"Now it was so, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the Testimony were in Moses' hand when he came down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him. So when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him" (Exo. 34:29,30). The idea here is not that Moses' face was shiny or sunburned; rather, his face shot forth beams of light. He had spent so much time in God's presence that his face literally radiated. The people fear God's presence even in this shining.

"And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face. But whenever Moses went in before the LORD to speak with Him, he would take the veil off until he came out; and he would come out and speak to the children of Israel whatever he had been commanded. And whenever the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face shone, then Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with Him" (34:33-35). Moses, being a humble man, did not like to draw unnecessary attention to himself. He would rather cover his face than have the people scared of him or focused on his glowing skin. This narrative is referenced by Paul in II Corinthians 3, as he contrasts the old and new covenants.

"Then Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said to them, 'These are the words which the LORD has commanded you to do" (Exo. 35:1). And from there he reiterates many things pertaining to the Sabbath law, offerings for the tabernacle, and the artisans who were called by God to build the tabernacle and the articles therein. Bezalel would lead the project for he had been "filled with the Spirit of God, in wisdom and understanding, in knowledge and all manner of workmanship, to design artistic works, to work in gold and silver and bronze, in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of artistic workmanship" (35:31-33). The people then proceed to "bring much more than enough" for the great project (36:5), and then the construction began!

Moses wrote about the work that was done on each part of the tabernacle and then finally declared:

"Thus all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting was finished. And the children of Israel did according to all that the LORD had commanded Moses; so they did. And they brought the tabernacle to Moses, the tent and all its furnishings: its clasps, its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its sockets; the covering of ram skins dyed red, the covering of badger skins, and the veil of the covering; the ark of the Testimony with its poles, and the mercy seat; the table, all its utensils, and the showbread; the pure gold lampstand with its lamps (the lamps set in order), all its utensils, and the oil for light; the gold altar, the anointing oil, and the sweet incense; the screen for the tabernacle door; the bronze altar, its grate of bronze, its poles, and all its utensils; the laver with its base; the hangings of the court, its pillars and its sockets, the screen for the court gate, its cords, and its pegs; all the utensils for the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of meeting; and the garments of ministry, to minister in the holy place: the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and his sons' garments, to minister as priests. According to all that the LORD had commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did all the work. Then Moses looked over all the work, and indeed they had done it; as the LORD had commanded, just so they had done it. And Moses blessed them" (39:32-43).

Moses is pleased with their generosity and labor. They did well in following the pattern God provided.