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, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft. 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: 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, the table and its utensils, and the pure lampstand with all its utensils, and the altar of incense, and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the basin and its stand, and the finely worked garments, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, for their service as priests, and the anointing oil and the fragrant incense for the Holy Place. According to all that I have commanded you, they shall do."
Exodus 31:1-11
Two further points should be noted here. The first is that, in the experience of some, the latent potential and aptitude for service does not evidence itself until after the anointing of the Spirit has been given, and after the experience of conversion has brought new life to the soul. Only then does the warping of the personality caused by sin become straightened, and man come into His own, into his true destiny as the new man God has made him. In the liberation he experiences, all latent possibilities, hitherto held in bondage, are set free too. The other point is the fascinating question of the relation between art and culture and religion. On the one hand, we do not need to read very deeply to realise the artistic competence implied and involved in this work. In the devising of textiles and fabrics and the blending of colours whole industries involving highly-skilled techniques spend vast sums today, and we can hardly think that in those far-off days it came easily or naturally to the children of Israel. On the other hand, we should note particularly the strict limitations imposed by the divine will on the creative spirit. Everything was to follow the pattern shown in the mount. Modern cultural theory, as expressed by the decadent aesthetes of our time, maintains that the creative spirit gives of its best only when it is free from all restraint. But this is the exact antithesis of the Christian position, which asserts that it is only in captivity to the divine will that men become free. Men are but men, and must be made to remember their creatureliness - this was the point about the prohibition regarding eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden, and why precisely a limit was placed upon Adam. It is precisely in the realm of modern technological brilliance that our generation has been tempted with feeling of god-like power. And what is true in technology is just as true in the world of culture.