Claiming the Promises (4)

“And now I have sent a skillful man, endowed with understanding, Huram my master craftsman(the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre), skilled to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood, purple and blue, fine linen and crimson, and to make any engraving and to accomplish any plan which may be given to him, with your skillful men and with the skillful men of my lord David your father.” 2 Chronicles 2.13, 14

Tyre’s gift to Israel
Solomon had written to Hiram, King of Tyre, for assistance in building the temple of the Lord. Solomon’s father, King David, had mobilized the people of Israel for this task, and amassed the materiel and people essential to bring it to completion. He’d even written a psalm – Psalm 68 – to encourage the people to lay hold on the promises of God’s blessing and glory by following the example of their faithful forebears and rising to their own challenge in his day.

Now Hiram responded to Solomon by saying not only would he provide additional workers and resources, but he would send his personal master craftsman to oversee and guide the work. This man, who had a Hebrew mother, was a citizen of Tyre, not of Israel – a Gentile, not a member of the Lord’s people.

But he would be powerfully used of God, through his knowledge and skill in culture, to create a work that would glorify God and bless His people and many nations. All the beauty and majesty of the temple were the result of his leadership and work. He was a gift of the people of Tyre to the people of Israel, and, though a pagan, his skills served God’s purposes in blessing His people and the world.

Glints of truth
An important insight into the nature of culture glints from a parallel reading of Psalm 68.18 and Ephesians 4.8. Psalm 68.18 reads,

You have ascended on high,
You have led captivity captive;
You have received gifts among men,
Even fromthe rebellious,
That the LORD God might dwell there.

Here David celebrates the victory of God in leading His people to conquer the land of promise, and sees in a vision what became a reality under his son Solomon, as the nations brought their gifts to God year after year (cf. 1 Kgs. 10). However, in Ephesians 4.8 the Apostle Paul cites this verse as follows:

Therefore He says:
“When He ascended on high,
He led captivity captive,
And gave gifts to men.”

Don’t miss the change Paul introduced at the end of this verse. Rather than God receiving gifts among men, Paul has Him giving gifts to all men. In both instances, we can assume that the purpose of this is so that “the LORDGod might dwell” in those gifts. God gives gifts to all people, with which they make culture and many other things; and He receives gifts from people, in the form of praise and thanks for the grace and blessings He freely bestows.

Why should God do this? Because in the good gifts and glints of truth He gives, even to unbelieving people, He blesses the peoples of the world, and raises a banner for His glory.

All things beautiful, good, and true
What was true in Solomon’s day and Paul’s is true of ours as well. God “dwells” in the gifts of culture made by all kinds of people for all kinds of purposes. Not all culture, to be sure, but much of the culture we make and use each day, and which we tend to take for granted is a gift from God, meant to bless the world and to result in His praise.

God has given the gifts of culture to all people, even those who do not acknowledge Him. His purpose is to bless people and to make known Himself, His character, and His will. We serve the Lord faithfully, and live toward His promises, as we discern and appreciate God’s good gifts of culture, and use those gifts, and the blessings they provide, to celebrate His grace and truth.

Christians do not need to fear culture – not even the culture of the unbelieving world. We need to approach and use culture with discernment, and to give thanks and praise to God for His many good gifts, taking nothing of culture for granted. As we thus acknowledge the blessings of God in all the culture of our lives, and offer our gifts of praise back to Him, we will become better able to use culture to celebrate the goodness of God to the people in our Personal Mission Fields, even to those who do not know Him.

For reflection
1.  How many different aspects of your cultural life can you identify which are clearly good gifts of God? Explain.

2.  What are some ways you can see the blessings of God even in the unbelieving culture of our world?

3.  How might you become more consistent in using culture to offer gifts of praise and thanks to God?

Next steps – Preparation: Spend time in prayer about the day ahead. Try to anticipate the good gifts of God, and begin thinking about ways you will offer Him back gifts of praise and thanks for the blessings you discern in the culture of your day.

T. M. Moore

This is part 4 of a 5-part series, Living toward the Promises. You can download this week’s study as a free PDF, suitable for personal or group use, by clicking here. You can learn more about living toward the promises of God by ordering a copy of the book, I Will Be Your God, from our online store (click here).

We invite you to register for the free online course, One in Twelve: Introduction to Christian Worldview. In this course we provide a sweeping panorama of how life in the Kingdom of God unfolds in an age in flight from God such as ours. Set your own schedule and study at your own pace. Learn more, and register for One in Twelve, by clicking here.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.