“The final verses of Exodus 20 record a little-known commandment of God regarding the construction of altars to be used in the service of sacrifice. God specifically prohibited the use of any hewn stones, carved by the tools of men, in the construction of His altars, saying ‘if you use your tool on it, you have profaned it.’ God wanted only natural stones (those that were created by Him) to be used to the exclusion of any stones that were ‘creatively altered’ by men. The principle involved here is that man’s approach to God in worship is not to be ‘profaned’ by human innovation…

“One common objection…argues that the Scriptures teach that ‘all of life is worship’. According to this view there is no real distinction between the formal public gathering of the saints to worship God and the private individual activities of work and recreation, since the Bible states: ‘Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God’. (1 Cor.10:31).

This argument however fails to recognize the fact that God makes a clear distinction between the private exercise of creativity and the importing of such creativity into His prescribed worship. Exodus 20: 25 does not forbid stonecutting as a profession or as a recreational activity, but it clearly forbids the stonecutter from using his talents to ‘embellish’ the pure worship of God. Nor would it be proper to assume that the stone- cutter’s lawful activities outside of the worship were to be conducted without a conscious pursuit of God's glory. God makes a distinction between formal worship and informal devotion. In all of life man is free to use his creativity for the advancement of God's glory. In the ordinances of worship, however, the exercise of ‘creative license’ profanes God's altar.” (Comin, 20,22)