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November 6, 2022 - Morning Message Faith Bible Church - Sacramento, CA Message - "Covenantal Giving" Exodus 35:1-29
All who are gifted artisans among you shall come and make all that the Lord has commanded. The tabernacle, its tent, its covering, its clasps, its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its sockets, the ark and its poles, with the mercy seat and the veil of the covering, the table and its poles, all its utensils and the showbread, also the lampstand for the light, its utensils, its lamps, and the oil for the light, the incense altar, its poles and the anointing oil, the sweet incense, and the screen for the door at the entrance of the tabernacle, the altar, a burnt offering with its bronze grating, its poles, all its utensils, and the laver and its base, the hangings of the court, its pillars, their sockets, and the screen for the gate of the court, the pegs of the tabernacle, the pegs of the court and their cords, the garments of ministry for ministering in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron, the priest, and the garments of his sons to minister as priests.
And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. Then everyone came whose heart was stirred, and everyone whose spirit was willing, and they brought the Lord's offering for the work of the tabernacle of meeting, for all its service and for the holy garments.
They came, both men and women, as many as had a willing heart, and brought earrings and nose rings, rings and necklaces, and jewelry of gold, that is, every man who made an offering of gold to the Lord.
And every man with whom was found blue, purple, and scarlet thread, fine linen and goat's hair, red skins of rams and badger skins, brought them. Everyone who offered an offering of silver or bronze brought the Lord's offering, and everyone with whom was found acacia wood for any work of the service brought it.
All the women who were gifted artisans spun yarn with their hands and brought what they had spun of blue, purple, and scarlet, and fine linen. And all the women whose hearts stirred with wisdom spun yarn of goat's hair.
The rulers brought onyx stones and the stones to be set in the ephod and in the breastplate, and spices and oil for the light and for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense. The children of Israel brought a freewill offering to the Lord, all the men and women whose hearts were willing to bring material for all kinds of work, which the Lord, by the hand of Moses, had commanded to be done.
This is the word of the Lord. Let us pray. Father, we thank you that we worship you, that the holy God of the whole universe wants to be among his own people. Thank you that you're the one who uses us to provide all the ways in which we can gather so that we may experience your presence.
Thank you that as God's people we can gather and we can know that you are here with us. Thank you that you are good to us. Thank you for your mercy and grace every day. In Jesus' name, amen. So this is the last portion of Exodus right after the covenant is renewed, because, of course, Israel broke the covenant first through idolatry, by making the golden calf.
And God mercifully looks at Moses, looks to the intercessor, and forgives Israel. And now the whole tabernacle enterprise that we've been reading about from Exodus 25 -31 is getting fulfilled. 25 -31 was the blueprint.
35 -40 is the building up. It is the fulfillment of the plan. And the importance of the tabernacle needs to be mentioned again. The tabernacle is the dwelling tent of the Lord. It is the moving palace, portable palace, of the king of kings.
And this is important because all throughout human history, after Adam and Eve rebelled against the Lord, the presence of God was not something one could assume. God didn't just show up just because you wanted Him to.
People couldn't just go somewhere to experience God's dwelling presence. In fact, it was only God's choice whenever He showed up, wherever He showed up, to whomever He showed up. And all throughout Genesis, after Genesis 3, it was not a consistent thing.
There was not a consistent place in which they could go to and expect God to be there. But that would all change on Mount Sinai. On Mount Sinai, when Israelites all get there, God shows up in a way that no one has ever seen before.
The top of the mountain is burning and they hear the voice of God audibly. In fact, it's scary for them. However, God graciously offers another deal. As you become my people, I will actually live with you.
I will reside with you. It's no longer about God who visits. It's about God who dwells. And this is an important concept because we have a God who delights in dwelling with His people. When we think of kings, we think of their palace, their guards, unapproachable, and from a far distance they wave.
Not so with the Lord. Even as early as Exodus, we see the Lord's heart, His desire to dwell among His people. And of course that becomes accentuated, it becomes intensified when the Lord Himself becomes man to dwell among them in a more personal level where the glory of the Lord is seen in the person of Jesus Christ.
And not only that, He takes the extra step in order to dwell with them forever. He deals with the sin that separates us from Him who desires to dwell with us. He takes on our sin and dies for the sin on the cross and He rises and He gives us the Holy Spirit.
And in every believer there's the Holy Spirit in us. And we get to experience God's dwelling personally but also corporately. Whenever we gather together to worship the Lord, when we are His people, when we are born again, when we have faith in Christ, we get to experience God's presence.
And that is the biggest privilege we have as the church. We're the only body that God is pleased to dwell in. So the main point of this text is that when the Lord revitalizes His covenant people, when the Lord gives them new life, His people offer freely for God to dwell among them.
When the Lord revitalizes His covenant people, His people offer freely for God to dwell among them. First, when the Lord restores His covenant people, He sets His people apart by granting them life-giving rest.
When the Lord restores His covenant people, He sets His people apart by granting them life-giving rest. The first thing that comes out of Moses' mouth regarding the building of the tabernacle is the last thing that came out of God's mouth on Mount Sinai when He instructed the tabernacle to be built.
Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh day shall be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of rest to the Lord. Now for the modern minds, the concept of Sabbath is so far and distant. Now there are communities even in this country where on Sundays stores close, restaurants close, but that's not Sacramento.
For the modern minds, it is a foreign concept in which there's a day of rest for all in the community. And unfortunately, because it is so far and foreign, many people think it's dull and legalistic.
Right?
Oh, God is making you take a day of rest. God is making you not work. However, the Sabbath regulation was life-giving and holy to Israel. These former slaves were no longer identified by their enslavement.
Slaves by definition, that's their identity, their status of enslavement. But under the Sabbath regulation that the Lord graciously gave them, their identity was now in freedom and rest, life-giving rest only found in the Lord their God.
When the Lord God redeemed His people from the bondage of slavery, He set them apart by commanding them to live, to rest. That will be their identity, people who rest in the Lord. That's the significance of the Sabbath.
Now the giving of the Sabbath regulation here is significant because it was the last portion of the tabernacle instruction before Israel rebelled against Him. Before Israel rebelled against the Lord by making the golden calf and committing idolatry, worshiping a false god.
Before the tabernacle was even built, Israel's consistent trust in the Lord was more important than the establishment of the building itself. Before the tabernacle was even built, Israel's consistent trust in the Lord as they rest in Him was more important than the building.
Recall in Exodus 31 .13, that's the last portion of the instruction, what the Sabbath signified. You, the Lord who makes you holy, the Lord who sets you apart. How will Israel know that they fully belong to God, no one else?
The exact same way that they were meant to be set apart before their national apostasy. God in His mercy will restore them to where they would have been despite their rebellion. God is coming back to the page that He left off.
God will not give a plan B, okay, now you have a strike, let's go with the other plan. It's not as good as the first one, but you'll have to deal with this. That is not how God deals with His people. His restoration of His people is complete and good.
And now what will that look like? The Sabbath will serve as an external sign between the Lord and Israel. That external sign was the resting, one day rest for all of Israel. They will trust in the Lord for provision once a week.
This sign set apart Israel from the rest of the world. While the pagan nations endlessly labor to provide their own food, lest they die, right? Back in the days, back in those days, you don't work, you will die.
And for all the pagan nations, not working one day a week was a significant loss of crops and harvest. But for Israel, they will have life when they rest and trust in the Lord. Sabbath was life-giving.
It was life-promising. You'll live if you just trust in the Lord. And now what happens if they disobey the Sabbath? The second part of verse two makes it clear that those who forsake God's life-giving rest will face death.
Whoever does any work on it shall be put to death. To work on the Sabbath day was an outward symbol of distrust. Working on the Sabbath was the natural outflow of the untrusting heart. It was the heart that says, I can't believe that God will provide for me, so I must trust myself.
I must work for myself. It was a sign that he did not have any relationship with the gracious and merciful God, the faithful.
God.
And to have no relationship with this God of life meant death. And verse three describes the manner of work that's prohibited. You shall kindle no fire throughout your dwelling on the Sabbath day. Now this may sound odd at first, but consider what kind of people would need to light fire the servants and the women who need to cook.
They were the most vulnerable people of society. But by specifically stating God wanted to make sure that no fire is even lit on the Sabbath day, it was a way of saying everyone who belonged to Israel would find rest in.
Him.
There was no exception. You can't make your slaves work on that day for your food. You can't make your wives cook for you. She needs rest too. They all need to rest. No exception. Anyone who can who belong to God's people will ultimately find life giving rest in God.
Now, in Israel, this command is seriously taken even today. In Israel, the beginning of the Sabbath starts a very unique programming of all the elevators in which every elevator on the Sabbath day will stop at each floor without you pressing a single button.
And this is because they take the command, you shall not light any fire, literally to this day with the elevator. Because by pressing the button, you close the circuit and it sparks. And that's lighting a fire.
Now the question is, is this how Christians need to obey the Sabbath? Do we kill people for using the elevator on the Sabbath? Now all throughout Exodus, there has been one phrase that I repeated possibly even every Sunday and that is, under the old covenant, the physical phenomena taught God's people spiritual truth.
Under the old covenant, the physical phenomena taught God's people the spiritual truth. And under the new covenant, the Holy Spirit through scripture teaches us the spiritual truth directly. So for the new covenant people, that's us, we need to find the spiritual truth behind the Sabbath obedience.
And the core concern for the Sabbath is in the end, God setting his people apart who trust in him to find rest. God sets apart people who trust in him that they may find rest. That's the point of the Sabbath, right?
And God gives his people who trust him a life giving rest, right? The Sabbath rest was life giving for the Israelites one day a week. But for Christians who trust in God, who set his people apart through Jesus Christ, they get the ultimate life giving rest.
Now the purpose of the Sabbath is seen in Jesus' interaction with the Sabbath, right? In Luke 6, 6 through 11, there's a man with a withered hand and he stands before Jesus. And the scribes and Pharisees watch, they wait, they wait for the moment to pounce, to accuse Jesus of breaking the Sabbath if he dared to heal the disabled man.
However, Jesus goes to the core purpose of the Sabbath. In verse 9, I will ask you one thing, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil? To save life or to destroy? Jesus' argument here is that you are missing the point of God's life giving Sabbath if you seek to stop Jesus' life restorative action.
You're missing the purpose of the Sabbath if you're going to use it to enslave others from giving life. You're missing the purpose if you're going to enslave others to make them feel guilty for doing a life giving work.
And of course, Jesus heals that man completely, restores him, gives him life. And of course, Jesus' healing on the Sabbath is only a glimpse of the ultimate healing he came to do in order to give the ultimate rest for his people.
Jesus' healing on the Sabbath was the foretaste of the complete undoing of sin on the cross. When he took on all of our sin and suffered the wrath of God that we deserved as the punishment for our sin so that we may find the revitalizing rest in Jesus.
And just as Israel trusts in the Lord and rests in him once a week, we are to trust in the Lord and his finished work on the cross. And this is really important because this is an intensification of what the Sabbath is.
In Christ, we have the ultimate Sabbath because we rest from the works of righteousness. It is no longer up to you to be good enough before God. All other religions emphasize something you have to do in order to be accepted by God or gods.
And that is a heavy burden and it is an unending work. There's no rest for you. God's always watching. Not for Christ, not for those people who belong to Christ. Those who belong to Christ, you enter the ultimate rest where you do not work anymore because that work of righteousness has been fulfilled in Christ on the cross.
There is no longer a burden in which you have to carry that you have to be good enough. Just one more good deed, you find the ultimate rest in Christ, right? There's no other plea. There's no other argument.
It is enough that Christ died and he died for me. That's the ultimate Sabbath for Christians. And for those who refuse that gracious gift, that free gift of life-giving rest, only death awaits. Just as Israelites who refused the life-giving rest once a week, death awaited.
Now, who will contribute to God's dwelling? Every individual of God's covenant people willingly contributes their unique gift to experience God's dwelling presence. Every individual of God's covenant people willingly contributes their unique gift to experience God's dwelling presence.
After commanding to keep the covenantal sign, the Sabbath, Moses starts to collect the materials needed for the tabernacle, the tent in which the Lord will dwell. Verses 4 to 9 share what the Lord will collect.
This list is actually identical to the list from chapter 25, when the Lord privately told Moses, take from among you an offering to the Lord, whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as an offering to the Lord.
Although the list of materials is identical, the command is slightly different when Moses is directly speaking to Israel. What the Lord spoke to him on the mountain. The command here that's different is that Moses did not force Israel to offer up these precious materials for the tabernacle.
This was not a coercion, but a voluntary offering. This was not taxation, but a donation. When God dwells among his people, he does not barge in through the front door as an uninvited guest, but he allows his people to express their joyful desire and reception through giving.
In fact, giving of the things that the Lord has given them already, right? These former slaves didn't have gold, silver, and bronze. They were given through God's miraculous work. The Egyptians wanted them gone so badly, they gave anything to them for them to leave the land.
It was God's work. And now Israel had the privilege of giving back to what is rightfully God's in order that the Lord will dwell among them. Now, verse five starts with the precious metals, gold, silver, and bronze.
And as explained before, all the items here are listed from the greatest value to the least. And we will see later on that the closer we get to the Lord's holy throne room, right, the most holy place, only gold will be used.
And the farther we go apart, we get less precious metal use. Now, verse six lists the colored threads and fabric material for the tabernacle. Of course, in the descending order of value, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, fine linen, goat's hair.
Now, I want to remind us once again why the blue and purple linen and threads were more precious because we don't have that concept here, right? People don't think that you're wealthier just because you're wearing blue and purple.
And the reason is the blue and purple threads, the colored dye came from a special sea snail that you need to capture yourself. And in order to dye one robe blue or purple required thousands of snails.
Their slime had to be dried in the sun to dye one robe blue or purple. Now, imagine huge curtains and veils used for the tabernacle. It was an expensive enterprise. And verse seven lists what is needed for the outer structure to protect the tabernacle from the weather, the world, right?
There's wind, there is rain sometimes. Ram skins, dyed red, badger skins, and acacia wood. And the acacia wood was a durable type of wood that was light yet durable. So that it would hold the structure well.
And verse eight lists the oil needed for the tabernacle. Oil for the light, which would burn all night. And spices for the anointing oil and sweet incense. The anointing oil would set apart, sanctify, make something holy or someone holy.
So that they're fit for ministry. Remember, all of these tools and furnishing were made by sinful people. And God can't dwell among sinful people. So the materials had to be sanctified outwardly by the anointing oil.
And the third, the sweet incense was lifted up. It was burnt to the Lord. It was an outward symbol of devotion to God. Offering up what is pleasing to Him, right? Really speaks of volume of what kind of relationship Israel was supposed to have with the Lord.
It was a very intimate relationship, giving God what is best. In verse nine lists the materials needed for the priestly garment. Onyx stones and stones to be set in the ephod and in the breastplate. We will go over it much more in detail.
But the stones represented the tribes of Israel. So when the high priest entered the most holy place for the sin of Israel, the jewels would represent God's people. And what a huge symbolic statement that is.
That God's people are represented by jewels. Rather than just plain rocks. Before God's people, before God, God's people are gemstones.
They're treasures.
Not just plain rocks or pieces of wood. Now, what will they do with these materials? I will go through this section rather quickly, mainly because it will go, the rest of Exodus will go in detail what will happen with these materials.
So verse 10 gathers the skilled workers who can make the tabernacle according to God's design. And then verse 11 starts the structure of the tabernacle, how it will stand. And verse 12 starts to delve into the most holy place, right?
Which happens to be the most restrictive place. Only one man of the whole nation could enter that place. Once a year to make atoning sacrifice for the whole nation. And verse 12, of course, talks about the ark, the mercy seat, the poles and the veil for covering.
It had to be hidden. And this is listed early because it is the place that God met with his people. To atone for the sin of the nation. That was an important place. And without this, Israel could not continue their relationship with the holy God.
The sin had to be dealt with somehow. Even at the foundation of Israel as a nation, they knew the problem of sin. You couldn't get away with it. Verses 13 through 15 branch out to the holy place, which is the room next door.
The table, lampstand, altar of incense, and the holy oils. And these items were restricted to the priestly class. And it was for ministry to serve the Lord as servants. And verses 16 to 18 brought in to the courtyard, where normal Israelites could enter and offer up their sin and burnt offerings to the Lord.
And lastly, verse 19 details the garment for the priests. And the priests, of course, had to stand out from all the other people. Not because they were better or more elite. Remember who led Israel to a national apostasy?
It was the high priest. Aaron was not holier than the rest of Israel. But they had to be set apart because they served the Lord directly. Their distance between the Lord and them was so much closer than the distance between the Lord and a normal Israelite.
And just as servants at a fancy place, or even a palace even, right, would wear a certain uniform, the servants of the Lord had to dress according to His way. They had their own uniform, right? Imagine entering the White House not wearing a suit if you're a man.
Verses 20 to 29 show Israel's response to Moses' command. Now, what is important to note here is that the word for heart is repeated four times and the word for spirit one time. And in the Hebrew culture, the word for heart signified the seat of desires, the seat of emotions, the seat of will.
It was the internal core of that person, not just the anatomy, right? And the spirit is a similar thing. It was the inner part of that person. And this shows that the response of giving, offering what is theirs only came from willing participants, right?
They did not forfeit their precious materials at gunpoint. They did so because they desired from the depth of their heart. They desired to contribute to God's dwelling presence among His people. Their hearts were stirred and their spirit was willing.
And that's emphasized more than four times. And verses 22 through 24 clarify that it was not just men, but both men and women partook in this great enterprise. They gave up their jewelry and other precious goods, right?
This is almost like the restoration of what happened in chapter 32 when people took off their golden earrings to make the golden calf in chapter 32 in rebellion. But in chapter 35, people are taking off their golden jewelries for God, for their true God.
And they're doing it because they want to. They're not forced to. This is not a further punishment for their rebellion, right? This is not their fine. It's out of their willing heart. And not only that, some offered up their talents, their skill set, right?
Verses 25 through 26 focus on the women who were skilled in spinning threads and working with yarns. Even skills can be freely offered to the Lord from the bottom of one's heart. They don't need to be rich.
They don't need to bring the 24 karat gold. They can offer up their skills. And giving to the Lord, again, is done by both genders, right? It's comprehensive. And verses 27 to 28 describe what the leaders of God's people gave.
The rulers brought onyx stones and the stones to be set in the ephod in the breastplate. Now, this shows that one's social status among God's people does not exclude nor excuse them from freely offering to God so that he may dwell among his people.
No one is just too good to give, right? Or even just because he's wealthy doesn't mean he needs to give more than his heart was willing.
The opposite is true. You don't have to make people feel guilty. Well, you could give more.
No.
He gave according to what he decided in his heart. And verse 29 summarizes this giant giving operation. The children of Israel brought a freewill offering to the Lord. All the men and women whose hearts were willing to bring material for all kinds of work, which the Lord, by the hand of Moses, had commanded to be done.
Everyone who gave was moved from the inside to give their best and give their unique gifts so that the Lord may dwell among them. To give for that mission was a privilege. It was their blessing to be part of the tabernacle enterprise because their God would finally reside among them.
And I think this idea of giving out of willing heart is so important. I've met a lot of guilt-stricken Christians. I've, there was one person whom we know called us and said, Hey, we live, that person lived far away.
So no way that she could attend this church, part of this church. But she, during the pandemic, her church went really south, went woke and was not preaching the gospel. And, and that was a problem. And it, it, it struck her hard.
I can't be giving to this church. And I understood, but she felt guilty because she was no longer giving to a church. And she called us and she said, Would you be able to take my tithe? And I said, What's the reason for giving?
And she said, Well, because I have to give, right? I have to give this amount every month, right? And I said, No, God only takes what your heart is willing to give. And this is important in the church today.
There cannot be coercion. There cannot be shame in giving to God. It's not a certain amount. It's not a certain percentage. And it's not even a skill, a certain skill set, right? You give to God how God has stirred you in your heart, what you've decided with God.
And this can be so many things. It can be financial giving, right? The fact that this church can provide heating and air conditioning is due to generous financial gifts of many of you. I personally don't know how much you give.
And that's a great thing, right? So I don't, I don't practice partiality. I don't practice favoritism. But it's from the generous donations of people who willingly give from their heart, give back to God that we are able to do ministry that we do, that we're able to gather, to worship together, experience God's presence.
To even bless missionaries for many years who are sharing the gospel, right? Taking the presence of God elsewhere where it's dark, where Jesus is not proclaimed,.
We have the privilege of doing that because of the generous financial gifts of many brothers and sisters here. And this might be a skill set. You may be gifted with fixing broken things.
You may be gifted with working with electronics. And both of those things I have no gifts for and tend to break, right? Multiple times my phone broke down, partly a fault of my own and partly from who knows.
What.
But that's not my gifting. But some of you here, I know that's your gifting, right? You want them to bless people here that way, right? And for some of you, it's the gift of hospitality. You want to offer food.
You want to bring stuff, right? Like Harold and Brendan, they provide for men's breakfast, right? Those are the only times I get my bacon.
And it's a blessing. And you may have musical gifts, right? There are many musicians here. Barb has been serving here for many years on the piano. Victor sings. Harold sometimes sings. David's been singing consistently for many years too, right?
Richard plays the violin. Katie plays the guitar, right? Sometimes Lauren plays the piano. She used to before the baby. But they're gifts given from God, right? In order that His people may experience His presence.
And we would not be where we are without all these gifts that people freely offer. And there are more unique gifts, right? Encouragement, exhortation, discipling your children. Those are all gifts to the church, right?
Because children need to be discipled. And now I want to speak against words of doubt, right? Sometimes maybe in your mind, you might see yourself like, oh, I don't see myself fitting here. I don't see myself, you know, giving back.
I don't even know how, right? I'm too new. My gifts are not important. I'm too shy. I don't know what I can do here. And for those people, what you can do is you go to God. Because the Holy Spirit dwells in you, the moment you accept Jesus Christ, receive Him as your Savior, right?
Your Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God dwells in you. And He gives you gifts to build up the church. And that means the fact that you are here as a believer is an extremely important fact.
You're extremely highly valued here. There are certain gifts that you only have that no one else in the church has. And the gifts are needed for the building up of the church, right? God may be using you specifically to encourage one specific person that I can't do it.
Maybe my words would just hit a wall, right? God may be using you specifically to play one note in serving music that reflects God's glory. And God may be using you to stir the hearts of the other believers, get them all fired up for evangelism, missions, right?
Holiness. God's using people here and that's a blessing. And I would like to encourage us to keep going, right? Dig deeper. Go to God if you're unsure. What can I do? What can I bring here, Lord, that this church needs?
That this church would be built up? That this church as a body will grow? What have you given me that I can give back to you in service? And you would be surprised how he answers. His answer may actually shock you.
What powerful things God can do through you. Because God has brought you here for a reason. For this specific local flock. And he's kept you here. So go to God in prayer. Move my heart, God. Make it a willing heart to give back, to experience that privilege.
Let us pray. Father, we're so thankful that you are a God who delights to delight, delight to dwell among your people. Thank you that you're so good to us, that you dwell with us in a more personal and a more palpable manner than ever in history.
And we can go to you at any time. And we can experience your presence through your word, through prayer among other people as we fellowship together. We specifically pray for next Sunday's Thanksgiving and 75th anniversary fellowship dinner.
That we would all experience your presence palpably. And that we would delight in you and give thanks to you. That our hearts would be so stirred, so grateful for your faithfulness. Your perfect track record of faithfulness.
We pray all of these things in Jesus name.
Amen.