[Exodus 35] God Wants You Willing, Rested, and Wise. In this chapter, the resources to construct the Tabernacle are gathered, and the people set to work under the supervision of Bezaleel, God’s master craftsman. The opening verses of this time of working and gathering begin with a strong emphasis on the Sabbath lest the people in their enthusiasm forget to honor the day of rest, which is not only to honor God but to recuperate from their labors.
Exo 35:1-35 KJV – And Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said unto them, These [are] the words which the LORD hath commanded, that [ye] should do them. Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the LORD: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death. Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day. And Moses spake unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, This [is] the thing which the LORD commanded, saying, Take ye from among you an offering unto the LORD: whosoever [is] of a willing heart, let him bring it, an offering of the LORD; gold, and silver, and brass, And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ [hair], And rams’ skins dyed red, and badgers’ skins, and shittim wood, And oil for the light, and spices for anointing oil, and for the sweet incense, And onyx stones, and stones to be set for the ephod, and for the breastplate. And every wise hearted among you shall come, and make all that the LORD hath commanded; The Tabernacle, his tent, and his covering, his taches, and his boards, his bars, his pillars, and his sockets, The ark, and the staves thereof, [with] the mercy seat, and the vail of the covering, The table, and his staves, and all his vessels, and the shewbread, The candlestick also for the light, and his furniture, and his lamps, with the oil for the light, And the incense altar, and his staves, and the anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the hanging for the door at the entering in of the Tabernacle, The altar of burnt offering, with his brasen grate, his staves, and all his vessels, the laver and his foot, The hangings of the court, his pillars, and their sockets, and the hanging for the door of the court, The pins of the Tabernacle, and the pins of the court, and their cords, The cloths of service, to do service in the holy [place], the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest’s office. And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, [and] they brought the LORD’S offering to the work of the Tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments. And they came, both men and women, as many as were willing hearted, [and] brought bracelets, and earrings, and rings, and tablets, all jewels of gold: and every man that offered [offered] an offering of gold unto the LORD. And every man, with whom was found blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ [hair], and red skins of rams, and badgers’ skins, brought [them]. Every one that did offer an offering of silver and brass brought the LORD’S offering: and every man, with whom was found shittim wood for any work of the service, brought [it]. And all the women that were wise hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, [both] of blue, and of purple, [and] of scarlet, and of fine linen. And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun goats’ [hair]. And the rulers brought onyx stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate; And spice, and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense. The children of Israel brought a willing offering unto the LORD, every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring for all manner of work, which the LORD had commanded to be made by the hand of Moses. And Moses said unto the children of Israel, See, the LORD hath called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; And he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship; And to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, And in the cutting of stones, to set [them], and in carving of wood, to make any manner of cunning work. And he hath put in his heart that he may teach, [both] he, and Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, [even] of them that do any work, and of those that devise cunning work.
In the conclusion of the previous chapter Moses returns after 40 days on the Mount of God and the people fear to approach him because his face shines with a supernatural light due to long exposure to the glory of God. He convinces them to come near to hear his voice and in vs. 1-3 instructs the people again regarding the Sabbath. Paul in Hebrews applies this to our relationship with Christ:
[Heb 4:1-3 KJV] 1 Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left [us] of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. 2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard [it]. 3 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
Regardless of the dispensation God created man to enjoy a day of rest. There is also a spiritual application knowing that for those of us in the New Covenant the Sabbath for is living in acknowledgment of the finished work of Christ. Having said this it is important to emphasis that in Christ the Sabbath injunction is not incumbent upon a believer in the same application as it was upon the Israelites in the Old Testament as Paul makes clear in the following verse:
Col 2:16 KJV – Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath [days]:
There are groups in Christianity who insist if you are not a Sabbath keeper that your salvation is in jeopardy. That is doctrinal error and you are safe in disregarding such threatening language.
In vs. 4-20 we find a requisition that Moses is to make from the offerings of the people for the the materials to build the Tabernacle according to God’s design are gathered. Notice that the call is to a willing heart and to those that are wise-hearted.
God desires that the resources that advance his purposes be given joyfully and with a positive motivation. In his letter to the Corinthians Paul gave this encouragement:
2Co 9:7 KJV – Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, [so let him give]; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
Doesn’t God love everybody? What about those that do not give, or do not give willingly? It is true that God loves us all but the verse above indicates that those who give and give willingly and joyfully hold a special place in His heart and by extension a special place in His favor. We see then that God is not interested in compulsory giving or unwilling service. To this Isaiah agrees as well.
[Isa 1:19 KJV] 19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:
Having a proper attitude in giving is just as important as what is given or how we give.
In v. 5 there is a call for precious metals to be used to cover the articles of furniture that were constructed of acacia wood overload with gold, silver and brass. Gold represents the wisdom of God and the nature of God. Silver speaks of redemption as the shekel of the sanctuary by which every male above 20 years hold would annually redeem himself was derived from 20 geerahs of silver.
Brass which covered the Brazen Altar in the outer court speaks of the judgment of God and the animals sacrificed thereupon speak to us of Jesus the Lamb of God being sacrificed for the sins of the world.
In verse 6 we see a need for various dyes and textiles such as blue, red, badger’s skins, fine linen and shittim or otherwise known as acacia wood. Blue mentioned first in priority speaks to us of prayer and also the voice of God. The blue dye was derived from a shellfish whose name refers to the concussive sound that could be made from the shell that was called “the voice of many waters.” The red dye for scarlet used in the curtains of the Tabernacle derives according rabbinic literature was extracted from the body of a nematode called the “crimson worm” (carmine, or scientifically designated as the “Kermes biblicus”). This speaks to us regarding fact that Jesus the spotless son of God descended into human form, becoming a worm by comparison to His pre-existent glory in order to facilitate the possibility of His death on the Cross in our behalf. The purple dye was a symbol of wealth and royalty and we know that scripture presents Jesus as the Priest-King and the believer as a king and priest unto God. This dye was also derived from a mollusk and in ancient times was worth its weight in silver.
The fine linen used in the Tabernacle speaks to us of the righteousness afforded us in Christ. The badgers skins dyed red protected the priests from the elements when they were in the inner court and also shielded the Ark of the Covenant from prying eyes. They were dyed red which speaks to the Old Testament saint of the blood smeared on the doorposts of their homes the night before the Exodus and for us in the New Covenant the blood of Christ that covers and protects us from the beggarly elements of the world and the enemy that would otherwise molest us.
In v. 8 oil for the light was called for which was produced using a very specific recipe. Oil is symbolic of the Holy Spirit and was prepared by beating and pressing the ingredients into a very fine state, the foreshadowing the suffering of Jesus who was beaten and pressed in His redemptive agony not for himself but to give light to the world. When Jesus considered the oil for the light they informed Him regarding His substitutionary mission to go to the Cross and become the Light of the World.
Verse 8 speaks of the onyx stones on the shoulders of the High Priestly garment and the 12 stones representing the twelve tribes of the children of Israel. The onyx is the very first stone mentioned in the Bible and on these two stones the names of the twelve tribes were engraved. The shoulder represents that upon which the government of God rests thus conveying the thought that the governance of God is upon the Messiah’s shoulders and extended throughout the earth through His chosen people – the Israelites in the Old Covenant and the believer in the New Testament.
The twelve stones of the breastplate corresponded to the 12 tribes of Israel which are as follows:
Rueben – Sardius
Simeon – Topaz
Levi – Carbuncle
Judah – Emerald
Zebulon – Sapphire
Issachar – Diamond
Dan – Ligure
Gad – Agate
Asher – Amethyst
Naphtali – Beryl
Joseph – Onyx
Benjamin – Jasper
Simeon – Topaz
Levi – Carbuncle
Judah – Emerald
Zebulon – Sapphire
Issachar – Diamond
Dan – Ligure
Gad – Agate
Asher – Amethyst
Naphtali – Beryl
Joseph – Onyx
Benjamin – Jasper
There is much teaching here when we look deeper into the truths of these stones, their composition and the order in which they are listed. One interesting feature is that in the Old Testament Rueben and the Sardius stone are mentioned first but in the New Testament Judah and the Emerald are mentioned first. Sardius is also called the flesh stone and scripture tells us that the Law in that it depended on fleshly man to keep it could not bring about the righteousness of God. The emerald is the same color as the glory of God that emanates from His throne speaking of Christ in you the hope of glory (Col 1:26).
In v. 21, we repetitious references to the willing spirit by which the people gave of their resources and of their time and expertise to fashion all of these articles, Tabernacle panels, and coverings and utensils to be used in the worship of Jehovah in the Wilderness. A gift given half-heartedly or for a wrong motive is a contaminated gift.
In vs. 30-35, Bezaleel begins the work God had called him to. He was the first marketplace minister, for he not only did the work but also taught others. Notice again as God calls the people to give and to work and get involved in His purposes to build these things that He emphasizes first of all the Sabbath. God wants to use you, but He doesn’t want to use you up. He wants you RESTED, WILLING, AND WISE.
