here was a talented guy

Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood—two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high. He overlaid it with pure gold, both inside and out, and made a gold molding around it. He cast four gold rings for it and fastened them to its four feet, with two rings on one side and two rings on the other. Then he made poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold. And he inserted the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry it. He made the atonement cover of pure gold—two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide. Then he made two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover. He made one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; at the two ends he made them of one piece with the cover. The cherubim had their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim faced each other, looking toward the cover.  (Exodus 37:1-9)

Here was a talented guy. In Exodus 36, it said that he and Oholiab were skilled people to whom the Lord had given ability. He was a craftsman and a half.

To him was given the task of building the most holy item that has ever existed: the ark of the covenant.

He built it, carving the wood and rubbing it with oil. He hammered the gold for the cherubim (the Lord Almighty, God of Israel, sits enthroned between the cherubim - Isaiah 37:16). They overshadowed the cast gold of  the top and the gold covered ark and carrying poles.

Bezalel made it so beautifully, so intricately. Then he stepped back, looked at it, ran his hand lovingly over it, polished a piece here, buffed off a piece there, measured it again for no real purpose, just checking. And then never got to touch it again.

After he was finished and the ark became installed in the Holy of Holies, it became the earthly dwelling place of God. Over it the Shekinah sat. Once a year, Aaron, the High Priest, would bring in the blood of the sacrifice and sprinkle it over the ark. When the Israelites moved, the priests would pick it up by the poles and carry it in front of the procession. Everyone could see it. It was the object of awe and veneration. No one could even touch it.

One man did touch it (Uzzah in 2 Samuel 6) and died immediately. He meant to do a favor to keep it from falling. But God said do not touch it. In fact, I do not think even Aaron or Moses could touch it.

It became the most holy thing that ever existed in the history of mankind. It contained the symbolic presence of God, the ten commandments, Aaron’s rod that budded in the Pharaoh’s court, later some of  the manna – but it was untouchable.

Even by the guy who built it.

You can imagine Mr and Mrs Bezalel lying in bed talking about it. Her pride in the fact that her husband had made it. Her standing among her friends because of that.

I can see him looking at it as it is carried, maybe even coming up to it and looking. There is a place I wished I had hammered better. There is a scratch. I wish I could buff it out. I didn’t make that corner a little short, did I? No, I measured it fifty times. Too bad, anyway. I am through with it.

We are the temple and the ark of God. In us is the presence of God, his commandments, his miracles. When God saves us, he makes us holy and righteous. He feels the same way. The only difference is that he can touch us. He can buff us, he can fill in the scratch, he can correct the irregularity. He can change the finished product.

But Bezalel made it and then had to leave it alone. And for hundreds of years, people looked at that ark and saw the presence of God, commissioned by God, made by a man to his glory.