Attention to Detail

"And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering." Exodus 25:1‭-‬2. The time had come for the Israelites to build the tabernacle. This was a place which was a little like a church, where people could come before The Lord; they could come to make their sacrifices, but could not go beyond a certain point, which was reserved for the priests (without the vail, before the testimony). But the holy of holies beyond the vail was where God dwelt; it was a very special place. The people couldn't randomly approach such glory, so the vail served as a separation.

Although there were certain barriers, this was the closest way at the time that God chose to dwell with His people: "And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them."

Exodus 25:8.

Attention to detail is very important for God, and very important to us in our lives! Sometimes the smallest things matter most, and in today's passage, the details were not just significant to the time period but the time to come. Paying attention to the little things now pays off later!

This list was all a part of the above-mentioned offering which the Israelites contributed to the tabernacle:

"And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass, And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair, And rams' skins dyed red, and badgers' skins, and shittim wood, Oil for the light, spices for anointing oil, and for sweet incense, Onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod, and in the breastplate."
Exodus 25:3‭-‬7.

These details mattered because, in giving these items, they became a part of the work. Many of the items provided went toward the creation of that vail: "And thou shalt hang up the veil under the taches, that thou mayest bring in thither within the veil the ark of the testimony: and the veil shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy."

Exodus 26:33.

The vail represents the people's separation from God until Christ's death, which tore the vail, and allowed access through Christ to the holy of holies. We have true communion with Gid when we have Jesus:


"Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;" Matthew 27:50‭-‬51.



There are so many instances where this passage just seems like a list of measurements and complex details, but in paying attention to detail, we can see these deeper meanings. If the Israelites didn't pay attention to detail in constructing the tabernacle, then they would not have been able to accurately represent something God designed for then and for future reference!


There was even another ark, the ark of the testimony: "And they shall make an ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof." Exodus 25:10. This was to hold the commandments & have the mercy seat which God's presence would dwell upon.


There was also a golden candlestick which represents how Jesus is the light of the world: "And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of the same." Exodus 25:31.



This beaten work of pure gold represents how Jesus was beaten & put to death for us, but also how His light continues to shine (because this light was never supposed to go out in the tabernacle!).


There are many other symbolic examples we will see in later passages as the tabernacle is constructed & the priests get prepared for this special work. As we pay attention to God's Word, let us always remember that it all leads to Jesus. He is the reason for the details! Let's carefully examine our lives daily to see just how much God is a part if it!