Exodus 35 – Willing Hearts and Skilled Hands
After receiving God’s instructions, the people of Israel begin to respond. The Sabbath is reemphasized, and the construction of the tabernacle begins—not with coercion, but with generosity and skill, all rooted in obedience.
From Instruction to Action
Exodus 35 marks a transition: from receiving God’s commands to actively obeying them. The people begin to give, serve, and build—but only as their hearts move them. Worship becomes visible obedience through generous giving and Spirit-filled labor.
✔ The Sabbath is commanded again.
✔ Freewill offerings are gathered.
✔ Men and women give from the heart.
✔ Artisans and leaders begin their sacred work.
📖 Key Verse: “Every one whom his spirit made willing… they brought the Lord’s offering.” – Exodus 35:21
🔎 True worship is not just heard—it is expressed in love, labor, and joyful giving.
Exodus Chapter 35 Overview
Exodus 35:1–3 – The Sabbath Reaffirmed
📖 Exodus 35:1–2 – “These are the words which the Lord hath commanded… Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh… shall be to you an holy day.”
🔎 Sacred rhythm reinstated:
🔹 Before any building or giving, God begins with rest—a reaffirmation that holiness starts by trusting in Him.
🔹 The Sabbath isn’t just a day off; it’s a divine appointment to cease striving and honor the Creator.
➡️ Spiritual Insight: Rest is not a delay to productivity—it’s the foundation of true worship and obedience.
📖 Exodus 35:3 – *”Ye shall kindle no fire… upon the sabbath day.”
🔎 Reverent restraint:
🔹 Even the act of kindling fire—common in daily life—was prohibited, emphasizing the complete sanctity of the Sabbath.
🔹 This command reminded Israel that God’s people are marked by how they rest as much as how they work.
➡️ Faith Insight: God’s holiness shapes every detail—even how we manage energy and time. Sabbath isn’t about legalism, but alignment with His rhythm of grace.
Exodus 35:4–29 – Freewill Offerings and Willing Hearts
📖 Exodus 35:4–9 – *”Take ye from among you an offering unto the Lord: whosoever is of a willing heart…”
🔎 Giving from the heart:
🔹 The call to give is not mandatory—it’s a call to those whose hearts are stirred.
🔹 Precious items are requested—gold, silver, fabric, oils, spices—each with spiritual significance in God’s dwelling place.
🔹 Giving becomes an act of worship and participation in God’s plan.
➡️ Faith Insight: God desires willing givers, not pressured donors. What He asks for, He already provided through grace.
📖 Exodus 35:10–19 – *”Every wise hearted among you shall come, and make all that the Lord hath commanded.”
🔎 Skilled service:
🔹 Those with wisdom and skill are invited to serve with their hands.
🔹 The tabernacle is not built by elite priests alone—but by the hands of gifted men and women.
🔹 Every detail, from curtains to candlesticks, is sacred labor.
➡️ Ministry Insight: God’s work requires every gift—craft, detail, strength, and devotion.
📖 Exodus 35:20–29 – *”As many as were willing hearted… both men and women came… and brought a willing offering.”
🔎 Overflowing generosity:
🔹 The people give joyfully—men and women, rulers and commoners alike.
🔹 Women spun, rulers gave gems, craftsmen offered their talent—each person brought what they had.
🔹 It’s a picture of unity in generosity, not equality of amount but equality of heart.
➡️ Spiritual Insight: When the Spirit moves the heart, everyone becomes a builder in God’s house.
Exodus 35:30–35 – Spirit-Filled Craftsmen
📖 Exodus 35:30–31 – *”See, the Lord hath called by name Bezaleel… and hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge.”
🔎 Divine empowerment:
🔹 God doesn’t just call people—He fills them with His Spirit to accomplish His purposes.
🔹 Bezaleel is given wisdom, understanding, and skill—gifts from God, not just natural talent.
🔹 The Spirit of God equips for practical tasks, not just prophetic or priestly ones.
➡️ Spiritual Insight: Every gift, even artistic or technical, can be a Spirit-empowered ministry when surrendered to God.
📖 Exodus 35:32–35 – *”To devise curious works… and He hath put in his heart that he may teach… both he and Aholiab.”
🔎 Collaborative creation:
🔹 God gives not only skill to create, but also the heart to teach and multiply that skill in others.
🔹 Aholiab joins Bezaleel—two Spirit-filled craftsmen leading the work in unity.
🔹 God’s tabernacle will be the result of shared wisdom, mutual calling, and spiritual gifting.
➡️ Ministry Insight: God’s kingdom is built not by one, but by many working together in the Spirit, each bringing their part to the whole.
This principle mirrors the heart of modern missionary work. Evangelism, discipleship, translation, humanitarian aid, and prayer support are all distinct expressions of one body, functioning in unity. Just as Bezaleel and Aholiab served different yet unified roles in constructing the tabernacle, missionaries, pastors, supporters, and senders today are co-laborers in building God’s presence among the nations. Whether crafting curriculum, flying to unreached regions, or interceding in prayer closets—every task matters in God’s grand mission.
Exodus Chapter 35 - Deeper Study
Overview: Obedience in Action
🔹 Theme: Worship and obedience now take physical form.
🔹 Focus: Giving and serving with willingness and skill.
🔹 People: Every Israelite—man, woman, leader, and artisan—plays a part.
Key Takeaways
🔑 Worship begins with rest—honoring the Sabbath.
🔑 True giving flows from a willing heart.
🔑 God calls and equips people for sacred work.
Prophetic Patterns & Dual Fulfillment
🔮 Tabernacle preparation – Foreshadows the preparation of the Church as God’s dwelling (Ephesians 2:21–22).
🔮 Spirit-filled artisans – A glimpse of how the Holy Spirit empowers believers for kingdom work.
Historical & Cultural Context
📜 Tabernacle materials – Costly items like gold and fine linen were likely obtained from Egypt (Exodus 12:35–36).
📜 Work and rest balance – The Sabbath frames even sacred labor, showing God values rest alongside productivity.
💡 Final Reflection: Giving Back to the Giver
The tabernacle wasn’t built by command alone—it rose through generous, Spirit-moved hearts. God doesn’t need wealth, but He cherishes willingness.
📌 What has He placed in your hands?
📌 Is your worship visible in how you give and serve?
📌 Are you allowing the Spirit to lead your skills for His glory?
🚀 Your obedience can build a place where God dwells.
Sabbath Regulations
Exo 35:1 And Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said unto them, These are the words which the LORD hath commanded, that ye should do them.
Exo 35:2 Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the LORD: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death.
Exo 35:3 Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day.
Contributions for the Tabernacle
Exo 35:4 And Moses spake unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the LORD commanded, saying,
Exo 35:5 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,
Exo 35:6 And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair,
Exo 35:7 And rams’ skins dyed red, and badgers’ skins, and shittim wood,
Exo 35:8 And oil for the light, and spices for anointing oil, and for the sweet incense,
Exo 35:9 And onyx stones, and stones to be set for the ephod, and for the breastplate.
Exo 35:10 And every wise hearted among you shall come, and make all that the LORD hath commanded;
Exo 35:11 The tabernacle, his tent, and his covering, his taches, and his boards, his bars, his pillars, and his sockets,
Exo 35:12 The ark, and the staves thereof, with the mercy seat, and the vail of the covering,
Exo 35:13 The table, and his staves, and all his vessels, and the shewbread,
Exo 35:14 The candlestick also for the light, and his furniture, and his lamps, with the oil for the light,
Exo 35:15 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,
Exo 35:16 The altar of burnt offering, with his brasen grate, his staves, and all his vessels, the laver and his foot,
Exo 35:17 The hangings of the court, his pillars, and their sockets, and the hanging for the door of the court,
Exo 35:18 The pins of the tabernacle, and the pins of the court, and their cords,
Exo 35:19 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.
Exo 35:20 And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses.
Exo 35:21 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.
Exo 35:22 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.
Exo 35:23 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.
Exo 35:24 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.
Exo 35:25 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.
Exo 35:26 And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun goats’ hair.
Exo 35:27 And the rulers brought onyx stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate;
Exo 35:28 And spice, and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense.
Exo 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.
Construction of the Tabernacle
Exo 35:30 And Moses said unto the children of Israel, See, the LORD hath called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah;
Exo 35:31 And he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship;
Exo 35:32 And to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass,
Exo 35:33 And in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of wood, to make any manner of cunning work.
Exo 35:34 And he hath put in his heart that he may teach, both he, and Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan.
Exo 35:35 Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any work, and of those that devise cunning work.
Date Written
1446-1406 BC
Written By
Moses
Language
Hebrew
Verses
35