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Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Saturday, 1 February 2025:
Exodus 31:1-6 – The LORD said to Moses, “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft. 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:
Oholiab and Bezalel – God uses and empowers artists to glorify Him. Oholiab and Bezalel used their talents to serve God, and their names are written in eternity. God intends to use Christians in all professions and past times to glorify Him and to serve others. Only God’s Spirit can empower someone to do God’s work. God gives people the skills and knowledge to do His work, and beyond their natural abilities, He gives them supernatural abilities through the Spirit.
Through the Holy Spirit, God gave Oholiab and Bezalel artistic abilities to decorate the temple much like Aaron’s garments, “for glory and beauty.” (Exodus 28:2, 40). What does the Holy Spirit have to do with beauty? The Holy Spirit created beauty, and the Holy Spirit defines beauty. In 1878, Margaret Wolff Hungerford first penned in her book Molly Bawn a phrase which become quite popular in our culture, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” which our society would generally say the same about concerning truth, right and wrong, good and bad. However, both truth and beauty have objective standards, actually one objective standard – God Himself.
Beauty is beautiful when it reflects God’s beauty, His truth, perfections, wonders, and graces, when it resonates within our spirits as a gift given from beyond us. When the psalmist says, “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple (Psalm 27:4),” he is seeking to remain in the presence of the Source of perfect beauty and truth which is God. Notice today that the Holy Spirit gave the artisans not only skill and abilities but also intelligence – their physical creations beautifully, but importantly accurately, represented the word of God and God’s unseen creation. Good art, contrary to modern art, is as good as it is godly. Likewise, doing a “good job,” is working in a godly way for God’s glory, and having a “good day” is a day of abiding in the presences of the LORD and radiating His glory through our countenance, attitude, words, and actions.
God created us to enjoy His beauty and reflect His beauty. However, sin distorts our perceptions of beauty. Of course, people don’t agree on what is beautiful or enjoyable, and as culture becomes increasingly ungodly, what is considered beautiful is increasingly distorted and perverted, though still celebrated. Just like God makes all of us uniquely different, He makes certain things beautiful in different ways, and gives certain people different preferences of His beauty; however, all beauty has a godly standard ascribed by the Creator. All art and all human invention and creation which doesn’t honor and glorify God is grotesque, whether we can see the ugliness or not. Also, whatever catches our eye which God would turn His face from reflects our sinfulness and perversion. Jesus came to restore both truth and beauty (which always go together), and one day, when He returns, it will be fully restored. Until that day, we should seek His beauty by comparing all things to His word and His glory.
- Psalm 50:2 — Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth.
- Psalm 96:6 — Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
- Isaiah 4:2 — In that day the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and honor of the survivors of Israel.
- Isaiah 28:5 — In that day the Lord of hosts will be a crown of glory, and a diadem of beauty, to the remnant of his people….
- Isaiah 33:17 — Your eyes will behold the king in his beauty; they will see a land that stretches afar.
- Isaiah 52:1 — Awake, awake, put on your strength, O Zion; put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; for there shall no more come into you the uncircumcised and the unclean.
- Isaiah 52:7 — How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”
- Isaiah 60:7, 9 — All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered to you; the rams of Nebaioth shall minister to you; they shall come up with acceptance on my altar, and I will beautify my beautiful house…. For the name of the Lord your God, and for the Holy One of Israel, because he has made you beautiful.
- Isaiah 62:3 — You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
- 1 Peter 3:4 — but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.
We are created to love God with our heart, spirit, mind, and abilities, all of which are expressed through our unique, creative actions and efforts. We don’t just love God by obeying His moral standard; we also worship Him through our enjoyment. The word integrity doesn’t just mean truthfulness, it also means wholeness or holistic, integrated strength. For example, if a chair with all its parts has structural integrity, you can confidently put all of your weight on it without thinking twice. God wants you to be a person of two-fold integrity, both truthful and also holistically vibrant in body, mind, and spirit; said another way, in MEPS – in mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual abilities. God gives you capacity in all your essential elements, but He also calls us to faithfully use and strengthen all are attributes for selfless service to Him — “You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.” (Luke 10:27) This includes loving creatively – The Creator made creators in His image to love others with the very best of your imaginations, passions, talents, skills, and abilities in ways unique to who God made you to be.
Too often we neglect one, if not all, of these MEPS elements, sometimes overlooking that they are not only all essential, they are also all interdependent. If you neglect the body, for example, it will affect you mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. If you neglect your mental development, it will impact all your other attributes, and the same interdependent relationships apply to your emotions and spirit. The whole you must be dedicated to God and dedicated to serving Him by serving others. Work to be excellent in all human attributes, and understand their interdependence.
Exodus 31:6 – “And I have given to all able men ability, that they may make all that I have commanded you.”
We live out the Greatest Commandment by obeying all that God commands – “Only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, to love the Lord your God, and to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments and to cling to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.” (Joshua 22:5) God gives you abilities to serve Him. You walk in two-fold integrity when the whole of you is honestly and faithfully serving Him in strength.
Exodus 31:13-16 — “You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you. You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you…. Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever.”
How seriously does God feel about the Sabbath – “above all….”
The Sabbath, beyond all of its MEPS benefits, is an act of faith and holiness – it sets you apart from the rest of society. Notice also that the Sabbath is “a covenant forever.” What does forever mean?
“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 1 February 2025: Today, do all things in a beautiful way, to God’s glory, solely as an act of worship and for the benefit of others.
- Colossians 3:23-24 — Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.
Defenders Bible Reading Plan 