Verse 1-2
Exodus 31:1-2. See, I have
called Bezaleel — The grandson
of Hur, probably that Hur who
had helped to hold up Moses’s
hands, chap. 17., and was at
this time in commission with
Aaron for the government of the
people in the absence of Moses.
Aholiab, of the tribe of Dan, is
appointed next to Bezaleel, and
partner with him. Hiram, who was
the head workman in the building
of Solomon’s temple, was also of
the tribe of Dan, 2 Chronicles
2:14.
Verse 3
Exodus 31:3. And I have filled
him with the Spirit of God —
And, Exodus 31:6, In the hearts
of all that are wise-hearted I
have put wisdom. Skill in common
employments is the gift of God;
it is he that puts even this
wisdom into the inward parts,
Job 38:36. He teacheth the
husbandman discretion, Isaiah
28:26; and the tradesman too,
and he must have the praise of
it. Although it is probable that
the arts were carried to a great
height at this period in Egypt;
yet, considering the state of
slavery in which the Israelites
had been held there, and the
hard labour to which they had
been compelled, it is not to be
supposed that many of them had
made any proficiency therein, or
were qualified for such curious
workmanship as had been
prescribed. But that God who
often chooses the weak things of
the world to confound the wise;
who took the apostles from their
fishing-boats, and from other
low occupations, and enabled
them to speak fluently and
correctly in the languages of
all nations to which they were
sent to preach; endued the
persons here mentioned with the
skill requisite for the work to
which they were appointed. A
late commentator remarks here,
“Neither Moses nor Aaron, nor
any of Aaron’s sons, were
appointed to this service; the
honour already conferred must
suffice for them, and if they
attended to their proper work,
they would find that also
sufficient. Nor were Moses’s
sons appointed; for it was the
Lord’s will that his
disinterestedness and divine
legation should appear
illustrious in the obscurity of
his posterity.”
Verse 5
Exodus 31:5. In cutting of
stones — That is, in cutting and
setting the precious stones, and
in graving on them what God
commanded. In carving of timber
— Rather in cutting of timber,
as the same word is rendered in
the beginning of the verse; for
we do not read of any carved
work about the tabernacle.
Verse 8
Exodus 31:8. The pure
candlestick — Bright,
resplendent, being of pure gold,
and always kept clean and
bright, Exodus 29:37; Leviticus
24:4.
The same original word occurs
Exodus 24:10, where the divine
glory is compared to the body of
heaven in its clearness or
splendour.
Verse 10
Exodus 31:10. The clothes of
service — Wherewith the ark, the
table, the candlestick, and
golden altar, were covered when
the camp removed, Numbers 4:6.
Verse 13
Exodus 31:13. Verily my sabbaths
ye shall keep — This had been
mentioned thrice before, Exodus
16:23; Exodus 20:8; Exodus
23:12; but seems here to be
repeated lest they should think
the sacred work enjoined in this
chapter would warrant their
breaking in upon the holy rest
of that day. Wherefore the
clause had better be translated,
Nevertheless my sabbaths shall
ye keep; for אךְach is often an
exceptive particle, and is so
rendered here by Arias, Montanus,
Le Clerc, Junius, and Tremellius.
It is a sign between me and you
— Some late commentators have
quoted Poole here, as follows:
“The sabbath is a five-fold
sign; 1st, Commemorative of
God’s creation and dominion over
them and all things, to whom
they hereby profess their
subjection. 2d, Indicative,
showing that they were made to
be holy, and that their
sanctification could be had from
none but God, as it here follows
and from the observation of
God’s days and appointments. 3d,
Distinctive, whereby they owned
themselves to be the Lord’s
peculiar people, by a religious
keeping of those sabbaths, which
the rest of the world grossly
neglected, and profanely scoffed
at. 4th, Prefigurative of that
rest which Christ should
purchase for them, namely, a
rest from the burden of the
ceremonial, and the curses and
rigours of the moral law, as
also from sin and the wrath of
God for ever, Hebrews 4:5 th,
Confirmative, both assuring them
of God’s good will to them, and
that, as he blessed the sabbath
for their sakes, so he would
bless them in the holy use of
it, with temporal, spiritual,
and everlasting blessings; and
assuring God of their standing,
and that they would stand to the
covenant made between God and
them. So that this was a mutual
stipulation or ratification of
the covenant of grace on both
sides.” Certainly the
institution of the sabbath was a
great instance of God’s favour,
and a sign that he had separated
them from all other people; and
their religious observance of it
was a great instance of their
duty to him. God, by sanctifying
this day among them, let them
know that he sanctified them,
and set them apart for his
service, otherwise he would not
have revealed to them his holy
sabbaths, to be the support of
religion among them. The Jews,
by observing one day in seven,
after six days’ labour,
testified that they worshipped
the God that made the world in
six days, and rested the
seventh; and so distinguished
themselves from other nations,
who, having first lost the
sabbath, the memorial of the
creation, by degrees lost the
knowledge of the Creator, and
gave the creature the honour due
to him alone.
Verses 14-16
Exodus 31:14-16. It is holy unto
you — That is, it is designed
for your benefit as well as for
God’s honour; it shall be
accounted holy by you. It is the
sabbath of rest, holy to the
Lord — It is separated from
common use to the service of
God; and by the observance of it
we are taught to rest from
worldly pursuits, and devote
ourselves, and all we are, have,
and can do, to God’s glory. It
was to be observed throughout
their generations, in every age,
for a perpetual covenant — This
was to be one of the most
lasting tokens of the covenant
between God and Israel.
Verse 17
Exodus 31:17. On the seventh day
he rested, and was refreshed —
And, as the work of creation is
worthy to be thus commemorated,
so the great Creator is worthy
to be imitated by a holy rest on
the seventh day. The expression,
was refreshed, is spoken after
the manner of men. It seems to
signify that delight and
complacency with which God
surveyed all his works, and
pronounced them good, Genesis
1:31. Of this divine pleasure we
may form some faint idea, by
comparing it to that solace and
refreshment which a benevolent
mind enjoys upon bringing into
execution some noble and
arduous, some generous and well
concerted plan for advancing the
glory of God and good of
mankind.
Verse 18
Exodus 31:18. He gave unto Moses
the two tables of testimony —
After his forty days’ stay upon
the mount, God dismissed him,
giving him the ten articles of
the moral law, written upon two
tables of stone, to be delivered
to the people, and to be laid up
in the ark, as the standing
record of the divine will
relating to the principal
branches of their duty. In the
most ancient times, it must be
observed, laws were wont to be
engraven upon tables of brass,
marble, wood, &c. These tables
of stone, it appears, were not
prepared by Moses, but probably
by the ministry of angels. They
were written with the finger of
God — That is, by his will and
power immediately, without the
use of any instrument. They were
written in two tables, being
designed to direct us in our
duty toward God and toward man.
They were called tables of
testimony, because this written
law testified the will of God
concerning them, and would be a
testimony against them, if they
were disobedient. |