1 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. (Ex
35:1)
The opening verse of this chapter is a fitting introduction to all that
follows; in fact, it would be a fitting principle to which every Christian
should adhere in his view of the entire Word of God. The antinomians declare
that we longer bear any responsibility to observe God’s Law at all – that all
was annulled by the New Testament. What blatant and pretentious balderdash! The
observance of God’s Law in the New Testament is not done away, but made more
compelling by the measure of love we have for our Lord and for each other. If
we fear the Law of God, or His judgment, that would be evidence of a lack of
love for Him. 17 Herein is our love made perfect,
that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we
in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but
perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is
not made perfect in love. 19 We love him, because he first
loved us. 20 If
a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth
not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? 21 And this commandment have we
from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also. (1
John 4:17-21) We,
and the church, have made obedience to God a great labor of works and not of
unbounded love.
Three salient points are addressed to the Children of Israel:
1. Sabbath;
2. Spirit of giving;
3. Increase in the ministry by
calling of two others of peculiar qualification for the purpose.
The
Sabbath
2 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. 3 Ye shall kindle no fire
throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day. The meaning of the Sabbath was
“REST.” God, having created all things in six days, rested on the seventh, and
hallowed it and made it Holy. God has commanded, “ye shall be holy; for I
am holy” (Lev 11:44) If we are IN Christ, and He is
IN us, should we only be Holy one day a week? Should we not rest in Christ
EVERY day of the week? Concerning this topic, Matthew Henry says: “The mild
and easy yoke of Christ has made our Sabbath duties more delightful, and our
Sabbath restraints less irksome, than those of the Jews; but we are the more
guilty by neglecting them. Surely God's wisdom in giving us the Sabbath, with
all the mercy of its purposes, are sinfully disregarded. Is it nothing to pour
contempt upon the blessed day, which a bounteous God has given to us for our
growth in grace with the church below, and to prepare us for happiness with the
church above?” I would point out another principle that is little
noticed in the Sabbath Commandment: “Six days shall
work be done.” Some have decided to rest from their physical labors far
more than one day in seven. If we are sluggards, we have violated God’s
Commandment.
The
Spirit of Giving
4 And Moses spake unto all the
congregation of the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the
LORD commanded, saying, 5 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, 6 And blue, and purple, and
scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair, 7 And rams' skins dyed red, and
badgers' skins, and shittim wood, 8 And oil for the light, and
spices for anointing oil, and for the sweet incense, 9 And onyx stones, and stones to
be set for the ephod, and for the breastplate. You will note
that the LORD makes no demands for the privilege of giving to His work. All
resources given by the people were out of a “willing heart.” If we
listen to modern sermons, especially of TV evangelist, we might come to believe
that we should KEEP ten percent of our earnings and donate the remainder to the
high salary of the preacher.
We learn in verse ten that God expects our labors to be well-done and out of a
wise heart: 10 And every wise hearted
among you shall come, and make all that the LORD hath commanded;” Do you wonder that the Lord
says wise hearted and not wise minded? The treasures of our hearts will
override every other capacity of our works. Chesterton once said that “we
have the process of learning of God all wrong – men believe that they should
learn through their minds to their hearts; but that is reversed! Men should
learn of God through their hearts and into their minds instead.” The filter
of the heart can immediately tell the counterfeit of love – the mind cannot.
Moses continues on to describe the exact type of works needed. Work, for the
sake of work, will avail nothing. Work must be artful, loving, and directed to
a purpose.
11 The tabernacle, his tent, and
his covering, his taches, and his boards, his bars, his pillars, and his sockets,
12 The ark, and the staves thereof,
with the mercy seat, and the vail of the covering, 13 The table, and his staves, and
all his vessels, and the shewbread, 14 The candlestick also for the
light, and his furniture, and his lamps, with the oil for the light, 15 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, 16 The altar of burnt offering,
with his brasen grate, his staves, and all his vessels, the laver and his foot,
17 The hangings of the court, his
pillars, and their sockets, and the hanging for the door of the court, 18 The pins of the tabernacle, and
the pins of the court, and their cords, 19 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. This sounds a bit like my wife
in directing work at home. She is very particular because she is the Queen of
the Home and her love desires the best. It is the same with God. He desires all
of the accoutrements of worship to be dignified and beautiful. He desires His
ministers to dress as ministers after a Holy vestment.
20 And all the congregation
of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. 21 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. That which stirs up the heart
to service is the Lord and His indwelling love. When the Holy Ghost is our
guide and teacher, we will be compelled by love to do our very best in all
things, and all things are to the glory of the Lord. Even the garments were made
Holy. What garments do we wear on days of worship? What we wear reflects our
reverence and respect for God and others, or, even what we fail to wear!
God uses the spoils taken from Egypt to decorate His
Tabernacle. 22 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. 23 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. 24 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. 25 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. 26 And all the women whose heart
stirred them up in wisdom spun goats' hair. The women’s
hearts were stirred by a sweet and loving spirit to spin and to fashion altar
linens and all other necessities of the distaff.
27 And the rulers brought
onyx stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate; 28 And spice, and oil for the
light, and for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense. 29 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.
You will see that the Lord had
commanded the design and fashion of the Tabernacle. Precise directions were
given as to materials of gold, silver, and wool; however, the Lord left the
giving to the willing hearts of the people – and they responded!
Bezaleel
and Aholiab are called to the work
God does not
desire the riff-raft of the street for His ministers. Though He may call those
very riff-raft, He will instill in their hearts the love and wisdom needed to
fulfill their calling. It is God who trains and qualifies – not Princeton, or
Westminster, or Union. There may be knowledge to be learned at these
institution, but much of it today is designed to decrease faith and not to
build it up. 30 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; 31 And he hath filled him with the
spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner
of workmanship; 32 And to devise curious works, to
work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, 33 And in the cutting of stones, to
set them, and in carving of wood, to make any manner of cunning work. The name of the first called is Bezaleel which means, “In
the Shadow of God.” I pray that we all can be so devoted to Christ
that we will be accounted close to God – so close as to be in His Shadow! God
Himself had filled Bezaleel’s heart with wisdom, understanding, and knowledge;
and I am sure it was just precisely the wisdom and knowledge God required to
perform His intentions.
34 And he hath put in his heart
that he may teach, both he, and Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of
Dan. 35 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.
God had imputed to the heart of Bezaleel the desire to teach and to
labor. We have many fine Sunday School and Bible teachers in our church today
who love the teaching of children and adults the pure Word of God; yet, they do
not neglect the residue of labors of administration and daily service.
Question of the day: Do you have a willing heart to serve God and to teach and
train His sheep?
