In The Word
Read: Exodus 35:1-36:7
The Sabbath Emphasized
35 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.”
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 is to bring it as the Lord’s contribution: gold, silver, and bronze, 6 and violet, purple, and scarlet material, fine linen, goats’ hair, 7 and rams’ skins dyed red, and fine leather, 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.
Tabernacle Artisans
10 ‘Have every skillful person 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 bases; 12 the ark and its poles, the atoning cover, and the covering curtain; 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 curtain 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 courtyard, its pillars and its bases, and the curtain for the gate of the courtyard; 18 the pegs of the tabernacle and the pegs of the courtyard and their ropes; 19 the woven garments for ministering in the Holy Place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, to serve as priests.’”
Gifts Received
20 Then all the congregation of the sons of Israel departed from Moses’ presence. 21 And 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 everyone who presented an offering of gold to the Lord. 23 Everyone who was in possession of violet, purple, or scarlet material or fine linen or goats’ hair, or rams’ skins dyed red or fine leather, brought them. 24 Everyone who could make a contribution of silver and bronze brought the Lord’s contribution; and everyone who was in possession of acacia wood for any work of the service brought it. 25 And all the skilled women spun with their hands, and brought what they had spun, in violet, purple, and scarlet material, and in fine linen. 26 And all the women whose heart stirred with a skill spun the goats’ hair. 27 The rulers, moreover, 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 voluntary offering to the Lord.
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, in knowledge, and in all craftsmanship; 32 to create designs for working in gold, 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, of a designer, and of an embroiderer, in violet, purple, and in scarlet material, and in fine linen, and of a weaver, as performers of every work and makers of designs.
The Tabernacle Underwritten
36 “Now Bezalel, Oholiab, and every skillful person in whom the Lord has put skill and understanding to know how to perform all the work in the construction of the sanctuary, shall perform in accordance with everything that the Lord has commanded.”
2 Then Moses called Bezalel, Oholiab, and every skillful person in whom the Lord had put skill, everyone whose heart stirred him, to come to the work to perform it. 3 They received from Moses every contribution which the sons of Israel had brought to perform the work in the construction of the sanctuary. And they still continued bringing to him voluntary offerings every morning. 4 And all the skillful people who were performing all the work of the sanctuary came, each from the work which they were performing, 5 and they said to Moses, “The people are bringing much more than enough for the construction work which the Lord commanded us to perform.” 6 So Moses issued a command, and circulated a proclamation throughout the camp, saying, “No man or woman is to perform work any longer for the contributions of the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing any more. 7 For the material they had was sufficient and more than enough for all the work, to perform it.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
The reading today has some very important principles of living a healthy life. The first one we see is having a Sabbath rest. From the beginning, when God created mankind, our Creator gave us the example of the need to rest and reflect. He designed us to run hard for six days but then to rest and reflect on Him on the seventh day. This day of rest was for our health and well-being. It’s like the company that designed a car to operate in a certain spectrum of RPM’s. In most cars there is a red line that indicates danger because the vehicle was not designed to run in the red for a prolonged period of time. If this red line is ignored then something will eventually break. It’s the same way in our lives. If we don’t stop and take a day to rest and reflect, then something will eventually break.
We as Christians need to realize the original design of needing rest and worship each week. It’s not a law we live by, but wisdom we are guided by. Seek to find a day of rest and to find time to worship our God.
The second principle is the heart to willingly give over and above the tithe to see the Kingdom of God built. The Lord calls us to have a miracle offering at the end of the year for people to willingly participate in. This is an offering over and above our tithe to impact God’s Kingdom. If you have not joined in with this giving yet, I pray that the Spirit of God would stir your heart to willingly give as God’s people have always done.