Was Bezalel Just 13? This Changes Everything...

The Thriving Christian Artist

The Thriving Christian Artist
Was Bezalel Just 13? This Changes Everything...
Feb 24, 2026
Matt Tommey: Artist, Best-Selling Author, Speaker, Entrepreneur and Artist Mentor

Send a text

What if your most meaningful work begins before the chaos clears? We revisit Bezalel—the artisan behind the tabernacle—and uncover why Scripture highlights something far more decisive than talent or tenure: being filled with the Spirit. As we walk through the wilderness setting, the golden calf crisis, and the divine blueprint given to Moses, we show how communion fuels creativity, how revelation becomes a pattern for making, and how alignment with God outruns experience every time.

Holding a surprising rabbinic tradition that Bezalel may have been very young against the likelihood he was a seasoned master, we press into the real emphasis: Spirit over resume. From there, we trace the Genesis thread of redeemed creativity—Jubal and Tubal-cain as signs that God restores music and making even in the wake of rebellion. Bezalel mirrors that restoration: beauty married to covenant, craft saturated with presence, and skill wielded in faithful service rather than self-promotion.

Then the arc turns practical. Agreement with God’s pattern becomes incarnation—gold into cherubim, wood into frames, thread into garments—and something remarkable follows: provision overflows until Moses tells the people to stop bringing gifts. We explore why abundance follows assignment, without reducing creativity to a vending machine formula. Resistance still shows up, but it forges focus rather than defeat. And in a quiet hinge in the story, Bezalel receives the ability to teach, multiplying creativity beyond himself and catalyzing community participation.

On this side of the cross and Pentecost, we don’t create hoping glory will arrive; we create from the glory we carry. Christ in you is the hope of glory, which means your studio, sketchbook, lens, kiln, guitar, or code editor can become a meeting place with God. If you’ve been waiting for a sign, consider this your nudge: align with the pattern, agree in faith, incarnate through skill, and multiply in others. Subscribe for future episodes, share this with a creative friend, and leave a review to help more artists find the show. What step of alignment are you taking this week?

Fuel Your Creative Calling with Weekly Encouragement
Join thousands of Christian artists who are growing in faith, creativity, and purpose.

Subscribe to The Thriving Christian Artist Weekly and receive powerful, faith-filled content every week—designed to encourage your heart, spark your creativity, and equip you to walk boldly in your God-given calling as an artist.

👉 Click here. It’s free. It’s faith-filled. And it’s just for you.

Episode Artwork Was Bezalel Just 13? This Changes Everything... 18:02 Episode Artwork When Failure Makes You Question Your Creative Calling 13:29 Episode Artwork What Happens When You Say "Yes" To Your Creative Calling 8:50 Episode Artwork 5 Biblical Principles To Transform Your Creative Life 40:58 Episode Artwork The Gap Between Your Creative Calling & Confidence 8:20 Episode Artwork Seven Proven Ways Artists Are Earning More Now 25:26 Episode Artwork The Humility Trap 12:40 Episode Artwork 5 Steps to Rewire Your Brain for Creativity 13:10 Episode Artwork 5 Biblical Declarations To Break Shame And Build Unshakable Identity In Christ 12:44 Episode Artwork Why Your Art Makes God Smile Every Time 12:11 Episode Artwork 5 Encouraging Bible Verses Every Christian Artist Needs 40:22 Episode Artwork Why the Great Masters Never Worried If Their Art Was 'Christian Enough' (And Why You Shouldn't Either) 14:48 Episode Artwork 5 Steps to Create Art With The Holy Spirit (My Exact Process) 15:51 Episode Artwork 5 Signs God Is Calling You As An Artist 11:20 Episode Artwork Jesus The Artisan: Five Creative Principles For A Faithful Life 31:23 Episode Artwork How Nature, Faith & Art Bring Healing and Hope - An Interview with Nancy Thygesen 34:58 Episode Artwork 3 Ways to Overcome Creative Block (with Christ) 22:38 Episode Artwork Textile Artist Creates Works that Inspire Connection: An Interview with Pamela Loewen 30:08 Episode Artwork 3 Ways Seeing God as Artist Changes Everything 16:26 Episode Artwork Unlock the Secrets of Your Right Brain: An Interview with Karen DeLoach 30:33 Episode Artwork 5 Simple Steps to Creating Your Art With God 30:55 Episode Artwork Western Landscape Artist Paints God's Glory in the Sky: An Interview with Phil Bob Borman 38:43 Episode Artwork What Feels Like Delay May Be Divine Direction 21:36 Episode Artwork From Pain to Purpose through Creative Healing: An Interview with Karen Bulbuk 36:29 Episode Artwork 5 Ways to Honor God with Your Art 18:02