“All the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. 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. 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. 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. Everyone 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. 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. And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun goats’ hair. And the rulers brought onyx stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate; and spice, and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense. 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” (Ex. 35:20-2920And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. 21And 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. 22And 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. 23And 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. 24Every 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. 25And 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. 26And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun goats' hair. 27And the rulers brought onyx stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate; 28And spice, and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense. 29The 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. (Exodus 35:20‑29)).
The people of Israel responded to the words of the Lord, delivered to them by Moses. The bondage under which law placed them was for a little while set aside by this appeal of the Lord to their hearts. The tabernacle was a type of Christ, God’s free gift, and therefore those who contributed towards it must show some faint token of the same liberal spirit. It would seem as if the beauty of the type, the costly gift of God to which it pointed, had suddenly opened their churlish hearts. Alas! Those hearts were soon to close again and ultimately to reject the very gift itself, which God in the fullness of His love offered to them.
A Servile Spirit—A Willing Heart
What a truth this tells us, respecting the way in which we should seek to please God! A servile spirit ill befits one who has tasted of His grace. A covetous heart is especially an abomination to Him who has not spared His own Son. Let us only contemplate more deeply, more truly, the vastness of His gift to us. Let us learn a little more of the heart of God as shown in His gift of Christ, and we shall acquire a more princely character — more true nobility of spirit. We shall be more ready to yield ourselves—all we are and all we have—a willing offering in His service.
These willing-hearted ones came, both men and women, and brought, first, their gold: “Bracelets, and earrings, and rings, and tablets, all jewels of gold.” Their personal ornaments were thus freely given up, as a heave offering unto Jehovah. And in this women as well as men participated—the weak as well as the strong.
The Gold and the Brass
In this respect, there is similarity between the gold used in the tabernacle and the brass employed for the laver. The brazen mirrors of the women assembling at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation were given up by them, for the laver and its foot (Ex. 38:88And he made the laver of brass, and the foot of it of brass, of the lookingglasses of the women assembling, which assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. (Exodus 38:8)). They preferred to look upon a vessel full of cleansing water, instead of contemplating their own beauty in the mirror. Just so, a sinner touched by the grace of God ceases to seek comfort or self-congratulation from his own comeliness and gladly turns away to the laver of regeneration, the death of Christ, which turns his corruption into comeliness and cleanses him from the filth of the flesh.
In like manner, these Israelitish men and women preferred the contemplation of the dwelling-place of God to personal adornments. They gave up their jewels of gold in order that all eyes and hearts might be set upon the tabernacle of the Most High.
The Wave Offering and Heave Offering
After specifying that both men and women brought their jewels of gold, it is added, “Every man that offered, offered an offering of gold unto the Lord.” The words “that offered an offering” are peculiar. It is literally “every man that waved a wave offering to Jehovah.” The gold is again called a wave offering in Exodus 38:2424All the gold that was occupied for the work in all the work of the holy place, even the gold of the offering, was twenty and nine talents, and seven hundred and thirty shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary. (Exodus 38:24). Thus we have the two words used in this chapter with reference to the freewill offerings of the children of Israel, “wave offering” and “heave offering.” Two portions of “the peace sacrifice” were, respectively, waved and heaved, “the wave breast” and “the heave shoulder.” The action of waving before the Lord that which was presented to Him seems to denote the passing it to and fro before His eyes so that He may scrutinize every part, while the heaving an offering would represent lifting it off the earth in separation to Jehovah.
Every man in this instance waved a wave offering of gold to the Lord, distinct from the jewels also presented. In this action he called attention to the preciousness and purity of the mass of fine gold which he offered. It was the first material presented. It may be because it is the precious metal which, in type, represents the divine glory of the Lord Jesus as the Son of God.
H. W. Soltau (adapted)