What is the context?
After describing the principal furnishings, God gives the instructions for the tent itself. Ten linen curtains are made with blue, purple and scarlet yarn and worked with cherubim. Their equal dimensions allow them to fit together in an ordered design.
Five curtains are joined into each of two sets. Matching blue loops along their edges receive fifty gold clasps, joining the two sets into one tabernacle. The richly worked fabric forms the inner covering, with other layers to be placed over it in the next instructions. The repeated concern is that the separate pieces become one connected structure.
How is this passage commonly understood?
The curtains are commonly read first as the fabric construction of God’s sanctuary, with their skilled work expressing the care given to His dwelling. Christian commentators also draw spiritual comparisons. Wesley connects the joined curtains with the unity of Christ’s churches; Calvin understands the sanctuary’s beauty as pointing toward the spiritual gifts and holiness of God’s people, while cautioning against assigning a secret meaning to every hook and loop.
Where does this fit in God's plan?
Wesley’s comparison with the church is a parallel, rather than an explicit New Testament explanation of these clasps. It is supported by the larger theme in Ephesians 2:11–22: Christ brings together people once divided, reconciles them to God and builds them into one dwelling through the Spirit.
The point of that connection is the shared life God creates. The joined curtains form one sanctuary; in the New Testament, people from different backgrounds belong to one household in Christ.
What is our position?
We don't have a position on this passage yet. When our study reaches a conclusion the text supports, it will appear here.