After Moses is given the design and specifications for the Tabernacle, the Lord reveals the one purposed from eternity past to make it a reality.

Bezaleel, the son of Uri, was called by name (Ex. 35:30), out of obscurity to be project manager for the Tabernacle of God.

Bezaleel was an artist, a craftsman, a fabricator. He could take natural raw materials, and invest in the physical, divine character and purpose.

The hands of Bezaleel were used to create a space where God’s Spirit, His abiding presence, would rest upon the earth; and that space, for 500 years, would be the focal point for the faith life of Israel.

בְּצַלְאֵל/Bezaleel means, in the shadow of God. At the appointed time in history, Bezaleel, and his gifting, were called, by name, from the protective shadow of God to shine into a specific space, place, and time. Bezaleel was an artist, called by the Lord to bring the heavenly reality a little closer, in an accessible way, to the earth.

Not all of us are a Moses, an Aaron, or even a Bezaleel, but we are all in the Lord’s protective shadow, gifted in preparation for His service.

Can you imagine an artist like Bezaleel in the wilderness? “What good are my skills, talents, and imagination out here?” Then, out of the blue Moses, stands before all the congregation of Israel and says, “The Lord told me to call Bezaleel to build His Tabernacle. Do we have a Bezaleel here?”

Probably a close approximation of what actually happened, right? Well, something like that.

The apostle Paul encourages us, “There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all” (I Cor. 12:4-7).

While Bezaleel undoubtedly had a position, and of course income in Egypt, when, by faith, he walked out of Israel, he might have believed that that part of his life wouldn’t be useful or necessary in a wilderness camp.

Yet, in that space he would do the most enduring, and important work of his life.

While we might not have so grand a moment as Bezaleel, in faith, when the Lord calls us to walk in the gift His has deposited into us by the Holy Spirit, as Paul encouraged, it will be for the benefit of all; and we too, will help make the heavenly reality more accessible to the world around us. This is the legacy of those called by God, in His Son, empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Be well. Shalom.