| A PORTABLE CATHEDRAL |
| An unlikely sight in the desert. |
| And everyone who was willing and whose heart moved him and brought an offering to the Lord for the work on the Tent of Meeting. 35:21 |
| In A. D. 1144 a great building began to take shape in a village in northwest France. Enthusiasm for the project soon spread across the entire country, and volunteer workers streamed to the site. Working together, the people managed to construct one of the most beautiful buildings in the world, the magnificient cathedral at Chartres. Fifty years later, after a terrible fire, the villagers of France rebuilt their cathedral from scratch. Today, tourists throng to marvel at what was splendidly fashioned to the glory of God so long ago. Inspired Builders A work of art took shape in similar fashion thousands of years earlier than Chartres, and the last chapters of Exodus provide a wealth of details. In a hostile desert landscape, a tribe of just-liberated slaves built something of exquisite beauty: a portable cathedral, or tabernacle. God directed the project personally, specially endowing the craftsmen with skill (31:1-6) and elaborating right down to the color choice of woven yarns, the precise length of curtains and wooden frames, and the design of gold filigree. The people of Israel joined together in a flurry of activity, carefully following God's pattern. A ton of gold went into the project, as well as narly four tons of silver and stockpiles of precious gems and rare woods. God Moves In After describing the tabernacle construction in great detail, the Bible devotes just five verses, the last five in Exodus, to its culmination. In a matter-of-fact tone, those sentences record a remarkable event. |
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