Your "Secular" Work is Ministry

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Introduction

Sometimes we as Christians think that the only people involved in ministry are those who are pastors, missionaries, evangelists. We think that there is a difference between spiritual and secular work. Yet, from what we see in the Scriptures is there is no differentiation between spiritual and secular, it is the motivation and heart behind. I will many times say that I am bi-vocational because I pastor and work in IT. Yet, my job during the week is just as much a ministry as being able to preach and teach the Word here. While this is something I have known, sometimes God drives it home when reading or in this case, listening to the Word of God. I was listening to the book of Exodus when this truth was driven home. It came from an unusual place in the book that we mostly skim over. It is when Moses is on Mount Sinai receiving the instructions on the building of the Tent of Meeting (Tabernacle). We are going to start in chapter 31 and then look a few other passages around this part of Exodus.

Artisans

Exodus 31:1–11 NKJV

Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, to design artistic works, to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of workmanship. “And I, indeed I, have appointed with him Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and I have put wisdom in the hearts of all the gifted artisans, that they may make all that I have commanded you: the tabernacle of meeting, the ark of the Testimony and the mercy seat that is on it, and all the furniture of the tabernacle—the table and its utensils, the pure gold lampstand with all its utensils, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the laver and its base—the garments of ministry, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, to minister as priests, and the anointing oil and sweet incense for the holy place. According to all that I have commanded you they shall do.”

31 The LORD said to Moses, 2 “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, 4 to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, 5 in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft. 6 And behold, I have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. And I have given to all able men ability, that they may make all that I have commanded you: 7 the tent of meeting, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy seat that is on it, and all the furnishings of the tent, 8 the table and its utensils, and the pure lampstand with all its utensils, and the altar of incense, 9 and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the basin and its stand, 10 and the finely worked garments, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, for their service as priests, 11 and the anointing oil and the fragrant incense for the Holy Place. According to all that I have commanded you, they shall do.” (ESV)

Starting in chapter 25 we have God giving instructions (blueprints) to Moses for the building of the ToM and all the instruments for it and all the clothes that Aaron and his sons would wear as priest/high priest. We will be circling back to certain verses in these chapters, yet here in chapter 31 we see how this will take place. Moses is not skilled in this area. He is getting the blueprints, but cannot build it and God doesn’t expect him too.

Called to a specific work

Verse 2: God has called by name (God has singled him out) Bezalel (In the Shadow of God).

God had appointed him to do this. God had chosen him, just as God called Moses in Exodus 3 for his “job” of releasing the people from bondage in Egypt.

God had gifted him

Not only was Bezalel CALLED by God, but God has equipped him. Exodus 31:3 “And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship,”

God’s power has equipped him in wisdom, understanding, and knowledge for workmanship.

Purpose

Exodus 31:4–5 NKJV

to design artistic works, to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of workmanship.

They are going to be artists designing items for the ToM and working with gold, silver, bronze, cutting gemstones before they are mounted. Carving wood.

Gold smithing, Silver smithing, bronze smithing, gemstone crafting, wood smith and artisan.

Other Help / Other tasks

Exodus 31:6–11 NKJV

“And I, indeed I, have appointed with him Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and I have put wisdom in the hearts of all the gifted artisans, that they may make all that I have commanded you: the tabernacle of meeting, the ark of the Testimony and the mercy seat that is on it, and all the furniture of the tabernacle—the table and its utensils, the pure gold lampstand with all its utensils, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the laver and its base—the garments of ministry, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, to minister as priests, and the anointing oil and sweet incense for the holy place. According to all that I have commanded you they shall do.”

God has also selected / appointed Aholiab and God has given wisdom in the hearts of ALL the gifted artisans.

ToM

Ark of the Testimony (Ark of the Covenant)

Mercy Seat on top of the Ark

Furniture for the ToM

Table

Utensils

Golden Lampstand (and everything else)

Altar of incense

altar of the burnt offering (utensils)

Laver and its base (the bath for ritual cleansing)

5. Garments of Ministry

Holy garments for Aaron and his sons

6. Anointing oil / sweet incense

So these men were the foremen for the team that was going to put this all together. Here are a few verses that mention the positions (weavers, perfumers, and engravers)

The Weavers, the Perfumers, and the Engravers

Throughout this part of Exodus there are references to several other people who work on this project. They are not going to be the ones doing the “ministry.” They are not the priests or those preparing the sacrifices, yet God is going to use them.

The Weavers

For the Curtains of the ToM

Exodus 26:36 NKJV

“You shall make a screen for the door of the tabernacle, woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen, made by a weaver.

Exodus 27:16 NKJV

“For the gate of the court there shall be a screen twenty cubits long, woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen, made by a weaver. It shall have four pillars and four sockets.

Exodus 35:35 NKJV

He has filled them with skill to do all manner of work of the engraver and the designer and the tapestry maker, in blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine linen, and of the weaver—those who do every work and those who design artistic works.

Exodus 36:37 NKJV

He also made a screen for the tabernacle door, of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen, made by a weaver,

Exodus 38:23 NKJV

And with him was Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver and designer, a weaver of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and of fine linen.

The Perfumers

Exodus 30:25 NKJV

And you shall make from these a holy anointing oil, an ointment compounded according to the art of the perfumer. It shall be a holy anointing oil.

Exodus 30:35 NKJV

You shall make of these an incense, a compound according to the art of the perfumer, salted, pure, and holy.

Exodus 37:29 NKJV

He also made the holy anointing oil and the pure incense of sweet spices, according to the work of the perfumer.

The Engravers

Exodus 28:11 NKJV

With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, you shall engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel. You shall set them in settings of gold.

Exodus 35:35 NKJV

Exodus 38:23 NKJV

And with him was Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver and designer, a weaver of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and of fine linen.

The Building of the ToM

It would be this team that was gifted with their hands to build the Tent of Meeting. The Tent of Meeting, the Ark of the Covenant, the Table of showbread, the lampstand, the altars, the clothes, the perfume, not one of these items was FedExed from Heaven to Israel. They were given the blueprint, but it would be the hands of these people that God had appointed to make it reality. God had placed them there with the gifts and talents.

Application

I have often talked about spiritual gifts that we receive when we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, but your natural talents are also gifts from God. How are you using them? These artisans would not be the teachers of the law. They would not be the ones to take the lamb for sacrifice, they would not offer the sacrifice, they would not light the lampstand, or perform any of the duties outlined for the “religious” / “spiritual” people, yet they were needed and they were used.

Whatever your “job” is or whatever skills are, they can/are/will/should be used for the LORD.

For these two named arts and the others that would work them, God had placed for that specific time and God used talents and gifts that He had appointed and given them for this task.

Your job is ministry.

Ask yourself these questions:

How is God using you in that place for His purpose?

What talents/gifts has God given to you?

What are your strengths / what are your weaknesses?

He might be using using what you think is a weakness to show His strength.

Conclusion

This week thing about your job and think about where you are and when you are there. How can God be using it?

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