Exodus Chapter 38 Summary

Altar of burnt offering, laver, court, gate.

Discussion Questions for Exodus, Chapter 38

  1. The cost of the tabernacle was great (38:21-31). What does this passage say about generosity and sacrifice? Does God need gold, silver, and precious things?
  2. What would be better: a completed tabernacle or furnished housing for the people, and why?
  3. Verse 8 describes women contributing to the tabernacle. How is this significant? Why are mirrors significant, and what were these women sacrificing?
  4. How did women serve in temples in countries surrounding Israel? In what capacity did the women serve in Israel's tabernacle according to verse 8?
  5. There was a man and a woman who served as priests in the Garden of Eden. Might verse 8 be hinting at the importance of women in God’s service?
  6. Why was so much detail and work put into the tabernacle, a mobile and temporary structure?
  7. What might be the significance of counting the monetary value of the gold, silver, and bronze used in the tabernacle? What might this suggest about the practice of stewardship?
  8. Is it surprising that Jesus became a human with no gold, silver, or riches? In what other ways can you contrast Jesus with the tabernacle?
  9. What were the shovel and basins used for? What does that say about the practice of making sacrifices?
  10. In verse 21, why might the numbering of things made for the temple be “for the service of the priests” (NASB)?

Key Words/Phrase

Work, v. 1. 36:1.

Characters

God, Moses, Bezaleel, Aholiab, Ithamar.

Strong Verse(s)

21