Exodus 35:29 The children of Israel brought a willing offering unto the LORD, every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring for all manner of work, which the LORD had commanded to be made by the hand of Moses
Perhaps you have been to the ancient city of Petra, the city chiseled out of sheer rock cliffs in Jordan. I’ve never been there, but I know people who have been there. It is an amazing thing. I suppose that if I were standing out there in the desert, looking at this obvious creation of skilled workmen, I would say, “Where in the world did this come from? How did this get here of all places?” Perhaps you have been to Machu Pichu, high in the Andes in Peru, the city in the clouds. I have not been there either, but I know those who have seen this magnificent ancient city in the middle of nowhere. Again, you might think, “How did this get here?”
You might think the same thing if you saw God’s tabernacle in the wilderness among the children of Israel. You might look at it, all the obvious craftsmanship and design, and wonder, “How did this get here?” Let me just say that God is entitled to and obligated by His own creation. He is entitled to His creation and He has obligated Himself to His creation. He governs and owns His creation, and that was certainly true of the tabernacle constructed by Moses and the children of Israel.
Even in the wilderness, God has provided everything you need. Maybe you feel like you are in the middle of a wilderness right now. Have you ever seen a church in an urban wilderness? You think, “How did this church get here? There is nothing profitable in this area, yet here this ministry thrives.” Have you ever seen a city essentially in Sodom, yet they are doing right, making a difference, helping others, and building a home in the wilderness? Even in the wilderness, God has provided everything you need.
Now, in Exodus 34 we find the premise to this, and that is God’s authority. God gave to Moses that which Moses then commanded the children of Israel. God is the authority. In Exodus 35 you find over and again the idea of the heart. Those who are wise-hearted and those who are willing-hearted to help in the construction of this magnificent tabernacle that God had ordained. Verse 29 says, “The children of Israel brought a willing offering unto the LORD, every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring for all manner of work, which the LORD had commanded to be made by the hand of Moses.” So, this was a heart matter.
You find two things here. First, in verse 5 you find the presence of a willing heart. Offerings to the Lord, various things like gold, silver, and so on, were willingly given to be used for the construction of the tabernacle. Then, you find the presence of wise-hearted people who had skills to construct what God had commanded. Long ago, Bob Jones Sr. said, “Back of God’s commands He puts omnipotence.” That is, what God commands, God can provide. I don’t know where you are today. Maybe you feel like you are in an area of great need and great lack, but even there in the wilderness, God has provided everything you need to do what you ought to do. What unlocks this provision? It is a willing heart and a wise heart.
God doesn’t give to you so much as He gives through you, whether it be the gifts of these people, the skills and craftsmanship of the people who constructed and crafted the tabernacle of God, or whether it be the materials from which the tabernacle was constructed. God called a man named Bezaleel and verse 31 says that God filled him with “the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship.” The work he did is called “curious,” which had a different meaning then, and it is called “cunning” which just means that it was highly skilled work. God’s work deserves a measure of excellence, yet God is the one who has given to those who contribute their excellence to His own work. So, God gives through you not so much to you.
Exodus talks about the tabernacle and the pattern for the tabernacle. So, Moses, Bezaleel, and many others didn’t just make up this design out of their own fertile imaginations. No, God had given the pattern, the skills, and the materials. Now, you cannot teach what you do not have. In verse 31 it says that God had filled Bezaleel with wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and all manner of craftsmanship. Verse 34 says that God had “put in his heart that he may teach.” So, Bezaleel passed on the skills he had to other who needed to learn them, but he received these gifts from God.
We think about the magnificent Solomon’s Temple, which came after this tabernacle, yet it was not Solomon’s idea. It was David’s idea. David’s battles prepared for Solomon’s building, yet it wasn’t David’s temple; it was God’s temple. It was God’s temple and God’s idea. He put it in the heart of David. David battled and gathered the materials and Solomon built, but Solomon’s temple is no more Solomon’s than your family, your church, or your gifts are yours. God doesn’t want to give to you. God wants to give through you. God wants to provide for others by providing for you.
So, from where did the skills, valuables, and knowledge of these people come? They all came from God, and even in the wilderness God has provided everything to do what you need to do when you have a willing and wise heart.