Exodus Chapter 36

THE WORK BEGUN: CURTAINS, SOCKETS, BARS AND VEIL COMPLETED

The example and instruction of Bezaleel and Aholiab so increase the skill of the Israelites, that they give themselves enthusiastically to the work before them. Willingness to spend and be spent in the work is manifested by them, providing an example of dedication in labour such as should be displayed by labourers in God's service in every age.

The Work Commenced — vv. 1-3.

Bezaleel and Aholiab commence their labour and instruction, and are enthusias­tically supported by other Israelites.

VERSE 1

"Then wrought Bezaleel and Aho­liab, and every wise hearted man, in whom Yahweh put wisdom and under­standing to know how to work all man­ner of work for the service of the sanc­tuary, according to all that Yahweh had commanded" — This verse introduces the description of labour completed, which extends to the end of Exo. 39. "Wisdom" is chokmah and denotes skill, talent, genius. "Understanding" is tebuwnah and signifies intelligence, discretion, the abil­ity to make the best use of one's skill. Faith, ability and discretion are all valu­able attributes in the work of the Truth.

VERSE 2

"And Moses called Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wisehearted man, in whose heart Yahweh had put wisdom, even every one whose heart stirred him up to come unto the work to do it" — See note, Exo. 35:21. Having received suf­ficient materials to commence the work, Moses called Bezaleel, Aholiab and their helpers, and publicly appointed them to their duties. With the authority imposed on them by Yahweh, Israelites recognised that if they would labour acceptably unto God, it had to be in accordance with the instructions and guidance of the men thus appointed. Those who responded to the appeal are described as those "in whose heart Yahweh had put wisdom." This God-imposed wisdom came as a result of the men hearkening to His counsel and instruction. So also with ourselves. We need to recognise the status of the apos­tles, appointed to provide spiritual wisdom and divine exposition, and carefully heed their guidance and instruction if we would labour effectively in the service of the Truth.

VERSE 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" — Moses delivered to the care of the over­seers all the materials received from the people so that it might be passed on to the various workers.

"And they brought yet unto him free offerings every morning" — The people continued to bring their gifts, so that at the opening of each day, when there were fresh evidences of Yahweh's good­ness, and after they had been stimulated by the benefits of morning prayer and communion, fresh supplies continued to pour in to be added to the stores already received. The enthusiasm of the people was great. It was the tragedy of Israel's experience that this early response was not maintained, and so many of those who here so willingly supplied materials for the tabernacle, later perished before reaching the Promised Land.

The People Restrained From Giving — vv. 4-7.

So enthusiastically do the people respond that finally their gifts become an embarrassment to the workers. Their labour is hindered by having to spend time accounting for the material that pours in. The people are asked to cease from giving.

Similar enthusiasm will follow in response to the Lord at his coming, so that the gold and the silver of the Gentiles will be given freely that the temple of the Age to come might be appropriately glorified (Hag. 2:8-9; Isa. 60:5,9).

VERSE 4

"And all the wise men, that wrought all the work of the sanctuary, came every man from his work which they made" — The workmen who used their skill in labouring under Bezaleel and Aho­liab found it necessary to leave their duties, in order to make a general deputa­tion to Moses requesting that the flow of material cease.

VERSE 5

"And they spake unto Moses, saying, The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work, which Yahweh commanded to make" — The workmen found themselves hampered by the abundance of gifts made by the people. The time taken in listing and stor­ing these materials limited their activity in the actual work of construction. In the superabundance of materials given, a selection of the best was made for the tabernacle, for only the best is good enough for Yahweh.

VERSE 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" — The proclamation made by Moses throughout the camp, putting a stop to the offering of further gifts, indicated that the day of opportunity for the ordinary Israelite to contribute to the tabernacle was at an end. In like manner, there is a day of opportunity for all saints to labour in the things of God, and they should take hold of it, for it does not last forever.

VERSE 7

"For the stuff they had was suffi­cient for all the work to make it, and too much" — Antitypically this will have its application at the Judgment Seat, for a selection will be made of the best results, and the rest set aside. Paul shows that we can become "labourers together with God." However, the quality of the material we might offer, or the work we might do, shall be tested in that day, and if found to be imperfect, it will be rejected. We then will suffer loss, even though we, our­selves, may be saved (1 Cor. 3:9-15). Let us labour while we can, giving of our best, recognising that our day of opportunity is limited, and that the greatest care should be exercised in what we offer to God.

Curtains, Coverings, Veils, Hangings For The Door — vv. 8-38.

These verses repeat the details given earlier, merely noting that the work ordered was faithfully completed. There­fore, there is no need for specific exposi-tional comment at this place. The repeti­tion shows that Moses so supervises the construction of the tabernacle that it answers exactly to the requirements of the pattern provided. All the work is meticu­lously carried out according to require­ments. The repetition serves to emphasise the importance of observing details in the carrying out of the will of Yahweh. As Moses completes the work, so also will the Lord Jesus in the construction of the Tabernacle unot made with hands" (Heb. 8:2; 9:11).

VERSES 8-18

See notes, Exo. 26:1-11.

VERSES 19-34

See notes, Exo. 26:14-29. The state­ment of v. 22, that "one board had two tenons, equally distant from another" is rendered in the RV as "joined one to another," as in Exo. 26:17.

VERSES 35-36

See notes, Exo. 26:33-34. The state­ment of v. 33: "He made the middle bar to shoot through the boards," should be ren­dered as in Exo. 26:28: "to reach from end to end."

VERSE 37

See note, Exo. 26:36.

VERSE 38

"And the five pillars of it with their hooks" — See note, Exo. 26:37.

"And he overlaid their chapiters and their fillets with gold: but their five sockets were of brass" — The chapiters and connecting rods of the five pillars at the door of the tabernacle have not been previously mentioned. The word for "fil­lets" is chashuwq and is from a root signi­fying "to attach." Strong gives the mean­ing as connecting rods, so that the pillars were joined together, and found mutual support, strength and stability by so being connected.