God 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 28:40 For Aaron’s sons you shall make coats and sashes and caps. You shall make them for glory and beauty.

Exodus 30:1-6 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

“While these dimensions of the Genesis 1 creation story are not often noticed, attention to these rhetorical features points us to a God who does not hoard divine creative power, with some desparate need to control, but rather to a God who is generous with power, sharing it with creatures, that they might make their own contribution to the harmony and beauty of the world.” – J. Richard Middleton, The Liberating Image: The Imago Dei in Genesis 1. (page 289)