If you would go ahead and turn
with me to Exodus chapter 31. Exodus 31. In the six previous chapters,
we found Moses with God on Mount Sinai for 40 days and 40 nights. And it was there that God told
Moses how to build the tabernacle. That's what we've looked at for
several weeks now. God told Moses how to build the
furnishings within the tabernacle. And he had also instructed Moses
concerning the priest, the priest's garments, and the priest's service. God instructed Moses in great
detail, how all these things would be made and how the priest
and the people of Israel should conduct themselves. And God made
it law. Now in chapter 31, God provides
two men to do all the work for Moses. We see that first came
the detailed instructions of how these things should be constructed
and made. And now we see God's provision
for the construction of his tabernacle and the furnishings. Nothing
is left to chance. There's no place given for man
to take any glory. All things are to be done according
to the will and the purpose of God. It's the same with the building
of God's church today. In the first six verses of chapter
31, we see these workmen appointed and we see them equipped and
we see the workman's task at hand. So let's look at the first
man. We're told in verse one, and
the Lord spake unto Moses saying, see, I have called by name, Bezalel,
the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. Now we
see that the first of these two men's name is Bezalel, and God
made him the head and the chief over the building of the tabernacle.
And as everything that has to do with the tabernacle and has
to do with the priest, he too is a type of Christ. Christ is
our maker and our builder sent to construct his church. Now,
Bezalel was given charge to build the physical tabernacle in the
wilderness. And we know that Christ is the
maker and builder of his spiritual church, which is the true tabernacle. Names mean something in the scripture
and Bezalel means in the shadow of God. His name also means the
protection of God. He was the son of Uri, which
that name means light. And he was the grandson of Hur,
meaning free. And he's from the tribe of Judah,
meaning praise. These names always mean something. And by these names, we see that
he pictures Christ. And we also can see from the
scripture, the nearness of thought between the meanings of his name,
which are the shadow of God and the protection of God. Psalm
91 verses one and two. Let me read these verses to you.
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall
abide under the shadow of the Almighty. And I will say of the
Lord, he's my refuge and my fortress, my God and him will I trust."
So we see God's protection in the Lord's shadow. Psalm 17a
says, hide me under the shadow of thy wings. You see, our life,
according to scripture, is hid with Christ in God. Psalm 57,
one, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge. Safety
and refuge are found in the shadow of Christ's wings. Psalm 63,
seven, in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice. And we should
rejoice knowing that Christ is our protector and our refuge. Now, our Lord said in the gospel
of Matthew and also in the gospel of Luke, he said, oh Jerusalem,
thou that killest the prophets and stonest them, which are sin
unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together,
even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and you would
not. It's in the arms of Christ that
we find safety, and we find refuge and we find protection. And there's
no doubt in my mind that the shadow of thy wings speaks of
the intimacy and the fellowship with God that we have through
Christ. Certainly Christ is all of these
things to the child of God. Secondly, we're told that Bezalel
was the grandson of Uri, and his name, as I said, means light. The Urim, do you remember the
Urim of the high priest breastplate that we studied some time back?
It's the same word here as the name Uri, but it's used in the
plural tense. And this no doubt suggests that
Bezalel typifies and pictures Christ, who is the light and
the life of chosen sinners, according to John 1.4. God the sun is light
and in him is no darkness, none at all. Christ is the brightness
of God's glory and the express image of his person, Hebrews
1.3. Christ is the light of the world. John 9, 4. And when he
returns, the scripture says in the book of Malachi, he is the
son, S-U-N, of righteousness. So we know that Christ is the
light and he's the life that we have in God. Now, Bezalel
was also the grandson of Hur. The Holy Spirit wouldn't have
recorded these things if they weren't important. Now, the word
Hur or the name Hur means free. or at liberty, which shows us
the voluntary manner in which Christ came. The Lord Jesus came
to do his father's will, but he did it voluntarily. He did
it willingly. He said, I must be about my father's
business. And Bezalel was called by God
to do this work, being the grandson Her, Bezalel, was a son of liberty. Christ was called to do God's
work. You see the comparison? And he
did so freely and voluntarily. I am so thankful that the Lord
Jesus laid down his life. No man took his life from him.
He laid it down. And that shows us something about
God's love for his people, that God the Son would come and voluntarily
do for us what we could not do for ourselves. Bezalel was of
the tribe of Judah, which is the royal tribe, the tribe that
Christ came from. Christ is the lion of the tribe
of Judah. Judah means praise, which shows
us that our Lord Jesus is the one who delighted to do his father's
will, which he freely did. And we see Christ in the relationship
here between Moses and Bezalel. Now, what do I mean by that?
Well, Moses picturing the law and Bezalel picturing Christ,
God did not allow Moses to build the church. The church is not
built by the law, but through Moses, Bezalel built the tabernacle. And immediately Romans chapter
eight, verse three comes to mind, which says, for what the law
could not do and that it was weak through the flesh and that
being our flesh, God sending his own son in the likeness of
sinful flesh and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh. You see, that's
why God became a man. He did so to put away our sin
and for sin, that's why he came. to put our sin away. He condemned
sin in the flesh. And then in verse four of Romans
eight, we read that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled
in us who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit.
So in this, we see that God commands you and I to keep the whole law. And just as Moses was commanded
to build the tabernacle, but then God provided another. God provided another to do it
all for Moses. The same as God provides his
beloved son to do all for his people. We say it all the time,
it's called substitution. Christ doing for me what I could
not do. I couldn't keep God's law. God's
law required us to keep it perfectly. We can't do that. Why? Because
we're weak in the flesh. Christ did for us what we couldn't
do. He kept the law, he satisfied
God's holy justice, and God's no longer angry with the children
of God. What a blessing that is. In verse
one, we see that God called Bezalel by name. Before the foundation
of the world, God called Christ by name, and in Christ, he called
all of his people, It's in the beloved that we're called. It's
in Christ. He called us by name. Christ
being our federal head, God chose us in Christ. Christ is the elect
of God. We're elected in Him. When God
called Christ by name, each and every elect child of God in Christ
was made His church. That's how the church is built.
And that's what Paul was telling Timothy in 2 Timothy 1, verse
9, when he wrote, who had saved us and called us with a holy
calling, not according to our works. Oh, I'm so glad that was
added. Not according to our works. but
according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us
in Christ Jesus before the world began." How did we receive it? It was given to us. It's a gift
of God. For by grace are you saved through
faith. That's not of yourselves. No,
it's the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should
boast. Now look at verse three here in Exodus 31. It says, speaking
of Bezalel, he said, I have filled him 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 we're told here that God
filled Bezalel with the Spirit of God. But friends, the Spirit
of God filled Christ, our great builder, without measure. Bezalel
was filled with the Spirit of God, did you notice, in wisdom
and understanding and in knowledge and in all manner of workmanship.
Oh, what a picture that is of our Lord. My, my, how appropriate
is the verse found in Isaiah chapter 11, verse one concerning
the Lord Jesus. Let's take a moment to look at
that. Stick your marker here in Exodus 31 and turn with me
to Isaiah chapter 11, verse one. Isaiah 11, verse one. "'And there
shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, "'and a branch
shall grow out of his roots.'" Now look at this, verse two,
"'And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him.'" Speaking
of Christ. in the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of
the fear of the Lord, and shall make him of quick understanding
in the fear of the Lord." We see here that our Lord Jesus
is full of the Spirit and wisdom. The Spirit of God filled Christ
with understanding and a knowledge. Bezalel was filled with the spirit
to work all manner of workmanship. And every true believer is by
the new creation made the workmanship of God in Christ. That's what
Paul said in Ephesians chapter two, verse 10, for we are his
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus under good works, which
God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. You see,
our Lord came to devise a cunning work, That word cunning there
means skillful, creative, inventive, clever, ingenious. And what a
cunning work that Christ came to finish. that which no man
or woman could do for themselves. In the salvation of sinners,
God devised a skillful, ingenious way for himself to remain just
and at the same time justify the ungodly that he loved and
elected." Boy, you talking about a cunning work. You talking about
a skillful, inventive work. Christ is the great architect. Bezalel, yes, God equipped him
to do many wonderful things, but Christ is the great architect
of love and mercy and grace. And God made a way for his church
to be redeemed without compromising his law and his justice. Christ
not only devised the whole layout of his church, but he came forth
and he himself skillfully worked it all out. for his people's
good, and nothing shall be able to separate us from the love
of God, which is in Christ Jesus." So we again see that there's
no hope for us outside of Christ. What God-given wisdom it took
for Bezalel to do the cunning works that he did. And Christ
Jesus, who is the wisdom of God, says in Proverbs 8, verse 12,
I wisdom dwell with prudence and find out knowledge of witty
inventions. And most certainly he did. Now,
we also noticed here that Bezalel worked in gold and in silver
and in brass. What skill and craftsmanship
it must have took to cover that mercy seed in gold. I can't imagine
how beautiful that must have been. But the Lord Jesus worked
all the works which that golden ark and mercy seat typify. You
see, he is spiritually what Bezalel was physically. Christ is the
golden ark of the covenant in whom the law of God is complete
and fulfilled. He is our propitiation, the scripture
says. He is the mercy seat where God
meets the chosen sinner. Isn't that what Paul told us
in Romans chapter 3 verses 24 and 25? Being justified freely
by grace through the redemption that is where? In Christ Jesus. How many times do we read that
in the scripture? In Christ, by Christ, through
Christ. It's in Him that we have life,
being justified freely by His grace through the redemption
that is in Christ Jesus, whom God has set forth to be a propitiation
through faith in His blood. Bezalel was the craftsman that
made that golden candlestick that typified Christ our light.
We are only darkness in and of ourselves. Have we figured that
out yet? Has God shown you that, that
we're darkness? Christ is our light, and it's
in His light that we see more light. If we didn't have a flashlight
to see the light switch, we could never have more light. It's Christ
and His light that we have more light. In His light, we see that
we're sinners depraved. The scripture's clear. There's
none good. No, not one. None righteous, not a single
one. And it's in Christ's light that we see that He alone is
our righteousness. We have no other righteousness.
We are made the righteousness of God, where? In Him. In Christ our light, we see there's
no other name under heaven whereby we must be saved. Bezalel was
the one who built that silver foundation. Remember when we
looked at that? It held up the entire tabernacle. But Christ is the sure foundation. He is the foundation on which
the entire church is built. What a picture Bezalel is of
Christ. That pure shekel of the sanctuary,
atonement money the silver from the atonement money which made
up the sanctuary's foundation is a picture of christ precious
blood you see it's in christ alone that our redemption our
payment to the law that's what redemption is payment to the
law payment to god and to satisfy His justice. It's Christ alone
that fulfills and pays our obligation in full. And Christ is the foundation
on which all the church is built. We never add anything to the
work of Christ. What could we add? Seriously,
when everything that we do is nothing but unrighteousness and
filthy rags. Christ is the solid rock on which
we stand. and all other ground is what?
It's sinking sand. That's what we sing. Listen to
what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 3, verse 10. Paul said, according
to the grace of God, which is given unto me as a wise master
builder, "'I have laid the foundation and another buildeth thereon,
"'but let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. "'For other foundation can no
man lay than that is laid, "'which is Jesus Christ.'" He's our foundation. He's that sure foundation. He's
that rock on which we build the church and the storms of life
come and beat upon it, the winds blow and it doesn't fall. because
of the foundation it's built upon. Oh, if you build your foundation
on Christ, I can assure you that God will see to it that you endure
to the end, because he loves his own until the end, and that's
why. Bezalel manufactured, he's the
one that manufactured the brass altar, but Christ is our brazen
altar, whose sacrifice is the only sacrifice accepted by God,
and it just goes on and on. Jesus Christ is our Bezalel,
who devised and carried out that cunning work of accomplishing
our redemption by the gold and silver and brass of his precious
blood." Now look back to Exodus 31 with me. We read more about
the ability that God gave this man named Bezalel. Look at verse
five, Exodus 31, verse five. God goes on and says, in cutting
of stones to set them apart and in carving of timber to work
in all manner of workmanship. This fellow Bezalel was a talented
man, but I'm here to tell you tonight that we see from this
that it was God that filled him with his spirit. It was God that
gave him these talents. Our Lord and Savior sends his
spirit to each of his children and he hues us out of the earth. This flesh, like a rough stone. That's what we are. We're just
by nature, we're rough, rough stones. but Christ makes us living
stones. By nature, we're all like the
tall timber of the cedars of Lebanon, but God chops and God
cuts and he whittles and he sands and he conforms us and carves
us into the image of his dear son. Much of the wood in the
tabernacle, as you know, and its furnishings were made of
shittum wood and overlaid with gold. And Christ overlays His
elect with the gold of His righteousness and His holiness. Nothing was
done in the power and wisdom of man. I don't know how in the
world people did believe that they somehow or another contribute
and work in order to obtain righteousness. The scripture is so very clear
about that. Nothing is done in the power
and wisdom of man. It's all done by God. The men of Israel, while they'd
been slaves in Egypt for 400 years, and pretty much all they
knew how to do was to make bricks for Pharaoh. They had no wisdom
or skill in gold or in silver or brass or cutting stones, carving
timber, any other skilled work. But God gave Bezalel these gifts
by his spirit. The gifts that men have in God's
church today, receive them by the same spirit. The spirit is
given by God. God's the one that gave them.
And he gave them all after the pattern of his own will and purpose.
That's why God gets all the glory. Except the Lord build the house,
they labor in vain that built it. Psalm 127, one. Again, I
won't turn you to these passages, but listen to what Hebrews chapter
three says. Speaking of the Lord Jesus, listen
closely. For this man was counted worthy
of more glory than Moses in as much as he who had builted the
house had more honor than the house. "'For every house is built
by some man, "'but he that built all things is God. "'And Moses
verily was faithful in all his house "'as a servant for a testimony
of those things "'which were to be spoken after.'" but Christ
as a son over his house, whose house we are." Whose house are
we? If we hold fast the confidence
and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end. Peter said
it this way. He said, ye also is lively stones
are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood to offer up
spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God house. by Jesus Christ. Then we have the second man that
God raised up. Look at verse six with me. It
says, and I behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son of
Ahishamach, of the tribe of Dan, and in the hearts of all that
are wisehearted, I have put wisdom that they may make all that I
have commanded thee." The meaning of these names, again, I'll say
they're very significant. Aholiab means the tent of the
father. In the light of John 1, verse
14, we see the significance of that when we read that the word
became flesh and dwelt among us. In the Greek, that word dwelt
means tented, means tabernacled. The word, the Lord Jesus dwelt,
he tented, he tabernacled among us. and we beheld His glory. You see, in the Old Testament,
Jehovah took up abode in the tabernacle in the wilderness.
That's where God met with the high priest and accepted the
sacrifice that was given. But when Christ came in the flesh,
He was God's dwelling place in the earth. How do we know that?
Well, God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself. 2 Corinthians
15 9. Christ was God manifest in the
flesh. That's why Christ could confidently
say, he that has seen me have seen the Father. John 14 9. Now
Aholiab was the son of Ahishamach and Ahishamach means brother
of support. That more than likely just refers
to the fact that he was a fellow helper of Bezalel in the work
of the tabernacle. And we'll see in a later chapter,
chapter 35, I believe, tells us that Aholiab was a skillful
weaver and embroiderer, responsible, I'm sure, for making all the
curtains and the fancy embroidering and all that was done on the
high priest breastplate, so forth. And we're told also that Aholiab
was of the tribe of Daniel. I found this very interesting.
When Israel was on march, the tribe of Judah was the tribe
that led the people, and it was the tribe of Dan which brought
up the rear. The spiritual significance in
that is that these two men were appointed to be the chief men
in building the tabernacle in the wilderness, and it's in them
that all of Israel is represented from first to last. What a picture
we have of Christ there in the glorious work that he accomplished.
Christ represents all God's people, both male and female, both rich
and poor, weak and strong. He is Alpha and Omega. He's the
beginning and the end. He's the first and the last.
Did you notice also the words of God at the end of verse six?
He said that they make all that I have commanded thee. In verse
11, the words are very similar. God commanded these things to
Moses. And again, in this, we see that
every detail of the work of the tabernacle was divinely appointed
beforehand. Before these men ever built these
things, God said that he commanded Moses that they be made. Again,
we see our election in Christ, our predestination before the
foundation of the world, just as Christ was appointed our Savior
before time ever was, before the worlds were ever framed.
That was by the will and purpose of God. It was at God's commandment
these things came to pass. Again, no room for the exercise
of man's will. It was all done according to
the working out of that which God willed and purposed, as all
things are. What a picture that is. The Lord
Jesus in John chapter six, verse 38 said, for I came down from
heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent
me. In John chapter 10, verses 17 and 18, our Lord said, therefore
does my father love me because I laid down my life that I may
take it again. No man taketh it from me, but
I lay it down of myself. He said, I have power to lay
it down and I have power to take it again. This commandment have
I received from where? From my father. Now there's no
need for us to comment on the 14 things that are mentioned
in verses seven through 11. We've covered them pretty thoroughly
in past studies. But there is an addition here
I want you to see in closing, addition to the spiritual lessons
we find, here are also some very practical lessons to be learned. The first is, God is the one
who selects his servants. In verse two, did you notice
that God says, see? And in verse six, he says, behold. And these words direct our attention
to the seriousness of what follows. Bezalel and Aholiad did not presume
to take this holy work upon themselves. Neither were they appointed by
Moses. Moses didn't appoint them. There
was no committee made up of the Levites. There wasn't an election
made and the people chose them. No, God chose them. They were
both called of God. And this is true of all the true
servants of God. Those who run without being sent
are nothing more than rebels. Those who take upon themselves
the work of God without being called are asking for trouble. You know, I remember when the
Lord called me to pastor, I struggled with it for nearly a year. Nearly
a year. I didn't take it lightly. It's
not anything to take lightly. For a man to just assume that
he's called to such a position is really nothing but self-will,
pride, and arrogance. I remember a wise old preacher
being asked by a young man who desired to preach. He asked,
how can I know if the Lord is calling me to preach? And that
old wise preacher and pastor said, if you can do anything
else in life, do it. And the young man was a bit taken
back. He didn't really understand at
first what the old pastor was saying. But what he was saying
was this. If God calls you to pastor and
to preach, you won't be able to do anything else. As long
as you can be satisfied and happy with doing something else, then
you have good reason and good cause to believe that God hasn't
called you to the ministry. Yet it's obvious that there are
many today in that office that were not called. Some go in the
ministry because they think it's an easy way to make a living.
I've had men tell me that, oh, I'd give anything to have your
job. Oh, I don't know if he would
or not. Others have been influenced by friends, other by a doting
mother or family members. But it's a serious thing for
any man to profess to speak for God. If he hasn't received a
call from God, I'm telling you, it's a serious, serious matter.
The second practical lesson we find here is this. If God calls
a man, he'll equip that man with the gifts that he needs. If God
calls a man to be an evangelist, I can assure you that God will
fill his heart with compassion for the lost. God will burden
him with a sense of the doom that awaits the unbelieving,
the wicked. The called servant of God will
always with Paul cry, woe is me if I preach not the gospel. That's the issue, the gospel. The good news for sinners. If
a man's called to be a pastor, he will bestow upon that man
the necessary gifts needed, and God will give him a heart, a
heart of a shepherd who desires the spiritual safety for the
sheep. If God calls a man to be a missionary,
he'll endow that man with a special aptitude for learning a foreign
language and give that man a heart to live in a strange land. But
first and foremost, if God calls a man, he'll fill him with the
spirit of God and wisdom and understanding and a knowledge
as he did Bezalel in verse three. And college, theological seminaries,
Bible school cannot impart spiritual gifts. That's God's business. Only God can do that. Human wisdom
is of no avail or profit in the service of God. And lastly, we
have the practical lesson of God's appointment. Now, Bezalel
and Aholiab did not pick and they did not choose what they
would do in the building of the tabernacle. They didn't get together
one day and said, okay, you take some courses on this and I'll
take some courses on that and we'll get this thing done. God
told each of them exactly what they were to do. God ordered
and appointed it all. He still does. He's in charge
of the whole thing. It's the same today. God's work
must be done God's way. Anything other than God's will
is sin. One wise man once said, the word
of God is both the guide of the true servant and the test of
his service. And that's true. If God's work
is not done God's way, we cannot at all count on the blessings
to be upon our work. All that we do in the kingdom
of God is to be done according to his will. I think there's
some great lessons for us to learn here. May God help us and
continue to teach us and give us direction in the way that
he'd have us go.