clcgh.org Building The Capacity Of Christian Leaders, Equipping The Saints For The Work Of Ministry, Redirecting Straying Christians To The Sound Knowledge Of Christ
In both the Old and New Testament Scriptures, we read about men called to work for God. They were servants of God. The creator of the universe continues to call men to work for Him today as His servants. Many serve as equippers of believers for the work of ministry (Ephesians 4:11-12).
In this article, I wish to focus on Moses, Oholiab and Bazalel, representing workers in the Old Testament and the foundational apostles with the seven deacons, representing workers in the New Testament (See Acts 6:1-6).
A servant of God is God’s vessel. To declare yourself a servant of God is to say that you have ‘sold’ yourself to God thereby becoming a slave of God. It means you have sacrificed yourself for the service of God and therefore your will, interests, mission, vision and values, do not matter. What really matters is God.
One ability a servant of God must learn to cultivate, develop and maintain is the art of hearing God. A servant of God’s receiver must be permanent. Learning to hear God speak is important for knowing and doing the will of God.
Now, there is a beautiful thing about God’s relationship with His servants. Where He directs He provides. When God called Moses and sent him to rescue the congregation of Israel from Egypt, He provided him with information, wisdom, human assistant (Aaron), miraculous power, and His own presence.
And when God wanted Moses to design articles for worship, after delivering His chosen people from Egypt, He called two men: Bazalel and Oholiab and filled them with innovative, creative and artistic skills and intelligence to design and make them (See Exodus 31:1-11).
God wanted them to make “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.”
Other things God wanted them to make included: “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.”
Biblical servants of God worked tirelessly for God for years, yet it is difficult to find if all of them received wages or salaries as it is done today. Paul recommended payment of wages for church elders, but he emphasized that they should be leaders who serve well (1 Timothy 5:17-19). This implies that unless a minister serves well to meet biblical standards he does not qualify to be paid wages.
Paul often worked hard as a tent maker to provide for his own needs and the needs of others (Acts 20:34). That he did to avoid hindering the gospel (1 Corinthians 9:12).
God informed Moses about the work He had instructed Bazalel and Oholiab to do, but He did not inform them about their wages or salaries. Nothing was said about what the two men would get for accepting to perform that sacred and national duty.
They worked without complaining or demanding payment of wages or salaries for an obvious reason. They were not forced or coerced into ministry. God Himself called them, filled them with His Spirit, instructed them, equipped them with ability and intelligence to serve. Their call to ministry was genuine.
Thus, they understood their call to work for God as a rare privilege to serve not as an opportunity to amass wealth for themselves. Perhaps, they asked themselves, “What do we have that we did not receive?” They saw their spiritual equipment as an enablement for service for the glory of God.
Today, most pastors teach about the services rendered by Bazalel and Oholiab, but they do not talk about the fact that they served without being paid wages or salaries. Theirs was a service to God and His people.
People who are called by God, filled with the Holy Spirit, equipped with intelligence, ability and wisdom by God and instructed by God to work in the Church are not motivated by money to serve. They are moved by the love of God.
However, we do know that God’s servants receive supports freely and willingly given from the hearts of people who are inspired by God. Jesus Christ’s ministry was supported financially and materially (See Luke 8:1-3). And the apostles received help for ministry (Acts 4:32-37, Philippians 4: 15-18, 2 Corinthians 11:8).
By James Quansah
