SABBATH REGULATIONS WILLING WORKERS EXODUS 35:1-35

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 1 SABBATH REGULATIONS WILLING WORKERS EXODUS 35:1-35

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 2 Text: Exodus 35:1-35, SABBATH REGULATIONS WILLING WORKERS 1. Moses assembled the whole community of the Israelites and said to them, These are the things that the Lord has commanded you to do. 2. In six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there must be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of complete rest to the Lord. Anyone who does work on it will be put to death. 3. You must not kindle a fire in any of your homes on the Sabbath day. 4. Moses spoke to the whole community of the Israelites, This is the word that the Lord has commanded: 5. Take an offering for the Lord. Let everyone who has a willing heart bring an offering to the Lord: gold, silver, bronze, 6. blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, fine linen, goat s hair, 7. ram skins dyed red, fine leather, acacia wood, 8. olive oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, 9. onyx stones, and other gems for mounting on the ephod and the breastpiece. 10. Every skilled person among you is to come and make all that the Lord has commanded: 11. the tabernacle with its tent, its covering, its clasps, its frames, its crossbars, its posts, and its bases;

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 3 12. the ark, with its poles, the atonement lid, and the special curtain that conceals it; 13. the table with its poles and all its vessels, and the Bread of the Presence; 14. the lampstand for the light and its accessories, its lamps, and oil for the light; 15. and the altar of incense with its poles, the anointing oil, and the fragrant incense; the hanging for the door at the entrance of the tabernacle; 16. the altar for the burnt offering with its bronze grating that is on it, its poles, and all its utensils; the large basin and its pedestal; 17. the hangings of the courtyard, its posts and its bases, and the curtain for the gateway to the courtyard; 18. tent pegs for the tabernacle and tent pegs for the courtyard and their ropes; 19. the woven garments for serving in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments for his sons to minister as priests. 20. So the whole community of the Israelites went out from the presence of Moses. 21. Everyone whose heart stirred him to action and everyone whose spirit was willing came and brought the offering for the Lord for the work of the tent of meeting, for all its service, and for the holy garments. 22. They came, men and women alike, all who had willing hearts. They brought brooches, earrings, rings and ornaments, all kinds of gold jewelry, and everyone came who waved a wave offering of gold to the Lord. 23. Everyone who had blue, purple, or scarlet yarn, fine linen, goats hair, ram skins dyed red, or fine leather brought them.

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 4 24. Everyone making an offering of silver or bronze brought it as an offering to the Lord, and everyone who had acacia wood for any work of the service brought it. 25. Every woman who was skilled spun with her hands and brought what she had spun, blue, purple, or scarlet yarn, or fine linen, 26. and all the women whose heart stirred them to action and who were skilled spun goats hair. 27. The leaders brought onyx stones and other gems to be mounted for the ephod and the breastpiece, 28. and spices and olive oil for the light, for the anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense. 29. The Israelites brought a freewill offering to the Lord, every man and woman whose heart was willing to bring materials for all the work that the Lord through Moses had commanded them to do. 30. Moses said to the Israelites, See, the Lord has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. 31. He has filled him with the Spirit of God with skill, with understanding, with knowledge, and in all kinds of work, 32. to design artistic designs, to work in gold, in silver, and in bronze, 33. and in cutting stones for their setting, and in cutting wood, to do work in every artistic craft. 34. And he has put it in his heart to teach, he and Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. 35. He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as craftsmen, as designers, as embroiderers in blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and in fine linen, and as weavers. They are craftsmen in all the work and artistic designers. (NET)

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 5 Introduction: I. Main points:... A. Sabbath Regulations, and... 1. Exodus 35:1-3, Moses assembled the whole community of the Israelites and said to them, These are the things that the Lord has commanded you to do. In six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there must be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of complete rest to the Lord. Anyone who does work on it will be put to death. You must not kindle a fire in any of your homes on the Sabbath day. (NET) B. Willing Workers. 1. Exodus 35:4-35, Moses spoke to the whole community of the Israelites, This is the word that the Lord has commanded: Take an offering for the Lord. Let everyone who has a willing heart bring an offering to the Lord: gold, silver, bronze, blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, fine linen, goat s hair, ram skins dyed red, fine leather, acacia wood, olive oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, onyx stones, and other gems for mounting on the ephod and the breastpiece. Every skilled person among you is to come and make all that the Lord has commanded: the tabernacle with its tent, its

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 6 covering, its clasps, its frames, its crossbars, its posts, and its bases; the ark, with its poles, the atonement lid, and the special curtain that conceals it; the table with its poles and all its vessels, and the Bread of the Presence; the lampstand for the light and its accessories, its lamps, and oil for the light; and the altar of incense with its poles, the anointing oil, and the fragrant incense; the hanging for the door at the entrance of the tabernacle; the altar for the burnt offering with its bronze grating that is on it, its poles, and all its utensils; the large basin and its pedestal; the hangings of the courtyard, its posts and its bases, and the curtain for the gateway to the courtyard; tent pegs for the tabernacle and tent pegs for the courtyard and their ropes; the woven garments for serving in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments for his sons to minister as priests. So the whole community of the Israelites went out from the presence of Moses. Everyone whose heart stirred him to action and everyone whose spirit was willing came and brought the offering for the Lord for the work of the tent of meeting, for all its service, and for the holy garments. They came, men and women alike, all who had willing hearts. They brought brooches, earrings, rings and ornaments, all kinds of gold jewelry, and everyone came who waved a wave offering of gold to the Lord. Everyone who had blue, purple, or scarlet yarn, fine linen, goats hair, ram skins dyed red, or fine

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 7 leather brought them. Everyone making an offering of silver or bronze brought it as an offering to the Lord, and everyone who had acacia wood for any work of the service brought it. Every woman who was skilled spun with her hands and brought what she had spun, blue, purple, or scarlet yarn, or fine linen, and all the women whose heart stirred them to action and who were skilled spun goats hair. The leaders brought onyx stones and other gems to be mounted for the ephod and the breastpiece, and spices and olive oil for the light, for the anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense. The Israelites brought a freewill offering to the Lord, every man and woman whose heart was willing to bring materials for all the work that the Lord through Moses had commanded them to do. Moses said to the Israelites, See, the Lord has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. He has filled him with the Spirit of God with skill, with understanding, with knowledge, and in all kinds of work, to design artistic designs, to work in gold, in silver, and in bronze, and in cutting stones for their setting, and in cutting wood, to do work in every artistic craft. And he has put it in his heart to teach, he and Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as craftsmen, as designers, as embroiderers in blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and in fine linen, and as weavers. They are

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 8 II. Key Quote:... craftsmen in all the work and artistic designers. (NET) A. Exodus 35:21, Everyone whose heart stirred him to action and everyone whose spirit was willing came and brought the offering for the Lord for the work of the tent of meeting, for all its service, and for the holy garments. (NET) Commentary: Sabbath Regulations I. Exodus 35:1-3, Moses assembled the whole community of the Israelites and said to them, These are the things that the Lord has commanded you to do. In six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there must be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of complete rest to the Lord. Anyone who does work on it will be put to death. You must not kindle a fire in any of your homes on the Sabbath day. (NET) A. The Israelite camp gathered to hear the message that Moses brought from the Lord. 1. With his opening statement Moses made the point that these commands were the commands of God, not of Moses.

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 9 2. The only commandment mentioned was the fourth, to keep the Sabbath holy by observing a day of rest and worshiping the Lord. a. Exodus 20:8-11, Remember the Sabbath day to set it apart as holy. For six days you may labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; on it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, or your male servant, or your female servant, or your cattle, or the resident foreigner who is in your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, and he rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy. (NET) 3. In spite of the importance of working on the tabernacle, the Sabbath law was not to be broken. God would not tolerate His sanctuary s being contaminated by the sin of breaking His commandments during construction. This would have rendered the tabernacle unclean. 4. Two points illustrate the importance of this commandment. a. Anyone working on the Sabbath was condemned to death. This is a restatement of Exodus 31:14.

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 10 i. Exodus 31:14, So you must keep the Sabbath, for it is holy for you. Everyone who defiles it must surely be put to death; indeed, if anyone does any work on it, then that person will be cut off from among his people. (NET) b. The seemingly insignificant task of kindling a fire was considered work and a violation of the Sabbath law. c. To us this may seem as an act of preparing to work, not the actual work itself. d. Holman Bible Dictionary, page 1426, The Sabbath law became the heart of the law, and the prohibitions were expanded. Thirty-nine tasks were banned, such as tying or untying a knot. These in turn were extended until ingenious evasions were devised that lost the spirit but satisfied the legal requirements. e. Jesus was confronted by the Pharisees when He violated the law by healing a sick man on the Sabbath. He then condemned them for the ways they had twisted and perverted God s law, violating the spirit of the law. i. Luke 14:1-6, Now one Sabbath when Jesus went to dine at the house of a leader of the Pharisees, they were watching him closely. There right in

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 11 front of him was a man suffering from dropsy. So Jesus asked the experts in religious law and the Pharisees, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not? But they remained silent. So Jesus took hold of the man, healed him, and sent him away. Then he said to them, Which of you, if you have a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out? But they could not reply to this. (NET) WILLING WORKERS II. Exodus 35:4-35, Moses spoke to the whole community of the Israelites, This is the word that the Lord has commanded: Take an offering for the Lord. Let everyone who has a willing heart bring an offering to the Lord: gold, silver, bronze, blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, fine linen, goat s hair, ram skins dyed red, fine leather, acacia wood, olive oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, onyx stones, and other gems for mounting on the ephod and the breastpiece. Every skilled person among you is to come and make all that the Lord has commanded: the tabernacle with its tent, its covering, its clasps, its frames, its crossbars, its posts, and its bases; the ark, with its poles, the atonement lid, and the special curtain that conceals it; the table with its poles and all its vessels, and the Bread of the Presence; the lampstand for the light and its accessories, its lamps, and oil for the light; and the altar of incense with its

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 12 poles, the anointing oil, and the fragrant incense; the hanging for the door at the entrance of the tabernacle; the altar for the burnt offering with its bronze grating that is on it, its poles, and all its utensils; the large basin and its pedestal; the hangings of the courtyard, its posts and its bases, and the curtain for the gateway to the courtyard; tent pegs for the tabernacle and tent pegs for the courtyard and their ropes; the woven garments for serving in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments for his sons to minister as priests. So the whole community of the Israelites went out from the presence of Moses. Everyone whose heart stirred him to action and everyone whose spirit was willing came and brought the offering for the Lord for the work of the tent of meeting, for all its service, and for the holy garments. They came, men and women alike, all who had willing hearts. They brought brooches, earrings, rings and ornaments, all kinds of gold jewelry, and everyone came who waved a wave offering of gold to the Lord. Everyone who had blue, purple, or scarlet yarn, fine linen, goats hair, ram skins dyed red, or fine leather brought them. Everyone making an offering of silver or bronze brought it as an offering to the Lord, and everyone who had acacia wood for any work of the service brought it. Every woman who was skilled spun with her hands and brought what she had spun, blue, purple, or scarlet yarn, or fine linen, and all the women whose heart stirred them to action and who were skilled spun goats hair. The leaders brought onyx stones and other gems to be mounted for the ephod and the breastpiece, and spices and olive oil for the light, for the anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense. The Israelites brought a freewill

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 13 offering to the Lord, every man and woman whose heart was willing to bring materials for all the work that the Lord through Moses had commanded them to do. Moses said to the Israelites, See, the Lord has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. He has filled him with the Spirit of God with skill, with understanding, with knowledge, and in all kinds of work, to design artistic designs, to work in gold, in silver, and in bronze, and in cutting stones for their setting, and in cutting wood, to do work in every artistic craft. And he has put it in his heart to teach, he and Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as craftsmen, as designers, as embroiderers in blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and in fine linen, and as weavers. They are craftsmen in all the work and artistic designers. (NET) A. In verses 4 through 9 Moses revealed to the Israelites the instructions he had received from God. 1. This was previously referenced in Exodus 25:1-7, The Lord spoke to Moses: Tell the Israelites to take an offering for me; from every person motivated by a willing heart you are to receive my offering. This is the offering you are to accept from them: gold, silver, bronze, blue, purple, scarlet, fine linen, goat s hair, ram skins dyed red, fine leather, acacia wood, oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for fragrant incense, onyx stones, and other gems to be set in the ephod and in the breastpiece. (NET)

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 14 B. The Israelites with a willing heart were to donate materials for the construction of the tabernacle. C. Verses 10 through 19 list all of the items that the craftsmen and artisans whom the spirit had blessed were to make for the tabernacle. 1. The items ranged from the tent, and its frame to the curtains, the ark, the lampstand, the altar and all the utensils, and the priestly garments. a. All of these items were described in detail in chapters 25 through 30. D. The spirit moved the people to action and they began bringing their offerings of materials. 1. The offerings included rings, earrings, ornaments and other pieces of gold jewelry which were part of the gifts they received from their Egyptian neighbors as they began their exodus. E. The materials for the tabernacle given in the freewill offerings included: 1. yarns for weaving,... 2. bronze and silver to be fashioned by metalsmiths,... 3. acacia wood for the carpenters,...

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 15 4. fine leather and leather dyed red,... 5. precious stones for the priests garments, and... 6. oils and spices required for the worship services. F. Moses announced to the Israelites that God had selected Bezalel, of the tribe of Judah along with Oholiab from the tribe of Dan to supervise the construction of the tabernacle. 1. It was God s will that these two would be in charge of the construction. The Holy Spirit had blessed them with the skills necessary to complete the task, and they were given hearts and minds that were willing to teach others the skills to master various assignments. a. Exodus 28:3, You are to speak to all who are specially skilled, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, so that they may make Aaron s garments to set him apart to minister as my priest. (NET) b. Exodus 31:3, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God in skill, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of craftsmanship, (NET) c. Luke 12:12, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you must say. (NET)

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 16 Conclusion: d. Psalm 40:8, I want to do what pleases you, my God. Your law dominates my thoughts. (NET) e. Ecclesiastes 9:10a, Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, (NET) f. Romans 12:6a-7, And we have different gifts according to the grace given to us. If it is service, he must serve; if it is teaching, he must teach; (NET) g. 1 Corinthians 12:7, 11, To each person the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the benefit of all. It is one and the same Spirit, distributing as he decides to each person, who produces all these things. (NET) I. The lessons of the Bible are timeless. God still uses the Holy Spirit to bring skilled leaders and willing workers together to accomplish His tasks. A. Business demands an effective leader with a management team that is skilled and willing to train their employees to work toward a common goal. Likewise a successful church requires a minister who is a leader guided by the Holy Spirit along with a team of dedicated elders and deacons who are similarly blessed to serve their church and community to spread the word of God. So it is with any organization.

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 17 B. In his first letter to the Corinthian church (1 Corinthians 12:12-30, For just as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body though many are one body, so too is Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body. Whether Jews or Greeks or slaves or free, we were all made to drink of the one Spirit. For in fact the body is not a single member, but many. If the foot says, Since I am not a hand, I am not part of the body, it does not lose its membership in the body because of that. And if the ear says, Since I am not an eye, I am not part of the body, it does not lose its membership in the body because of that. If the whole body were an eye, what part would do the hearing? If the whole were an ear, what part would exercise the sense of smell? But as a matter of fact, God has placed each of the members in the body just as he decided. If they were all the same member, where would the body be? So now there are many members, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, I do not need you, nor in turn can the head say to the foot, I do not need you. On the contrary, those members that seem to be weaker are essential, and those members we consider less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our unpresentable members are clothed with dignity, but our presentable members do not need this. Instead, God has blended together the body, giving greater honor to the lesser member, so that there may be no division in the body, but the members may have mutual concern for one another. If one member

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 18 suffers, everyone suffers with it. If a member is honored, all rejoice with it. Now you are Christ s body, and each of you is a member of it. And God has placed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, gifts of healing, helps, gifts of leadership, different kinds of tongues. Not all are apostles, are they? Not all are prophets, are they? Not all are teachers, are they? Not all perform miracles, do they? Not all have gifts of healing, do they? Not all speak in tongues, do they? Not all interpret, do they? (NET)) Paul accurately portrayed how each member of a body is a necessary component of the whole body and the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Even though some may be regarded as less, all are important to the function of the body. C. Paul s reference was to the importance of each member of the body or church, but the analogy is true of most organizations. D. God worked through Moses and the Holy Spirit worked through Bezalel and Oholiab, who in turn worked through the craftsmen and artisans. The men and women with willing hearts unitedly prepared to do the work of God. E. May the Holy Spirit work through you to accomplish the Lord s goals! 1. Isaiah 11:2, The Lord s spirit will rest on him a spirit that gives extraordinary wisdom, a spirit that provides the ability to execute plans, a spirit that produces absolute loyalty to the Lord. (NET)

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 19 2. Joel 2:28a, After all of this I will pour out my Spirit on all kinds of people. (NET) 3. John 14:26, But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and will cause you to remember everything I said to you. (NET) 4. Romans 8:14, For all who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God. (NET) 5. 2 Corinthians 5:5, Now the one who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave us the Spirit as a down payment. (NET)

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 20 Questions on Exodus 35:1-35 1. God instructed Moses to remind the Israelites of one commandment. Explain which commandment it was and why it was important at this time. 2. Explain how later interpretations of this commandment lost the spirit of the law. 3. List three of the many items given in the freewill offering: (1)_ (2) (3)

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 21 4. (A) How did this Israelites accumulate this wealth? (B) Was this accumulation part of the plan of God? 5. God selected and to surpervise the construction of the tabernacle. They were chosen because of their and willingness to. God had filled them with the. 6. The skills and willing hearts of the craftsmen and artisans was provided by