THE BETTER BUILDER

Lucina Thompson

Central Truth

God gives each of us a gift. We should use it for His glory and not our own.

"I have filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of craftsmanship, to make artistic designs for work in gold, in silver, and in bronze, and in the cutting of stones for settings, and in the carving of wood, that he may work in all kinds of craftsmanship. . . . that they may make all that I have commanded you." (Exodus 31:3-6)

Oholiab and Bezalel

1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 “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: 7 the tent of meeting, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy seat that is on it, and all the furnishings of the tent, 8 the table and its utensils, and the pure lampstand with all its utensils, and the altar of incense, 9 and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the basin and its stand, 10 and the finely worked garments,^{1

31:10
Or garments for worship} the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, for their service as priests, 11 and the anointing oil and the fragrant incense for the Holy Place. According to all that I have commanded you, they shall do.”

The Sabbath

12 And the LORD said to Moses, 13 “You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the LORD, sanctify you. 14 You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. 15 Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death. 16 Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever. 17 It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’”

18 And he gave to Moses, when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.

Footnotes

[1] 31:10 Or garments for worship

My dad was a builder and land developer. He had several companies in the construction industry that employed skilled workers. So I learned early on to appreciate craftsmen. Most of the time, these guys didn't have fancy college degrees, but their practical skills were unmatched. I'd put guys who work with their hands up against Harvard MBAs any day.

My favorite craftsman to watch was the sheet metal guy. This guy could take a huge piece of metal or copper and make unbelievable things! Out of nothing would come something beautiful, intricate, and detailed -- truly a work of art.

Whether the guys in Exodus 31 knew it or not, God gave them the ability to do their work. And their gifting was specifically given to build God's house. The same can be said today. God longs to use us to do his work to build his church, the body of believers.

Upon salvation, each of us receives a spiritual gift. And we are to "employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God" (1 Peter 4:10).

Exodus 31 goes on with instructions for the Sabbath, the day of rest. It's interesting that "[f]or six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, holy to the LORD" (verse 15).

God wanted to remind us that "in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day He ceased from labor, and was refreshed" (verse 17). Wow! How amazing is it that He put these two together?

He knew that even in gifting us to do HIS WORK, we might misuse and abuse it. So the Sabbath was designed to help us keep our work in perspective! God really is a better builder.

1. Do you know what your spiritual gift is? If not, you can take the SHAPE test through Watermark's membership process to find out. (For those not in the Dallas area, here's one version of the SHAPE test: http://www.watermark.org/fileadmin/materials/students/student_SHAPEForm.pdf.)

2. How are you using this gift to build up the body of believers, both where you live and in the world at large?

3. We don't often talk about the Sabbath rest, but when you consider it, how are you doing at resting from work? If you are not doing well, what can you do to take ground in this area so that you'll be "rested and refreshed" for work?