Exodus 35:30-36:1 (ESV)

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, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold and silver and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, for work in every skilled craft. And he has inspired him to teach, both him and Oholiab the son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan. 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. 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.”

The surprise here isn’t that the LORD has given Bezalel and Oholiab great skills – we already knew that – it’s that Moses puts them in charge. They will manage the construction of the tabernacle.

At first glance, the text doesn’t seem to say that. The only thing new here is that the LORD has inspired him [Bezalel] to teach, both him and Oholiab the son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan. But as we’ll soon see, Moses drops out of the picture while the tabernacle is under construction.

He’s in the next few verses, calling Bezalel and Oholiab, and handling the contributions. After that, Moses isn’t even mentioned for more than two chapters – from 36:7 through 38:20. Even then, Moses is only mentioned in reference. Moses doesn’t really reappear until the tabernacle is complete.

And Moses saw all the work, and behold, they had done it; as the LORD had commanded, so had they done it. Then Moses blessed them. – Exodus 39:43 (ESV)

Bezalel and Oholiab oversee the entire project. That’s what they need the gift of teaching for. This frees up Moses to get back to his main role as the leader of God’s people.

Every Christian should contribute to the work of the kingdom. That’s part of what being a Christian is.

But there’s another level – overseeing. People who are willing to be responsible for things have more impact than people who just help. This is even more true in the 21^st century than it used to be. Nowadays, many tasks are done by machines. It’s the people who oversee (or program) the machines that make the difference between success and failure. The same principle applies when the work is done by people.

The body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ – 1 Corinthians 12:12 (ESV)

We tend to think of this in terms of doing things, not responsibility for things getting done. But when those body parts are fully functional, pastors are freed up to focus on the tasks only they can do.

The church kicks into high gear when people take over responsibilities.

The weekly study guides, which include all six devotionals plus related questions for discussion or meditation, are available for download here:

https://www.ailbe.org/resources/itemlist/category/91-deep-studies