Joseph Parker was an author and theologian who lived during the nineteenth century. He was a preacher on the level of Charles Spurgeon and Alexander Maclaren. In one of his sermons he told the story of a small pocket watch.
One day this small, gold pocket watch found itself traveling across the Westminster Bridge in London around the noon hour. At high noon there came a loud sound as Big Ben tolled out the hour. Looking up and seeing the large clock on the Parliament Buildings, the pocket watch said in a disgusted tone, “I do not like you! Your face is too broad, your hands are too big, and your voice is too coarse and loud. I do not like you!”
The big clock, hearing the comments, called down to the small, gold, pocket watch, “Come up here, little one! Come up here!”
The little watch accepted the invitation and began its journey to the top of the tower. It toiled painfully up the tall, stone steps, and at last stood beside the big clock. Looking out over the surging millions of London citizens, the big clock said to the watch, “Little one, there is a man down there on Westminster Bridge who wishes to know the hour. Will you tell him, please?”
The little watch replied, “Oh, I could never make him hear! My voice is so small it would never carry to him in such a whirlwind of noise such as this.”
The big clock replied, “Oh, yes, little one, I had forgotten! Yet the man wishes to know the time. He requires to know, and you cannot tell him. However, I can, and I will. So let us not criticize one another. You will not find fault with me, and I will not find fault with you. Instead, you for your master and I for this great city, each of us will teach men everywhere to redeem the time.”
No two of us have been created the same. Each of us has been given different gifts and abilities. It is with this in mind that we look to our next unlikely hero. This hero can be found in the book of Exodus.
If you’re not familiar with the story, the people of Israel had become slaves in Egypt. God raised up a leader in Moses to bring his people out of slavery and into the land that He had promised them.
During their time in the wilderness, as they were journeying to the Promised Land, God made a covenant, a contract or an agreement, with them that if they followed his commands, he would remain with them and bless them. He spelled out to them what this relationship would look like and the proper way to relate to him.
God instructed them on how to establish the priests as mediators between himself and them. He instructed them on the sacrifices and the different ways in which they were to worship him. He laid out for them everything they were to do.
Part of his instructions were details about how to construct the tabernacle. The tabernacle was essentially their church. It was a spectacular tent that was to house the Ark of the Covenant as well as be the dwelling place for God. It was to be ornamented with gold and silver as well as fancy gems and stones. It was quite a work of art that took great skill and craftsmanship. This brings us to Exodus 35:30-35 and this week’s unlikely hero.
It should be noted again that Israel has just come out of slavery in the land of Egypt. In that land the worship of many gods and idols was commonplace. As such, there would be high demand for someone able to sculpt, engrave, and carve. Gold and wood working would be in high demand.
However, Israel has been taken out of that land so that they can worship the one true God. God is so majestic and infinite that he forbids any image or idol be made of him. As an infinite being, any image of him, by necessity, limits his majesty. Therefore, craftsman that had previously made lucrative livings crafting idols were now in a place where their services were no longer required. The company was moving in a different direction, and that direction didn’t include them.
In a conversation this week I was reminiscing about my life in church. I began attending church regularly when I was in the third grade. From that time on I went to Sunday School. We had Caravans on Wednesday nights, and I regularly heard about how God gives each of us gifts and abilities to use for him.
As I grew up I began to take an interest in computers. I found that I had an affinity for them. I was able to understand how they worked and was able to do with them what others might have considered to be magic.
Not long after I graduated high school God began to call me into the ministry as a pastor. At first I was excited to go. However, even as I began to prepare, I feared that this calling wasn’t right for me. I was a computer guy. I loved working with computers. Yet every pastor I knew was as computer illiterate as you can get. Even those that knew something about computers were too wrapped up in ministry to really consider it more than a hobby.
I began to pull away from that calling. I didn’t feel that I was particularly gifted in preaching, and if becoming a pastor meant that I would have to give up the one thing that I was good at, then that certainly wasn’t from God. I went my own way, earned a degree in Computer Science, and found a job doing computer programming.
However, God’s call to minister as a pastor never went away. Every time I turned around he was calling me again. I wrestled with this because I was afraid that God would take away everything that I loved in order to force me into a ministry that I wasn’t very good at.
Years later I was finally able to open up to my pastor and tell him of this calling on my life and my fears about following it. He reassured me that God would not give me a gift or ability if he did not plan for me to use it for his glory. He told me that our job is not to understand the plan ahead of time but to follow God and trust that he would use us as he intended.
With my fears alleviated I began to follow God’s calling on my life. Along the journey I began to see how God was using the skills and abilities that he had given me. Likewise, I watched as he developed in me the gifts that I needed in order to minister for him in the way he wanted.
I can imagine that this was how Bezalel felt. He had used his skills and talents for years in Egypt. He was able to craft beautiful idols that many Egyptians used in worship. It would have been easy for him to stay safely within that realm rather than venturing forth into a realm in which it seemed his talents would be wasted.
Like each of us, God had a plan for Bezalel. God had given him those gifts and abilities, and he had a plan for them. However, it required him placing his trust in God and being willing to follow.
When God called the people to construct the tabernacle, it says in Exodus 35:22-29, all who were willing brought their offerings of gold and silver as well as their skill and their labor. Much like in my life and in Bezalel’s, God isn’t going to force us to use our gifts and abilities for his purposes. Instead, when we surrender to his plan, he will give us opportunities to use the skills he has given us.
Likewise, when we submit to God’s plan for our lives, he will equip us to do his works. Moses said, “The LORD has specifically chosen Bezalel [and] has filled Bezalel with the Spirit of God, giving him great wisdom, ability, and expertise in all kinds of crafts.” (Exodus 35:30-31). I’m sure Bezalel was a skilled craftsman before, but God specifically gave him the wisdom and the ability to perform in the way that God needed.
I can attest to this in my own life. As I said, one of my hesitations in ministry was my lack of skill in preaching. Some may say that I’m still not a skilled preacher. However, since following God’s plan for my life, he has filled me with his spirit giving me great wisdom and ability in communicating his word to his people, more than I had ever had before.
What does this mean for you? Obviously God hasn’t called each and every person to preach before crowds, but as with Bezalel, God’s plan for you will use the gifts and skills he has already given you. It may be craftsmanship. It may be encouragement. It may be any number of things. Whatever it is, God has already laid the groundwork for you to do great things for him. Likewise, if God is calling you to a ministry in which you don’t feel particularly skilled, trust him. Trust him and follow, and he will gift to you and develop in you the skills and talents you need to serve him.
Finally, along with all of the skills, talents, and wisdom given to Bezalel, God also gave him the ability to teach. It’s a common saying that those who can do and those who can’t teach. However, this couldn’t be farther from the truth. You cannot teach unless you know, and while it’s possible to pass on the book learning to somebody else, the best teachers are those who have learned through experience.
In bible college I had many great professors. Most of them had doctorates in their respective field of study. However, the professor that had the most impact on my life as a pastor was Dr. Jim Russom.
Jim Russom served as a pastor within the Nazarene denomination for decades upon decades. As he recounted in class, from the beginning God directed him to difficult churches. Churches that had run off all of the previous pastors would be the ones to which he’d feel God’s calling. He went through things in those churches that no pastor should ever have to deal with, and when he was finished and the church was growing and healthy, God would call him to another struggling church that paid even less.
He told us as a class that during those nights when he would come home physically ill after a difficult board meeting, he’d question why it was that God kept calling him to these difficult tasks. It wasn’t until he later became as professor that he understood. All of these other professors could teach you the book work and the theology, but there is much more to being a pastor than being able to quote scripture. Through the skills and experiences that God had given him, he was uniquely qualified to teach a whole new generation of pastors.
I truly believe that God has a task for each and every one of you. You may feel that your time is up and that there’s nothing you have to offer, but God has given you skills and talents which he intends for you to use. If you follow God’s leading he will use the gifts he’s given you and develop whatever gifts are necessary for you to serve him in the way that he’s called you.
Likewise, young or old, just like Bezalel, God has equipped you to pass on the skills and knowledge that he has given you to the next generation, but none of it will happen if you’re not first willing to trust him and use your gifts for his purposes. You must not be content with allowing someone else to fill that role or to take on the responsibilities that God has given to you.
God has called and equipped people manage money, fill cracks in the sidewalk, paint walls or buildings. God has called and equipped people to work in the nursery, teach a Sunday School class, play an instrument, or mow the grass. If none of that fits you, God has given each of us skills and experiences that he’s given to nobody else. You are uniquely qualified to teach others your particular skill set. You are uniquely qualified to mentor the next generation.
Bezalel, when called upon by God, was willing to use his gifts and abilities as an act of worship. Through his willingness and commitment, God gave him wisdom, skill, and ability to do the work required of him. Will you likewise step up and be willing to be used?