The Old & The New; What’s in Your Heart Today?
All this talk of gold to build the Tabernacle to worship God in the days of Moses near Mount Sinai.
One estimate is that it costed $52 million in today’s dollar to build that Tabernacle.
That’s almost one hundred dollars in today’s currency and probably an insurmountable amount on an individual basis for those in the desert with Moses way back when.
What was the source of this wealth for the nomadic Israelites at the time? What they took from the Egyptians when they left Egypt?
I have to remember that this is Old Testament, the Old Covenant between God and the people living at that time. Only some of the hundred billion people that have lived on the earth. All trying or have tried to make sense of this thing we call life.
The New Testament, the New Covenant between God and us is to have Jesus in our hearts and try the best we can to be like him in our thoughts, words and behavior.
Yes, that can lead to a life of worldly prosperity but what is more important is whether or not God, Jesus and The Holy Spirit is the focus of our lives today.
Would you give yesterday’s hundred dollar equivalent in today’s value which is likely in the millions of dollars to build your own personal Tabernacle to God?
If you didn’t have millions of dollars to give, what does that say about you, God and the world we live in today?
What about our relationships?
Are they built on trust, honesty, and commitment?
Or success, control, and manipulation?
Are we at peace with joy in our hearts knowing that in God’s World we are truly free?
Is there love in your hearts right now as defined by 1 Corinthians 13:4?
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”
The Tabernacle is built, it is finished and we have finished reading The Book of Exodus!
The Old & The New; What’s in Your Heart Today?
Day 33: Reading The Bible with a TROML Perspective; The Old & The New; What’s in Your Heart Today?
Read and inspired by the Old Testament, The Book of Exodus Chapters 38-40
Bible Notes:
This Book of Exodus is so called from the Greek word exodus, which means going out.
It recounts the persecution of the Jews in Egypt, the call of Moses, the ten plagues, the Jewish departure from Egypt, and the giving of the Mosaic Law on Mount Sinai.
The Book of Exodus closes with the consecration of the Tabernacle.
Exodus Chapter 38 Altar of holocaust; The laver of brass; The court with its pillars and hangings; The value of the offerings.
Laver of brass
Laver—Old Testament. a large basin upon a foot or pedestal in the court of the Hebrew tabernacle and subsequently in the temple, containing water for the ablutions of the priests and for the washing of the sacrifices in the temple service; Ecclesiastical. the font or water of baptism; any spiritually cleansing agency.
The instruments of the tabernacle of testimony, which were counted according to the commandment of Moses, in the ceremonies of the Levites…
All the gold that was spent in the work of the sanctuary, and that was offered in gifts was nine and twenty talents, and seven hundred and thirty sicles according to the standard of the sanctuary.
And it was offered by them that went to be numbered, from twenty years old and upwards, of six hundred and three thousand, five hundred and fifty men able to bear arms.
Some authorities say that the talent typically weighed about 33 kg (75 lb) varying from 20 to 40 kg. In February, 2016, the international price of gold was about US$1190 per troy ounce. One gram costs about $38. At this price, a talent (33 kg) would be worth about $1.25 million.
So 29 times $1.25 million is $36.25 million divided by 603,550 men is about $60 from each person—a little bit from a lot is a lot!
A hundred talents of silver.
In modern values a talent of silver would be reckoned at $6,606.00 and a talent of gold at $385,350.00 (versus $1.25 million above).
Seventy-two thousand talents of brass.
In my Google searches, I came across another fellow doing the same thing:
What would it cost to build the Tabernacle described in Exodus?
It would be a sacrifice for me to buy even an ounce of gold let alone the amounts that we are talking about here. A quick conversation from pounds to ounces:
35,276.73 Ounces of Gold X $1382.96 = $48,786,306.52
3,594,982.60 Ounces of Silver X $29.80 = $3,594,982.60
90,445.90 Ounces of Copper X $0.28 = $25,324.85
Total = $52,406,613.97
Now that was just for the metals. Now the next item of consideration is the amount of textiles used in the construction of the tabernacle cover.
Acacia wood must cost around the same as oak I imagine. Current price on the best stuff is $5.24 per board foot. Just accounting for the walls of the tabernacle and not the wood used in all the furniture and such – we would probably spend about $5000. Although this is already processed lumber – theirs would not have been.
Lastly there is the labor.
So by my estimates if the tabernacle were constructed today it would cost in the neighborhood of:
$57 Million Dollars. That is $57,000,000.00
Should we even stop to consider the relative cost 3000-4000 years ago? What is the inflation rate over 4 millennium? Probably astronomical.
I’m not sure if anyone else will find this interesting or not, but I spent the past 3 hours typing this up – I have to share it with someone.
LOL, back to Andy…
Exodus Chapter 39 Vestments for the priests; The ephod; Jewels for the ephod; The rational;
So all the work of the tabernacle and of the roof of the testimony was finished: and the children of Israel did all things which the Lord had commanded Moses.
Nothing was wanting of the vessels, that were commanded to be made for the ministry of the tabernacle, and for the roof of the covenant.
And when Moses saw all things finished, he blessed them.
Exodus Chapter 40 Moses commanded to set up the tabernacle; Command to anoint the tabernacle; Command to anoint Aaron and his sons; Moses sets up and arranges the tabernacle; The glory of the Lord fills the tabernacle.
And thou shalt take the oil of unction and anoint the tabernacle with its vessels, that they may be sanctified…
That they (Aaron and his sons) may minister to me, and that the unction of them may prosper to an everlasting priesthood.
After all things were perfected, the cloud covered the tabernacle of the testimony, and the glory of the Lord filled it.
For the cloud of the Lord hung over the tabernacle by day, and a fire by night, in the sight of all the children of Israel throughout their mansions.
Mansions– Oriental and Medieval Astronomy. Each of 28 divisions of the ecliptic occupied by the moon on successive days; Archaic. an abode or dwelling place.
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