Exodus 25:13-16

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 25:10-40

What must be found with every soul that is God's dwelling-place I. THE ARK ( Exodus 25:10-22 ). The place where the Lord meets and communes with us. 1 . It contained the testimony. The light of the meeting-place with God is the word concerning righteousness and sin. There is no communion with God if that be left out. The law which searches and condemns us must be honoured as God's testimony. 2 . Between God and the law we have broken is the mercy seat, sin's glorious... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 25:10-40

The ark, the table, and the candlestick. The instructions for the making of these essential parts of the tabernacle furniture occupy the remainder of the chapter. The directions for making the altar of incense are postponed to Exodus 30:1-10 . The reason seems to be that the uses of this altar could not be described without reference to commands which were to be given respecting the altar of burnt-offering—to which the altar of incense stood in a certain relation of dependence—and to the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 25:13

Staves of shittim wood . Similar staves, or poles, are to be seen in the Egyptian sculptures, attached to arks, thrones, and litters, and resting on the shoulders of the men who carry such objects. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 25:14

That the ark may be borne with them. The Hebrew ark was not made, like the Egyptian arks, for processions, and was never exhibited in the way of display, as they were. The need of carrying it arose from the fact, that the Israelites had not yet obtained a permanent abode. As soon as Canaan was reached, the ark had a fixed locality assigned to it, though the locality was changed from time to time ( Joshua 18:1 ; 1 Samuel 4:3 ; 1 Samuel 7:1 ; 2 Samuel 6:10 , etc.); but in the desert... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 25:15

The staves, when once inserted into the rings of the ark, were never to be taken from them. The object probably was that there might be no need of touching even the rings, when the ark was set down or taken up. The bearers took hold of the staves only, which were no part of the ark. On the danger of touching the ark itself, see 2 Samuel 6:6 , 2 Samuel 6:7 . read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 25:16

The testimony which I will give thee, is undoubtedly the Decalogue, or in other words, the two tables of stone, written with the finger of God, and forming his testimony against sin. (Compare Deuteronomy 31:26 , Deuteronomy 31:27 .) The main intention of the ark was to be a repository in which the two tables should be laid up. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 25:23-16

The table of shew-bread. Between the ark of the testimony and the table of the shew-bread we see this great correspondence—that they were of the same material of shittim wood and had the same adornment of gold. But along with this correspondence there was a great difference, in that the ark of the testimony stood within the veil, while the table of shew-bread stood without. The ark of the testimony had the mercy seat above it, while the table of the shew-bread had the lighted candlestick... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Exodus 25:10-16

(compare Exodus 37:1-5). The ark is uniformly designated in Exodus the ark of the testimony. Elsewhere it is called the testimony, the ark of the covenant (most frequently in Deuteronomy and the other books of the Old Testament), the ark of the lord, the ark of god, the ark of the strength of the lord, and the holy ark.The ark of the covenant was the central point of the sanctuary. It was designed to contain the testimony Exodus 25:16; Exodus 40:20; Deuteronomy 31:26, that is, the tables of the... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Exodus 25:10-16

Exodus 25:10-16. The ark was a chest or coffer, in which the two tables of the law, written by the finger of God, were to be placed. If the Jewish cubit was, as some learned men compute, three inches longer than our half yard, (twenty-one inches in all,) this chest or cabinet was about fifty-two inches long, thirty-one broad, and thirty-one deep; it was overlaid within and without with thin plates of gold; it had a crown or cornice of gold round it; rings and staves to carry it with; and in... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Exodus 25:10-22

Ark of the covenant (25:10-22)The ark (GNB: covenant box) was a gold covered wooden box, two and a half cubits long, one and a half cubits wide, and one and a half cubits high. (A cubit was about forty-four centimetres or eighteen inches.) It was the only piece of furniture in the Most Holy Place (see 26:34). Inside the ark were the two stone tablets on which the law was written, as a constant reminder to the people of Israel that the God who dwelt among them was also their law-giver (10-16;... read more

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