“It must be amazing to look at a tree and see the individual leaves instead of just a blur of green!” my dad said. I couldn’t have said it better. I was eighteen at the time and not a fan of my new need to wear glasses, but they changed the way I saw everything, making the blurry beautiful!
When reading Scripture, I view certain books like I do when I look at trees without my glasses. There doesn’t seem to be much to see. But noticing details can reveal the beauty in what might seem to be a boring passage.
This happened to me when I was reading Exodus. God’s directions for building the tabernacle—His temporary dwelling place among the Israelites—can seem like a blur of boring details. But I paused at the end of chapter 25 where God gave directions for the lampstand. It was to be hammered out “of pure gold,” including its base and shaft and its flowerlike cups, buds, and blossoms (v. 31). The cups were to be “shaped like almond flowers” (v. 34).
Almond trees are breathtaking. And God incorporated that same natural beauty into His tabernacle!
Paul wrote, “God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature” are seen and understood in creation (Romans 1:20). To see God’s beauty, sometimes we have to look at creation, and what might seem like uninteresting passages in the Bible, through a new lens.
How can you look at Scripture in a new way to see God’s beauty in it? How has God’s beautiful creation drawn you closer to Him?
INSIGHT
Today’s text has ten verses devoted to the creation of the lampstand for the tabernacle. This is just one piece of furniture that was to be created for the portable structure where God would dwell with His people. Other pieces included the ark of the covenant (Exodus 25:10–22), the table (vv. 23–30), the altar of burnt offering (27:1–8), the altar of incense (30:1–10), and the bronze basin (vv. 17–21). In addition to these things, many other items are specifically described for use in Israel’s worship: the tabernacle itself (size and materials); the oil for the lampstand; the composition of the incense; the priest’s ephod, breastplate, and other garments. Each served a specific purpose within the worship life of Israel.