Exodus 27

God gives Moses the plans for the bronze altar of burnt offering and for the courtyard that surrounds the tabernacle. Anyone drawing near to God had to come first through the gate and past the altar of sacrifice. The chapter ends with the command to keep the lamp burning in the Tent of Meeting.

Exodus 27:1

The first piece of furniture a worshiper met was the altar, a large square box of acacia wood. It stood about 7.5 feet on each side and 4.5 feet high. Before anyone could draw near to God, sacrifice had to be made.

BSA: altar (“a place of sacrifice, for offering to God”): The altar was a place where something was given up to God, not merely a piece of furniture.

Hebrew: מִזְבֵּחַ (mizbeach, H4196) — “altar, a place of slaughter.” The Hebrew word comes from the verb for slaughtering a sacrifice. It reminds us that this altar was about death given in place of the worshiper.

See also: Exodus 20:24-25.

Exodus 27:2

A horn stood on each corner, made as one piece with the altar itself. Horns often picture strength. People in need of mercy could cling to them. The whole altar was covered in bronze, which could stand up to the fire.

BSA: horn (“projection, like a horn”): These were upright projections at each corner, shaped like an animal’s horns.

See also: 1 Kings 1:50-51; Leviticus 4:7.

Exodus 27:3

Every tool for the altar was bronze. There were pots for clearing ashes, shovels, bowls to catch and sprinkle blood, forks for handling the meat, and firepans for carrying coals. Daily sacrifice was steady, hands-on work, and each tool had its purpose.

BSA: sprinkling bowls (“basins, liquid holders”): These held the blood of the sacrifice, which was central to the offerings.

Exodus 27:4-5

A bronze grate of mesh was fitted beneath the altar’s ledge, reaching halfway up. It had a ring at each corner. It probably let air in and ashes fall through, so the fire could burn well. The exact arrangement is not fully clear.

BSA: grate (“lattice-work, screen”): It was an open network of metal, built to let fire breathe and ashes drop.

Exodus 27:6-7

Poles of acacia wood, covered in bronze, slid through the rings so the altar could be carried on the sides. The tabernacle was a moving sanctuary, and God’s people were on a journey. Carrying by poles also kept hands from touching the altar itself.

BSA: poles (“staves, rods”): Long carrying bars that made the altar portable on the march.

Exodus 27:8

The altar was hollow, a box of boards. Probably it was filled with earth or stones when set up. Its builders were not to improvise. It had to be made just as Moses was shown on the mountain, because God sets the pattern for worship.

BSA: shown (“in a vision, by God’s providence”): Moses saw a pattern from God, so the design came from heaven, not from human taste.

See also: Exodus 25:9; Hebrews 8:5.

Exodus 27:9

Around the tabernacle God set a courtyard, an open space enclosed by hangings of fine white linen. It marked a boundary between the holy place and the camp. It also gave the people a place to approach. The south side was a hundred cubits long.

BSA: courtyard (“open space, outer court”): It was an open area where worshipers could gather and bring their offerings.

Hebrew: חָצֵר (chatser, H2691) — “enclosure, court.” The word means a space enclosed by a boundary. God’s dwelling was set apart, yet it had an entrance for those who came His way.

Exodus 27:10-11

The north and south sides matched each other. Each had twenty posts standing in bronze bases. Silver hooks and bands held the linen up. Bronze below and silver above gave the fence strength and beauty, and its order spoke of a God who is not careless.

BSA: bases (“sockets, foundations”): These were the footings that held each post firmly in place.

Exodus 27:12-13

The west end and the east end were each fifty cubits wide. The west end had ten posts and bases. The east was the front, facing the sunrise, and this is where the entrance would be. The people approached God’s dwelling from that side.

BSA: sunrise (“eastward, to the front”): The entrance faced the dawn, and the worshiper came in facing the sanctuary to the west.

Exodus 27:14-15

On the east side, fifteen cubits of curtain stood on each side of the gate. Each section had three posts and three bases. With the twenty-cubit gate between them, the whole front came to fifty cubits.

BSA: bases (“sockets, foundations”): Even the smaller wings of the fence stood firmly on their own footings.

Exodus 27:16

Only one gate led in. It was a twenty-cubit curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn with fine linen, the same colors as the tabernacle itself. Four posts held it. Many Christians see here a picture that there is one way into God’s presence.

BSA: embroidered (“wrought with needlework, intricately designed”): The gate was beautifully worked by hand, so the entrance itself was a work of art.

Hebrew: רֹקֵם (roqem, H7551) — “embroiderer, needlework.” This is the work of a skilled hand stitching colored thread into cloth. It is different from weaving a pattern in, and it makes the gate rich and costly.

See also: John 10:9; John 14:6.

Exodus 27:17

All the posts around the courtyard were dressed alike, with silver bands and hooks, set on bronze bases. The whole fence had one consistent look. Silver reminds the reader of the ransom money that the people had paid for their lives.

BSA: silver (“precious metal, wealth”): It marked the posts with costly metal, so the fence reflected the worth of what it enclosed.

See also: Exodus 30:11-16.

Exodus 27:18

The courtyard was a hundred cubits long and fifty wide, and its linen walls stood five cubits (about 7.5 feet) high. Low enough to let people know where to go, it was high enough to separate the sacred space from the camp around it.

BSA: curtains (“hangings, dividers”): They divided holy ground from ordinary ground.

Exodus 27:19

Everything else used in the tabernacle’s work, including every tent peg for the tabernacle and for the courtyard, was bronze. Even the smallest, humblest items counted. God cared about the details of His dwelling, and none of them was left to chance.

BSA: tent pegs (“nails, pins”): These small pieces anchored the whole structure against the wind.

Exodus 27:20

Moses was to have the people bring pure oil of pressed olives for the lamps. The olives were beaten, not burned, so the oil would give a clear flame with little smoke. The people provided the oil, and the lamps were to burn without going out.

BSA: pure (“clean, undefiled, without mixture”): Only unmixed, clean oil was suitable for the light in God’s house. continually (“constantly, without interruption, as a daily sacrifice”): The lamp was to be kept going every day, a steady witness in God’s house.

Hebrew: תָּמִיד (tamid, H8548) — “continually, regular.” This word describes what never lapses. It is used of regular daily offerings too, so the lamp was part of a steady rhythm of worship.

See also: Leviticus 24:1-4.

Exodus 27:21

Aaron and his sons were to tend the lamps in the Tent of Meeting, outside the veil that hid the Testimony, from evening until morning. They kept the light burning in God’s presence. This was to be a lasting rule for all the generations to come.

BSA: Testimony (“witness, God’s laws”): It names the covenant tablets kept in the ark, which bore witness to what God had said. permanent (“lasting, eternal”): The care of the light was to go on from one generation to the next.

See also: Exodus 25:21-22; Matthew 5:14-16.