Exodus

The four furnishings of the inner tabernacle are described fully in this chapter, as they were in chapter 27. As with the preceding chapter, here, the furnishings are described as having already been made. Bezaleel is referenced here as the maker of these contents, and his craftsmanship seems intended to mark the employment of the highest artistic skill, concentrated on that which is most essential in the Tabernacle. The Hendrickson Pulpit Commentary homiletics associates the four adornments of the inner sanctum with that of the believer's life. The Arc (vv1-9) is the meeting place of righteousness and faith. Here, atonement rests on God's laws - living faith. The Table of Shewbread (vv10-16) is a yielded life, the sacrifice presented before God, body, soul, and spirit. The Lampstand (vv17-24) shows the measure of God's grace shone on all mankind in Christ and demonstrated through our reflection of His love (Mt 5:14 "You are the light of the world..."). The Altar of Incense (vv25-29) is the uplifting of holy desire and intercession for all men, found in us as we are to be a pleasant scent to God in our prayers. These thoughts are worthy of our consideration, but only insomuch as we know that God gave specific instruction of the building of His Tabernacle, and we are to be obedient in all response to His commandments, statutes, and judgments (Deuteronomy 6, 11). A right posture before God is seen demonstrated by those who faithfully serve Him. "And Moses made haste to bow low toward the earth and worship." (34:8). No less is expected of us.

The implements of the outer court of the Tabernacle enumerated here include the details as listed in the previous pre-construction commands of Yahweh delivered by Moses: The Altar of Burnt Offering, vv1-7/27:1-8, The Laver of Bronze, v8/30:18, and the Court, vv9-20/27:9-19. Notably, however, there is a distinction in this list that is not included in the previous. In the assembly of the Laver of Bronze, the material from which it was constructed is given special note as coming from the women. No other offering of the construction materials for the Tabernacle is so designated. Further, the items donated by the women are objects of vanity that they've voluntarily surrendered - their mirrors. These would have been vestiges of their Egyptian slavery, highly polished bronze plates, now willingly discarded in submission to Yahweh's call. They assembled at the door of the Tabernacle to make this sacrifice, more out of self-denial than in response to Moses' decree. The reward is an eternal note in God's Word that the discerning will not discard. The magnitude of the counted weight for the precious metals used in the assembly is not at all insignificant, but neither is it inconsistent with what the Israelites would have brought with them out of Egypt when their former masters urged them to hastily leave with much of the Egyptian wealth following the Great Plagues (Ex 7-13). Take note of the count of the census here as well - 603,550 men over the age of twenty (v26). This is the exact number listed of the numbering of the Israelites in Numbers 1:46 & 2:32, taken six months later, but which was exclusive of the 22,000 Levites. Is it that either number was lost and taken from the other record without the Levites accounted for in the reckoning? Or, did God sustained His people with that degree of precision? In Numbers chapter one, the tribes, leaders, and their lineage are named. In Numbers chapter two, repeats these precise records. None of this seems anything other than exactly what God declares.

Throughout this chapter (vv1–31), the phrase “just as Yahweh commanded” is repeated seven times and echoes the refrain of Genesis “and it was good” (טוֹב, tov, seven times; Gen 1). It is used again three times in vv32–43, making ten uses in this chapter, seemingly echoing the Ten Commandments (20:1–17).
In verse three, the gold thread referenced is a new material, and its description and production reflect the Egyptian methodology of craftsmanship. In the description of the breastpiece, this account differs from the instructions in 28:15-30 by not including the details of the Urim and Thummim. Because this section details what is "now correctly made" following Yahweh's instructions (in contrast to what was instructed "to be made" in the previous), it follows that the Urim and Thummim would not be included here, as they had "already" been made, and not by Yahweh's instruction, by the time they were introduced in chapter 28. The words “Holy unto Yahweh” are engraved upon the plate of the holy crown (v30). This emphatically completes and states the goal, "the holiness of God’s people," begun in Ex 3:5 - "Then He said, “Do not come near here. Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”

More than simply what the Tabernacle was to be constructed of, and more than the manner of its construction; more than who was directed to complete the work, and who was to bring the items for building the Tabernacle - God also directed Moses on the exact time the Tabernacle was to be erected (vv1,16). Every detail was about precision in following God's instructions. Following the delivery of the Law (Ex 20-23), for which the children of Israel miserably demonstrated an inclination to disobedience (16:27), God provided a template for how to obey Him in a tangible, national level, visible example of perfect obedience. Conveniently, this example also carried the penalty of death for failed adherence. The closing chapter for Exodus details Yahweh's command to set up the Tabernacle (vv1-9) and to anoint everything in it (vv9-15) - exactly according to God's Word (v16). By the counting of verse 17, we can date the events that follow to the time of Israel's exodus from Egypt.
"Thus Moses finished the work" וַיְכַל מֹשֶׁה אֶת־הַמְּלָאכָה (v33c) echoes the Genesis record of what Yahweh finished. "God completed His work which He had done" וַיְכַל אֱלֹהִים … מְלַאכְתּוֹ (Gen 2:2). The word for “project/work” in both cases is מְלָאכָה, melakah, and it is definite in both cases (3 m. sg. pronominal suf. in Gen 2:2). The work of all creation is exclusively Yahweh’s work. The work completed in Ex 40:33 is also Yahweh’s work, but Moses is a faithful servant who has been permitted to complete Yahweh’s project. (Carpenter)
Eugene Carpenter, Exodus, vol. 2, Evangelical Exegetical Commentary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016), 425.