Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
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Exodus
Book: Exodus
Chapter: 25
Overview:
What the Israelites were to offer for making the
Tabernacle.
(1-9) The
Ark.
(10-22) The table, with its furniture.
(23-30)
The
Candlestick.
(31-40)
1-9 God chose the people of
Israel to be a
Peculiar people to
himself, above all people, and he himself would be their
King.
He ordered a royal
Palace to be set up among them for himself,
called a
Sanctuary, or
Holy place, or
Habitation. There he
showed his presence among them. And because in the
Wilderness
they dwelt in tents, this royal
Palace was ordered to be a
Tabernacle, that it might move with them. The people were to
furnish
Moses with the materials,
By their own free will. The
best use we can make of our worldly wealth, is to honour
God
with it in
Works of
Piety and
Charity. We should ask, not only,
What must we do? but, What may we do for
God? Whatever they
gave, they must give it cheerfully, not grudgingly, for
God
loves a cheerful giver, 2Co 9:7. What is laid out in the
service of
God, we must reckon
Well bestowed; and whatsoever is
done in
God's service, must be done
By his direction.
10-22 The
Ark was a
Chest, overlaid with
Gold, in which the two
Tables of the
Law were to be kept. These
Tables are called the
Testimony;
God in them testified his will. This
Law was a
Testimony to the Israelites, to direct them in their duty, and
would be a
Testimony against them, if they transgressed. This
Ark was placed in the
Holy of holies; the
Blood of the
sacrifices was sprinkled, and the
Incense burned, before it,
By
the high
Priest; and above it appeared the visible
Glory, which
was the symbol of the Divine presence. This was a
Type of
Christ
in his sinless nature, which saw
No corruption, in personal
union with his Divine nature, atoning for our sins against it,
By his
Death. The cherubim of
Gold looked one towards another,
and both looked downward toward the
Ark. It denotes the angels'
attendance
On the
Redeemer, their readiness to do his will,
their presence in the assemblies of saints, and their desire to
look into the mysteries of the
Gospel. It was covered with a
covering of
Gold, called the
Mercy-seat.
God is said to
Dwell,
or sit between the cherubim,
On the
Mercy-seat. There he would
give his
Law, and hear supplicants, as a
Prince On his
Throne.
23-30 A table was to be made of
Wood, overlaid with
Gold, to
stand in the outer
Tabernacle, to be always furnished with the
shew-
Bread. This table, with the articles
On it, and its use,
seems to typify the
Communion which the
Lord holds with his
redeemed people in his ordinances, the provisions of his
House,
the feasts they are favoured with. Also the
Food for their
souls, which they always find when they hunger after it; and the
delight he takes in their persons and services, as presented
before him in
Christ.
31-40 The
Candlestick represents the
Light of
God's
Word and
Spirit, in and through
Christ Jesus, afforded in this dark world
to his believing people, to direct their
Worship and obedience,
and to afford them consolations. The
Church is still dark, as
the
Tabernacle was, in comparison with what it will be in
Heaven; but the
Word of God is a
Light shining in a dark place,
2Pe 1:19, and a dark place indeed the world would be without
it. In ver. 40 is an express caution to
Moses. Nothing was
left to his own fancy, or to that of the workmen, or the people;
but the will of
God must be observed in every particular.
Christ's instruction to his disciples, Mt 28:20, is like this,
Observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. Let us
remember that we are the temples of the
Holy Ghost, that we have
the
Law of
God in our hearts, that we are to live a
Life of
Communion with
God,
Feast On his ordinances, and are the
Light
of the world, if indeed we are followers of
Christ. May the
Lord
help us to try ourselves
By this view of religion, and to walk
according thereto.