Question: Ever seen an ugly church or a church that looks more like a retail outlet store than a sacred space to honor the sovereign God? So have I. Too many of them. And here’s what I wish to explore: Does beauty matter to God? Does quality craftsmanship matter to God? If so, then shouldn’t Christians be characterized by their love for and stewardship of and fostering of beauty in the arts?

Text: Exodus 31:1-11 reads,

31 The Lord said to Moses, “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, ³ and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, ⁴ to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, ⁵ in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft. ⁶ And behold, I have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. And I have given to all able men ability, that they may make all that I have commanded you: ⁷ the tent of meeting, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy seat that is on it, and all the furnishings of the tent, ⁸ the table and its utensils, and the pure lampstand with all its utensils, and the altar of incense, ⁹ and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the basin and its stand, ¹⁰ and the finely worked garments, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, for their service as priests, ¹¹ and the anointing oil and the fragrant incense for the Holy Place. According to all that I have commanded you, they shall do.”

Exploration of Main Ideas: I see several significant events here in the text. Below are a few:

• God equipped and called Bezalel for the crafting of beautiful things, namely, “artistic designs to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft” (vv. 4-5).
• God is interested in the macro and the micro. Verses 7-11 of this text run the range from the tent of meeting to lampstands to utensils, the basin for washing, the altar, and even clothing. God is concerned with beauty in big, small, and every area in between.
• God finds joy in beauty and in things done well.

Why does it matter?

In short, it all matters because God is the most beautiful reality. This is one more way God communicates to his creation. He displays his glory in the things he has made and in his equipping his people to craft beauty from the provisions God has already created. In other words, we write on paper that God has provided in the trees. We make pottery from the clay and rock and water and soil God has provided. We shape bronze, silver, and gold out of those elements God has made available to us.

Isaiah 33:17 is a beautiful line: “Your eyes will behold the king in his beauty . . .” God delights in beauty because, when rightly understood, God is beauty incarnate. This is yet one more reason God’s people ought to respond to beauty, long for beauty, delight in beauty, and aim to foster beauty. It’s a way of rendering to God what is right, good, and hopefully beautiful.

A buddy of mine from church sent me a picture of a white squirrel from a region with which he and I are both quite familiar. I lived for about nine years near where the picture was taken. My buddy, too, understands beauty, that God speaks to his people through what he has made.