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 a holy day, a sabbath of rest to the LORD: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death.

It was very serious to take God at His word and not break any part of it. The law is holy, just and good and to disobey in one point would be sin. The Sabbath was for them. They needed rest. It also shows we need God, they needed God and they needed a day in which to set aside only for rest and worship. The Holy Spirit that is given to believers in Jesus Christ is a kind of rest. He refreshes the soul and spirit of the one who receives Him. It is the living water that Jesus spoke about that bubbles up within us similar to a fountain of fresh water flowing down a stream when we are tired and thirsty. The Sabbath was supposed to be a day of rest and refreshing. If they would have ignored the Sabbath law, servants, slaves and those that had to do hard labor would never get relief and never be able to seek out God.

Even today when we get so busy with our jobs, our sports, and our interests, we may tend to forget that we need a day of rest. More than that, we need a special day to seek God with all our hearts. Through the spirit that we receive from God, we can worship any time and any where but it is still wonderful to set aside one day a week for special attention to the refreshing of our soul and spirit in seeking out and worshipping God.

Exo 35:3 Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day.

In the days before electricity and the life style we have today, every day work was hard. They probably needed a rest more than the average person today as far as a rest from physical labor. There is no difference however, in the spiritual realm. We all need God both great and small. We need the refreshing He brings through His Holy Spirit which is given to all who believe in Jesus Christ.

Exo 35:4 And Moses spoke 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 tacks, 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 veil 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 brazen 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.

Actually all giving should be done from the heart. It is much more fun to give willingly and with joy than just to give because it is a duty or is required in some way. God loves a cheerful giver.

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.

Some women even today are gifted in sewing, weaving, quilting, knitting, crochet and other things.

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.

This seemed a time of revival and refreshing as people repented of idol worship and started to give unto the Lord in work and offerings in order to built the tabernacle for the presence of God to dwell among them.

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.

They were quick to give God the glory and not man for the ability to work with gold and silver and carve wood for the tabernacle.

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.

If we wonder at the talent some people possess to built, engrave, weave, etc. it originally came from God and was handed down throughout generations. We do not realize the half of God's greatness. He is glorious and might in works. If we are faithful, one day we will see God's glory and realize how magnificent He really is.

Exodus 36