And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,
The tabernacle instructions are finished, and now God speaks about the workmen. Behind this short verse stands the question every servant of God faces: who is fit to do what God has commanded?
Moses had just received page after page of detail, with severe warnings against changing any of it.
One can imagine Moses standing shocked at how minute the details were, and at the solemn warnings against any deviation. He must have wondered how anyone could carry them out. God's words in the first eleven verses of Exodus 31 must have set his mind at rest. God Himself had made provision by calling and equipping two men, whom He names, Bezaleel and Aholiab... In His choice of these two men God revealed His sovereignty, calling whom He will and equipping them as He sees fit.
The chapter opens with four divine actions, and none of them belongs to man.
Whether for "the work of the tabernacle" of old, or "the work of the ministry" now, there should be the divine selection, the divine call, the divine qualification, the divine appointment. And all must be done according to the divine commandment. Man could not select, call, qualify, or appoint to do the work of the tabernacle; neither can he, to do the work of the ministry. Furthermore, no man could presume to appoint himself to do the work of the tabernacle; neither can he to do the work of the ministry.
Bezalel was already a craftsman. That is why this passage warns as much as it encourages.
It is evident that to do God's work mere natural ability is not enough. Bezaleel may have had a natural aptitude for such work; if so, it was not enough. He had to be filled with the Spirit of God to do it. If that was true when the work was with material things, how much more when the service of God concerns spiritual things, and the welfare of the souls of men.
One writer compares a photograph with a portrait painted by an artist.
A photograph reproduces the exact features, so the likeness may be very close. But an artist can put a living look into the picture by his own genius and spirit; so we say, "It is a speaking likeness." The tabernacle and its vessels had to be a living, "speaking" representation of the things in the heavens, reflecting the mind of God. So the work called for a man filled with the Spirit of God, to build and shape them with divine wisdom and knowledge.
Another writer traces this back to what the Spirit always does.
I believe it is a great mistake to think that these men were only skilful workmen, or that this is just a recognition that God gives all ability. There is something special here... Our Lord said of the Spirit, "He will glorify me" (John 16:14). The tabernacle was intended to set forth the glories of Christ. So need we wonder at the special gift and supervision of the Holy Spirit, so that every part might perfectly express the thoughts of God?
The same writer sets these two craftsmen beside the skilled descendants of Cain.
The descendants of Cain were given unholy skill to make a cursed and groaning earth a delightful place, without the presence of God. "Bezaleel and Aholiab," on the contrary, were given divine skill to beautify a sanctuary that the presence and glory of the God of Israel would make holy and blessed. Put this solemn question to your conscience: am I devoting whatever skill or energy I have to the interests of the Church, which is God's dwelling place, or to beautifying an ungodly, Christless world?
God's giving did not stop with the two men He named.
God also worked in the hearts of others in Israel, unnamed, giving skill for all the various parts of the work. How good to know today that God gives grace "according to the measure of Christ's gift" (Ephesians 4:7) — not only to prominent men, but to every believer. Paul had remarkable gifts which we cannot expect for everyone. But the smallest gift is still valuable in its place, and is to be used for God in the blessing of others... Can we not be content to be little if we are in the place God has put us in and are doing only what He has given us ability to do? Do we have to be named so as to get some recognition from others?
- Called — God names His own workmen. The choice, the call, the qualifying and the appointing are all His. No one may take that honour for himself.
- Filled — Skill was not the credential. Bezalel had to be filled with the Spirit of God — how much more where souls are at stake.
- Living — The tabernacle had to be a "speaking likeness" of heavenly things. Accurate building alone could never reflect the mind of God.
- Christ — The Spirit glorifies Christ. Every part of the tabernacle was made to set forth His glories.
- Everyone — God also put wisdom into many unnamed hearts. The smallest gift has its place. So ask what your skill beautifies: God's dwelling, or a godless world.
See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah,
Before a single board is cut, God names the man who will build the tent of meeting. He has already chosen him and equipped him. Two questions follow, and they shape all service for God: who picks the worker, and who gives the ability?
Moses did not pick the man, and the man did not pick himself. One writer carries that rule over to service for God today.
Whether for "the work of the tabernacle" long ago, or "the work of the ministry" now, God must do the choosing. He must give the call, the qualifying and the appointing. And all of it must be done as He commanded. No man could select, call, qualify or appoint anyone for the work of the tabernacle. No man can do so for the work of the ministry either. And no man could dare appoint himself to the work of the tabernacle. No one can do that for the work of the ministry either.
This call named one man out loud. One writer grants that such a call was unusual, then presses the point home for servants today.
We freely admit that calls like this one were special and out of the ordinary. But even granting that in full, we must insist that every servant today needs a divine call as clear and as compelling as the call of these pattern servants. True, it will be an inward call, a secret between the Lord and the soul. But that does not make it any less effective.
The next verse says God filled him with His Spirit. Natural talent could have copied every measurement and still missed the living look.
"I have called by name Bezalel." He was not just a man with natural ability and skill — he may well have had those. For this work God filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, understanding and knowledge. People point out a difference between a photograph and a portrait painted by an artist. The photograph gives the exact features, so it may look very like the person. But an artist can put a living look into the picture out of his own genius and spirit. So we say, "It is a speaking likeness."
Some read this verse as a general statement that all human ability comes from God. One writer disagrees, and points to what the tabernacle showed.
I believe it is a great mistake to think these men were simply skilled workmen. It is also a mistake to read this as no more than an acknowledgement that God gives all ability. Something special is here… Our Lord said of the Spirit, "He will glorify me" (John 16:14). The tabernacle was meant to display the glories of Christ. So should we wonder that the Holy Spirit gave special gift and oversight, so that every part would express the thoughts of God exactly?
The verse gives three names and a tribe. Read for their meanings, they point past the craftsman to someone greater.
Bezalel means "in the shadow of God." This speaks of his trust, filled with the Spirit of God in wisdom and understanding. He may well be seen as a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. Uri means "Light of Jehovah," and Hur means "white." All these names point to the great workman God chose to build a dwelling place for Him, and to make a kingdom of priests to God — the Lord Jesus Christ.
Skill appears early in the Bible, and not always in God's service.
"Tubal-cain taught every craftsman who worked in bronze and iron." Cain's descendants had unholy skill, and they used it to make a cursed and groaning earth a delightful place, without God present. Bezalel and Aholiab, by contrast, had God-given skill to beautify a sanctuary — a place God's own presence and glory would make holy and blessed.
Being filled did not leave the workman free to improvise. Something outside himself measured his work.
Service shows God's wisdom when the thing done matches the word of God. "According to all that I have commanded you, they shall do." So the word both guides the servant and tests his work… There is not the slightest trace of anything being left to their own thoughts or imagination.
- Called — God speaks the worker's name before the work begins. No one appoints himself to God's service.
- Filled — the call brings its own equipment. God gives the skill for His house. Natural ability alone would have made an exact copy with no living likeness.
- Shadowed — his name means "in the shadow of God." The workman who builds God's dwelling is himself a picture of Christ.
- Commanded — the wisdom shows only where the finished work matches what God said. The word guides the servant, then tests him.
- Contrasted — Cain's line used skill to beautify a world without God. This skill beautified the place where God would live among His people.
and have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in every work,
God had already given Moses every detail of the tabernacle; what was still needed was a man who could turn the pattern into gold, wood and cloth. One writer insists the endowment here goes beyond a general acknowledgement that all ability comes from God.
I believe it is a great mistake to think that these men were simply skilled workmen. It is just as wrong to think that we only have here a recognition that God gives all ability. There is something special here. When we remember what the tabernacle was to show, we are not surprised. Our Lord said of the Spirit, "He will glorify me" (John 16:14). The tabernacle was meant to display the glories of Christ. So why wonder at the special gift and oversight of the Holy Spirit, so that every part might express the thoughts of God perfectly?
The verse names four things the filling gave him. Older translations call them wisdom, understanding, knowledge and all workmanship.
With wisdom he would have all the hidden resource he needed. With understanding he would have light from God. Knowledge would give him insight into the details of the various articles. And all workmanship shows that he used what God gave him to produce results.
Human skill can be exact. One writer uses two kinds of picture to show what the Spirit added.
People point out this difference between a photograph and a portrait drawn by an artist. The photograph gives the exact features, so it may be an exact match. But an artist can put a living look into the picture by his own genius and spirit. So we say, "It is a speaking likeness." The tabernacle and its vessels had to be a living, speaking picture of the things in the heavens, and the mind of God had to be reflected in them. So a man filled with the Spirit of God was needed... Mere accuracy of construction, by human skill, was not what was needed. The work had to be a true reflection of the wisdom of God.
God names the man in the verse before and equips him here. One writer applies both to service today.
Whether for "the work of the tabernacle" of old, or "the work of the ministry" now, the choice should be God's. So should the call, the qualification and the appointment. And all must be done as God commands. No man could choose, call, qualify or appoint anyone for the work of the tabernacle. Neither can he for the work of the ministry. No man could dare to appoint himself to the work of the tabernacle either. Neither can he for the work of the ministry.
The same writer compares two families of craftsmen and what their skill served.
The descendants of Cain received unholy skill. They used it to make a cursed and groaning earth a delightful place, without the presence of God. Bezalel and Oholiab, by contrast, received skill from God. They used it to beautify a sanctuary. The presence and glory of the God of Israel would make that sanctuary holy and blessed.
God gave the qualification. The danger is looking anywhere else for it.
It is hardly too much to say that most of those who take the place of servants in Christendom look mainly to man to equip them for their work... They give themselves to human learning, to training their minds, and to studying "the art of preaching," to fit themselves for their work. From the very start, the result is often dependence on human power instead of the energy and power of the Holy Spirit.
Commentators are careful to mark that this is not yet the Spirit indwelling every believer.
In the language of Scripture, being full of the Holy Spirit is not said of all believers. It belongs to certain people on special occasions or in special circumstances. Some cases even happened before the day of Pentecost. Without going back as far as Bezalel (Ex. 31:3), Scripture says that the father and mother of John the Baptist were filled with the Holy Spirit, and so was John himself.
- Called — God names the man before He fills him; no one appoints himself to God's work.
- Filled — the equipping is a gift too. Wisdom gave hidden resource, understanding gave light, knowledge gave the details.
- For Christ — the Spirit oversaw the work. Every board and curtain was to speak of Christ's glory.
- Not skill alone — human skill can copy a pattern exactly. Only the Spirit makes it a speaking likeness of God's mind.
- Two workshops — Cain's line used skill to beautify a world without God. Bezalel used his to beautify the place where God dwelt.
to devise artistic work -- to work in gold, and in silver, and in copper,
God has called Bezalel by name and filled him with His Spirit, and here He says what that filling is for: the designs and the metalwork of the tabernacle. Why would a craftsman need the Spirit of God at all?
Craft skill is not where most readers expect the Spirit to be at work. One writer admits how strange it sounds:
To Christians it may seem strange that God filled men with the Spirit to give them craftsmanship and skill, but so it was. God gave the artistic ability. We know the Holy Spirit gives spiritual power. He changes our lives and enables us to offer spiritual sacrifices. But in Exodus the things produced were physical objects. Yet, though made with hands, Divine power was needed.
One writer looks up the older wording of this phrase, then reads the three metals as pictures:
When I look up this phrase, "devise curious things," I find it means — to think artistic things… These artistic things were worked in gold, silver and brass, suggesting the nature, disposition and character of God. Silver, which often pictures redemption, would speak of the disposition of God as a Saviour-God today.
Exact copying was not the whole task. One writer explains with a comparison:
People point to this difference between a photograph and a portrait drawn by an artist. The photograph will produce the exact features, so it can be a precise likeness. But an artist can put a life look into the picture by his own genius and spirit. So we say, "It is a speaking likeness." The tabernacle and its vessels had to be a living, "speaking" picture of the things in the heavens, and they had to reflect the mind of God. So the work needed a man filled with the Spirit of God, to build and shape them with divine wisdom and knowledge.
Another writer ties this back to what our Lord said the Spirit would do:
Our Lord said of the Spirit, "He will glorify me" (John 16:14). The Tabernacle was meant to show the glories of Christ. Should we be surprised, then, that the Holy Spirit gave special gift and oversight, so that every part would express the thoughts of God exactly?
Metalworking appears earlier in Scripture, in a very different setting:
There is a useful lesson to learn from comparing this chapter with Genesis 6. "Tubal-cain... the forger of all instruments of bronze and iron." The descendants of Cain were given unholy skill, to make a cursed and groaning earth a delightful spot without the presence of God. "Bezaleel and Aholiab," on the other hand, were given divine skill to beautify a sanctuary — a sanctuary that the presence and glory of the God of Israel would make holy and blessed.
One writer draws a warning out of this for every kind of service:
It is evident that to do God's work mere natural ability is not enough. Bezaleel may have had a natural aptitude for such work; if so, it was not enough. He had to be filled with the Spirit of God to do it. If that was true of work on material things, how much more when the service of God concerns spiritual things, and the welfare of the souls of men.
One writer names the test that such service has to pass:
The proof of divine wisdom in service is that the thing done is according to the word of God. "According to all that I have commanded you, they shall do."
- Given, not grown. God put the skill to design and to work gold, silver and bronze into a man. The man did not bring it to God.
- Given for Christ. The Spirit filled him because everything he would shape pictured Christ. The Spirit's work is to glorify Christ.
- Given against the grain. Cain's line used metalwork to beautify a world without God; here it beautifies a sanctuary God would fill.
- Given, so talent is not enough. If material work needed the Spirit's filling, work touching souls needs it far more.
- Given, and therefore answerable. Even this wisdom faced one test: the finished work had to match what God commanded.
and in cutting of stones, for setting, and for carving of timber -- to work in all manner of work.
God names three trades here: cutting stones, carving wood, and craft of every kind. He counts each one as a gift He has placed in a man. Why would God's dwelling place need artistic skill at all, and where does such skill come from?
We do not usually link stonecutting and carving with the Holy Spirit. One writer admits the idea sounds strange, then says why it should not:
Of the first it is said: "And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship" (Ex. 31:3, older translation). To Christians it may seem strange that men were filled with the Spirit to give them craftsmanship and skill, but that is what happened… God gave the artistic ability. We know the Holy Spirit gives spiritual power. He changes our lives and enables us to offer spiritual sacrifices. But in Exodus the things produced were solid objects. Even so, God's power was needed to make them by hand. This should not surprise us, because everything Bezaleel made was a picture of Christ.
Bezalel may well have had natural ability. But something beyond correct measurements was required, and one writer captures the difference with an illustration from art:
There is said to be this difference between a photograph and a portrait drawn by an artist. The photograph will produce the exact features, so it may be an exact likeness. But an artist can put a living look into the picture by his own genius and spirit. So we say, "It is a speaking likeness." The tabernacle and its vessels had to be a living, "speaking" picture of the things in the heavens. They had to reflect the mind of God. So God needed a man filled with His Spirit to build and shape them with divine wisdom and knowledge. Human skill could give accurate construction, but that was not what was needed. What was needed was a true reflection of the wisdom of God.
Skilled metalwork appears earlier in the Bible, in a very different family line:
There is a useful lesson in comparing this chapter with Genesis 6. "Tubal-cain was an instructor of every craftsman in brass and iron." The descendants of Cain were given unholy skill, and they used it to make a cursed and groaning earth a delightful place, without the presence of God. "Bezaleel and Aholiab," on the other hand, were given divine skill to beautify a sanctuary — a place the presence and glory of the God of Israel would make holy and blessed.
Being filled for the work did not make these men self-sufficient. It tied them to God. Another writer names the test of wisdom in service:
The second thing is this: God called them by name and filled them with His Spirit. He made them depend on Him for the wisdom and understanding to carry out the work He entrusted to them. Man's wisdom is of no use in the service of God… But if God's servants remembered that there can be no understanding or wisdom apart from God — none at all, except what they receive from Him — they would be kept in constant dependence. That is the only way to receive it. This would produce waiting on God instead of activity. There is action, of course, once the word to act has been given. But first comes waiting, to get the wisdom the service needs. One more thing may be added. The proof of divine wisdom in service is that the thing done matches the word of God: "They shall do all that I have commanded you."
The patient shaping of stone and wood pictures something else. One writer applies it to the care believers give one another:
Bezaleel and his helpers took each rough-cut part of the tabernacle as it arrived. By patient and skilful care, design and labour they developed and perfected the character of each part, until at last all of them formed one glorious and harmonious whole. Scripture gives these craftsmen an important place. That may lead all who know and serve the Lord to weigh the great value and importance of their work — and not only those whose work is public and prominent. As Peter says, "As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another." Where grace has given an ability, it has also given a responsibility. We are all given the care of the characters of one another.
- Called — God calls His workmen by name. The call and the skill both come from Him.
- Filled — the skill behind stonecutting and carving came from the Spirit of God, not from natural talent alone.
- Skilled — the aim was not exact copying but a "speaking likeness." The finished work reflected God's mind, and everything made pointed to Christ.
- Directed — gift does not remove dependence. The test of divine wisdom in service is simple: the thing done matches what God commanded.
- Applied — the same patient shaping of rough material shows how believers are to care for one another. Where there is a gift, there is a responsibility.