For Glory and Beauty

Exodus 28:2-3
And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. You shall speak to all the skillful, whom I have filled with a spirit of skill, that they make Aaron's garments to consecrate him for my priesthood.

Exodus 29:35
“Thus you shall do to Aaron and to his sons, according to all that I have commanded you. Through seven days shall you ordain them,”
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Even though God had led his people into the wilderness, into barren desert land, when it came time for Israel to build a center of worship, God instructed them to do so in a specific way. Everything was to be made skillfully and beautifully. When it came to the garments of the priests, God says that they are to be holy garments “for glory and for beauty.”
As Israel travels through the wilderness, at the center of their camp would stand the Tabernacle, essentially - the throne room of God himself. All the beautifully crafted tents and ornaments are meant to display to Israel and all other nations that a King dwells in their midst. This was also common among other nations. Palaces were the most finely decorated buildings in any city, where the king lived. When other nations would travel abroad with their king, they had finely constructed tents and structures for the king to travel in. So Israel wasn’t doing anything out of the ordinary in constructing all these things, but what was uncommon was that there was no mortal king sitting on the throne; the king Israel traveled with was the God of all things, personally dwelling with them.
It’s not wonder that God commands them to build fine and beautiful things for him to travel in. And it’s not about ego. He says that all these things are to be built for glory and beauty. Glory, that all people will see how holy he is. Beauty, that all people will see that the God of all things is not a temperamental, destructive god, but that he is full of mercy and lovingkindness.
God is worthy of being displayed as the most glorious and beautiful of all beings. This was part of Israel’s responsibility, to display God properly to all the nations. In the church, there’s no specific command to build ornate buildings or that God’s people should be finely dressed. But this certainly doesn’t imply that we don’t do anything to honor God with beautifully, skillfully made things. God is still just as worthy of his people displaying him as glorious and beautiful.
It’s a tragic thing that many people’s conception of churches is a beautiful chapel-type building, but with 20th century overhead projectors using transparencies and out of tune organs played by an elderly, deaf woman. God’s people should make it a priority to give their best in displaying him as a glorious king in the midst of their community. Now, to be fair, in some churches, all they can afford is an overhead transparency projector and an organ; that’s fine. God is not looking for a specific type of decor, but he certainly deserves the best efforts of those who are calling the community to come and worship the King of all kings. Yes, it is about the hearts with which we worship God, but there should also be a sense that everyone is doing their best to create a beautiful environment for all people to come to.
In Israel’s case, where did all that beautiful material come from to construct the Tabernacle? It all came from Egypt. They used material from another nation, an idolatrous nation, to construct the house of God and the instruments for the priests. There’s a lot of disagreement in the church in how much we allow the outside world to influence our church services. Some people don’t think that loud drums, electric guitars, concert lights, blue jeans, ornate sets, or iPads belong in a church. I understand their opinion (sort of), but from the beginning of Israel as a holy kingdom God has always used things of the world, from other cultures, and adopted and modified them for his people to use.
But one key we find in Exodus is truly important that maybe some modern churches will overlook. In Exodus 29:35 we see that the ordination process of the priests and their work took one whole week. They needed to be made holy and purified before they began ministering before the Lord. So in some regard, all the modern touches of church shouldn’t be implemented (such as lights, electric guitars, etc.) until the people understand that they are taking something from modern culture and devoting it’s use to be holy unto God. But if indeed hearts are pure, and the intention is to display God’s glory and beauty, I say bring on the lights and crank the distortion. It’s not about being modern or letting the culture dictate the church, it’s using the best the culture has to offer, but setting it apart as holy for the beautiful display of a holy God.