Exodus 31:1-7

 

These verses from Exodus reveal how God selected and inspired artisans of such varies and fine knowledge and technical skill that they were able to construct the ark of the covenant, the meeting tent, and furnishings. It occurred to me as an advocate of personal individuation that one sees here a precedent for how a human maverizer could pray to her good deity to bless her with artistic productive beauty, originality and intellectual originality and prodigiousness of a great magnitude, and I believe that good deity often would hear her prayer and so bless her, a might gift indeed.

 

Here are these lines from The New American Bible: “Choice of Artisans. The Lord said to Moses, ‘See, I have chosen Bezalel, son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with a divine spirit of skill and understanding and knowledge in every craft: in the production of embroidery, in making things of gold, silver and bronze, in cutting and mounting precious stones, in carving wood and every other craft. As his assistant I have appointed Oholiab, son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. I have also endowed all the experts with the necessary skill to make all the things I have ordered you to make: the meeting tent, the ark of the commandments with the propitiatory on top of it, all the furnishings of the tent . . .”

 

My response: Yahweh the Indiviudator and Creator endows all experts with the necessary things to make all the things that God has ordered us to make and will oblige us by allowing us to make things we want to make if it pleases De.

 

Here are these same verses in the Holy Bible: “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, See, I have called by name Bezaleel 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, and in understanding, and in knowledge and in all manner of worksmanship,”

 

My response: May the Good Spirits fill you the spirit of God so your creations will be many, subtle and lovely.

 

Yahweh: “To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver and in brass, and in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in the carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship. And, I, behold, I have given him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan: and in the hearts of all that are wisehearted I have put in wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee; the tabernacle of the congregation, the ark of the testimony, and the mercy seat that is thereupon, and all the furniture of the tabernacle . . .”

 

My response: Dear Good Spirits: Similarly, if you will, put wisdom into my heart to aid me as an ethicist, a philosopher, a family man.