Biblical Wisdom
The First Man Filled with the Spirit
He was not a prophet, a priest, or a king. He cut stone and worked metal.
Scripture Exodus 31:1–5
The first person Scripture describes as filled with the Spirit of God is not a prophet. Not a priest, and not a king.
He is a man named Bezalel, and God introduces him by name and by trade.
“I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability, and knowledge in all kinds of craftsmanship.” Then the specifics: gold, silver and bronze, gemstones cut for their settings, carved wood. A few chapters earlier the craftsmen sewing Aaron’s garments are described the same way, filled with a spirit of wisdom for the work.
Most of us keep two shelves. Work goes on the lower one, under obligation. The spiritual life goes above it, where the important things are.
Exodus does not sort them that way. The first thing God’s Spirit is recorded as filling a man to do is a job, done well, with his hands.
Whatever is waiting on your desk in the morning sits closer to that than you think.