2 Say to the children of Israel that they are to make me an offering; from every man who has the impulse in his heart take an offering for me.
And some of the heads of families, when they came to the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem, gave freely of their wealth for the building up of the house of God in its place:
Let every man do after the purpose of his heart; not giving with grief, or by force: for God takes pleasure in a ready giver.
And David the king said to all the people, Solomon my son, the only one who has been marked out by God, is still young and untested, and the work is great, for this great house is not for man, but for the Lord God. Now as far as I am able, I have made ready what is needed for the house of my God; the gold for the things of gold, and the silver for the silver things, and the brass for the brass things, iron for the things of iron, and wood for the things of wood; beryls and jewels to be framed, and stones of different colours for ornament; all sorts of stones of great price, and polished building-stone, as much as is needed and more. And because this house of God is dear to me, I give my private store of gold and silver to the house of my God, in addition to all I have got ready for the holy house; Even three thousand talents of gold of Ophir and seven thousand talents of the best silver, for plating the walls of the house: Gold for the gold things, and silver for the silver things, and for every sort of work to be done by the expert workmen. Who then will come forward, offering himself this day for the Lord's work? Then the heads of families and the chiefs of the tribes of Israel, and the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the controllers of the king's business, freely gave themselves; And they gave for the use of the house of the Lord, five thousand talents and ten thousand darics of gold, and ten thousand talents of silver, and eighteen thousand talents of brass, and a hundred thousand talents of iron. And those who had stones of great price gave them to the store of the house of the Lord, under the care of Jehiel the Gershonite. Then the people were glad because their offerings were freely given, for with a true heart they freely gave what they had to the Lord; and David the king was full of joy. So David gave praise to the Lord before all the people; and David said, Praise be to you, O Lord the God of Israel, our father for ever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the strength and the power and the glory, and the authority and the honour: for everything in heaven and on earth is yours; yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are lifted up as head over all. Wealth and honour come from you, and you are ruler over all, and in your hand is power and strength; it is in your power to make great, and to give strength to all. So now, our God, we give you praise, honouring the glory of your name. But who am I and what is my people, that we have power to give so freely in this way? for all things come from you, and what we have given you is yours. For we, as all our fathers were, are like men from a strange country before you, who have got a place for a time in the land; our days on the earth are like a shade, and there is no hope of going on. O Lord our God, all this store, which we have made ready for the building of a house for your holy name, comes from your hand and is yours. And I am conscious, my God, that you are the searcher of hearts, taking pleasure in righteousness. As for me, with an upright heart I have freely given all these things; and I have seen with joy your people who are here to make their offerings freely to you. O Lord, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the deepest thoughts of your people, and let their hearts be fixed and true to you; And give to Solomon my son a true heart, to keep your orders, your rules, and your laws, and to do all these things, and to put up this great house for which I have made ready. And David said to all the people, Now give praise to the Lord your God. And all the people gave praise to the Lord, the God of their fathers, with bent heads worshipping the Lord and the king. And they made offerings to the Lord, and gave burned offerings to the Lord, on the day after, a thousand oxen, a thousand sheep, and a thousand lambs, with their drink offerings, and a great wealth of offerings for all Israel. And with great joy they made a feast before the Lord that day. And they made Solomon, the son of David, king a second time, putting the holy oil on him to make him holy to the Lord as ruler, and on Zadok as priest. So Solomon was put on the seat of the Lord as king in place of his father David, and everything went well for him; and all Israel was under his authority. And all the chiefs and the men of war and all the sons of King David put themselves under the authority of Solomon the king. And the Lord made Solomon great in the eyes of all Israel, clothing him with glory and honour such as no other king in Israel had had before him. Now David, the son of Jesse, was king over all Israel. For forty years he was ruling as king over Israel, seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. And he came to his end after a long life, full of days and great wealth and honour; and Solomon his son became king in his place. Now all the acts of David, first and last, are recorded in the words of Samuel the seer, and the words of Nathan the prophet, and the words of Gad the seer; Together with all his rule and his power, and the events which took place in his time, in Israel and in all the kingdoms of other lands.
And all their neighbours gave them help with offerings of vessels of silver and gold and goods and beasts and things of great value, in addition to what was freely offered.
And after that, the regular burned offering and the offerings for the new moons and all the fixed feasts of the Lord which had been made holy, and the offering of everyone who freely gave his offering to the Lord.
And the people gave a blessing to all the men who were freely offering to take up their places in Jerusalem.
And Moses said to all the meeting of the children of Israel, This is the order which the Lord has given: Take from among you an offering to the Lord; everyone who has the impulse in his heart, let him give his offering to the Lord; gold and silver and brass; And blue and purple and red and the best linen and goats' hair, And sheepskins coloured red, and leather, and hard wood, And oil for the lights, and spices for the holy oil and for the sweet perfumes for burning. And beryls and jewels to be cut for the ephod and for the priest's bag. And let every wise-hearted man among you come and make whatever has been ordered by the Lord; The House and its tent and its cover, its hooks and its boards, its rods and its pillars and its bases; The ark with its cover and its rods and the veil hanging before it; The table and its rods and all its vessels, and the holy bread; And the support for the lights, with its vessels and its lights and the oil for the light; And the altar for burning spices, with its rods, and the holy oil and the sweet perfume, and the curtain for the door, at the door of the House; The altar of burned offerings, with its network of brass, its rods, and all its vessels, the washing-vessel and its base; The hangings for the open space, its pillars and their bases, and the curtain for the doorway; The nails for the House, and the nails for the open space and their cords; The robes of needlework for the work of the holy place, the holy robes for Aaron the priest, and the robes for his sons when acting as priests. And all the children of Israel went away from Moses. And everyone whose heart was moved, everyone who was guided by the impulse of his spirit, came with his offering for the Lord, for whatever was needed for the Tent of meeting and its work and for the holy robes. They came, men and women, all who were ready to give, and gave pins and nose-rings and finger-rings and neck-ornaments, all of gold; everyone gave an offering of gold to the Lord. And everyone who had blue and purple and red and the best linen and goats' hair and sheepskins coloured red and leather, gave them. Everyone who had silver and brass gave an offering of them to the Lord; and everyone who had hard wood, such as was needed for the work, gave it. And all the women who were expert with their hands, made cloth, and gave the work of their hands, blue and purple and red and the best linen. And those women who had the knowledge, made the goats' hair into cloth. And the rulers gave the beryls and the cut jewels for the ephod and the priest's bag; And the spice and the oil for the light, and the holy oil and the sweet perfumes. The children of Israel, every man and woman, from the impulse of their hearts, gave their offerings freely to the Lord for the work which the Lord had given Moses orders to have done.
And they came with their offerings before the Lord, six covered carts and twelve oxen; a cart for every two of the chiefs, and for every one an ox. And the Lord said to Moses, Take the things from them, to be used for the work of the Tent of meeting; and give them to the Levites, to every man what is needed for his work. So Moses took the carts and the oxen and gave them to the Levites. Two carts and four oxen he gave to the sons of Gershon for their work; And four carts and eight oxen he gave to the sons of Merari for their work, under the direction of Ithamar, the son of Aaron the priest. But to the sons of Kohath he gave nothing; because they had the care of the holy place, taking it about on their backs. And the chiefs gave an offering for the altar on the day when the holy oil was put on it; they made their offering before the altar. And the Lord said to Moses, Let every chief on his day give his offering to make the altar holy. And he who made his offering on the first day was Nahshon, the son of Amminadab, of the tribe of Judah: And his offering was one silver plate, a hundred and thirty shekels in weight, one silver basin of seventy shekels, by the scale of the holy place; the two of them full of the best meal mixed with oil for a meal offering; One gold spoon of ten shekels, full of spice for burning; One young ox, one male sheep, one he-lamb of the first year, for a burned offering; One male of the goats for a sin-offering; And for the peace-offerings, two oxen, five male sheep, five he-goats, five he-lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Nahshon, the son of Amminadab. On the second day Nethanel, the son of Zuar, chief of Issachar, made his offering: He gave one silver plate, a hundred and thirty shekels in weight, one silver basin of seventy shekels, by the scale of the holy place; the two of them full of the best meal mixed with oil for a meal offering; One gold spoon of ten shekels, full of spice; One young ox, one male sheep, one he-lamb of the first year, for a burned offering; One male of the goats for a sin-offering; And for the peace-offerings, two oxen, five male sheep, five he-goats, five he-lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Nethanel, the son of Zuar. On the third day Eliab, the son of Helon, chief of the children of Zebulun: His offering was one silver plate, a hundred and thirty shekels in weight, one silver basin of seventy shekels, by the scale of the holy place; the two of them full of the best meal mixed with oil for a meal offering; One gold spoon of ten shekels, full of spice; One young ox, one male sheep, one he-lamb of the first year, for a burned offering; One male of the goats for a sin-offering; And for the peace-offerings, two oxen, five male sheep, five he-goats, five he-lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Eliab, the son of Helon. On the fourth day Elizur, the son of Shedeur, chief of the children of Reuben: His offering was one silver plate, a hundred and thirty shekels in weight, one silver basin of seventy shekels, by the scale of the holy place; the two of them full of the best meal mixed with oil for a meal offering; One gold spoon of ten shekels, full of spice; One young ox, one male sheep, one he-lamb of the first year, for a burned offering; One male of the goats for a sin-offering; And for the peace-offerings, two oxen, five male sheep, five he-goats, five he-lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Elizur, the son of Shedeur. On the fifth day Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai, chief of the children of Simeon: His offering was one silver plate, a hundred and thirty shekels in weight, one silver basin of seventy shekels, by the scale of the holy place; the two of them full of the best meal mixed with oil for a meal offering; One gold spoon of ten shekels, full of spice; One young ox, one male sheep, one he-lamb of the first year, for a burned offering; One male of the goats for a sin-offering; And for the peace-offerings, two oxen, five male sheep, five he-goats, five he-lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai. On the sixth day Eliasaph, the son of Reuel, chief of the children of Gad: His offering was one silver plate, a hundred and thirty shekels in weight, one silver basin of seventy shekels, by the scale of the holy place; the two of them full of the best meal mixed with oil for a meal offering; One gold spoon of ten shekels, full of spice; One young ox, one male sheep, one he-lamb of the first year, for a burned offering; One male of the goats for a sin-offering; And for the peace-offerings, two oxen, five male sheep, five he-goats, five he-lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Eliasaph, the son of Reuel On the seventh day Elishama, the son of Ammihud, chief of the children of Ephraim: His offering was one silver plate, a hundred and thirty shekels in weight, one silver basin of seventy shekels, by the scale of the holy place; the two of them full of the best meal mixed with oil for a meal offering; One gold spoon of ten shekels, full of spice; One young ox, one male sheep, one he-lamb of the first year, for a burned offering; One male of the goats for a sin-offering; And for the peace-offerings, two oxen, five male sheep, five he-goats, five he-lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Elishama, the son of Ammihud. On the eighth day Gamaliel, the son of Pedahzur, chief of the children of Manasseh: His offering was one silver plate, a hundred and thirty shekels in weight, one silver basin of seventy shekels, by the scale of the holy place; the two of them full of the best meal mixed with oil for a meal offering; One gold spoon of ten shekels, full of spice; One young ox, one male sheep, one he-lamb of the first year, for a burned offering; One male of the goats for a sin-offering; And for the peace-offerings, two oxen, five male sheep, five he-goats, five he-lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Gamaliel, the son of Pedahzur. On the ninth day Abidan, the son of Gideoni, chief of the children of Benjamin: His offering was one silver plate, a hundred and thirty shekels in weight, one silver basin of seventy shekels, by the scale of the holy place; the two of them full of the best meal mixed with oil for a meal offering; One gold spoon of ten shekels, full of spice; One young ox, one male sheep, one he-lamb of the first year for a burned offering; One male of the goats for a sin-offering; And for the peace-offerings, two oxen, five male sheep, five he-goats, five he-lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Abidan, the son of Gideoni. On the tenth day Ahiezer; the son of Ammishaddai, chief of the children of Dan: His offering was one silver plate, a hundred and thirty shekels in weight, one silver basin of seventy shekels, by the scale of the holy place; the two of them full of the best meal mixed with oil for a meal offering; One gold spoon of ten shekels, full of spice; One young ox, one male sheep, one he-lamb of the first year, for a burned offering; One male of the goats for a sin-offering; And for the peace-offerings, two oxen, five male sheep, five he-goats, five he-lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Ahiezer, the son of Ammishaddai. On the eleventh day Pagiel, the son of Ochran, chief of the children of Asher: His offering was one silver plate; a hundred and thirty shekels in weight, one silver basin of seventy shekels, by the scale of the holy place; the two of them full of the best meal mixed with oil for a meal offering; One gold spoon of ten shekels, full of spice; One young ox, one male sheep, one he-lamb of the first year, for a burned offering; One male of the goats for a sin-offering; And for the peace-offerings, two oxen, five male sheep, five he-goats, five he-lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Pagiel, the son of Ochran. On the twelfth day Ahira, the son of Enan, chief of the children of Naphtali: His offering was one silver plate, a hundred and thirty shekels in weight, one silver basin of seventy shekels, by the scale of the holy place; the two of them full of the best meal mixed with oil for a meal offering; One gold spoon of ten shekels, full of spice; One young ox, one male sheep, one he-lamb of the first year, for a burned offering; One male of the goats for a sin-offering; And for the peace-offerings, two oxen, five male sheep, five he-goats, five he-lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Ahira, the son of Enan. These were the offerings given for the altar by the chiefs of Israel, when the holy oil was put on it: twelve silver plates, twelve silver basins, twelve gold spoons; The weight of every silver plate was a hundred and thirty shekels, and of every basin seventy; the weight of all the silver of the vessels was two thousand and four hundred shekels, by the scale of the holy place; The weight of the twelve gold spoons of spice for burning was ten shekels for every one, by the scale of the holy place; all the gold of the spoons was a hundred and twenty shekels; All the oxen, for the burned offering were twelve, the male sheep twelve, the he-lambs of the first year twelve, with their meal offering; and the males of the goats for sin-offering twelve; And all the oxen for the peace-offerings, twenty-four oxen, the male sheep sixty, and the he-goats sixty, the he-lambs of the first year sixty. This was given for the altar after the holy oil was put on it.
For the tenths which the children of Israel give as a lifted offering to the Lord I have given to the Levites as their heritage. and so I have said to them, Among the children of Israel they will have no heritage.
Three times in the year let all your males come before the Lord your God in the place named by him; at the feast of unleavened bread, the feast of weeks, and the feast of tents: and they are not to come before the Lord with nothing in their hands; Every man is to give as he is able, in the measure of the blessing which the Lord your God has given you.
Your people give themselves gladly in the day of your power; like the dew of the morning on the holy mountains is the army of your young men.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Exodus 25
Commentary on Exodus 25 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 25
Ex 25:1-40. Concerning an Offering.
1. the Lord spake unto Moses, &c.—The business that chiefly occupied Moses on the mount, whatever other disclosures were made to him there, was in receiving directions about the tabernacle, and they are here recorded as given to him.
2. bring me an offering of every man that giveth it willingly, &c.—Having declared allegiance to God as their sovereign, they were expected to contribute to His state, as other subjects to their kings; and the "offering" required of them was not to be imposed as a tax, but to come from their own loyal and liberal feelings.
3. this is the offering which ye shall take of them—the articles of which the offerings should consist.
brass—rather copper, brass being a composite metal.
4. goats' hair—or leather of goats' skin.
5. badgers' skins—The badger was an unclean animal, and is not a native of the East—rather some kind of fish, of the leather of which sandals are made in the East. [See on Ex 39:34 and Eze 16:10.]
shittim wood—or Shittah (Isa 41:19), the acacia, a shrub which grows plentifully in the deserts of Arabia, yielding a light, strong, and beautiful wood, in long planks.
7. ephod—a square cloak, hanging down from the shoulders, and worn by priests.
8. a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them—In one sense the tabernacle was to be a palace, the royal residence of the King of Israel, in which He was to dwell among His people, receive their petitions, and issue His responses. But it was also to be a place of worship, in which God was to record His name and to enshrine the mystic symbols of His presence.
9. According to all that I show thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle—The proposed erection could be, in the circumstances of the Israelites, not of a fixed and stable but of a temporary and movable description, capable of being carried about with them in their various sojournings. It was made after "the pattern" shown to Moses, by which is now generally understood, not that it was an unheard-of novelty, or an entirely original structure, for it is ascertained to have borne resemblance in form and arrangements to the style of an Egyptian temple, but that it was so altered, modified, and purified from all idolatrous associations, as to be appropriated to right objects, and suggestive of ideas connected with the true God and His worship.
10. an ark—a coffer or chest, overlaid with gold, the dimensions of which, taking the cubit at eighteen inches, are computed to be three feet nine inches in length, two feet three inches in breadth.
11. a crown—a rim or cornice.
12. rings—staples for the poles, with which it was to be carried from place to place.
15. staves shall be in the rings of the ark—that is, always remain in the rings, whether the ark be at rest or in motion.
16. the testimony—that is, the two tables of stone, containing the ten commandments, and called "the testimony," because by it God did testify His sovereign authority over Israel as His people, His selection of them as the guardians of His will and worship, and His displeasure in the event of their transgressing His laws; while on their part, by receiving and depositing this law in its appointed place, they testified their acknowledgment of God's right to rule over them, and their submission to the authority of His law. The superb and elaborate style of the ark that contained "the testimony" was emblematic of the great treasure it held; in other words, the incomparable value and excellence of the Word of God, while its being placed in this chest further showed the great care which God has ever taken for preserving it.
17. thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold—to serve as a lid, covering it exactly. It was "the propitiatory cover," as the term may be rendered, denoting that Christ, our great propitiation [1Jo 2:2; 4:10], has fully answered all the demands of the law, covers our transgressions, and comes between us and the curse of a violated law.
18. two cherubim—The real meaning of these figures, as well as the shape or form of them, is not known with certainty—probably similar to what was afterwards introduced into the temple, and described in Eze 10:8-22. They stretched out their wings, and their faces were turned towards the mercy seat [Ex 25:20], probably in a bowing attitude. The prevailing opinion now is, that those splendid figures were symbolical not of angelic but of earthly and human beings—the members of the Church of God interested in the dispensation of grace, the redeemed in every age—and that these hieroglyphic forms symbolized the qualities of the true people of God—courage, patience, intelligence, and activity.
22. there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat—The Shekinah, or symbol of the Divine Presence, rested on the mercy seat, and was indicated by a cloud, from the midst of which responses were audibly given when God was consulted on behalf of His people. Hence God is described as "dwelling" or "sitting" between the cherubim.
23. table of shittim wood—of the same material and decorations as the ark [see on Ex 25:5], and like it, too, furnished with rings for the poles on which it was carried [Ex 25:26]. The staves, however, were taken out of it when stationary, in order not to encumber the priests while engaged in their services at the table. It was half a cubit less than the ark in length and breadth, but of the same height. [See on Ex 25:10.]
24. crown—the moulding or ornamental rim, which is thought to have been raised above the level of the table, to prevent anything from falling off.
29. dishes—broad platters.
spoons—cups or concave vessels, used for holding incense.
covers—both for bread and incense.
bowls—cups; for though no mention is made of wine, libations were undoubtedly made to God, according to Josephus and the rabbins, once a week, when the bread was changed.
to cover withal—rather, "to pour out withal."
30. showbread—literally, presence bread, so called because it was constantly exhibited before the Lord, or because the bread of His presence, like the angel of His presence, pointed symbolically to Christ. It consisted of twelve unleavened loaves, said traditionally to have been laid in piles of six each. This bread was designed to be a symbol of the full and never-failing provision which is made in the Church for the spiritual sustenance and refreshment of God's people.
31. candlestick—literally, "a lamp bearer." It was so constructed as to be capable of being taken to pieces for facility in removal. The shaft or stock rested on a pedestal. It had seven branches, shaped like reeds or canes—three on each side, with one in the center—and worked out into knobs, flowers, and bowls, placed alternately [Ex 25:32-36]. The figure represented on the arch of Titus gives the best idea of this candlestick.
33. knops—old spelling for "knobs"—bosses.
37. they shall light the lamps … that they may give light—The light was derived from pure olive oil, and probably kept continually burning (compare Ex 30:7; Le 24:2).
38. tongs—snuffers.
39. a talent of pure gold—in weight equivalent to 125 lbs. troy.
40. look that thou make them after their pattern—This caution, which is repeated with no small frequency in other parts of the narrative, is an evidence of the deep interest taken by the Divine King in the erection of His palace or sanctuary; and it is impossible to account for the circumstance of God's condescending to such minute details, except on the assumption that this tabernacle was to be of a typical character, and eminently subservient to the religious instruction and benefit of mankind, by shadowing forth in its leading features the grand truths of the Christian Church.