Exodus 35:30  And Moses said unto the children of Israel, See, the LORD hath called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah;
31  And he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship;
32  And to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass,
33  And in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of wood, to make any manner of cunning work.
34  And he hath put in his heart that he may teach, both he, and Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan.
35  Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning 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 work, and of those that devise cunning work.

There is a Liberal politician who listed several books of the Bible that he declared contained hate speech because they warn against sodomy. This politician is typical of the Liberal government and other parties as well. It is obvious that he does not believe in God. He believes the Bible is just a man-made book that has “opinions” that are unacceptable. It should not surprise anyone that our country is collapsing. When a nation takes a position against God, God will let that nation crash. We know the Liberal party assumes they should be the only party in Canada. There are too many people in this country who agree with the basic philosophies of the Liberal party. The scramble in this country has been toward the ideologies of the Liberal party for years. That is one of the many failures of democracy. It gravitates to the lowest common denominator.
This latest event should not really surprise or alarm us. Quite a few years ago there was a youth pastor in Alberta who posted some Bible verses from the book of Romans, in the local newspaper. The government came after him and he ended up in court over that issue. Simply quoting the Bible, can get you in trouble with our corrupt governments.
Those who are truly born again need to examine Biblical characters like Jeremiah, Daniel, Peter, John, Paul, etc. For thousands of years, there have been a few godly men who have walked in the fear of God and suffered at the hands of ungodly men. The problem then as now is that there are many people who run from anyone who would speak the truth. They do not want to be implicated in what God’s Word actually says. They would rather align themselves with a spin doctor who lies and corrupts God’s Word.
What is missing in this is that God is real and He is true. Cain was offended by the truth. Lamech took exception to the truth. The people of Noah’s day were so wicked that God sent a universal flood to just about wipe out humanity. God is real. Trying to run from Him is futile. Being broken by Him and surrendering to His will is the wise response. Eventually every person will stand before the true God. We can know this true God through His Word. Read It and study It. Find a true church to attend and talk to the pastor. If your goal is to knock the man down, that is really a futile plan. If your goal is to know the truth, that is honourable.
God is good to His children. God chose Moses to lead His people out of Egypt and into the land of Canaan. Moses would not make it into the land of Canaan due to his disobedience to a very clear command from God. However, he would still lead them up to the Jordan River.
Moses had much responsibility; however, it was not more than he could handle. When God calls a saved person to a task, He provides all that is needed for that person to do the work that He has for him. Working with people can be very taxing. God had already warned Moses that he would be working with stubborn and rebellious people. Moses would need to guard his heart so that he would not become bitter against the resistance that was there.
In today’s world, being a pastor has many challenges. God brings people into a pastor’s path. Some are easier to deal with than others. The pastor will not always deal with each situation properly. However, there is forgiveness when the pastor confesses his sin to God. As long as that sin is not a moral failing, he can continue as the pastor. Those who attend a local church sometimes expect more of their pastor, than they expect of themselves. It is true that God holds the pastor to a high standard. The pastor can meet that standard if he walks humbly with the Lord.
Just as with the children of Israel, most people today want a man who is a push over. They want someone who will do their bidding, rather than lead them in the narrow way. Moses needed to be a strong man, not in his own strength, but in the strength of the Lord. The same is true for pastors today. They need to be strong in the Lord. They need to be students of the Word of God and trust in that Word, regardless of what people say.
In our text, we read that God had prepared a man named Bezaleel to do all manner of workmanship. We have already read of the detailed instructions that God gave for the Tabernacle and its vessels. It would require much skill to do that work according to God’s standard. We read that God filled Bezaleel with the spirit of God, in wisdom, understanding, in knowledge and in all manner of workmanship.
Bezaleel did not go to a drafting school. He did not take some metallurgy classes. He did not receive training anywhere for what was required. However, he was a man of God. He understood the importance of walking in the fear of the LORD. When a man of God chooses to walk humbly with the LORD, he is not afraid to take on the task that God gives him. He works step by step and trusts God to enable him to do the work He wants done.
We see once again how wise God is. He knows all things and He knows how to equip His servant for the work He requires of him. God did that for Moses. Moses tried to argue with God, but he learned that God was well able to equip him for the task of confronting Pharaoh, and of leading the children of Israel out of Egypt and into the wilderness.
Bezaleel knew how to work with gold and silver and brass and cutting of stones and setting them in their place. He knew how to carve wood for the designs God had in mind. It is highly unlikely that Bezaleel was involved in making the golden calf that Aaron made for the people. God’s man does not serve the devil and God. He chooses to serve God.
We read in verse 34 that Bezaleel had the patience needed to be able to teach others how to assist in the work. Some men are too proud to help others to learn what they have learned. They step back and expect each person to try to figure things out for themselves. There is great benefit in being able to work with someone who has learned a trade and is willing to help others to learn the things he had learned along the way. Book learning has its place, but hands on learning alongside someone who has developed a certain skill is very helpful.
We see that God had other men that He had chosen to work alongside Bezaleel and to learn the different trades. It is much better to be humble enough to let God guide you than to use trial and error and waste a lot of time on someone who is not capable of what is needed.
The work of the Tabernacle was important work. The finished product was to point the people to that “seed of the woman that would bruise the head of the serpent”. That seed was Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ looked like any other man of His time. The difference was in His attitude and His actions. He spoke as one who had authority. The people could tell the difference between Jesus and the Pharisees. There has never been another person on this earth to compare to Jesus Christ.
The antichrist will pretend to be the Messiah. It will take the lost to receive him as the Messiah. The Bible tells us that God will give the lost of that time “strong delusion”. They will believe a lie because they chose to reject the truth.
There are thousands of people today who reject the Jesus of the Bible. They choose to follow leaders who are imposters. They accept the lies of the Pharisees who accused Jesus of being a “winebibber”. They accused Him of being born of fornication. Many people today do not believe that Jesus was the holy Son of God. They believe that He puts His stamp of approval on fornicators, and drunks and those who curse and swear and those who commit adultery, etc.
As we note in our text, God equipped certain men to be able to follow His instructions and make the Tabernacle and its vessels exactly as He wanted them to be. It was important that the priests who would serve in the Tabernacle be reminded of the holy God they were to serve.
God is approachable by those who come before Him in humility. He is there to help those who come before Him with a broken and a contrite heart. Jesus allowed the Pharisees to come before Him and tempt Him. He exposed them for their hypocrisy and they could not stand that. They hated Him and worked to have Him murdered.
Jesus prayed for their souls as He hung on that cross and died there. He shed His blood to make it possible for those God-haters to repent and be saved. A few like Saul/Paul did eventually repent and he was used in a mighty way for God’s glory. Others served God faithfully as well. Many chose to live in defiance of the Truth and they perished.
Today, God still equips certain men to be evangelists, pastors and teachers. They need the skill to be able to study God’s Word and make the right application. God gives them the skills and the patience to be able to teach others how to walk with the Lord. The humble person will listen to the work of the Holy Spirit and will want to spend time with the true man of God. Don’t short change yourself and get caught up with some spin doctor. Follow the truth and know His blessing.
Pastor Bartel