“And every wise hearted man among them that wrought the work of the tabernacle made ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet : with cherubims of cunning work made he them.”
My Notes
What Does Exodus 36:8 Mean?
"And every wise hearted man among them that wrought the work of the tabernacle made ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with cherubims of cunning work made he them." The tabernacle's inner curtains are woven by Spirit-gifted artisans: fine linen in four colors (white, blue, purple, scarlet) with cherubim designs woven directly into the fabric. The craftsmanship is described as "cunning work" (ma'aseh choshev — the work of a skilled designer, an artistic thinker). The tabernacle's most intimate layer — the ceiling the priests looked up at while serving — was art. Deliberately, divinely commissioned art.
The cherubim woven into the curtains created a visual effect: the priests serving in the Holy Place looked up and saw cherubim — the same guardians that stood above the mercy seat, now repeated in the fabric overhead. The entire space was surrounded by angelic imagery.
Reflection Questions
- 1.How does the tabernacle's inner ceiling being art (not plain fabric) model the role of beauty in worship?
- 2.What does Spirit-gifted craftsmanship ('cunning work') teach about the sacred nature of artistic skill?
- 3.What would it mean for the 'ceiling' of your worship space to produce the experience of heaven?
- 4.Where is artistic creation being treated as secondary to ministry when God treats it as equally Spirit-empowered?
Devotional
Fine linen. Blue. Purple. Scarlet. With cherubim woven in. The ceiling of God's house was art — and the artists who made it were Spirit-filled craftsmen whose skill was a divine gift.
Every wise hearted man. Kol ish chokham lev — every person with a wise heart. The construction crew for the tabernacle isn't random labor. It's skilled artisans — people whose hearts have received wisdom from God (31:6). The weavers who create the inner curtains are Spirit-equipped for the work. Their looms are as much instruments of worship as Aaron's censer.
Ten curtains of fine twined linen. The inner curtains — the ones the priests see when they look up inside the tabernacle — are the finest fabric available. Fine twined linen (shesh moshzar) is the luxury textile of the ancient world: bleached, tightly woven, luminous white. The base color is purity.
Blue, and purple, and scarlet. Three dyes added to the white base: blue (tekeleth — derived from a sea snail, the most expensive dye in the ancient world), purple (argaman — royalty's color), and scarlet (tolath shani — from a specific insect). The colors carry meaning: blue (heaven), purple (royalty), scarlet (sacrifice/blood). The priests look up and see heaven, royalty, and sacrifice woven into the fabric above their heads.
With cherubims of cunning work. The cherubim — the angelic guardians of God's throne — are woven directly into the curtains. Not painted on afterward. Woven in — part of the fabric's structure. The artisan doesn't add the cherubim. The artisan creates the fabric with the cherubim embedded. The art is integral, not decorative.
Cunning work — ma'aseh choshev. The work of a designer, a thinker, an artistic mind. The word choshev shares a root with 'thought' — this is thought-work, mind-work, the kind of creation that requires both technical skill and creative imagination. The tabernacle's art isn't paint-by-numbers. It's original, skilled, designed creation — the application of a Spirit-gifted mind to sacred materials.
The priests looked up and saw cherubim. Every service they performed — trimming the lampstand, replacing the showbread, burning incense — happened under a ceiling of angels woven in royal colors on the finest linen available. The worship space was designed to produce a specific experience: you are in the presence of heaven. The angels above you confirm it. The colors around you declare it. And the fabric that holds it all together was made by a Spirit-filled artist whose skill was as sacred as any priest's.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And every wise hearted man among them that wrought the work of the tabernacle,.... Did the part assigned him, what he…
Cherubims of cunning work - See on Exo 25:18 (note). Probably the word means no more than figures of any kind wrought in…
The first work they set about was the framing of the house, which must be done before the furniture of it was prepared.…
every wise hearted man, &c. cf. vv.1, 2, 4. In the account of the construction of the sanctuary these are mentioned only…
Cross References
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