Exodus 35:1-19 NKJV 35 Then Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said to them, “These are the words which the Lord has commanded you to do: 2 Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh day shall be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of rest to the Lord. Whoever does any work on it shall be put to death. 3 You shall kindle no fire throughout your dwellings on the Sabbath day.”
4 And Moses spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, “This is the thing which the Lord commanded, saying: 5 ‘Take from among you an offering to the Lord. Whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as an offering to the Lord: gold, silver, and bronze; 6 blue, purple, and scarlet thread, fine linen, and goats’ hair; 7 ram skins dyed red, badger skins, and acacia wood; 8 oil for the light, and spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense; 9 onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod and in the breastplate.
10 ‘All who are gifted artisans among you shall come and make all that the Lord has commanded: 11 the tabernacle, its tent, its covering, its clasps, its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its sockets; 12 the ark and its poles, with the mercy seat, and the veil of the covering; 13 the table and its poles, all its utensils, and the showbread; 14 also the lampstand for the light, its utensils, its lamps, and the oil for the light; 15 the incense altar, its poles, the anointing oil, the sweet incense, and the screen for the door at the entrance of the tabernacle; 16 the altar of burnt offering with its bronze grating, its poles, all its utensils, and the laver and its base; 17 the hangings of the court, its pillars, their sockets, and the screen for the gate of the court; 18 the pegs of the tabernacle, the pegs of the court, and their cords; 19 the garments of ministry, for ministering in the holy place—the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, to minister as priests.’ ”
After conveying all the commandments and regulations of the Covenant to the people of Israel, Moses now turns to implementing the special forms of worship which God has given them under this covenant.
A large part of Israel’s worship centered on the Sabbath Day, so he repeats the content of the Third Commandment. They were to do no work on the Sabbath day, not even kindling a fire in their homes. How serious was the Lord about this? He sentenced Sabbath-breakers to the death penalty! To refrain from work on the Sabbath Day was an act of worship that God demanded. So, to work on that day was to intentionally refuse to worship God.
The other special aspect of Israel’s worship had to do with the tabernacle and with the priestly ministry which would take place in it. Having received from God the designs for the tabernacle and for the priestly vestments, Moses now turns to the people for the things that will be required.
First, he calls for an offering to be gathered. It is to be a freewill offering, so that all the outward forms of worship God has prescribed for their worship may be carried out according to His instructions. Then, Moses calls for the gifted artisans to come forward and make the structure of the tabernacle, and its furnishings, and the ornate priestly garments. All this is to be done (1) freely, out of thanksgiving to God and to honor God, and (2) according to the Word of God.
While we in the New Testament are no longer under the Sabbath command, we can learn the same lesson that Israel was to learn: that God’s Word is to be strictly honored, that only those acts of worship are God-pleasing which are done according to His Word, and that we dare not seek to be justified before God by any of our works, but only by faith in Christ. And while the Old Testament tabernacle and priesthood are no longer in effect, being fulfilled in the person and priesthood of the Lord Jesus, we can learn from this chapter the grace of contributing our God-given possessions and gifts to the ministry of the New Testament, that God’s Word may be purely preached among us. Let us pray: Lord God, we thank You for teaching us to worship You by receiving and honoring Your Word. Graciously preserve it in our midst, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.