Key Verse Spotlight
Exodus 38:21 - Meaning and Application
Understand how this verse speaks to what you're facing and how to apply it today
Translation: King James Version
" This is the sum of the tabernacle, even of the tabernacle of testimony, as it was counted, according to the commandment of Moses, for the service of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar, son to Aaron the priest. "
Exodus 38:21
Verse in Context
Understanding the surrounding verses prevents misinterpretation:
19 And their pillars were four, and their sockets of brass four; their hooks of silver, and the overlaying of their chapiters and their fillets of silver.
20 And all the pins of the tabernacle, and of the court round about, were of brass.
21 This is the sum of the tabernacle, even of the tabernacle of testimony, as it was counted, according to the commandment of Moses, for the service of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar, son to Aaron the priest.
22 And Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the LORD commanded Moses.
23 And with him was Aholiab, son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver, and a cunning workman, and an embroiderer in blue, and in purple, and in scarlet, and fine linen.
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Here we have a brief account, which Moses ordered the Levites to keep, of the gold, silver, and bronze brought in for the tabernacle and how it was used. Ithamar, Aaron’s son, was assigned to prepare this record, and this smaller task trained him for larger ones, as Exodus 38:21 shows. Bezaleel and Aholiab were to bring in the account (Exodus 38:22, Exodus 38:23), and Ithamar was to review it and present it to Moses.
This was the record. First, all the gold came as a freewill offering. Each person gave what he was able and willing to give, and the total came to 29 talents and 730 shekels extra. Some estimate that as about 150,000 pounds in today’s value. From this gold, all the golden furnishings and vessels were made.
Second, the silver was collected by a tax. Each man paid half a shekel, a kind of poll tax, and the total came to 100 talents and 1,775 shekels extra (Exodus 38:25, Exodus 38:26). This silver was used to make the sockets that held the boards of the tabernacle in place and supported them, so they served as the foundation of the tabernacle (Exodus 38:27). The silver was worth about 34,000 pounds in our money.
It is worth noticing that the gold was gathered by voluntary gifts, while the silver came by a required payment. Either way can be used to cover public needs, as long as there is no unfairness. Third, the bronze, though less valuable, was still very useful, not only for the bronze altar, but also for the sockets of the court, which were likely made of wood in other tents. But the promise says, “Instead of wood, I will bring bronze” (Isaiah 60:17).
See how generous the people were, and how faithful the workers were. Their good example should be followed in both respects.
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From This Chapter
Exodus 38:1
"And he made the altar of burnt offering of shittim wood: five cubits was the length thereof, and five cubits the breadth thereof; it was foursquare; and three cubits the height"
Exodus 38:2
"And he made the horns thereof on the four corners of it; the horns thereof were of the same: and he overlaid it with brass."
Exodus 38:3
"And he made all the vessels of the altar, the pots, and the shovels, and the basons, and the fleshhooks, and the firepans: all the vessels thereof made he of brass."
Exodus 38:4
"And he made for the altar a brasen grate of network under the compass thereof beneath unto the midst"
Exodus 38:5
"And he cast four rings for the four ends of the grate of brass, to be places for the staves."
Exodus 38:6
"And he made the staves of shittim wood, and overlaid them with brass."
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