Exodus - Bezalel and Oholiab

 Exodus 31:2-6  “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 

3  and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, 
4  to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, 
5  in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft. 
6  And behold, I have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. And I have given to all able men ability, that they may make all that I have commanded you:

Bezalel means “in the shadow of God” which means under the protection of God. The chief architect of the Tabernacle was gifted in many arts, but was also gifted with the ability to teach and mentor others, to pass on his expertise.

Exodus 35:30-35  Then Moses said to the people of Israel, “See, the LORD has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; 
31  and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftsmanship, 
32  to devise artistic designs, to work in gold and silver and bronze, 
33  in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, for work in every skilled craft. 
34  And he has inspired him to teach, both him and Oholiab the son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan. 
35  He has filled them with skill to do every sort of work done by an engraver or by a designer or by an embroiderer in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, or by a weaver—by any sort of workman or skilled designer.

What we learn about Bezalel/Bezaleel:
Son of Uri (“my light”), grandson of Hur (“freedom”, perhaps the husband of Miriam), great grandson of Caleb or Chelubai, 2 great of Esron, 3 great of Pharez, 4 great of Judah, of the tribe of Judah (See 1 Chronicles 2)
Filled with the Spirit of God
Skill
Intelligence
Knowledge
Artist
Worker in gold, silver and bronze
Gemstone cutter
Wood carver
Engraver
Designer
Embroiderer
Teacher

Exodus 38:22-23  Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the LORD commanded Moses; 
23  and with him was Oholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver and designer and embroiderer in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen.

Oholiab means “father’s tent”.

What we learn about Oholiab/Aholiab:
Son of Ahisamach from the Tribe of Dan
Assisted Uri
Engraver
Designer
Embroiderer

Exodus 31:6  And behold, I have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. And I have given to all able men ability, that they may make all that I have commanded you:

Exodus 28:3  You shall speak to all the skillful, whom I have filled with a spirit of skill, that they make Aaron’s garments to consecrate him for my priesthood.

Exodus 36:1-2  “Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whom the LORD has put skill and intelligence to know how to do any work in the construction of the sanctuary shall work in accordance with all that the LORD has commanded.” 
2  And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whose mind the LORD had put skill, everyone whose heart stirred him up to come to do the work.

Bezalel and Oholiab were supernaturally endowed with the Spirit of God who then used their talents, hands and feet to do this magnificent work. Although they had talents and skills, this God-ordained project required much more than they had in the natural. Therefore God filled them with His supernatural ability to obey and build everything to His qualifications.

When we are weak, He is strong.

What God requires of us may be impossible in our natural state. But He will supernaturally provide what we lack, in skills, talents, resources, helpers, opportunities, etc in order for us to obey Him in what He asks of us. If He calls us to something, He will supernaturally fit us for whatever He calls us to as long as we are trusting, obedient and humbly dependent upon Him.

We are gifted with breath, youth, energy, time, intelligence, skills, talents. We are gifted when we receive education and experience. We are gifted with the wisdom that age and experience give us. We may be gifted with resources. As Christians, we are gifted by the Holy Spirit who enables us to walk a holy life as required by God if we cooperate and rely on the Spirit. We are gifted by the Holy Spirit with ministering gifts. We are gifted with whatever we need to be obedient to whatever God calls us to do. All this being God’s gifts, precludes us from pride, envy, contempt. We are all totally dependent upon God and God is the One who dispenses. We fall into grave error when we think it’s all about us and how special we are and how our talents are ours.

For instance, God may have gifted a man with breath in his lungs, a good singing voice, musical ability, intelligence, education, music education. Then God calls him to use it for His service but the man decides to use it for his own profit. He becomes prideful and arrogant with his talent and fame. He may even be on a church platform, but he’s not really using his talents for God. It is for his own ego, pride and to make profits. The more money he makes and the more his “ministry” becomes his own, rather than God’s, the more he thinks it all revolves around him. If it weren’t for him, where would his organization be? Then he thinks he can do anything, get away with anything. Others will cover for him because “if not for him”, they wouldn’t be making good paychecks. This is the slippery slide to all kinds of sins such as sexual sins and scandals, embezzlement, inappropriate use of ministry funds, nepotism for financial gain, brow beating/abusing/blackmailing employees to keep quiet or lose their cushy jobs, verbal abuse of family and employees, congregations and board members, etc.

2 Peter 1:3 (ERV) Jesus has the power of God. And his power has given us everything we need to live a life devoted to God. We have these things because we know him. Jesus chose us by his glory and goodness, 
4  through which he also gave us the very great and rich gifts that he promised us. With these gifts you can share in being like God. And so you will escape the ruin that comes to people in the world because of the evil things they want. 
5  Because you have these blessings, do all you can to add to your life these things: to your faith add goodness; to your goodness add knowledge; 
6  to your knowledge add self-control; to your self-control add patience; to your patience add devotion to God; 
7  to your devotion add kindness toward your brothers and sisters in Christ, and to this kindness add love. 
8  If all these things are in you and growing, you will never fail to be useful to God. You will produce the kind of fruit that should come from your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

It might be a good exercise to list all the ways God has blessed you with. EVERYTHING! From the lungs that breath and the heart that beats to the air He has provided for you to breath. From the characteristics that make you uniquely you to the trials and tribulations that have built you to who you are today. From the education you had access to (even if you can barely read and write, that’s a blessing! all the way up to advanced education) to the experiences life has taught you. From the wooing of the Holy Spirit to your salvation through Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. From the Word of God to the access of God… I could go on and maybe you should. Just begin listing all the ways God has gifted you into the person you are and for the gifts God has provided to enable you to be the person He calls you to be. He hasn’t left us in a lurch, calling us to be holy but then not giving us the tools and power we need to be holy. He provides everything we need to walk according to what He asks of us. We just need to cooperate and use this power.

After you meditate on this list of gifts, ask yourself how are you using them for Him? Not for yourself. Not for the good of society but FOR HIM. Are you using these gifts, given by Him, for His service and to be who He calls you to be? Are you using your youth, strength and energy for His service or for worldly gains? Are you using your education for His service and to learn more about Him, or for your own profit? Are you using your skills and talents in service for Him or for your own ego and pride? Be honest. Have you wasted His gifts? Are you wasting them now? If you need to, repent. He is there and willing to forgive. Then ask Him to show you how to use His gifts the correct way.