Church Buildings And The 11th Commandment

The church I'm hanging out with is building a building and it's painful. To be honest more painful to watch than to be involved in as I would rather be cleaning the toilets every week before I'm on a committee dealing with cost blow outs, money, design and all of the levels of the denomination who'll need to be happy with what's happening. And then there will always be the possibility of infighting about what the church needs, what the building looks like and how much should be spent.

In the midst of thinking about this I was reading the 11th commandment. It didn't make it on to the tablets but it was the first command given after the famous 10.

Exodus 20:24-26

You need make for me only an altar of earth and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your offerings of well-being, your sheep and your oxen; in every place where I cause my name to be remembered I will come to you and bless you. But if you make for me an altar of stone, do not build it of hewn stones; for if you use a chisel upon it you profane it. You shall not go up by steps to my altar, so that your nakedness may not be exposed on it."

Here God's people are asked to build just a simple alter just out of earth, nothing more, and if we build something out of stone it must be unhewn. That is not cut, just a pile of rocks. It's a directive to meet and worship God outside in the wilderness like Abraham, Moses, Elijah, John the Baptist and Jesus all did (to name but a few). I know this is "unrealistic" it wouldn't get council approval, people would not come. But I'm starting to not care about all that. As I was walking through the nearest bushland with my son I felt more connected to God than I do in church and I don't think this is an uncommon experience. Maybe outside in the simplicity of the wilderness is where we are meant to meet God. After all when temple curtain ripped in two behind it was... nothing. The Bible doesn't describe how God suddenly escaped, at that point God is outside of the city hanging on a tree.