Moshe said to the people of Isra’el, “See, Adonai has singled out B’tzal’el the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. He has filled him with the Spirit of God — with wisdom, understanding and knowledge concerning every kind of artistry. He is a master of design in gold, silver, bronze, cutting precious stones to be set, woodcarving and every other craft. Adonai has also given him and Oholi’av the son of Achisamakh, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach others. He has filled them with the skill needed for every kind of work, whether done by an artisan, a designer, an embroiderer using blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and fine linen, or a weaver — they have the skill for every kind of work and design.-Exodus 35:30-35
Exodus 35 closes with, to me anyway, some of the most exciting and inspiring verses in all of Scripture.
The Lord has filled Bezalel with His Spirit to accomplish the plans He has in his life for him.
God has endowed Bezalel, together with his chief assistant Oholiab, not only with the skill to execute all of the various crafts but also with the capacity to instruct the crews of ordinary craftsmen how to carry out their work.
Why are these verses so exciting to me?
Because when I look at myself with all of my weaknesses and bad habits, boy do I tend to lose confidence quickly.
If I had to rely on myself to survive in this harsh world and accomplish anything for the kingdom, I would fall into a deep depression pretty quickly.
But praise the Lord.
These verses indicate that it’s NOT about my strength, my wisdom or my ability.
It’s all about the Lord’s strength, the Lord’s wisdom and the Lord’s ability.
In my last post I mentioned how the importance of having a WILLING SPIRIT is a constant theme that is hammered home throughout the Scriptures.
Well, the same thing could be said about this principle of relying NOT on yourself but trusting completely in the Lord to accomplish the plans He has set out for you.
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.”-Proverbs 3:5
“The Lord gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.”-Isaiah 40:29
Pretty much every Bible character the Lord ever called into ministry faced serious obstacles whether personal or from others.
Moses had a speech defect and zero confidence in his leadership ability.
The Lord told Gideon to decrease the number of soldiers he was leading for battle because he didn’t want the men relying on their own flesh.
And a good portion of the prophets were mocked and criticized by the people they were preaching to and at times had their very lives threatened.
Notice how this concept is so diametrically opposed to the way the world thinks.
The world teaches us to have confidence in the flesh and as a result worships the fleshly accomplishments of men.
However, I find it much more inspiring to witness somebody who has little talent or ability but through being filled with the Spirit of HASHEM goes on to accomplish great things for the kingdom.
Notice also how these verses debunk the incorrect teaching that the Holy Spirt only began to dwell in men after Pentecost (as depicted in the Book of Acts).
You can read more about that by clicking here.
To close, of course the spiritual takeaway here is to rely on the Lord to accomplish His will for your life.
However, I think it’s also important to remember that we have to make that choice to rely on the Lord.
You can’t be lukewarm and sort of rely on your own strength while at the same time sort of relying on the Lord’s strength.
To rely on your own strength is to forfeit the strength of the Lord.
“But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.“
-Isaiah 40:31
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“So I say, walk by the Spirit,
and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”
-Galatians 5:16
NEXT TIME WE BEGIN EXODUS CHAPTER 36
What does it mean to “rely on God’s strength” as opposed to relying on our own strength? I’ve never understood this. Please help!
Hi Steve,
To answer your question, to rely on God’s strength means to TRUST GOD FOR THE RESULTS.
We are obligated to obey His Commands but we don’t have control of the outcome.
Or to put it a different way, our responsibility is to focus on the process and
not become attached to the results that are supposed to result from obeying the
process.
We obey, God blesses.
After obeying, we aren’t supposed to spend our days worrying or stressed out about
whether something is going to happen or not.
Does that help?
Shalom,
Rich
It means to humble yourself