Exodus Chapter 31 Deep-Dive: The Sabbath

Hosted by Joey and Matt 

biblebonesandligaments.com

Deep-dives into the Bible beyond what Sunday teaches you.

 

Exodus Ch 31 Bezalel and Oholiab

Ex 31:1The Lord said to Moses, 2“See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 3and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, 4to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, 5in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft. 6And 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: 7the tent of meeting, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy seat that is on it, and all the furnishings of the tent, 8the table and its utensils, and the pure lampstand with all its utensils, and the altar of incense, 9and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the basin and its stand, 10and the finely worked garments, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, for their service as priests, 11and the anointing oil and the fragrant incense for the Holy Place. According to all that I have commanded you, they shall do.”

GOD ALONE CREATED, HOWEVER, GOD USES HUMAN AGENTS TO ACCOMPLISH HIS GOALS … GOD’S IMAGE BEARERS WERE GIVEN A TASK IMMEDIATELY AFTER THEY WERE CREATED: Gen 1:27 27So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

GOD COULD HAVE CREATED THE TABERNACLE AND ALL OF ITS CONTENTS AND GIVEN THEM TO ISRAEL, HOWEVER, HE CHOSE TO USE HUMAN BEINGS TO CREATE THEM, IN THIS CASE BEZALEL AND OHOLIAB ARE MENTIONED SPECIFICALLY. GOD IS GOING TO INHABIT THE TABERNACLE (CAMP OUT WITH HIS PEOPLE) AND THE PEOPLE WILL USE THE ITEMS CREATED TO FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD.

BEZALEL WILL BE GUIDED DIRECTLY BY GOD, AND BEZALEL WILL BE GIVEN ABILITY, INTELLIGENCE, KNOWLEDGE AND CRAFTSMANSHIP … DIVINELY GIVEN. GOD EXPECTS HIS PEOPLE TO CREATE THESE INCREDIBLY BEAUTIFUL THINGS WITH CRAFTSMANSHIP GOD HAS DIVINELY GIVEN.

THE OPPOSITE OF THIS DIVINE INSPIRATION IS FOUND IN ISAIAH THE FOLLY OF IDOLATRY 44:9 All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame. 10Who fashions a god or casts an idol that is profitable for nothing? 11Behold, all his companions shall be put to shame, and the craftsmen are only human. Let them all assemble, let them stand forth. They shall be terrified; they shall be put to shame together. 12 The ironsmith takes a cutting tool and works it over the coals. He fashions it with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He becomes hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water and is faint. 13The carpenter stretches a line; he marks it out with a pencil. He shapes it with planes and marks it with a compass. He shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house. 14He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. 15Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it. 16Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, “Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!” 17And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!” 18They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand. 19No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, “Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?” 20He feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”

THE SAME CRAFTSMANSHIP USED IN MAKING THE TABERNACLE IS ALSO USED TO MAKE IDOLS … BY MEN WHO HAVE NO KNOWLEDGE OR DISCERNMENT … WHO HAVE DELUDED HEARTS. IDOLATRY … HEDGING THEIR BETS … “MAYBE THERE ARE OTHER GODS THAN JUST YAHWEH … ?” SUPERSTITIOUS

BACK TO EXODUS 31 MOST LIKELY THE FATHERS OF BEZALEL AND OHOLIAB ARE STILL ALIVE AT THIS POINT … INTERESTING THAT THEY’RE MENTIONED HERE.

EVERYTHING SHOWN TO MOSES ON THE MOUNTAIN IS LISTED HERE … MAKE THIS EXACTLY AS I’VE SHOWN YOU, AND I’VE GIVEN YOU THE ABILITY TO DO IT … NEVER, NEVER, NEVER USE THOSE SKILLS TO MAKE AN IDOL. WE ARE REGULATED BY THE WORD OF GOD … THERE IS NO SCRIPTURE ANYWHERE OR AT ANY TIME COMMANDING US TO BE CREATIVE IN OUR WORSHIP.

BACK TO EXODUS CH 31 The Sabbath Ex 31:12And 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. A SIGN THAT SETS YOU APART FROM THE OTHER NATIONS – STUNNING, GLARING! 14You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you (ISRAEL). 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. 15Six 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. 16Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever. 17It 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.’”

HOW IS IT THAT GOD NEEDS TO BE “REFRESHED?” A BETTER CONCEPT MIGHT BE THAT GOD WAS “SATISFIED” AND HE TOOK A DAY TO ENJOY HIS CREATION ... WHICH HE CALLED “GOOD.”

THE SABBATH REMINDER IS GIVEN TO ISRAEL AS A THREAT … IF YOU DON’T DO THIS YOU WILL BE PUT TO DEATH. THE PEOPLE WERE TOLD THAT IF YOUR CROPS NEEDED ATTENTION – IT HAD TO WAIT – THIS WAS A VERY BIG SHOW OF TRUST IN GOD IF YOU WERE A SUBSISTENCE FARMER. NOTE THAT JESUS “BROKE” THE SABBATH WHEN HE AND HIS FOLLOWERS PICKED HEADS OF GRAIN ON THE SABBATH, AND WHEN HE HEALED ON THE SABBATH … THEN HE REMINDED THEM THAT GOD IS LOOKING FOR MERCY INSTEAD OF SACRIFICE (HOSEA QUOTED), AND THEN JESUS CLAIMED TO BE LORD OF THE SABBATH – AND THE CHRISTIAN’S REST IS TRULY FOUND IN JESUS – THIS IS JESUS CLAIMING TO BE EQUAL TO GOD.

THE SABBATH MADE ISRAEL DIFFERENT FROM EVERY OTHER NATION IN ANTIQUITY … NO OTHER CULTURE HAD ANYTHING LIKE THE SABBATH DAY OF REST.

A MODERN DAY MIDDLE-CLASS READING OF THE SABBATH GUIDANCE INCLUDES A WEEKEND, SAT-SUN, AND THAT WAS UNHEARD OF UNTIL THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION WHICH OCCURRED AROUND 150 YEARS AGO … SHIFT WORK IN THE INDUSTRIAL PLANTS LED TO ITS CREATION.

UP UNTIL THE EARLY 1960’s THERE WERE “BLUE” LAWS THROUGHOUT CHRISTENDOM, WESTERN CIVILIZATION, THAT FORBADE COMMERCE FROM BEING DONE ON SUNDAYS … STORES & THEATERS WERE CLOSED BY LAW … UNTIL THE 1980’s … ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF THE DEGRADATION OF OUR POST-CHRISTIAN CULTURE. A CROOKED AND TWISTED GENERATION.

ARE CHRISTIANS REQUIRED TO KEEP THE SABBATH? WELL, IS THE CHURCH ISRAEL? NO … JESUS CHANGED EVERYTHING WITH THE NEW COVENANT. HERE ARE 3 POSSIBLE POSITIONS OF THE CHURCH: 1) THE CHURCH IS REQUIRED TO KEEP THE SABBATH AS GIVEN TO ISRAEL (7^TH DAY ADVENTISTS, AND SOME 7^TH DAY BAPTISTS … A MINORITY POSITION), 2) CHRISTIANS HAVE SHIFTED THE SABBATH REQUIREMENTS FROM SATURDAY TO SUNDAY (PURITANS), ANOTHER MINORITY POSITION IN MODERN CHISTENDOM. 3) JESUS IS OUR SABBATH REST … RESTING FROM OUR WORKS IN HIM.

THE EARLY CHURCH MET ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK, AND SUNDAY IS NOT SATURDAY … IT’S NOT THE SABBATH. SUNDAY IS A TIME TO MEET TOGETHER IN TEACHING, FELLOWSHIP AND WORSHIP, WE ARE TO REST FROM OUR WORKS CONSTANTLY … IN JESUS.

BACK TO EXODUS CH 31, Ex 31:18And 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. WHEN THE PEOPLE AND MOSES FIRST RECEIVED THE 10 COMMANDMENTS IT WAS DELIVERED VERBALLY, NOW, IT’S WRITTEN DOWN.

AND THAT WILL WRAP UP EX 31

 

About

 

This is an audio broadcast, designed to encourage you to dive deeper into the most influential and impactful literature of all time: The Bible. This podcasts helps to show the benefits of reading/listening to the Bible, front to back, over and over and over endlessly. And study to fill the gaps for deeper understanding. Join us as we dissect the bones and ligaments of God’s written revelation to mankind through scripture.