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Exodus 37

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1 And Bezaleel made the ark of acacia-wood; two cubits and a half the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof.

2 And he overlaid it with pure gold inside and outside, and made a border of gold upon it round about.

3 And he cast for it four rings of gold, for its four corners: two rings on the one side of it, and two rings on the other side of it.

4 And he made staves of acacia-wood and overlaid them with gold.

5 And he put the staves into the rings on the sides of the ark, to carry the ark.

6 -- And he made a mercy-seat of pure gold; two cubits and a half the length thereof, and one cubit and a half the breadth thereof.

7 And he made two cherubim of gold; of beaten work did he make them, at the two ends of the mercy-seat;

8 one cherub at the end of one side, and one cherub at the end of the other side; out of the mercy-seat he made the two cherubim at the two ends thereof.

9 And the cherubim spread out [their] wings over it, covering over with their wings the mercy-seat; and their faces were opposite to one another: the faces of the cherubim were [turned] toward the mercy-seat.

10 And he made the table of acacia-wood; two cubits the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof.

11 And he overlaid it with pure gold, and made upon it a border of gold round about.

12 And he made for it a margin of a hand-breadth round about; and made a border of gold for the margin thereof round about.

13 And he cast for it four rings of gold, and put the rings on the four corners that were on the four feet thereof.

14 Close to the margin were the rings, as receptacles of the staves to carry the table.

15 And he made the staves of acacia-wood, and overlaid them with gold, to carry the table.

16 And he made the utensils that were on the table, the dishes thereof, and the cups thereof, and the bowls thereof, and the goblets with which to pour out, of pure gold.

17 And he made the candlestick of pure gold; [of] beaten work he made the candlestick: its base, and its shaft, its cups, its knobs, and its flowers were of itself.

18 And six branches went out of the sides thereof -- three branches of the candlestick out of the one side thereof, and three branches of the candlestick out of the other side thereof;

19 [there were] three cups shaped like almonds in the one branch, a knob and a flower; and three cups shaped like almonds in the other branch, a knob and a flower: so in the six branches which went out of the candlestick.

20 And in the candlestick were four cups, shaped like almonds, its knobs, and its flowers;

21 and a knob under two branches thereof, and [again] a knob under two branches thereof, and [again] a knob under two branches thereof, for the six branches which went out of it.

22 Their knobs and their branches were of itself -- all of one beaten work of pure gold.

23 And he made the seven lamps thereof, and the snuffers thereof, and the snuff-trays thereof, of pure gold.

24 Of a talent of pure gold he made it, and all its utensils.

25 And he made the altar of incense of acacia-wood; a cubit the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, square, and two cubits the height thereof: its horns were of itself.

26 And he overlaid it with pure gold, the top thereof, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns thereof; and made upon it a border of gold round about.

27 And he made two rings of gold for it under its border, by its two corners, on the two sides thereof, as receptacles for the staves with which to carry it.

28 And he made the staves of acacia-wood, and overlaid them with gold.

29 And he made the holy anointing oil, and the pure incense of fragrant drugs, according to the work of the perfumer.

   

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Face

  
Photo by Caleb Kerr

“The eyes are the windows of the soul.” That's a sentiment with roots somewhere in murky antiquity, but one that has become hopelessly cliché because it is both poetic and obviously true. We feel that if we can look in someone's eyes, we can truly know what they are inside. And it's not just the eyes; really it is the face as a whole that conveys this. As Swedenborg puts it, the face is “man's spiritual world presented in his natural world” (Heaven and Hell, No. 91). Our faces reveal our interior thoughts and feelings in myriad ways, which is why psychologists, poker players and criminal investigators spend so much time studying them. It makes sense, then, that people's faces in the Bible represent their interiors, the thoughts, loves and desires they hold most deeply. We turn our faces to the ground to show humility when we bow in worship; we turn them to the mountains when seeking inspiration; we turn them toward our enemies when we are ready to battle temptation. When things are hard, we need to “face facts,” or accept them internally. When the topic is the Lord's face, it represents the Lord's interiors, which are perfect love and perfect mercy. And when people turn away from the Lord and refuse his love, it is described as the Lord “hiding his face.”

(Odkazy: Heaven and Hell 91)