Exodus 35:1-35

Exodus: *Israel becomes a nation

God’s instructions to Moses

Exodus Chapter s 19 to 40

Hilda Bright and Kitty Pride

Chapter 35

Chapter s 35-39 show how Moses obeyed God’s instructions. We can read those instructions in Chapter s 25-31. The words, ‘As the *LORD had ordered Moses’ appears 7 times in chapter 39. So we know that Moses obeyed carefully all God’s orders. There are some important differences between Chapter s 35-39 the earlier Chapter s. So there will be an explanation under the chapter headings.

The *Sabbath law – verses 1-3 (Compare Exodus 20:8-11; Exodus 23:10-13; Exodus 31:12-17)

v1 Moses called together all the *Israelites and he spoke to them. ‘The *LORD has ordered us to do these things’, he said. ‘You must obey these rules. v2 You must work for 6 days each week. Then, the 7th day will be your holy day. It will be a special day for the *LORD, and you must rest on that day. Anyone who does any work on that day must die. v3 Do not light a fire in your homes on this *Sabbath day.’

Verses 1-2 The 7th day in the week was called the *Sabbath. And the law about the *Sabbath reminded them about God’s special promise (the *covenant). So that law appears again here because Moses was repeating the agreement with God. The writer gives again the instructions about God’s special tent (the *Tabernacle). Moses repeated that law to remind the *Israelites about its importance. Even when they were building God’s special tent, that was no excuse. Always they must rest on the *Sabbath day.

Verse 3 adds the words, ‘Do not light a fire in your homes on this *Sabbath day’. In the *desert the *Israelites ate *manna. They had to prepare their supply of *manna the night before the *Sabbath. Some people say that this refers to the workers in the *Tabernacle. Perhaps the workers said that they had to light fires for their work. But the words, ‘in your homes’ mean that this law referred to every Israelite. Some *Jews still obey that rule today.

Materials and labour for God’s special tent – verses 4-29

Materials for the tent – verses 4-9 (Compare Exodus 25:1-7)

v4 Moses was speaking to all the *Israelites. ‘This is what the *LORD has ordered’, he said. v5 ‘The *LORD invites you to bring presents to him. Everyone who is willing should bring a present to the *LORD. If you have gold, silver or *bronze, bring some to the *LORD. v6 If you have blue, purple or bright red wool, bring that. If you have *linen of good quality, bring that. If you use goats’ hair to make cloth, then bring that. v7 Also you can bring the skins of male sheep that you have coloured red. Also you can bring leather of good quality. Or you can bring *acacia wood. v8 You can bring *olive oil for the lamps. And you can bring powder that has a sweet smell. The priests can burn the powder in front of God. Or they can mix the powder in the special oil for the priests. v9 If you have precious stones like *onyx, then bring them. We will display them on the priest’s special clothes.’

The special tent and its equipment – verses 10-19 (Compare Exodus 25:8 – 27:21)

v10 ‘Everyone among you who has skill must come. You must make everything that the *LORD has ordered. v11 You must make the special tent and its cover. You must make its *hooks and the poles that support the tent. You must make the bars in the shape of a cross for it. And you must make its posts and its bases. v12 You must make God’s special box with its poles so that you can carry it. And you must make its cover, where the *LORD will forgive us. Also you must make the curtain that divides the place. And this has the special box behind it. v13 You must make the table on which you put the special bread. And you must make the poles and all the other equipment for the table. v14 You must make the *lampstand for the light. And you must make the equipment that the priests use with the *lampstand. And you must make the lamps for the *lampstand. You must mix the oil to burn in them too. v15 You must make the *altar where the priests will burn the powder. This powder has a sweet smell. And you must make the poles for the *altar so that the men can carry it. You must mix the special powder that has a sweet smell. Also, you must mix the special oil for the priests. They will use this special oil to mark things for God. And you must make the curtain for the entrance to the special tent. v16 You must make the *altar. The priests will burn the animals on that *altar. They are the animals that the people give as gifts to God. You must make its *bronze bars like a net. And make its poles and all its tools. And you must make the *bronze basin with its base. v17 You must make the curtains with their posts and their bases. They are for the yard round the tent. And you must make the curtain for the entrance to the yard. v18 You must make large pins and extra thick strings. These will help the poles and the posts to remain firm. v19 And you must make the special clothes for Aaron and for his sons to use. They must always wear those clothes when they serve the *LORD as his priests.’

Verse 10 Everyone with a skill helped to construct the tent and all its equipment.

The gifts for God – verses 20-29

v20 When Moses finished these instruction, all the *Israelites left. v21 Then everyone who wanted to give a gift to the *LORD, brought their gifts to Moses. They used the gifts to make the special tent and everything in it. They made the special clothes for the priests from these gifts too. v22 Both the men and the women came with presents because they wanted to give to God. They brought all kinds of gold things. And these things included beautiful little things that they wore on their clothes. They brought the rings from their ears and other rings too. And they brought beautiful gold things that they wore round their necks. They were willing to give these things as a special gift to the *LORD. v23 Everyone brought what they had. So some people brought blue, purple or bright red wool. And they brought *linen of good quality. They brought cloth that they had made out of goats’ hair. And they brought skins of male sheep that they had coloured red. And they brought leather of good quality. v24 Some people brought silver or *bronze to give to the *LORD. And anyone who had *acacia wood brought it. Then they used that wood for the work. v25 Every woman with skill made cloth and the wool with which to sew it. They brought blue, purple and bright red wool. And they brought *linen of good quality. v26 All the women with skill, who wanted to make cloth out of goats’ hair, did that too. v27 The leaders brought *onyx stones and other precious stones to attach to the *ephod. The workers attached these stones to the *breast-piece for Aaron too. v28 People also brought plants and powder that had sweet smells. They brought *olive oil for the lamps. The workers made the special powder. They made it from these things that had a sweet smell. The priests burned this powder. And they mixed the plants and powders with the oil to make the special oil. v29 The *Israelite men and the *Israelite women brought gifts to the *LORD. They brought them because they wanted to bring them. They brought these gifts for the work that they must do for the *LORD. He had told Moses everything that they must do.

Verses 5, 21, 22, 26 and 29 repeat the idea, ‘everyone who wants to’. They emphasise that the people were very willing to give gifts to God. Moses was not forcing anyone to give materials. He was not forcing them to work. They offered help to make the special tent for God. They wanted to make everything that they would use in it. Verse 22 records that both the men and the women gave gifts.

Verses 25-26 The women with skill made the cloth of good quality. They coloured wool with several colours. And they sewed the wool onto the cloth too.

Verse 27 The leaders were probably wealthy. They brought the precious stones, and the expensive plants and powder that had a sweet smell. They also brought the *olive oil.

Verse 29 Everyone had a part as they provided the materials and the labour for the special tent. (This special tent was called the *Tabernacle). In the *New Testament Paul wrote to the Christians at Ephesus. He said that each one of us has a different function in God’s family. When each part performs its function, then the whole church can grow, (Ephesians 4:11-13; Ephesians 4:16).

Bezalel and Oholiab – verses 30-35

v30 Then Moses told the *Israelites. ‘Take notice! The *LORD has chosen Bezalel, who is Uri’s son and Hur’s grandson from the Judah family. v31 He has filled Bezalel with his *Holy Spirit. The *LORD has given extra skill and knowledge to him so that he can do all kinds of beautiful work. v32 He can make beautiful designs for gold, silver and *bronze objects. v33 He can cut stones and make them beautiful. And he can work with wood. He can create all kinds of beautiful things. v34 And the *LORD has chosen Oholiab too. He is Ahisamach’s son from the family called Dan. They can teach other people to do these things also. v35 God has given the skill to them so that they can do all kinds of work. They can build things and they can make designs. They have the skill to sew with blue, purple and bright red wool onto *linen of good quality. And they can make beautiful cloth. They are very skilful workers who can make beautiful designs.’

Verses 30-33 repeat the information in Exodus 31:1-6. There are notes there about Bezalel and Oholiab.

Verse 34 Bezalel and Oholiab were very skilful artists. And they taught other people how to do the same things.

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.
LORD ~ God gave this special name to himself. It translates the word ‘Yahweh’ in the Hebrew language. It links to the words ‘I am’; it means that God has been here always.

Lord ~ a name for God. It translates the Hebrew word ‘Adonai’, which means ‘my ruler’. The word ‘lord’ (without a capital letter) means an ordinary ruler.

Hebrew ~ the language that the Israelites spoke. A Hebrew is a Jewish person or an Israelite

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.

Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew or anything that belongs to the Jews.

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
Sabbath ~ the 7th day in a Jewish week. It is from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday The day on which God rested when he created the world. So he wants people to rest on that day. Anything that has a relationship with the Sabbath.

Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew or anything that belongs to the Jews.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
covenant ~ the special promise that God made to his people. God’s covenant with the Israelites established a relationship between him and them. But the Israelites must obey God.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
Tabernacle ~ God’s special tent.
desert ~ a wild place where there are small bushes and not much water. It has poor soil and people cannot grow crops there. So, not many people live there.
manna ~ a food like bread. God provided this food in a special way for the Israelites to eat in the desert.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.

desert ~ a wild place where there are small bushes and not much water. It has poor soil and people cannot grow crops there. So, not many people live there.

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
bronze ~ a kind of metal that people make out of copper and tin.
linen ~ a special kind of cloth of good quality. People make it from the plant called *flax.
acacia ~ a kind of tree that grows in dry land.
olive ~ a fruit tree; people press its green or black fruit to obtain olive oil. People use the oil for cooking and for fuel in their lamps. The Israelites gave it to God as one of their gifts to him.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
onyx ~ a precious stone; usually it has black and white stripes, or brown and white stripes.
hook ~ people hang things from hooks. To make hooks people bend metal into the shape of a letter U.
lampstand ~ it held 7 lamps. They contained oil that burned, so the lamp-stand gave a lot of light.
altar ~ a table on which people give gifts or *sacrifices to God or to a false god.
ephod ~ one of the priest’s special clothes that he wore over his other clothes. It was like a short coat without sleeves. The workers made it from white linen and they sewed beautiful designs onto it.

linen ~ a special kind of cloth of good quality. People make it from the plant called *flax.

'breast-piece ~ it covered the front of the upper part of the body. They made the priest’s breast-piece from cloth.'New Testament ~ the second part of the Bible. It tells about Jesus Christ and his followers.'Holy Spirit ~ God’s Spirit; he is equal with God the Father and with God the Son. The Holy Spirit is a person but he is not human like us. The Holy Spirit does God’s work among people in the world. He gives God’s power to people.