Jo’s Place

Plans for the Tabernacle (God continues His instructions) “Make the Tabernacle from ten curtains of finely woven linen.  Decorate the curtains with blue, purple, and scarlet thread …and with skillfully embroidered cherubim.  These ten curtains must all be exactly the same size—42 feet long and 6 feet wide.  Join five of these curtains together to make one long curtain, then join the other five into a second long curtain.  Put loops of blue yarn along the edge of the last curtain in each set.  The fifty loops along the edge of one curtain are to match the fifty loops along the edge of the other curtain.  Then make fifty gold clasps and fasten the long curtains together with the clasps. In this way, the Tabernacle will be made of one continuous piece.  “Make eleven curtains of goat-hair cloth to serve as a tent covering for the Tabernacle.  These eleven curtains must all be exactly the same size—45 feet long and 6 feet wide.  Join five of these curtains together to make one long curtain,

Plans for the Table and the Lampstand  (God continues His instructions to Moses and the people) “Then make a table of acacia wood, 36 inches long, 18 inches wide, and 27 inches high.  Overlay it with pure gold and run a gold molding around the edge.  Decorate it with a 3-inch border all around, and run a gold molding along the border.  Make four gold rings for the table and attach them at the four corners next to the four legs.  Attach the rings near the border to hold the poles that are used to carry the table.  Make these poles from acacia wood, and overlay them with gold.  Make special containers of pure gold for the table—bowls, ladles, pitchers, and jars—to be used in pouring out liquid offerings.  Place the Bread of the Presence on the table before me at all times.  “Make a lampstand of pure, hammered gold.  Make the entire lampstand and its decorations of one piece—the base, center stem, lamp cups, buds, and petals.  Make it with six branches going out from the center stem, thre

​ Plans for the Ark of the Covenant (The Lord continued to instruct the people, through Moses) “Have the people make an Ark of acacia wood—a sacred chest 45 inches long, 27 inches wide, and 27 inches high.  Overlay it inside and outside with pure gold, and run a molding of gold all around it.  Cast four gold rings and attach them to its four feet, two rings on each side.  Make poles from acacia wood, and overlay them with gold.  Insert the poles into the rings at the sides of the Ark to carry it.  These carrying poles must stay inside the rings; never remove them.  When the Ark is finished, place inside it the stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant, which I will give to you.  “Then make the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—from pure gold.  It must be 45 inches long and 27 inches wide.  Then make two cherubim from hammered gold, and place them on the two ends of the atonement cover.  Mold the cherubim on each end of the atonement cover, making it all of one piece of go

​ Offerings for the Tabernacle (While Moses was up on Mount Sinai with the Lord…) The Lord said to Moses,  “Tell the people of Israel to bring Me their sacred offerings.  (I want you to)  accept the contributions of all... of all those whose hearts are moved to offer them.  Here is a list of sacred offerings you may accept from them:  gold, silver, and bronze;  blue, purple, and scarlet thread;  fine linen and goat hair for cloth;  tanned ram skins and fine goatskin leather;  acacia wood;  olive oil for the lamps;  spices for the anointing oil and the fragrant incense;  onyx stones, and other gemstones to be set in the ephod and in the priest’s chestpiece.  “Have the people of Israel build Me a holy sanctuary, so I can live among them.  You must build this Tabernacle and its furnishings exactly according to the pattern I will show you.  Exodus 25:1–9 (NLT) Praise be to God!

​ Israel Accepts the Lord’s Covenant Then the Lord instructed Moses:  “Come up here to Me (on Mt Sinai) and bring along Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders.  All of you must worship from a distance.  Only Moses is allowed to come near to the Lord.  The others must not come near, and none of the other people are allowed to climb up the mountain with him.”  Then Moses went down to the people and repeated all the instructions and regulations the Lord had given him.  All the people answered with one voice, “We will do everything the Lord has commanded.”  Then Moses carefully wrote down all the Lord’s instructions.  Early the next morning Moses got up and built an altar at the foot of the mountain.  He also set up twelve pillars, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel.  Then he sent some of the young Israelite men to present burnt offerings and to sacrifice bulls as peace offerings to the Lord.  Moses drained half the blood from these animals into basins.  The other hal

​ Annual Festivals and a Promise of the Lord’s Presence (The Lord continues instructing the people) “Each year you must celebrate three festivals in My honor,   (the Lord said). First, celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread.  For seven days the bread you eat must be made without yeast, just as I commanded you.  Celebrate this festival annually, at the appointed time in early spring, in the month of Abib, for that is the anniversary of your departure from Egypt.  No one may appear before Me without an offering  (the Lord said). “Second, celebrate the Festival of Harvest, when you bring Me the first crops of your harvest.  “Finally, celebrate the Festival of the Final Harvest, at the end of the harvest season, when you have harvested all the crops from your fields.  At these three times each year, every man in Israel must appear before the Sovereign Lord, your God.  “You must not offer the blood of My sacrificial offerings together with any baked goods containing yeast.  And do not l

​ A Call for Justice (God continued His instructions to Moses, for the people of the covenant.)  “You must not pass along false rumors.  You must not cooperate with evil people by lying on the witness stand.  “You must not follow the crowd in doing wrong.  When you are called to testify in a dispute, do not be swayed by the crowd to twist justice.  And do not slant your testimony, in favor of a person, just because that person is poor.  “If you come upon your enemy’s ox or donkey, which has strayed away, take it back to its owner.  If you see that the donkey, of someone who hates you, has collapsed under its load, do not just walk by  (and do nothing) .  Instead, stop and help.  “In a lawsuit, you must not deny justice to the poor.  “Be sure never to charge anyone falsely with evil.  Never sentence an innocent or blameless person to death… for I never declare a guilty person to be innocent.  “Take no bribes, for a bribe makes you ignore something that you clearly see.  A bribe makes ev

​ Social Responsibility (God continued His instructions to Moses, about how His people of the covenant should live.)  “If a man seduces a virgin, who is not engaged to anyone, and he has sex with her, he must pay the customary bride price and marry her.  (God said) But if her father refuses to let him marry her, the man must still pay him an amount equal to the bride price of a virgin.  “You must not allow a sorceress to live.  “Anyone who has sexual relations with an animal must certainly be put to death.  “Anyone who sacrifices to any god, other than the Lord  (Jehovah),  must be  destroyed .  “You must not mistreat or oppress foreigners in any way.  Remember, you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt.  “You must not exploit a widow or an orphan.  If you exploit them in any way and they cry out to Me  (the Lord your God) , then I will certainly hear their cry.  My anger will blaze against you, and I will kill you with the sword.  Then your wives will be widows and your

Protection of Property “If someone steals an ox or sheep and then kills or sells it, the thief must pay back five oxen for each ox stolen, and four sheep for each sheep stolen.  “If a thief is caught in the act of breaking into a house and is struck and killed in the process, the person who killed the thief is not guilty of murder.  But if it happens in daylight, the one who killed the thief is guilty of murder.  “A thief who is caught must pay in full for everything he stole.  If he cannot pay, he must be sold as a slave to pay for his theft.  If someone steals an ox or a donkey or a sheep and it is found in the thief’s possession, then the thief must pay double the value of the stolen animal.  “If an animal is grazing in a field or vineyard and the owner lets it stray into someone else’s field to graze, then the animal’s owner must pay compensation from the best of his own grain or grapes.  “If you are burning thornbushes and the fire gets out of control and spreads into another pers

Cases of Personal Injury (The Lord continued His instructions to Moses, so that the people of the covenant would know how to live in His will.) “Anyone who assaults and kills another person must be put to death.  But if it was simply an accident permitted by God, I will appoint a place of refuge where the slayer can run for safety.  However, if someone deliberately kills another person, then the slayer must be dragged even from My altar and be put to death.  “Anyone who strikes  (his)  father or mother must be put to death.  “Kidnappers must be put to death, whether they are caught in possession of their victims or have already sold them as slaves.  “Anyone who dishonors  (his)  father or mother  (immorally)  must be put to death.  “Now suppose two men quarrel, and one hits the other with a stone or fist, and the injured person does not die but is confined to bed.  If he is later able to walk outside again, even with a crutch, the assailant will not be punished  …but  (he)  must compen