Gotta' have more Bezalel

x31art.com is a unique website showcasing believing artists and their work. One of the things I trulylove about the site is how each piece is accompanied by a short video of the artist discussing that particular work.




The name (x31art) comes from Exodus 31 where we witness the LORD explaining to Moses that He has chosen Bezalel and has "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, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft." (Exodus 31:3-5) He then appoints Oholiab to assist him in carrying out the LORD's instructions for the construction of the Tabernacle, the place of worship.

Did you get that? God, the LORD Most High called, filled and gifted specific individuals within this community of faith in the areas of ability and intelligence, knowledge and all craftsmanship, in order to devise artistic designs so that the people of God may be provided for and led in worship.

There is a principle of Biblical interpretation that basically says the following: Any teaching in the Old Testament that is not explicitly changed in the New Testament is therefore still appropriate and applicable in the life of the New Testament believer. For example, we no longer offer sacrifices of animals in payment for sin because of the once and for all offering of the ultimate Sacrifice, Jesus himself, which makes these animal sacrifices unnecessary (Hebrews 10). In the same way, we no longer adhere to the Old Testament dietary laws because of Peter's vision in Acts 10 where we see "the voice" telling Peter that "What God has made clean, do not call common."

Here is the point. If God, by the wisdom of his own counsel, saw fit to select and appropriately gift individuals to effectively lead his people in worship by means of constructing and artistically rendering things of beauty, why then are we not seeking out those individuals among God's people today? Are we then, by our non-verbal tip of the hat, revealing ourselves to be selective interpreters of Scripture, doing whatever fits our own pre-conceived ideas of what "proper church" looks like?

Of course, the proper course of action is to faithfully explore the inspired, inerrant, and authoritative Word, the very breath of God (2 Timoth 3:16), to seek God's wisdom in interpreting it faithfully, and then by the power of the Holy Spirit to actually apply it.

So here's to finding more Bezalel's in our midst, so that the people of God can continue to be led in this glorious, multi-faceted act that we call worship.