Readings for today: Exodus 35-40, Psalm 29
When I graduated from college, I had one mission. To become a pastor. I wanted to go to seminary. I wanted to get ordained. I wanted to serve a church. God had other plans. My grades from college were terrible. I flunked out after my sophomore year due to excessive drinking. When I became a Christian, my life turned around and I re-applied and got back in under probation. Though I did pretty well my last two years, the hole I dug for myself was deep so I graduated by the skin of my teeth. The chances of me getting into grad school were slim at best. Two weeks after graduation, I got married to the love of my life and our mentors advised us to wait at least a year before going off to school. Looking back, it was great advice but it didn’t feel good in the moment. It felt like yet another barrier to me doing what I felt called to do. So I got a job. I went to work for Boulder Community Hospital. I hired on as an admissions clerk, making $7.75/hr. My wife and I rented an old, run-down apartment and did our best to make ends meet. Honestly, it was the best thing that could have happened to me.
When we read the Bible, it’s tempting to focus on the main characters. Guys like Moses. Women like Miriam. But what about the lesser known characters? Those entrusted with the more mundane aspects of Israel’s life together? What can we learn from guys like Bezalel and Oholiab? They didn’t see a burning bush. They didn’t hear the voice of God. They didn’t go up on the mountain with Moses. They were not warriors. They were not leaders. They were not among the seventy elders Moses called. They simply were two people with God-given talent and a passion for craftsmanship. Prior to building the Tabernacle, I imagine they spent most of their days in obscurity. Building carts. Repairing tents. Making clothes. The everyday, ordinary, mundane work required to sustain God’s people on their journey to the Promised Land. Amazingly, their work caught the eye of God. “Moses then said to the Israelites, “Look, the Lord has appointed by name Bezalel son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. He has filled him with God’s Spirit, with wisdom, understanding, and ability in every kind of craft to design artistic works in gold, silver, and bronze, to cut gemstones for mounting, and to carve wood for work in every kind of artistic craft. He has also given both him and Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach others. He has filled them with skill to do all the work of a gem cutter; a designer; an embroiderer in blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine linen; and a weaver. They can do every kind of craft and design artistic designs.” (Exodus 35:30-35 CSB) Because these men had been faithful in the small things, God entrusted them with the most sacred work imaginable…building a home for God!
When I started at Boulder Community Hospital, I was per diem. I would only be called in when people were out sick or on vacation. Within a few weeks, several people in my department quit so I was asked to go full-time. Within another few weeks, the lead in my department quit and I was asked to take her position. Within six months, my manager resigned and I was asked to step into her shoes. Within a relatively short period of time, I was managing four departments and about 50 employees and I was all of 24 years old. I have no way to explain how this happened. I had no previous healthcare experience. I had never managed people before. My resume certainly didn’t fit the responsibility I had been given. The only way I can explain it is God. God filled me with His Spirit. He gave me ability and intelligence. He instilled in me, through my parents, a strong work ethic. He gave me a knack for working with people. And as I proved faithful in the small things, like checking in patients day after day, He entrusted me with greater things like managing all of “Patient Access” services.
Bezalel and Oholiab are great reminders that all of us have been gifted by God in some way and all of us are called to use our gifts for His glory. It’s not just pastors or missionaries who are the heroes or heroines. It is the people of God exercising the gifts God has given each of them for the upbuilding of the Body of Christ and the glory of God’s Kingdom. When we fail to exercise our gifts or diminish our gifts in any way, we lose out on at least part of what God has planned for us. And those around us lose out as well. Think about how impoverished we would be if there had never been a Bezalel or Oholiab? Think about the impact on the worshipping life of Israel if there were no craftsmen around to make all God had planned? Now think about our life together. Think about our worship together. What gifts do you bring? Is it the gift of music? The gift of prayer? The gift of friendship? The gift of production? The gift of preaching? The gift of teaching? The gift of serving? If you are a Christian, you have the same Spirit of God filling you that filled Bezalel! This same Spirit imparts all the gifts and talents we need to worship and serve God as He demands. So how are you exercising your gift? How are you seeking to use your gift to build up others in your home, your neighborhood, church, and community?
Readings for tomorrow: Leviticus 1-4, Psalm 30