EXODUS LESSON 59

    We will begin this lesson in Exodus 35:1 "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." Exodus 35:2 "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." Exodus
35:3 "Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the
sabbath day."

    We see, here, that Moses had brought the exact message that God had
given him for the people.  It seems as though this "ye shall kindle no
fire", probably, was an explanation of how far the keeping of the sabbath
was to go.  We have covered all of this earlier, and will not go into it
again, here.

    Exodus 35:4  "And Moses spake unto all the congregation of the
children of Israel, saying, This [is] the thing which the LORD
commanded, saying," Exodus 35:5 "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,"  Exodus 35:6 "And
blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' [hair],"
Exodus 35:7 "And rams' skins dyed red, and badgers' skins, and shittim
wood," Exodus 35:8 "And oil for the light, and spices for anointing
oil, and for the sweet incense," Exodus 35:9 "And onyx stones, and
stones to be set for the ephod, and for the breastplate."

    We see, Moses spoke to the people and gave them a list of
things that they could bring as an offering unto the Lord for the
tabernacle. These people had repented of their sins they committed
while Moses was on the mountain with God the first time. We will find
that they not only did what Moses told them was God's wishes about the
offerings, but actually freely gave more than was needed to furnish the
tabernacle and outer court.

    Exodus 35:10 "And every wise hearted among you shall come, and
make all that the LORD hath commanded;"

    This had to do with those whom the Lord had filled with the
knowledge to help with the work of the tabernacle.

    Exodus 35:11 "The tabernacle, his tent, and his covering, his
taches, and his boards, his bars, his pillars, and his sockets,"
Exodus 35:12 "The ark, and the staves thereof, [with] the mercy seat,
and the veil of the covering," Exodus 35:13 "The table, and his
staves, and all his vessels, and the shewbread," Exodus 35:14 "The
candlestick also for the light, and his furniture, and his lamps, with
the oil for the light," Exodus 35:15 "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," Exodus 35:16 "The
altar of burnt offering, with his brasen grate, his staves, and all
his vessels, the laver and his foot,"  Exodus 35:17 "The hangings of
the court, his pillars, and their sockets, and the hanging for the
door of the court,"  Exodus 35:18 "The pins of the tabernacle, and the
pins of the court, and their cords,"

    When you look at this list above, which we actually covered in
earlier lessons, you must take note that they were not listed in the
same order as before.  Perhaps, this list, here, indicated what would be
needed first and the order in which this shall be done.  We note,
here, that all of the valuable metals, materials, etc., were to come
from the people to build this tabernacle and its court. I believe this
endeavor, here, was why God had the Israelites bring silver, gold, and
precious things into the wilderness with them. These pins, in verse 18,
were not listed in the earlier list and were, perhaps, used in tying down
the tent.

    Exodus 35:19 "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." Exodus 35:20  "And all
the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence
of Moses."

    We see that Moses went into great detail about the needs for the
tabernacle and its court; and after he explained to the people
everything that was needed, they immediately went to their own tents
to prepare to bring all of this.

    Exodus 35:21 "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."

    We see who came to bring the necessary things for the tabernacle
and court, those with a willing heart. All spiritual things begin in
the heart. This Scripture did not state any particular tribe.  God
really doesn't care what family affiliation you have, all He wants is
a willing heart. When the Spirit moves upon the heart, something
happens that causes people to want to work for the Lord. You will find
these people going far beyond a tithe, as well. They gave everything
they could to the work of the Lord, and they worked, as well. These were
not things they brought grudgingly, but with a joyful heart. They were
rejoicing that they could be part of this great undertaking.

    Exodus 35:22 "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."

    Here, we see God's people bringing their jewelry to be used for
God's work. They brought this willingly. This was voluntary.  This
was not just the men, but women, as well. It appears that in this
particular time of history, men and women wore all sorts of jewelry.
I believe this offering of gold being mentioned twice, here, has great
spiritual significance. I believe it symbolizes the pureness of heart
the givers had.

    Exodus 35:23 "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]." Exodus 35:24 "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]."

    Perhaps, some of this silver was attained in sacrifice unto the
Lord purchasing the firstborn. I believe what was intended here was the
fact this was all freewill offerings though.

    Exodus 35:25 "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."

    This blue, purple, and scarlet was dyed, probably, before the
weaving began. The fine linen was, perhaps, white. These women were
experts in spinning. God had poured the knowledge and skill to do this
job into their minds and spirits.

    Exodus 35:26 "And all the women whose heart stirred them up in
wisdom spun goats' [hair]."

    It is strange that this would be separated out, but I am pretty
sure that it was a different skill required to spin the goat's hair.
Here, again, we see that the Lord had given them the wisdom, and it
was the desire of their hearts to do this.

    Exodus 35:27 "And the rulers brought onyx stones, and stones to be
set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate;" Exodus 35:28 "And spice,
and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the sweet
incense."

    We see, here, that the rulers, probably, had more wealth than the
others. We discussed before that this onyx meant here was a precious
stone, probably not the one we know today as an onyx. The onyx was
mentioned separate, because it would not be on the breastplate, but was
the stone for each shoulder. The other stones were not specifically
named here, but we remember that each of the 12 represented one of the
tribes of Israel. We, also, must remember that these different oils and
the spice were special preparations.

    Exodus 35:29 "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."

    We remember, here, the most important thing.  They (men and women)
brought them from willing hearts.  This statement ("by the hand of
Moses") did not mean that Moses would actually do any of the work.  He
just received the plans from God, and was responsible to give accurate
instructions, nothing else.

    Exodus 35:30  "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;" Exodus 35:31 "And he hath filled him with the
spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in
all manner of workmanship;" Exodus 35:32 "And to devise curious works,
to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass," Exodus 35:33 "And in
the cutting of stones, to set [them], and in carving of wood, to make
any manner of cunning work."

    We spoke about Bezaleel in chapter 31 of this Bible study.  It is
almost unbelievable that one man had all the different skills to do
such a wide variety of jobs. One of these skills would take a lifetime
to perfect in the natural, but all things are possible with God. God
poured His Spirit upon Bezaleel, and perfected all of these abilities
in him. To get the details on all of this, study chapter 31 of Exodus
in this Bible study.

    Exodus 35:34 "And he hath put in his heart that he may teach,
[both] he, and Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan."

    This Aholiab was Bezaleel's assistant that God had given him. God
allowed Bezaleel and Aholiab to teach these crafts to others the Lord
had chosen to help. Bezaleel was the boss, Aholiab was his assistant,
and the other helpers were under Aholiab.

    Exodus 35:35 "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 filled these helpers, as well, with skill and
understanding to do the job. They were under the constant, watchful eye
of Aholiab and Bezaleel.





















                          Exodus 59 Questions

1.  Why did Moses gather the congregation?
2.  What additional description was added to the warning not to work
    on the sabbath?
3.  What was the penalty for working on the sabbath?
4.  What did Moses command the people to do?
5.  What was it to be used for?
6.  What had to be the condition of their hearts?
7.  The wise hearted were to do what?
8.  Who would furnish the metals, wood, and precious stones for the
    tabernacle?
9.  As soon as Moses had told the people all the items needed, what
    did the people do?
10. What 2 descriptions were given of the people who brought the
    materials?
11. All spiritual things begin where?
12. In verse 22, what did men and women bring for the tabernacle?
13. This gift the men and women brought being mentioned twice has what
    religious significance ?
14. What was the description of the women who spun with their hands?
15. What was, probably, the difference of the goats' hair?
16. Who brought the onyx stones?
17. Why were the onyx stones mentioned separate from the other stones?
18. What did "by the hand of Moses" mean?
19. Who had God called by name to be the head engraver, stone cutter,
    worker of wood, and all the other things?
20. What was almost unbelievable about Bezaleel?
21. Who was Bezaleel's next assistant?
22. What did God do for all the workers?