The Temple of God
The Way of Increase
Uranda October 20, 1946
For several days I have been thinking of how our work here corresponds with the experience of the Children of Israel. After they had been delivered from the land of Egypt, and at the direction of the Lord, they undertook to build a Tabernacle—the Tabernacle was a symbol of the Temple that was to be, and the Temple that was constructed at the time of Solomon was a symbol of the Temple of God on earth, to be formed of human beings who let His Will be done. But in the wilderness they undertook to build a Tabernacle and I would like to read a little from the 36th chapter of Exodus, Verses 1-7:
“Then wrought Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whom the Lord put wisdom and understanding to know how to work all manner of work for the service of the sanctuary, according to all that the Lord had commanded.
“And Moses called Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whose heart the Lord had put wisdom, even every one whose heart stirred him up to come unto the work to do it:
“And they received of Moses all the offering, which the children of Israel had brought for the work of the service of the sanctuary, to make it withal. And they brought yet unto him free offerings every morning.
“And all the wise men, that wrought all the work of the sanctuary, came every man from his work which they made;
“And they spake unto Moses, saying, The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work, which the Lord commanded to make.
“And Moses gave commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary. So the people were restrained from bringing.
“For the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much.”
To my mind that pictures the giving and the doing, the building and the making, that we are privileged to share in here. We notice first, that there were those who responded so to the Lord that the Lord could put wisdom and understanding in their hearts, causing them to know how to “work all manner of work for the service of the Sanctuary, according to all that the Lord had commanded. And Moses called Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whose heart the Lord had put wisdom, even every one whose heart stirred him up to come unto the work to do it.” First, there was the talent, the ability, the coordination in function, and then there came into manifestation that with which to do, that by reason of which they might accomplish the Will of the Lord in the building of the Sanctuary, and there was such an abundance brought that they had to publish a proclamation that they had enough, and more than enough. “So the people were restrained from bringing. For the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much.”
As we have been working here in the Service of the Lord, to build that Temple not made with hands, to let the Temple of God come into manifestation on earth, some have been inclined to feel and to think according to the backgrounds established in the world—but through the summer, as we considered the Truths of Being together, there came a deepening realization of what it means to draw near to the Heart of God, to live in the Spirit of His Presence, and we have been letting, in our unified function, the Lord put wisdom and understanding in our hearts, to know how to do the work and to make it.
Just before this particular incident about which I read, Moses said to 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; and he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship; and to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of wood, to make any manner of cunning work, and he hath put in his heart that he may teach, both he, and Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any work, and of those that devise cunning work.” There we have a little picture of the wide scope of activity that was actualized in the building of the tabernacle, many different lines of activity.
We see developing here, as we begin to let the work of God be made manifest in more effective fashion, the opening up of many lines of activity, many spheres of function where all the ability and all the talent of each one may be utilized to the full, to the Glory of God and the blessing of man, and we recognize that that wisdom, that knowledge and understanding, in all manner of workmanship, can come only from the Spirit of God. First, there was that ability to do, that coordination, which let the wisdom and the understanding and the knowledge be made manifest, and then there was the doing, and finally, there was the manifestation of all that was necessary to the accomplishment of the work to which they were called. If it was then, so is it now. We may not immediately, in all respects, have made manifest all of the things that we might be able to utilize, but we have enough so that we can work effectively, and there is still the opportunity for letting the Spirit of God fill us more fully with understanding and knowledge, in all manner of workmanship.
I was wondering—suppose we were living in that day and were called to work in the building of that Tabernacle. We have always thought of that as artistry of the highest possible degree, of the highest quality and degree of workmanship, an inspired work of art. I wonder—the accomplishment of such work would surely require carefulness, application; there would be no room for carelessness; there would have needed to be a diligence that let every talent, every ability be drawn to the highest possible degree of utilization. When we think of our work here today in the light of that experience, recognizing that there has been splendid progress in carefulness of workmanship and doing, especially since the close of the Summer Session, do you feel there is perhaps still more opportunity for expansion in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, in all manner of workmanship that relates to our activity here?
Surely the building of the Tabernacle in the wilderness was a wonderful thing and very important, but was it any more important, any more wonderful, than that to which we are called? If there is any difference, to my mind this is even more important than that was; this is even more significant than that was, has greater potentiality of blessing for our brother man, a greater potentiality of letting the Glory of God be made manifest on earth. We have considered the Truth theoretically, intellectually, we have accepted it; we have realized it, we know that it is more than mere theory; and yet in the realm of practical function, proving that faith that is in us, we have started as it were, back at the beginning, at the starting point, to do, to let our talents be drawn forth to the highest possible degree, to let the wisdom and understanding and knowledge of the Lord fill us, so that we may be effective in all manner of workmanship, of doing, of making.
We recognize that our project here can become the living, vital thing that it should be only after we have reached a point where we can make things that will find uses out in the world. At the present time we are engaged in making those things that are necessary for our own use here—and that is absolutely necessary—but this is a period in which we are privileged to let the Spirit of God work increasingly in us to develop that wisdom and understanding and knowledge, to develop that carefulness and excellence of workmanship by which we may be able to do all the things that are required in the Service of the Sanctuary, to make it withal, because we are not just building a building.
We are building that which, by its every manifestation, is designed to carry a Spirit of things Divine, an atmosphere out into the world, a means by which others may come to share in the realization of the Presence of the Living God. When they had that ability made manifest, that ability in all manner of workmanship, the ability to do wisely, with understanding and knowledge, then they had all that they needed to work with, “for the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much.”
When we function correctly, in the Way of God, use wisely with proper knowledge and understanding, that which is at hand, the increase must surely appear. The provision of the Lord through His people must surely be enough and too much. It must overflow. We have seen that overflowing, that filling, to such a wonderful degree in such wonderful ways—and it is necessary that we use wisely, that we avoid waste—but we must also so function that there be no spirit of feeling that the supply of the Lord is insufficient or that it might be in some manner shut off. If we would do our part toward enhancing that supply, so that there would be an abundance to do according to the Will of God, then the effective use of that which we have reveals the way.
So this is still a period of training, in the doing of the work, of the proving of the faith that is in us, that as the Lord provides the increase we may, under His Spirit, use it wisely, bringing blessing to all who will receive. So, in the work of the Lord, it should ever be so, and always there should be the overflow. Thinking of this, our thoughts turn to the time when our Master was here on earth and the multitude was hungry, and they brought the loaves and the fishes and they were multiplied in His Hands, and they filled the need of all the multitude, and afterward that which remained—was it just thrown away, left there in the desert place? No, they gathered it up in baskets and there was the overflow, more than enough. When we function correctly, in Oneness of Spirit, under the direction of the Lord, using effectively and wisely, with understanding and knowledge that which He puts in our hands, we find there is always enough and there is an overflow.
It seems to me that as we live and function in that realization, that spirit and attitude and consciousness, we find that we ourselves determine the effectiveness of the filling and of the overflow by the effectiveness of our doing according to the wisdom and knowledge and understanding of God and His working through the talents and abilities which He has given us. No one here is undertaking to bury any talents but to use those talents wisely, that they may increase. You remember, the Master gave the parable of the talents. The unfaithful one buried his under the tent, but the faithful ones used theirs and caused them to multiply. [greatcosmicstory.blogspot.com/2020/05/melchizedek-increase-grace-van-duzen.html] Always that which is used in the Service of the Lord is caused to multiply, and one of the most important things for us, as we live here and serve the Lord, is that as we ever remember to let the Lord work through us in the doing of the deed, in the making of the work that is required, that He may cause our talents and abilities to multiply, and cause that which we make to increase and multiply until there is enough and more. God’s Way is always the way of enough, and more than enough. Let us ever live in the realization that it is so.
© emissaries of divine light
