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Japanese Scripture treats skilled making as a gift, and the first person it calls filled with the Spirit of God is a craftsman.
Bezalel, of the tribe of Judah, was filled with the Spirit “to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze” (Exodus 31:3-4), and he was also given the ability to teach (35:34). The nineteen verses below cover God as maker, skill as a gift of the Spirit, what art is allowed to do, costly gifts, and what art can do to a person.
The maker, and the makers
Genesis 1:1
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”
Reflection: The Bible’s first sentence describes God making, and the rest of Genesis 1 describes that making day by day.
Genesis 1:27
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
Reflection: By this point, what Genesis has shown of God is that he creates, and people are made in his image.
Psalm 19:1
“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.”
Reflection: “Handiwork” is the work of hands, a craftsman’s word applied to the sky.
Isaiah 40:26
“Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name.”
Reflection: God brings out the stars by number and calls each one by name, knowing his work one piece at a time.
Skill as a gift of the Spirit
Exodus 31:1-5
“The Lord said to Moses, ‘See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze.’”
Reflection: Bezalel is “called by name,” and his qualification for metalwork, stonecutting and woodcarving is the Spirit of God.
Exodus 35:31-32
“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.”
Reflection: “To devise” means Bezalel was given the ability to design, not only to copy. Two verses later Moses adds that God inspired him and Oholiab to teach others (35:34).
2 Chronicles 2:7
“So now send me a man skilled to work in gold, silver, bronze, and iron, and in purple, crimson, and blue fabrics, trained also in engraving.”
Reflection: Solomon asks Hiram, king of Tyre (2:3), for a craftsman skilled in metals, dyed fabrics and engraving, and he specifies the colors.
Proverbs 22:29
“Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.”
Reflection: Skill brings recognition: the skillful worker will stand before kings.
What art is allowed to do
Ecclesiastes 3:11
“He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.”
Reflection: Beauty and a longing people cannot resolve are in the same sentence: God has made everything beautiful in its time and has put eternity into the human heart.
Psalm 45:1
“My heart overflows with a pleasing theme; I address my verses to the king; my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe.”
Reflection: The psalm’s heading calls it a love song, and the poet opens by describing his own craft: his tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe.
Habakkuk 2:2
“And the Lord answered me: ‘Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it.’”
Reflection: The instruction is about legibility: make the vision plain, so that someone running can read it.
Matthew 13:34
“All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable.”
Reflection: Matthew adds that this fulfilled Psalm 78:2, “I will open my mouth in parables” (13:35). Jesus taught through invented stories.
Extravagance, and what it is for
John 12:3
“Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.”
Reflection: Judas objected that the ointment could have been sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor (12:4-5), about a year’s wages for a laborer. Jesus said, “Leave her alone” (12:7).
Luke 7:37-38
“And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment.”
Reflection: This is a different occasion, at the house of a Pharisee named Simon (7:40). Simon objected in his thoughts (7:39), and Jesus defended the woman’s gift.
Psalm 150:3-5
“Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals.”
Reflection: Psalm 150, the last psalm, names trumpet, lute, harp, tambourine, dance, strings, pipe and cymbals.
Ephesians 5:19
“Addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart.”
Reflection: Believers address one another in song, so the words a congregation sings teach the people singing them.
What art can do to a person
1 Samuel 16:23
“And whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well.”
Reflection: David was brought to Saul’s court because a servant described him as “skillful in playing” (16:18). When he played, Saul was refreshed.
Exodus 15:20-21
“Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing.”
Reflection: Miriam’s song follows the longer song Moses and Israel sang after crossing the sea (15:1-18), and her words repeat its first line. She is called a prophetess.
Revelation 21:18-21
“The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, like clear glass. The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel.”
Reflection: John describes the city’s materials in detail: jasper, gold like clear glass, twelve kinds of jewels in the foundations, and each gate a single pearl (21:21).
If you make things
Scripture takes skilled making seriously. Bezalel was filled with the Spirit to devise designs, Solomon specified colors, Jesus taught in stories, and Revelation ends with a detailed description of precious materials.
Make the work well, and make it clear, as Habakkuk was told. When someone objects that a costly gift should have been spent elsewhere, remember that the objection was raised at Bethany and Jesus defended the woman who gave it. Congregations face the same choice in what they sing, and there are prayers of praise and worship for those who lead it.
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