Exodus 35:1-9
A Sabbath and a Willing Offering
Read the passage
1Then Moses assembled the whole congregation of Israel and said to them, “These are the things that the LORD has commanded you to do:
2For six days work may be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a Sabbath of complete rest to the LORD. Whoever does any work on that day must be put to death.
3Do not light a fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day.”
4Moses also told the whole congregation of Israel, “This is what the LORD has commanded:
5Take from among you an offering to the LORD. Let everyone whose heart is willing bring an offering to the LORD: gold, silver, and bronze;
6blue, purple, and scarlet yarn; fine linen and goat hair;
7ram skins dyed red and fine leather; acacia wood;
8olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense;
9and onyx stones and gemstones to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece.
Berean Standard Bible
Read aloud
Moses assembles the whole congregation and gives them the LORD's commands. First comes the Sabbath: six days for work, then complete rest, with a prohibition on lighting fires in their dwellings that day. The penalty for working is death. This is a serious covenant command, even while the sanctuary work lies ahead.
Next Moses invites willing offerings of metals, yarn, linen, skins, wood, oil, spices, and stones. The list makes the needs concrete. People can see what the work requires, and those whose hearts are willing are invited to contribute.
After the calf and the renewal of the covenant, Israel is again being called to use its resources in obedience to the LORD. There is both a command to stop and an invitation to give. The project belongs to God; its importance does not permit leaders to ignore His limits or replace willing gifts with pressure.
Questions
1 What does Moses command about the Sabbath?
AnswerIt is to be a day of complete rest to the LORD. Work is forbidden under penalty of death, and no fires are to be lit in their dwellings that day.
2 What materials does Moses ask the people to bring?
AnswerThe materials include metals, colored yarn, linen, skins, wood, oil, spices, and stones for the sanctuary work. The list gives the people specific needs they can help meet.
3 What kind of response does God invite from the givers?
AnswerHe invites everyone whose heart is willing to bring an offering. The gifts are to express a willing response to Him, not an attempt to satisfy pressure from other people.
4 How can we invite someone to help without pressuring them to prove their devotion?
AnswerExplain the actual need, ask what they can offer, and take their answer seriously. A worthwhile project does not justify guilt or demands beyond what someone can responsibly give.
What This Means for Us
The tabernacle project begins with Sabbath, not with frantic productivity. God's work is not served by destroying the people doing it.
Let your household practice generosity within wise limits. A gift offered freely is different from a contribution demanded to prove devotion.
Prayer
We pray: Lord of rest and generosity, teach us to stop our work when you command and to give freely when you invite. Keep our household from confusing busyness with faithfulness, and make our offerings willing and wise. Amen.