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; and He has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftsmanship…”
Exodus 35:30-31

There was a job to be done and God had not only chosen a man to do it but had gifted him with the raw talent, the intelligence, and then provided him with the years of experience to develop the knowledge, and skillful craftsmanship needed to carry it out. Bezalel had spent years developing talents that God had given him as a gift.

He had learned how to create the designs, carve the wood, set the gemstones, melt and form the silver, gold, iron and bronze that would be needed. He was skilled at spinning the fine yarn, weaving cloth and embroidering, even with gold thread.

Where did he get practice in all those arts? He had been a slave in Egypt before Moses brought the people out, just a few weeks before.

During his years of slavery God gave Bezalel opportunities to practice and develop the skills he would need now to build the Tabernacle, and to teach others how to do work that he would oversee. None of what he had learned in all those years as a slave was wasted or lost.

At the time he only knew that he had a knack for these things. There was no way he could have known ahead of time how one day God would be using the skills he was developing. Nobody had dreamed of building a portable temple for God in the desert until God revealed the plan to Moses on Mount Sinai.

Do you feel frustrated with the time wasted doing seemingly pointless, repetitive tasks, just to survive? Don’t think that way! Understand that in God’s plan for your life you are learning and developing something that’s part of His plan for your future. In some way it all fits in to His overall plan and purpose. You don’t need to know how; just trust Him and be faithful in what He has given you to do now. Do it well. It’s part of your training.

Lord, help me to see what I’m doing today in the context of Your Lordship, Your purpose, and Your call on my life. I will trust that You know what you’re doing. Amen.

Pastor Dan Giles