Chapter Thirty-One
Spiritual Gifts Given to Oholiab and Bezalel
31:1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah,
Moses undoubtedly knew the basic principle of being in service to God that being: Where God guides, He provides. The task of building the Tabernacle seems like a huge project considering they are nowhere near any port or city. The first step would have been to find people with the appropriate skills to start building, however God had already provided the answer. In perhaps the first application of Spiritual gifts (including the garments),[1] God gives two men the knowledge needed to complete this very special portable facility known as the Tabernacle.
The first person is Bezalel, the son or Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. Hur was the son of Caleb, who was the son of Hezron (see 1 Chronicles 2:18-19), which may not be the same Caleb that became a prominent leader and one of the twelve men that entered the Promised Land; that Caleb was the son of Jephunneh, although some believe he is the same person, as they are both referenced to be from the tribe of Judah and the use of son, Hebrew ‘bēn’, could jump several generations).[2]
31:3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, 4 to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, 5 in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft.
Bezalel was filled with the Spirit of God, He provided for him all the skill and intelligence to construct what needed to be done, including the ability to design, how to work in the three metals, the cutting of stones, wood carving, and the knowledge of how to use the right tools. The use of the Hebrew word ‘āmǎl·ē(‘)’,[3] a verb that means to be filled, implies the filling that once was empty, his ability to construct the Tabernacle was not from previous experience or skill, it was all provided by the Holy Spirit.
31:6 And behold, I have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. And I have given to all able men ability, that they may make all that I have commanded you: 7 the tent of meeting, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy seat that is on it, and all the furnishings of the tent, 8 the table and its utensils, and the pure lampstand with all its utensils, and the altar of incense, 9 and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the basin and its stand, 10 and the finely worked garments, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, for their service as priests, 11 and the anointing oil and the fragrant incense for the Holy Place. According to all that I have commanded you, they shall do.”
God also provided an assistant for Bezalel, his name was Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, from the tribe of Dan. The last half of verse six refers to other Spiritually gifted men, in the New Living Translation it reads, “I have given special skill to all the gifted craftsmen so they can make all the things I have commanded you to make:” (Exodus 31:6b, NLT) This is later amplified in chapter 35, “Then Moses said to the people of Israel, “See, the LORD has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold and silver and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, for work in every skilled craft. And he has inspired him to teach, both him and Oholiab the son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan. He has filled them with skill to do every sort of work done by an engraver or by a designer or by an embroiderer in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, or by a weaver—by any sort of workman or skilled designer.” (Exodus 35:30-35) Note that both Bezalel and Oholiab were given the inspiration to teach others the skills given to them.
God then lists the items that these two men are to construct: the structure; the ark of the testimony; the mercy seat; the furnishings of the tent (Hebrew word ‘kelê’[4]); the table and all of its utensils; the pure (gold, not mentioned but can be implied from other verses, see Exodus 25:31-40) lampstand and all its utensils; the golden altar of incense; the bronze altar for sacrifices with all its utensils; the wash basin with its stand; all of the garments for Aaron and his sons; the anointing oil; and the fragrant incense.
The Sabbath Revisited
31:12 And the LORD said to Moses, 13 “You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the LORD, sanctify you.
God now concludes His presentation to Moses on top of Mount Sinai, which began back in Exodus chapter nineteen, with a reminder regarding the Sabbaths, as they are to be a sign of their unique covenant and relationship with God. The Hebrew word for ‘sign’ (‘ôṯ’)[5] was first seen in Genesis 1:14, a sign is something that represents something else,[6] here, by obeying God and keeping the Sabbaths, the Israelites know that God is sanctifying them (making them holy, the word is most often translated as ‘consecrating’). The concept of six days of work followed by a day of rest was established by God at the time of creation. Now, years later, the Sabbath is to be a sign between Him and His people, a practice to be exclusive to them and was to be ongoing practice throughout their future generations. Pastor and commentator J. Vernon McGee summarized this by writing:
The Sabbath was first given to the entire human race but man turned away from God, and God gave the Sabbath exclusively to Israel.[7]
31:14 You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
The Sabbath was to be considered a holy day, anyone who profanes the Sabbath (Hebrew ‘meḥǎ·lelê’,[8] a verb meaning to pierce, play a pipe, or to defile), will be put to death. Anyone who disobeys and works on a Sabbath, that soul (Hebrew word ‘ně’·pěš’,[9] can be translated life, living, creature, soul, or person) was to be cut off from his community.
31:15 Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death. 16 Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever. 17 It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’ ”
We see that verse 15 seems to contradict the last half of verse 14, as the text now states that the person who does any work on the Sabbath is to be put to death. There are several opinions on how these verses are to be interpreted. Some say it reflects that the punishment could vary depending on the violation, which would require either a decision from a judge or God (see Numbers 15:32-36). Others choose to blend these two passages together, “Keep the Sabbath holy. You have six days to do your work, but the Sabbath is mine, and it must remain a day of rest. If you work on the Sabbath, you will no longer be part of my people, and you will be put to death.”[10]
With it clear that this to be a sign, and that there would be a penalty for any disobedience, God concludes that the people of Israel will keep the Sabbath, as this was one of the conditions of their otherwise eternal covenant. They are to work six days and rest one day, just as God created the heavens (Hebrew word ‘šā·mǎ’·yim’,[11] plural noun) and the earth in six days and rested on the seventh day, essentially as a sign that they agree to the conditions of the covenant now given to Moses to take down off the mountain and present to the people.
31:18 And he gave to Moses, when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.
God then gave Moses the two stone tablets that He mentioned earlier (see Exodus 24:12), that were to be placed in the Ark of Testimony as evidence of God’s involvement with His people. The tablets contained God’s law and the ten commandments written by God (see Exodus 24:12; Deuteronomy 4:13; 5:22; 9:10-11) on both sides (see Exodus 32:15).
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[1] See commentary under Exodus 28:2-3.
[2] See Considerations under Genesis 10:32.
[3] Strong’s Hebrew 4390.
[4] Strong’s Hebrew 3627. This word is also used in conjunction with miscellaneous furnishings and parts used throughout the Tabernacle including the utensils and the hardware used for the walls and the courtyard fence
[5] Strong’s Hebrew 226.
[6] See Considerations under Genesis 1:14-19.
[7] McGee, J. V. (1991). Thru the Bible commentary: The Law (Exodus 19–40) (electronic ed., Vol. 5, p. 105). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[8] Strong’s Hebrew 2490.
[9] Strong’s Hebrew 5315.
[10] The Holy Bible: The Contemporary English Version. (1995). (Ex 31:14–15). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[11] Strong’s Hebrew 8064.