Exodus 38 Commentary

The altar of burnt offering is built for the courtyard outside the tabernacle where worshippers would bring sacrifices to offer to the LORD. The specifications for building the altar of burnt offering and related utensils were given in Exodus 27:1 – 8.

The bronze laver is constructed. The specifications for building the bronze laver and how it was to be used were given in Exodus 30:17 – 21.

The tabernacle and all of its furnishings have now been built along with the two articles that were to be placed in the outer court (the altar of burnt offering and the laver). Now it was time to build the courtyard itself. The courtyard would surround the tabernacle and the outer court. The specifications for building the tabernacle courtyard were given in Exodus 27:9 – 19.

Moses recounted the amount of material that was used to build the tabernacle. The emphasis here is on the amount of precious metals used to make the items for the tabernacle and in the tabernacle.