 825.
  12. R. E. Averbeck, “Tabernacle,” ed. T. Desmond Alexander and David W. Baker, Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2003), 826.
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