The table and the lampstand

25:23 “you are to make a table of acacia wood; its length is to be three feet, its width one foot six inches, and its height two feet three inches. 25:24 you are to overlay it with pure gold, and you are to make a surrounding border of gold for it. 25:25 you are to make a surrounding frame for it about three inches broad, and you are to make a surrounding border of gold for its frame. 25:26 you are to make four rings of gold for it and attach the rings at the four corners where its four legs are. 25:27 The rings are to be close to the frame to provide places for the poles to carry the table. 25:28 you are to make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold, so that the table may be carried with them. 25:29 you are to make its plates, its ladles, its pitchers, and its bowls, to be used in pouring out offerings; you are to make them of pure gold. 25:30 you are to set the Bread of the Presence on the table before me continually. 25:31 “you are to make a lampstand of pure gold. The lampstand is to be made of hammered metal; its base and its shaft, its cups, its buds, and its blossoms are to be from the same piece. 25:32 six branches are to extend from the sides of the lampstand, three branches of the lampstand from one side of it and three branches of the lampstand from the other side of it. 25:33 Three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms are to be on one branch, and three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms are to be on the next branch, and the same for the six branches extending from the lampstand. 25:34 on the lampstand there are to be four cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms, 25:35 with a bud under the first two branches from it, and a bud under the next two branches from it, and a bud under the third two branches from it, according to the six branches that extend from the lampstand. 25:36 Their buds and their branches will be one piece, all of it one hammered piece of pure gold. 25:37 “you are to make its seven lamps, and then set its lamps up on it, so that it will give light to the area in front of it. 25:38 its trimmers and its trays are to be of pure gold. 25:39 About seventy-five pounds of pure gold is to be used for it and for all these utensils. 25:40 Now be sure to make them according to the pattern you were shown on the mountain.

Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible®, copyright ©1996, 2019 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved.

God told Israel to make a table for the Bread of the Presence and a gold lampstand for continual light. Both were to be made exactly as he showed Moses on the mountain.

In this passage, God gives careful instructions for the holy place in the tabernacle. The table is to be made of acacia wood and covered with gold. It is to have rings and poles so it can be carried. The priests are to place the Bread of the Presence on it before the Lord continually. God also commands the making of a pure gold lampstand. It is to have seven lamps and give light in front of it. The passage ends with a strong command: Moses must make everything according to the pattern shown on the mountain. This shows that worship is not human invention. It must follow God’s own design.

• God gave exact instructions for worship in the tabernacle.
• The table was for the Bread of the Presence set before the Lord continually.
• The lampstand was to provide light in the holy place.
• Both objects were made of precious materials and were set apart for holy use.
• The furniture had to be made according to the pattern God showed Moses.

• Do not treat holy things as common.
• Make the tabernacle furnishings according to God’s pattern.
• Keep the Bread of the Presence before the Lord continually.
• Let the lampstand give light in the holy place.

This passage is part of God’s covenant life with Israel at Sinai. It shows that the holy God dwells among his people, and that his presence is tied to ordered worship, priestly service, bread, and light. In the wider Bible, these themes later connect to temple worship and then to the fuller light and provision found in Christ, while still keeping the original meaning in the Mosaic tabernacle.

God’s people should worship him on his terms, not by preference or invention. This passage calls for reverence, careful obedience, and steady service in holy things. It also reminds believers that God provides what is needed for fellowship with him, including bread and light.

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