This chapter concludes the section that began in 24:12, which has focused on the building of the tabernacle. Coming on the heels of chapter 30, which concluded the description of the tabernacle and its contents, this chapter begins by describing those who will make them (31:1–11). The master artisans will be Bezalel (vv. 1–5) and Oholiab (v. 6), though others will help them (v. 6). Focus is placed on the Lord as the one who divinely gifts them to do this work (vv. 3, 6), showing that creative arts are within the sphere of his activity and concern. Focus is also placed on the wisdom, intelligence, and knowledge required for such work (vv. 3, 6), showing that wisdom includes skillful work of the hands and not only intellectual ability of the mind. The passage concludes by emphasizing a theme found throughout chapters 25–31: the importance of making everything in the tabernacle exactly as the Lord has commanded (31:6–11).

The second half of chapter 31 (vv. 12–17) shifts the discussion from sacred space (the tabernacle) to sacred time (the Sabbath). It emphasizes the importance of keeping the Sabbath, offering two reasons: the Sabbath serves as the sign of Israel’s covenant relationship with the Lord, and he has set it aside as holy. It also names severe consequences for breaking the Sabbath: anyone who does so will be cut off from the covenant community by death. The Israelites must keep the Sabbath, resting one day in seven—as did their covenant King in creation.

The chapter’s final verse then states how the Lord inscribes the covenant commands on two stone tablets and gives them to Moses (v. 18). Moses will now go down the mountain and see what Israel has been doing in his absence. It will be a tragic scene.

  VI.  Israel at Sinai: the Lord gives instructions for the building of his palace-tent among them (24:12–31:18) . . .

I.  The artisans who will make the tabernacle, its furniture and related items (31:1–11)

1.  The divinely gifted artisans (31:1–6b)

2.  (A) The importance of following the Lord’s commands in making these things (31:6c)

3.  (B) The items to be made (31:7–11a)

4.  (A') The importance of following the Lord’s commands in making these things (31:11b)

J.  Keeping the Sabbath as the sign of the covenant (31:12–17)

1.  (A) The command to keep the Sabbath and first rationale (31:12–13)

2.  (B) The command to keep the Sabbath, the second rationale, and the punishment for breaking it (31:14–15)

3.  (A') The command to keep the Sabbath and first rationale (31:16–17)

K.  The Lord gives the stone tablets of the covenant to Moses (31:18)

This chapter is united by the twin themes of work and rest: work in creating the tabernacle in all its beauty (vv. 1–11) and rest as a sign every seventh day that Israel is in relationship with the Lord (vv. 12–17). We may consider these themes by asking two questions.

What Does Beauty Have to Do with Wisdom and with God?

The work this chapter has in view is the building of the tabernacle, work that will be headed up by a man named Bezalel. Bezalel is introduced to us as someone whom the Lord “fills with the Spirit of God [cf. note 737 within comment on 31:1–11], with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship” to create the tabernacle and its items (vv. 3–5). This leads to three observations.

First, the word for “ability” can also be translated “skill” (35:26) and is the same word usually translated “wisdom” (Hb. hokhmah). It is used here with the term “intelligence” and “knowledge.” While we sometimes consider intelligence to be only the thinking we do with our heads, the Lord extends it to the work we do with our hands. In this passage in particular the Lord uses the words wisdom, intelligence, and knowledge in describing those gifted to make aesthetically pleasing items, whether for the eyes (the tabernacle, its furniture, the priestly clothing) or for the nose (the perfumed anointing oil and fragrant incense). From a biblical perspective creating beauty takes nothing less than wisdom, intelligence, and knowledge—which should encourage us to value those with wisdom and intelligence in the arts as much as we do those with wisdom and intelligence in the sciences.

Second, the Lord is both the ultimate source of beauty and a lover of it. God gifts Bezalel with the wisdom and intelligence to create the tabernacle and its rich fabrics, gleaming furniture, delightful smells, and resplendent uniforms. God enables a way for everything to be soaked in beauty, for he delights in it. He does not simply give his law; he encases it in beauty.745 He does not simply give priests; he robes them in beauty. He does not simply make a tent; he establishes a palace of beauty. None of this is surprising. God introduces himself to us as the master Creator (Genesis 1), the maker of all things beautiful. Where beauty exists, it points to him.

This does not mean that all who create beauty know God. God, in his common grace, does not reserve these gifts for believers only. He showers them over his creation so that the beauty he loves can fill his world and point to him even in places where his gospel has not yet been heard. If God so values beauty, what are the implications for believers today? What does it mean for our churches and worship services to be places where beauty matters—as it did in the tabernacle? How can we encourage those divinely gifted with wisdom and knowledge in the arts to use their gifts to create beauty—whether inside or outside the church? That God gifts people to create beauty shows us how much he values it. May we value it as he does.

Finally, if God grants people “ability and intelligence, with knowledge” in creative pursuits, surely he grants people these things in other pursuits. And this has important implications. It calls us to acknowledge that all our gifts are given by God. He is the one who grants us our skills and abilities. It also calls us to think of intelligence and skill in all its forms as something God cares about. He gifts the pastor, teacher, clerk, homemaker, businessman, construction worker, and janitor alike. Whatever one’s gifts, they are given by God, and, if he has given them, they are valuable. To put this differently: someone is not a second-class Christian whose gifts are in areas outside church ministry. Gifts are valuable and purposeful because God has given them, and that brings dignity to work, whatever one’s God-glorifying field. A believer does not have to become a minister to serve God and bring him glory. A believer can do so as he uses his gifts in the context of a life of obedience to him. Famed nineteenth-century pastor Charles Spurgeon captures this reality beautifully:

You housemaids, you cooks, you nurses, you plowmen, you housewives, you traders, you sailors—your labor is holy if you serve the Lord Christ in it, if by living unto Him as you ought to live! The sacred has absorbed the secular! The overarching temple of the Lord covers all your houses and your fields! My brothers and sisters, this ennobles life! . . . This ensures us a reward for all we do!746

Why Make the Sabbath the Sign of the Covenant?

If the first half of the chapter relates to work, the second relates to rest, and in particular Sabbath rest. For general discussion of the Sabbath command cf. comments on 20:8–11; 31:12–17. As a complement I will focus here on the question, Why make the Sabbath the sign of the covenant? At least two answers may be given.

First, it shows that Israel follows the Lord because by keeping it she is imitating his activity. In other words, if asked why he rests every seventh day, an Israelite could respond, “Because I follow the Lord, the one who made the heavens and the earth in six days and then on the seventh day rested and was refreshed.”747 In this way the Sabbath reminds Israel—for an entire day once a week!—that the Lord has “sanctified” them (31:13), that is, set them apart to be his very own and therefore to walk with him in his ways. Keeping the Sabbath is Israel’s declaration that they are his (one author calls this “definitional holiness”) and will follow him (what the same author calls “ethical holiness”).748 It entails relationship with the Lord and faithfulness to him. As a wedding ring serves as both a sign of the covenant relationship between husband and wife and a call to be faithful to that covenant, the Sabbath serves as the sign of the covenant relationship between the Lord and Israel and a call to be faithful to that covenant. In this way it is a sign with present implications in terms of Israel’s resting every seventh day and being faithful to the covenant commands throughout the week.749

Second, from a larger biblical perspective it points to the final salvific rest the Lord will bring about for those in covenant relationship with him. In Hebrews 4 the author describes the full and final experience of the Lord’s salvation as a “Sabbath rest for the people of God” (Heb. 4:9). What does the Lord have in store for those who know him through Jesus? Not thorns and thistles but the life-giving rest that comes to those who have been delivered from all evil and ushered into full fellowship with God, enjoying him and all his good gifts. It is a profound, bone-strengthening, soul-nourishing, heart-refreshing, eternally overflowing rest. It is the same rest Jesus speaks of when describing why he came: to relieve us of heavy burdens and provide rest for our souls (Matt. 11:28–29). This means that to keep the Sabbath—to cease from work in order to experience a small measure of this rest and enjoyment of the Lord and the good gifts of his creation—is to get a foretaste of that rest to come in the new heavens and earth.

If such a foretaste does not appeal to us, we do well to ask, What has so shaped my tastes and desires that I do not long for that which God promises as my greatest good? In some cultures productivity has become its own god, worshiped so strongly that it makes resting feel heretical. But in the Bible enjoying the Sabbath is one of the truest signs of orthodoxy, for in doing so we imitate our Creator and anticipate the full and final rest promised in Jesus.Exodus 31

Overview ofExodus 32–34

Exodus 32–34

Over the last twelve chapters the covenant has been made and the Lord has given instructions to build a tabernacle so that he can dwell in his people’s midst (chs. 20–31). Next what we would hope to see would be the Israelites’ building the tabernacle.750 Instead we read that they build a golden calf and worship wildly before it. This covenant-shattering act of treachery leads to the main question this section will answer: Can the relationship between the Israelites and the Lord be restored so that he will indeed come to live in his people’s midst?

In answering, several themes are highlighted that occur frequently in the Pentateuch, such as the Israelites’ tendency to rebel, Moses’ role as intercessor and mediator, and the Lord’s dual response of justice and mercy.751 These will be developed in some detail below.

But several other themes are also present. First, at the Lord’s command the Levites execute justice on a portion of the idolaters, highlighting the special role they will come to play in Numbers (cf. Numbers 3–4), as well as the dangers of idolatry (cf. Numbers 25). God clearly demands undivided allegiance and does not look lightly on acts of spiritual adultery. He is a faithful husband and expects faithfulness in return.

Second, Exodus 32 paints an unflattering picture of Aaron (vv. 2–5, 21–25), showing us how the Bible does not hesitate to point out the weaknesses and failings of even major characters. Later narratives will do so for Aaron again (Numbers 12; 20:2–13), Miriam (ch. 12), and Moses himself (20:2–13). This is both a warning to those in leadership and an encouragement: the Lord uses sinners to lead his people and accomplish his purposes, which gives us hope, emphasizes his grace, and points to him as ultimate deliverer. Salvation comes despite us and because of him!

Third, what matters most is God’s presence in his people’s midst. Earlier God said he had redeemed his people so that he could live with them (Ex. 29:46). This is his deepest desire; he has made us for himself and longs for us not simply to know him but to be near him. Stated from our perspective, we find our fullest joy when he is near, for we have been made for his presence. Thus when the Lord says in these chapters that he will not come to dwell among his people (32:34; 33:3, 5), it is a national tragedy (33:4), and Moses becomes laser-focused on pleading for the Lord to reconsider (33:12–13, 15–16; 34:9). This underscores that our purpose as humans is to know God not in theory but in practice, experiencing his presence in the midst of all we do. The Bible begins with an earthly paradise where the Lord walks with Adam and Eve (Gen. 3:8) and ends with a heaven-on-earth paradise where the Lord walks with his people (Rev. 21:3–4). These bookends show us how the story is to play out in between: God will walk in his people’s midst, and his people will walk with him.Exodus 32–34

Exodus 32–34