Exo 25:1 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,

Imagine being able to talk to the Lord that He begins to speak directly to us. Through faith in Jesus Christ it is now possible for any who diligently seek Him. Through the Holy Spirit, we can talk to God and He can speak to us by His spirit.

We need discernment of course, because not all we hear is from God but we can keep seeking Him and studying His word so that we know when He is speaking. We may never hear an audible voice but He will speak if we seek and if we listen. He speaks through His word and through the Holy Spirit.

Exo 25:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering.
Exo 25:3 And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass,
Exo 25:4 And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair,
Exo 25:5 And rams' skins dyed red, and badgers' skins, and shittim wood,
Exo 25:6 Oil for the light, spices for anointing oil, and for sweet incense,
Exo 25:7 Onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod, and in the breastplate.
Exo 25:8 And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.

God is planning to dwell with them. To prepare for His dwelling offerings are gathered. Notice that God does not provide the materials from heaven or by some miracle but urges them to bring necessary things to build a tabernacle in the wilderness. This is God's desire. He wants to dwell among the human beings He created. Since the fall of Adam though, so many prefer to go their own way and do their own things. They do not realize that they are following the enemy of all souls, Satan. He is leading them to destruction and the destruction of their eternal souls.

God wants to dwell among us and do great things for us but it is us that refuse and block the way. He cannot dwell in the same place as sin. He sent Jesus to make the way get rid of sin so that one day in the future, God will dwell with the redeemed. The book of Revelation tells more detail of this great time.

Exo 25:9 According to all that I show thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.
Exo 25:10 And they shall make an ark of shittim 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.

The ark symbolized God's presence in every place it went. It was to contain the ten commandment stones. This ark was a reminder of the covenant between Israel and God. God chose Abraham to bring forth a people to dwell among. The ark was a symbol of that covenant. It contained a pot of manna as a reminder of the bread that came from God. Aaron's rod was later placed within it as a witness to Israel of God's choice for the priesthood.

All this was replaced by Jesus Christ who became the bread of life and also the high priest. The ark was a symbol of the covenant before the perfect one was to come. The ark contained the law. This law was sacred and holy. It showed all that God was holy and His laws were holy. There had to be a way for mankind to become holy in order to live with God.

Exo 25:11 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.
Exo 25:12 And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in the four corners thereof; and two rings shall be in the one side of it, and two rings in the other side of it.

There had to be a way to move the ark from place to place because man could not touch it.

Exo 25:13 And thou shalt make staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold.
Exo 25:14 And thou shalt put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, that the ark may be borne with them.
Exo 25:15 The staves shall be in the rings of the ark: they shall not be taken from it.
Exo 25:16 And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee.
Exo 25:17 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.
Exo 25:18 And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat.

These were the only images God ever ordained. We are not to make or worship any images. Idolatry was and still is forbidden showing us that God is the only way and what He ordains and provides is the only way of salvation. All these things are leading up to the perfect way, Jesus Christ.

The mercy seat shows us that God's mercy overshadows the law. The law was given by Moses but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. Both are holy and without fault. We need mercy though to make heaven our home because sooner or later every one of us will break the law in some point unless we die as a baby before we have a chance to break any law of God.

Exo 25:19 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 cherubims on the two ends thereof.
Exo 25:20 And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be.

These were never to be worshipped but symbolized the continual presence of God. This never excuses idolatry or images in our worship today.

Exo 25:21 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.
Exo 25:22 And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.
Exo 25:23 Thou shalt also make a table of shittim wood: two cubits shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof.
Exo 25:24 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, and make thereto a crown of gold round about.

God represents the word of God. Gold is everlasting.

The word never passes away.

Exo 25:25 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.
Exo 25:26 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.
Exo 25:27 Over against the border shall the rings be for places of the staves to bear the table.
Exo 25:28 And thou shalt make the staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold, that the table may be borne with them.
Exo 25:29 And thou shalt make the dishes thereof, and spoons thereof, and covers thereof, and bowls thereof, to cover withal: of pure gold shalt thou make them.
Exo 25:30 And thou shalt set upon the table shewbread before me always.
Exo 25:31 And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of the same.
Exo 25:32 And six branches shall come out of the sides of it; three branches of the candlestick out of the one side, and three branches of the candlestick out of the other side:
Exo 25:33 Three bowls made like unto almonds, with a knop and a flower in one branch; and three bowls made like almonds in the other branch, with a knop and a flower: so in the six branches that come out of the candlestick.
Exo 25:34 And in the candlestick shall be four bowls made like unto almonds, with their knops and their flowers.
Exo 25:35 And there shall be a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches of the same, according to the six branches that proceed out of the candlestick.
Exo 25:36 Their knops and their branches shall be of the same: all it shall be one beaten work of pure gold.
Exo 25:37 And thou shalt make the seven lamps thereof: and they shall light the lamps thereof, that they may give light over against it.

This represents the spirit of God.

Exo 25:38 And the tongs thereof, and the censers thereof, shall be of pure gold.
Exo 25:39 Of a talent of pure gold shall he make it, with all these vessels.
Exo 25:40 And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was showed thee in the mount.

It had to be according to the pattern God gave Moses and no other way.

There are more details to the study of the tabernacle and vessels. Everything God does as a meaning and it represents something. The ark has disappeared and no one knows where it is. Could it be because Christ fulfilled and replaced the law with grace and mercy? Christ is the new covenant with Israel. Through Christ, faith alone is sufficient to save the soul. Since He became the ultimate sacrifice for sins, animal sacrifices are no longer necessary. All these things in the Old Testament pointed toward the perfect one to come and redeem mankind from the fall.

Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Rom 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
Rom 8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
Rom 8:4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Here is a futher explanation in Hebrews:

Heb 8:1 Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such a high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;
Heb 8:2 A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.
Heb 8:3 For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer.
Heb 8:4 For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:
Heb 8:5 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern showed to thee in the mount.
Heb 8:6 But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.
Heb 8:7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.
Heb 8:8 For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:
Heb 8:9 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.
Heb 8:10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
Heb 8:11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.
Heb 8:12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
Heb 8:13 In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.

We can rejoice to live in the days when we can have grace and mercy instead of judgment.  We can have access to God through faith in Jesus Christ.   We can be free from sin and enter the kingdom of Heaven.  Why do so many ignore this good way? 

Exodus 26