Imagine Your Natural Inclinations and Skills Being Augmented by the Holy Spirit's Wisdom
Exodus 31:1-11: Now the Lord spoke to
Moses, saying, “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 kinds of craftsmanship, to make
artistic designs for work in gold, in silver, and in bronze, and in the cutting
of stones for settings, and in the carving of wood, that he may work in all
kinds of craftsmanship. And behold, I Myself have appointed with him Oholiab,
the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and in the hearts of all who are
skillful I have put skill, that they may make all that I have commanded you: .
. .” [And then God lists all the
things that He had given instructions for in the previous chapters.]
In
this chapter God shows us that He knows more about us than one would imagine.
First of all, He knows my name (“See, I
have called by name Bezalel”). This is the first time we hear this name for
this man wasn’t a leader like Moses or Aaron or the patriarchs before them –
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But he was very important to God. The Hebrew word
for his name is translated as “in the shadow (i.e. protection) of God”. God had
a special role for him to play in His plans. And that is the case for all of us
who are willing to serve Him – we all have significance in God’s plan of the
ages if we’re willing to seek it and acknowledge it when we find it. And as we
prepare to play that role and actually perform it, God will keep us in His
shadow; He will protect us, enabling us to fulfill that role He has for us.
Secondly,
God knows our history. He knows who our parents were and who our grandparents
were (“the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of
the tribe of Judah”). Our unique history and experiences as children and
young adults play a considerable role in what it is that God is preparing us to
do. He watches us develop and He brings into our lives experiences that will be
used by Him for His purposes later on. In my case it was crossing the ocean as
a five year old to a new life in a new continent which enabled me to speak two
languages and better understand the circumstances of immigrants in a new
country; an understanding of what it means for a family to convert from a
national religious faith to a one with a personal relationship with Christ –
understandings that God has used time and time again through my life, for His
purposes.
Bezalel
was chosen and called by God for a specific purpose. And when God does that for
someone, He then sees to it that He equips the individual for the job he/she was
selected for, as indicated in the main part of this small passage (or pericope: /pəˈrɪkəpiː/;
Greek περικοπή, "a cutting-out" in rhetoric is a set of verses that
forms one coherent unit or thought, suitable for public reading from a text,
now usually of sacred scripture). God said of Bezalel, “I have filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding,
in knowledge, and in all kinds of craftsmanship, to make artistic designs. .
.”.
It
is God that gives us the very essence of who we are that makes us distinct. He
shares with us a measure of His own Spirit with respect to wisdom. He gives us
a measure of understanding that allows us to operate in the world and relate
with both nature and mankind. He imparts to us the very knowledge that we will
need in our unique lives. All the thought processes I am using today to write
what you are reading are accessible to me because God has put them there. Your specific
reaction to what you are reading is possible because God has wired you to
respond mentally in a specific way to ideas and other stimuli that you come
across.
And
then God fills us with abilities that allow us to accomplish work during our
lives. These are not always apparent at birth but God sees to it that we
develop the physical capabilities of doing things that not everyone can do. And
He arranges for us to have experiences that further that development until we
become skilled at our craft. God does that for us “that we may work”. We were
created to work in this life, to be useful to ourselves, to others, and to God
– preferably in the reverse order. A person who is physically and/or mentally
capable of work and does not is missing out on the fulfillment of his/her
purpose as God intended it. As such, life will not be as rewarding for them.
And
this passage also contains, for me at least, an indication God has created us
in such a way that we can take what He has filled us with and apply it broadly
in His service within our specialty. The text says, “that he may work in all kinds of craftsmanship.” There is inherent
in those words a meaning of flexibility and transference. God says, “I’ve given
you these skills, now go and use them there.” And ‘there’ may be at a different
organization, or it may involve a move across the country, or a commitment to
serve on the mission field, or a willingness to keep on using that skill you
have after you retire, for the Kingdom of God.
The
next key component of God’s knowledge about Bezalel is that God knew and
understood that given the size of task He wanted accomplished, Bezalel would
need help. So God Himself appointed individuals who would help Bezalel, namely Oholiab
among others, people who had a passion for this craft, and the text says God
put “skill” in them to satisfy that desire. And the one God names is actually from
a totally different tribe than Bezalel. God very clearly wants His people
working together for His Kingdom and glory.
We
cannot move too quickly past the point of the text that appears to say God
filled people with something (skills) that they were already predisposed to in
their hearts. While the NASB says God put skill in their hearts, it admits in
the margin that literally that word should be “wisdom”. Most other versions
rely on that translation of the word NASB translates as “skill” here. So,
basically, those that were created with the potential of a skill, and then have
that potential developed in practice as part of one’s career or work, God may
choose to give them wisdom through the Holy Spirit to augment it. In
particular, with this wisdom of God’s, we can both further develop and more
importantly, better employ that skill in the service of the Lord. And God
Himself says, we are blessed in this way in order “to make all that (God)
commanded”.
What
I like about NASB’s approach is that it seems to reflect the “blessing” and
furthering of the skill that is what God puts in us, with His foreknowledge
that we would use it for His purposes and commands.
The current president of the United States who seemed
to become well known for his phrase “You didn’t build that!” may have been
right after all, but he was wrong in attributing one’s success to the
government’s help. It’s clear from this
text that for the believer involved in his Lord’s work, the blessing of skill
is a direct gift of God’s to His servants by an actual decision of His. When we
move away from that thinking, we lose the Holy Spirit’s involvement in our
work, we lose our wisdom from above, and we often also lose our skill.
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