City Life Starter

Written by Scott Fiddler

The Word

30 “See, the Lord has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. 31 And He has filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding and in knowledge and in all craftsmanship; 32 to make designs for working in gold and in silver and in bronze, 33 and in the cutting of stones for settings, and in the carving of wood, so as to perform in every inventive work. 34 He also has put in his heart to teach, both he and Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. 35 He has filled them with skill to perform every work of an engraver and of a designer and of an embroiderer, in blue and in purple and in scarlet material, and in fine linen, and of a weaver, as performers of every work and makers of designs.”

Exodus 35:30-35

Commentary

When the Lord commanded a tabernacle be built, He handpicked Bezalel and Oholiab to make the tabernacle beautiful, awe-inspiring, and worthy of God’s presence. But the Lord didn’t just delegate the work; instead He empowered these hand-picked artists with the Holy Spirit to do this creative work, working through them in a divinely inspired joint venture. The scripture above reveals three ways in which the Holy Spirit empowers Christians in creative endeavors.

To Know. The first thing Bezalel received from the Holy Spirit was the wisdom “in understanding and in knowledge” (v. 32). In other words, the Holy Spirit inspired in Bezalel the ability to know how to design in precious metals, stones, wood carving, and other creative work. This may also be understood as God-inspired insight. It is the “ah-ha” moment when one sees the way something should be or could be done or how a problem may be solved. It can come in an instance and is usually seen rather than reasoned out, which is perhaps evidence it is transmitted from the Holy Spirit through our spirit rather than our minds.

To Perform. The other thing Bezalel received was the ability to perform the work of an engraver, designer, and embroiderer. As Moses said, “He has filled them with skill to perform every work of an engraver and of a designer and of an embroiderer, in blue and in purple and in scarlet material, and in fine linen, and of a weaver, as performers of every work and makers of designs” (v. 35). Insight is not enough; we must also execute or perform, and the Holy Spirit assists Christians in both. A great design poorly performed is no better than a bad design well performed. The Lord desires and inspires the design and performance because both are necessary.

To Teach. Thirdly, the Holy Spirit empowers Christians with the ability to teach others what the Holy Spirit has enabled us to do. As Moses said, “He also has put in his heart to teach, both he and Oholiab, . . .” (v. 34).  Teaching creativity is difficult. It is like trying to describe for someone how to ride a bicycle. Like most kids, I learned how to ride a bicycle with training wheels. The Holy Spirit for Bezalel and Oholiab was like a set of divinely ordained training wheels, but I believe the Lord didn’t want the creativity to stop with Bezalel and Oholiab, so the Holy Spirit also inspired them to teach others what, by the power of the Holy Spirit came naturally to them. The building of the tabernacle was an enormous task, and more creative people were needed, just as the remaking of the world into the place God intended is an enormous task is well. Holy Spirit-inspired creativity is needed to complete that task.

Application

The tabernacle was a place of worship, and it is fitting the Lord revealed how His creativity manifests in us through the power of the Holy Spirit in the building of the tabernacle. It is metaphor for the profound principal that our creativity is a form of worship of God. Creativity is valued at City Life Church because true creativity represents a partnering with God through His Holy Spirit to bring glory to God in what is created and to use that creativity in remaking the world into the place of beauty God originally intended.

Prayer

Lord, work through me to provide creative insight, to assist me in performing and to teach others so that I might bring glory to You in my creative endeavors and that You might use them to help restore the world to the place You intended it to be. In Jesus name, amen.