Workers of Atonement

The Tent of Meeting is foundational to atonement in Exodus. God gave instructions to make atonement for the altar and that what touched it would be pure. Once the tent and the altar were consecrated, God would dwell with the people (Exodus 29:44-46). God gifted people to make the surrounding holiness necessities, like the ark of the covenant, the atonement cover, and the Tent of Meeting itself and its furnishings (Exodus 31:1-11). They were to use gold, silver, bronze, stones, and wood. The connection of the temporal--the materials, and the defiled--the humans, with the eternal and the means of purification is not to be missed. God has ordained that objects fashioned by people are to be holy and sacred and means of atonement that he might dwell.

In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul encourages the church to build on the foundation of Jesus Christ using gold, silver, and costly stones, rather than wood, hay, or straw. Paul says that whatever one builds on this foundation will be found out to be either permanent or temporary--meaningful or meaningless. But this is connected to Paul's statements that the church is God's building and that the church--its people--is God's temple and that God's temple is sacred. Now rather than just a few being gifted to build the sacred building of God, God has equipped the church--people!--to build on the foundation of Christ. And the sacred objects? People!

Look at the progression of God's purifying work. Now rather than setting aside a place where God will dwell, the Word has become flesh and dwelt among us, merging the eternal and the temporal, the pure and the defiled, in Jesus of Nazareth, whose work is the foundation for God's "sacred building." But the work is not God's alone, as he has expanded the grace and gifting to all whom God has brought into this building to be his skilled craftsmen, able to work with gold, silver, and costly stones, pouring into the lives of those God views as sacred, his people.