The second lesson from the story tells us of the problem with images. God had just given Moses the Ten Commandments, and one of the things we learn from them is this: “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the image of anything in heaven above, or on the earth beneath, or in the waters under the earth. You shall not bow down yourself to them or serve them.” It goes on to explain how the punishments of God will come upon those who do, even to the third and fourth generations.

Exodus 30 now goes back to talking about the furniture, picking up with the altar of incense (vv. 1-10). This may seem out of place. After all, the description of the furniture was interrupted by material about the priests, and now Moses is going back to talk about the furniture. Not only that, but the altar of incense was in the outermost room, the Holy Place. It seems that it should have been discussed back when Moses was talking about the table of showbread and the menorah. But like before, the explanation is a theological one. Incense symbolizes the prayers of the saints (see Rev. 5:8). The incense arises to heaven, as our prayers do, and it smells sweet. Our prayers are sweet to God. He wants to hear our prayers, even when we stumble around and don’t quite know what to pray about.

When you went in you came to the tabernacle itself. It too was a rectangle, and had two rooms: the Most Holy Place and the Holy Place. The Most Holy Place was a perfect cube, measuring fifteen feet by fifteen feet by fifteen feet. The outer room was twice as long: thirty feet long, fifteen feet wide, and fifteen feet high. Thus, the whole tabernacle was forty-five feet long. Of particular interest was the curtain that divided the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. It was made of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and fine linen. It had figures of cherubim worked into it. Its purpose was to shield the visible presence of God from human eyes. It could only be passed through once a year, and even then only by the high priest, and that was on the Day of Atonement. 

The book of Exodus falls into two main parts. The first part has to do with the exodus itself, which gives the book its name. The second part deals with those early months of Israel’s desert wandering, during which God gave them three types of law: the moral law, embodied in the Ten Commandments; the civil law, having to do with their civil government; and then finally the ceremonial law. 

The second category are laws relating to personal injury: homicide, physical injuries such as being kidnapped, maimed, or even hurt by words, and injuries caused by animals. The first part of this section makes a distinction between murder, which is intentional, and manslaughter, which is an accidental killing without malice or premeditation (see 21:12-14). Murderers were to be put to death. That’s not because the Bible treats life lightly. Quite the opposite! We are the ones who treat life lightly. The Bible treats life with respect because people are made in the image of God, such that if somebody murders another, he must be put to death. It’s as serious as that.