Sometimes we get really impressed with our own accomplishments and think that God and everyone else should be just as impressed. Our work should be worth something to them. Somehow it doesn’t seem like God is pleased simply because we find some way to make work for ourselves. In Isaiah 65:3-5:

A people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face; that sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth incense upon altars of brick; Which remain among the graves, and lodge in the monuments, which eat swine's flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels; Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day.

Among other things in the passage is the accusation that they burn incense on altars made of brick. What is that about? If you turn all the way back to Exodus 20:24,25:

An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee. And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.

That is a strange command, isn’t it? At least by our standards it is. Even after God allowed one of the Hebrew kings to build a temple, they built it in a very foreign manner to how we build our churches. I Kings 6:7:

And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building.

What do you think this means then? There is a growing number of people who do not believe that we should be interfering with how nature operates. I don’t think that is what this is complaining about. After all, later in the chapter from Isaiah we hear that God is going to create a new place for us to live that is not stained by the problems of this world. Isaiah 65:17,21:

For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. [...] And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.

If you wanted to argue that it is possible to build a house and plant a vineyard without nails or other iron tools, I would have to agree. However, I would like to see you build a solid house without using iron on a tree somewhere along the way. Rotting trunks (that cause the tree to fall on its own) hardly make for a good frame.

Our savior, Jesus, was a carpenter. This means that he used hammers and planes on boards and, probably, was involved in constructing whole buildings.

Then what other reason could there be for God to command this? An altar was a place where someone sought God. The first time that we hear mention of one, it is being built by Noah after the flood (Genesis 8:20). In the next verse, the Bible says that God saw it much different than the smoke in the nose and continual burning that he speaks of in Isaiah. It says that he smelled the sweet savor of Noah’s sacrifice.

If we want God’s presence, there is a time of building (and we often use what others, who have come before us, have built). We select from what we have available and our respect for God shows in how we prepare for his Holy presence. When the altar is being made, the builder should do his best to lay out the stones properly but there is no way he can pretend it is perfect.

You know, his life is not any different. God sees what is there and whether he has thrown the stones together, has dealt harshly with them, or whether he is doing the best he can with what is available. It is not allowed for him to make a new altar in exactly the same way that he did the previous time.

What do you think? How do you stack up the stones in your life? Do you respect the Holy?

PS. I’m not necessarily knocking our building methods. I actually used a power saw for two minutes right outside the door of my church today. But we do need to be respectful.

PPS. Today is the 20th anniversary for my church’s existence. We have been working to prepare it for the “homecoming” but it means nothing if God’s presence isn’t there with us. If you would, please pray that it pleases Him. Thanks!