Exodus 35-Reiteration Of Sabbath Command, Israelites Obey Offering Command For Tabernacle And Reiteration Of God's Choice Of Bezalel And Oholiab
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Sunday November 11, 2012
Journey Through The Bible Series: Exodus 35-Reiteration Of Sabbath Command, Israelites Obey Offering Command For Tabernacle And Reiteration Of God’s Choice Of Bezalel And Oholiab
Lesson # 60
Please turn in your Bibles to Exodus 35:1.
A large portion of material that appears in Exodus 35-40 repeats either verbatim or almost verbatim the material that is found in Exodus 25-31.
The modern reader would view Exodus 35-40 and say “why not simply tell us the reader that Moses and the Israelites did all the Lord commanded them to do to construct and furnish the tabernacle?”
However, there is a definite purpose for such repetition.
The repetition that appears in these chapters corresponds to the rules of an honored literary genre, which occurs elsewhere in the ancient Near East.
The ancient extrabiblical command-fulfillment accounts containing extensive repetition forced the reader to agree that a set of important instructions was conscientiously executed to the letter.
The command-fulfillment repetition is a way of emphasizing the importance of what is commanded and the precision with which it is obeyed.
Therefore, the repetition of chapters 35-40 is so that the reader knows for certain that the Israelites conscientiously obeyed the Lord’s commands which appear in Exodus 25-31.
They conscientiously obeyed the Lord’s commands in these chapters.
This is significant because it demonstrates that the Israelites had indeed repented of their idolatry which is recorded in Exodus 32.
Though Exodus 35-40 contains much of the same material which appears in Exodus 25-31, the former does not present this material in the same order as the latter.
Exodus 25-31 begins with the Lord calling for an offering to be taken among the Israelites in order to furnish the materials to build the tabernacle, which is followed by a description of the articles for the tabernacle in the order of their importance and holiness.
Thus, these chapters move from the most sacred object in the tabernacle, the Ark to the least sacred, the courtyard perimeter.
However, in Exodus 35-40, the objects are described in the order they were actually constructed by the Israelites.
The following is an outline of Exodus chapter 35: (I) Reiteration of the Sabbath Observance Command (1-3), (II) Reiteration of the Offering Command (4-9) (III) Reiteration of Call for Skilled Workers (10-19) (IV) Israelites Provide Tabernacle Materials (20-29) (V) Moses Appoints and Endorses Bezalel and Oholiab (30-35).
Exodus 35:1 Then Moses assembled all the congregation of the sons of Israel, and said to them, “These are the things that the LORD has commanded you to do: 2 “For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a holy day, a sabbath of complete rest to the LORD; whoever does any work on it shall be put to death. 3 You shall not kindle a fire in any of your dwellings on the sabbath day.” (NASB95)
In Exodus 35:1-3, Moses reiterates with the Israelites the Sabbath observance command, which appeared in Exodus 31:12-17.
This passage along with Exodus 20:8-11 make clear that the observance of the Sabbath is connected to the fact that God Himself rested on the seventh day after six days of work (Genesis 2:2-3).
The Sabbath is thus an invitation to rejoice in God’s creation and to acknowledge that He is sovereign.
The prohibition in Exodus 35:3 that the Israelites were not even to light a fire in their homes on the Sabbath was to prevent the Israelites from rationalizing that cooking meals is not work since eating was not prohibited as work.
If you recall, the Lord provided a double portion of manna each sixth day in order to provide food for the Israelites to eat on the Sabbath (Exodus 16:14-35).
Thus, because of this provision, no fires needed to be lit in the homes of the Israelites in order to cook meals.
Also, the Lord knew that preparing and cooking meals would be work for the Israelite women, thus to cook on the Sabbath would be a clear violation of the law.
Of course, not all fires were prohibited since those on the tabernacle altar were needed for the Sabbath offerings (Numbers 28:9).
Furthermore, the Israelites were forbidden to even collect firewood on the Sabbath when it was not an emergency because it was considered work and thus could be punished with the death penalty (Numbers 15:32-36).
If a family member was sick and fire was required, the head of the house could simply borrow wood from a neighbor.
Exodus 35:4 Moses spoke to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, saying, “This is the thing which the LORD has commanded, saying, 5 ‘Take from among you a contribution to the LORD; whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as the LORD’S contribution: gold, silver, and bronze, 6 and blue, purple and scarlet material, fine linen, goats’ hair, 7 and rams’ skins dyed red, and porpoise skins, and acacia wood, 8 and oil for lighting, and spices for the anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense, 9 and onyx stones and setting stones for the ephod and for the breastpiece.” (NASB95)
In Exodus 35:4-9, Moses reiterates with the Israelites the Lord’s command to take up an offering for the materials to build the tabernacle, which appeared in Exodus 25:1-7.
In fact, Exodus 35:5-9 duplicates 23:3-7 verbatim.
Exodus 25:2 and 35:5 teach a basic principle of giving, namely that offerings to the Lord are to be voluntary and spontaneous and without coercion.
Wanting to give to the Lord is still basic in dedicating anything to the Lord, and this principle is emphasized in 1 Chronicles 29:5, 1 Corinthians 9:17, 2 Corinthians 9:7 and 1 Peter 5:2.
Exodus 35:10 “‘Let every skillful man among you come, and make all that the LORD has commanded: 11 the tabernacle, its tent and its covering, its hooks and its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its sockets; 12 the ark and its poles, the mercy seat, and the curtain of the screen; 13 the table and its poles, and all its utensils, and the bread of the Presence; 14 the lampstand also for the light and its utensils and its lamps and the oil for the light; 15 and the altar of incense and its poles, and the anointing oil and the fragrant incense, and the screen for the doorway at the entrance of the tabernacle; 16 the altar of burnt offering with its bronze grating, its poles, and all its utensils, the basin and its stand; 17 the hangings of the court, its pillars and its sockets, and the screen for the gate of the court; 18 the pegs of the tabernacle and the pegs of the court and their cords; 19 the woven garments for ministering in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, to minister as priests.’” (NASB95)
In Exodus 35:10, Moses reiterates with the Israelites the Lord’s call for skilled workers to build the tabernacle which appeared in Exodus 31:1-11.
The command to build the tabernacle in Exodus 35:10-11 is found in Exodus 26:1 and will be summarized in Exodus 39:32-33.
The various component parts of the tabernacle which are mentioned here in Exodus 35:10-19 were first mentioned in Exodus 25-26.
Exodus 35:20 Then all the congregation of the sons of Israel departed from Moses’ presence. 21 Everyone whose heart stirred him and everyone whose spirit moved him came and brought the LORD’S contribution for the work of the tent of meeting and for all its service and for the holy garments. 22 Then all whose hearts moved them, both men and women, came and brought brooches and earrings and signet rings and bracelets, all articles of gold; so did every man who presented an offering of gold to the LORD. 23 Every man, who had in his possession blue and purple and scarlet material and fine linen and goats’ hair and rams’ skins dyed red and porpoise skins, brought them. 24 Everyone who could make a contribution of silver and bronze brought the LORD’S contribution; and every man who had in his possession acacia wood for any work of the service brought it. 25 All the skilled women spun with their hands, and brought what they had spun, in blue and purple and scarlet material and in fine linen. 26 All the women whose heart stirred with a skill spun the goats’ hair. 27 The rulers brought the onyx stones and the stones for setting for the ephod and for the breastpiece; 28 and the spice and the oil for the light and for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense. 29 The Israelites, all the men and women, whose heart moved them to bring material for all the work, which the LORD had commanded through Moses to be done, brought a freewill offering to the LORD. (NASB95)
Exodus 35:20-29 tells us the reader that the tabernacle project was a nationwide effort since this passage says that all of Israel responded to the Lord’s command in Exodus 25:1-7 to provide materials for the construction of the tabernacle.
Exodus 35:30 Then Moses said to the sons of Israel, “See, the Lord has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. 31 And He has filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding and in knowledge and in all craftsmanship; 32 to make designs for working in gold and in silver and in bronze, 33 and in the cutting of stones for settings and in the carving of wood, so as to perform in every inventive work. 34 He also has put in his heart to teach, both he and Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. 35 He has filled them with skill to perform every work of an engraver and of a designer and of an embroiderer, in blue and in purple and in scarlet material, and in fine linen, and of a weaver, as performers of every work and makers of designs.” (NASB95)
In Exodus 35:30-35, Moses reiterates the Lord’s choice of Bezalel and Oholiab to oversee the construction of the tabernacle, which appeared in Exodus 31:2-6.