When I read this chapter, several things stand out. While much of the ark is made of gold, even little things like rings and clasps to hold things together, the bases, the things that have to “come down to earth” so to speak, are made of silver or bronze. I’ve talked before about bronze versus gold.

I also notice them embroidering cherubim into the cloth. How do they know what they look like?

When people think of angels with wings, they are thinking of the descriptions of cherubim and those of seraphim. There was no record in the description of cherubim (which is the plural of cherub) being there during the plagues and leaving Egypt. We’ve no record that they’ve seen one, but they are making sculptures and pictures of them. It’s just one more way we see God’s inspiration behind the whole thing.

But as I was looking up what cherubim looks like, it is clear we really don’t know, and yet, the Israelites knew. They were commissioned to make these images, and they did. God gave people the skill and knowledge they needed to do the task they were given to accomplish.

Not just that, He gave the provision. There’s no debt here. God provides for the task at hand. And although sometimes he provides to the penny, just to point out that He was the One doing the providing, He also provides abundantly.

He doesn’t send His people into debt to do His will. He doesn’t want His people to be slaves again. God provides abundantly.

Moses has to tell the people to stop giving. It was more than they needed. When God moves in people’s lives, there’s a change, a change of heart, which results in a change in action. You can see when God moves in someone’s life. If there’s no action result, there was no change of heart.