Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Obscure Bible Heroes {Blogging Through The Alphabet - B}




This week I am thrilled to write about a man that I have long admired - a quiet man that the Lord chose for a very important work.

In the book of Exodus, after the Jewish people left Egypt, they found themselves traveling in the wilderness and in need of a special spiritual place that could be the center of their culture. God gave Moses specific instructions to build a tabernacle where all the special sacrifices could be held, and where the Levites could minister to the people. Since this was a huge undertaking, especially for a nomadic, traveling people with primitive tools, God singled out a special man and filled him with the wisdom and skill necessary to organize the project.

This man was Bezaleel, and we first read about him in Exodus 31:1-5:

 "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, See, I have called by name Bezaleel 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, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, And in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship."

What I love about this story is that it shows that even though building the tabernacle was all physical labor, it was also fully a spiritual assignment. There was no such thing as "hiring in the carpenters union" in that day. God had a plan for His people, and He needed it done in a specific way. He didn't need someone to question the plans, the dimensions, or the materials. He needed a man that would complete the work as service to His God. When He chose Bezaleel, God equipped him for the job not only by filling him with wisdom and understanding, but also with skilled workmanship. Bezaleel's talents were a direct gift from God.

As we continue to read in Exodus, we see lengthy descriptions of Bezaleel explicitly following each set of instructions just as God gave. He and his helpers handcraft every speck of the tabernacle as a labor of love to God and to their people.

What a blessed and faithful man - to be chosen by God for such an important work! I admire his faithfulness.

Through Bezaleel's story I am encouraged that every work that we do is a spiritual work, and should be done to the glory of God. 

Taken from wikipedia


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Ben and Me

4 comments:

  1. This story brings to mind the adage "God doesn't call the equipped, He equips the called!"

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    1. Yes - what a great statement! so true....

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  2. I always thought it was so neat that God gave Bezaleel a divine ability to do the fine craftsmanship needed for the tabernacle. What joy it must have given Bezaleel to create such beautiful things to be used in God's service!

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  3. Great reminder that we are all equipped with the special talents to serve God!

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Thanks for sharing your thoughts!