Beauty

Most of us will agree that man spends a great deal of time, effort, and money attaining items to adorn and beautify ourselves including precious metals, gems, jewelry, watches, fashion, shoes, hair styles, make-up, cosmetic surgery, cars, houses. We sometimes see this pursuit of beauty go overboard into covetousness, debt and obsession. Some become very unhappy because they are not satisfied with their pursuit of beauty. We are the only creature that is concerned with acquiring beauty. Some scientists, who wrongly contend that man is an animal, believe that this is man's effort to attract a mate, because man does not have the exotic plumage, or colorful trappings that many in the animal kingdom have. Others think that this pursuit of beauty and adornment is an attempt to attain a certain economic or social status.
Perhaps, however, this desire to beautify ourselves comes from a spiritual truth. We end up expressing this desire to be beautified outwardly, from a worldly concept only, rather than inwardly, because we don't understand where this desire comes from. As Mom used to say, "Pretty is as pretty does", and it turns out she was right! I started thinking about this after reading the following verses:
"For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation. Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds."     Psalm 149:4-5
The LORD beautifies us with His salvation: Yeshua (Jesus' name). The root word "yasha" also includes the meaning "to be opulent".
The word "beautify" used above is the Hebrew word pa ar, which means to glorify, beautify, adorn, to gleam, to embellish, to be ornamented. We will see this word again in a verse we will read below. He uses this word here in regard to His "saints".
The word "saints" is the beautiful word kodesh. The term is not connected to a designation given by any church, but it means holiness, consecration and sacredness that comes from separatness and apartness. Its root is the word kadesh, which has the same meaning, but also includes "to show oneself sacred or majestic, to be observed as holy". So it also involves this quality of holiness as being something seen or observed in an outward, visible way. So the beauty of salvation is connected with the holiness of the saints. The first mention of "saints" in scripture is a rich description of the Gospel of salvation found in Deut. 33:2-3. It is not only a picture of the Gospel, but also of Christ's return. It was the last blessing that Moses spoke over Israel before his death. It only makes sense that he would leave Israel with this powerful image of the Gospel:
"And he (Moses) said:
"The LORD came from Sinai, and dawned (rose up) on them from Seir;
He shined forth from Mount Paran,
And He came with ten thousands of saints;
From His right hand came a fiery law for them.
Yes, He loves the people;
All His saints are in Your hand;
They sit down at Your feet;
Everyone receives Your words."

The Gospel message in these verses would seem to be hidden to us, but to anyone who spoke Hebrew, it would be very apparent.
The Gospel is in the meaning of the words:
The LORD came (goes in, enters) from Sinai (thorny).
And rose up (rise up, break out, break forth) from Seir (he-goat of the sin sacrifice, a condition of horror, terror, a whirlwind, to shudder or quiver in fear). Note: Seir is in Edom, meaning red, from the root word dam, meaning blood.
He shined forth (light, shine, give light) from Paran (root is pa ra, the same word for beauty used in our verse from Psalm 149, meaning glorify, beautify, adorn, to gleam, embellish, ornamented).
He came with ten thousands (to become many or great, to be long of journey) saints (see above meaning of kodesh/kadesh).
From His right hand (Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father, also to choose the right turn), came a fiery law (commandment or communion that comes out of supernatural altar fire).
This would be an expression of the above verses:
The LORD entered the thorny place. He broke out, or rose up, from the blood sacrifice for sin, out of the place of terror, horror, and fear. He shined forth from the place of beauty, glory, adornment and ornamentation, and came from this place of beauty with His saints, a great number from a long journey. Where can the saints be found? Separated and apart at His feet, receiving His Word (v.3).
The description of the church of Jesus, His bride, is that of an opulent, beautiful, adorned, glorious city built of precious gems, pearls and pure gold. (Rev. 21:18-21). The gems and gold found on earth are a pale comparison to the size and purity of those that are used for this living city-bride. Likewise, our attempt to capture physically the beauty of adornment represented in the saints, also pales in comparison. There is nothing wrong with seeking and adorning ourselves with earthly beauty, but the deeper meaning and manifestation of beauty is found in only one place: in the beauty of His holiness (Ps. 29:2, 96:9, 2 Chron. 20:21).
What does this beauty bestowed by the LORD upon His saints really mean? It is spiritual authority. When Abraham sent his servant to find the bride for his son, Isaac, he sent his servant with certain pieces of jewelry. They were a nose ring, and bracelets of gold. There were bracelets for each wrist. From the moment Rebecca accepted these pieces of jewelry, she walked in her purpose, her spiritual authority to make sure that the seed of promise, the seed of Messiah, was passed to Jacob, whom God had ordained, rather than Esau. Every decision she made regarding her two sons was made by revelation of God, and was carried out through the spiritual authority given to her, represented by these adornments. The reason she received the outward beautification of spiritual authority, is because she had the inward beauty of humility. She worked hard not only to bring water to Abraham's servant, but also to water his ten camels (Gen. 24). This man was a stranger to her, yet she felt his thirst, even the thirst of his animals, and brought him water. The world seeks this beautification, this spiritual authority, without being willing to come in humility to the One who raises up and beautifies. It is up to us to know the true beauty of His spiritual authority given to us, His saints.

Our Father beautifies His saints with salvation.


"Lord, You're Beautiful"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtzCD_8KbjI

"Lord, I Thirst for You"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOC7XGmzFJg

"Beauty of Your Holiness"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4iD_3G7F2A

"Never Be The Same"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=465oXQegB2k


Note: Photo at the top of the page-artist rendition of the New Jerusalem, as described in Rev. 21.