Exodus 35:1-19 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Exodus 35:1-19. Let’s go!
1. (vv. 1-3) The command to keep the Sabbath.
Then Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said to them, “These are the words which the LORD has commanded you to do: Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh day shall be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of rest to the LORD. Whoever does any work on it shall be put to death. You shall kindle no fire throughout your dwellings on the Sabbath day.”
a. Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh day shall be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of rest to the LORD: In the coming chapters, there was a lot of work for Israel to do. They had to build a complex and exact tabernacle of meeting. Yet before they did anything, they should be reminded to enter into God’s rest and to respect the Sabbath.
i. The same principle holds true for our walk with God. Anything we do for the LORD must grow out of our rest in Him, and rest in His finished work on our behalf.
b. Whoever does any work on it shall be put to death: This was a strict call to obedience. Before they did the work of building the tabernacle, God first called Israel to the work of simple obedience. Basic obedience is a pre-requisite for doing work for the LORD.
i. “Why was it necessary to refer so often to the Sabbath? (16:23-30; 20:8-11; 23:12; 31:13-17). The observance was the best guarantee of continued loyalty to God.” (Thomas)
ii. The Hebrew language has two words for work: avodah and melachah. Avodah is a general term meaning work, while melachah is a word more related to business and things specifically forbidden on the Sabbath. One might say that here, God allowed some work (avodah) to be done on the Sabbath, but did not allow certain things on the Sabbath, especially business-related things (melachah).
iii. Kindle no fire: “The Jews understand this precept as forbidding the kindling of fire only for the purpose of doing work or dressing victuals; but to give them light and heat, they judge it lawful to light a fire on the Sabbath day.” (Clarke)
2. (vv. 4-9) Receiving what is needed to build the tabernacle.
And Moses spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, “This is the thing which the LORD commanded, saying: ‘Take from among you an offering to the LORD. Whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as an offering to the LORD: gold, silver, and bronze; blue, purple, and scarlet thread, fine linen, and goats’ hair; ram skins dyed red, badger skins, and acacia wood; oil for the light, and spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense; onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod and in the breastplate.’”
a. This is the thing which the LORD commanded: Now it was time to do what God originally commanded Moses in Exodus 25-31 regarding the building of the tabernacle and its associated items.
i. “If it is a reduplication, it is a deliberate one, to point out the lesson of the faithfulness of Moses in carrying out God’s instruction (Exodus 25:9).” (Cole)
b. Take from among you an offering to the LORD. Whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as an offering to the LORD: This offering came from God’s command, not from Moses’ clever fund-raising techniques.
This shows God’s normal way of channeling resources to His work – by the gifts given from His people with a willing heart.
i. God could cause the money and materials to appear by a miracle. Yet He chose to fund His work through the willing gifts of His people. He works this way because we need to be a giving people.
ii. This idea is echoed in 2 Corinthians 9:7: So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.
c. Gold, silver, and bronze; blue, purple, and scarlet thread, fine linen, and goats’ hair; ram skins dyed red: These were the materials necessary to build the tabernacle as commanded in Exodus 25-31
3. (10-19) Coordinating the labor and planning the work for the tabernacle.
“‘All who are gifted artisans among you shall come and make all that the LORD has commanded: the tabernacle, its tent, its covering, its clasps, its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its sockets; the ark and its poles, with the mercy seat, and the veil of the covering; the table and its poles, all its utensils, and the showbread; also the lampstand for the light, its utensils, its lamps, and the oil for the light; the incense altar, its poles, the anointing oil, the sweet incense, and the screen for the door at the entrance of the tabernacle; the altar of burnt offering with its bronze grating, its poles, all its utensils, and the laver and its base; the hangings of the court, its pillars, their sockets, and the screen for the gate of the court; the pegs of the tabernacle, the pegs of the court, and their cords; the garments of ministry, for ministering in the holy place—the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, to minister as priests.’”
a. All who are gifted artisans among you shall come and make all that the LORD has commanded: God commanded that the labor to make the tabernacle and its furnishings come from the gifted artisans among the Israelites.
b. The tabernacle, its tent, its covering: This lists the items of the tabernacle that must be made, repeating from Exodus 25-31. (from Enduring Word)
