1Und aus dem blauen Purpur, und rothem Purpur, und Koccus, machten sie die Amtskleider, zum Dienst im Heiligthume, und machten die heiligen Kleider für Aaron, wie Jehova dem Mose geboten hatte. 2Und er machte das Ephod von Gold, blauem Purpur, und rothem Purpur, und Koccus, und gezwirnter Baumwolle. 3Und man hämmerte die Goldbleche, und schnitt Fäden, um sie unter den blauen Purpur, und unter den rothen Purpur, und unter den Koccus, und unter die Baumwolle zu verarbeiten durch künstliches Wirken. 4Schulterblätter machte man daran, die sich verbinden ließen, die an beiden Enden verbunden wurden. 5Und der Gürtel seines Umgürtens, der daran ist, war an ihm von gleicher Arbeit, aus Gold, blauem Purpur, und rothem Purpur, und Koccus, und Baumwolle, wie Jehova dem Mose geboten hatte. 6Und sie machten die zwei Onyxsteine, umgeben mit Fassungen von Gold, gegraben von Siegelringstechern, mit den Namen der Söhne Israels. 7Und er legte sie auf die Schulterblätter des Ephod, als Denksteine für die Söhne Israels, wie Jehova dem Mose geboten hatte. 8Und man machte den Brustschild, künstlich gewirkt, von gleicher Arbeit wie das Ephod: von Gold, blauem Purpur, rothem Purpur, Koccus, und gezwirnter Baumwolle. 9Geviert war er, doppelt machten sie den Brustschild, eine Spanne lang, und eine Spanne breit, doppelt. 10Und sie fasseten ihn mit vier Reihen Steine ein; eine Reihe hatte einen Sarder, einen Topas, und einen Smaragd - die erste Reihe; 11und die zweite Reihe einen Karfunkel, einen Sapphir, und einen Diamant; 12und die dritte Reihe einen Opal, einen Achat, und einen Amethyst; 13und die vierte Reihe einen Chrysolyth, einen Onyx, und einen Jaspis; ringsum eingefaßt in Gold waren sie in ihren Einfassungen. 14Und die Steine waren nach den Namen der Söhne Israels, es waren zwölf nach ihren Namen, gegraben wie ein Siegelring, jeder mit seinem Namen, nach den zwölf Stämmen. 15Und sie machten an den Brustschild Grenzschnüre, geflochten von reinem Gold; 16und machten zwei Einfassungen von Gold, und zwei Ringe von Gold, und setzten die zwei Ringe an die zwei Enden des Brustschildes; 17und setzten die zwei goldenen Schnüre an die zwei Ringe, an die Enden des Brustschildes; 18und die zwei andern Enden der zwei Schnüre setzten sie an die zwei Einfassungen, und setzten sie an die Schulterblätter des Ephod von vorn. 19Und sie machten zwei goldene Ringe, und setzten sie an die zwei Enden des Brustschildes, an seinen Rand gegen das Ephod zu nach innen. 20Und sie machten zwei goldene Ringe, und setzten sie an die zwei Schulterblätter des Ephod, von unten, vorn zu, nahe an der Stelle, wo es zusammengefügt war, ober halb des Gürtels des Ephod. 21Und sie banden den Brustschild, mit seinen Ringen an die Ringe des Ephod mit Fäden von blauem Purpur, daß er über dem Gürtel des Ephod war, und der Brustschild sich nicht vom Ephod verrückte, wie Jehova dem Mose geboten hatte. 22Und er machte das Oberkleid des Ephod gewoben, ganz von blauem Purpur; 23und eine Oeffnung am Oberkleide in seiner Mitte, wie die Oeffnung eines Panzers, ein Rand war um die Oeffnung ringsum, daß es nicht einreißen konnte. 24Und sie machten am Saume des Oberkleides Granatäpfel, purpurblau, und purpurroth, und koccusfarbig gezwirnt. 25Und sie machten Schellen von reinem Golde, und setzten die Schellen zwischen die Granatäpfel an den Saum des Oberkleides, ringsum zwischen die Granatäpfel, 26eine Schelle, dann einen Granatapfel, abermals eine Schelle, dann einen Granatapfel, an den Saum des Oberkleides ringsum, zum Dienste, wie Jehova dem Mose geboten hatte. 27Und sie machten die Unterkleider von Baumwolle, gewoben, für Aaron, und für seine Söhne; 28und die Kopfbinde von Baumwolle, und den Kopfschmuck der Mützen von Baumwolle, und die feinen weißen Beinkleider aus gezwirnter Baumwolle; 29und den Gürtel von gezwirnter Baumwolle, und blauem Purpur, und rothem Purpur, und Koccus, bunt gewoben, wie Jehova dem Mose geboten hatte. 30Und sie machten das heilige Stirnblech von reinem Gold, und schrieben darauf eine Schrift, eingegraben wie auf einem Siegelring: Jehova geheiligt! 31Und sie setzten daran eine Schnur von blauem Purpur, um es oben an die Kopfbinde zu heften, wie Jehova dem Mose geboten hatte. 32So ward das ganze Werk der Wohnung des Versammlungszeltes vollendet; und die Söhne Israels hatten es gemacht; ganz wie Jehova dem Mose geboten hatte, so hatten sie es gemacht. 33Da brachten sie die Wohnung dem Mose, das Zelt, und alle seine Geräthe, seine Haken, und seine Bretter, seine Riegel und seine Säulen, und seine Füße; 34und die Decke von röthlichen Widderfellen, und die Decke von Thahasfellen, und den Vorhang; 35die Lade der Verordnung und ihre Stangen, und den Deckel; 36den Tisch, alle seine Geräthe, und die Schaubrode; 37den reinen Leuchter, seine Lampen, die in Ordnung gestellten Lampen, und alle seine Geräthe, und das Oel zum Licht; 38und den goldenen Altar, und das Salböl, und das wohlriechende Räucherwerk, und den Vorhang am Eingange des Zeltes; 39den ehernen Altar, und das eherne Gitter daran, seine Stangen und all seine Geräthe, das Becken und sein Gestell; 40die Vorhänge des Hofes, seine Säulen und seine Füße; und den Vorhang zum Thor des Hofes, seine Seile und seine Pflöcke, und alle Geräthe zum Dienste der Wohnung, zum Versammlungszelte; 41die Amtskleider zum Dienste im Heiligthum, die heiligen Kleider Aarons, des Priesters, und die Kleider seiner Söhne, zum Priesteramte. 42Ganz, wie Jehova dem Mose geboten hatte, so machten die Söhne Israels die ganze Arbeit. 43Und Mose sah das ganze Werk, und siehe! sie hatten es gemacht, wie Jehova geboten hatte, so hatten sie es gemachr. Und Mose segnete sie.-
Matthew Henry - Complete Commentary 1 In this account of the making of the priests' garments, according to the instructions given (ch. 28), we may observe, 1. That the priests' garments are called here
clothes of service, Exod 39:1. Note, Those that wear robes of honour must look upon them as clothes of service; for from those upon whom honour is put service is expected. It is said of those that are arrayed in white robes that they
are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple, Revel 7:13,
Revel 7:15. Holy garments were not made for men to sleep in, or to strut in, but to do service in; and then they are indeed for glory and beauty. The Son of man himself
came not to be ministered unto, but to minister. 2. That all the six paragraphs here, which give a distinct account of the making of these holy garments, conclude with those words,
as the Lord commanded Moses, Exod 39:5,
Exod 39:7,
Exod 39:21,
Exod 39:26,
Exod 39:29,
Exod 39:31. The like is not in any of the foregoing accounts, as if in these, more than any other of the appurtenances of the tabernacle, they had a particular regard to the divine appointment, both for warrant and for direction. It is an intimation to all the Lord's ministers to make the word of God their rule in all their ministrations, and to act in observance of and obedience to the command of God. 3. That these garments, in conformity to the rest of the furniture of the tabernacle, were very rich and splendid; the church in its infancy was thus taught, thus pleased, with the rudiments of this world; but now under the gospel, which is the ministration of the Spirit, to affect and impose such pompous habits as the church of Rome does, under pretence of decency and instruction, is to betray
the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free, and to entangle the church again in the bondage of those carnal ordinances which were imposed only till the time of reformation. 4. That they were all shadows of good things to come, but the substance is Christ, and the grace of the gospel; when therefore the substance has come, it is a jest to be fond of the shadow. (1.) Christ is our great high-priest; when he undertook the work of our redemption, he put on the clothes of service - he arrayed himself with the gifts and graces of the Spirit, which he received not by measure - girded himself with the curious girdle of resolution, to go through with his undertaking - charged himself with the curious girdle of resolution, to go through with his undertaking - charged himself with all God's spiritual Israel, bore them on his shoulders, carried them in his bosom, laid them near his heart, engraved them on the palms of his hands, and presented them in the breast-plate of judgment unto his Father. And (lastly) he crowned himself with
holiness to the Lord, consecrating his whole undertaking to the honour of his Father's holiness: now consider how great this man is. (2.) True believers are spiritual priests. The clean linen with which all their clothes of service must be made is
the righteousness of saints (
Revel 19:8), and
Holiness to the Lord must be so written upon their foreheads that all who converse with them may see, and say, that they bear the image of God's holiness, and are devoted to the praise of it.
32 Observe here, I. The builders of the tabernacle made very good despatch. It was not much more than five months from the beginning to the finishing of it. Though there was a great deal of fine work about it, such as is usually the work of time, embroidering and engraving, not only in gold, but in precious stones, yet they went through with it in a little time. Church-work is usually slow work, but they made quick work of this, and yet did it with the greatest exactness imaginable. For, 1. Many hands were employed, all unanimous, and not striving with each other. This expedited the business, and made it easy. 2. The workmen were taught of God, and so were kept from making blunders, which would have retarded them. 3. The people were hearty and zealous in the work, and impatient till it was finished. God had prepared their hearts, and then
the thing was done suddenly, 2Chr 29:36. Resolution and industry, and a cheerful application of mind, will, by the grace of God, bring a great deal of good work to pass in a little time, in less than one would expect.
II. They punctually observed their orders, and did not in the least vary from them. They did it
according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, Exod 39:32,
Exod 39:42. Note, God's work must be done, in every thing, according to his own will. His institutions neither need nor admit men's inventions to make them either more beautiful or more likely to answer the intention of them.
Add thou not unto his words. God is pleased with willing worship, but not with will-worship.
III. They brought all their work to Moses, and submitted it to his inspection and censure,
Exod 39:33. He knew what he had ordered them to make; and now the particulars were called over, and all produced, that Moses might see both that they had made all, omitting nothing, and that they had made all according to the instructions given them, and that, if they had made a mistake in any thing, it might be forthwith rectified. Thus they showed respect to Moses, who was set over them in the Lord; not objecting that Moses did not understand such work, and therefore that there was no reason for submitting it to his judgment. No, that God who gave them so much knowledge as to do the work gave them also so much humility as to be willing to have it examined and compared with the model. Moses was in authority, and they would pay a deference to his place.
The spirit of the prophets is subject to the prophets. And besides, though they knew how to do the work better than Moses, Moses had a better and more exact idea of the model than they had, and therefore they could not be well pleased with their own work, unless they had his approbation. Thus in all the services of religion we should
labour to be accepted of the Lord. IV. Moses, upon search, found all done according to the rule,
Exod 39:43. Moses, both for their satisfaction and for his own, did look upon all the work, piece by piece, and behold they had done it according to the pattern shown him, for the same Being that showed him the pattern guided their hand in the work. All the copies of God's grace exactly agree with the original of his counsels: what God works in us, and by us, is the fulfilling of the good pleasure of his own goodness; and when the mystery of God shall be finished, and all his performances come to be compared with his purposes, it will appear that behold all is done according to the counsel of his own will, not one iota or tittle of which shall fall to the ground, or be varied from.
V. Moses blessed them. 1. He commended them, and signified his approbation of all they had done. He did not find fault where there was none, as some do, who think they disparage their own judgment if they do not find something amiss in the best and most accomplished performance. In all this work it is probable there might have been found here and there a stitch amiss, and a stroke awry, which would have served for an over-curious and censorious critic to animadvert upon; but Moses was too candid to notice small faults where there were no great ones. Note, All governors must be a praise to those that do well, as well as a terror to evil-doers. Why should any take a pride in being hard to be pleased? 2. He not only praised them, but prayed for them. He blessed them as one having authority, for the less is blessed of the better. We read not of any wages that Moses paid them for their work, but this blessing he gave them. For, though ordinarily the labourer be worthy of his hire, yet in this case, 1. They wrought for themselves. The honour and comfort of God's tabernacle among them would be recompence enough.
If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself. 2. They had their meat from heaven on free-cost, for themselves and their families, and their raiment waxed not old upon them; so that they neither needed wages nor had reason to expect any.
Freely you have received, freely give. The obligations we lie under, both in duty and interest, to serve God, should be sufficient to quicken us to our work, though we had not a reward in prospect. But, 3. This blessing, in the name of the Lord, was wages enough for all their work. Those whom God employs he will bless, and those whom he blesses are blessed indeed. The blessing he commands is
life for evermore.