NOTES for Exo 37:1-29
How do these golden ornaments—angels, leaves, and faces—differ from the calf made by the people (see Exodus 32)? It might seem that what is described here is the painstaking manufacture of objects that will likewise become objects of worship. But the whole point is that only God may be worshiped, and a person is called to use everything he has for God’s sake: to adorn the sanctuary and offer what is most costly and precious. Every object sanctified by God’s presence should be beautiful to look upon and precious. In itself, such an object means nothing. It merely expresses reverence and worship before God.