Exodus Chapter 31

Exodus 31:1 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,
2 See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah:
3 And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship,
4 To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass,
5 And in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship.

Here we have a forerunner or a type of the gifts of the spirit but they were mostly through natural inspiration rather than divine healing and such as we see in the New Testament. God gave these men gifts to build, sew, or whatever to build certain parts of the tabernacle. They were inspired by God to do the task before them.

All were not given the same gift but it all worked together for good similar to the gifts of the spirit given to the church in the New Testament. These were more like natural talents whereas the gifts of the spirit were for the purpose of spreading the gospel and confirming the word of truth by signs and wonders that follow those that believe.

Exodus 31:6 And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan: and in the hearts of all that are wise hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee;
7 The tabernacle of the congregation, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy seat that is thereupon, and all the furniture of the tabernacle,
8 And the table and his furniture, and the pure candlestick with all his furniture, and the altar of incense,
9 And the altar of burnt offering with all his furniture, and the laver and his foot,
10 And the cloths of service, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest's office,
11 And the anointing oil, and sweet incense for the holy place: according to all that I have commanded thee shall they do.

Notice that God never gives commandments and instructions without giving the means for them to be carried out. He wouldn't give us commandments that we would be unable to keep with the help of His spirit and power. Notice also that the gifts of God is given by God. We don't go to any school to learn how to receive anything from God, we just reverently ask the Lord for those things.

Exodus 31:12 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,
13 Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you.

If we fail to understand the Sabbaths properly, much false accusations, false religion and other things can cause havoc among believers in Jesus Christ.

The Old Testament shows us the commandments of God and how holy God is. It shows us the need for a savior. We need God's help. We are under grace through Jesus Christ and everything was changed to make us able to walk in the spirit and not be under the condemnation of the law. We are not to go back under the law and try to live by its regulations in the flesh. We have the Holy Spirit to help us to walk by the spirit and obey the word in love and truth rather than try to obtain righteousness by trying to keep the law.

The Sabbath was a good thing to keep. It provided all who observed it, spiritual refreshing and gave slaves, servants and laborers rest from hard work. It was much needed and it was a gift from God. This law was given to Israel as a covenant. This covenant was broken. Through Christ they have been given a better covenant and one which is by the spirit rather than by the flesh. To keep a day just for worship, to rest from our every day work and just spend time with the Lord is so refreshing and much needed. It is a reminder of how much we need fellowship and quality time spent with the Lord and with other believers in the Lord.

The calendar has been changed so much that we don't know for sure which day is the Sabbath. Following the pattern of a seventh day rest, many countries like the United States follow that example and companies usually give one out of seven days to employees to rest.

The church has chosen Sunday believing it to be the day of the Lord's resurrection. That may be okay but it is not a law that if broken, it does not condemn anyone to hell. Sunday may not be the original Sabbath Day. To keep the Sabbath is one of the ten commandments so I wouldn't criticize anyone for worshipping on a Saturday if they are doing it in obedience to God. I see nothing wrong with worshiping God any day but we do need a day of physical rest. Some believe that Jesus fulfilled all requirements of the law including the Sabbath.

When we live by the law and by the spirit we serve the Lord in love and worship Him every day. Every day is our day of spiritual refreshing. It is good however, to take a day where with gather with other believers and worship God together but it is not a law. The only scripture in the New Testament about this is that we should not forsake the assembling of ourselves together. Whether that is once a week or three times a week is up to the individual and his or her conscience. However, if we announce a meeting and habitually fail to show up, the church would soon die out. Having good attendance in church encourages others to do the same.

Exodus 31:14 Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.

The power to put to death those breaking of God's commandments were only given to Israel, never to the church. We are under a different rule of law and I believe Israel is also under a new order after the coming of the Messiah. We were told to go and preach the gospel being wise as serpents yet harmless as doves. We are not to enforce the Old Testament law. Christ made us free from that law and free in order that we can become a new creature in Jesus Christ and live for God out of love instead of the fear of the law that condemns. It is a better way. Jesus actually becomes the Sabbath of rest to those who believe in Him and are refreshed by His spirit.

Exodus 31:15 Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.

God was very serious about this. We need rest at least one day a week. This is a gift from our creator. Although the covenant was made to Israel observing a day of rest is something we need to observe too. We need rest both physically and spiritually.

Exodus 31:16 Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.

Remember this verse says, "the children of Israel" not the church.

Exodus 31:17 It is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.

It was a sign that God chose them. God ordained them to be His people to whom He was going to save the world by using their seed to bring forth the savior that was to save all from sin who would accept Him. This is Jesus. DC

Exodus 31:18 And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.

Here is the sum of all this written by the apostle Paul.

Galatians 3:21 Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.
22 But the Scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

Exodus 32

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