God Gives People Talents and Abilities
“…and He has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold and silver and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, for work in every skilled craft.”
“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.”
If God has a task He wants done on this Earth, He gets it done. Sometimes He uses miracles that only He can perform (manna from heaven, Exodus 16; raising Lazarus, John 11), sometimes He uses plagues brought about from His wrath (the famous 10 against Egypt, Exodus 7-12; tumors against the people of Ashdod, 1 Samuel 5:6), and sometimes He uses people.
This seems a bit mundane after all the supernatural examples of God’s will, doesn’t it? An infinite God, using mere mortals to fulfill His good and perfect will? The same God who split the sea and healed those He wasn’t bodily in the room with? Why would He use people when He can just will things into existence?
Well, we’re not meant to just be idle spectators on this Earth while God putters around. We were given the purpose of worshipping and glorifying the King. And God does not give us our purpose without the tools to properly carry it out!
Exodus 35 is the perfect example of this. At this point, the Israelites have escaped Egypt, received the 10 Commandments, and have been directed by God to build the tabernacle in the desert. Now, the tabernacle is not some small tent; it’s a big project involving all kinds and types of craftsmanship, working in various metals, weaving and embroidery, carving wood, and stonecutting.
So, the Lord prepared a man named Bezalel and a man named Oholiab with the talents and abilities they would need to oversee and construct the tabernacle (Exodus 35:30-31), instructing them to teach other craftsmen that God prepared specifically for this purpose (Exodus 36:1). Through them, the tabernacle was built and assembled to God’s specifications so that He could dwell in it.
God doesn’t simply throw us at our purpose and hope we stick — although there is an element of learning as well as trial-and-error — but He equips us with the tools, resources, talents, and abilities to do it! How awesome is that?!
Putting it into action: Take a few minutes and think about God’s Kingdom as it is right now. Look at the churches and Christians around you. There are brothers and sisters in all walks of life, from the person who picks up trash in the street to the engineer that designed parts for rockets that get us to the moon. Each of these people have been given a purpose and a task, no matter how mundane or grand, to fulfill in the Kingdom. What do you think your role is? What tools, talents, and abilities has God given you to carry out this role?
