NOTES for Exo 25:1-40
The detailed description of lampstands, chests, tables, and gold ornaments seems excessive. Yet it reveals the seriousness with which the people are being formed. They are separated from the other nations and set apart as a special possession. They are united around the tablets of the Covenant and held together by God’s presence. The mystery of this shared life of humankind and God cannot be conveyed in words. The invisible expresses itself in the visible and concrete forms of Israel’s religious ordinances. Serving God becomes the people’s chief task and the purpose of their life.