The
Lord said to Moses: Tell the Israelites to take for me an offering;1
from all whose hearts prompt them2
to give you shall receive the offering for me. This is the offering
that you shall receive from them: gold, silver, and bronze, blue,
purple, and crimson yarns and fine linen, goats’ hair, tanned rams’
skins, fine leather, acacia wood, oil for the lamps, spices for the
anointing-oil and for the fragrant incense, onyx stones and gems to
be set in the ephod and for the breastpiece.3
And have them make me a sanctuary, so that I may dwell among them.4
1
Another way for them to show trust in God, at cost to themselves.
2
Interesting – asks for it only from those whose hearts prompt
them.
3
As far as I can tell, this is basically a list of “things that
will make the tabernacle look nice”.
4
As is stated later in the Bible, God doesn't “need” a place to
live in, nor can he be held by something built by human hands. So
is this just a visible reminder for the Israelites that God is
present among them? A physical home for those who do not yet
understand the true nature of God? It seems like more than that,
but it is a mystery to me how to interpret it.
Take-home: God asks the Israelites to give to him luxury goods of their own volition, in order to make an ornate home in which He will dwell among them.
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