The Bible

 

Exodus 25

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1 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,

2 Speak unto the children of Israel, that they take for me an offering: of every man whose heart maketh him willing ye shall take my offering.

3 And this is the offering which ye shall take of them: gold, and silver, and brass,

4 and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' [hair],

5 and rams' skins dyed red, and sealskins, and acacia wood,

6 oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense,

7 onyx stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate.

8 And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.

9 According to all that I show thee, the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the furniture thereof, even so shall ye make it.

10 And they shall make an ark of acacia wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof.

11 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about.

12 And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in the four feet thereof; and two rings shall be on the one side of it, and two rings on the other side of it.

13 And thou shalt make staves of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold.

14 And thou shalt put the staves into the rings on the sides of the ark, wherewith to bear the ark.

15 The staves shall be in the rings of the ark: they shall not be taken from it.

16 And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee.

17 And thou shalt make a mercy-seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half [shall be] the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof.

18 And thou shalt make two cherubim of gold; of beaten work shalt thou make them, at the two ends of the mercy-seat.

19 And make one cherub at the one end, and one cherub at the other end: of one piece with the mercy-seat shall ye make the cherubim on the two ends thereof.

20 And the cherubim shall spread out their wings on high, covering the mercy-seat with their wings, with their faces one to another; toward the mercy-seat shall the faces of the cherubim be.

21 And thou shalt put the mercy-seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.

22 And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy-seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.

23 And thou shalt make a table of acacia wood: two cubits [shall be] the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof.

24 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, and make thereto a crown of gold round about.

25 And thou shalt make unto it a border of a handbreadth round about; and thou shalt make a golden crown to the border thereof round about.

26 And thou shalt make for it four rings of gold, and put the rings in the four corners that are on the four feet thereof.

27 Close by the border shall the rings be, for places for the staves to bear the table.

28 And thou shalt make the staves of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold, that the table may be borne with them.

29 And thou shalt make the dishes thereof, and the spoons thereof, and the flagons thereof, and the bowls thereof, wherewith to pour out: of pure gold shalt thou make them.

30 And thou shalt set upon the table showbread before me alway.

31 And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made, even its base, and its shaft; its cups, its knops, and its flowers, shall be of one piece with it.

32 And there shall be six branches going 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:

33 three cups made like almond-blossoms in one branch, a knop and a flower; and three cups made like almond-blossoms in the other branch, a knop and a flower: so for the six branches going out of the candlestick:

34 and in the candlestick four cups made like almond-blossoms, the knops thereof, and the flowers thereof;

35 and a knop under two branches of one piece with it, and a knop under two branches of one piece with it, and a knop under two branches of one piece with it, for the six branches going out of the candlestick.

36 Their knops and their branches shall be of one piece with it; the whole of it one beaten work of pure gold.

37 And thou shalt make the lamps thereof, seven: and they shall light the lamps thereof, to give light over against it.

38 And the snuffers thereof, and the snuffdishes thereof, shall be of pure gold.

39 Of a talent of pure gold shall it be made, with all these vessels.

40 And see that thou make them after their pattern, which hath been showed thee in the mount.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

True Christian Religion #283

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283. The Ten Commandments were the height of holiness for the Israelite church.

The Ten Commandments, being the starting-point of the Word and so of the church which was to be established among the Israelite nation, and being in short compass a summary of the whole of religion, making a link between God and man and man and God, were so holy that nothing holier could exist. Their outstanding holiness is evident from the following points.

The Lord Jehovah Himself came down on Mount Sinai in fire and accompanied by angels, and from there proclaimed them out loud, and the mountain was hedged about to prevent anyone approaching and being killed. Neither the priests nor the elders came near, but only Moses. The Commandments were written on two stone tablets by the finger of God. When Moses brought the tablets down the second time, his face shone. The tablets were afterwards laid up in the Ark, and this was at the centre of the Tabernacle. It was surmounted by the mercy-seat, above which were placed cherubim made of gold. This central area of the Tabernacle, where the Ark was, was called the Holy of Holies. Outside the veil, inside which the Ark was, were placed many objects to represent the holy things of heaven and the church; these were a table overlaid with gold on which the bread of the Presence was put, a golden altar on which to put incense, and a golden lamp-stand with seven lamps; also curtains all round made of fine linen, purple and scarlet. The holiness of the whole of this Tabernacle was entirely due to the law contained in the Ark.

[2] It was on account of the holiness of the Tabernacle as containing the Ark, that the whole people of Israel were commanded to camp around it in the order of their tribes; and that they set out in order after it; and that there was a cloud over it by day and fire by night. It was because of the holiness of the law, and Jehovah's presence in it, that Jehovah spoke with Moses upon the mercy-seat between the cherubim; and that the Ark was called 'Jehovah-is-there'; and that Aaron was not allowed to go inside the veil except with sacrifices and incense, on pain of death. It was because of Jehovah's presence in and around the law, that miracles were done by means of the Ark containing the law. For instance, the waters of Jordan were parted, and the people crossed over on dry land so long as the Ark rested in its midst. Its being carried round the walls of Jericho caused them to fall down. Dagon, the god of the Philistines, first of all fell on his face in the presence of the Ark, and later was found lying with his head cut off together with the palms of his two hands upon the threshold of the shrine. On account of the Ark the men of Bethshemesh were smitten to the number of many thousands. Uzzah was killed by touching the Ark. The Ark was brought into Zion by David with sacrifice and jubilation. Later it was put by Solomon into the Temple at Jerusalem, and he made its inner shrine there. From these and many other details it is plain that the Ten Commandments were the height of holiness for the Israelite church.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.

The Bible

 

Exodus 40:17-28

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17 It happened in the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was raised up.

18 Moses raised up the tabernacle, and laid its sockets, and set up its boards, and put in its bars, and raised up its pillars.

19 He spread the covering over the tent, and put the roof of the tabernacle above on it, as Yahweh commanded Moses.

20 He took and put the testimony into the ark, and set the poles on the ark, and put the mercy seat above on the ark.

21 He brought the ark into the tabernacle, and set up the veil of the screen, and screened the ark of the testimony, as Yahweh commanded Moses.

22 He put the table in the Tent of Meeting, on the side of the tabernacle northward, outside of the veil.

23 He set the bread in order on it before Yahweh, as Yahweh commanded Moses.

24 He put the lampstand in the Tent of Meeting, opposite the table, on the side of the tabernacle southward.

25 He lit the lamps before Yahweh, as Yahweh commanded Moses.

26 He put the golden altar in the Tent of Meeting before the veil;

27 and he burnt incense of sweet spices on it, as Yahweh commanded Moses.

28 He put up the screen of the door to the tabernacle.