Inventory Taken of The Total Construction
August 7, 2019
Commentary
The Sacred Tent (vv. 21-31)
Finally, an inventory is taken of the total construction (vv. 21-31). The names of the skilled workers, Bezalel and Aholiab, are repeated (vv. 21-22). They completed the work that the Lord had commanded. This inventory was compiled by the Levites under the direction of Ithamar, Aaron’s youngest son (v. 23). The materials used in building the tabernacle are carefully tabulated. These materials would be valued in millions of dollars in today’s currency (vv. 24-31). God has always taken an acute interest in the offerings and gifts as well as items of material worth that are used in Christian ministries around the world. Jesus observed what went into the temple treasury (Mark 12:41).
Someone has calculated that the amount of gold listed here, 29 talents, 730 shekels, is about 40,940 ounces. At $500 per ounce that would be $20,470,000. An enormous sum in that day. The silver amounting to about 141,000 ounces, would be valued at about $4,230,000, figuring silver at $30 per ounce. Verses 25 and 26 give us an insight into the population of Israel at this time. The total number of men bearing arms was over 600,000 which would more than justify a total of over 2 million people.
Application
God certainly kept a very strict inventory of everything that went into the construction of the tabernacle. I believe at the Judgment Seat of Christ (II Cor. 5:10) I will have to give a very strict accounting of what I have done for Him, as His child in this body.
Exodus 38:21– 31 (NET)
21 This is the inventory of the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the testimony, which was counted by the order of Moses, being the work of the Levites under the direction of Ithamar, son of Aaron the priest. 22 Now Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made everything that the Lord had commanded Moses; 23 and with him was Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an artisan, a designer, and an embroiderer in blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine linen.
24 All the gold that was used for the work, in all the work of the sanctuary (namely, the gold of the wave offering) was 29 talents and 730 shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel.
25 The silver of those who were numbered of the community was 100 talents and 1,775 shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel, 26 one beka per person, that is, a half shekel, according to the sanctuary shekel, for everyone who crossed over to those numbered, from twenty years old or older, 603,550 in all. 27 The 100 talents of silver were used for casting the bases of the sanctuary and the bases of the special curtain—100 bases for 100 talents, one talent per base. 28 From the remaining 1,775 shekels he made hooks for the posts, overlaid their tops, and made bands for them.
29 The bronze of the wave offering was seventy talents and 2,400 shekels. 30 With it he made the bases for the door of the tent of meeting, the bronze altar, the bronze grating for it, and all the utensils of the altar, 31 the bases for the courtyard all around, the bases for the gate of the courtyard, all the tent pegs of the tabernacle, and all the tent pegs of the courtyard all around.
Illustration: The Tongue is a Fire
The tongue is as volatile as it is vital. It was Washington Irving who first said, “A sharp tongue is the only tool that grows keener with constant use.” It was James, the half-brother of Jesus, who first warned: The tongue is a fire…a restless evil and full of deadly poison (James 3:6-8). With no difficulty, it can flick a husk of popcorn from between your jaw teeth or hold a thermometer just so. And it is tricky! It can help you enjoy the flavor of a stick of peppermint as it switches from side to side without getting nipped. Moments later it can follow the directions of a trumpeter, allowing him to play ‘Flight of the bumblebee’ without a single miscue. But watch out! Let your thumb get smashed with a hammer or your toe get clobbered on a chair and that slippery creature in your mouth will suddenly play the flip side of its nature. (Charles Swindoll, Growing Strong in the Seasons of life)
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