Exodus 35:4  And Moses spake unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the LORD commanded, saying,
5  Take ye from among you an offering unto the LORD: whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, an offering of the LORD; 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 the LORD 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,
15  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,
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.
21  And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the LORD’S offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments.
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 the LORD.
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 the LORD’S offering: and every man, with whom was found shittim wood for any work of the service, brought it.
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.
26  And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun goats’ hair.
: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 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.

God requires offerings from His people. However, He does not force people to give to His work. He works in the heart of those who are His to help them to see the blessing of giving. God does not rob man. He does not seek to make life difficult for His children. He provides for our needs. As He provides, He expects His children to be thankful and show their love toward Him by giving Him of the blessings He bestows upon us.
God was going to provide the material needed to go about building the tabernacle and its vessels. As we have noted earlier, there would be the need for many different materials. God had also equipped certain people to do the work of making the various parts for the tabernacle. He helped the people gather the materials together, and He prepared certain individuals to be able to put those materials to good use in making the parts for the tabernacle.
God impressed upon the people, the importance of making the tabernacle and its parts with care to detail. The finished product would be a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is wonderful and worthy to be praised. He is without sin and would lay down His life for the sheep.
Moses instructed the people in what the Lord wanted of them. The people heard him and they departed to their houses to gather the necessary materials.
In verse 21 we read that their hearts were stirred to give as the LORD had requested. They realized this offering was not designed to enrich Moses. The request was for materials needed to build the tabernacle and its vessels.
You notice here that it was their willing hearts that motivated them to give. Our hearts need to be broken and saved through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. When that is taken care of then He will enable us to serve Him faithfully.
Part of the wonder of God’s salvation is the change that He alone can make in the heart of the repentant sinner. It is so important that we take God’s Word as our authority on salvation, and not the lies of New Evangelicalism. It is a shame and a mockery of God to suggest that saved people can walk outside of their church and light up a cigarette or join in opening a beer together or use foul language, etc. None of that is founded in God’s Word. We do not do anyone any favour by accepting such lies.
The truth is essential. It offends the proud, unrepentant heart. However, it is the way of blessing. As the children of Israel would build that tabernacle, it would be a constant reminder of the holiness of God and the blessing of knowing Him.
There was much time and investment put into the preparations for that tabernacle and then for its actual construction. This was a picture of the superior investment that God put into man’s salvation which is only available through the offering up of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Saviour of mankind.
We see that in the preparation for this magnificent structure, there was work for the women as well as the men. God’s salvation is for all. There is also work for men and women to do in His service. God declared what the women could do and what the men needed to do. The same holds true for the local church.
Jesus is the Temple that replaced the stone and wood and golden Temple in Jerusalem. Those who come to know Him as their Saviour, will submit to His order. He will never ordain a woman as a preacher or a pastor. That is His order. It is a shame to see so many men who are willing to sit back and allow women take a place that was never designed for them. God cannot bless rebellion. Humility and truth are necessary. Submit to His will and know His peace and blessing.
Pastor Bartel