Exodus 35:1-35
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.
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.
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.
10 And every wise hearted among you shall come, and make all that the LORD hath commanded;
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The six last Chapter s of this book are chiefly a repetition of what the Lord had commanded Moses. Hence the substance of them has been anticipated.
REFLECTIONS.
God who commanded his sanctuary to be made, has counted the costs, by amply providing the means of its erection. The gifts we find must proceed from a willing heart, and the work must be achieved by those whose spirit he had stirred up. The nation, men, women, and artists, were all cheerfully employed in preparing the habitation of the Most High. Let the christian world learn to do all the works of piety and of charity with these views, and in this spirit. Let us say, with Origen, Lord Jesus, grant that I may have some monument in thy tabernacle. Oh I would wish that some part of the gold might be my oblation, of which the mercy-seat is made and the ark covered, or out of which the candlestick is beaten. But if I have neither gold nor silver, I would at least wish to give brass for the sockets and the rings, and for other things prescribed by the command. Oh that I were one of the princes, that I might offer precious stones for the priestly vestments. That not being in my power, let me find the favour of offering goats' hair to the temple of my God, that I may not be found unfruitful in his presence.
Among the Hebrews we might now have seen a noble spirit. The Lord had once more promised to dwell among them, and accompany them to the good land. The princes offered their richest gifts, the ladies offered their jewels of gold and silver. They left to themselves only the simple charms of nature, that their minds might enjoy the nobler virtues of a meek and quiet spirit. The poorer women, destitute of gold, but rich in the labour of their hands, took hold of the distaff, and spun the yarn for the pavilion of God; and those trained to the finer works of the needle, embroidered the curtains with beautiful devices. Let the christian church catch this holy ardour, and serve God and his cause with a heart equally prompt and willing in his work.
The skilful artist, fraught with Egyptian science and celestial tuition, proceeded with the work. Struck with the simple majesty of the sacred model, they added no devices of their own, but conformed their work to the divine counsel and command. What a pattern for christian ministers to follow. Let us disencumber ourselves of the canons and creeds of corrupt ages, and go back to the fountains of scripture for pure water, and to the primitive church for perfect models, that we may build according to the Saviour's heavenly plan.
Many of the particular parts of the tabernacle mentioned here, are explained in the preseding Chapter s. The cubit is thought by Dr. Lightfoot to be but eighteen inches.