God’s Provision of People for the Work

In his book Good to Great, Jim Collins highlights the importance of having the right team of people assembled in building great organizations:

Those who build great organizations make sure they have the right people on the bus and the right people in the key seats before they figure out where to drive the bus.1

Today is the third in a four-part series of articles exploring the gems of wisdom for entrepreneurial leadership contained in the biblical account of David’s commissioning of his son Solomon to build the temple of God (1 Chronicles 28-29).

Having previously studied the importance of the person God chooses and the plan he gives, we now explore how God provides the people for the work of building enterprises and meeting the needs of customers.

We can’t build alone. Hear David’s words to Solomon:

“And behold the divisions of the priests and the Levites for all the service of the house of God; and with you in all the work will be every willing man who has skill for any kind of service; also the officers and all the people will be wholly at your command.”2

With You In All The Work

The provision of willing and skilled people echoes the variety of people God provided for the building of the first tabernacle in the wilderness described in the book of Exodus:

• Skillful women spun linen with their hands. 3
• Bezalel was filled with the Spirit of God and with skill, intelligence, knowledge, and all craftsmanship to devise artistic designs and to work in gold, silver, bronze, stones, wood, and every skilled craft. 4
• Oholiab joined Bezalel, as did every craftsman in whom the Lord put skill and intelligence to know how to do the construction.  They were all willing to do the work. 5

In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul describes the variety of gifts in God’s family using the analogy of a body. The body comprises many parts with different kinds of gifts, service, and activity, but as one unit with Christ as the head. 6

Similarly, our enterprises will include people with various skills and talents who do various tasks and responsibilities and have a variety of impacts on the whole organization. We will need to align them with each other, and with the mission and culture of the organization.

Wholly At Your Command

Finally, David impresses upon Solomon the solemn responsibility of leading this variety of people who are “wholly at your command.” While the word “command” may sound autocratic to our ears, it signifies the idea of spoken words in the original Hebrew text. As leaders, we need to lead with clear, concise, and consistent communication.

Even more, our direction must be consistent with the person God has called the leader to be (“with a whole heart and with a willing mind”7) and the plans God has provided – these are the foundation for leading the people in our enterprises.

Questions for self-reflection:

• How do you select the people you hire to work with you?
• Are the workers with the right skills working in the right places?
• Are your people willing workers and aligned to your mission and culture?
• How could you improve your communication with your people?
• What types of people do you need to trust God for to join in building your business?

Verse(s) of the Week:

Then Moses said to the people of Israel, “See, the Lord has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftsmanship . . .” Exodus 35:30-31 (ESV)

Who might God be providing to bring unique gifts to the enterprise you lead? Let’s pray this week for eyes to “see” the Bezalels he may provide.