18 And Moses reared up the tabernacle, and fastened his sockets, and set up the boards thereof, and put in the bars thereof, and reared up his pillars.

19 And he spread abroad the tent over the tabernacle, and put the covering of the tent above upon it; as the Lord commanded Moses.

The verse here says that “Moses reared the tabernacle.” However, it seems certain that some of these tasks would be beyond the capacity of a single man alone, particularly one in his eighties. Indeed, the very first step involved lifting and placing fifteen-foot boards into their sockets, and after they were all placed, massive coverings had to be run over the top of them! It seems that today’s verses must mean that Moses oversaw the rearing of the tabernacle, and so the responsibility for it is attributed to him.

Interestingly, this would mean Moses assuming the role of a divinely sanctioned foreman. Israel had just come from a land where they labored as slaves, under the direction of wicked masters. Now they labored voluntarily, for a Lord who had redeemed them, under the guidance of an overseer who had risked everything to secure their freedom. They still served, but the nature of that service was fundamentally changed from evil to good.

Also, this final act of rearing the tabernacle would complete Moses’s responsibility to see that all was done as the Lord has instructed. He had already confirmed that the parts were made correctly on an individual basis, now he would verify that they were put together correctly also. After that, direct responsibility could be handed over to the priests.