Exodus 25:2

25:1-9 God chose the people of Israel to be a peculiar people to himself, above all people, and he himself would be their King. He ordered a royal palace to be set up among them for himself, called a sanctuary, or holy place, or habitation. There he showed his presence among them. And because in the wilderness they dwelt in tents, this royal palace was ordered to be a tabernacle, that it might move with them. The people were to furnish Moses with the materials, by their own free will. The best use we can make of our worldly wealth, is to honour God with it in works of piety and charity. We should ask, not only, What must we do? but, What may we do for God? Whatever they gave, they must give it cheerfully, not grudgingly, for God loves a cheerful giver, 2Co 9:7. What is laid out in the service of God, we must reckon well bestowed; and whatsoever is done in God's service, must be done by his direction.

Exodus 25:2 . Speak unto the children of Israel — Doubtless when Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and abode there so long, he saw and heard glorious things, but they were things which it was not lawful or possible to utter, and therefore in the records which he kept of the transactions there, he saith nothing to satisfy curiosity, but writes that only which he was to deliver to the people. And God, having now solemnly ratified his covenant with Israel to be their God, and that they should be his subjects and servants, gives orders next concerning a place for his solemn worship, where by visible symbols of his divine presence he might reside among them as their Deliverer, Protector, and the great object of their worship, and might keep his court as their King, that while they had that place in the midst of them they might never again ask, “Is the Lord among us or not?” And because in the wilderness they dwelt in tents, even this royal palace was to be a tabernacle too, a kind of portable temple suitable to their travelling condition, that it might move with them. Probably there never was any house or temple built for sacred uses before this tabernacle was erected by Moses.

And the frame, fashion, utensils, ministers, and services of it were to be such as would be a model of that more magnificent temple, its furniture and service, which was to be afterward erected in the land of Canaan, even as that temple itself, with its whole economy, was to be but a figurative resemblance of a more complete and spiritual dispensation under the Messiah. For these holy places made with hands were the figures of the true, Hebrews 9:24 . The gospel church is the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched, and not man, Hebrews 8:2 . And the body of Christ, in and by which he made atonement, was the greater and more perfect tabernacle, Hebrews 9:11 . The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us as in a tabernacle. That they bring me an offering — This offering was to be given willingly, and with the heart. It was not prescribed to them what or how much they must give, but it was left to their generosity, that they might show their good-will to the house of God, and the offices thereof.

XXV. THE GIFTS WHICH MIGHT BE GIVEN FOR THE TABERNACLE AND THE PRIESTS’ DRESSES. (2) Speak unto the children of Israel that they bring me an offering.—God, being about to command the construction of a dwelling for Himself, such as the circumstances of the case allowed, prefaced His directions concerning its materials and form by instructing Moses to invite the people to contribute from their stores, as an offering to Himself, the various substances which were suitable for the dwelling and its appurtenances. The erection of sanctuaries is one of the fittest occasions for man to shew his gratitude to God by giving to Him of His own, largely and liberally. Of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart.—Heb., of every man whose heart impels him. Unless gifts come from the heart, they are an offence to God. He “loveth a cheerful giver.” When the time came, a noble and liberal spirit was not wanting. (See Exodus 35:21-29; Exodus 36:3-7.) My offering.—Literally, my heave-offering. But the word seems to be intended in a generic sense.

An offering - The word is used here in its general sense, being equivalent to korban, κορβᾶν korban, (compare Mark 7:11 ). On the marginal rendering "heave offering," see the note at Exodus 29:27 . That giveth it willingly with his heart - The public service of Yahweh was to be instituted by freewill offerings, not by an enforced tax. Compare 1 Chronicles 29:3, 1 Chronicles 29:9,1 Chronicles 29:14; Ezra 2:68-69; 2 Corinthians 8:11-12; 2 Corinthians 9:7. On the zeal with which the people responded to the call, see Exodus 35:21-29; Exodus 36:5-7.

Verse 2. - Speak unto the children of Israel that they bring me an offering . The word translated "offering" is that commonly rendered" heave-offering;" but it seems to be used here (as in Exodus 30:13 ; Exodus 35:5 , etc.) in a generic sense. The propriety of the people, when God was about establishing his habitation among them, presenting to God all the materials needed, is self-evident and requires no comment. Of every man that giveth it willingly . Literally, "of every man whose heart drives him." God will have no gifts but such as are freely offered. He "loveth a cheerful giver. If a man gives grudgingly or of necessity," God rejects the gift. On the noble spirit which the people showed when the appeal was made to them, see Exodus 35:21-29 ; and Exodus 36:3 7 Exodus 25:2

2 . offering ] better, contribution. The Heb. tărûmâh (from hçrîm, to lift or take off ) denotes properly what is ‘taken off’ from a larger mass, and so separated from it for sacred purposes (LXX. often ἀφαίρεμα , ‘something taken off ’; Targ. אפרשותא , ‘something separated ’). RVm. heave-offering (also sometimes in the text, as Numbers 18:8 ; Numbers 18:11 ) is due to the mistaken idea that the term implies a rite of elevation: see against this, Oehler, Theol. of OT . § 133, or Di. on Leviticus 7:32 . Těrûmâh is used in particular (1) of gifts taken from the produce of the soil (as tithe, firstfruits, and firstlings), Deuteronomy 12:6 ; Deuteronomy 12:11 ; Deuteronomy 12:17 , Numbers 15:19-21 ; Numbers 18:11 (see vv. 12, 13), Nehemiah 10:37 ; Nehemiah 10:39 ; (2) of contributions of money, spoil, &c., offered for sacred purposes, as here, v. 3, Exodus 30:13-15 , Exodus 35:5 ; Exodus 35:21 ; Exodus 35:24 , Exodus 36:3 ; Exodus 36:6 , Numbers 31:29 , Ezra 8:25 ; and in Ezek. of the land reserved for the priests and Levites ( Ezekiel 45:1 ; Ezekiel 45:6-7 , &c.—here rendered ‘oblation’); (3) in connexion with sacrifices, only of portions ‘taken off’ the rest, and forming the priest’s due, especially of the so-called ‘heave-’ thigh (comp. on Exodus 29:27 ). See more fully the writer’s note on Deuteronomy 12:6 , or DB. Offer, Offering, 5.

The term is a distinctive one, and differs entirely in both meaning and application from minḥâh and ḳorbân , both of which are also in RV. often rendered ‘offering,’ ‘oblation’: see DB. l.c. The reader who wishes to distinguish accurately the uses of these three terms is advised to ascertain, with the help of the Englishman’s Heb. Concordance to the OT. , their occurrences, and to place a mark against each on the margin— ת׳ ( t. ), מ׳ ( m. ), or ק׳ ( ḳ. ), as the case may be. whose heart maketh him willing ] or liberal, ready : cf. Exodus 35:5 , Exodus 21, 22, 29; also the cognate verb, in the reflexive conj., Jdg 5:2 ; Jdg 5:9 (of volunteering in a campaign), and 16 times in Chr., Ezr., Neh., esp. in the chronicler’s representations of the offerings made willingly for both the first and the second Temples ( 1 Chronicles 29:5-6 ; 1 Chronicles 29:9 ; 1 Chronicles 29:14 ; 1 Chronicles 29:17 ; Ezra 1:6 ; Ezra 2:68 ; Ezra 3:5 ).

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.