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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Exodus, Chapter XXXVIII].</TITLE>
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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1706)
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>E X O D U S</B></FONT>
<BR>
<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XXXVIII.</FONT>
<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
</CENTER>
<FONT SIZE=-1>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
Here is an account,
I. Of the making of the brazen altar
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+38:1-7">ver. 1-7</A>),
and the laver,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+38:8">ver. 8</A>.
II. The preparing of the hangings for the enclosing of the court in
which the tabernacle was to stand,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+38:9-20">ver. 9-20</A>.
III. A summary of the gold, silver, and brass, that was contributed to,
and used in, the preparing of the tabernacle,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+38:21-31">ver. 21</A>, &c.</P>
</FONT>
<A NAME="Ex38_1"> </A>
<A NAME="Ex38_2"> </A>
<A NAME="Ex38_3"> </A>
<A NAME="Ex38_4"> </A>
<A NAME="Ex38_5"> </A>
<A NAME="Ex38_6"> </A>
<A NAME="Ex38_7"> </A>
<A NAME="Ex38_8"> </A>
<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Tabernacle and Its Furniture.</I></FONT></TD>
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1491.</TD></TR>
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
</TABLE>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>1 And he made the altar of burnt offering <I>of</I> shittim wood:
five cubits <I>was</I> the length thereof, and five cubits the breadth
thereof; <I>it was</I> foursquare; and three cubits the height
thereof.
&nbsp; 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.
&nbsp; 3 And he made all the vessels of the altar, the pots, and the
shovels, and the basons, <I>and</I> the fleshhooks, and the firepans:
all the vessels thereof made he <I>of</I> brass.
&nbsp; 4 And he made for the altar a brazen grate of network under the
compass thereof beneath unto the midst of it.
&nbsp; 5 And he cast four rings for the four ends of the grate of
brass, <I>to be</I> places for the staves.
&nbsp; 6 And he made the staves <I>of</I> shittim wood, and overlaid them
with brass.
&nbsp; 7 And he put the staves into the rings on the sides of the
altar, to bear it withal; he made the altar hollow with boards.
&nbsp; 8 And he made the laver <I>of</I> brass, and the foot of it <I>of</I>
brass, of the looking-glasses of <I>the women</I> assembling, which
assembled <I>at</I> the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
Bezaleel having finished the gold-work, which, though the richest, yet
was ordered to lie most out of sight, in the tabernacle itself, here
goes on to prepare the court, which lay open to the view of all. Two
things the court was furnished with, and both made of brass:--</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
I. An altar of burnt-offering,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+38:1-7"><I>v.</I> 1-7</A>.
On this all their sacrifices were offered, and it was this which, being
sanctified itself for this purpose by the divine appointment,
sanctified the gift that was in faith offered on it. Christ was himself
the altar to his own sacrifice of atonement, and so he is to all our
sacrifices of acknowledgment. We must have an eye to him in offering
them, as God has in accepting them.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
II. A laver, to hold water for the priests to wash in when they went in
to minister,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+38:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
This signified the provision that is made in the gospel of Christ for
the cleansing of our souls from the moral pollution of sin by the merit
and grace of Christ, that we may be fit to serve the holy God in holy
duties. This is here said to be made of the <I>looking-glasses</I> (or
mirrors) of the women that assembled at the door of the tabernacle.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
1. It should seem these women were eminent and exemplary for devotion,
attending more frequently and seriously at the place of public worship
than others did; and notice is here taken of it to their honour. Anna
was such a one long afterwards, who <I>departed not from the temple,
but served God with fastings and prayers night and day,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+2:37">Luke ii. 37</A>.
It seems in every age of the church there have been some who have thus
distinguished themselves by their serious zealous piety, and they have
thereby distinguished themselves; for devout women are really
honourable women
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+13:50">Acts xiii. 50</A>),
and not the less so for their being called, by the scoffers of the
latter days, <I>silly women.</I> Probably these women were such as
showed their zeal upon this occasion, by assisting in the work that was
now going on for the service of the tabernacle. They assembled by
<I>troops,</I> so the word is; a blessed sight, to see so many, and
those so zealous and so unanimous, in this good work.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
2. These women parted with their mirrors (which were of the finest
brass, burnished for that purpose) for the use of the tabernacle. Those
women that admire their own beauty, are in love with their own shadow,
and make the putting on of apparel their chief adorning by which they
value and recommend themselves, can but ill spare their
<I>looking-glasses;</I> yet these women offered <I>them</I> to God,
either,
(1.) In token of their repentance for the former abuse of them, to the
support of their pride and vanity; now that they were convinced of
their folly, and had devoted themselves to the service of God at the
door of the tabernacle, they thus threw away that which, though lawful
and useful in itself, yet had been an occasion of sin to them. Thus
Mary Magdalene, who had been a sinner, when she became a penitent wiped
Christ's feet with her hair. Or,
(2.) In token of their great zeal for the work of the tabernacle;
rather than the workmen should want brass, or not have of the best,
they would part with their mirrors, though they could not do well
without them. God's service and glory must always be preferred by us
before any satisfactions or accommodations of our own. Let us never
complain of the want of that which we may honour God by parting
with.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
3. These mirrors were used for the making of the laver. Either they
were artfully joined together, or else molten down and cast anew; but
it is probable that the laver was so brightly burnished that the sides
of it still served for mirrors, that the priests, when they came to
wash, might there see their faces, and so discover the spots, to wash
them clean. Note, In the washing of repentance, there is need of the
looking-glass of self-examination. The word of God is a glass, in which
we may see our own faces (see
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+1:23">Jam. i. 23</A>);
and with it we must compare our own hearts and lives, that, finding out
our blemishes, we may wash with particular sorrow, and application of
the blood of Christ to our souls. Usually the more particular we are in
the confession of sin the more comfort we have in the sense of the
pardon.</P>
<A NAME="Ex38_9"> </A>
<A NAME="Ex38_10"> </A>
<A NAME="Ex38_11"> </A>
<A NAME="Ex38_12"> </A>
<A NAME="Ex38_13"> </A>
<A NAME="Ex38_14"> </A>
<A NAME="Ex38_15"> </A>
<A NAME="Ex38_16"> </A>
<A NAME="Ex38_17"> </A>
<A NAME="Ex38_18"> </A>
<A NAME="Ex38_19"> </A>
<A NAME="Ex38_20"> </A>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>9 And he made the court: on the south side southward the
hangings of the court <I>were of</I> fine twined linen, an hundred
cubits:
&nbsp; 10 Their pillars <I>were</I> twenty, and their brazen sockets
twenty; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets <I>were of</I>
silver.
&nbsp; 11 And for the north side <I>the hangings were</I> an hundred
cubits, their pillars <I>were</I> twenty, and their sockets of brass
twenty; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets <I>of</I> silver.
&nbsp; 12 And for the west side <I>were</I> hangings of fifty cubits, their
pillars ten, and their sockets ten; the hooks of the pillars and
their fillets <I>of</I> silver.
&nbsp; 13 And for the east side eastward fifty cubits.
&nbsp; 14 The hangings of the one side <I>of the gate were</I> fifteen
cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three.
&nbsp; 15 And for the other side of the court gate, on this hand and
that hand, <I>were</I> hangings of fifteen cubits; their pillars
three, and their sockets three.
&nbsp; 16 All the hangings of the court round about <I>were</I> of fine
twined linen.
&nbsp; 17 And the sockets for the pillars <I>were of</I> brass; the hooks
of the pillars and their fillets <I>of</I> silver; and the overlaying
of their chapiters <I>of</I> silver; and all the pillars of the court
<I>were</I> filleted with silver.
&nbsp; 18 And the hanging for the gate of the court <I>was</I> needlework,
<I>of</I> blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen: and
twenty cubits <I>was</I> the length, and the height in the breadth
<I>was</I> five cubits, answerable to the hangings of the court.
&nbsp; 19 And their pillars <I>were</I> four, and their sockets <I>of</I> brass
four; their hooks <I>of</I> silver, and the overlaying of their
chapiters and their fillets <I>of</I> silver.
&nbsp; 20 And all the pins of the tabernacle, and of the court round
about, <I>were of</I> brass.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
The walls of the court, or church-yard, were like the rest curtains or
hangings, made according to the appointment,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+27:9-19"><I>ch.</I> xxvii. 9</A>,
&c. This represented the state of the Old-Testament church: it was a
garden enclosed; the worshippers were then confined to a little
compass. But the enclosure being of curtains only intimated that the
confinement of the church in one particular nation was not to be
perpetual. The dispensation itself was a tabernacle-dispensation,
movable and mutable, and in due time to be taken down and folded up,
when the place of the tent should be enlarged and its cords lengthened,
to make room for the Gentile world, as is foretold,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+54:2,3">Isa. liv. 2, 3</A>.
The church here on earth is but the court of God's house, and happy
they that tread these courts and flourish in them; but through these
courts we are passing to the holy place above. <I>Blessed are those
that dwell in that house</I> of God: they well be <I>still praising
him.</I> The enclosing of a court before the tabernacle teaches us a
gradual approach to God. The priests that ministered must pass through
the holy court, before they entered the holy house. Thus before solemn
ordinances there ought to be the separated and enclosed court of a
solemn preparation, in which we must wash our hands, and so draw near
with a true heart.</P>
<A NAME="Ex38_21"> </A>
<A NAME="Ex38_22"> </A>
<A NAME="Ex38_23"> </A>
<A NAME="Ex38_24"> </A>
<A NAME="Ex38_25"> </A>
<A NAME="Ex38_26"> </A>
<A NAME="Ex38_27"> </A>
<A NAME="Ex38_28"> </A>
<A NAME="Ex38_29"> </A>
<A NAME="Ex38_30"> </A>
<A NAME="Ex38_31"> </A>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>21 This is the sum of the tabernacle, <I>even</I> of the tabernacle
of testimony, as it was counted, according to the commandment of
Moses, <I>for</I> the service of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar,
son to Aaron the priest.
&nbsp; 22 And Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of
Judah, made all that the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> commanded Moses.
&nbsp; 23 And with him <I>was</I> 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.
&nbsp; 24 All the gold that was occupied for the work in all the work
of the holy <I>place,</I> even the gold of the offering, was twenty
and nine talents, and seven hundred and thirty shekels, after the
shekel of the sanctuary.
&nbsp; 25 And the silver of them that were numbered of the
congregation <I>was</I> an hundred talents, and a thousand seven
hundred and threescore and fifteen shekels, after the shekel of
the sanctuary:
&nbsp; 26 A bekah for every man, <I>that is,</I> half a shekel, after the
shekel of the sanctuary, for every one that went to be numbered,
from twenty years old and upward, for six hundred thousand and
three thousand and five hundred and fifty <I>men.</I>
&nbsp; 27 And of the hundred talents of silver were cast the sockets
of the sanctuary, and the sockets of the vail; an hundred sockets
of the hundred talents, a talent for a socket.
&nbsp; 28 And of the thousand seven hundred seventy and five shekels
he made hooks for the pillars, and overlaid their chapiters, and
filleted them.
&nbsp; 29 And the brass of the offering <I>was</I> seventy talents, and two
thousand and four hundred shekels.
&nbsp; 30 And therewith he made the sockets to the door of the
tabernacle of the congregation, and the brazen altar, and the
brazen grate for it, and all the vessels of the altar,
&nbsp; 31 And the sockets of the court round about, and the sockets of
the court gate, and all the pins of the tabernacle, and all the
pins of the court round about.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
Here we have a breviat of the account which, by Moses's appointment,
the Levites took and kept of the gold, silver, and brass, that was
brought in for the tabernacle's use, and how it was employed. Ithamar
the son of Aaron was appointed to draw up this account, and was thus by
less services trained up and fitted for greater,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+38:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>.
Bezaleel and Aholiab must bring in the account
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+38:22,23"><I>v.</I> 22, 23</A>),
and Ithamar must audit it, and give it in to Moses. And it was
thus:--
1. All the gold was a free-will offering; every man brought as he
could and would, and it amounted to twenty-nine talents, and 730
shekels over, which some compute to be about 150,000<I>l.</I> worth of
gold, according to the present value of it. Of this were made all the
golden furniture and vessels.
2. The silver was levied by way of tax; every man was assessed half a
shekel, a kind of poll-money, which amounted in the whole to 100
talents, and 1775 shekels over,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+38:25,26"><I>v.</I> 25, 26</A>.
Of this they made the sockets into which the boards of the tabernacle
were let, and on which they rested; so that they were as the foundation
of the tabernacle,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+38:27"><I>v.</I> 27</A>.
The silver amounted to about 34,000<I>l.</I> of our money. The raising
of the gold by voluntary contribution, and of the silver by way of
tribute, shows that either way may be taken for the defraying of public
expenses, provided that nothing be done with partiality.
3. The brass, though less valuable, was of use not only for the brazen
altar, but for the sockets of the court, which probably in other tents
were of wood: but it is promised
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+60:17">Isa. lx. 17</A>),
<I>For wood I will bring brass.</I> See how liberal the people were and
how faithful the workmen were, in both which respects their good
example ought to be followed.</P>
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