Exodus 31:3

I believe it is a great mistake to think that these men were simply skilled workmen. It is just as wrong to think that we only have here a recognition that God gives all ability. There is something special here. When we remember what the tabernacle was to show, we are not surprised. Our Lord said of the Spirit, "He will glorify me" (John 16:14). The tabernacle was meant to display the glories of Christ. So why wonder at the special gift and oversight of the Holy Spirit, so that every part might express the thoughts of God perfectly?

With wisdom he would have all the hidden resource he needed. With understanding he would have light from God. Knowledge would give him insight into the details of the various articles. And all workmanship shows that he used what God gave him to produce results.

People point out this difference between a photograph and a portrait drawn by an artist. The photograph gives the exact features, so it may be an exact match. But an artist can put a living look into the picture by his own genius and spirit. So we say, "It is a speaking likeness." The tabernacle and its vessels had to be a living, speaking picture of the things in the heavens, and the mind of God had to be reflected in them. So a man filled with the Spirit of God was needed... Mere accuracy of construction, by human skill, was not what was needed. The work had to be a true reflection of the wisdom of God.

Whether for "the work of the tabernacle" of old, or "the work of the ministry" now, the choice should be God's. So should the call, the qualification and the appointment. And all must be done as God commands. No man could choose, call, qualify or appoint anyone for the work of the tabernacle. Neither can he for the work of the ministry. No man could dare to appoint himself to the work of the tabernacle either. Neither can he for the work of the ministry.

The descendants of Cain received unholy skill. They used it to make a cursed and groaning earth a delightful place, without the presence of God. Bezalel and Oholiab, by contrast, received skill from God. They used it to beautify a sanctuary. The presence and glory of the God of Israel would make that sanctuary holy and blessed.

It is hardly too much to say that most of those who take the place of servants in Christendom look mainly to man to equip them for their work... They give themselves to human learning, to training their minds, and to studying "the art of preaching," to fit themselves for their work. From the very start, the result is often dependence on human power instead of the energy and power of the Holy Spirit.

In the language of Scripture, being full of the Holy Spirit is not said of all believers. It belongs to certain people on special occasions or in special circumstances. Some cases even happened before the day of Pentecost. Without going back as far as Bezalel (Ex. 31:3), Scripture says that the father and mother of John the Baptist were filled with the Holy Spirit, and so was John himself.