Power-Filled Craftsmen
What the first-ever record of spiritual giftedness has to show us.
In Exodus 31, some time after Israel’s deliverance from Egypt, God speaks to Moses. Grandly, He tells him that a number of people have been called out for a special purpose:
See, I have called by name Bezalel… And I have filled him with the spirit of God in wisdom and in understanding and in knowledge and in every task, to devise plans, to work in gold and in silver and in bronze, and in stonecutting for settings and in wood carving, to do every task.
This is the first recorded mention of supernatural giftedness in Scripture.
A spiritual gift, or charisma in Greek, refers to an endowment of power given by the Holy Spirit. Charismata (plural) are graces available to any and all God-believers — not only available, but necessary to fulfill the mandate given by Jesus to spread the good news message of forgiveness of sin and victory over death.
In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul itemizes a number of these graces in a list (and this may not have been intended to be exhaustive):
To one a word of wisdom…
To another a word of knowledge.
To another faith… and
To another graces and healings.
To another realizations of deeds of power,
To another prophecy, and
To another the discernment of spirits.
To another varieties of tongues, and
To another interpretation of tongues.
While Isaiah’s seven gifts of the Spirit (wisdom, insight, counsel, valor, knowledge and the fear of YHWH) and Paul’s fruit of the Spirit are given for inward growth, charismata seem to be more outward, given to believers for the good of all (1Pe 4:10). In that sense spiritual gifts are not really gifts for the gifted, in merely the skill or talent sense. Rather, they are gifts intended to be given away, to others. Imagine them as presents which may be gifted and re-gifted as often as necessary.
Besides the possibility that Paul may have derived “word of wisdom” and “word of knowledge” from this account, there is much that Exodus’ story of power-filled craftsmen has to tell us about spiritual gifts.
And I, look, I have set by him Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, and in the heart of every wise-hearted man I have set wisdom, that they make all that I have charged you: the Tent of Meeting and the Ark of the Covenant and the covering that is upon it and all the furnishings of the Tent…
The two artisans are later described as having been given “the ability to teach others,” that God had “filled them with heart wisdom 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,” and that they could “do every kind of craft and design artistic designs.” (Exo 35:34–35)
This ancient account has echoed through the ages for our benefit. I believe that it can both support and powerfully illustrate overlooked aspects of the gifts described in the New Covenant. For, as we will see next, gifts are not for slaves, are both functional and fine, make things built to last, are to be engaged in by everyone, are unique, are inordinately abundant, heal through tragedy, and are a home for the giver.
1. Gifts Are Not For Slaves
In the footnotes of his The Hebrew Bible, renowned Hebraist and author Robert Alter tells us that the two most common terms for “work” or “task” in the original texts are:
melaʾkhah — the word used here in Exodus 31
ʿavodah —the word used for slave activity in Egypt
ʿAvodah, in political contexts, means to be a subject or vassal to a superior power, while in religious contexts it means to be in divine service. Both imply subservience and also often suggest strenuous physical labor. It is, for example, the verbal root used when Adam is cursed “to work the soil”.
On the other hand, a malaʾkh is a messenger or agent. When his sender is God, it is translated “angel.” Here in Exodus 31, in the context of spiritual giftings, it is this related word, melaʾkhah that is translated “task.” The word has a clear connotation of craft plus the necessary skill.
It should also be noted that Bezalel, as it says, was “called by name.” Not merely in the sense of an identifying moniker, but in the Eastern sense where names are symbolic of character and destiny. Tellingly, the name Bezalel means “in the shadow (protection) of El.”
Jesus once said to his disciples:
I call you slaves no longer, because the slave does not know what his lord is doing. But I have called you friends, because everything I have heard from the Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you, so that you should go and should bear fruit, and your fruit will last, so that whatever you might ask in my name he might give you. (Joh 15:15–16)
Obviously, it is no slave whom God gifts! This is true of you and me today.
2. Gifts Are Both Functional and Fine
Even now, in the Hebrew tradition, Bezalel remains the archetypal dedicated artisan. But it was not enough that he and his companions were gifted in know-how, planning or strategy. God declared that they were “to do every task”. In other words, these wise-hearted men were to use their gifting to actualize something that was both functional and beautiful. Gifts of wisdom and knowledge are, after all, for building.
Putting wisdom in the hearts of such men seems to be a kind of positive counterpart to the hardening of the heart of Pharaoh.
The capacity for skillful artisanship is innate; it is one of the person’s attributes. However, this story indicates that God is the ultimate source of all such capacities plus the enabling force for their realization.
3. Gifts Make Things Built to Last
God instructed His craftsmen to use precious metals, stone and wood — materials renowned not just for their beauty, but for their quality. Indeed, to the Romans (1:11–12), Paul mentions that one purpose of the impartation of gifts is durability.
I long to come to you so that I might give you some spiritual gift so that you may be made firm — that is, rather, to be comforted along with you, through one another’s faith, both yours and mine.
Note here the tender way in which Paul changes tack mid-sentence; that the kind of relationship in which he wishes such a transaction to take place is not in typical mentor-disciple fashion, nor involving a one-way power hierarchy.
Paul, as an apostle and wise master-builder, is architecting a foundation that will stand the test of time. Spiritual gifts are one set of tools he uses to accomplish this.
4. Gifts Are to Be Engaged In by Everyone
As such, it was not enough that God breathed His Spirit into them to do this artisanal work themselves. They were to productively, creatively engage the whole Israelite community in building. How? By teaching it to others; passing on their expertise. In doing so, each worker is encouraged to engage in an individual creation that is subordinate to a majestic whole.
Bezalel now commandeers a united and formidable force — one that is not wasted in a dispassionate homogeneity (an army of square pegs cannot fit in a round hole) but one that allows room for the creative spirit within a collective structure. Perhaps he, and they, took ownership of the project, as if it were their own home. It is no accident that many Jewish thinkers have equated him with Solomon; together they are the great builders of their tradition and the two considered the most wise.
5. Gifts Are Unique
Given the gift each one has received, serve others as good stewards of God’s many-coloured grace. (1Pe 4:10)
In the building of the Tabernacle, God used many different people, with many kinds of gifts — specifically artistic gifts. In New Covenant terms, one can’t help but see the relation to Peter’s charge here.
I want all human beings to be just like me, but each has his own gracious gift from God — one thus, another thus. (1Co 7:7)
Though there will be a natural tendency for leaders to wish everyone was similarly endowed, the uniqueness of the gifts and who they grace is a virtue.
6. Gifts Are Inordinately Abundant
Exodus 36:5 mentions that the people brought “much more than enough” for the building of the tabernacle and its furnishings. When something is inspired by God, there need be no fear of lack. Darwinian values do not apply.
The eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you… there should be no division in the body, but instead the members should have the same care for one another. (1Co 12:21,25)
Failure to understand this leads to self-centered abuse, until gifts and giftings descend into a chaotic malaise of divisive, competitive merit badges. This was a problem Paul took care to address, for example, in his letter to the Corinthian church.
7. Gifts Can Be A Panacea for Tragedy
Remember that the Tabernacle’s design was traumatically interrupted by the Golden Calf episode and the shattering of the tablets of the Law. The awakening of gifts, then, may have been part of God’s way of restoring divinely mandated order, for before long the company of tribes busied themselves in productive completion of the work.
8. Gifts Are a Home For the Giver
The Hebrew for Tabernacle is mishkan, which means “dwelling”. It is God’s living space or abode in the midst of His people. Harmonious, beautiful, and intricately constructed, it was to be the cosmic nexus where heaven and earth, for a time, would be united.
In his A Commentary on the Book of Exodus, the late Professor Umberto Cassuto (and others) have historically believed Exodus 39 and 40— summarizing the Tabernacle’s completion — to be an echo of the record of God’s finishing of creation. Even “And Moses completed the task” harks back to the Creation account (Exo 40:33). Philologists too marvel at the text’s musicality, “evoking in gorgeous syllables, the sheer splendor and artisanal perfection of the sanctuary.” (Alter, p. 503)
It should come as no surprise that, when following divine direction, men and women putting their gifts to work emulates the Creator.
Question: Do Gifts Come With an Expiration Date?
In his first letter to Timothy, Paul, the elder minister, warns his protégé:
Do not neglect the gracious gift that is within you, given to you through prophecy accompanied by a laying-on of hands by the company of elders. (1Ti 4:14)
(Note that “elders” here is almost certainly descriptive, not prescriptive in a cultic or dogmatic sense.)
Though freely given, it appears that gifts can be forsaken, abandoned.
That said, to another church, the apostle writes, “God’s bestowals of grace and vocation are not subject to a change of heart,”; “God’s gifts and his call [are] irrevocable.”
Nevertheless, Paul’s warning about neglect leads to a question:
Can spiritual gifts suffer atrophy?
Take faith, for example, including the gift mentioned in 1 Cor. 12. Faith is a gift from God, just like your bicep is a gift from God. Now, no one expects either to grow on its own. Just as the Olympian need not ask his coach for more strength, the Christian need not beg for more faith. On the contrary, one “fans it into flame,” as Paul advises in his second letter (2Ti 1:6), by lifting some heavy thing, some unlikely weight, until one sees that what has been given is growing in mass and power.
This kind of synergy between heaven and earth is found everywhere. For a Christian to say he or she is ungifted or powerless is a non-sequitur. It does not depend on a particular feeling, as seen in the Samson account when he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as all the other times and shake myself loose.” (Jud 16:20) The man fully expected that his gift of strength was intact.
Even beasts instinctively have faith — you don’t see them checking for trunks or claws or fangs when they wake up every morning. So the Christian is powerful by nature (See 2Co 6:6–7).
All of the gifts, not just risk-taking courageous faith, are ours for the taking. Think of them as an investment from Jesus. They are in you and are packaged with the Spirit of their original Author to back them up.
Thank you for reading. I’m a graphic designer and Bible instructor who enjoys fellowship in the New Covenant. How are you? I pray that the peace of Jesus would rest on you now.
