Busy As a Bezaleel

“And Moses said to the children of Israel, “See, the Lord has called by name Bezaleel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; and He has filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom and understanding, in knowledge and all manner of artistic workmanship….and He has put in His heart the ability to teach.” (Ex. 35:30,31,34a)

Reading Through the Bible in 2010 (Ex. 35-37)

This morning when I let Sherman, our collie, out, I glanced at the thermometer and then looked back at it again. “Whoa! It said seventeen below zero!” That seemed chilly even to a died in the wool cold weather person like me. The bad news: it was cold. But the good news was the sun was coming up. That’s the best thing about frigid days in Wisconsin-they are usually sunny. Wisconsinites will tolerate almost any temperature in exchange for a sunny day.

Charlie and I are back up at the lake where I first started writing this blog on January 1^st of 2010. We call our lake house area “Restoration Point” after Psalm 23:3 “He restores my soul.” When we tore down our old cottage five years ago and built the new lake house, we had no idea how many people God would send to us in the next five years.

I took my mug of coffee and sat down IN THE SUNSHINE in my recliner and enjoyed the wintry view. The white snow shone on the lake. The birch trees glistened against the blue blue sky. “It doesn’t get much better than this,” I thought as I reached over and picked up my Bible.

Today’s chapters detailed the construction of the tabernacle. The more I read, the more I saw the name of a man named Bezaleel. He was the grandson of Hur who had held up the arm of Moses while the Israelites fought the Amalekites. He came from good stock, as they say up here. God put him in charge of the whole project to do all that God had commanded for the pattern of the tabernacle. In other words, He took on a lot of work. Verse after verse about Bezaleel says, “He made,” or “Then he made” or “He also made.”

As I read, two things struck me about this man God chose.

One, he was very busy. He did a lot. No vacations on cruise ships or coffee at Starbucks. Just work! Day after day he must have been out there making all those sockets, constructing the furniture for the Holy Place, and working on clothes for the priests. He was busy but he was doing what God had equipped him to do. He had been called by name by God for this work and “God had filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom and understanding, in knowledge and all manner of workmanship.”

The second thing was - God gave him a friend to help him and come alongside in his work for the Lord. His friend’s name was Aholiab and he was from the tribe of Dan. They worked together and in several places, the Bible says, “and they made.” Just as Bezaleel’s grandfather had come alongside Moses, God sent Aholiab to be there with Bezaleel.

I finished reading and noticed our lake log had fallen to the floor. I picked up the little book that said, “Guests”and started glancing through it. As I read I was amazed at all of the wonderful people that God has sent to us here. Our children and their families, a young girl whose mother had recently died, the couples from our “Young Married’s” class at church, friends from across the world, our children’s’ in-laws, on and on. I read their comments and the thanks they had written for the opportunity to be refreshed in the beauty of nature. Over and over they expressed their joy at coming apart for a while to keep from coming apart. Each one who had written was so special to us

I began to apply the comments in the guestbook to today’s Bible reading. Was there work involved in having all these people? Yes, there was. Having guests always involves work. But it was like Bezaleel. The Lord had gone before and equipped us to receive everyone that He sent. We were doing what God made us to do. When I thought about each of them, I didn’t remember the work, I felt blessed by the joy that their presence brought into our lives.

I also thought about how Charlie and I “practice hospitality” as a team. We do it together and cook and vacuum and share ideas as we prepare for our guests. When they leave, we clean up together and reflect on the many blessings that were ours through our conversations and time spent with each one who came. Neither of us could do this without the other.

Are you at a stage in your life where you feel as busy as a Bezaleel? Do you wonder where you will muster the strength for the next stage of your life journey? Just remember, if God has called you, He has already equipped you with His strength and wisdom. Watch for the people He has sent to come alongside you to help and encourage. They are there. He has filled then with special skills and abilities just like Aholiab. He will stir their hearts to help you in many ways. It might be through physical labor or through encouragement or through prayer.

Being called by God to do His work with His people is such a wonderful part of The Joyful Journey.

I closed the log and reflected again on what a joy it is to be able to be as busy as a Bezaleel in SUNNY Wisconsin.