The Gift to Teach... a Trade


For what purpose is the gift of teaching?

Exodus 35:30–35 (ESV) Then Moses said to the people of Israel, “See, the Lord has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; 31 and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftsmanship, 32 to devise artistic designs, to work in gold and silver and bronze, 33 in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, for work in every skilled craft. 34 And he has inspired him to teach, both him and Oholiab the son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan. 35 He has filled them with skill to do every sort of work done by an engraver or by a designer or by an embroiderer in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, or by a weaver—by any sort of workman or skilled designer.

I love what this passage illustrates for us. Bezalel, first mentioned in Exodus 31 is now brought up again with the materials gathered for construction of the Tabernacle. He is the man God has called by name and filled with His Spirit to bring the concept to reality. But this time, a special skill set has been added to Bezalel's resume. The ability to teach others.

 "And he has inspired him to teach"

 Notice that Bezalel is filled with the Spirit of God which brings "skill, intelligence and knowledge with all craftsmanship" but also brings a teaching ability to others in the skills for work!

 True leaders are filled with the Spirit of God to teach others how to be good at that which brings beauty to the body of Christ - both in and outside of the church. The Tabernacle will not be built to the glory of Bezalel, but to the glory of God as each person assigned will participate in their particular area of expertise.

 Not everyone is a preacher. Not everyone is a full-time missionary or church planter. But everyone in the family of God needs to remember they have a purpose in representing the body of Christ (the true Tabernacle of God) to the world. How will they be trained? How will they do their job well? How will they bring the multi-colored and intricate workmanship of God to bear on society through their occupation? They need to be taught by someone filled with the Spirit.

 Every pastor or teacher in the Church must remember their call is to equip the body of Christ for the work of the ministry.

Ephesians 4:11–12 (ESV) And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,

Pastors are not just preaching so that people will read their Bible's more or pray more. They preach under the power of the Holy Spirit so that plumbers and carpenters will do their work with excellence and fairness under the empowerment of God's Spirit and God's Word! They preach so that masons, or electricians, janitors, teachers, lawyers, fire fighters will do their job to the glory of Jesus' name. The body of Christ is the physical representation of the unseen reality - God with us - through the Holy Spirit and in the Person of Jesus. When the power of the Spirit comes upon a man of God to teach, it empowers him for the purpose of glorifying Jesus through His body.

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