Wisdom from the Torah

I was reading a commentary this morning on this week's Torah portion, particularly Exodus 31:2-3:  "See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God [Ruach Elohim], with skill, ability, and knowledge in all kinds of crafts."


Bezalel had been selected by God in a special calling to be in charge of the construction of the Mishkan, for all the furnishings of the Tabernacle, the priests' vestments, the anointing oil, and the incense.  God had given him great artistic abilities, so he could carry out God's mandate for him.

The name of Bezalel has great meaning attached to it.  It comes from a combination of three Hebrew words:  be (in), tzel (shade), and El (God).  This can be translated as "in the shadow of God", a secret, special place of refuge.  Psalm 91:1 tells us:  "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High [Elyon] will rest in the shadow [tzel] of the Almighty [El Shaddai].


This name, Bezalel, was given to the first artisan mentioned in the Bible.  Names are important throughout God's word.  This man, chosen by God to be the artisan in charge of all the furnishings of the Tabernacle, was given this gift of 'artistry' in order to give glory to the Most High through the temple furnishings and instruments. With such an important mandate, Bezalel would have used the greatest care in designing and building these things in order to bring glory to God.

This suggests that there is something about the use of  whatever measure of creativity that God gives us which can be used as an act of worship, to bring glory to God, our Father and Creator.  The commentary, by a writer from Bibles for Israel, suggests that we allow this explanation to "inspire us to let our creativity flow and no longer consider creative endeavors 'non-productive' and a waste of time."

A very timely word indeed!  May it encourage all of us who have been given a measure of creativity, regardless of its size, to use it as an act of worship to our wonderful, holy Creator!