In Exodus 31, God commands the Israelites to build a tabernacle. Many Israelite men and women contribute to the project through donations and handiwork.
1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
2 See, I have called by name aBezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah:
5 And in acutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship.
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 awise hearted I have put bwisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee;
Exodus 31:1-6
What gifts did Bezaleel and Aholiab have?
How did God want them to use their gifts?
Can you think of any modern examples of people using their gifts for God’s work?
11 For all have not every gift given unto them; for there are many gifts, and to every man [and woman] is given a gift by the Spirit of God.
12 To some is given one, and to some is given another, that all may be profited thereby.
D&C 46 11-12
What does this scripture teach us about spiritual gifts?
Answers may include:
There are many different gifts.
Everyone is good at something.
Most people are not good at everything.
God intends for everyone to benefit from each other’s gifts
One of the great tragedies of life, it seems to me, is when a person classifies himself [or herself] as someone who has no talents or gifts…For us to conclude that we have no gifts when we judge ourselves by stature, intelligence, grade-point average, wealth, power, position, or external appearance is not only unfair but unreasonable…God has given each of us one or more special talents. Socrates made the famous statement, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” It is up to each of us to search for and build upon the gifts which God has given…
Let me mention a few gifts that are not always evident or noteworthy but that are very important. Among these may be your gifts—gifts not so evident but nevertheless real and valuable. Let us review some of these less-conspicuous gifts: the gift of asking; the gift of listening; the gift of hearing and using a still, small voice; the gift of being able to weep; the gift of avoiding contention; the gift of being agreeable; the gift of avoiding vain repetition; the gift of seeking that which is righteous; the gift of not passing judgment; the gift of looking to God for guidance; the gift of being a disciple; the gift of caring for others; the gift of being able to ponder; the gift of offering prayer; the gift of bearing a mighty testimony; and the gift of receiving the Holy Ghost.
We must remember that to every man [and woman] is given a gift by the Spirit of God. It is our right and responsibility to accept our gifts and to share them. God’s gifts and powers are available to all of us.
How is accepting our gifts and sharing them both a right and a responsibly?
How can we recognize our less evident gifts?
21 And they came, every one whose aheart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made bwilling, and they brought the Lord’s cofferingdto the work of the etabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments.
22 And they came, both men and women, as many as were willing hearted, and brought abracelets, and earrings, and rings, and tablets, all bjewels of gold: and every man that offered offered an coffering of gold unto the Lord.
23 And every man, with whom was found blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine alinen, and goats’ hair, and red skins of rams, and badgers’ skins, brought them.
24 Every one that did offer an offering of silver and brass brought the Lord’s aoffering: and every man, with whom was found shittim wood for any work of the service, brought it.
Image courtesy of David Padfield/FreeBibleimages.org
25 And all the women that were awise 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.
26 And all the women whose heart stirred them up ain wisdom spun goats’ hair.
27 And the arulers brought onyx stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate;
28 And aspice, and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense.
29 The children of Israel brought a awilling 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.
Exodus 35:21-29
What do you think motivated so many people to participate in constructing the tabernacle?
How do you think being involved in its creation affected the way each person thought of the tabernacle?
Have you ever been involved in a project that required contributions from many people? What are the benefits and challenges to such collaborations?
The Lord’s storehouse receives, holds in trust, and dispenses consecrated offerings of the Saints. In form and operation, the storehouse is as simple or sophisticated as circumstances require. It may be a list of available services, money in an account, food in a pantry, or commodities in a building. A storehouse is established the moment faithful members give to the bishop of their time, talents, skills, compassion, materials, and financial means in caring for the poor and in building up the kingdom of God on the earth. The Lord’s storehouse, therefore, exists in each ward.
What offerings of time, talents, skills, compassion, materials, or finances do Ward members contribute to in our Ward?
The Sabbath as a Sign
Upon commanding the Israelites to build a Tabernacle where they could worship, The Lord reiterated one of the ten commandments: keep the Sabbath Day holy.
12 ¶ And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
13 Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my asabbaths 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…
16 Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual acovenant.
17 It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for inasix days the Lordbmade heaven and earth, and on the cseventh day he drested, and was erefreshed.
Exodus 31:12-13, 16-17
How is the Sabbath a sign between us and God?
When He later revealed the Ten Commandments to Moses, God commanded that we “remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.” Later, the Sabbath was observed as a reminder of the deliverance of Israel from their bondage in Egypt. Perhaps most important, the Sabbath was given as a perpetual covenant, a constant reminder that the Lord may sanctify His people.
…How do we hallow the Sabbath day? In my much younger years, I studied the work of others who had compiled lists of things to do and things not to do on the Sabbath. It wasn’t until later that I learned from the scriptures that my conduct and my attitude on the Sabbath constituted a sign between me and my Heavenly Father. With that understanding, I no longer needed lists of dos and don’ts. When I had to make a decision whether or not an activity was appropriate for the Sabbath, I simply asked myself, “What sign do I want to give to God?” That question made my choices about the Sabbath day crystal clear.
7 And Moses took the tabernacle, and pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp, and called it the aTabernacle of the congregation. And it came to pass, that every one which sought the Lord went out unto the btabernacle of the congregation, which was without the camp.
8 And it came to pass, when Moses went out unto the tabernacle, that all the people rose up, and stood every man at his atent door, and looked after Moses, until he was gone into the tabernacle.
9 And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the tabernacle, the acloudy pillar descended, and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses.
10 And all the people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the tabernacle door: and all the people rose up and worshipped, every man in his tent door.
11 And the Lordaspake unto Moses bface to face, as a man cspeaketh unto his dfriend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant eJoshua, the son of fNun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.
Exodus 33:7-11
Antoinette Brown, the first American woman admitted to Divinity School, wrote that she learned to speak with God like a friend during her studies. Antoinette experienced a great deal of discrimination from people who wanted Divinity School to be for men only and little support from other women’s rights advocates, who criticized her for agreeing to the school’s unfair decision to let her participate but not provide her with a diploma at the end like the male students. She wrote this letter to the famous suffragist Lucy Stone about her experience at Divinity School.
I learned then to cast myself on the Lord as I had never done before and I learned to pray to him as I had never prayed before. Perhaps you will think me superstitious, but I have learned to talk with God as I would talk with a friend and I feel that to have His sympathy is all I need. You know we used to wish sometimes that we could live on and feel no need of the sympathy of anyone and I have learned to feel so. I do not mean that I do not wish for sympathy but I can feel perfectly happy without it and when anything troubles me I can tell it all to God and he certainly does comfort me even in the most trifling griefs.
Have you ever felt that you could talk with God like a friend?
How do we develop this kind of relationship with God?
12 ¶ And Moses said unto the Lord, See, thou sayest unto me, aBring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I bknow thee by cname, and thou hast also found grace in my sight.
13 Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found agrace in thy sight, bshew me now thy cway, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation isdthyepeople.
14 And he said, My apresence shall go with thee, and I will give thee brest.
Exodus 33:12-14
What inspires you about Moses’s prayer and the Lord’s response?
Have you had any experiences when you felt the Lord was with you or giving you rest?
In the next chapter, God is literally present with Moses.
6 And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.
Exodus 34:6-7
What do we learn about God from these verses?
Joseph Smith Translation, Exodus 34:7 clarifies that God will not “clear the rebellious.”
What might this mean?
These verses seem to portray God as both merciful and vengeful.
How do we reconcile these statements? How do you interpret these verses?
The Golden Calf
The most famous story within these chapters is about the Israelites creating an idol and worshiping it while Moses is away. The manual introduces this story like this. Consider these questions as you read:
As you read Exodus 32:1–8, try to put yourself in the Israelites’ place—you’re in the wilderness, Moses has been gone for 40 days, you don’t know if or when he will come back, and a confrontation with the Canaanites over the promised land is in your future (see also Exodus 23:22–31). Why do you think the Israelites wanted a golden idol? Why was the Israelites’ sin so serious? These verses might prompt you to ponder ways you might be tempted to put your trust in someone or something other than the Savior. Is there anything you feel inspired to do so that you can more completely put God first in your life?
—Come Follow Me for Individuals and Families 2022: Exodus 24; 31-34
1 And when the people saw that Moses adelayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us bgods, which shall cgo before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we dwot not what is become of him.
2 And Aaron said unto them, Break off the agolden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me.
3 And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.
4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a amolten calf: and they said, bThesebe thy cgods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
5 And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the Lord.
6 And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought apeace offerings; and the bpeople sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.
7 ¶ And the Lord said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have acorruptedthemselves:
8 They have aturned aside bquickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a cmolten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
Exodus 32:1-8
Why do you think the Israelites wanted a golden idol?
What feelings might have led them to idol worship?
What can we do when we might be struggling to keep our covenants?
Is there anything you feel inspired to do so that you can more completely put God first in your life?
I love the quote you included by Antoinette Brown. Thank you for posting that and sharing her history, so so inspiring. As I’ve been making my way through the Old Testament and laughed when I realized it felt like an engineer wrote the chapters about the tabernacle. Thank you for leading this discussion, April.
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Antoinette Brown, the first American woman admitted to Divinity School, wrote that she learned to speak with God like a friend during her studies. Antoinette experienced a great deal of discrimination from people who wanted Divinity School to be for men only and little support from other women’s rights advocates, who criticized her for agreeing to the school’s unfair decision to let her participate but not provide her with a diploma at the end like the male students. She wrote this letter to the famous suffragist Lucy Stone about her experience at Divinity School.
2 Responses
I love the quote you included by Antoinette Brown. Thank you for posting that and sharing her history, so so inspiring. As I’ve been making my way through the Old Testament and laughed when I realized it felt like an engineer wrote the chapters about the tabernacle. Thank you for leading this discussion, April.