Exodus 31:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2  See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah:
3  And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship,
4  To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass,
5  And in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship.
6  And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan: and in the hearts of all that are wise hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee;
7  The tabernacle of the congregation, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy seat that is thereupon, and all the furniture of the tabernacle,
8  And the table and his furniture, and the pure candlestick with all his furniture, and the altar of incense,
9  And the altar of burnt offering with all his furniture, and the laver and his foot,
10  And the cloths of service, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest’s office,
11  And the anointing oil, and sweet incense for the holy place: according to all that I have commanded thee shall they do.

When God demands something, He always supplies all that is needed to meet His holy demand. God gave Moses all the instructions needed to build the Tabernacle and the vessels for that Tabernacle. He chose the first priests and told Moses that all the subsequent priests would come from that line.
The Tabernacle needed to be built precisely as God declared. The vessels also needed to be built according to the exact orders given. There was no room for shortcuts or for inaccuracies. The children of Israel had just recently come out of captivity. While in captivity, they were required to build things for Pharaoh. We do not know how fancy the things were to be that Pharaoh required of them. None of that really mattered now.
God knew those whose heart was tender toward Him. He new that Bezaleel of the tribe of Judah was such a man. The Messiah would come from the tribe of Judah. It was fitting that the man who would be in charge of the construction of the items required to worship God, should be under the direction from someone of the tribe of Judah.
Bezaleel was filled with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge. This man was capable of making all the items that God required. He would make them exactly the way God demanded they be made. It would be a privilege for Bezaleel to make these vessels. Every generation of priests would deal with those vessels. Every generation would see that Tabernacle. Bezaleel’s name would not be on any of that, but his name was mentioned here and the people would know that he was a man of God. He did not try to put his stamp on anything. God would put his stamp on history, because Bezaleel chose to glorify God.
The requirements for the items God wanted made, involved skill and detail. Bezaleel was equipped to do all that was needed. We do not know what tools the children of Israel had when they left Egypt, but again, God would give Bezaleel all the wisdom needed to make all that he needed to build the Tabernacle and its vessels. He would know how to work with the metals used. He would also know how to cut the stones needed and the carving of the timbers that was needed. There would be others enlisted to help him, but he was in charge of making the items according to God’s specific instructions.
We read in verse 6 that God chose Aholiab the son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan to help him. Aholiab also had a heart that was right with God. He could receive instructions and follow them exactly. There would be no fighting over things and there would be no carelessness in making the items God demanded.
This is again a picture of true Christianity. God saves all that are saved. All that are saved receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation. Jesus Christ promised to build His church upon Himself and He would see to it that His church would stand against all evil attempts to destroy it. That first church in Jerusalem, spread out and many other churches were established and have been established over the centuries. There are many false churches, but the true ones can be identified because they are built upon the sure Word of God. Where they are lacking, Jesus Christ works to bring them into favour with what they must be. Revelation chapters 2 & 3 show us His care for His body.
We read in verses 7-11 that these two men plus others that are not named, were equipped to make all the items that God had instructed Moses in. They would be busy for some time in making all that God commanded. God was not in a hurry. He knew it would take time. He required that those doing the work, follow His orders. It is common for us to hear a little of what God says and then allow our imaginations to interfere with what God wants. That is not acceptable in His Work. The lost need to see the holiness and glory of God. The saved need to be reminded of the holiness and glory of God.
Our words and our actions need to match. They need to meet God’s holy standard. It is not what man says that matters most, it is what God says that matters. The Tabernacle and its vessels and the priests’ garments and the oil, etc. were unique. The nation of Israel would never have seen anything like that before. Other nations that would observe what was happening among the children of Israel would see things they had never seen before.
God was setting Himself apart from all other gods. He was setting the children of Israel apart from all other nations. The children of Israel and the people of other nations needed to be in awe of this great God. As Israel would obey God, they would experience His blessings. As they received His blessings, other nations would see the greatness of God, and the intent was to build the fear of God into all people.
When the spies came to Jericho, we know that Rahab had a fear of God that was good. We know that when the nation came to take Jericho, she had been able to convince her family to come into her house where they would be safe. The rest of the people of Jericho perished. God’s truth is never determined by Its popularity. It is determined because It is from Him.
Those whom God chooses to give leadership in His ways must be suited for the Work. They will not be suited just because they go to some particular school. Most Bible colleges and seminaries do not know the fear of God. They are training those in attendance to know how to compromise and fit in with the world. We have mentioned before that according to the Bible, the local church should be the training ground for men and women. The sad reality is that most churches are into entertainment, rather than preaching sound doctrine.
There was a email sent to a pastor’s email group recently announcing that a young man was looking to help out in a church in Canada. He had attended a school in the U.S. and was looking to further his training in church leadership. The problem is that the school he attended in the U.S. is training men to accept the emergent church philosophy. This man would need to be retrained in order to have him serve in a true church. Since he tolerated the poison for his years at that school, it is highly unlikely that he would be willing to cast off that junk for the truth. He would need a genuine heart of humility like God gave Saul/Paul in order to be fit to serve the Lord. The fear of the LORD is essential to exalt the LORD. There is a great need for men who would be willing to submit to the Lord and prepare for service in true local churches. Our church is currently praying about this matter. We need a man that is equipped by God to lead this church according to His will not the world’s way. The Work of God is far too important to let the world corrupt It. As long as my health holds up I will continue to serve as pastor. God knows how long that will be.
Pastor Bartel