Exodus 35:10-19:
10 ‘Let every skillful man among you come, and make all that the Lord has commanded:
Footnotes:
(now also showing the footnotes from NASB on the passage for those who want to get more into the actual translation)
10 ‘Let every skillful man among you come, and make all that the Lord has commanded:
11 the [a]tabernacle, its tent and its covering, its hooks and its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its [b]sockets;
12 the ark and its poles, the [c]mercy seat, and the curtain of the screen;
14 the lampstand also for the light and its utensils and its lamps and the oil for the light;
15 and the altar of incense and its poles, and the anointing oil and the fragrant incense, and the screen for the doorway at the [f]entrance of the tabernacle;
16 the altar of burnt offering with its [g]bronze grating, its poles, and all its [h]utensils, the [i]basin and its stand;
17 the hangings of the court, its pillars and its [j]sockets, and the screen for the gate of the court;
18 the pegs of the tabernacle and the pegs of the court and their cords;
19 the [k]woven garments for ministering in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, to minister as priests.’”
Footnotes:
- Exodus 35:11 Lit dwelling place
- Exodus 35:11 Or bases
- Exodus 35:12 Lit propitiatory
- Exodus 35:13 Or vessels
- Exodus 35:13 Lit Face
- Exodus 35:15 Or doorway
- Exodus 35:16 Or copper
- Exodus 35:16 Or vessels
- Exodus 35:16 Or laver
- Exodus 35:17 Or bases
- Exodus 35:19 Or service garments
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Thoughts on the Passage
This is an invitation to every skilled person in the desert camp of the Israelites to come and put their trades and expertise to work in building the Tabernacle, the Dwelling Place of the Lord when He is among them. It is an all-inclusive invitation to all the tradesmen of every tribe. Similarly, there is an open invitation to each of us, as children of God, to participate in the building of His Kingdom. Sometimes that is thwarted by those in our leadership, but most often the opportunity is ignored or rebelled against, by us.
But there is something here we cannot ignore – God wanted “skilled” people to do the work. I cannot expect to do surgery on people in the mission field if I am not a trained doctor. I cannot expect to have a solo in the church concert if I am not a trained singer. Do you get the idea? But a wise leader can find valuable and desired tasks for all of us if we are willing to be part of the team. If we want to do more, we need the training. We also need two other things:
a. Proven willingness to do the lesser tasks with joy, and
b. Recognition by others that we can do the thing we aspire to do.
Secondly, we note that what Moses was asking them to participate in the making was “all that the Lord has commanded”. There were no design characteristics added that would become known as the “Moses Finishing Touches”. He was simply the general contractor on a mission for the Owner. Everything was to be done to the Owner’s specifications – nothing less, nothing more. We often forget this in our pursuit of asking others to participate in the building of God’s Kingdom. Kingdom work is God’s Work, not the design of the local Superintendent. [This passage is basically a repeat of Exodus 25-31 where God gave Moses the specifications.]
Thirdly, we should point out that while God needed certain things done for His Tabernacle, and while He wanted skilled artisans to do the various things required, He also in His omnipotence had arranged for all those skills to be present among the people of Israel in that desert camp. Perhaps that great missionary James Hudson Taylor while seeing God at work in his own life, was also thinking of this passage when he penned the words, “God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply.”
I pray that is true of your work for Him because you are doing it His way, not yours.
[And as always, I invite your input. Last time I heard from a couple of readers who left posts on social media. Thank you. I invite more of you to leave your thoughts right here on the blog as well.]
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