Continuing a Bible study in a chronological order set forth by Skip Andrews here:
(Exodus 31:1) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (2) “See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah."
In the previous chapters, God had been telling Moses how to build a tabernacle, how to make the various altars and utensils that would be used in the tabernacle, and how to clothe and anoint the priests. He now told him that he had called a specific craftsman by the name of Bezaleel to do some of the work. Bezaleel was from the tribe of Judah, the grandson of Hur, who was probably the same Hur that was with Moses and Aaron and helped support Moses's hands during the battle with Amalek (Exodus 17:10-12), and who was left in charge with Aaron while Moses was on the mountain (Exodus 24:14).
(3) "And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in
understanding, 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."
God said He had filled Bezaleel with His own Spirit in wisdom, understanding, and knowledge in all sorts of workmanship, to be able to create and construct designs in gold, silver, brass, as well as the cutting and setting of jewels, and wood carving. This shows how the "natural talents" of a person are gifts from God. We all have seen the difference between someone who reads and studies to do something, and one who seems to have been born with a natural talent to do the same thing. That "natural" talent is God-given and God-inspired by His own spirit, and we should be ever thankful to Him for the talents we possess.
(6) “And I, behold I, have appointed with him Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and I have put wisdom in the hearts of all who are wise hearted, that they may make all that I have commanded you:"
God also called Aholiab, who was from a different tribe, to work with Bezaleel. The commentaries that I study suggest in so many words that this was to keep one tribe from getting too prideful. All parts of the body of Christ are needed and have honor (1 Corinthians, chapter 12). God once again said that He was the One who put wisdom in all who are wise, and He had put the talents in these two men to carry out all He had commanded Moses to make.
(7) "The tabernacle of the congregation, the ark of the Testimony and the mercy seat that is on it, and all the furniture of the tabernacle, (8) And the table and its utensils, the pure gold candlestick with all its utensils, the altar of incense, (9) And the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the laver and its base, (10) And the cloths of service, 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 you they shall do.”
God then gave Moses a recap of all that He had commanded him that these two men should make--the tabernacle itself, the ark with its mercy seat, all the furnishings and utensils of the tabernacle, the candlestick, the altars, the wash basin, the holy garments to be worn by the priests, the incense, and the anointing oil. All the instructions that God had given Moses in the previous several chapters, He now instructed to be carried out by Bezaleel and Aholiab.
(12) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (13) “Speak also to the children of Israel, saying, ‘Verily My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you. (14) You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you; everyone who defiles it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. (15) Six days may work be done, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD; whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.'"
In their work on the tabernacle and its furnishings, God told Moses to warn the people that they were to observe the Sabbaths of the Lord. That was a sign between God and His people that He had given them as one of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20, that was to be observed throughout their generations, and was not to be skipped even in their zeal to do God's work on the tabernacle. It was Albert Barnes, in his Notes on the Bible, who pointed out in the last chapter that here was where there was a distinction between being put to death and being cut off from his people. If you read verse 14 alone, you might assume there was a difference between defiling the Sabbath and working on the Sabbath. Perhaps defiling it was to do evil on the day or to worship idols on the day set aside for God. It was Matthew Henry, in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, who referred to Isaiah 56:2, where God said that the man was blessed who kept his hand from doing any evil on the Sabbath. Defiling, doing evil, on the Sabbath was punishable by death, but perhaps disobeying in one's zeal for God and neglecting the Sabbath, was still disobedience and punishable by excommunication, but perhaps was distinguished from the evil act deserving of death. However, when you read the verse in context along with verse 15, scripture clearly states that doing work on the Sabbath does defile it, and that act alone was punishable by death. The Sabbath was a holy day set aside for rest and devoted entirely to God. Ignoring it was defiling that holy day and was punishable by death.
(16) "‘Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. (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.’”
The children of Israel were admonished to always observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as an everlasting covenant between them and God, at least as long as the Mosaic law continued until the coming of the Messiah. It was a sign between God and His children, patterned after His creation week when the Lord made heaven and earth in six days, and then rested on the seventh. Not only did He rest, but He was refreshed. That is a remarkable statement regarding the God of the universe! Albert Barnes, in his Notes on the Bible, pointed out that this word "refreshed" was not applied to God anywhere else in the Bible. Indeed, I found it in only two other verses, one in Exodus 23:12 where it referred to the people being refreshed on the Sabbath day, and one in 2nd Samuel 16:14, where the king and the people refreshed themselves. Obviously, God did not have need of a rest to be refreshed, but wanted His people to imitate His example because mere humans indeed did need rest. Jesus Himself said in Mark 2:27 that the Sabbath was made for man, and not man made for the Sabbath. God made the Sabbath to be a rest and refreshment for man, and He patterned it after His creation week. In observing the Sabbath, the children of Israel declared to the world that they worshiped the one true God who created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. It was a sign that they were His people, and He was their Lord.
(18) And He gave to Moses, when He had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, two tablets of testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.
At the end of God's conversation with Moses on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two stone tablets, incredibly written with His own finger, a lasting record of testimony that represented the covenant between God and His people. Some theologians have suggested that God didn't actually write the tablets Himself; "with the finger of God" meant it was done instantaneously, by His will and power immediately, without the use of any instrument. Others, like Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on the Bible, citing Dr. Henry Winder in his History of Knowledge, believed that not only did God write the tablets Himself, but that until He did, there had been no writing in alphabetical characters, but only marks or symbols or hieroglyphics. I don't see that that is confirmed by scripture. Back in Exodus 17:14, God told Moses to write a memorial in a book. True, it could have been written with symbols, but I see no need to prove that God invented the alphabet. I do believe it is confirmed in scripture that God Himself wrote the tablets. In Exodus 24:12, God told Moses to come up to Him on the mountain where He would give him tablets of stone which He had written. A little later in Exodus 32:16, it will refer to the writing on the tablets being the writing of God. As He always does to surely establish a fact (Deu. 19:15, Matt 18:16, 2 Cor 13:1), this was confirmed at least three times in scripture, so I believe that God did indeed write the tablets. Whether He took the time to painstakingly chisel them into stone, or spoke them and they were instantly written, I don't see that it makes a difference. God wrote the tablets so that His people would have a permanent record of His Testimony, that is, the written laws of His will concerning His people. This permanent record written by their Lord Himself emphasized the supreme importance His law was to play in their lives. I believe the stone tablets "written with the finger of God" is illustrative and representative of the fact that these laws were to be ultimately and even more permanently written on our hearts (2 Corinthians 3:3).
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