Exodus 35:30-36:7
“And Moses said unto the children of Israel, See, Jehovah hath called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. And he hath filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship; and to devise skilful works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in cutting of stones for setting, and in carving of wood, to work in all manner of skilful workmanship.
And he hath put in his heart that he may teach, both he, and Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of workmanship, of the engraver, and of the skilful workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any workmanship, and of those that devise skilful works. And Bezalel and Oholiab shall work, and every wise-hearted man, in whom Jehovah hath put wisdom and understanding to know how to work all the work for the service of the sanctuary, according to all that Jehovah hath commanded.” (Exodus 35:30- 36:1)
Moses shared what God had told him about who was to oversee the construction of the Tabernacle. God had called him by name, and had filled him with the Holy Spirit. The particular manifestation of the Holy spirit in his life was to learn and do various types of work, and to design various projects with extreme skill. Many times we assume that the Holy Spirit is only manifested in a few areas.
I Corinthians 12:7-11 informs us, “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. 1co 12:8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.”
One common fallacy of our day is that the Holy Spirit always gives the ability to speak in tongues. This is clearly contradicted by the preceding passage, but so is the widely held belief that while God only calls people to be missionaries, pastors and evangelists. This elitist belief is the basis for the Nicolaitane doctrine and practice God condemned in Revelation 2.
Along with Oholiab, who was also called by name and filled with spiritual power, he was to oversee and teach what God wanted built. The details were to be left to these men rather than to Moses. They would oversee metal workers, weavers, tailors, carpenters, wood carvers, jewelers, and every needed occupation. They did not have to know all the details of each craft, but they had to have understanding of the requirements of each to coordinate their different jobs, while God would use the skills imparted to each person by the Holy Spirit to construct each part.
“And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab, and every wise-hearted man, in whose heart Jehovah had put wisdom, even every one whose heart stirred him up to come unto the work to do it: and they received of Moses all the offering which the children of Israel had brought for the work of the service of the sanctuary, wherewith to make it. And they brought yet unto him freewill-offerings every morning.” (Exodus 36:2-3)
The materials that were donated were placed in the hands of the workers who had been called of God to construct the Tabernacle. As they saw construction begin people gave even more. Many people don’t really understand the vision or doubt the commitment to build it. When they see the leaders step out by faith, they willingly step up to do their part, but they need to see a material project.
“And all the wise men, that wrought all the work of the sanctuary, came every man from his work which they wrought. And they spake unto Moses, saying, The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work which Jehovah commanded to make.” (Exodus 36:4-5)
Philippians 4:19 promises, “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” In over fifty years as a Christian, most of it as a missionary and pastor, I have been involved in building at least thirteen church buildings. In many of them, we did not receive any outside help, depending on the local people’s giving. Always we had enough to build a church that was pleasing to the people and, I believe, to God. I believe he will do the same for anyone who is willing to trust him and build what he wants.
“And Moses gave commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary. So the people were restrained from bringing. For the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much.” (Exodus 36:6-7)
Moses had to literally tell the people to stop giving because they had more than they could use. A major complaint about modern churches is that they spend so much time asking for money. Since many churches spend at least five minutes of each service collecting the regular offering, besides special mission or building offerings, it easy to understand why people feel that way.
In Psalms 37:25, David states, “I have been young, and now am old; Yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his seed begging bread.” Could it be that the reason some churches struggle financially is because they are either not using the money the way God wanted, or because there is sin in the camp?
“And Moses said unto the children of Israel, See, Jehovah hath called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. And he hath filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship; and to devise skilful works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in cutting of stones for setting, and in carving of wood, to work in all manner of skilful workmanship.
And he hath put in his heart that he may teach, both he, and Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of workmanship, of the engraver, and of the skilful workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any workmanship, and of those that devise skilful works. And Bezalel and Oholiab shall work, and every wise-hearted man, in whom Jehovah hath put wisdom and understanding to know how to work all the work for the service of the sanctuary, according to all that Jehovah hath commanded.” (Exodus 35:30- 36:1)
Moses shared what God had told him about who was to oversee the construction of the Tabernacle. God had called him by name, and had filled him with the Holy Spirit. The particular manifestation of the Holy spirit in his life was to learn and do various types of work, and to design various projects with extreme skill. Many times we assume that the Holy Spirit is only manifested in a few areas.
I Corinthians 12:7-11 informs us, “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. 1co 12:8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.”
One common fallacy of our day is that the Holy Spirit always gives the ability to speak in tongues. This is clearly contradicted by the preceding passage, but so is the widely held belief that while God only calls people to be missionaries, pastors and evangelists. This elitist belief is the basis for the Nicolaitane doctrine and practice God condemned in Revelation 2.
Along with Oholiab, who was also called by name and filled with spiritual power, he was to oversee and teach what God wanted built. The details were to be left to these men rather than to Moses. They would oversee metal workers, weavers, tailors, carpenters, wood carvers, jewelers, and every needed occupation. They did not have to know all the details of each craft, but they had to have understanding of the requirements of each to coordinate their different jobs, while God would use the skills imparted to each person by the Holy Spirit to construct each part.
“And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab, and every wise-hearted man, in whose heart Jehovah had put wisdom, even every one whose heart stirred him up to come unto the work to do it: and they received of Moses all the offering which the children of Israel had brought for the work of the service of the sanctuary, wherewith to make it. And they brought yet unto him freewill-offerings every morning.” (Exodus 36:2-3)
The materials that were donated were placed in the hands of the workers who had been called of God to construct the Tabernacle. As they saw construction begin people gave even more. Many people don’t really understand the vision or doubt the commitment to build it. When they see the leaders step out by faith, they willingly step up to do their part, but they need to see a material project.
“And all the wise men, that wrought all the work of the sanctuary, came every man from his work which they wrought. And they spake unto Moses, saying, The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work which Jehovah commanded to make.” (Exodus 36:4-5)
Philippians 4:19 promises, “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” In over fifty years as a Christian, most of it as a missionary and pastor, I have been involved in building at least thirteen church buildings. In many of them, we did not receive any outside help, depending on the local people’s giving. Always we had enough to build a church that was pleasing to the people and, I believe, to God. I believe he will do the same for anyone who is willing to trust him and build what he wants.
“And Moses gave commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary. So the people were restrained from bringing. For the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much.” (Exodus 36:6-7)
Moses had to literally tell the people to stop giving because they had more than they could use. A major complaint about modern churches is that they spend so much time asking for money. Since many churches spend at least five minutes of each service collecting the regular offering, besides special mission or building offerings, it easy to understand why people feel that way.
In Psalms 37:25, David states, “I have been young, and now am old; Yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his seed begging bread.” Could it be that the reason some churches struggle financially is because they are either not using the money the way God wanted, or because there is sin in the camp?
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