Exodus 35:4

The Bible says in Exodus 35:4-5, “And Moses spake unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the LORD commanded, saying, Take ye from among you an offering unto the LORD: whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, an offering of the LORD; gold, and silver, and brass.” We are entering into a passage of scripture where the Lord is telling Moses more specifically how to construct the tabernacle, and all of the items in the tabernacle, such as the altar and the ark, and the table of showbread, and the priests’ garments. Some of these items were made of very expensive material including gold, silver, and precious stones. From a practical standpoint where would all of this “stuff” come from? It certainly was not going to just fall out of the sky. God uses people to supply the needs so His work can go forth. In other words Jesus gives us the privilege of working with Him to see His Word go forth.

Moses was the God-appointed leader of the children of Israel, but other people had their calling also. One of the things that some other people could do was to give so that the material needs of the building of the tabernacle could be met. It is very interesting to notice the principle of giving that is taught right here in the middle of the giving of the Law. One might think that everyone would be required to give a certain percentage such as ten percent, or be worthy of the death penalty as was the case for breaking other commandments of the law. But no, that was not the case at all. It says in Exodus 35:5, “Take ye from among you an offering unto the LORD: whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, an offering of the LORD; gold, and silver, and brass.”

Notice that Exodus 35:21-22 makes this same emphasis. It says, “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 it says once again in Exodus 35:29, “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.”

The principle for giving in the New Testament is no different. It says in Second Corinthians 9:6-7, “But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.” This is the New Testament principle for giving: not tithing. Tithing is mentioned in the gospels, but we must remember that the Law was still in effect until Jesus died on the cross. Jesus fulfilled the demands of the Law, and Jesus brought the New Testament in His blood as soon as He died on the cross.

If we look at the references to tithing in the New Testament, this is what we find: four passages where tithing is mentioned. In Matthew 23:23 and Luke 11:42 Jesus states that the Pharisees were tithing, even while Jesus was pointing out their many flaws. In Luke 18:12 the self-righteous Pharisee boasted that He paid tithes in contrast to the publican who could only pray, “God be merciful to me a sinner.” Then Jesus said in Luke 18:14, “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” Finally, in Hebrews chapter seven Tithing is mentioned in reference to the fact that Abraham paid tithes to Melchisedec. The purpose in pointing this out was to demonstrate that Jesus is superior to the priests of the Old Testament. It says in Hebrews 7:1-2, “For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace.” It says in Hebrews 7:12-17, “For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law. For he of whom these things are spoken pertaineth to another tribe, of which no man gave attendance at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood. And it is yet far more evident: for that after the similitude of Melchisedec there ariseth another priest, Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life. For he testifieth, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.” Notice that Hebrews 7:9 tells us that the Old Testament Levitical priests received tithes. It says, “And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in Abraham.” Tithes were paid to the Old Testament priests, but nowhere in the New Testament are we told that tithes should be paid to New Testament preachers. Of course, tithing was often mentioned in the Old Testament as part of the law. The children of Israel were told to tithe partly in order to support the Levites from whom the priests came, as we see in Numbers 18:26 and Deuteronomy 14:22.

Every believer is needed in order to do everything that we possibly can do to reach lost souls for Christ in this life. We only have so much time, and there are so many to reach and so much to do. How are we going to get it all done? God’s plan is that every believer be involved. Each person has a calling. Each person has one or more gifts of the Spirit and other things that God has put into our hands. Moses was called to be the leader of the children of Israel. Other individuals were called to give silver and gold and other items so that the tabernacle could be constructed. And still other individuals were called to do the practical work of constructing the tabernacle from the raw materials. Concerning those who do the actual work of turning the raw materials into the final product, the Bible says in Exodus 35:10, “And every wise hearted among you shall come, and make all that the Lord hath commanded.” Notice that no difference is made between the women and the men. They all did what they could depending upon what ability the Lord had given to each of them. It says in Exodus 35:25-26, “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.” It is important to notice what is said in Exodus 35:29, “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.”

Concerning the women in this opportunity to give for the Lord’s work, it says in Exodus 35:26, “all the women whose heart stirred them up.” It says about both men and women in Exodus 35:29, “every man and woman, whose heart made them willing.” Individual choice and free will is emphasized here, whether the believer is a man or a woman. The women had the same free choice that the men had: to determine between themselves and God alone what they should do or not do. The women were not under the authority of the men in that regards. They were under God and how God would touch their hearts. Each person whether man or woman determined what God wanted them to do. Each person made their own choice. It might surprise some that right here in the giving of the law, there is no hard and fast percentage designated that each person must give. This freedom is exactly the emphasis of the New Testament also. As we read in First Corinthians 9:7, “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give.”

This freedom of choice is not only the principle for giving in the New Testament, it is also an important truth to understand the gospel of Christ. It is the meaning of the word “whosoever” in the gospel. It says in Romans 10:13, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Or as it says in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

There were many items that had to be constructed. They are listed in Exodus 35:11-19, “The tabernacle, his tent, and his covering, his taches, and his boards, his bars, his pillars, and his sockets, The ark, and the staves thereof, with the mercy seat, and the vail of the covering, The table, and his staves, and all his vessels, and the shewbread, The candlestick also for the light, and his furniture, and his lamps, with the oil for the light, And the incense altar, and his staves, and the anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the hanging for the door at the entering in of the tabernacle, The altar of burnt offering, with his brasen grate, his staves, and all his vessels, the laver and his foot, The hangings of the court, his pillars, and their sockets, and the hanging for the door of the court, The pins of the tabernacle, and the pins of the court, and their cords, The cloths of service, to do service in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest's office.” Someone needed to do the practical work of building these things. It is unlikely that Moses could do it all himself. But God provides, and God has a plan. God’s plan involves the following: every believer is needed and every believer has something to do so that the work of God will go forth.

The Bible says in Exodus 35:30-35, “And Moses said unto the children of Israel, See, the LORD hath called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; And he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship; And to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, And in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of wood, to make any manner of cunning work. And he hath put in his heart that he may teach, both he, and Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any work, and of those that devise cunning work..” The principle is as follows: there is no difference between the secular and the sacred. Whatever ability you have is a God-given ability, and you can take the using of those abilities and turn them into service to God. The Bible says in Colossians 3:17, “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.”

Notice that Exodus 35:30 says “the LORD hath called by name Bezaleel.” Some people talk about God’s calling as if that has to do with being a preacher or a missionary, but the truth is that God has a calling for every believer. For every secular field that you might enter, God has a calling. That is because God has a purpose for all things, and He has a plan to use all things for the glory of Christ. It says in Exodus 35:31, “And he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship.” Bezaleel possessed as a gift from God “wisdom,” “understanding,” and “knowledge.” This is talking about the capability that Bezaleel had to make things with his hands. The abilities that we have come from God. This includes the natural-born abilities as well as skills that we have acquired over the years. For us to learn, we had to have teachers and opportunities to learn. God did that. He is the best teacher. That is why one of the names given to Jesus is “Teacher.”

Once Bezaleel had a skill and a certain amount of knowledge, he had the opportunity to put that skill into practice; and he also had the opportunity to pass his knowledge on to others. It says in Exodus 35:34, “And he hath put in his heart that he may teach.” Of course, “God put it into Bezaleel’s heart to teach others. That is how God’s plan works today also. You come to salvation through faith in Christ, you start reading and learning the Bible, and then you get to the point where you start teaching others: in your family, in your neighborhood, and where you work. Paul wrote in First Corinthians 14:19, “Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue.” He also wrote by the Holy Spirit to Timothy in Second Timothy 2:2, “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.” Teaching others His Words is one of the commandments that Jesus gave in the Great Commission. Jesus said in Mathew 28:19-20, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.”

___________________________________________________