Exodus 35:20 – 36:1 NKJV
20 And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. 21 Then everyone came whose heart was stirred, and everyone whose spirit was willing, and they brought the Lord’s offering for the work of the tabernacle of meeting, for all its service, and for the holy garments. 22 They came, both men and women, as many as had a willing heart, and brought earrings and nose rings, rings and necklaces, all jewelry of gold, that is, every man who made an offering of gold to the Lord. 23 And every man, with whom was found blue, purple, and scarlet thread, fine linen, and goats’ hair, red skins of rams, and badger skins, brought them. 24 Everyone who offered an offering of silver or bronze brought the Lord’s offering. And everyone with whom was found acacia wood for any work of the service, brought it. 25 All the women who were gifted artisans spun yarn with their hands, and brought what they had spun, of blue, purple, and scarlet, and fine linen. 26 And all the women whose hearts stirred with wisdom spun yarn of goats’ hair. 27 The rulers brought onyx stones, and the stones to be set in the ephod and in the breastplate, 28 and spices and oil for the light, for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense. 29 The children of Israel brought a freewill offering to the Lord, all the men and women whose hearts were willing to bring material for all kinds of work which the Lord, by the hand of Moses, had commanded to be done.
30 And Moses said to the children 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 and understanding, in knowledge and all manner of workmanship, 32 to design artistic works, to work in gold and silver and bronze, 33 in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of artistic workmanship.
34 “And He has put in his heart the ability to teach, in him and Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. 35 He has filled them with skill to do all manner of work of the engraver and the designer and the tapestry maker, in blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine linen, and of the weaver—those who do every work and those who design artistic works.
36 “And Bezalel and Aholiab, and every gifted artisan in whom the Lord has put wisdom and understanding, to know how to do all manner of work for the service of the sanctuary, shall do according to all that the Lord has commanded.”
The people of Israel had come a long way in the past six weeks. They had gone from open idolaters who were bored with the Lord to cheerful givers, ready to give away their treasures for the work of the ministry. The forgiveness of sins will do that to people. God’s commandment to make no idols wasn’t enough to keep them from idolatry. But God’s forgiveness, combined with an opportunity to freely contribute to the Lord’s work, produced the proper response.
Isolated in the middle of the wilderness, the people of Israel readily gave up their precious metals and stones, threads of rare colors, scarce supplies of wood, coveted supplies of animal skins. Men and women donated freely to the construction of their divinely designed place of worship. God, through His people, saw to it that all the needed materials were provided.
As for the artisans, God also saw to them. He gave His Holy Spirit to two men, to whom He gave all the necessary gifts to oversee every intricate detail of the construction. With the help of the other gifted craftsmen in Israel, they would produce a tabernacle and priestly vestments that were not only functional but also beautiful, not slapped together but crafted with excellence, all for the purpose of teaching the people what they needed to know about God, sin, atonement, and the person and work of the coming Messiah. Ultimately, the forms of worship God instituted were to teach the people how to be saved through faith in Christ.
The promise of God’s forgiveness for Christ’s sake, when it is believed, always moves God’s people to respond with thanksgiving. Finally, with the burden of guilt removed, we are able to offer Him our best, for the good of His New Testament tabernacle, which is the Church, the body of Christ. Meanwhile, through our humble efforts, God sees to it that His Church has everything it needs: faithful preachers, devoted members, a place to gather around Word and Sacrament, and all the gifts necessary to ensure that the Gospel of Christ is taught clearly among us, so that we may know how to approach the Father through Him. Let us pray: Father in heaven, we offer You our bodies as living sacrifices, for the praise of Your glorious grace. Amen.