Elementary Level, Block 4—Moses
Week 39
Moses—Building the Tabernacle
Point to Emphasize: We can be those who are thorough and capable in everything we do.
Reference Reading: Exodus 25:9, 40; 26:1—27:21; 35:10—38:31; 40:1-38
Memory Verse: Thus Moses did; according to all that Jehovah had commanded him, so he did. (Exodus 40:16)
Story Sample
Moses was quite an admirable person, wasn’t he? He was well-educated; he was patient, caring, and sensitive; he received instructions well; he worked well with others; he did not give up; and he was very detailed. Doesn’t that sound like someone who God could trust with very important things? At the end of the book of Exodus where we read about Moses, God asked him to build a tabernacle.
What was this tabernacle? This tabernacle was the place where the children of Israel could come to God and where His presence and glory would be. Actually, the tabernacle was God’s house or dwelling place on the earth.
Have you ever made a fort at your house, using the pillows from your couches, blankets, tables, chairs, and whatever else you could find around the house? That’s fun, but you couldn’t live in it. It would fall apart easily and would not keep you safe from the rain, wind, or cold.
God wanted the right place for Himself, so it was important for it to be exactly right. This place needed to match who He was. It couldn’t just be made with whatever materials the children of Israel found lying around in the wilderness, like sand and rocks. So God gave Moses very specific and very detailed instructions on how to build and raise the tabernacle, what to put in it, what the items there should look like and where they should be placed, and how the people should come into the tabernacle to be in God’s presence.
God told Moses how big the tabernacle, as well as all the rooms or courts inside it needed to be. He told him how many tent coverings, clasps, boards, bars, pillars, and sockets were needed and instructed him how to put them together. He told him what the length of the curtains should be and how to hang them, how to put them together, what materials they should be made out of, and what color embroidery they should be. All the tent coverings had to be made of different materials, and each one had to be laid in order on top of the other. The boards for the wall were to be made of acacia wood and overlaid with gold and sockets of silver, and they had to be cut to the correct length. Then God also gave Moses instructions on the utensils needed, like pots, shovels, basins, forks, firepans, that had to be made of bronze. The tabernacle also needed lampstands, lamps, and oil for the light. Wow! Those were very, very detailed instructions. You would need a very thorough person to make sure not one thing is missed!
I build LEGOs with my daughter who is 5 years old, like some of you. We found out that sometimes, if you miss a step and you keep building, later on you won’t be able to continue and you’d have to go back and fix it. One time my daughter started building a truck by following the instructions in the book. Eventually, she had to ask me for help because something was not fitting right. When I checked, I found out that she had missed one or two steps in the instructions, so we had to remove some pieces and then re-build the truck. [Storyteller, please share a personal example of being thorough in something you do.]
The Bible says, “Thus Moses did; according to all that Jehovah had commanded him, so he did” (Exodus 40:16). So everything was done “as Jehovah had commanded Moses.” Moses was such a thorough person that not one thing was missed. Everything was done just as God had commanded. And he was such a capable person that he was able to oversee the whole thing. Where would they get the materials? Moses got everyone to participate, and everyone brought to him the things that were needed. Who would do the work of building? He used those who were skillful workmen and engravers and embroiderers. To be capable doesn’t only mean that you can or should do every single thing yourself. It also means you find the best people for the job or you work together with others who are able to do things, especially things you cannot do.
We may not have such a big job like building a house for God, but we can still be thorough and capable in everything we do. We can be thorough with our homework and not be careless or miss any instruction. We can be capable in helping our parents with the dishes or putting our things where they belong. If we are thorough and capable in what we do, our parents and teachers will trust us to do things for them and know that it will be done correctly every time.