Jesus was a carpenter!
A Shittim tree in Israel
Ex 25:10 ¶ And they shall make an ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof.
I love Jesus, and for many years now, I have worked as a carpenter, providing interior finishes to luxury homes. We have used alder, cedar, oak, and poplar regularly, with a couple of jobs in hemlock, mahogany, and cherry. Have seen some beautiful wormy oak and cypress over the years, and have come to love wood. Now this wood here, God overlaid with gold, and I guess gold is beautiful, but check out the grain pattern on that wood.
Typical of God, when Hre has something built for His glory, it is beautiful, through and through.
So is it with ou lives: Outwardly, he adorns us with the oil of anointing, the presence of Holy Spirit, but like this construction project, He places beauty within us too, Christ In us, the hope of glory.
Ex 31:1 ¶ And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2 See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah:
3 And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship,
4 To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass,
5 And in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship.
6 And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan: and in the hearts of all that are wise hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee;
I used this verse to build a carpentry company, daily praying that if God would fill a man named Bezaleel with the spirit of God for all manner of workmanship, He could surely do if for our men. And He did too, we built some incredibly beautiful projects over the years, with excellence and honor to His name
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Jesus was a carpenter, and I am grateful to have learned from Him for many years, and worked with some incredibly gifted craftsmen.
These are only some of the projects performed by our crew of master craftsmen. I am thinking of several more that I’m not seeing photos of readily. Jesus surely worked with his father Joseph (who historians say died when Jesus was 17) so lets do the math. Say Jesus began to work full time as a carpenter at age 17 through age 30 when Holy Spirit led him out into the desert for his 40 day fast, to return as much more than a carpenter, in the fulness of the Holy Spirit. 13 years in the trade, and surely, He was a master craftsman extraordinaire.
Yet, like Him, there came a day, when he quietly laid down his tools, locked the door on the shop for the last time, and headed out into the desert to begin His heavenly mandate. That day officially happened for me on January 1st, 2013, when i quietly left Grace Interior Trim, to fully follow Him. And so here we are, in 2025, with a testimony of supernatural events, that have had to occur pretty much daily, simply for me and my family to survive. There is a cool image i saw somewhere of Jesus at Josephs feet in the carpentry shop, with a shadow of the cross upon HIm.
Well, carpentry is a lot like physical fitness, unless you are doing it daily, it can be very difficult. This summer my wife requested I build a covered porch in our backyard, and in our Oklahoma summer heat, it was a major ordeal at age 64. Had a friend come over yesterday and help me lift the metal sheets unto the framework, and hey, though it still needs flagstones, we now have a 10×20′ covered deck. YEAH!.
If you are working construction, here is a prayer for you:
‘Father God, I see here in your Word that you call, fill with your Spirit, craftsmen, giving them wisdom, understanding, knowledge in all manner of workmanship. I ask Father, that you grant your people the ability to solve problems, and to devise cunning works, flowing through them in your excellence, creativity, and granting them beautiful designs to the complex problems we face trying to build in this world. Help us to understand your principals in building, in all manner of workmanship, as we seek to glorify your name in the workplace, building not only for this life, but for eternity. I ask, knowing I am heard and answered through you, and the strength, power, and authority of your name Lord Jesus, Amen’
