Exodus 37:1-9 comments: a greater and more perfect tabernacle

37:1 ¶  And Bezaleel made the ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half was the length of it, and a cubit and a half the breadth of it, and a cubit and a half the height of it: 2  And he overlaid  it with pure gold within and without, and made a crown of gold to it round about. 3  And he cast for it four rings of gold, to be set by the four corners of it; even two rings upon the one side of it, and two rings upon the other side of it. 4  And he made staves of shittim wood, and overlaid them with gold. 5  And he put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, to bear the ark. 6  And he made the mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half was the length thereof, and one cubit and a half the breadth thereof. 7  And he made two cherubims of gold, beaten out of one piece made he them, on the two ends of the mercy seat; 8  One cherub on the end on this side, and another cherub on the other end on that side: out of the mercy seat made he the cherubims on the two ends thereof. 9  And the cherubims spread out their wings on high, and covered with their wings over the mercy seat, with their faces one to another; even to the mercy seatward were the faces of the cherubims.

Clearly there is some very special significance to the work called the children of Israel to do, or at least certain ones of them, and also the doing of it. There is no reason that a Bible-believer can imagine for the repetition of all of the details other than that they are important to God and the Holy Spirit wanted to stress that to the reader.

Hebrews 9:11  But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;

The tabernacle is representative of the believer’s heart after the Resurrection. We are a habitation of God through the spirit. Notice how Paul referred to the breaking down of the wall between those who had been given the Law and those who did not have the Law.

Ephesians 2:11 ¶  Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision [Jews] in the flesh made by hands; 12  That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: 13  But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

    14 ¶  For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; 15  Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; 16  And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: 17  And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. 18  For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. 19  Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; 20  And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; 21  In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: 22  In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

Sadly, many preachers who have a problem in reading comprehension or perhaps an agenda will use 14 without regard to 15 or 16 and say that the breaking down of a wall in this passage is between man and God rather than between Jew and Gentile to make the Church, the body of Christ on earth.

 

Staves is a word we don’t use much anymore except in reference to a narrow strip of wood on the sides of a barrel. It was, at one time, a plural of staff, a pole, here used to carry the Ark of the Covenant which carried the Ten Commandments.

Exodus 36:35-38 comments: different spellings of the same word

    36:35 ¶  And he made a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen: with cherubims made he it of cunning work. 36  And he made thereunto four pillars of shittim wood, and overlaid them with gold: their hooks were of gold; and he cast for them four sockets of silver. 37  And he made an hanging for the tabernacle door of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, of needlework; 38  And the five pillars of it with their hooks: and he overlaid their chapiters and their fillets with gold: but their five sockets were of brass.

Note here that the word vail is spelled with an a while it is spelled with an e elsewhere. 

Mark 15:38  And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.

Regardless of the spelling it is the same word. In the 1500s the word was spelled as veyle or vayle as a curtain or a covering.

During the 1500s there were great changes in the English language. The “Great English Vowel Shift” took place then and also because of printing technology that began in the 1400s there became fewer variations of written English. As time went by there was a push for spelling to be standardized, for there to be a right way to write something and a wrong way. You will find, in this English Bible, some spelling variations of words like this vail or the spelling of King Nebuchadnezzar’s name as Nebuchadrezzar. I think that if you look at the number of times a word is spelled a certain way you might see some deeper significance.

Exodus 36:14-34 comments: some construction comments

36:14 ¶  And he made curtains of goats’ hair for the tent over the tabernacle: eleven curtains he made them. 15  The length of one curtain was thirty cubits, and four cubits was the breadth of one curtain: the eleven curtains were of one size. 16  And he coupled five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves. 17  And he made fifty loops upon the uttermost edge of the curtain in the coupling, and fifty loops made he upon the edge of the curtain which coupleth the second. 18  And he made fifty taches of brass to couple the tent together, that it might be one. 19  And he made a covering for the tent of rams’ skins dyed red, and a covering of badgers’ skins above that. 20  And he made boards for the tabernacle of shittim wood, standing up. 21  The length of a board was ten cubits, and the breadth of a board one cubit and a half. 22  One board had two tenons, equally distant one from another: thus did he make for all the boards of the tabernacle. 23  And he made boards for the tabernacle; twenty boards for the south side southward: 24  And forty sockets of silver he made under the twenty boards; two sockets under one board for his two tenons, and two sockets under another board for his two tenons. 25  And for the other side of the tabernacle, which is toward the north corner, he made twenty boards, 26  And their forty sockets of silver; two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board. 27  And for the sides of the tabernacle westward he made six boards. 28  And two boards made he for the corners of the tabernacle in the two sides. 29  And they were coupled beneath, and coupled together at the head thereof, to one ring: thus he did to both of them in both the corners. 30  And there were eight boards; and their sockets were sixteen sockets of silver, under every board two sockets. 31  And he made bars of shittim wood; five for the boards of the one side of the tabernacle, 32  And five bars for the boards of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the tabernacle for the sides westward. 33  And he made the middle bar to shoot through the boards from the one end to the other. 34  And he overlaid the boards with gold, and made their rings of gold to be places for the bars, and overlaid the bars with gold.

Notes made previously are relevant here. Goats’ hair will be used for the curtains for the tent over the tabernacle. Modern-day Bedouins have tents, tent-ropes, and rugs made from spun goats’ hair. It was used for pillows.

1Samuel 19:13  And Michal took an image, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats’ hair for his bolster, and covered it with a cloth.

Writers talk about the goat hair of Asia being very fine and long and how it feels like silk. It was combed off, they write, rather than sheared. Of course, there was coarser goats’ hair which was used in the clothing of the poor, according to some writers.

Rams’ skins dyed red and badgers’ skins taken together suggest that they were used for their being impervious to the infrequent rain. However, scientists who study ancient climate patterns say that there were periods of wet and dry and we are in a dry period now. There could have been much more frequent rain storms during the time of the Exodus. Their dating methods, often hinged to assumptions and variables that can be questioned and should be, should not be taken as absolute facts. Evidence is evidence, but remember, evidence is useless unless it is interpreted. The interpretation is where the vagaries of human viewpoints, worldviews, and culturally mandated assumptions interfere, not just education. (27) Just remember that the world is drying out after the Flood of Noah’s time in a process that is still going on today.

Shittim wood, according to Strong’s dictionary, would come from the Acacia tree. The Ark of the Covenant will be made of this wood.

(27) Abdou Abouelmagd, Mohamed Sultan, Neil C. Sturchio, Farouk Soliman, Mohamed Rashed, Mohamed Ahmed, Alan E. Kehew, Adam Milewski, & Kyle Chouinard, “Paleoclimate record in the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer, Sinai Peninsula, Egypt,” Quaternary Research, 81 (2014) 158–167. http://wrrs.uga.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Abouelmagd-et-al_2014.pdf

Exodus 36:8-13 comments: a point about not misusing the Bible

36:8 ¶  And every wise hearted man among them that wrought the work of the tabernacle made ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with cherubims of cunning work made he them. 9  The length of one curtain was twenty and eight cubits, and the breadth of one curtain four cubits: the curtains were all of one size. 10  And he coupled the five curtains one unto another: and the other five curtains he coupled one unto another. 11  And he made loops of blue on the edge of one curtain from the selvedge in the coupling: likewise he made in the uttermost side of another curtain, in the coupling of the second. 12  Fifty loops made he in one curtain, and fifty loops made he in the edge of the curtain which was in the coupling of the second: the loops held one curtain to another. 13  And he made fifty taches of gold, and coupled the curtains one unto another with the taches: so it became one tabernacle.

Notice the orders given in chapter 26 contrasted with the carrying out of them here. This tabernacle; its instructions for building and the carrying out of those instructions play a very important part in this phase of God’s ministry of reconciling mankind to Himself.

Here, God would meet with His people. Here was to be a point of reference, a place of focus for God’s presence and His worship. Christians have tried to reproduce that feeling by setting apart special buildings typically used for not much more than worship and Christian fellowship. While this is fine it often leads to a sense of there being the only place where God’s presence is acknowledged.

This is a precursor to the temple that Solomon will build. But, in the time after Christ’s resurrection God meets with His people in the human heart and mind where the Holy Ghost of God dwells although it is also clear that we are to meet together with people of like faith often and God also meets with us there, in that fellowship.

John 14:23  Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

Luke 17:20 ¶  And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 21  Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

Romans 8:9  But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

1Corinthians 3:9  For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.

1Corinthians 3:16 ¶  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

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?

It can be said that there are no sacred spaces in Biblical Christianity outside of the human heart of the believer. However, it is also clear we are called to meet with people of like faith often. Here in the following verses are a command from Paul that most fundamentalist pastors love to quote even while they deny that Hebrews is written for the Christian. It’s very confusing how they insist upon Dispensations and yet make this verse preeminent for Christians today as opposed to the Tribulation to come, which they often say the book of Hebrews relates to.

Hebrews 10:23  Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) 24  And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 25  Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

Still, there are many instances in Paul’s letters referring to churches that meet in individual’s homes as there were no separate buildings set apart for worship until later in the second century AD. Meeting as the church was and is very important. But there is no need to lie about God’s word to underscore this command’s importance. The necessity of meeting for worship, for encouragement, to render assistance, to join forces to do God’s work, and not just the necessity but God’s will for it to be are clear from many, many verses in the New Testament.

However, the danger is of unscrupulous preachers and evangelists taking verses out of context to mean something they were not given to mean in the context.

For instance, some will take a verse in Luke in the context of our behavior toward each other linked with so many other verses about our willingness to forgive, not to judge unrighteously, and our charitableness toward each other and make it simply about showing up at church whenever the doors are opened saying that if you don’t you are denying the Lord.

Luke 6:46  And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

They will take a verse that has to do with not having your own mind conform to the world’s values and then after the verse giving the expression of what that looks like in the believer’s behavior toward others and make it about church attendance with your reasonable service about being, “in your place,” in the pew on Sunday morning, evening, and Wednesday night along with any other time a meeting is called.

Romans 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

This isn’t just error. It is blasphemy, misrepresenting what God has said and what He wants from us as stated by Himself. It is the sin of not only Job’s friends but Satan himself.

Job 42:7  And it was so, that after the LORD had spoken these words unto Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath.

Genesis 3:1  Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

It is an all too common error in Protestant Fundamentalism in America. Twisting the text like taffy to justify a belief, desire, or conviction of the speaker is unacceptable. If you’re going to take a verse and apply it to something not in the context, say a point you want to make, at least acknowledge that is what you are doing.

Exodus 36:1-7 comments: the concept of 'enough'

36:1 ¶  Then wrought Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whom the LORD put wisdom and understanding to know how to work all manner of work for the service of the sanctuary, according to all that the LORD had commanded. 2  And Moses called Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whose heart the LORD had put wisdom, even every one whose heart stirred him up to come unto the work to do it: 3  And they received of Moses all the offering, which the children of Israel had brought for the work of the service of the sanctuary, to make it withal. And they brought yet unto him free offerings every morning. 4  And all the wise men, that wrought all the work of the sanctuary, came every man from his work which they made; 5  And they spake unto Moses, saying, The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work, which the LORD commanded to make. 6  And Moses gave commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary. So the people were restrained from bringing. 7  For the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much.

This passage is very interesting for a number of reasons. First, Moses writes about the wise-hearted being willing. God put wisdom in their hearts and they had a desire to work for Him. He gave the willing the skills they needed to serve Him. Bezaleel and Aholiab will also teach the willing, verse 34. Having a willing heart, being taught in a skill, and God imparting wisdom is important as all part of the same process. In modern society we often view reality through the too many movies and TV shows we’ve watched expecting some magic moment of sudden insight to come upon someone who has shown no previous interest. But, in the Bible we see cases of people who first have a desire, prepare themselves or are prepared by others, and then given wisdom by God. If we get back to the idea that all understanding comes from God on a willing heart prepared for the work then so much more would be opened to us of use. But, the current paradigm is that some men and women are so brilliant that they create within themselves by themselves some great skill. This is rubbish thinking.

Proverbs 2:6  For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.

Ecclesiastes 2:26  For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God. This also is vanity and vexation of spirit.

1Kings 4:29  And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore.

Daniel 2:21  And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:

James 1:5  If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

Wisdom and understanding is given for a purpose. Why do you think that mankind has been propelled “forward” in the last century? Is it because we are so much smarter than our ancestors? Is it because of some kind of fluctuation in the magnetic field of the earth or some other explanation? In the last century we’ve made more technological strides than in the previous three thousand years. And the modern person just thinks that we are just that much smarter than people were in the past. If you believe the Bible, though, you can see God’s hand in history.

This passage has some interesting applications to working in the church family. A person who is willing to do something even outside of their comfort zone and is willing to be taught by others with more experience and understanding will be given the understanding they need to do something successfully.

Finally, there is enough. The stuff is not stored for later use. What is needed is all that God wants to collect. This brings to mind a principle that God stresses repeatedly in the Bible for us personally that although not related directly to the service given in Exodus by the Israelites has some import for us to consider. We are to pray for what we need today.

Matthew 6:11  Give us this day our daily bread.

Luke 11:3  Give us day by day our daily bread.

We are to ask for what we need today, not a huge surplus to grow fat and contemptuous of our need for God from. In reference to the events of chapter 16 in regard to the collection of Manna, Paul wrote to the Christians of his day.

7 ¶  Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also. 8  I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your love. 9  For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. 10  And herein I give my advice: for this is expedient for you, who have begun before, not only to do, but also to be forward a year ago. 11  Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have. 12  For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not. 13  For I mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened: 14  But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality: 15  As it is written, He that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack.

The Bible clearly is in opposition to the American ideal of dreaming of being rich, buying a yacht, never having to work again.

Proverbs 23:4  Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom.

Paul lays out the ideal for Christians.

1Thessalonians 4:11  And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; 12  That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.

We need to learn to trust God for what we need today.

Matthew 6:25 ¶  Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 26  Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 27  Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 28  And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29  And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30  Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 31  Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32  (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34  Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Philippians 4:19  But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

We must always remember the dangers of putting the pursuit of money ahead of obedience to God.

1Timothy 6:6 ¶  But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7  For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8  And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. 9  But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10  For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

Capitalism and its mirror image, Socialism, along with its offshoot, Materialism, have one abiding principle that keeps them all going. It can be summed up in one word. That word is “more.” But the Biblical principle is, “enough.” This isn’t to say that savings or insurance are wrong, sinful, or show a lack of faith. God honors prudent behavior, responsible behavior, in our personal dealings. It is the attitude that desiring to be wealthy fosters in the Christian heart that God does not like. When we have plenty, more than enough, even a great surplus, we tend not to depend upon God for our daily lives but depend on the money or the possessions, which is idolatry.

Luke 16:13  No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Saying that you should be rich because if you have a lot of money you can do a lot of good is akin to saying that it’s okay for you to be a card-dealer in a casino because you’ll have access to a lot of people to witness to for Christ. It’s a worthless dodge, a pathetic excuse, and a meaningless self-justification of one’s own lack of faith in God and one’s bloated sense of self-worship. In the 1800s in America the most popular sermon, judged by how many thousands of times it was supposedly preached, was called Acres of Diamonds, written by the founder of Temple University, a Baptist preacher. It extolls the virtues of being rich and claims that the richest people are the best people and they do the most good. This celebration of the wealthy is evidence of the spiritual state of the typical postmillennialist American evangelical of the nineteenth century. It is never good to have enough, never good to be satisfied or content, and trusting the Lord is fine, in their book, as long as you satisfy your insatiable lust for more and are never happy with having enough. Based on the Bible’s clear statements would you say this the attitude that God wants from Christians?

Exodus 35:30-35 comments: the cunning workman

35:30 ¶  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; 31  And he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship; 32  And to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, 33  And in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of wood, to make any manner of cunning work. 34  And he hath put in his heart that he may teach, both he, and Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. 35  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.

   

This is a confirmation, a reemphasis, of something discussed in chapter 31. I’ll repeat some comments from there, as well. The instructions were given in 31, then the apostasy of the worship of the calf took place, but now a grateful and relieved Hebrew populace will begin the work.

Notice here that the word spirit starts with a lowercase ‘s’. In a prophecy of Christ in Isaiah it is written;

Isaiah 11:1 ¶  And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: 2  And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; 3  And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: 4  But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.

The Holy Spirit, uppercase ‘S’, refers to the agency through which God works in creation and in the hearts and minds of His people.

Genesis 1:2  And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

Ephesians 4:30  And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

The Spirit of God can be referred to as an it.

Romans 8:16  The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God…26  Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

And can also be called the Spirit of Christ, as God is one being containing three parts as I have previously shown. See the following for the three parts of God mentioned in passages; Matthew 28:19; 2Corinthians 13:14; 1John 5:7.

Romans 8:9  But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

This is in contrast to the Holy Ghost, which is a reference to the third part of God, referred to, always, as he.

John 14:26  But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

But, spirit with the lowercase ‘s’ is a reference to a trait, a quality, a skill, an emotion, the foundation of an ability, or the spirit of man, the part of man that God uses to know our thoughts and the function of our bodies.

Proverbs 20:27  The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly.

These men have been given talents and skills to serve the Lord’s purpose and notice in verse 6 that God puts wisdom in those people whose hearts are able to receive it. We must remember, as said before, that wisdom and knowledge come from God. For instance, a scientist is prepared by training to receive knowledge and he or she discovers something useful as a result. The understanding came from God to a mind that was able to bear it. This is an important point to consider.

Ezra 7:10  For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.

The way to receive knowledge and wisdom and understanding is first to prepare the heart and mind. Then, it is given. Someone who wants to be a mechanic just doesn’t pray to God for the knowledge. God would say to him, “study the trade and then I will give you understanding. Learn how to do it and I will give you wisdom.” It is a fact of life that if you want to do something of value you need to prepare yourself for it. I don’t remember reading about any brain surgeons or rocket scientists who said they woke up one day and just knew how to do their jobs to the best of their ability without education or training.

Exodus 35:1-29 comments: a willing heart

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?