Exodus 31 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Exodus 31

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, 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. 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,¹ 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.”

The Sabbath

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. 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. 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.’”

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.

Footnotes

[1] 31:10 Or garments for worship

Commentary

The writer has used six chapters (25-30) to describe the various details of the Tabernacle; from chapter 36 the Tabernacle is actually set up.

v1-5: Bezalel was the man selected by God to oversee the erection of the Tabernacle. He was a man anointed by God, "I have filled him with the Spirit of God", an inner anointing, as opposed to the outward anointing of the priests (30.22-33); this points us forward to the inner presence of the Spirit of God in our lives (see John 14.17). This anointing was something specific, for the task in hand.

v6: Aholiab was to work as Bezalel's assistant, and other were involved too. No man was to be glorified in the building of the Tabernacle, for this was for God.

v7-11: They were to build the Tabernacle itself, and make the various utensils, and the clothing for the priests. They were subject to God just as Moses was, building according to the pattern revealed by God. By God's anointing and equipping, they were to fulfil God's commands.

v12-17: The final section of the Lord's instructions to Moses, before Moses returned to the people. The Sabbath was to be a sign between the Lord the Israelites; a sign that they had been chosen by Him, and that they belonged to Him; it was to be a distinctive, setting Israel apart from other nations.

v18: The final act here was the giving of the law, the Ten Commandments, on two tablets of stone. These were inscribed by the finger of God. Here is the law of God for His redeemed people.