Exodus 25:15-25

15 The staffs 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] its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth.

18 And thou shalt make two cherubim [of] gold, [of] beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy-seat.

19 And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: [even] of the mercy-seat shall ye make the cherubim on its two ends.

20 And the cherubim shall stretch forth [their] wings on high, covering the mercy-seat with their wings, and their faces [shall look] one to another; towards 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 to the children of Israel.

23 Thou shalt also make a table [of] shittim wood: its length shall be two cubits, and its breadth a cubit, and its hight a cubit and a half.

24 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, and make to it a crown of gold around it.

25 And thou shalt make to it a border of an hand-breadth around it, and thou shalt make a golden crown to its border around it.

Exodus 25:15-25 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 25

In this chapter an order is given for a freewill offering towards various things for the worship and service of God, and the materials to be offered, which would be useful and acceptable, are mentioned particularly, Ex 25:1-7, as also another order to build a sanctuary for God, after a model that he would give, Ex 25:8,9, and, an ark to put in the law on tables of stone, the fashion of which, and the various things belonging to it, are described, Ex 25:10-16, and a mercy seat with cherubim on it to be set over the ark, where the Lord promises to meet Moses and commune with him, Ex 25:17-22 and a table with various appurtenances to it to place the shewbread on, Ex 25:23-30 and a candlestick of gold, whose parts are described, and all the instruments relative to it, Ex 25:31-40.