Moses Makes an Appeal to His People

(Exodus 35:1 - 35:29)

Moses gathered together the whole congregation of the people of Israel and told them, "These are the commandments of Jehovah that you must keep.  Complete your work in six days, for the seventh day, Saturday, will be the holy Sabbath, a day of rest exclusively dedicated to Jehovah.  Whoever does any work on that day should be put to death.  (Do not even kindle a fire in any of your homes on the Sabbath!)”

Moses, in addressing the entire congregation of his people, said this to them, “Jehovah has made this demand of you: the first fruits of the field must be set aside for him.  And all who are of a willing heart, let them contribute to Jehovah these things: gold, silver, and bronze; yarn dyed blue, purple, and scarlet; garments of fine linen and goat hair; red acacia wood; tanned sheepskins and fine leather; olive oil for lamps; spices for fragrant incense and anointing oil; onyx stones and other precious gems that can be set in the priest's vest and chest piece. 

"Those possessing the skills of a craftsman should come forward and make what Jehovah has asked for: his sanctuary, the Tabernacle; its covering; its clasps, the panels and crossbars; the posts and plinths; the Chest of Sacred Records and its staves;  the Judgment Seat that is its lid; the veil that is drawn around it; the tables and its staves; its vessels and the sacrificial loaves of bread; the menorah supporting its lamps, the lamps themselves and their utensils; the incense altar and its staves; the anointing oil and fragrant incense; the curtain that hangs before the door of the Tabernacle; the sacrificial altar; its bronze grate, its staves and implements; the wash basin and its stand;  the curtains for the courtyard, its posts and plinths, and the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard; the tent pegs for the Tabernacle and the courtyard and their ropes; as well as the fine vestments used in ministering to Jehovah in the Sanctum, that is, the priestly vestments to be worn by Aaron, the high priest, and his sons when officiating."

All in the assembled congregation departed from Moses’ presence, but everyone whose heart was moved by his appeal and whose was spirit was inspired returned to give sacrifices to Jehovah and to offer freely their assistance in the building of the Tabernacle, the establishment of religious services, and the making of sacred vestments.  Both men and women donated bracelets, ear and nose rings, seal rings, and necklaces; all the articles of gold jewelry were offerings for the use of Jehovah.  Any man who owned fine linen garments of blue, purple, or scarlet, goods of goat hair, tanned sheepskins, or articles of fine leather brought them in.  Metals of silver and bronze were also given for the use of Jehovah, and anyone who had in his possession red acacia wood contributed it for its various uses.  Women who were skilled spinsters donated yarn dyed blue, purple, and scarlet they had spun and fine linen they had loomed, as well as fabric of goat hair, given with a generous heart.  The tribal chiefs presented onyx stones and precious gems for the priest’s vest and chest piece, spices and oil for the lamps, the anointing oil, and the fragrant incense.   Every man and every woman of Israel who was eager to help gave freely what was needed for the things Jehovah had commanded Moses to create.

Notes
1.  In one of the more successful acts of Moses' leadership, he appeals to his people to furnish the materials to construct the Tabernacle, the altars, the priestly vestments, and so forth.  It is fortunate this band of escaped slaves wandering starving and destitute in the desert had on hand all the luxurious cloths, jewels, precious metals, and prized woods that were required.  It must be remembered that these things were stolen from the Egyptians when they left their land of bondage.  While the exodus was very hastily prepared, while there was no time to leaven the bread, there was apparently time to do a great deal of looting.  The circumstances of the looting is unclear.  On the one hand it is stated that the Israelites lived in Goshen, to the northeast of Egypt proper, and on the other hand it is suggested that they lived amongst the Egyptians, that the Israelites had Egyptian neighbors from whom they could appropriate these luxuries.  At any rate, the Israelites went into the desert with a lot of luxury items, even as they failed to bring with them ample supplies of food and water (since Jehovah had to aid them in finding drinking water and feed them with falls of manna).  On the surface it appears as if the people were making great sacrifices with their donations, but is it really an act of great altruism to give up purloined goods of such limited utility?  The nomadic lifestyle of the Israelites was hardly conducive to the wearing of luxurious raiment.  And while gold and silver were used as money, what was there to buy camped in the desert?

2.  In the building of the Tabernacle, etc., with most of the people participating in furnishing materials or labor, the Israelites came together as a community.  The first recorded instance of this was the building of the Tower of Babel when the descendants of Noah embarked upon a cooperative construction project.  But, for some reason, this incurred Jehovah's displeasure and he put the kibosh on Babel by confusing the languages.  The ancient Egyptians created the greatest public works projects -- the building of the pyramids.  Citizens (not slaves) were employed during the off season to labor in their construction and no doubt derived from their efforts and their experience a solidarity with their countrymen and a sense of national pride.  It is likely that the pyramids were partly responsible for the successful forging of a unified and enduring nation among the people of the Nile.  The building of the Tabernacle may have served a similar function for the people of Israel.

3.  One of Moses' commands concerning the Sabbath was that no one was to kindle a fire on that day.  It is unclear whether it was OK to tend a fire that had been started the day before.  Even so, woe be to anyone who let the fire go out on a cold Saturday, for he was forbidden to start one anew.  (And it can get chilly in the Holy Land in winter.)  One wonders, if the Laplanders had been his chosen people, would Jehovah have made a similar prohibition?

4.  We see throughout history that people are willing to deprive themselves financially in order to support religious institutions, to enrich the church and the priesthood, even to the extent of impoverishing themselves.  Whether motivated by a desire to minister to their own spiritual needs or by more worldly and practical considerations, fear of divine retribution or hope for heavenly favor, men have always diverted wealth to religious uses, away from economic activity that might seem to be more in their material interest.  The Israelites are zealously building a Tabernacle for their god, rather than expending their efforts and materials to, say, build decent homes for themselves.  Depending upon one's point of view, this was either noble or stupid.