3/20 A Very Specific Spiritual Gift

This is Scripture for Students. I’m Steve Whitacre, president of Trinity College and a pastor at Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville. I want to help students build a daily habit for life-long Bible reading. Today is March 20, 2025 and this episode of Scripture for Students is called A Very Specific Spiritual Gift. Grab your Bible and let’s get started.

Our readings for today are Exodus 31, John 10, and Proverbs 7.

Please open your Bibles to Exodus 31.

Over many years of reflection and consideration, I’ve discovered that I really only have one thing that I’m really at. Maybe this is my spiritual gift. The one thing in all of my life that I am really good at is loading the dishwasher. I think I can say this humbly—I’m just better at it than anyone I know. I think you would be amazed if you could see it. I’m able to get so many dishes in the dishwasher with such order and precision and they come out so clean. Maybe the only way to explain it is to say that it is Spirit-empowered.

Ok, I hope you can tell that I’m joking. Mostly. But in today’s Scripture for Students, we’re going to read about two men of the Israelites that God really did fill with his Spirit and empower with various skills for a very specific purpose. 

Please follow along with me as I read Exodus 31:1–11,

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, 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.”

May the Lord bless the reading and the hearing and the keeping of his Word.

What an interesting passage. This passage says Bezalel, and probably Oholiab as well, have been filled with the Holy Spirit for the purpose of making and building all the elements of the tabernacle.

First, we should talk about the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament. The Holy Spirit is present in the Old Testament in many places and in many ways, but not as obviously as he is present in the New Testament. Another way to say this is that, like the New Testament, the Old Testament is Trinitarian, but it is not as obviously or as thoroughly Trinitarian as the New Testament. In a few places throughout the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit is present to fill God’s people for specific tasks and for limited periods of time, which is what we see here. As far as I can tell, there is only one person in the Old Testament whom the Holy Spirit comes on and then stays upon for the rest of his life, and that is David. In most cases, it is something like this. 

And there are several things we can learn here. First, did you notice the language of calling in verse 2? The Lord says to Moses, “See, I have called by name Bezalel…” In this case, to say that Bezalel has been called means that God has prepared for him a very specific responsibility. Bezalel has been appointed to this vocation. He has been crafted for this craft. Let’s remember that, we’ll come back to it in a minute. 

Next, did you notice the effect of Bezalel being filled with the Holy Spirit? It says in verse 3 what happens: Bezalel is filled with the Spirit of God, “with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs. Bezalel has been outfitted with the skills and abilities to do the work that God has called him to. Now, I don’t think that we should assume from this that Bezalel did not have these abilities before. I don’t think this means that he had never done anything artistic in his life and then one day—poof—he’s this world class artisan who is tasked by God with constructing the tabernacle and everything in it. 

I think a better way to understand this might be that Bezalel had artistic and craftsmanship skills that he had worked at, perhaps for his whole life—and now God is going to elevate his game by filling him with the Spirit for this outcome. 

The third thing to notice here is that God appointed people to help Bezalel. It says in verse 6 that God appointed Oholiab to help him. It’s not totally clear whether—or to what degree—God filled Ohoboliab, too, but I think that the way Bezalel and Oholiab are mentioned together in Exodus 36:1–2 seems to at least imply that they have been gifted in similar ways. 

Now, it is not just Oholiab whom God has sent to help Bezalel. In verse 6, it also says that God has given to all able men ability, that they may make all that God commanded Moses to make. It’s going to take a lot of people to make the tabernacle, and God has called people with the skills to do it. 

I think this all means at least a couple of things for us. First, while it is true that none of us will be called to build the tent that God himself will live in, each of us has callings on our lives—vocations to which God has called us. And God has specific things he wants you to do in those callings. You might be called right now as a son or daughter, and as a brother or sister. As a student. Maybe as a worker or a church member. 

And even though we aren’t called to something as dramatic as building the tabernacle, God has given you—like Bezalel—ability and intelligence, knowledge and craftsmanship, to accomplish the callings to which you have been appointed. This is especially important for young people to learn. A lot of young people want to give something less than their best with their school work or their shift at Chick-fil-a and they think: later, when I get to do something I want to do, I’ll flip the switch and know how to work hard and do excellent work. And that just isn’t true. 

The only way that people are able to work hard later and do excellent work later is by learning to work hard and work excellently now. So if God has called you to be a student, he has called you to do your best at biology or algebra or history or whatever it is. God wants you to learn the discipline and self-control of working hard and doing excellent work now (in the little things) so that you will be faithful in the big things later. People who aren’t faithful with little things won’t be faithful with big things later. 

So take this as a challenge. Ask your parents for their evaluation: do they think that you are working hard and striving for excellence in everything you do? If not, what changes can you make to please the Lord by working hard and excellently rather than giving less than your best?

That’s all for today. If you enjoyed this episode please share it with a friend and follow us on Apple Podcasts.

This content is sponsored by Trinity College of Louisville. We shape young men and young women for Christ and for the church. Learn more at TrinityCollegeLou.com. Until next time, keep growing!