Chronologically, Exodus 35 is only a few weeks to months down the road from the Golden Calf incident. Textually, that whole scene is in Exodus 32, so just flip back a couple of pages if you’ve forgotten what happened.
It’s unlikely many people in that day would have forgotten what happened though, and even more unlikely that they forgot the punishment. One stands out the most in my mind at least—that of drinking the crushed gold as it was sprinkled on the water (Exodus 32:20).
In today’s world, eating or drinking gold is considered a luxury. A list of the most expensive foods in the world commonly include some form of edible gold. Some civilizations even claim that it has amazing healing abilities, although I don’t think either of those are how the Israelites viewed it. It was a punishment—plain and simple.
Gold makes a reappearance in Exodus 35 however, as it is one of the many items given in the construction of the Tabernacle. Like everything else on that list, gold was donated as a “freewill offering.” Everyone “whose hearts moved them” submitted fine metals, wood, and precious stones to the treasury.
The gold offerings in Exodus 32 were freewill also though, right? Aaron asked them for the rings in their ears—thankfully, they didn’t give all of them—and Aaron crafted it with his own hand.
Notice the difference between the two scenes. In Exodus 32, Aaron asks for gold and he builds the calf by himself. In Exodus 35, Moses asks for a contribution of just about everything else. And it’s not just materials they need—they need laborers, too. The Tabernacle is as much a production of the people as the golden calf was for Aaron.
I don’t have any grand point to make out of this comparison except to note that the gold wasn’t the problem. The fact that gold was made for an idolatrous purpose in one chapter does not mean it was ineligible to be used in Exodus 35. It was “reclaimed” in a sense, to be later used in a proper sense.
Sound familiar? How many times has this body that I have, or this brain God has given me, or these hands I’m using to type this article been used for unlawful purposes? How many times have these instruments been used for evil instead of good?
Just like the gold, I have been reclaimed. No longer am I to be used for impure purposes, but for His glory and for His usefulness. And just like the utensils in Exodus 35, I give it as a freewill offering to God.
