The children of Israel had been delivered from the bondage of the Egyptians, God had led them in the Wilderness by His pillar of cloud by day, and His pillar of fire by night; He had given them His Holy Law, which we call the Ten Commandments; and now God longed that the people should be brought near to Himself, and that He should be able to dwell among them.
So while Moses was up on the mountain alone with God, God told him to make tent or tabernacle where the people could bring their sacrifices, and where they might worship Him.
So the first thing Moses had to do was to tell the people that if they had willing hearts, they were to bring gold and silver and brass; and blue and purple and scarlet and fine linen; and shittim wood; and oil for light; and precious stones and spices; all these for an offering to the Lord, to be used for setting up the Tabernacle.
GIFTS FOR THE TABERNACLE.
And then within the Tabernacle there were to be some very holy things.
It was divided into two parts. One part was called the Holy Place, and the other the Holiest of all.
In this Holiest place of all there was only one thing to be put, and that was an Ark with the Angels (called Cherubims), shadowing the Mercy Seat above it.
In this Ark, or chest, God told Moses to put the slabs of stone with the Commandments written upon it; and this reminds us of those words, "Yea, Thy law is within my heart."
And then, resting on the top of the Ark, or chest, was the Mercy Seat, where the blood of the Lamb was sprinkled, and where God's glory would shine from day to day, as He talked with Moses from above the Mercy Seat.