BIBLE: Exodus Chapter 31 – Headline “Staying On Point: One Way”

Words in italic type have been added for clarity. They are not found in the original Hebrew or Aramaic.

Exodus 31

What should I learn from this chapter?

The Provisions for the Tabernacle
The Patterned Template
The Sabbath Covenant
What is “Holiness”?
The Finger of God
The Shadow of Things to Come

^{The Pattern for the Tabernacle or the Temple is precise. One mistake makes it profane in the eyes of God. It is written that the Temple on earth must be an exact replica of the Temple in Heaven. Click Here to See “About the Quantum Study Bible” and “entanglement”.}

^{Hebrews 8:5 “Who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, ‘See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.’”}

Artisans for Building the Tabernacle

Exodus 31:¹Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ² “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah.

To be “Called by name: is to be called out, anointed, or separated for a special sacred purpose which is the meaning of being Holy to the Lord.
- ^{Circumcision is to be separated from the flesh (pleasure) of the world, therefore consecrated.}
- ^{Anointed to be a priest or a king}.
- ^{That which is sacred is separated from the common.}
- ^{The “clean” is separated from from the “unclean”.}
- ^{The light was separated from darkness at creation.}
God believes in boundaries.

Exodus 31:³ And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, ⁴to design artistic works, to work in gold, in silver, in bronze,

Exodus 31:⁵in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of workmanship.

Exodus 31:⁶ “And I, indeed I, have appointed with him Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan (meaning Judge or To Judge); and I have put wisdom in the hearts of all the gifted artisans, that they may make all that I have commanded you:

The Chief Artisans: In Exodus 31:1-6 and chapters 36 to 39, Bezalel was the chief artisan of the Tabernacle and was in charge of building the Ark of the Covenant, assisted by Aholiab. The name “Bezalel” means “in the shadow (protection) of God, “The shadow of things to come” includes the Menorah. Jesus is called “The Branch” (the menorah has branches) and is symbolic of “things to come”. Oholiab/Aholiab means “father’s tent (tabernacle)”. Together, the two names mean “The tabernacle is the shadow of the things to come”.

Exodus 31:⁷the tabernacle of meeting, the ark of the Testimony and the mercy seat that is on it, and all the furniture of the tabernacle—⁸the table and its utensils, the pure gold lampstand with all its utensils, the altar of incense,

The meaning of the word “ark” is coffin. The mercy seat is Jesus’ death bed where he was laid. The two cherubim are the two angels inside the tomb, one sitting at the head of the death bed and one at the foot.

Exodus 31:⁹ the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the laver and its base— ¹⁰ the garments of ministry, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, to minister as priests, ¹¹ and the anointing oil and sweet incense for the holy place. According to all that I have commanded you they shall do.”

The Sabbath Law

Exodus 31:¹² And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹³ “Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Surely 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.

Exodus 31:¹⁴You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people.

Exodus 31:¹⁵Work shall be done for six days, 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.

The Sabbath is the day when man rests and lets God do the work for him; called “faith”.

Exodus 31:¹⁶ Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.

THE COVENANTS

Exodus 31:¹⁷ It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.’ ”

The symbolic meaning of the number 7 in scripture is “completion” and “perfection”. It also means complete satisfaction. In the book of Revelation the number 7 means to replay the story until a trinity of 7’s are completed through seals, trumpets, and bowls.

Exodus 31:¹⁸And when He had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony (the Ten Commandments), tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.

The Ten Commandments: The Tablets of Testimony

Where else in scripture do we see the finger of God?
- The writing on the wall of Belshazzar’s party.
  - ^{Daniel 5:5 In the same hour the fingers of a man’s hand appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. 6 Then the king’s countenance changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his hips were loosened and his knees knocked against each other.}
- The Plagues in Egypt.
  - ^{Exodus 8:19 Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, just as the Lord had said.}
- Jesus writing in the dirt at the temple at the accusations against an adulterous woman.
  - ^{John 8:6 This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.}
- Jeremiah’s statement of God writing names to be judged in the dirt.
  - ^{Jeremiah 17:13 O Lord, the hope of Israel, All who forsake You shall be ashamed. “Those who depart from Me Shall be written in the earth, Because they have forsaken the Lord, The fountain of living waters.”}
- The attack of the leaders on Jesus and His response
  - ^{Luke 11:20 But if I (Jesus) cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.}
    - ^{Fingers ins scripture are symbolic of the Spirit of God (the Holy Spirit).}