Skilled Workers
So Bezalel, Oholiab and every
skilled person to whom the LORD has given skill and ability to know how to
carry out all the work of constructing the sanctuary are to do the work just as
the LORD has commanded.”
Then Moses summoned Bezalel and Oholiab and every
skilled person to whom the LORD had given ability and who was willing to come
and do the work. They received from Moses all the offerings the Israelites had
brought to carry out the work of constructing the sanctuary. And the people
continued to bring freewill offerings morning after morning. So all the skilled
workers who were doing all the work on the sanctuary left what they were doing and
said to Moses, “The people are bringing more than enough for doing the work the
LORD commanded to be done.”
Then Moses gave an
order and they sent this word throughout the camp: “No man or woman is to make
anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.” And so the people were
restrained from bringing more, because what they already had was more than
enough to do all the work.
Exodus
36:1-7
God’s sanctuary was
to be magnificent. Everyone opened their hearts and gave, and gave, and gave.
At one point Moses had to tell them they had more than enough.
They used skilled
craftsmen, the very best. This was not some weekend project. This was a labor
of love.
Sometimes we look at
our churches and try to cheap it out. That was not God’s attitude when He
established a place of worship for the Israelites. He didn’t recruit just
anybody to set up an ordinary tent. He appointed skilled craftsmen.
Beauty was just as
important then as it is now. It reminded the people of the worth of God in
their worship. During the dry and dusty days of desert wanderings, they needed
a reminder of God’s majesty.
The beauty created by
God’s people in worship settings today can serve the same purpose. We offer God
our best talents because He is worthy. Beauty also gives us a glimpse of heaven
and whets our appetites for what God is preparing for our future.
Beauty
reflects God.
Our Daily Bread –