Read the passage several times through, slowly and prayerfully. It might help to use your imagination to picture the scene. At the end of the text you will find helpful background information in our ‘Setting the Scene’ section.

As you read, look out for shockers and blockers.

Shockers – a phrase, word, image or something from the text that resonates, stands out or connects with you.

Blockers – something from the text that raises questions for you.

Exodus 31.1–11

The Lord said to Moses: I have chosen Bezalel from the Judah tribe to make the sacred tent and its furnishings. Not only have I filled him with my Spirit, but I have given him wisdom and made him a skilled craftsman who can create objects of art with gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood. I have appointed Oholiab from the tribe of Dan to work with him, and I have also given skills to those who will help them make everything exactly as I have commanded you: the sacred tent with its furnishings, the sacred chest with its place of mercy, the table with all that is on it, the lamp with its equipment, the incense altar for sacrifices with its equipment, the bronze bowl with its stand, the beautiful priestly clothes for Aaron and his sons, the oil for dedication and ordination services, and the sweet-smelling incense for the holy place.

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Setting the Scene

God has brought the nation out of Egypt and they are camping out in the wilderness of the Sinai. Then God orders intense, skilled, human activity to construct a Tabernacle (a portable tent where God would dwell).
Bezalel was a skilled craftsman and the first person in the Bible to be described as ‘filled with the Spirit’ – a description not used of a priest or a prophet, but of a craftsman.
If Bezalel is the general contractor, we then see the appointment of the chief foreman, an assistant called Oholiab who was an engraver and designer. We begin to see the Spirit of God working through the skills of craftsmen, skilled workers and sub-contractors as many people become involved in the all-important task of creating a place of worship for God.

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