March 20 Reading
Exodus 36 | Psalm 68
Exodus 36
1“Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whom the Lord has put skill and intelligence to know how to do any work in the construction of the sanctuary shall work in accordance with all that the Lord has commanded.”
2And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whose mind the Lord had put skill, everyone whose heart stirred him up to come to do the work. 3And they received from Moses all the contribution that the people of Israel had brought for doing the work on the sanctuary. They still kept bringing him freewill offerings every morning, 4so that all the craftsmen who were doing every sort of task on the sanctuary came, each from the task that he was doing, 5and said to Moses, “The people bring much more than enough for doing the work that the Lord has commanded us to do.” 6So Moses gave command, and word was proclaimed throughout the camp, “Let no man or woman do anything more for the contribution for the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing, 7for the material they had was sufficient to do all the work, and more.
8 And all the craftsmen among the workmen made the tabernacle with ten curtains. They were made of fine twined linen and blue and purple and scarlet yarns, with cherubim skillfully worked. 9The length of each curtain was twenty-eight cubits, and the breadth of each curtain four cubits. All the curtains were the same size.
10He coupled five curtains to one another, and the other five curtains he coupled to one another. 11He made loops of blue on the edge of the outermost curtain of the first set. Likewise he made them on the edge of the outermost curtain of the second set. 12He made fifty loops on the one curtain, and he made fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that was in the second set. The loops were opposite one another. 13And he made fifty clasps of gold, and coupled the curtains one to the other with clasps. So the tabernacle was a single whole.
14He also made curtains of goats’ hair for a tent over the tabernacle. He made eleven curtains. 15The length of each curtain was thirty cubits, and the breadth of each curtain four cubits. The eleven curtains were the same size. 16He coupled five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves. 17And he made fifty loops on the edge of the outermost curtain of the one set, and fifty loops on the edge of the other connecting curtain. 18And he made fifty clasps of bronze to couple the tent together that it might be a single whole. 19And he made for the tent a covering of tanned rams’ skins and goatskins.
20 Then he made the upright frames for the tabernacle of acacia wood. 21Ten cubits was the length of a frame, and a cubit and a half the breadth of each frame. 22Each frame had two tenons for fitting together. He did this for all the frames of the tabernacle. 23The frames for the tabernacle he made thus: twenty frames for the south side. 24And he made forty bases of silver under the twenty frames, two bases under one frame for its two tenons, and two bases under the next frame for its two tenons. 25For the second side of the tabernacle, on the north side, he made twenty frames 26and their forty bases of silver, two bases under one frame and two bases under the next frame. 27For the rear of the tabernacle westward he made six frames. 28He made two frames for corners of the tabernacle in the rear. 29And they were separate beneath but joined at the top, at the first ring. He made two of them this way for the two corners. 30There were eight frames with their bases of silver: sixteen bases, under every frame two bases.
31He made bars of acacia wood, five for the frames of the one side of the tabernacle, 32and five bars for the frames of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the frames of the tabernacle at the rear westward. 33And he made the middle bar to run from end to end halfway up the frames. 34And he overlaid the frames with gold, and made their rings of gold for holders for the bars, and overlaid the bars with gold.
35 He made the veil of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen; with cherubim skillfully worked into it he made it. 36And for it he made four pillars of acacia and overlaid them with gold. Their hooks were of gold, and he cast for them four bases of silver. 37He also made a screen for the entrance of the tent, of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, embroidered with needlework, 38and its five pillars with their hooks. He overlaid their capitals, and their fillets were of gold, but their five bases were of bronze.
Psalm 68
God Shall Scatter His Enemies
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song.
1 God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered;
and those who hate him shall flee before him!
2As smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away;
as wax melts before fire,
so the wicked shall perish before God!
3But the righteous shall be glad;
they shall exult before God;
they shall be jubilant with joy!
4Sing to God, sing praises to his name;
lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts;
his name is the Lord;
exult before him!
5 Father of the fatherless and protector of widows
is God in his holy habitation.
6God settles the solitary in a home;
he leads out the prisoners to prosperity,
but the rebellious dwell in a parched land.
7O God, when you went out before your people,
when you marched through the wilderness,Selah
8 the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain,
before God, the One of Sinai,
before God, the God of Israel.
9 Rain in abundance, O God, you shed abroad;
you restored your inheritance as it languished;
10your flock found a dwelling in it;
in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.
11The Lord gives the word;
the women who announce the news are a great host:
12 “The kings of the armies—they flee, they flee!”
The women at home divide the spoil—
13though you men lie among the sheepfolds—
the wings of a dove covered with silver,
its pinions with shimmering gold.
14When the Almighty scatters kings there,
let snow fall on Zalmon.
15O mountain of God, mountain of Bashan;
O many-peaked mountain, mountain of Bashan!
16Why do you look with hatred, O many-peaked mountain,
at the mount that God desired for his abode,
yes, where the Lord will dwell forever?
17 The chariots of God are twice ten thousand,
thousands upon thousands;
the Lord is among them; Sinai is now in the sanctuary.
18 You ascended on high,
leading a host of captives in your train
and receiving gifts among men,
even among the rebellious, that the Lord God may dwell there.
19Blessed be the Lord,
who daily bears us up;
God is our salvation.Selah
20Our God is a God of salvation,
and to God, the Lord, belong deliverances from death.
21 But God will strike the heads of his enemies,
the hairy crown of him who walks in his guilty ways.
22The Lord said,
“I will bring them back from Bashan,
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,
23that you may strike your feet in their blood,
that the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from the foe.”
24Your procession is seen, O God,
the procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary—
25 the singers in front, the musicians last,
between them virgins playing tambourines:
26 “Bless God in the great congregation,
the Lord, O you who are of Israel’s fountain!”
27There is Benjamin, the least of them, in the lead,
the princes of Judah in their throng,
the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.
28 Summon your power, O God,
the power, O God, by which you have worked for us.
29Because of your temple at Jerusalem
kings shall bear gifts to you.
30Rebuke the beasts that dwell among the reeds,
the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples.
Trample underfoot those who lust after tribute;
scatter the peoples who delight in war.
31Nobles shall come from Egypt;
Cush shall hasten to stretch out her hands to God.
32 O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God;
sing praises to the Lord,Selah
33to him who rides in the heavens, the ancient heavens;
behold, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice.
34 Ascribe power to God,
whose majesty is over Israel,
and whose power is in the skies.
35 Awesome is God from his sanctuary;
the God of Israel—he is the one who gives power and strength to his people.
Blessed be God!
