Daily Worship: Chapter 24 continues with matters associated with worship, but the focus shifts from the special feasts to the regular or daily worship carried on at the tabernacle. The concern here is with two matters related to the sanctuary: lights and bread.

24:1–4 God commands Moses to instruct the people. These verses then specify the oil to be used in the lamps in the sanctuary and the care to be taken with them. Apparently some kind of lighting in sanctuaries was a quite ancient practice. While providing visibility in dark tents, light also honored the deity and somehow marked provision for God’s presence. We do not know much about the lamp here, but three passages in Exodus speak of the construction of the lampstand and the oil to be used in the lamp (Exod. 25:31–40; 27:20–21; 37:17…