With the Golden Calf crisis resolved, plans to build the tabernacle in the wilderness went forward. Moses announced a call from God to collect donations of materials for the tabernacle (Ex 35:4-19). The Israelites responded with enthusiasm (vv 20-29), quickly donating more than enough (36:2-7).
There was also a call for skilled craftsmen to work under Bezalel and Oholiab in building the tabernacle, and many were moved to answer this call as well (36:2).
Because many donated materials and labor to the tabernacle project, the Israelites felt a close personal connection to the tabernacle.
It is natural to compare the construction of the tabernacle to the later building of Solomon's Temple. This was a much larger project. King David collected lots of wealth for the future Temple, and the tribes of Israel gladly added much more (1 Chron 29:1-9), leading David to joyfully thank and praise God (vv 10-19).
The building of the beautiful Temple, though, was not entirely a volunteer effort. Solomon drafted lots of workers for this mammoth endeavor (1 Ki 5:13-18). Some wonder if the Israelites, as a result, felt less of a personal tie to the Temple than they had to the tabernacle. Instead, there was more resentment about the high taxes that Solomon levied. Sharon Rimon proposes that a lack of personal connection to the Temple allowed many Israelites to join Jeroboam's rebellion and leave Jerusalem and the Temple behind ( I Ki 12).
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