Sermon Notes: Exodus 35:30-36:7
Good morning Three Rivers Church. My name is Eric and I am glad that you have decided to worship with us this morning. Turn in your Bibles to Exodus 35, and this morning we are going to pick up where Stephen left off last Sunday and look at 35:30-36:7.
Exodus has certainly tested our endurance, and I want to commend you all for your faithfulness to study along with us. I am not sure if in my 10 years of being a member at TRC we have spent this much time in a single book, but as we near the end I want you all to continue to lean in and hear what God has to say in his word. There’s a lot of redundancy in these final chapters as others have already pointed out, but we know the scriptures are breathed out by God and profitable for training us in righteousness, thus these final chapters are vital for our walk with the Lord. We have had some really good conversations in our RL groups studying through this book, and I trust that it has helped equip you in your walk with the Lord.
Last week Stephen continued our study in Exodus 35:4-29 where he pointed out how the people of Israel responded with generous hearts to the Lord’s call to make contributions for the tabernacle. We saw that the people gave out of the overflow of what the Lord had provided for them, and that they gave what they had. They didn’t give any more or less, and yet collectively all that they had was sufficient for the work. The contributions the people gave was not a result of their hard earned work, but rather was a gift from the Lord as they plundered the Egyptians when they were released from slavery, in what feels like decades ago. A lot has happened in our study of Exodus since then.
Now that the people have made their contributions, it is time for the construction of the tabernacle. This is not an easy task for the people of Israel. There has never been anything constructed like it before in Israel's history. As Philip Ryken pointed out, “The Israelites had constructed many buildings, but they had never built anything quite like this. Their other buildings were all over Egypt, but this one was out in the wilderness. The others were built on the backs of slaves; this one was made by free hands. The others were made of rock and stone; this one was made with their own treasures. The others were for the glory of Pharaoh; this one was for the glory of God.”
I recently bought a playhouse/swingset combo for my kids from someone who had previously assembled it. I had to break it down in two pieces to transport it, but I had a reference for how it was built and how it went back together. This was intentional because if I bought that brand new, 1 it would have cost me four times as much as what I paid for it, and 2 it would have come in about a thousand different pieces that I would have to piece together. However, the only reference the people have for constructing this tabernacle is what God has communicated with Moses up on Mount Sinai. Ryken goes on to say, “It was designed by God himself and built to tell the story of his salvation. Its layout and furnishings showed how sinful people could approach a holy God by offering an atoning sacrifice. This was all in preparation for the coming of Jesus Christ. In becoming a man, Jesus became the true tabernacle—the dwelling place of God. And through his death on the cross, Jesus made the atoning sacrifice for our sins, bringing us into a relationship with God that will last forever.”
One more note before we read this passage, and something that Stephen said last week as well. As we approach the end of Exodus, we are going to read a lot of repeated texts as I referenced earlier. I believe that is primarily because we are now going from Moses receiving instructions for the tabernacle, to now implementation. Exodus 25-31 gave us all the intricate details of how the tabernacle was to be constructed, as well as all the different parts that were to be placed within. The Lord said of Israel in 6:7, “I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God”, and the focus on the tabernacle is grounded in the fact that it is the means through which the Lord chose to dwell in the midst of his people.
However, in Exodus 32 the people commit the atrocious act of sin, rebellion, and transgression of worshipping the golden calf and delayed the beginning of building the tabernacle. God in Exodus 34:6-7 declared to Moses his grace, mercy, and kindness to forgive the people of their sins when he said, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” Just as God was kind and gracious to Adam in the garden for his rebellion, the Lord remains gracious, kind, and long suffering with the people of Israel despite their rebellion against him. What good news that is!
So, now all the materials have been gathered for the work to begin and Moses begins instructing the people of Israel.
Since part of this passage is repeated from Exodus 31, I am going to read 35:30-35, and then we will stand and read 36:1-7 together.
Exodus 35:30-36:7. “Then Moses said to the people of Israel, “See, the LORD has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold and silver and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, for work in every skilled craft. And he has inspired him to teach, both him and Oholiab the son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan. He has filled them with skill to do every sort of work done by an embroiderer in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, or by a weaver— by any sort of workman or skilled designer. “Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whom the LORD has put skill and intelligence to know how to do any work in the construction of the sanctuary shall work in accordance with all that the LORD has commanded.” And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whose mind the LORD had put skill, every one whose heart stirred him up to come to do the work. And they received from Moses all the contribution that the people of Israel had brought for doing the work on the sanctuary. They still kept bringing him free will offerings every morning, so that all the craftsmen who were doing every sort of task on the sanctuary came, each from the task that he was doing, and said to Moses, “The people bring much more than enough for doing the work that the LORD has commanded us to do.” So Moses gave command, and word was proclaimed throughout the camp, “Let no man or woman do anything more for the contribution for the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing, for the material they had was sufficient to do all the work, and more.”
What do we see? What does the text say?
1 Moses confirms the Lord’s call to the people of Israel that Bezalel and Oholiab are the chosen men to lead the construction of the tabernacle. Verse 30
This massive undertaking would require clear leadership to lead the people in what the Lord had instructed them to, thus Bezalel and Oholiab were the chosen men to lead the task.
The Lord declared it to Moses in Exodus 31, and here in 35:30, Moses is emphasizing that “the LORD has called by name Bezalel…” Here in our text today it doesn’t mention it, but remember that Oholiab is anointed by God to carry out this work as well.
Mitch made the point when he said, “Appointed carries the same weight as “call” regarding importance and yet it is distinguished from “call” in function. Bezalel’s function is distinct from Oholiab’s function, but both are summoned by the Lord to work with him in the construction of the tabernacle.”
Neither is more important than the other, but both are called by the Lord, thus their work and contribution to the tabernacle is crucial for seeing it come to life. I completely trust and believe that the Lord could have created the tabernacle without the help of the people of Israel. However, he called them to join him in the work of creating something glorious, holy, and good for the people whereby they were able to experience his presence in a way unlike any other. Mitch really drove home the point of “work as a gospel facet displayed in the tabernacle” in Exodus 31 so I do not want to spend a whole lot of time repeating what he already said, but I would encourage you to go back and listen or read the notes from that sermon. However the idea of work and being called by name to join God in his work is powerful.
In the garden is where we see God commissioning man for work.
God created us for work, and particularly to work in such a way that brings honor and glory to God. We see this prior to the fall when God told Adam in Genesis 2:15, “The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work and keep it.” Work and keep indicate that man was created to do the physical manual labor of subduing the earth, thus work is part of the creation mandate.
Work is not a result of the fall. I believe we are all quite frankly aware of that. I am not delivering you any earth shattering news there. However, it is important for us to have a robust theology of work. Our work is to bring honor and glory to God in whatever capacity he has called us to. We do not worship or idolize our work, that is a result and manifestation of the fall, but rather work is woven into the very fabric of our DNA because God is a God who works. This means that no matter your work or calling you are to do it in such a way that God is glorified and that others are drawn into the reason behind why you work the way that you do. This is also why we experience joy and satisfaction in our work, and why we feel unfulfilled and lack purpose when we do not work. There is a tension we must live in. Not idolizing our work, but also not relying on others to provide for you when you are physically capable of working.
The work that the Lord called these men to was special. The tabernacle represented God’s presence among his people. A place they could go to make sacrifices to atone for their sins and be in a right relationship with God. It was to be a symbol of his covenant as they journeyed towards the promised land. The other symbolic dimension of the tabernacle is Eden. We have mentioned this many times in Exodus. The tabernacle, like the garden of Eden is where God dwells, and various details of the tabernacle suggest it is a mini-Eden. These parallels include the east-facing entrance guarded by cherubim, the gold, the tree of life (lampstand), and the tree of knowledge (the law). Thus God’s dwelling in the tabernacle was a step toward the restoration of paradise, which is to be completed in the new heaven and new earth (Revelation 21-22).
Bezalel and Oholiab were called by God to work and to imitate him in creating, organizing, and bringing to life the work of the tabernacle that reflected his presence among his people and restore the fellowship that man experienced in Eden. They are not creating like God out of nothing, but are using the resources that he providentially provided for them. Therefore we can conclude that the work these men were called to, and the work that we are called to in managing, subduing, and restoring the chaos of the world, is holy and good for us.
2 The Holy Spirit empowered Bezalel and Oholiab and equipped them with the necessary skills to work, teach others, and obey God’s word in the work of the tabernacle. Verses 31-36:1
Some of you here this morning may have been a follower of Jesus for 60 plus years. Some of you may have just begun your journey in following the Lord. In either case the Holy Spirit is often spoken of only being in the New Testament. Unless you spend time reading through your Bible each year, you will miss the role of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament. Of course we know that God’s spirit hovered over the face of the earth in Genesis 1. However, the text here clearly states that the Lord, “has filled him with the Spirit of God.” We have to deal with that.
One pastor and theologian said this concerning the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament.
“There are five mentions of “filling” that occurred during (1) the building of the tabernacle (ca. 1444 BC), (2) the leadership of Joshua (ca. 1405 BC), (3) the building of Solomon’s temple (ca. 966 BC), and (4) the ministry of Micah (ca 700 BC).”
They included the following:
Bezalel was (explicitly) equipped by the Holy Spirit to construct the tabernacle and its contents (Ex. 31-2-3).
Bezalel and Oholiab were (explicitly) equipped by the Holy Spirit with special artistic skills to work on the contents of the tabernacle (Ex. 35:31-35).
Joshua was (implicitly) equipped by the Holy Spirit with wisdom to lead Israel as the successor to Moses (Deut. 34:9).
Hiram was (implicitly) equipped by the Holy Spirit to help Solomon build the original temple in Israel (1 Kings 7:14, 40, 45).
Micah was (implicitly) equipped by the Holy Spirit to function as a confrontational prophet (Micah 3:8; see Zec. 4:6).
So what we observe from these different events is that Old Testament filling involved only the Holy Spirit equipping or enabling selected leaders to carry out God’s plans at special times in Israel’s history, and this certainly was a pivotal moment in the history of Israel and God’s covenant people. There is plenty more to read and study there and I encourage you to pick up a systematic theology book and read more about the Holy Spirit's involvement in the Old Testament.
Mitch said, “the way the filling of the Spirit of God affected Bezalel was to enable him to be wiser, more insightful, more knowledgeable, and more capable of any sort of work to which God assigned him. The Spirit is given to super-charge their ability to work and overcome any hindrance of the curse of sin as he sanctified them.”
The Spirit gifted Bezalel, Oholiab, and the other craftsmen to be excellent artists. These men knew what good art looked like and they knew how to make good art. They knew all the proper techniques of metalwork, woodwork, weaving, and engraving for the building of the tabernacle. God chose men who were uniquely created for this task, because he ultimately created them with an excellent skill set in art. Their created wiring and Spirit filled gifting enabled them to build something beautiful that reflected the beauty of God in the tabernacle for the people of Israel to gaze upon, and for all the other nations to see. Excellence in the work of the tabernacle shows that God requires his followers to pursue excellence in whatever he has gifted them with.
Not only was Bezalel and Oholiab filled with the Spirit to carry out the work of the tabernacle, they were inspired to teach.
This massive project would require them to teach others the skills necessary for completing the work of the tabernacle. For these two men, having the skill and knowledge with what the Lord had entrusted them with came also the responsibility to instruct every other craftsman who came to do the work so that all the work was in accordance with all that the LORD had commanded.
Bezalel and Oholiab were not to hoard their gifting as instructors, but rather were to teach others the necessary skills and knowledge for the building of the tabernacle.
The Lord was very clear with Moses in Exodus 25:8-9, “And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst. Exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and all its furniture, so you shall make it.” Every detail in the building of the tabernacle was to be just as the Lord had commanded, and the people obeyed the Lord's command. Very few times do the people of Israel get it right and obey the Lord. Their history is marked by periods and patterns of ups and downs. Times of obedience and times of disobedience. Seasons of fruitfulness and seasons of dryness, but here at the onset of building the tabernacle, God’s holy dwelling place among his people, the people of Israel get it right and respond in obedience.
3 The people overwhelmingly contribute to the work of the tabernacle. Verses 36:2-7
Verses 2-3,“Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whose mind the LORD had put skill, everyone whose heart stirred him up to come to do the work. And they received from Moses all the contributions that the people of Israel had brought for doing the work on the sanctuary . They still kept bringing him freewill offerings every morning…”
The people just keep on piling on their contributions for the tabernacle. No manipulation or evil intention did Moses request this from the people. Unlike Aaron who demanded the people to hand over their gold in the making of the golden calf, Moses simply said in last week's passage in 35:5, “Whoever is of a generous heart, let him bring the LORD's contribution.” This is a powerful continuation of the outpouring of generosity that we saw last week as the people continue to support the building of the tabernacle. Nobody was being greedy with what they had.
Verses 4-7, “all the craftsmen who were doing every sort of task on the sanctuary came, each from the task that he was doing, and said to Moses, “The people bring much more than enough for doing the work that the LORD has commanded us to do.” So Moses gave command, and word was proclaimed throughout the camp, “Let no man or woman do anything more for the contribution for the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing, for the material they had was sufficient to do all the work, and more.”
So much was contributed that the craftsmen had to leave their work to tell Moses, “Hey, the people are giving us too much that we cannot take anymore.”
Application
So what do we do with this? I want to give us 3 charges that we are called to as followers of Jesus. In the Bible, charge has multiple meanings, including a command or instruction, an entrusted responsibility or duty. If you claim to be a follower of Jesus, you have been charged with these 3 commands or instructions. These are not the only 3, but 3 from this passage I believe we can walk away from here today and practically live out. If you’re not a follower of Jesus, I would plead with you to repent and believe the good news and join us as we live out the commands of scripture. Know and understand the gospel is free one time, but after that it costs you everything, thus we are commanded to live in obedience to God’s word.
1 Like Bezalel and Oholiab, we as new covenant believers, have been charged, or commanded, by the Lord to join him in the work of building something far greater than a tabernacle through the advance of the gospel. We join the Lord in the work of building his kingdom where he is at the center of our worship, praise, and adoration.
If you profess to know Jesus, this is God’s plan for your life. Make Jesus known. Proclaim his name. Colossians 1:28, “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.” Above all else in your life, you have been summoned by the Lord to join him in something bigger than yourself.
How do we accomplish this?
We do this through our DNA as a church known as KDSC.
We preach the kingdom of God because that is first and foremost what Jesus began preaching. He didn’t preach a feel good gospel filled with inspirational quotes to draw people to himself. He preached, “the kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe the gospel.” Believe the good news that Jesus has come to save you from your sins, and to save you from the kingdom of darkness and transfer you to the kingdom of light, but not only save you, but now release you to live on mission and bring other people into his kingdom. What is his kingdom like? Jesus told many stories of what it's like. One parable he compared it to a treasure that someone found and after finding it, he buried it and then went and sold all that he had so that he could have that treasure. That man considered all his earthly treasures as useless compared to the treasure he found, thus the kingdom of God is our greatest treasure because it is full of life and not death. It is full of light and not darkness.
We make disciples who are mobilized to go and make other disciples. This is how we build the kingdom. Every disciple, everywhere all the time. UP, IN, and OUT are the rhythms of life that help create a culture of disciple making that leads to personal and community transformation. **That is straight off the TRC website.** Every disciple is spirit filled and capable of proclaiming the message of the kingdom of God. It’s not a select few who are filled with the spirit, but as Peter says in 1 Peter 2:9, “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”
Society is where followers of Jesus are equipped with specific gifts and skills to meet the basic needs of society and keep it functioning. This is where every individual's giftings come into play much like the people of Israel in the building of the tabernacle. Not everyone was an artist like Bezalel, but everyone worked within their own skill sets to further the building of the tabernacle. Each of us are equipped with different skills and gifts to influence society through our domains. I am able to reach others through my domain of society in which others aren’t able to. Spiritually everyone is gifted differently for the building up of the church, but all are equally important.
The church comes last not because of it being less important. We know the church plays a vital role in the building of the kingdom. We often say if we begin with the church we miss the kingdom, but if we start with the kingdom we get the church. “The church consists of all true believers in Jesus Christ throughout all time. The Kingdom manifests itself through the church. Thus, experientially, the church provides a foretaste of the future reign of God, much like the tabernacle in the OT. The church exists only because of Jesus Christ and is mandated with extending His mission in the world.
This is what God has called us to today. “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” We too must do “just as the LORD commanded.”
This work we are called to is holy, glorious, and good for all who believe.
2 Just as the people of Israel contributed their gifts, resources, and time for the building of the tabernacle, we too are charged to give back to God what he has given to us for the advancement of his kingdom and the building of his church.
Stephen established last week that it wasn’t so much the people’s contributions the Lord was asking for, and as I mentioned earlier, the God who created the heavens and the earth and everything within was capable of creating the tabernacle without the help of the people. The Lord wanted the hearts of his people. God didn’t need the people of Israel, and he doesn’t need us. However, God is glorified when we serve him with willing hearts.
TRC. Continue the work of generous giving for the building of the kingdom and the building of the church. We do a great job at this and I want to encourage you to continue doing so. We see this fleshed out among our RL groups, therefore it is imperative for you to be plugged into one so that you see this at work among God’s people.
The way the people kept giving their freewill offerings morning after morning reminded me of what we read in the New Testament and the early church.
Acts 4:32-35, “Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.”
Two questions that we should consider asking from this passage that are similar from last week. They come from Tony Merida’s commentary, Christ Centered Exposition Exalting Jesus in Exodus.
The first question is where is your heart?
Paul said in 2 Corinthians 9:7, “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
The Israelites lived this out. The people willingly gave their possessions for the building of the tabernacle. A cheerful giver is one whose heart has been transformed by the power of the gospel and is committed to giving back to the Lord willfully and joyfully all that rightly belongs to him. The new heart that God gives us is a heart of generosity that doesn’t view our possessions as ours, but as resources to give back to him.
The second question is this: what will you give?
There are a number of things that you can give. We give money and materials. The Israelites were giving gold and fancy threads that they had received from Egypt. Some only had goatskins, but it was necessary for the construction of the tabernacle.
Another gift is time. It took a whole lot of time to do all this work. So it is with us; the most precious thing we have is time. We should spend it wisely on things that matter.
Finally, another gift involves our talent. People who were blessed with certain skills built the tabernacle, both men and women. Likewise, God gifts believers to build up the body. We must use what we have for the mission of God and for the glory of God. May we be faithful stewards of our treasure, time, and talents; and may God help us avoid becoming selfish consumers.
3 Worship
Worship because Jesus came and “tabernacled” among us. The tabernacle points us to Jesus. John 1:14, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…” We no longer have to jump through hoops to get to God. We no longer have to rely on a priest to go in on our behalf to make atonement for sins. We have Jesus who has broken down the dividing wall of hostility that once kept us separated. We have Jesus the author and perfector of our faith. We worship because the tabernacle served as a shadow of what is to come when Eden is fully restored and the dwelling place of God is with man.
Listen to Revelation 21:1-8 before we sing.
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portions will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
Let’s stand and sing!