This morning, in my readings, I was struck by how quickly Peter crashes and burns. One moment he is called blessed by Jesus because of the illumination and revelation provided him by the Father . . . and the next he comes up with one of his “Not so, Lord” declarations and Jesus says to him, “Get thee behind me Satan.” And when I read that I thought I might journal on how important it is to set our minds on the things of God, and not the things of man (Matt. 16:13-23). But, before getting into it, I went back and re-read some previous years journal entries attached to this part of my reading plan. And my entry from Feb. 13, 2008 grabbed me . . . and derailed me . . . and encouraged me . . . so here it is . . . recycled . . .

So, I’m smilin’ . . . ’cause this morning the Lord allowed a special blessing . . . in a sense He taught me Hebrew without me even knowing it. So, here’s the deal . . .

One of my readings this morning was the last three chapters of Exodus, 38 to 40. It’s the second set of readings on the construction of all the pieces of the tabernacle. So, to be honest, not the most riveting reading . . . I often find myself drifting when reading this sort of detail. But I’m reading and I pick up on this phrase, “he made . . . he made . . . he made . . .” talking about the guy who was the master builder of most of the tabernacle. He made the altar . . . he made all the utensils . . . then he made the court.

And I realize that I don’t know who “he” is . . . even though I’ve come across his name a couple of times. And I think, “Isn’t that weird?” Of all the things that I know about the tabernacle, I don’t know the name of the guy who built it. I’ve got a replica of the major pieces of the tabernacle sitting on a shelf in my living room . . . but I can’t tell you who the builder was. Even though I’ve been reading about his works for the last two mornings . . . I couldn’t pick his name out of a multiple choice list of names.

And it occurs to me that it’s because the tabernacle is not about who built it but about Who architected it. It’s not about how it was made but about Whose glory descended upon it. It’s not about the beauty of the craftsmanship but the wonder of the story it tells of redemption and atonement and entering the Most Holy Place into the presence of God. And so I’m thinking that whoever this builder is, he is absolutely overshadowed by God.

But then I come across his name . . . and this is where it kind of gets interesting. Exodus 38:22 says that “Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the LORD had commanded Moses.” Now this isn’t the first time I’ve come across Bezalel’s name (Ex. 31:2, 35:30, 36:1, 36:2, 37:1), just the first time I’m taking note of it. So I say to myself, “Self, I wonder what this guy’s name means.” And I look it up and it says “in the shadow of God.” Ya’ think!?! I had already come to that conclusion . . . and then I find out that’s exactly what his name means . . . and I’m thinking this is so neat.
This guy . . . a great artisan . . . a fine craftsman . . . builder of the awesome tabernacle in the wilderness . . . and almost no one knows his name . . . ’cause he is in the shadow of God. He did a great work . . . but it pointed to an even greater God. It was an amazing structure . . . but housed an awesome glory. And I can’t help but think that he has quite the legacy . . . no one knows his name . . . oh, but so many have learned so much about his God through his work. Wasn’t that John the Baptist’s goal — “He must increase, I must decrease.” (John 3:30) John also knew what it was to be in the shadow of God.

Wouldn’t that be a great life’s mission statement — “To be in the shadow of God . . . my name being forgotten, His name being exalted . . . my efforts remembered only to the degree that they are to the praise of His glory . . . to be a no name for the sake of that Name which is above all names.”

Bezalel. Amen!