TALENTED AND SKILLED HANDS (8)

“Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the Lord had commanded Moses” – Exodus 38:22

GOD sovereignly defines the specific roles of all TALENTED and SKILLED HANDS for His pre-ordained purposes: “Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the Lord had commanded Moses” (Exo.38:22). Bezalel displayed his divinely endowed and skilled hands in obedience to God’s commandment through Moses. There was no reason for competition or envy between the two. Moses’ calling was distinct from Bezalel’s. God chose Bezalel to oversee the construction of the tabernacle, not because of administrative capabilities or for any other reason than that he was GIFTED by the Holy Spirit as an ARTIST. God was the Source of his gifting!

Moses was given the plans but was not entrusted with the ability or responsibility for the actual construction of the tabernacle. Why? Construction was not his calling; skilled craftsmanship was not his gift! Pastors should shepherd, preachers should preach, and teachers should teach. If the spiritual leaders cannot build, they should leave the construction projects in the hands of those who are trained, talented, skilled, or gifted for such! It's obvious that it is not only the likes of Moses who receive a call from God to serve Him. All of our skills are sourced in God and given to us for the purpose of serving Him. The arts constitute a legitimate calling for Believers in Christ. The Church still needs more Believers to answer the call – as excellent architects, artists, designers, musicians, painters, poets, and writers.

However, that Moses was commanded implies that he could not afford to handle his leadership role with levity. Moses had been counselled to pay close attention to God’s instructions regarding the personnel who will oversee His glorious building programme: “SEE, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. And I have FILLED him with the SPIRIT of GOD, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in ALL MANNER of WORKMANSHIP…” (Exo.31: 1-3). That God called Bezalel “by name” indicates that he was predestined and summoned to a particular duty. We can infer that our skills are God-ordained and they are aspects of our calling! Beyond being called, Bezalel was “filled…with the Spirit of God” in wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and diverse skills.

Four qualities were identified with reference to the outcome of Bezalel being filled with the Spirit of God: Wisdom (ability), understanding (intelligence), knowledge and workmanship (craftsmanship). These four characteristics are clearly stated to be gifts from God and are clearly manifested in the arts: “to design artistic works, to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of workmanship” (Exo.31:4-5). In other words, there was very little by way of God’s gifting that this man lacked. By divine investment, Bezalel was the Leonardo Da Vinci of his day. He possessed the talent for solving the inevitable problems involved in the creation of complex series of objects and materials; and skill, the experienced hand needed to guide and accomplish the task itself.

Interestingly, Bezalel was from the tribe of Judah – the tribe from which our Lord Jesus ultimately arose. Moreover, Exodus 31:3 is the first instance recorded in biblical history where someone was specifically said to be “filled with the Spirit of God.” It’s fascinating that this was not written about a pastor or a missionary; he neither spoke in tongues nor healed the sick nor won a soul to Christ. Rather, Bezalel manifested his spirituality by his artwork, craftmanship, or artistic skill. God simply appointed a man whom He gifted and called to ensure the successful execution of His glorious building! God wanted to be sure that his dwelling place was built according to code; and His code is both holy and beautiful. The Psalmist exhorted us to “worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness” (Psalm 29:2).

As we use our gifts – the obviously spiritual and less obvious ones – God guides and empowers us to serve Him in the Beauty of Holiness!