EXODUS 35

1 And Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said unto them, These are the words which Yahweh hath commanded, that ye should do them.


- The word for "congregation" is edah, the feminine form of ed, "witness." The nation was treated as Yahweh's Bride (Isa. 54:5). Ezekiel takes up the same figure of speech, and describes how the foundling child in Egypt grew up to become a bride (Eze. 16:6-14).

Yahweh is represented as saying:

"Yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord Yahweh, and thou becamest Mine" (v. 8). "Thy Maker," declared Isaiah, "is thine husband" (Isa. 54:5).

Israel in covenant relationship with God, was as the ecclesia today is in its relationship to the Lord (2Cor. 11:1-2).

The Christadelphian Expositor - Logos



2 Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to Yahweh: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death.

...death will be the fate of all who rest not from the works of flesh: the significance

of the true sabbath (see Heb. 4:3).

The Christadelphian Expositor - Logos



Num 15: 32-36 - The man who was put to death for gathering sticks on the Sabbath day...wilful rebellion. 'Yahweh said unto Moses the man shall surely be put to death'.

'...this severity, which was necessary for the protection of the institution, has been relaxed.

The day itself is obsolete as a religious exercise, that is to say, obsolete by Divine appointment.

The change dates from the first appearing of Christ. He proclaimed himself "Lord also of the sabbath ", in the sense of having authority to do work on that day if he saw fit in the execution of his mission (Mark 2:28).

The Sabbath, intended as a blessing, had in Christ's day degenerated into a day of oppressive restraint and formalism; and Christ had to remind his generation that" the sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath" (Mark 2: 27). In all cases in which he appears in connection with the Sabbath, it is in opposition to those who stickled for what might be called a sabbatarian treatment of the day.

Law of Moses Ch 6


3 Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day.

This seemingly trivial appendage to the sabbath law, relating to the cooking, boiling, or roasting of food, showed how meticulously the law was to be kept.

The Christadelphian Expositor - Logos



God's Covenant and the Sabbath. On descending from the mount Moses assembles the people and transmits the words and laws of Yahweh concerning the Tabernacle - a beautiful type of Christ assembling the faithful at Sinai, at the marriage supper of the Lamb, to give them the laws and strategies for setting up the glorious Kingdom (Rev. 19).

"These are the words which Yahweh hath commanded that ye should do them."

They were the orders and specification of the King, Yahweh of Armies, to be obeyed as their absolute monarch.

It was an "holy day." No labour for the flesh. Only for Yahweh. A day of dedication to Yahweh, the very centrepiece of Israel's national life as the people of God under the Sinai Covenant (Ex.20). They were melek kohanim (a kingdom of priests) (Ex. 19:6); but for us under the new covenant, every day Heb 4 as an holy nation, a royal priesthood.

There was to be no fire prepared or lit in the encampment of Israel on the Sabbath, "kindle no fire.' Nu.15.32-36. The Seventh Millennial day is foreshadowed. An epoch entirely dedicated to the law of Yahweh and serving his truth and not sin. The fires of Yahweh will burn with fury in the setting up of the Kingdom (Isa 66:16; 29:6; 30;27)

The thunder and lightning of war and fire and brimstone from heaven will rend the Gentile heavens, and cast much of them into the Europe Lake of Fire (Rev. 19.20).

The Apocalyptic Messenger, December 2016

Bro Richard Lister

thomas.lister1@btinternet.com


4 And Moses spake unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which Yahweh commanded, saying,

5 Take ye from among you an offering unto Yahweh: whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, an offering of Yahweh; gold, and silver, and brass,

6 And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair,

7 And rams' skins dyed red, and badgers' skins, and shittim wood,

8 And oil for the light, and spices for anointing oil, and for the sweet incense,

9 And onyx stones, and stones to be set for the ephod, and for the breastplate.

10 And every wise hearted among you shall come, and make all that Yahweh hath commanded;

11 The tabernacle, his tent, and his covering, his taches, and his boards, his bars, his pillars, and his sockets,

12 The ark, and the staves thereof, with the mercy seat, and the vail of the covering,

13 The table, and his staves, and all his vessels, and the shewbread,



14 The candlestick also for the light, and his furniture, and his lamps, with the oil for the light,

Lampstand in the holy place


...the first chamber is first in our experience, and therefore the first in which the qualified visitor would have found himself on entering by the door of the tabernacle from the outside. It differs from the holiest of all in several important respects.

There is no manifested glory of God, and no light except what comes from the lit candlestick with the seven branches. The natural light is excluded by the coverings of the tabernacle, and the light of the cherubic glory in the holiest is intercepted by the veil. Darkness artificially dispelled is the characteristic, then, of the holy place.

To this there is a complete parallel in the holy state pertaining to the present life of the saints. There is no manifested glory of the Lord: that is veiled off by the earthly nature of present experience. There is light, but it is merely "the light of the knowledge of the glory of God" irradiated by the lit candlestick of the word of the Lord.

The saints walk by faith, and, therefore, by the light of the golden candlestick, which is sevenfold, as intimating its perfection for the purpose in view.

This is a real light, though faint by comparison with that which is within the veil. It is a light of actual demonstrated truth. It is neither cunningly devised fables nor uncertain opinions, but the exhibited realities of divine operations in Israel's history, authenticated to us by the testimony of eye-witnesses (from Moses to the companions of Christ), and confirmed in various ways apparent to attentive intelligence.

The light was caused by the combustion of oil supplied to the lamps morning and evening, without which the light would have gone out--whence we may gather the idea that the candlestick does not represent the word of the Lord in the abstract, but that word as incorporate in living believers, after the example of the seven apocalyptic candlesticks which stood for seven light-bearing communities of saints. It is manifest that the word of the Lord can have no operative existence apart from living reflectors.

Inspiration itself is but the intelligence of God apart from a living medium.

Law of Moses Ch 14



5 And the incense altar, and his staves, and the anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the hanging for the door at the entering in of the tabernacle,

16 The altar of burnt offering, with his brasen grate, his staves, and all his vessels, the laver and his foot,

17 The hangings of the court, his pillars, and their sockets, and the hanging for the door of the court,

18 The pins of the tabernacle, and the pins of the court, and their cords,


18 The pins of the tabernacle, and the pins of the court, and their cords,

No previous mention has been made of these. They were evidently the tent pegs to which were attached the cords holding the covering of the tent over the tabernacle, helping to firm the pillars to which the hangings of the court were fastened.

The Christadelphian Expositor - Logos



19 The cloths of service, to do service in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest's office. 

20 And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses.

"Congregation" is mowade in Hebrew, and denotes a meeting, at a set time. Rotherham renders:

"So all the assembly of the sons of Israel went forth."

The phrase indicates that the meeting dispersed in order to prepare the offerings.

The Christadelphian Expositor - Logos


21 And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought Yahweh's offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments.

Moved by Yahweh's grace in forgiving their lapse by restoring the covenant, the people respond with enthusiastic willingness to the command of Moses. The nation reaches a high point of spiritual keenness as the people occupy their time in gathering materials for the tabernacle.

A joyful activity and sense of objectiveness permeates the whole nation. The camp rings with happiness, excitement and praise of Yahweh as the people give themselves to the work.

The Christadelphian Expositor - Logos



22 And they came, both men and women, as many as were willing hearted, and brought bracelets, and earrings, and rings, and tablets, all jewels of gold: and every man that offered offered an offering of gold unto Yahweh.

Such ornaments were worn by men as well as by women in those times (Exo. 3:22) Indeed, some had been used to construct the golden calf (Exo. 32:2), but others now brought forth their ornaments for the construction of the tabernacle.

As indicated in the R.V., this included bracelets or broaches, rings or signet rings, tablets or armlets. It was the willingness with which this was offered that was pleasing unto Yahweh.

The Christadelphian Expositor - Logos



23 And every man, with whom was found blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair, and red skins of rams, and badgers' skins, brought them. 

24 Every one that did offer an offering of silver and brass brought Yahweh' offering: and every man, with whom was found shittim wood for any work of the service, brought it.

It was compulsory for every adult male to pay a half shekel of silver as redemption money to Yahweh (Exo. 30:11-15) and the amount paid answers exactly to the requirements of the tabernacle (Exo. 38:24-29).

The statement before us suggests that some offerings in addition to the stated compulsory rate may have been made voluntarily. If that were the case, the amount of the additional is not supplied, nor are we told as to what was done with it.

The Christadelphian Expositor - Logos



25 And all the women that were wise hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen.

The flax itself was dyed, so that the thread produced was coloured already.



26 And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun goats' hair.

...implies that special skill was required for spinning goats' hair.



27 And the rulers brought onyx stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate;

Josephus states that only the stone in the breastplate was onyx, whereas those on the shoulders were sardonyx.

"Onyx" signifies fingernail. The gem displays layers of different colours which alternate with each other, and bear some resemblance to the white and flesh coloured bands of the fingernail.

A sardonyx is more sharply defined with bands of dark red and white. These colours, flashing with the gleam of fire from the sun would suggest the reflection of divine glory which a true Israelite is called upon to manifest. This requires sacrifice (red) and righteousness (white), the colours of the gem.

The Christadelphian Expositor - Logos




27 And the rulers brought onyx stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate;

28 And spice, and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense.

29 The children of Israel brought a willing offering unto Yahweh, every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring for all manner of work, which Yahweh had commanded to be made by the hand of Moses.

30 And Moses said unto the children of Israel, See, Yahweh hath called by name Bezaleel [shadow of El] the son of Uri [light], the son of Hur [white], of the tribe of Judah [praise];

31 And he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship;

32 And to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass,

33 And in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of wood, to make any manner of cunning work.

34 And he hath put in his heart that he may teach, both he, and Aholiab [tent of the father], the son of Ahisamach [brother], of the tribe of Dan [judgment].

35 Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any work, and of those that devise cunning work.