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Exodus 35:30–35
“Then Moses said to the people of Israel, ‘See, the LORD has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold and silver and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, for work in every skilled craft’ ” (vv. 30–33).
Paul asks the church of Corinth a vital question: “What do you have that you did not receive?” (1 Cor. 4:7). The Apostle was dealing with believers who were boasting in their own talents and in the talents of others, and such boasting implied that they thought that the credit for their giftedness belonged to them. Paul’s question reminded them that they had not actually worked up their own skills in and of themselves; rather, every good they had came ultimately from God. Even if they had engaged in some training in the use of their talents, they could not point to themselves as the final explanation for their abilities.
About fifteen hundred years earlier, the Lord gave gifts of skill to some of His old covenant people for building the tabernacle. We see this in today’s passage, wherein Bezalel, Oholiab, and several other unnamed workers and skilled designers are singled out as endowed by God “with skill, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftsmanship” (Ex. 35:30–35). Of course, our Creator had named these individuals for the task before the incident of the golden calf (Ex. 31:1–11), but as the work of constructing the tabernacle was about to get underway, it was time for them to get ready to work. Let us note that just before today’s passage identifies the craftsmen, it tells us that God had demanded such craftsmen from His people for the job (Ex. 35:10). So in calling Bezalel, Oholiab, and others, God provided what He demanded. This is His way. What the Lord demands of His covenant people, He provides. He demands faith, and He gives that faith to His elect (Eph. 2:8). He never gives a job to believers that He will not equip them for, since His Word and Spirit equip us to keep His commands (2 Tim. 3:17). Augustine of Hippo prayed for God to grant what He commands because he knew that he could not fulfill the Lord’s will unless the Lord enabled him.
Often, God makes demands of His people as a corporate body. He calls the church to make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:18–20), but this does not mean that He gives each of us the same duty in fulfilling that mission. Together we work, each of us according to our own spiritual gifts and graces, so that we are faithful to the call of Christ. God, of course, does not give everyone the same gift, and not every gift seems as obviously necessary for the mission as others. Yet every gift is vital. Our Lord demands that we use our gifts and He provides them, so let us heed His command (1 Cor. 12).
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
John Calvin comments, “Although even the gifts of nature proceed from the Spirit of God, who gives their intellect to all men no less than their life; still the distribution of peculiar gifts is conspicuous in a higher and different degree.” Because of this, we may be tempted to envy others because we think they have better gifts than ours. Therefore, let us seek to be content with how God has gifted us.
FOR FURTHER STUDY
- Genesis 22:1–19
- 2 Chronicles 29:36
- Luke 11:1–13
- Philippians 4:19