Exodus 39:19, commentary and pictures

It records the making of two rings of gold set on the two ends of the breastplate, on its edge toward the inner side of the ephod. It belongs to the faithful carrying out of the directions for the sanctuary given in Exodus 25 to 31, built by divinely endowed workmen from free-will offerings according to the pattern shown in the mount that God might dwell among His redeemed people, and this exact obedience was followed by blessing and glory upon the completed work. As part of that earthly sanctuary and its service, it served as a pattern and object lesson of the heavenly sanctuary and Christ's priestly work in the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched and not man. The breastplate so fitted was the breastplate of judgment worn by the high priest bearing the tribes of Israel, shadowing forth the investigative judgment of the house of God before the second coming of Christ.

Sanctuary Setting and Construction

The making described is the fashioning of two rings of gold placed on the two ends of the breastplate, upon its border on the side turned inward toward the ephod. That detail stands within the last chapters of Exodus, which relate the preparation and fitting of the tabernacle in chronological order. More particularly, Exodus 33-40 records the building and setting up of the sanctuary after the events of Exodus 19-32 and immediately after the instruction for the sanctuary given to Moses in the mount in Exodus 25-31. The tabernacle thus prepared was set up on the first day of the first month of the second year from the departure from Egypt.

The work on the breastplate and its fittings was done just as God directed, as part of carrying out the directions for the sanctuary given in Exodus 25 to 31. This exact obedience in building with all its furniture and equipment was followed by blessing and glory coming down upon the congregation and the building when it was completed. The account belongs to the wilderness tabernacle, the earthly and worldly sanctuary built at God's command as His dwelling place among Israel. That portable sanctuary was later replaced by Solomon's temple, yet in both worship centered on the holy of holies, where the law of God rested beneath the mercy seat. The description of making the tabernacle and its furnishings is consistent with the skilled crafts and goldworking known in the ancient world.

It is part of the directions for building and the description of the marvelously beautiful sanctuary that God told Moses to have Israel build from free-will offerings, that He might dwell among them after redeeming them from Egyptian bondage. The building was done by workmen specially endowed by God according to the divine pattern given in the mount. Because hundreds of years of slavery had unfitted Israel to comprehend God's great salvation and the character He required, the sanctuary was given as a great multiple object-lesson by various forms and rites comprehending in its teaching the great plan of salvation. It was the dwelling place He asked Israel to make after leading them out of Egypt so He might dwell among them to reveal more fully His great love. In this it continued the unfolding plan of redemption begun with the simple family offering of a lamb for sin on an altar of rough stones from Eden to the Exodus.

Typical Meaning and Fulfillment

The making of two rings of gold set on the two ends of the breastplate upon its border on the inward side of the ephod belongs to the account of making the sanctuary and its furnishings, whose earthly form and service served as a pattern and object lesson of the heavenly sanctuary and Christ's priestly work. Exodus 25 to 40 gives the description of the wilderness tabernacle built exactly according to the directions given to Moses in the mount, the worldly sanctuary first pitched in the wilderness that was typical of and foreshadowed the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched and not man. The full description of the sanctuary and its furnishings from Exodus 25 to the end of the book shows the structure of boards set in silver sockets with rings and bars, together with the roof curtains and linen hangings. The veil divided the building into two apartments with the first twice as large as the second, to make known the exact order of the two kinds of service for the errors of the people.

It is part of the law of Moses commanded in Horeb, included with the commandments, statutes and judgments to be remembered. It stands within the Exodus 20 to 40 and Leviticus setting forth of God's law that reveals the offerings, sacrifices and types whose substance belongs to the new dispensation and to which attention is called in the last days. Exodus 39:8-21 describes the breastplate of judgment worn by the high priest, bearing the tribes of Israel. It belongs to the tenth-day atonement of the house of Israel, which in a certain sense was a day of judgment and shadows forth the investigative judgment of the house, or church, of God before the second coming of Christ.