God Is Beautiful
For many years (a phrase which seems to introduce almost everything I say or write these days), I have thought about and preached on the subject of the beauty of God. I have never heard anyone teach on the subject, but I did through the decades come across two written sermons on the topic, “The Beauty of the Lord” by J. D. Jones and “Are There Shortcuts to the Beauty of Holiness?” (the short answer is “No!”) by A. W. Tozer. More recently, I read a review of a scholarly article about the American preacher Jonathan Edwards (of “sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” fame) that mentioned in passing that the beauty of God was one of the great themes in his preaching. I was thus encouraged that I have not headed off on an unprofitable tangent. In simple terms, beauty is that which attracts, causes a favorable interest, and creates an affinity. Such real, eternal beauty is found in our God. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
Isaiah, often referred to as the evangelical prophet, wrote frequently of the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ. The beauty of this coming Savior enthralled the prophet. Isaiah 61:1-3 reveals the beautiful intent of God for Israel; the fullness of this awaits the return of Jesus (see, for example, Ezekiel 40-48 and Romans 9-11). What He offers is exactly what is needed. The “ashes” (compare the “burning” and branding of Isaiah 3:24) will be replaced by God’s “beauty” (verse 3). The type of beauty is clarified by other words in verse 3: “joy,” “praise,” and “righteousness.” These very precise words direct us again away from mere physical attractiveness to that which is moral and spiritual. As we considered on Friday, mankind does not use God’s good gifts well and wisely, yet He is still beautiful. Jesus read the first part of this passage and applied it to His first advent (Luke 4:18-21). However, the nation of Israel rejected Him at that time. Man is all too ready to accept substitutes in place of God’s best; for example, the Israelites chose Barabbas instead of Jesus (Luke 23:17-19). Today, we are tempted in church to replace worship with entertainment, which is not beautiful. Still, our beautiful God persists. Isaiah 29:5 says, “In that day shall the LORD of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of His people.” Remember the references to headbands and headdresses in Isaiah 3:18-24? Our Lord will replace that vain foolishness with “a crown of glory… and a diadem of beauty” – with Himself! The beauty of God overcomes and overwhelms both our ugliness and our feeble, fumbling attempts at physical beauty. His attractiveness is what we all need, and it is what He provides for each one of us.