Exodus 35.
WHEN Moses had gathered all the people together, he spoke to them again about the Sabbath, the seventh day, on which none of them might do any work. Not even the lighting of a fire could be done on that day. In that warm climate, it would not be so hard to get along without a fire, perhaps, one day of the week, but some, no doubt, would be ready to complain about having to eat cold meals. Then the answer would have to be,
“It is God’s word; we must not do any work today.”
We may think of the Sabbath, (which God has not given to Christians to keep), as a picture of His resting in the great work of salvation, accomplished by the Lord Jesus on the cross, and, (if we believe on the Lord Jesus) our resting in that work, too. It would be only to insult God to try to work in order to get saved, when the Lord Jesus said, on the cross, “It is finished!” just before He died. Of course, we should try to be of service to God when we are saved, but the salvation of our souls is through believing God.
Next, Moses said that everyone who was willing to do so, might bring an offering to the Lord, of any of the different things which would be needed for the making of the tabernacle, which was now to begin; and for the clothes needed for the priests. What they might bring, as Moses told that big crowd of people, was exactly, word for word, as we read in the 25th, chapter.
This is something for us to think about: Moses was careful to say exactly what God had said, and so should we be, whenever we open our mouths to speak about what the Bible tells. I say this because several times in Sunday school, I have asked,
“What kind of people did Jesus die for?” and when a lot of hands would go up, I would ask someone, and the answer often is,
“Good people.” But when I ask another, he says,
“Sinners,” or perhaps, “The ungodly” then I say,
“That last boy has it right,” because that is just what God’s Word says, but I wouldn’t quarrel with any boy or girl who answers my question by saying. “Bad people,” because that description fits with what the Bible says, too. Then sometimes I have asked some older folks if they are saved, if they belong to Jesus, or some other question like that, and many times I get the reply,
“I’m trying to do my best,” or “I hope I will be found faithful at the last,” “We must do our best,” and other answers like that which show that they haven’t listened carefully to the reading of the Bible, which says,
“He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life.” John 5:2424Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. (John 5:24).
Two kinds of people we read about in this chapter—those with “willing hearts;” in verse 5, and the “wise hearted,” in verse 10. The two classes are spoken of again in the last verse of this chapter, and the first verse of chapter 36. They tell us how “willing hearts” are made “wise hearts:” it is through the Lori putting wisdom there, to serve Him. These last are the men and women, boys and girls, who read and study God’s Word, and pray often for help in understanding it.
Let us try to be not only “willing hearted, but “wise hearted” too.
Our chapter tells of the people going away to their tents when Moses finished speaking (verse 20), and coming again with what they had to offer. Then in the last 5 verses, we read of Moses telling them of the two men whom God had chosen, called by name, and filled with wisdom, and understanding and knowledge, to make the tabernacle, and everything that belonged to it. We must not suppose that their work was not the very best. It must have been more nearly perfect than anything else of the kind that has ever been made, whether it was the gold-covered boards, the sockets, the ark, candlestick, the veil, or any other part, because God gave them the ability to do it; the work was for Him, and it was done exactly as He said.
ML 10/08/1922