Exodus 35:20-29:
20 Then all the congregation of the sons of Israel departed from Moses’ presence.
21 Everyone whose heart [a]stirred him and everyone whose spirit [b]moved him came and brought the Lord’s [c]contribution for the work of the tent of meeting and for all its service and for the holy garments.
22 Then all [d]whose hearts moved them, both men and women, came and brought brooches and [e]earrings and signet rings and bracelets, all articles of gold; so did every man who [f]presented an offering of gold to the Lord.
23 Every man, [g]who had in his possession [h]blue and purple and scarlet material and fine linen and goats’ hair and rams’ skins [i]dyed red and porpoise skins, brought them.
24 Everyone who could make a [j]contribution of silver and [k]bronze brought the Lord’s [l]contribution; and every man [m]who had in his possession acacia wood for any work of the service brought it.
25 All the [n]skilled women spun with their hands, and brought what they had spun, in [o]blue and purple and scarlet material and in fine linen.
26 All the women whose heart [p]stirred with a skill spun the goats’ hair.
27 The rulers brought the onyx stones and the stones for setting for the ephod and for the [q]breastpiece;
28 and the spice and the oil for the light and for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense.
29 The [r]Israelites, all the men and women, whose heart [s]moved them to bring material for all the work, which the Lord had commanded through Moses to be done, brought a freewill offering to the Lord.
Thoughts on the Passage
God gave Moses instructions on the Mount. Moses came down and gave God’s instructions to the people. They then left to do consider the request and then, if God stirred or moved them, to do what God had instructed. It’s that simple if we want it to be. And if we know that whoever has the role of Moses in our lives is a man worthy of the task and chosen by God Himself.
David Guzik says, “After Moses asked them to give, he sent them home to decide what they would give. This shows that Moses did not use manipulative techniques, such asking people to make quick, public decisions about their giving. There was no manipulation in Moses’ request.” Nor did he hold a contest, he says, pitting one tribe against another to see which gave more. It was God who worked in their hearts, period.
Note also that there appears to be no great lapse of time between verse 20 (they went home) and verse 21 (they brought their gifts). Matthew Henry suggests that they were probably already figuring out what they would give as they headed home to get the various items. They did not require a lot of time to consider whether they would or would not. God had already stirred their hearts. They did not want their zeal to be cooled down by any delays in taking action. That’s the lesson for us – when God stirs us, act. When He convinces us of something, go about it speedily. Not only is “now the time of salvation”, but for the Christian “now is the time to act” once God has given His instructions.
Throughout this passage, as we read about the various things that people did or brought for the building of the Tabernacle, one thing seems to be a common theme – it was all those “whose hearts (or spirits) moved them” to do so. That’s a prerequisite for making any offering of money, skills, time, etc. to God – we are to do it willingly and that only happens when we respond to the urgings of our hearts and spirits. Chuck Smith puts it this way: “And that is always the secret of true giving, as God stirs your heart, as God lays it upon your heart. And as you're willing to give so you should give unto God, but never, never by constraint, never by pressure, never by begging. It cheapens God to beg people to support Him.”
It certainly would be interesting to know just how many or what percentage of the Israelites did not have their hearts stirred or who fought and ignored the stirring of their hearts? Still, they were called Israelites. Still, they had been freed from slavery in Egypt. If today’s congregations are any indication, one could assume the percentage was significant. And today’s non-participants are still called Christians, still saved by grace.
And just in case we thought as may have been the impression earlier when Moses spoke to the men of Israel, it seems from verse 25 that all the skilled women did their part as well provided their hearts were stirred to do so. [Can you imagine what it would be like in a family tent if one of the spouses were stirred to make an offering in this way and one was not? Ooch.]
From the variety of opportunities, we note that only the wealthy could participate but every single one whose heart had been stirred and were able to make a contribution. In fact, God needed each of those whose hearts He stirred to do so – it was all calculated in His plan for the building of the Tabernacle. And it is so calculated by God that each of us whose hearts He stirs to participate in the building of His Kingdom here and now.
Guzik says we should note that “though their hearts were willing, they didn’t know what to give, when to give, or how to give until Moses led them. Willing hearts still need to be told when there is a need and how they can meet that need.” And it also had to be clear “to Whom” they were giving – it was “to the Lord” not to Moses or even to Israel as a nation.
Henry also points out that much of what they brought was jewelry and implies that they, in their obvious willingness to part with such, preferred the beautifying of the sanctuary before their own their own adorning. What a lesson for us, for our children.
In verse 27, we read about the ‘rulers’ doing their part. [The rulers you may remember were those that Moses’ father-in-law had recommended Moses appoint (see Exodus 18:14-24) to make his workload easier.] And (vs. 29) every man and woman whose heart had been stirred brought a freewill offering to the Lord.
There is no doubt that much of the material that they brought for the building of the Tabernacle originally belonged to the Egyptians. Clearly, God has no problem using things from those that are not His children to accomplish His work. So, I personally, would have no problem taking the winnings of a lottery that someone won to help in Kingdom work. As someone once said, the “devil has had this money long enough, it’s time for it to be used by God.” Perhaps. [That is not to say that everyone should feel the same way.] But I would definitely want to make sure that its source would never stipulate its use and that I would never want to mix the goals of the world with the goals of God’s work. [In fact, even contributions made by Christians should never be accepted if they have strings attached.]
As Matthew Henry says, “…then great care must be taken that Egypt’s gods mingle not with Egypt’s gold.” And he goes on, “We may suppose that the remembrance of the offerings made [earlier] for the golden calf made them the more forward in these offerings.”
Please provide me with your thoughts or questions. I'd love to hear from you. Ken.
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