| Back to Home Page | Back to Book Index
|
Exodus Chapter
Thirty-five
Exodus 35
Chapter Contents
The sabbath to be observed. (1-3) The free gifts for the
tabernacle. (4-19) The readiness of the people in general. (20-29) Bezaleel and
Aholiab called to the work. (30-35)
Commentary on Exodus 35:1-3
(Read Exodus 35:1-3)
The mild and easy yoke of Christ has made our sabbath
duties more delightful, and our sabbath restraints less irksome, than those of
the Jews; but we are the more guilty by neglecting them. Surely God's wisdom in
giving us the sabbath, with all the mercy of its purposes, are sinfully
disregarded. Is it nothing to pour contempt upon the blessed day, which a
bounteous God has given to us for our growth in grace with the church below,
and to prepare us for happiness with the church above?
Commentary on Exodus 35:4-19
(Read Exodus 35:4-19)
The tabernacle was to be dedicated to the honour of God,
and used in his service; and therefore what was brought for it, was an offering
to the Lord. The rule is, Whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring. All
that were skilful must work. God dispenses his gifts; and as every man hath
received, so he must minister, 1 Peter 4:10. Those that were rich, must bring
in materials to work on; those that were skilful, must serve the tabernacle
with their skill: as they needed one another, so the tabernacle needed them
both, 1 Corinthians 12:7-21.
Commentary on Exodus 35:20-29
(Read Exodus 35:20-29)
Without a willing mind, costly offerings would be
abhorred; with it, the smallest will be accepted. Our hearts are willing, when
we cheerfully assist in promoting the cause of God. Those who are diligent and
contented in employments considered mean, are as much accepted of God as those
engaged in splendid services. The women who spun the goats' hair were
wise-hearted, because they did it heartily to the Lord. Thus the labourer,
mechanic, or servant who attends to his work in the faith and fear of God, may
be as wise, for his place, as the most useful minister, and he equally accepted
of the Lord. Our wisdom and duty consist in giving God the glory and use of our
talents, be they many or few.
Commentary on Exodus 35:30-35
(Read Exodus 35:30-35)
Here is the Divine appointment of the master-workmen,
that there might be no strife for the office, and that all who were employed in
the work might take direction from, and give account to them. Those whom God
called by name to his service, he filled with the Spirit of God. Skill, even in
worldly employments, is God's gift, and comes from above. But many are ready
enough in cutting out work for other people, and can tell what this man or that
man should do; but the burdens they bind on others, they themselves will not
touch with one of their fingers. Such will fall under the character of slothful
servants. These men were not only to devise and to work themselves, but they
were to teach others. Those that rule should teach; and those to whom God has
given knowledge, should be willing to make it known for the benefit of others.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Exodus》
Exodus 35
Verse 2
[2] Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day
there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the LORD: whosoever
doeth work therein shall be put to death.
Six days shall work be done — Work for the
tabernacle, but on the seventh day - You must not strike a stroke, no not at
the tabernacle-work; the honour of the sabbath was above that of the sanctuary.
Verse 3
[3] Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon
the sabbath day.
Ye shall kindle no fire — For any servile work,
as that of smiths or plumbers. We do not find that ever this prohibition
extended farther.
Verse 21
[21] And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and
every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the LORD's offering to
the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and
for the holy garments.
Every one whom his spirit made willing — What they did they
did chearfully. They were willing; and it was not any external inducement that
made them so, but their spirits. It was from a principle of love to God, and
his service; a desire of his presence with them by his ordinances; gratitude
for the great things he had done for them; and faith in his promises of what he
would do further.
Verse 22
[22] And they came, both men and women, as many as were
willing hearted, and brought bracelets, and earrings, and rings, and tablets,
all jewels of gold: and every man that offered offered an offering of gold unto
the LORD.
Tablets or Lockets.
Verse 30
[30] And Moses said unto the children of Israel, See, the
LORD hath called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe
of Judah;
The Lord hath called Bezaleel — And those whom God
called by name to this service, he filled with the spirit of God, to qualify
them for it. The work was extraordinary which Bezaleel was designed for, and
therefore he was qualified in an extraordinary manner for it. Thus when the
apostles were appointed to be master-builders in setting up the
gospel-tabernacle, they were filled with the spirit of God in wisdom and
understanding.
──
John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Exodus》
35 Chapter 35
Verse 3
Ye shall kindle no fire.
The unkindled fire
In the old time it was a law that each night, at a prescribed
hour, a bell should be rung, on hearing which the people were to put out their
fires. This a law not about putting fires out each day, but against lighting a
fire on one particular day. Why this law?
I. To show that on
the Sabbath, especially, men should attend to the interests of the soul rather
than to the comports of the body.
II. To remove
frivolous excuses for non-attendance on religious worship.
III. To guard the
time of females or servants from unrighteous invasion; and teach men that women
had religious rights and duties equally with themselves.
IV. To inculcate in
all the duty of self-sacrifice in matters relating to the soul and God. (Biblical
Museum.)
The rest of plants
All creation seems to possess the instinct of rest. We well know
how eagerly the human heart sighs for rest. But it is not so well known that
even plants sleep. Their strange sleep, says Figuier, vaguely recalls to us the
sleep of animals. In its sleep the leaf seems by its disposition to approach the
age of infancy. It folds itself up, nearly as it lay folded in the bud before
it opened, when it slept the lethargic sleep of winter, sheltered under the
robust and hardy scales, or shut up in its warm down. We may say that the plant
seeks every night to resume the position which it occupied in its early days,
just as the animal rolls itself up, lying as if it lay in its mother’s bosom.
All the world seems to express the sentiment contained in the words uttered by
one of old, who desired the wings of a dove in order to seek and obtain rest. (Scientific
Illustrations.)
Sabbath breaking condemned
Dr. Beecher was seen one Monday morning leaving his house
with a basket in his hand which he was carrying to the fish-market, and in
which he intended to carry home a fish for the family table. Unknown to him, a
young man of undecided religious principles was following and watching him. The
minister soon came to the fish-market. Here Dr. Beecher picked up a
fine-looking fish, and asked the fisherman if it was fresh and sweet.
“Certainly,” replied the man, “for I caught it myself yesterday,” which was the
Sabbath. Dr. Beecher at once dropped the fish, saying, “Then I don’t want it,”
and went on without another word. We are not informed whether the preacher
obtained his fish, but when the young man who was following him that morning
related his experience some time afterwards on his admission to the Christian
Church, he stated that Dr. Beecher’s consistency evinced in the fish-market had
been the turning-point in his career. It convinced him of the power of religion
in life, had induced him to attend the ministry of the man who had won his
respect, and he was converted.
Verse 29
A willing offering.
The willing offering
Remember that at this time there was no legislation to Israel
about giving. A little while after there were strict laws how much they were to
give--and every Israelite was by law presently compelled to give no less than two-tenths--first
one-tenth and then another tenth--one-fifth of all his property to God; but now
that legislation had not taken place, and they gave in the freeness of their
own willing hearts. But God has withdrawn legislation again with respect to His
Church’s gifts to Him. Only He has laid down broad principles--and we act upon
those broad principles in the freedom of the gospel. And here is our
opportunity of testing our great love to God--that we are ourselves to be a law
to ourselves, that we should give as the Spirit of God moves us. Now let us
see, a little more carefully, some rules for giving. We cannot give before we
have received. We can only give Him of His own; and, therefore, he who would be
a good giver must be careful first to be a good receiver.
I. Having received
largely and freely, then, to give is first to give one’s self. And I would
advise you, before you make any gift whatsoever, to go through an express act
of surrender of yourself to God. That done, then make your gift, whatever it be,
that you have in your heart to give--make it a solemn, consecrated gift. By
some special acts of prayer, dedicate it to God. Then make your act of charity,
to the Church or to your fellow-men.
II. And now the
practical question comes--how much ought we to give? A question which, in the
freeness of the gospel, it is impossible to answer. The answer would vary
according to many circumstances, so that it would be impossible to lay down one
abstract law. The line has too often, perhaps, been drawn, that it becomes a
Christian to give one-tenth of his income to God. But if a man with small means
ought to give one-tenth, then a man with double the means ought to give a
fifth; because the rate of giving ought to rise in proportion to the income.
And, again, the rate of the giving must be according to the demands and the
claims which are upon the Christian. So that those who have families--wives and
children--depending upon them, ought not to give in the same proportion to
their income as those who have none. So that should it be that any person,
either of his own fault or other’s fault, is involved in debt, then that person
should consider first the justice of paying the debt, and then go on to the
luxury of giving to God or to the Church. I do not say that a person who is in
debt should be deprived altogether of the privilege of giving to God. Because,
if he make his gift to God a thing taken out of that which he would certainly
otherwise have spent upon himself, then he is not injuring his creditors,
though he gives part of his income, and though he be in debt, to God. But then
he must be careful that by that gift he does not defraud his creditors, because
there must be perfect justice before charity. (J. Vaughan, M. A.)
The blessings of giving
There is nothing so like God--because the essence of God is He is
always emitting. “He opens His hand, and fills all things living with
plenteousness”: and all things are His. And the more expansive our minds, the
more open our hearts, the more we give, the more we grow into the likeness of
the great giving God. And it is such a sweet feeling one almost fears that we
may be led to do it for the very sweetness there is in the act. But it is the
happiness of giving when it is done to express our own feelings of love to
Jesus. And though there is no merit in any gift that any man can ever give, yet
there is “a good foundation for the time to come.” And this is the way it is a
foundation. It is an evidence. In the great day of judgment, the thing examined
will be, “Did you love Christ?” For witness there will stand out your acts, to
prove whether you did or did not love Christ--that is, whether you had accepted
His salvation, and had loved Him in return. And your acts will stand out in
testimony, to prove or disprove your love to Christ. And not only so. This
world is a failing world, and everything around us will be bankrupt. Therefore,
do you so use “the mammon of unrighteousness,” the spoils of Egypt--money--do
you so use “the mammon of unrighteousness” that it will be a “friend” to
you--not an enemy, to rise up against you as a witness to your selfishness, and
your pride, and your worldliness, but a friend to speak for you. (J.
Vaughan, M. A.)
Free giving
I. The lord’s
offering should be immediate. The people in this instance were sufficiently
informed of the need. They had time to learn how far they could individually
meet it, and then they returned with their presents. A simple, practical reply
this, to the Divine call. “He gives twice that gives quickly.” Emergencies are
not continuous.
II. The lord’s
offering must be voluntary.
III. The lord’s
offering is to be of such as we have, Good wishes and approving words bring
down no scales which turn with deeds. “ Most men,” said Sydney Smith, “are
ready to act the good Samaritan without the oil and the two pence.”
IV. The lord’s
offering may be complete (chap. 36:5, 6). (De Witt S. Clarke.)
A great demand, and the gracious response
I. A great demand.
1. God sometimes makes demands upon His people. Sometimes by
providential calls for help. Our brother dies suddenly and leaves his orphan
children dependent on our care. In these children God comes to us and
says--Give!
2. The demands which God makes upon His people are sometimes
apparently harsh and unreasonable. Here, from these newly-escaped slaves, He
demands a Tabernacle which cost, it is computed, at least £250,000.
3. God sometimes makes demands upon His people which cannot be met
without real self-sacrifice.
4. He demands that these sacrifices shall be made with good will
(chap. 25:2, 35:5; 1 Corinthians 8:12; 1 Corinthians 9:7). God makes such
demands upon His people--
(a) They need to be saved from covetousness, which is idolatry.
(b) They need to have their character ennobled, and this can be
accomplished only by the exercise of self-denial.
(c) They need channels for the expression of gratitude and joy. By
those who truly love God, opportunities by which they may honour Him are
welcomed with eager joy.
II. A glorious
response. The demand for contributions for the erection of the Tabernacle was
more than met (Exodus 36:5-7). How did this come to
pass?
1. A spirit of holy enthusiasm possessed the people.
2. This spirit of holy enthusiasm possessed not a few wealthy men
only, but the whole people (Exodus 35:21; Exodus 35:29).
3. This spirit of holy enthusiasm moved them to give not only of
their superfluity, but also things needful to them in daily life (Exodus 35:22-24); and not only to give,
but also to labour (Exodus 35:25).
4. This spirit of holy enthusiasm transformed every sacrifice that
was made for God into an occasion and cause of great joy. So, again, was it at
the erection of the Temple (1 Chronicles 29:9). Finally, this
glorious response on the part of the people was gloriously acknowledged by the
Most High (chap. 40:34, 35). (The Preacher’s Monthly.)
An old subscription list
There was plenty of compulsory work, of statutory contribution, in
the Old Testament system of worship. Sacrifices and tithes and other things
were imperative, but the Tabernacle was constructed by means of undemanded
offerings, and there were parts of the standing ritual which were left to the
promptings of the worshipper’s own spirit. There was always a door through
which the impulses of devout hearts could come in, to animate what else would
have become dead, mechanical compliance with prescribed obligations.
I. We have set
forth here the true motive of acceptable service. “They came, every one whose
heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing.” There is a
striking metaphor in that last word. Wherever the spirit is touched with the
sweet influences of God’s love, and loves and gives back again, that spirit is
buoyant, lifted, raised above the low, fiat levels where selfishness feeds fat
and then rots. The spirit is raised by any great and unselfish emotion.
Continual contact with Jesus Christ, and realization of what He has done for
us, is sure to open the deep fountains of the heart, and to secure abundant streams.
If we can tap these perennial reservoirs, they will yield like artesian wells,
and need no creaking machinery to pump a scanty and intermittent supply. We
cannot trust this deepest motive too much, nor appeal to it too exclusively.
Let me remind you, too, that Christ’s appeal to this motive leaves no loophole
for selfishness or laziness. Responsibility is all the greater because we are
left to assess ourselves. The blank form is sent to us, and He leaves it to our
honour to fill it up. Do not tamper with the paper, for remember there is a
Returning Officer that will examine your schedule who knows all about your
possessions.
II. We get here the
measure of acceptable work. We have a long catalogue, very interesting in many
respects, of the various things that the people brought. Such sentences as
these occur over and over again--“And every man with whom was found” so-and-so
“brought it”; “And all the women did spin with their hands, and brought that
which they had spun”; “And the rulers brought” so-and-so. Such statements
embody the very plain truism that what we have settles what we are bound to
give. Or, to put it into grander words, the capacity is the measure of duty.
Our work is cut out for us by the faculties and opportunities that God has
given us. The form as well as the measure of our service is determined thereby.
“She hath done what she could,” said Jesus Christ about Mary. We often read
that, as if it were a kind of apology for a sentimental and useless gift,
because it was the best that she could bestow. I do not hear that tone in the
words at all. I hear, rather, this: that duty is settled by faculty, and that
nobody else has any business to interfere with that which a Christian soul, all
aflame with the love of God, finds to be the spontaneous and natural expression
of its devotion to the Master. The words are the vindication of the form of
loving service; but let us not forget that they are also a very stringent;
requirement as to its measure, if it is to please Christ. “What she could.” The
engine must be worked up to the last ounce of pressure that it will stand. All
must be got out of it that can be got out of it.
III. Notice, again,
how in this list of offerings there comes out the great thought of the infinite
variety of forms of service and offering, which are all equally needful and
equally acceptable. The list begins with “bracelets, and ear-rings, and rings,
and tablets, all jewels of gold.” And then it goes on to “blue, and purple, and
scarlet, and fine linen, and red skins of rams, and badgers’ skins, and shittim
wood.” And then we read that the women did spin with their hands, and brought
that which they had spun--namely, the same things as have been already
catalogued, the blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen. That looks as if
the richer gave the raw material, and the women gave the labour. Poor women,
they could not give, but they could spin. They had no stores, but they had ten
fingers and a distaff; and if some neighbour found the stuff, the ten fingers
joyfully set the distaff twirling, and spun the yarn for the weavers. Then
there were others who willingly undertook the rougher work of spinning, not
dainty thread for the rich soft stuffs whose colours were to glow in the
sanctuary, but the coarse black goats’ hair which was to be made into the heavy
covering of the roof of the Tabernacle. No doubt it was less pleasant labour
than the other, but it got done by willing hands. And then, at the end of the
whole enumeration, there comes--“And the rulers brought precious stones, and
spices, and oil,” and all the expensive things that were needed. The big
subscriptions are at the bottom of the list, and the smaller ones are in the
place of honour. All this just teaches us this--what a host of things of all
degrees of preciousness in men’s eyes go to make God’s great building! All the
things that are given, and the works that are done from the same motive,
because of the willing heart, stand upon the same level of acceptance and
preciousness in His eyes, whatever may be their value in the market-place. (A.
Maclaren, D. D.)
Free giving
I. Co-operation in
free giving.
1. The men brought their gifts (Exodus 35:23-24).
2. The women brought their gifts (Exodus 35:25-26).
3. The rulers brought their gifts (Exodus 35:27-28).
II. Giving based on
an acceptable principle.
1. Its motive was right (Exodus 35:29).
2. Its judgment was correct.
III. Free giving, in
its influence upon God (Exodus 35:30-35).
1. If the gifts had not been forthcoming, the special skill would not
have been brought into requisition.
2. The gifts, without the skill to use them, would have been of no
account.
3. A Divine law is here discovered--God ever imparts to a willing
people every needed grace for complete success.
Lessons:
1. The contrast between the children of Israel bowing before the
calves of gold and bearing cheerful offerings for God’s sanctuary, is marked
and suggestive.
2. The contrast between the feelings of their covenant God toward
them in these opposite attitudes.
3. Suggestive also is the contrast between the joy and peace of a
disobedient and an obedient people.
4. We have here an instructive example of how much can be
accomplished by a willing and united people in a short time.
Free gifts for the Tabernacle
I. Art should be
consecrated to the service and worship of God. Emptiness and gloom do not
honour Him whose are the silver and the gold, and whose handiwork is manifest
in star and crystal, flower and feather. We cannot go far wrong when the Word
of God encourages us in chaste use of symbols, making art the handmaid of
religion, and every avenue to the soul a highway to God.
II. The artizan’s
calling is honoured of God and his lawgiver. He who is diligent in business and
fervent in spirit serves the Lord, and even in our manual occupations we may be
fellow-workers with God. He who works rightly is so far God-like.
III. Giving, when
rightly done, is an act of worship. To hear the Word without an offering is to
be a hearer of it and not a doer. Stinginess in a Christian contradicts the
cross and its lesson. We are to give promptly and regularly. Zeal cools by
delay. Ideas shrink and vision shortens when the heart is not roused. Like the
willing people before Moses, let us give now and see the good of our gifts
while we live. Better be our own executors, writing our wills on living human
hearts rather than on the skins of dead sheep or lawyers’ foolscap.
IV. Impulsive
generosity is not to be contemned. Sentiment is more powerful than logic, and
every minister of Christ and leader of men should imitate Moses, who proved
himself, under God, a heart-rousing, pocket-compelling preacher. To thrill the
money-nerve unto good ends is a noble achievement. Then the maid forgets her
ornaments. The lady’s jewels are cast into the molten mass that is to make a
church bell, supply the needs of the battle-field, the hospital, or the
famine-stricken land.
V. The path of
sacrifice leads us to Christ and His cross. The heart that prompts the offer of
the cup of cold water, when cultivated by Divine grace to highest
possibilities, rests only under the cross of Calvary. (William E. Griffis.)
Materials and offerings
I. The materials
of which the Tabernacle was made.
1. Various. Nothing is too good for God’s service. Common things are
useful, and not to be despised. The meanest things may be sanctified to God’s
service. In the Church of Christ we find persons of all nations and stations.
Sinners of every degree, colour, character, and size; redeemed, called,
sanctified, and blessed, are the materials with which God builds His spiritual
house.
2. Suitable. We cannot improve on God’s Choice, nor conceive of a
better plan. So in the Church of God perfect wisdom is seen. His glory is great
in our salvation. Christ will have a revenue of praise from every soul He
rescues from hell. Great sinners are just suitable for a great Saviour.
3. Very costly. Who can tell the value of one soul?
4. Mostly from Egypt. God gathers all the materials for His sanctuary
out of the house of bondage.
5. Beautiful.
6. Durable.
II. The willing
people who brought the materials. A beautiful illustration of the fruit and
effect of God’s forgiving love. Having willing hearts, the people brought willing
offerings. All classes had a share in the giving--poor as well as rich--and all
their gifts were accepted.
III. The skilful
workmen who brought the materials into beauteous form. (R. E. Sears.)
Voluntary contributions for Church work
I. Let us compare
their design in erecting the Tabernacle with ours. It was to establish a
religion which, when we consider, we cannot but rejoice that we live in
brighter days. Not that we would speak disrespectfully of a system which God
Himself instituted; but we may safely say that it was inferior to ours. When
the Jews laboured to build the Tabernacle they laboured to establish a religion
that was--
1. Obscure. There was some light, but it was mingled with much
darkness. The truths taught were enveloped in obscurity.
2. Their system was contracted. When they sought to build a
Tabernacle, it was only for the use of a million or a million and a half of
people. Theirs was a spirit of sectarianism. It was wisely appointed, indeed,
to keep them from mingling with the heathen around them. But we cannot help
rejoicing that we are not thus shut up. The gospel is designed for all nations,
tongues, and people.
3. Their system was burdensome. Their observances were pompous, their
rites were numerous and costly. But our yoke, in this respect, is easy, our
burden is light. Here are but few institutions, and those are simple and
efficient.
4. Their system was temporary. It was only suited to the Jewish
meridian, it was only adapted to the service of the Tabernacle. Whereas the
Christian system is adapted to every government, for it interferes with none;
to every climate, for it is not regulated by the usages of country; to all
people, for it is alike friendly to all.
II. Let us compare
the exertions of the jews with ours, in reference to these respective systems.
1. Their exertions were prompt.
2. General.
3. Proportionate.
All seemed to ask, “What talent have I by which I may promote this
cause?” If our Churches were possessed of this spirit, how much more would be
done: ministers can preach and speak, but there must be collectors also,
distributors of reports, etc. Those who have not a ready tongue, may have a
flowing pen.
III. Let us consider
the obligations under which they were laid, and under which we also are. Laid.
1. They had received a revelation from heaven. If they who received a
revelation under the influence of terror did so much, we ought surely to do
more! If they did so much under the smoke of Sinai, ought not the droppings of
the cross to influence us? Oh, let us feel ashamed that we have made so few
exertions.
2. They had experienced merciful deliverances from heaven.
3. They had enjoyed merciful supplies from heaven. (J. Blackburn.)
The popular response
1. The answer of the people was marked by the spirit of willinghood.
Some form of the word willing occurs again and again: “Every one whom his
spirit made willing”; “As many as were willing-hearted.” God will have nothing
out of the reluctant hand. We may throw an offering down, but it is not taken
up by heaven. It evaporates downwards; it is not received by the condescending
and sympathetic sun.
2. The answer was the deepest and truest cure of all murmuring. The
people had been murmuring again and again, but the moment they began to work
they ceased to complain. You would murmur less if you worked more. An evil
thing is idleness. It must always sit with coldness, and the two must keep one
another in evil countenance. The one thing to be feared is stagnation. Hear
heaven’s sweet appeal for service, for sacrifice, and know that the appeal is
not the demand of exaggeration, but that it is inspired by the very spirit of
consideration for human feeling, and expresses the very philosophy of human
spiritual education. (J. Parker, D. D.)
Gifts to the Lord
I. The spirit of
the people was thoroughly devotional. It will result in no success whatsoever
to attempt to manage the Lord’s interests in a merely mercenary and marketable
way. Any Church enterprise will fail if it only seeks to please a crowd, to
fire the ambition of a denomination, or become a monument of personal pride.
For this is not its end; its purpose is salvation of lost souls, and anything
short of that is simply waste of money and zeal. We have heard it said that
once the venerable keeper of the Eddystone lighthouse was completely prostrated
by the wild conflict of the ocean during a violent storm which threatened to
destroy the slender shaft of stone out in the midst of the waves. He joined the
small company of his helpers in guarding the windows, defending the doors, saving
the boats, fastening the broken chains, till he used up his infirm strength
completely. They laid him down in one of the little chambers to die, for no one
could be spared to watch. After a while they came to tell him the storm was
abating; but, left for a moment, he had crept up the stairs to the lantern, and
was there feebly trimming the lamps. “I was afraid some vessel might miss the
light,” he said in explanation. They told him, a little petulantly, that he
might have spared his strength to help preserve the building. “No, no,” he
answered, with an anxious look out over the offing; “I was not put out here to
save lighthouses, but to save ships!”
II. The spirit of
the people was universally industrious. Personal labour is more valuable often
than money in the Lord’s service, for it more surely carries the heart with it.
There is an exquisite little story told us in the classics, of one Cressinus,
whom the Romans arrested for witchcraft because he grew opulent on so small a
farm. But he came to the judgment producing his tools, and displaying his
hardened hands: “These are my sorceries,” he exclaimed; “these implements of
honest toil are all the witcheries I know of!” And they freed him on the plea.
The eight fingers and two thumbs of Christians are the best ten friends that
any congregation in difficulties ever has found under God.
III. The spirit of
the people was self-sacrificingly liberal. There was once a man who was
prospered in business and grew wealthy. Then he lavished his fortune in house
and equipage, and in all personal indulgence of self. He suddenly failed, and
in shame and sorrow stood by while his furniture and pictures, his horses and
plate, were scattered among strangers by the glib auctioneer. Some days
afterwards he happened to be present at the dedication of a mission chapel for
the poor, which a Christian friend had just erected. “Ah, how I wish,” said he,
as his memory told him of his improvident excesses in former times--“how I wish
now that some of the wealth I wasted was invested here with yours in this
building, which will be doing God’s service long after I am forgotten!”
IV. The spirit of
the people was prayerfully ingenious. The principle of division of labour was
carried into use among the people so that every sort of fitness should be put
into service. Really, the rule appears to have been that every one should do
the exact thing he could do the best, and give all he was able to offer in the
line of unobtrusive contribution. There was certainly something for each man
and each woman to do; and they all became alert to find out their vocation. It
is remarkable to see how unconscious they are of any claim to special praise.
There is no clapping of hands for each other; there is no plaudit from the
skies. The famous statue of Phidias, called the Olympian Jove, was reckoned one
of the wonders of the world; and the Grecian orators used to declare that on
its completion Jove himself struck the pavement in front of it with glorious
lightning in token of his approbation. This will do very well as a tale for a
superstitious and self-seeking multitude. But our God never compliments human
industry, nor flatters his creatures for simply doing their duty. They must be
content to wait with the approval of their own consciences, and watch the rising
of each fair enterprise like a tabernacle for God’s dwelling.
V. The spirit of
the people was enthusiastically affectionate. Over and over again we are
reminded that their hearts were in every case “stirred up,” and their spirits
were made “willing-hearted.” It is not even worth while to delay in
illustrating this point; for the whole after history shows that their success
in such a vast undertaking came from the same temper as that which actuated the
nation in after times when building the Temple: “The people had a mind to
work.” Therein is our very best lesson for modern endeavour. (C. S.
Robinson, D. D.)
Willinghood
I. Describe the
willing offerer. He is one who gives--
1. As much as he can.
2. Of the best he has.
3. Cheerfully, as to the Lord.
II. Offer some
reasons for willingness in the service of God.
1. The Lord loves a cheerful giver.
2. The value of what is given in enhanced by the manner of the
bestowment.
3. The willingness of one stirs the liberality of others.
4. Good works are often delayed, fatally, by the slowness of giving.
5. We are not our own, and all we have is God’s.
6. God gave “this unspeakable gift” willingly. (Biblical Museum.)
Strange offerings
About nine o’clock in the morning the people gathered together in
the church. Fully five hundred natives were present, and the building seemed to
be well filled. It is hard to say how many the Port Moresby church will hold.
The people sit on the floor. They have a way of folding up their legs and then
sitting on them, and this saves space by doing away with all need for chairs.
They can stay seated in this cramped position for an hour or two. Upon this
occasion the floor was almost entirely covered with people who listened well to
what was said. I have never faced such a congregation before. Towards the front
the people were simply but decently dressed. Many of them were young men and
women who are being trained for native teachers in the Mission School. You had
only to look a few yards behind them to see the naked savage sitting almost motionless,
and looking just a little hideous in his grotesque ornamentation. To look from
one man to another was to see what has been done, and what can be done for
these people by the gospel of Christ. The collection was a very strange one.
Very few of the people have any money, so, instead of silver and gold, they
brought such as they have--viz., 325 spears, 65 shell armlets, 92 bows, 180
arrows, besides shields, drums, shell necklaces, feather and other ornaments.
Altogether, counting money given by the missionaries and the native teachers,
the collection was worth f30 1s. 6d. (Lewis, Missionary in New Guinea.)
Self-denying offerings of women
General Longstreet, speaking of the struggle at Centreville, says:
“The Federals had been using balloons in examining our positions, and we
watched with envious eyes their beautiful observations, as they floated high up
in the air, and well out of the range of our guns. We longed for the balloon
that poverty denied us. A genius arose for the occasion and suggested that we
send out and gather together all the silk dresses in the Confederacy and make a
balloon. It was done, and soon we had a great patchwork ship of many and varied
hues.” (H. O. Mackey.)
Consecrated jewels
A few months before the death of Miss Frances Ridley Havergal, the
sweet and accomplished missionary poetess, she sent to the Church Missionary
Society her jewels, value f50. Had she been strong enough, she herself would
have gone to India.
Consecrated plate
Lord Shaftesbury, on one occasion, said to me, “I am going to
build a schoolroom in your parish.” I knew that he had a good many claims on
him, and I said “Let me help you to collect the funds.” But he would not, and
he built schoolrooms in two of the parishes on the estate. Afterwards he said
to me, “You asked me to allow you to help me in collecting funds, but I thought
it was not my duty to do so. Do you know how I got the money?” I said, “No, of
course I do not.” “Well,” he said, “I found I had so much more plate left me by
my father than I wanted, that I thought I would sell enough to build these two
schoolrooms.” (Bp. Bickersteth.)
The motive to liberality
Diodorus Siculus relates that the forest of the Pyrenean Mountains
being set on fire, and the heat penetrating to the soil, a pure stream of silver
gushed forth from the bosom of the earth and revealed for the first time the
existence of those rich lodes afterwards so celebrated. Let the melting
influence of the cross be felt, let the fire of the gospel be kindled in the
Church, and its ample stores shall be seen flowing from their hidden recesses
and becoming “the fine gold of the sanctuary. (J. Harris.)
Offerings of devotion
The Rev. Dr. D. Fraser tells the following:--After a sermon
preached by him at the opening of a church elsewhere, a lady of fashionable
position in society came to him. “Why should I have two watches while the house
of God remains unpaid for?” He replied, “Really, I cannot tell why.” She then
said, “Well, I will give the better watch of the two toward the cost of the
church.” She did so, and a jeweller paid f25 for it, which was a sensible
addition to the fund. Dr. Fraser added that at another collection, on the
previous Sunday, a lady who had not a piece of gold, and who did not care to
give silver, took the chain off her neck and put it on the plate. She would
lose nothing by that. They might say that these were impulsive women. Well,
impulsive women might rise up to condemn illiberal men in the day of the Lord.
Variety of offerings in God’s treasury
I remember once being in the treasury of a royal palace.
There was a long gallery in which the Crown valuables were stored. In one
compartment there was a great display of emeralds, and diamonds, and rubies,
and I know not what, that had been looted from some Indian rajah or other. And
in the next case there lay a common quill pen, and beside it a little bit of
discoloured coarse serge. The pen had signed some important treaty, and the
serge was a fragment of a flag that had been borne triumphant from a field
where a nation’s destinies had been sealed. The two together were worth a
farthing at the outside, but they held their own among the jewels, because they
spoke of brain-work and bloodshed in the service of the king. Many strangely
conjoined things lie side by side in God’s jewel-cases. Things which people
vulgarly call large and valuable, and what people still more vulgarly call
small and worthless, have a way of getting together there. For in that place
the arrangement is not in order of what the thing will fetch if it is sold, but
what was the thought in the mind and the emotion in the heart which gave it.
Jewels and camel’s hair, yarn and gold and silver, are all massed together.
Wood is wanted for the temple quite as much as gold and silver and precious
stones. So, whatever we have, let us bring that; and whatever we are, let us
bring that. If we be poor and our work small, and our natures limited, and our
faculties confined, it does not matter. A man is accepted “according to that he
hath, and not according to that he hath not.” He gives much who gives all,
though his all be little; he gives little who gives a part, though the part be
much. The motive sanctifies the act, and the completeness of the consecration
magnifies it. Great and small are not words for God’s kingdom, in which the
standard is not quantity but quality, and quality is settled by the purity of
the love which prompts the deed, and the consequent thoroughness of
self-surrender which it expresses. Whoever serves God with a whole heart will
render to Him a whole strength, and will thus bring Him the gifts which lie
most desires. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)
Willing offerings acceptable to God
There was once a missionary meeting held in the West Indies among
the negroes, at which these three resolutions were agreed upon--
1. We will all give something.
2. We will give as God has prospered us.
3. We will all give willingly.
As soon as the meeting was over, a leading negro took his seat at
the table, with pen and ink, to put down what each came to give. Many came
forward to give, some more and some less. Amongst those that came was a rich
old negro, almost as rich as all the others put together, and threw down upon
the table a small silver coin. “Take dat back again,” said the negro that
received the money; “dat may be according to de first resolution, but it not
according to de second.” The rich man accordingly took it up, and hobbled back
to his seat in a great rage. One after another came forward, and as almost all
gave more than himself, he was fairly ashamed of himself, and again threw down
a piece of money on the table, saying, “Dare! take that!” It was a valuable
piece of money: but it was given so ill-temperedly, that the negro answered
again, “No! dat won’t do yet! It may be according to de first and second
resolutions, but it is not according to de last”; and he was obliged to take up
his coin again. Still angry at himself and all the rest, he sat a long time,
till nearly all were gone, and then came up to the table, and with a smile on
his face, and very willingly, gave a large sum to the treasurer. “Very well,”
said the negro, “dat will do; dat according to all de resolutions.” Whatever we
do for the worship and service of God, we should do it freely, cheerfully, and
cordially. “God loveth a cheerful giver.” If cheerful giving to God’s cause was
required under the old dispensation, how much more is it required under the
new!
I must give before I can pray
The venerable Dr. Sewall, of Maine, once entered a meeting
in behalf of foreign missions, just as the collectors of the contributions were
resuming their seats. The chairman of the meeting requested him to lead in
prayer. The old gentleman stood hesitatingly, as if he had not heard the
request. It was repeated in a louder voice, but there was no response. It was
observed, however, that Dr. Sewall was fumbling in his pockets, and presently
he produced a piece of money, which he deposited in the contribution box. The
chairman, thinking he had not been understood, said loudly, “I didn’t ask you
to give, Dr. Sewall, I asked you to pray.” “Oh, yes,” he replied, “I heard you,
but I can’t pray till I have given something.”
The worth of youthful giving
The Rev. Dr. Dickson, of Baltimore, in an address at the Maryland
State Sabbath-school Convention, spoke of the need of cultivating “the grace of
giving” in early life. Twenty years ago, he said, he proposed to his
Sabbath-school superintendent to take up a collection every Sabbath morning
from the children. “Why, my dear pastor,” exclaimed the superintendent, “you
shear the sheep pretty often, and this looks really like wanting to shear the
tender lambs!” The thought startled the speaker. A few days after, however, he
was in the store of one of his parishioners, purchasing stockings. He had
selected a good article, as he thought, when the merchant inquired, “Why do you
not select the lambs’wool?” “Lambs’ wool! why, are they better?” “Yes, they are
a world softer, far more pliable, and I believe wear longer than those made
from old sheep’s wool.” He did not remember, and needed not to inform the
hearers, whether he took the stockings; but he knew that he took the fact to
his superintendent, telling him that “lambs’ wool was the best wool, and he
meant to try it!” The many early traits of selfishness, avarice, covetousness,
subdued by the earlier formed habits of giving in children who could tell!
Verses 30-34
To devise curious works.
Bezaleel; or, invention, art, and religion
Religion may not despise art and inventive power. It should absorb
everything that can give pure joy and assist devotion. The best art generally
has a Godward look.
I. Art and
Christianity both imply work. Indolence is disgrace. Work is honourable,
whether it be the work of the horny hand, the skilful touch, or the busy brain.
There is no curse upon work, unless when poorly paid. Indeed, the world would
be accursed if there were no work, no art, no skill.
II. Art and
science, like religion, stimulate thought. Man, weak in bodily frame, is to be
strong by the exercise of mind. Thought is to overcome force, and ingenuity
inertness. We believe that Christianity will flourish best where there is
truest art culture and deepest reverence arising from contemplation of God’s
works.
III. Art, science,
and Christianity alike teach us that we are mutually dependent. The comforts
and joys, as well as the necessaries of life, are the result of much thought
and care on the part of others.
IV. Art and
science, like Christianity, are useful in fostering purer and higher tastes,
God intended that we should be educated in this way to appreciate something
higher in the better world. (F. Hastings.)
The true design of work
We are accustomed to limit the inspiration of God’s Spirit
to thoughts and words. For this, however, we have no warrant in Scripture. The
sevenfold Spirit has differences of administration and operation. The body as
well as the soul experiences His sanctifying influence. He enters the sphere of
man’s labour as well as of his thought, and inspires the work of his hands as
well as the meditations of his mind. The same Spirit that inspired the
eloquence of Isaiah, and the melodies of the chief musician Asaph, also
imparted to Samson that marvellous bodily strength which he displayed in Herculean
labours, and tremendous feats against the Philistines; and to Bezaleel and
Aholiab that fine aesthetic taste and mechanical skill, by which they were
enabled to construct the Tabernacle after the pattern shown on the mount. What
is the lesson conveyed to us by the Theocratic government of Israel, whose
affairs, secular and religious, national and individual, were regulated
directly by God Himself? Is it not that the whole of life is one; that true
religion is the proper use of man’s whole being, and of the universe around
him? What does the ascension of our Lord teach us? Is it not the unity of life;
the oneness of the natural and the religious life? Godliness is now profitable
unto all things. It is not the setting up of an estrangement between man and
the outer world, but the working out of a true harmony between them; not the
elimination of any of the elements of man’s life, but the proper blending of
the whole--the sanctification of body, soul, and spirit; the doing all, whether
we eat or drink, or whatsoever we do, to the glory of God. Bearing in mind this
solemn truth of the unity of all life, let me proceed to consider the
significance of the inspiration of Bezaleel and Aholiab. This fact is not of
individual but of general application. It is not unique, but representative.
The Tabernacle of the wilderness was a miniature model of the whole earth, just
as the people of Israel were the miniature pattern of all nations. Every man
has a part assigned to him in the erection and adorning of this wonderful
Tabernacle, whose floor is the green fields, whose walls are the rocks and
mountains, and whose roof is the ever-changing sky. Every man who does a day’s
work is a fellow-worker with God, in carrying out His great design in creation,
in improving the face of nature, changing the wilderness into a garden, in
making the world fairer and richer, and better fitted to be the home of
redeemed man, and the shrine of the Most High God. Toil is the first stage of
the process of redemption--“the condition of man’s elevation out of the state
of a sinful, suffering, degraded creature, to the friendship, fellowship, and
likeness of God.” In the Pacific Ocean there are lovely islands built entirely
by coral zoophytes, out of the profound depths of the ocean. Raised above the
waves, floating germs of vegetation alight on them, and speedily cover them
with a fair clothing of verdure. Man comes and takes up his abode on these
Edens, and makes their resources subservient to the purposes of human life. By
and by the missionary appears, and by the preaching of the gospel changes the
moral wilderness into a garden of the Lord. The last great result is thus but
the completion of a process begun by the mere natural instinct of a creature in
the depths of the ocean. The work of the missionary rests upon, and is closely
connected with, the work of the polyp. So is it with human toil. It may be a
mere instinctive process carried on in the depths of spiritual ignorance; a
blind, aimless motion, having no higher object than the mere satisfying of
natural wants. Man may be induced to work purely by physical necessity, because
he cannot otherwise get his bread; and yet toil is absolutely necessary as the
foundation upon which the spiritual structure of our soul’s salvation is laid.
The effects of the fall began indeed in the soul; and it is in the soul that
they must first be counteracted. The work of grace is radical. It begins in the
heart, and spreads outwardly through the life. But work is the fulcrum by which
its blessed leverage is exerted, the discipline through which it is carried
out. Toil, first of all, teaches man his utter poverty. He forfeited life and
all the means of life by his sin. As an outlaw under sentence of outlawry, he
can hold no possessions whatever; he has no right even to his daily bread. But
further, toil makes man subject to the law which he has broken. He sought to
escape from law by his transgression. Striving to escape from the beneficent
law of God, he fell under the cruel law of poverty, hunger, and death. He must
become, as Mr. Brown says, the servant of the laws by which God maintains the
order and life of the world, if he would earn the smallest blessing from their
co-operation. Only by falling in with the Divine rule in every work can any man
hope to succeed in it. Those who conquer nature are those who comprehend and
obey her. But further still, toil opens the door into the sphere of duty, and
is the hinge on which the deepest relationships and richest experiences of life
turn. Not for himself does any man toil. Wife and children have to be provided
for. But the highest ministry which our toil performs is to bring us into
communion and fellowship with God our Redeemer, to make us fellow-workers with
God. We enter into His purposes, comprehend His plans, and sympathize with His
feelings. The patience which the husbandman exercises in waiting through the
long summer months for the fruit of what he sows, and which the artist and
mechanic display in slowly developing their special work, enables us in some measure
to understand the patience of God in His work of providence and redemption. The
disappointments and failures to which all kinds of work are exposed, prepare us
for sympathizing with God’s grief over the ruins of the world which He had made
all very good, and over the disappointments which He meets in His redemption
work. The courage, the faith, the devotion, the perseverance, the self-denial
which our daily work calls forth, are closely related to our higher moral and
spiritual discipline, and have the most important effect in redeeming us from
the consequences of the fall. We need the inspiration of God’s Spirit--the
inspiration which Bezaleel and Aholiab had--to rescue our work from the
degradation into which it so easily slides, and make it what God meant it to
be. The very labour of our hands sinks down into depraved methods, unless kept
up by the ennobling influence of God’s Spirit. The inspiration of the Spirit
does not indeed impart gifts--does not stand in place of natural abilities and
attainments. Men have different talents naturally; and a Christian may have
only one talent, while a thoroughly worldly man may have ten. And yet it is
marvellous what the inspiration of the Spirit can do, even in the absence or
deficiency of natural attainments. The entrance of God’s Word gives light, and
makes the simple wise. Conversion is itself an education. Religion exalts and
ennobles the whole man. It quickens and elevates all his powers, and makes
itself felt in everything with which he has to do. We see the marvellous
influence of the Christian religion, even although mixed with much
superstition, in the art of the Middle Ages--in those paintings of sacred
subjects, and those abbeys and cathedrals which are the admiration of our age.
There is nothing in Christianity that forbids, but, on the contrary, everything
that favours the widest expansion, the loftiest achievement of the human mind,
and the most skilful production of the human hand. It behoves all who are
Christians, then, to show what Christianity can do in the way of purifying and
ennobling common every-day work. Let us seek to make our work an essential part
of our religion. The labour of Bezaleel, from a worldly point of view, was
evanescent. The Tabernacle which he constructed with such rare skill, passed
away; all its precious materials and workmanship disappeared like a beautiful
dream of the morning, and not a trace of them now remains on the face of the
earth. And yet, notwithstanding this, the work of Bezaleel was abiding in its
spiritual results. Israel reaped the benefit of it through all their
generations. We ourselves are the better for it to-day. (H. Macmillan, D. D.)
Inspiration for handicraft
No nobler thought of God, no more welcome gospel, after an
assurance of purifying grace, has been uttered than this which these verses
hold. Fallacious and fatal is the thought that a man can live a divided life.
Hopeless is his struggle to “serve two masters.” And surely few heresies have
done so much damage to religion as that which would lead a man to think that
the things which necessarily occupy a large proportion of his time and energy
are matters of no concern to the God who claims his worship, and that to Him
the toil of the industrious, the genius of the skilful, the patience of the
earnest, with all the products of such life’s endeavour, are things of no
moment, lying outside the region of His care and cognizance. Honour to the soul
that rises in revolt against an injustice to God and man! I meet with men who
are troubled by this misconception; men who need, as we all need, help from God
day by day, and all day long; men who, if their industry cannot be brought
within the sphere of their religion, feel that they must be irreligious, or at
all events unreligious for the greater part of their life. Let me try to win
such men from their mistake by setting before them this truth of God. Do you
not feel how full-charged this truth is with the power of quickening and
redeeming grace? Do you not feel how all-inclusive this truth is, how it
touches every man, and makes his whole self worthy, how it touches the whole of
the man, and leaves nothing of him outside of Divine help, nothing of him
undignified by Divine overruling? Let us put the truth into plain words, and
look it straight in the face--power of hand and brain is of God and for God. It
has a comely aspect, significant of hope, voiceful with strenuous incentive,
calm with conscious triumph. We are brought just back to this simple, ancient
way of putting the fact, after all the revelations and imaginations concerning
species and development, which have been given to the world. Genius may be
largely hereditary, special capacities may be cultured and developed. But who
planned the conditions and the laws? It is interesting to discover method; but
method is not cause. Knowledge of the means through which anything is done is
not the same as a knowledge of that by which the thing is done. I don’t
know, I don’t believe that any one wants to try to prove atheism. But we might
almost as well doubt the very existence of our God as fail to reap the great
harvest of privilege which springs from this great seed truth, “in Him we live
and move and have our being.” Oh, if all the thinkers and workers in the world,
our fellows and associates in the office and the warehouse, in the factory and
in the foundry, could be brought to feel this, what a power for good would
grow! If men and women went into each day’s toil with not a vague, shadowy
idea, but a great and vivid conviction that the strength, the skill, the ingenuity,
power of adroit and delicate touch, power of fanciful and beautiful designing,
strength to sling the hammer and make the anvil ring, delicacy, deftness,
knack, that indescribable way of doing just the right thing at the right time,
which is so marvellous to watch--that all this is a Divine gift bearing the
seal of the Most High God, the pledge of His thought and care and love, a holy
trust to be used for Him--would not such a conviction be as good as it was
great, as redemptive as it was real? It makes all the difference between
drudgery and duty, between toil and work. It changes hard labour, recompensed
by coin of the realm by which a man’s debts are paid and his needs met, into an
exultant exercise of power, recompensed by the approval of a conscience void of
offence, recompensed more gloriously by the approval of the Master who was once
Himself a workman and is eternally a worker: “Well done, good and faithful
servant: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” I appeal to those who listen to
me to get rid of the fallacy and to get hold of the fact. The call to labour is
a summons to high privilege. The inspiration to true labour has its origin in
God. Take the truth with you tomorrow, friend, and it will lift your life out
of its monotony and rid it of any aspect of dreariness. It will put a soul into
what has, perhaps, been a lifeless thing. It will send a glow to you through
what, perhaps, hitherto has chilled your very heart. It was the Lord God who
put wisdom and understanding into every wise-hearted man “to know how to work
all manner of work for the service of the sanctuary,” and He, the Lord, is “the
same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever.” This brings me naturally to the
emphasizing of another point illustrated here: that the power, the disposition
to use the skill is also a Divine gift. I say use, for misuse and abuse are of
a man’s own selfishness. Often do we hear the question, “What will he do with
it?” Now I imagine that a man who has felt the pressure of the solemn fact of
which I have spoken, namely, that power of hand and brain is of and for God,
will be found looking for this second fact--that power to use the skill is also
a gift from Him. If I discover that I am in possession of some precious thing
which has come to me from God, the natural and immediate impulse will be to
look to Him for guidance and power in the use of it. I am anxious not to misuse
it. I fear to make a mistake. A man makes a sorry bargain who sells himself for
money or for the passing gratification of his senses. Yet men have been tempted
to abuse their skill, intelligence, strength, by the doing of a deed, one
result of which was the enabling them to say, “That pile of gold is mine,” a
saying which could only be true for a time, and another result of which was the
withering and maiming of their very soul. I believe in the possibility of
consecrating all endeavour. I believe that daily labour in any man’s lawful
calling may be ennobled with the grandeur of Divine service. If, then, you and
I feel gracious influences and powers leading and qualifying us to use our
force and skill in this highest way, “not with eye-service as men-pleasers,”
but with “singleness of heart” as reverencing God, thankfully may we recognize
the influence as His influence, the power as His power, the grace as His grace.
Mental endowment and power of speech, physical endowment and power of
handicraft, are high gifts, and the generosity is meant for good. (D. Jones
Hamer.)
Consecrated ability
There was, of course, a special Divine influence on these two
artists; but in a very real sense, it is true of every man of genius that his
excellence has been given him by God, and he should seek to consecrate it to
God’s service. Let us be just, also, and add that, in a large proportion of
instances, they have done so. Take the noblest things in poetry, music,
architecture, and painting, and you will find that they have been done in the
service of God, and have a religious significance. The grandest epic in our
language is on a religious theme; and some of our grandest lyrics have come
from the harp of a pious heart, swept by the breeze of a holy influence. What
are the oratorios of Handel but the consecration of his genius to Jehovah? and
the finest specimens of architecture which Europe has to show are its venerable
cathedrals, every one of which, in the ideal of its designer, was a sermon in
stone. The greatest triumphs of the painter have been in the delineations of
sacred subjects; and many among them who have become famous have, like the Fra
Angelico, done their work upon their knees . . . Every true product of art, no
matter in what department, is a poem; and if we can adopt the lyrics of the
singer into our hymnology, why should we not encourage our artists to preach on
the canvas and in the marble? Never minister gave a more eloquent sermon than
that painted by Holman Hunt in “The Light of the World.” And the advantage is
on the painter’s side in more ways than one, for, while the sermon dies out of
recollection, the picture lives. So let us encourage men of genius to
consecrate their abilities to God’s service; and then, perhaps, the time will
come when, in the highest of all senses, “the day of the Lord shall be upon all
pleasant pictures.” (W. M. Taylor, D. D.)
Art inspiration
Few minds are sunlike, sources of light to themselves and to
others. Most are moons, which shine with a derivative and reflected light.
Bezaleel and Aholiab drew their skill from Divine inspiration. Indeed, it has
been said by Cicero that all great men are in some degree inspired. They are
Divinely qualified for their respective missions. Was not Gutenburg inspired to
invent printing, with the view to a world-wide diffusion of the Word of God?
The history of nations and of the Church afford numerous illustrations of this
species of inspiration in the raising up of special men to certain works when
such needed to be done.
Artistic education of Israelites in Egypt
Under Jehovah’s merciful providence even the captivity of Israel
had a sunny side. Egypt, then at the noon of her civilization, was
pre-eminently the home of science, art, and culture. For both rede-craft and
hand-crafts her children were world-famed. The Israelites were educated in a
school of fine arts as well as in brickyards. Not all their sons and daughters
toiled in clay, or ate only cheapest bread and onions. Many were house and body
servants to Egyptian ladies and gentlemen. The brighter and more dexterous
learned trades; and though slaves, served their masters as skilled mechanics or
workers in art products. Not a few secured first-class knowledge in stamping,
chasing, and various branches of metal-work, in the lapidary and glyptic art,
as well as in weaving, dyeing, carpentry, and leather-dressing. In addition to
their theoretical knowledge and practical handicraft, they had pretty full sets
of models and masterpieces of mechanism. The keepsakes and souvenirs borrowed
from the Egyptians were easily copied and manufactured, when raw material from
mine and flock, sea and soil, in the Sinaitic peninsula were put to account. It
was not entirely a “horde of slaves” that went up out of Egypt. Between the mob
of ignorant freedmen and the princes, statesmen, and leaders inspired of God,
stood another class of men: these were metallargists, jewellers, engravers,
architects, and weavers possessing that skill, born of hand and brain working
in harmony, without which a high civilization and the order of cities are
impossible. (W. E. Griffis.)
Prayer for artistic skill answered
A young painter was directed by his master to complete a picture on
which the master had been obliged to suspend his labours on account of his
growing infirmities. “I commission thee, my son,” said the aged artist, “to do
thy best upon this work. Do thy best.” The young man had such reverence for his
master’s skill, that he felt incompetent to touch canvas that bore the mark of
that renowned hand. But “Do thy best “was the old man’s calm reply; and again,
to repeated solicitations, he answered, “Do thy best.” The youth tremblingly
seized the brush, and kneeling before his appointed work, he prayed: “It is for
the sake of my beloved master that I implore skill and power to do this deed.”
His hand grew steady as he painted. Slumbering genius awoke in his eye.
Enthusiasm took the place of fear. Forgetfulness of himself supplanted his
self-distrust, and with a calm joy he finished his labour. The “beloved master”
was borne on his couch into the studio, to pass judgment on the result. As his
eye fell upon the triumph of art before him, he burst into tears, and throwing
his enfeebled arms around the young artist, he exclaimed, “My son, I paint no
more!” That youth, Leonardo da Vinci, became the painter of “The Last
Supper,” the ruins of which, after the lapse of three hundred years, still
attract large numbers annually to the refectory of an obscure convent in Milan.
(Christian Journal.)
Wisdom a Divine gift
A touching story is related of Thomas Telford, the Scottish
mason who became one of the greatest of British engineers. His great scheme of
a suspension bridge over the Menai Strait, connecting Carnarvonshire with the
Isle of Anglesea, had passed through many stages of difficulty and doubt. Will
and genius had battled with, and overcome the obstacles, and the bridge was a
fact. An experiment had been made, and all went well. Enthusiastic friends
missed the designer. They went to seek him, and to tell him how thoroughly his
plans appeared to be justified, and how reward had come for labour and anxiety.
Telford was found on his knees, lifting up his heart to God in adoration and
prayer. He recognized that all wisdom and all power was a Divine trust, and
that God was the Giver of all his good. This is the right way to take success.
Such men do not lose in soul-stature through their prosperity.
──《The Biblical Illustrator》