Woven Worship: The Grammar of God's House Text: Exodus 36:8-13
Introduction: From Glory to Fabric
We are in a section of Exodus that many modern readers, accustomed to a diet of spiritual junk food, are tempted to skim. We have lists, measurements, and detailed instructions for what appears to be little more than a glorified camping trip. We have just come down from the mountain of God's terrifying glory in Exodus 19 and 20. We have witnessed the catastrophic rebellion with the golden calf in chapter 32. And now we are dealing with cubits and curtains, loops and clasps. It can feel like moving from the high drama of the symphony hall to the tedious work of the tailor's shop.
But this is a profound error. What we are witnessing here is the translation of theology into reality. It is the incarnation, if you will, of God's abstract commands into tangible, touchable worship. God does not just give us the Ten Commandments and then leave us to figure out how to approach Him. He gives us the detailed blueprints for His own house. He is not a distant, deistic landlord; He is a Father who wants to dwell in the very midst of His people. And how He is to be approached, how He is to be worshipped, is not something we get to invent. We don't get to "do church" according to our felt needs or the latest fads. Worship is not an expression of our creativity; it is an act of obedient submission to God's revealed creativity.
The first thirty-five chapters of Exodus show us God's commands for the Tabernacle. Now, in chapter 36, we see the joyful and meticulous obedience of the people. They had just been forgiven for a monumental act of idolatry, and their response is not sullen compliance but an overflowing generosity and a Spirit-filled craftsmanship. This is what true repentance looks like. It doesn't just say "sorry"; it gets to work building. It takes the very gold that was used for the idol and consecrates it to the construction of God's house. This is the pattern of redemption: God takes the stuff of our rebellion and refashions it for His glory.
In these few verses, we see the construction of the innermost layer of the Tabernacle, the beautiful curtains that would form the visible ceiling and walls for the priests. And in this divine fabric, we find the grammar of our worship, the pattern of God's dwelling, and a picture of the Christ who was to come.
The Text
And all those wise at heart among those who were doing the work made the tabernacle with ten curtains; of fine twisted linen and blue and purple and scarlet material, with cherubim, the work of a skillful designer, Bezalel made them.
The length of each curtain was twenty-eight cubits and the width of each curtain four cubits; all the curtains had the same measurements.
He joined five curtains to one another, and the other five curtains he joined to one another.
He made loops of blue on the edge of the outermost curtain in the first set; he did likewise on the edge of the curtain that was outermost in the second set.
He made fifty loops in the one curtain, and he made fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that was in the second set; the loops were opposite each other.
He made fifty clasps of gold and joined the curtains to one another with the clasps, so the tabernacle was one unit.
(Exodus 36:8-13 LSB)
Spirit-Filled Skill and Divine Fabric (v. 8)
We begin with the craftsmen and their materials:
"And all those wise at heart among those who were doing the work made the tabernacle with ten curtains; of fine twisted linen and blue and purple and scarlet material, with cherubim, the work of a skillful designer, Bezalel made them." (Exodus 36:8)
Notice who is doing the work: "all those wise at heart." This is not a description of native intelligence. The text has already made it clear that this wisdom, this skill, is a direct gift from God. Bezalel and Oholiab were filled with the Spirit of God "in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship" (Ex. 35:31). This is a crucial point. The first person in Scripture explicitly said to be "filled with the Spirit of God" is not a prophet or a priest, but a craftsman. This demolishes any sacred/secular distinction we might be tempted to erect. All of life, every skill, every vocation, is to be done by the power of the Spirit and for the glory of God. Whether you are preaching a sermon or weaving a curtain, if it is done in faith and obedience, it is spiritual work.
And what are they making? The very heart of the Tabernacle, its inner skin. The materials are deeply symbolic. The "fine twisted linen" speaks of righteousness and purity. This is the fabric of holiness. The book of Revelation tells us that the fine linen is the "righteous acts of the saints" (Rev. 19:8). Woven into this linen are three colors. "Blue" speaks of the heavens, of God's transcendence. "Purple" is the color of royalty, for this is the house of the King. And "scarlet" or crimson points to sacrifice and blood, the only way a holy King can dwell with a sinful people. Righteousness, heaven, royalty, and sacrifice. This is a tapestry of the gospel.
And woven into this fabric are "cherubim." These are the angelic guardians of God's holy presence. They were placed at the entrance to Eden to guard the way to the tree of life after the fall (Gen. 3:24). Their presence here signifies that the Tabernacle is a new Eden, a place where God will once again walk with man. To enter this space was to be surrounded by the reality of God's unapproachable holiness. You are entering a throne room, and the guards are watching.
Divine Order and Precision (v. 9-10)
Next, we see the importance of precision and order in God's design.
"The length of each curtain was twenty-eight cubits and the width of each curtain four cubits; all the curtains had the same measurements. He joined five curtains to one another, and the other five curtains he joined to one another." (Exodus 36:9-10 LSB)
God is a God of details. He doesn't just say, "Make me a tent." He gives exact measurements. This is not arbitrary. The precision communicates that we must approach God on His terms, not our own. We don't get to improvise our worship. We are to follow the pattern He has given. The fact that "all the curtains had the same measurements" speaks of the uniformity and equality of God's standard of holiness. There are no shortcuts into His presence.
The ten curtains are made into two larger sets of five. The number ten often represents the fullness of God's law or order (e.g., the Ten Commandments). The number five can represent grace. Here we see the law and order of God's house being structured in a way that allows for His gracious dwelling. The two sets of five also anticipate the two tablets of the law, and the two great commandments upon which all the law and prophets hang. The structure of the building is a sermon in itself.
The Means of Unity (v. 11-13)
The final verses of our text detail how these two large curtains are to be brought together into one.
"He made loops of blue on the edge of the outermost curtain in the first set... He made fifty loops in the one curtain, and he made fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that was in the second set; the loops were opposite each other. He made fifty clasps of gold and joined the curtains to one another with the clasps, so the tabernacle was one unit." (Exodus 36:11-13 LSB)
This is a picture of covenantal connection. You have two distinct entities, the two sets of five curtains, which are brought together to form a single dwelling. How are they joined? With "loops of blue." The connection is heavenly. The unity of God's house is not a man-made, institutional unity. It is a spiritual unity, established by God from heaven.
Fifty loops are made on each curtain, "opposite each other." The number fifty is significant. It is the number of Pentecost, the year of Jubilee. It speaks of liberation and the outpouring of the Spirit. The unity of God's people is a work of the Holy Spirit. These loops are then joined by "fifty clasps of gold." Gold speaks of divinity and purity. The bond that holds the church together is divine, precious, and pure. It is nothing less than the person and work of Jesus Christ.
And what is the result? "So the tabernacle was one unit." This is the goal. God does not have multiple, disconnected dwellings. He has one house. This was a powerful statement to a fragmented, tribal people. In the Tabernacle, they were one nation under God. And it is a powerful statement to us. The Church is not a collection of disparate, competing franchises. It is one body, one building, one bride. The clasps of gold, Jesus Christ, join Jew and Gentile, male and female, rich and poor, into one holy temple in the Lord (Eph. 2:21). Our unity is not something we create; it is a reality in Christ that we are called to maintain.
Christ, Our Tabernacle
The writer to the Hebrews tells us that the Tabernacle was a "copy and shadow of the heavenly things" (Heb. 8:5). It was a magnificent object lesson, pointing forward to a greater reality. And that reality is Jesus Christ.
John tells us that "the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). Jesus is the true Tabernacle, the place where God dwells with man. The fine linen of His perfect righteousness, the blue of His heavenly origin, the purple of His kingship, and the scarlet of His atoning blood were all perfectly woven together in His person.
He is the one whose craftsmanship was perfect, whose obedience to the Father's blueprint was exact in every detail. He is the one who joins us, two disparate parties, God and man, and makes us one. He is the golden clasp that holds everything together. Through His Spirit, the loops of blue, He connects us to God and to one another.
And now, because we are united to Him, the church itself becomes the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 3:16). We are being built together into a dwelling place for God. Each believer is a thread in this divine tapestry. Our lives, our work, our worship, our skills, are all being woven together by the Master Designer. He is taking the chaos of our individual lives and, with Spirit-filled wisdom, fashioning us into a coherent and beautiful whole, a single unit that displays His glory.
Therefore, let us not despise the details of obedience. Let us not grow weary in the work of building. Let us remember that every act of faithful craftsmanship, every loop of fellowship, every clasp of love, contributes to the glorious construction of the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.