Having confirmed the covenant, God gives Moses instructions for the building of the tabernacle, the fashioning of priestly garments and the consecration off priests. There's a lot of detail here and it's tempting to wonder if this is really how the conversation went. Was God really such a fussy interior designer? Or did the tabernacle have to look like that for spiritual reasons? Rather than God describing the tabernacle, did Moses maybe see a vision that he felt obligated to replicate exactly? Or is this someone else's vision that is ascribed to God? How far we can trust that the Bible is an accurate record of God's word is a big question - huge, in fact - and it is one I will come back to when I can tackle it properly. For now, I'll take this passage at face value.
I won't go into all the finer points of God's instructions to Moses, although I will say that the tabernacle and priestly garments would have been rich and impressive. Instead, I'll just pick out a few points of interest. The first thing that strikes me is the fact that God instructs Moses to collect gifts only from "each man whose heart prompts him to give". He demands sacrifices, but He leaves offerings up to us. I guess that's the point - we have to offer them. There is a certain level that He requires, but beyond that it is up to act as we see fit. That may be an opportunity to get away with doing little or nothing, but it is also a chance to do something out of love rather than duty, and it is by these actions that our character will be judged. And just as God's dwelling place was built on the offerings of those whose hearts were moved to give, His kingdom will be built on the actions of those whose hearts are moved to serve.
The next thing that interests me is a reference to the bread of the Presence, presumably so called because it was bread laid on the altar in the presence of God. Bread is symbolic of sustenance and fellowship, as it feeds us and unites us as we come together to eat, and so this bread can be seen as a symbol of God's provision and desire to meet with us. It also provides some context for Jesus' claim to be the bread of life - He was using imagery the Jewish people would have been familiar with and recalling the first covenant and all of the promises and history that went with it. He did not come from nowhere - He was the continuation and fulfillment of all that had gone before.
There is also a reference to the Urim and the Thummim, two stones which were a part of the priestly get-up. I had no idea what these were, so I did a quick internet search which informed me that the words Urim and Thummim aer thought to translate as "innocent" and "guilty" and that it seems they were used for divination, to decide a verdict in a criminal case. This may seem strange as divination is generally associated with the occult, but it is not the occult practices themselves that are the problem, rather what is behind them. The occult draws its power from dark and evil forces, and that is why it is so dangerous and strictly forbidden; however, these stones drew their power from God, and so there was nothing wrong with them. It's like that old adage - it's not what you do, it's the way that you do it.
Having detailed the designs for the tabernacle and priestly garments, God lays out the ceremony for the consecration of priests. The priests were the link between man and God, acting as representatives for the people and interceding on their behalf. Jesus' death and resurrection won each one of us the right to have a personal relationship with God, and so Christian ministers are not called to perform that role, but they do still have a great deal of responsibility. They are put in place to be leaders, counsellors and teachers, for the Church. This doesn't make them better or more important than anyone else, but it does mean they need to be honoured, respected and supported by the rest of the Church.
A little later on, God establishes the idea of atonement money, where at each census, each man old enough to be registered gives a half shekel as ransom for his life. God is very clear that everyone is to give a half shekel - the rich are to give no more and the poor are to give no less. This may seem a little unfair - surely the poor should be allowed to give only as they can afford - but the point is that every life is worth the same. A person's worth is not dependent on his wealth.
God seems to have given His people an awful lot of work to do, but He's got it covered. He chooses a man named Bezalel to take charge of the craftmanship, saying that He has filled him with the Spirit of God as wells as skill and knowledge, and appoints another man named Oholiab to help him. God chooses specific people for specific jobs and equips them with everything they need to complete the task. Or maybe it is the other way round. Maybe He blesses us with gifts us and then finds use for them. However it is, He makes sure there is always someone capable of doing His work.
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