In Exodus 31:1-5 (KJV), the Lord gives the name of a man, Bezaleel, who is “filled” with “the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, And in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship.” He was particularly chosen and equipped by God to be the master craftsman of the Israelite tabernacle. I chose his name to represent my business – not because I necessarily feel called, nor because I claim to be filled with the spirit of God, nor even because I have unusual talents – but because I want to strive to imitate Bezaleel in two ways:
- The source and credit of his character and talents is said to be the Almighty God. The etymology of his name also seems to suggests a similar idea: בְּצַלְאֵל proper name, masculine ( in the shadow (protection) of El) (Brown-Driver-Briggs). As his name designates him as a recipient of the protection of the Lord, his description in these few verses designates him as a recipient of the wisdom of God in some measure. Ungodly pride is excluded.
- His talents are used for a godly purpose – in his case, for the tabernacle – but as I once heard somewhere (paraphrased, source unknown) “even the pots and pans in our homes must be holy”. A true Christian must not separate secular from sacred. The idea is that EVERY vocation from the most menial to the most important, from the most light to the most solemn, must be done to the glory of the vocation-Giver, the talent-Giver.
May the Lord assist me in this!
Sincerely, Tom Ekema