What is the meaning of Exodus 26:19? Forty silver bases “and make forty silver bases…” (Exodus 26:19) • Forty often signals completeness (Genesis 7:12; Acts 1:3), hinting that the tabernacle’s support was perfectly sufficient. • Silver, the price of redemption (Exodus 30:15–16; 1 Peter 1:18-19), tells us every plank of God’s dwelling rests on a fully paid ransom. • Hebrews 9:23 reminds us these earthly things were “copies of the heavenly,” so the forty bases point beyond the desert to a complete, redeeming foundation in Christ. Under the twenty frames “…under the twenty frames…” • Frames = vertical boards forming the south side of the tabernacle (Exodus 26:18). Together they picture believers joined into one “spiritual house” (1 Peter 2:5). • The bases were placed “under” them, not beside or behind—just as our standing is entirely upon what God has provided, not what we add (Ephesians 2:8-9). • John 15:5 echoes the dependence: “apart from Me you can do nothing.” Two bases for each frame “…two bases under each frame…” • Every board received an equal share: no partial footing, no favoritism (Romans 2:11). • Two bases ensured firmness. Jesus sent disciples out “two by two” (Mark 6:7), and “every matter is established by two or three witnesses” (Deuteronomy 19:15). God builds His dwelling on verified, stable testimony. • 1 Corinthians 3:11 insists “no one can lay a foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ”; the dual bases may symbolize both His death and resurrection holding us secure. One under each tenon “…one under each tenon.” • A tenon was a projection on the bottom of each frame that slid into its matching base. Nothing loose, nothing wobbling. • Colossians 2:7 urges us to be “rooted and built up in Him,” just as each tenon locked into its silver socket. • Psalm 40:2 pictures the same certainty: “He set my feet upon a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.” summary Exodus 26:19 describes more than ancient hardware. Forty complete silver bases of redemption, placed beneath every plank, supplied two firm sockets for each frame and one socket for each tenon—highlighting a flawless, grace-grounded, all-sufficient foundation. The tabernacle stood because God provided solid footing; believers stand today for the same reason: Jesus Christ, our unfailing, redeeming base. |
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