35:1 ¶ And Moses gathered all the congregation of
the children of Israel together, and said unto them, These are the words which the LORD hath
commanded, that ye should do
them. 2 Six days shall work be done, but
on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the
LORD: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death. 3 Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your
habitations upon the sabbath day. 4 And
Moses spake unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the LORD
commanded, saying, 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, 6 And blue, and
purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair, 7 And rams’ skins
dyed red, and badgers’ skins, and shittim wood, 8 And oil for the light, and spices for
anointing oil, and for the sweet incense, 9
And onyx stones, and stones to be set for the ephod, and for the
breastplate. 10 And every wise hearted
among you shall come, and make all that the LORD hath commanded; 11 The tabernacle, his tent, and his covering,
his taches, and his boards, his bars, his pillars, and his sockets, 12 The ark, and the staves thereof, with the mercy seat, and the vail of
the covering, 13 The table, and his
staves, and all his vessels, and the shewbread, 14 The candlestick also for the light, and his
furniture, and his lamps, with the oil for the light, 15 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, 16 The
altar of burnt offering, with his brasen grate, his staves, and all his
vessels, the laver and his foot, 17 The
hangings of the court, his pillars, and their sockets, and the hanging for the
door of the court, 18 The pins of the
tabernacle, and the pins of the court, and their cords, 19 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.
Moses’ speech here is a recap of previous commands. Notice that
the children of Israel were not even to light a fire in their dwellings on the
Sabbath. I’ve read that people, back in the days before electricity and central
heating, might not even light a fire in their home for warmth unless they had
company visiting, if wood for fuel was scarce or if they used coal, due to its
expense. Of course, it could become unbearable as in most old dwellings for
common people there might not even be a door or window covering, save for a
flap of some kind of material.
Verse 5 tells us of an offering from those with a willing heart.
This sense of voluntary offerings is very important in Christianity, where the
offering isn’t like an imposed tax but something from the heart.
2Corinthians 9:7 Every man according as he purposeth in his
heart, so let him give; not
grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
As slaves the Hebrews would have had ‘next to nothing’ but,
remember, their Egyptian neighbors had loaded them up with wealth.
Exodus 11:2 Speak now in the ears of the people, and let
every man borrow of his neighbour, and every woman of her neighbour, jewels of
silver, and jewels of gold…12:35 And the
children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they borrowed of the
Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: 36 And the LORD gave the people favour in the
sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians.
Not long ago an Egyptian commentator made the public claim that
Israel still owed Egypt for the wealth the children of Israel walked off with
3,000 years ago. Of course, besides being legally laughable, historically Egypt
did get paid back.
2Chronicles 12:9 So Shishak king of Egypt came up against
Jerusalem, and took away the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the
treasures of the king’s house; he took all: he carried away also the shields of
gold which Solomon had made.
35:20 ¶ And all the congregation
of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. 21 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.
22 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. 23
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. 24 Every 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. 25 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.
26 And all the women whose heart stirred
them up in wisdom spun goats’ hair.
27 And the rulers brought onyx stones,
and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate; 28 And spice, and oil for the light, and for the
anointing oil, and for the sweet incense. 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.
A willing spirit and a willing heart are emphasized here. As an
application to Christians the essence of Christian service is willingness not
some church or government authority imposing some type of legal requirement.
Nor should there be any guilt or manipulation. The heart is made willing by God
and what God requires comes from the heart of a Christian prepared by God.
Since the tithe is not a part of the instructions given by Paul
let us look at the remarks about Christian giving in the Church Age. First, in
regard to helping other Christians and then beyond that to anyone in need.
6 ¶ But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and
he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. 7 Every man according as he purposeth in his
heart, so let him give; not
grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always
having all sufficiency in all things,
may abound to every good work: 9 (As it
is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his
righteousness remaineth for ever. 10 Now
he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed
sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;) 11 Being enriched in every thing to all
bountifulness, which causeth
through us thanksgiving to God. 12 For the administration of this service not
only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many
thanksgivings unto God; 13 Whiles by the
experiment of this ministration they glorify God for your professed subjection
unto the gospel of Christ, and for your
liberal distribution unto them, and unto all men; 14 And by their
prayer for you, which long after
you for the exceeding grace of God in you. 15
Thanks be unto God for
his unspeakable gift.
Note that giving in the New Testament when Paul begins his
ministry to we Gentiles is not about supporting a tabernacle or embellishing a
building but about helping those in need, first to the saints as it says in verse 12, and then, as verse 13 says, to all men.
In the age where the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ and God,
indwells all people who believe the Church is the body of Christ, the people
who have faith and believe in Him. The individual Christian is the temple of
the Holy Ghost, where that Spirit resides.
1Corinthians 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple
of the Holy Ghost which is in
you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
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