Exodus 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.
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