It should come as no surprise that God loves those who work with their hands. The Creator—who formed man in His own image out of the dust of the ground—injected the same desire for creativity into the work of His hands, enabling His humans to design, fashion, build, and invent structures, works of art, and contrivances of every kind. Even a casual reading of the Bible reveals that the plan of God could not have progressed without artisans and skilled workers.
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” Genesis 1:27
Beginning with Adam who was assigned the role of gardening, we see that the jobs of farming, animal husbandry, construction, brick masons, metallurgists, furniture builders, tailors, food preparation—to name a few—were all vital to human civilization. Despite prejudice against manual labor from academicians and elitist types, society as we know it required industry powered by physical work.
“And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” Genesis 2:7
“And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. Genesis 2:15.
“And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle. And his brother’s name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ. And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah.” Genesis 4:20-22.
“And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.” Genesis 4:17.
Physical labor and the work of skilled craftsmen were needed for humankind to survive, to live together, and to form viable communities. People needed transportation, housing, farming implements, and domestic goods to live comfortably. Moreover, the production of goods and services laid the basis for trade, commerce, and the formation of an economy. As time went on, these innovations became more sophisticated and versatile, meeting the ever-increasing needs of society. None of this would be possible without manual work.
Highfalutin concepts and fancy language couldn’t help human society to survive. People had to throw their muscle into the work to overcome the ravages of nature and the demands of daily life. It was Noah’s physical labor that perpetuated the existence of the human race. He did more than preach righteousness. With axes and planes, hammers and saws, callused hands, skinned knees, and bruised knuckles, Noah built an ark.
“Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.” Genesis 6:14-16.
The relationship between the invisible God and visible mankind, between abstract and concrete, between spirit and flesh, intrigues every thoughtful soul. The God who created a universe without lifting a finger subjected His creation to the labor-intensive tedium of the physical realm to order life on earth. Why? Could it be that the more we invest work, sweat, toil and tears into the business of life that the greater we value what we have? Could it be that the more we use our creativity to make things that the more we love and appreciate them? Does our devotion of time, finance, and energy into our work make it more meaningful to us? Whatever the rationale behind this entire process, we live in a physical world that demands physical care.
The preceding paragraph spurs us to think about how it applies to our relationship with God. We cannot serve God with our minds only. We cannot spiritualize our faith to exclude the physical realm. Indeed, in the Old Testament, Jehovah purposefully incorporated material and physical elements to faith and worship.
“And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, ‘Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering. And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass, And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair, And rams’ skins dyed red, and badgers’ skins, and shittim wood, Oil for the light, spices for anointing oil, and for sweet incense, Onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod, and in the breastplate. And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.’” Exodus 25:1-9
Many more instances of physical labor and material matter appear in the old covenant. Some think that these formalities became obsolete when the person of Jesus Christ appeared. Let us now, however, see if this principle carries over to the New Testament.
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Romans 12:1-2.
“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” 1 Corinthians 3:16-17.
It would seem, then, that there will always be a physical aspect to our service to God. Discipleship must never become a mind cult, having no real-world consequences. What we believe must impact the way we live and what we do. Otherwise, it would exist only in the abstract. As such, it would conform to an untold number of personal definitions, interpretations, and manipulations. We must remember that Jesus did not come in the abstract. He subjected his actual flesh to the torture of His oppressors, to the ignominious suffering of the cross, and to real death and the grave.