And Moses brought Aaron and his sons and washed them with water. And he put the coat on him and tied the sash around his waist and clothed him with the robe and put the ephod on him and tied the skillfully woven band of the ephod around him, binding it to him with the band. And he placed the breastpiece on him, and in the breastpiece he put the Urim and the Thummim. And he set the turban on his head, and on the turban, in front, he set the golden plate, the holy crown, as the Lord commanded Moses. (Leviticus 8:6-9 ESV)
Beauty
A sunrise last week took my breath away. My grandfather carved a strange bird that causes me to want to see more of them. The Louvre almost glows with beauty, inside and out. My wife’s face, when I wake up before her, brings glad tears to my eyes.
Beauty is grand.
When God was instructing the freshly freed Israelites in worship, He emphasized beauty. Because beauty is part of worship. Yes, sometimes the externals have been overdone, overemphasized, and over-loved. And that is idolatry.
But sometimes I wonder if we have swung the pendulum too far the other way.
Beauty is not wasteful, irrelevant, or unnecessary.
And rather than be afraid of beauty, rather than avoid beauty, rather than ignore beauty, God’s people get to embrace beauty… particularly in worship!
We are peculiar… we can enjoy beauty.