1 And the I AM spoke to Moses, saying,
2 "Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring Me an offering. Take an offering from everyone who gives it with a willing heart.
Only free-will offerings were accepted for the building of the Tabernacle.
3 "And this is the offering that you will take of them; gold, and silver, and brass,
4 "And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair,
5 "And rams' skins dyed red, and badgers' skins, and shittim (Cypress or Cedar) wood,
6 "Oil for the light, spices for anointing oil, and for sweet incense,
7 "Onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod, and in the breastplate.
Very specific request for gifts. God had an exact design in mind.
8 "And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may live among them.
9 "Make the tabernacle and all the tools for it exactly like I show you.
The Ark
10 "Make an ark (box) of cedar wood three and a half feet long and two feet wide and tall.11 "And overlay it with pure gold, inside and out, and make it a crown of gold around the top.
12 "And cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in the four corners, two rings on each side.
13 "And make staves of cedar wood, and overlay them with gold.
14 "And put the staves into the rings on the sides of the ark, that the ark can be carried with them.
They were to put a decorative ridge around the top and cover the whole thing in gold. Then they were to make sticks and rings to carry it with.
15 "The staves shall be in the rings of the ark. Don't take them out.
16 "Put in the Ark of the Testimony what I tell thee to.
17 "And thou shalt make a lid of pure gold. It will be 3 feet, 9 inches will be the length of it, and a 27 inches will be its width.
18 "And thou shall make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shall thou make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat.
Ezekiel describes “four living creatures” as cherubim. Each had four faces: a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle, as well as four wings. Their bodies were like humans. Moses was to make two of them for the top of the Ark.
19 "And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end. Make them and the lid one piece.
20 "And the cherubims shall stretch out their wings on high, covering the lid with their wings, and their faces shall look at each other over the lid. one to another.
21 "And thou shall put the lid on top of the ark, and in the ark thou shall put the testimony that I shall give thee.
22 "And there I will meet with thee, and I will talk with thee from above the lid, from between the two cherubims which are on the Ark of the Testimony, will I give thee the laws for the children of Israel.
This was to be the specific place for God to speak to Moses.
The Table
23 "Thou shall also make a table of cedar wood. Make it three feet long, and eighteen inches wide, and twenty-seven inches tall.
24 "And thou shall overlay it with pure gold, and make it a crown of gold all around the top.
25 "And a border of an hand breadth around the edge, and make a golden crown on the border of it all around.
26 "Make four rings of gold, and put them in the four corners on the legs of the table.
27 "By the border shall the rings be for places for the staves to carry the table.
28 "Make the staves of cedar wood, and overlay them with gold, so the table can be carried with them.
29 "Make the dishes, and spoons, covers, and bowls for the Tabernacle of pure gold .
30 "Always have Bread of the Presense set on the table before Me.
Always have fresh bread on the table.
31 "Make a candlestick of pure, beaten gold. It should have a shaft, branches, bowls, buds, and flowers all of the beaten gold.
32 "Give it six branches coming out of the sides, three branches out of each side.
33 "Make three bowls like almonds, with a bud and a flower in each branch.
Numbers 8:4 "And the candlestick was made of beaten gold, the shaft and flowers were beaten work according to the pattern which the I AM had shown Moses."
The lighting for the Tabernacle was to be a candelabra with six branches. Each branch was to be formed into flowers and buds with a bowl on top for the oil.
34 "And in the candlesticks will be four bowls made to look like almonds, with buds and flowers.
35 "There will also be an almond bud beneath each pair of branches where the six branches extend from the center stem."
36 "Their buds and branches will be of one piece of pure, beaten gold.
37 "The lamp on the top and those at the end of each of its six branches must be made so that they shine toward the front of the lampstand.
38 "Make the tongs snuffdishes of pure gold.
39 "Use a talent of pure gold to make them.
40 "Make sure thou make them just like I told you to on the mountain."