How to Get a God-Sized Job Done

I have many favorite characters in Scripture. Actually, I'm not sure you can have more than one "favorite" anything, can you? So there are many that I admire greatly and find inspiration from. But there is one guy who captures my imagination maybe more than any other. His name was Bezalel. We don't know much about him at all. But what the Bible does tell us, I like.

After Moses had led the people of Israel out of Egypt, they camped at the base of Mount Sinai. That's where God called Moses to come up and receive from Him ordinances and laws for the people of God to obey. And it's where God gave Moses instructions for building the Tabernacle, the place where God Himself would dwell among the people. God's instructions were intricate and required precision workmanship. It was a huge undertaking for people who had only known hard labor as slaves for four hundred thirty years. Frankly, they didn't have the skills or the know-how to accomplish the task God had given to them. They'd been making bricks in Egypt their whole lives. But brick-making wasn't going to be part of this job. What were they to do?

That's where my guy, Bezalel, comes in. Exodus 31 says: 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.

God gave His people a job to do. Then He gave a man the wisdom, and the skills and ability to do the job. They didn't know how to do it. And God knew that. But that didn't stop the plan of God. God just took an old brickmaker and turned him into a skilled craftsman able to produce the beautifully intricate work that He wanted done.

He'll do the same in us.

"And for this purpose I also labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me." ~ Colossians 1:29