Christ is risen! Once again, we are reminded of God’s outpouring of love for us. This Easter Sunday, let me tell you some biblical tales that involve the role of jewelry in building the many temples and tents of God. I stumbled upon these jewels of stories when one dreamy night I came across the Book of Exodus in the Old Testament.
This story took place in Egypt many centuries ago in 1240 B.C. There lived a people called the Israelites who were forced by the Egyptians to live a life of oppression and slavery. In desperation they called out to God who took great pity on them and made a plan to save them using a man named Moses. With the miraculous powers bestowed upon him by God, Moses led them out of slavery to go towards a place called the Promised Land.
After God had successfully brought the nation out of Egypt, He then set out the terms of the covenant reminding them that if they were to obey him they would grow into a holy nation. He even went a step further... in wanting, a visible sign that He would always be present, He then gave Moses instructions to build a very special tent for him. His intention was to have a home alongside their homes. Clearly, He wanted to make His presence felt among His special people.
Specific instructions were then given to Moses on how the community would build the tent. God requested that everyone open-heartedly and generously donate the very best of their precious possessions: Gold, silver, bronze, among other precious stones and gems. He also specified other materials like purple wool, fine linen, goat’s hair, ram’s skins dyed red, fine leather, acacia wood, oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and fragrant incense.
Then Moses called for the most skilled of craftsmen, artisans, designers, goldsmiths and jewelers to come forth and make the Holy Tent. Lo and behold! Men and women came who willingly gave their brooches, rings, bracelets, armlets, necklaces and gold things of every kind. All who could contribute to the collection of silver and bronze likewise brought their contributions. It is interesting to note that at that time, before the days of banks, it was practical to convert wealth into jewelry which could be worn and carried around easily.
The peoples of the ancient east were skilled in weaving, spinning, dyeing and embroidering. Precious and semi-precious stones were rounded, polished and engraved. Gold and silver were beaten and worked into elaborate designs. All these skills God called into play for the construction of his tent. It is so marvelous to note that God equipped these people with their skills to be able to deliver their particular jobs.
To carry on the building of the Holy Tent, God chose Bezalel and Oholiab to oversee the construction. To Bezalel, God gave the spirit of understanding, skills and ability for every kind of craft, for the art of designing and working in gold and silver and bronze, for cutting stones to be set and for carving wood. To Oholiab he had given the gift of teaching. He also filled him with various other skills to carry out all the crafts of engraver, weaver of fine linen, embroiderer and common weaver.
Another wonderful thing was happening while Bezalel and Oholiab were working on the tent. Endless contributions kept continuously coming from people until one day they simply had to tell them to stop bringing anymore. For not only did they have all that they needed but they already had too much to complete the work.
The craftsmen and artisans started with 10 sheets of finest twined linen, of purple wool (violet and red shade) and of crimson wool finely embroidered with angels. The length of a single sheet was 28 cubits, its width four cubits. They sewed five of the sheets together. They put 50 loops on the first sheet and 50 on the other. Then they made 50 gold clasps to join them all together. They also made sheets of goat’s hair to form a tent over the Holy Tent. They made 11 of these. They made another covering of ram’s skins dyed red and a covering of fine leather to spread over that.
The Holy Tent was made with boards and frames of acacia wood covered with gold. Inside it were hundreds of silver vases. They also made furnishings of pure gold. He made dishes, cups, jars, lamp stands, tongs and trays and bowls for the wine offerings.
The amount of gold used weighed 2,195 pounds. The silver collected was 7,550 pounds. The bronze 5,310 pounds.
Interestingly, since God’s tent was to be a place of beauty and splendor, God also required that his priests and chief priest Aaron must also be fittingly robed as his garments were meant to give him dignity and honor. Hence the special priestly vestments consisted of the finest materials like The Ephod of gold thread, purple wool, violet shade, red crimson wool and fine twined linen. They beat gold into thin plates and cut these into fine strips to weave into the purple wool. The breastpiece was square and folded double, nine inches long and nine inches wide. In this they set four rows of stones like sard, topaz, carbuncle, emerald, sapphire, diamond, hyacinth, ruby, amethyst, beryl, onyx, and jasper. These were mounted in settings of gold mesh and bore the names of the 12 sons of Israel. They made two gold rosettes and two gold rings and they fastened the two gold cords to the corners of the breastplate. They also made bells of pure gold and placed them at the hem in between pomegranates. They also made a holy plate of pure gold for his headpiece and engraved on it the words "Consecrated to the Lord."
When the Tent of the Lord’s Presence was finished, a cloud settled over it and a dazzling light showed the Israelites that the Lord was present among them. What a glorious moment! Everyone was so richly blessed. And from that time onwards, wherever the Israelites went, the sacred tent went with them, reminding them of the presence of God.
This story clearly illustrates that God is the greatest designer. He has designed his world in such a way that everyone can sparkle in his or her own way. One need not try to outshine the other but rather bring out the best in each other. This was how God intended it to be. People working harmoniously together giving of their very best... time, talents and treasure. He also clearly shows that for every generous heart, his blessings would be overflowing. The wise ones who gave so willingly, so unselfishly of the very best of themselves and their possessions knew of the beautiful outcome and furthermore trusted that God would give it back to them a hundredfold.
Happy Easter to all!
(For comments, e-mail me at miladayjewels@yahoo.com)
Photo from The Lion: Handbook to the Bible