The Boss and The Assistant

THE BOSS AND THE ASSISTANT
(Exodus Chapter 31:1-6)
 
God gave Moses an assignment: 
He asked him to make the Ark of 
the Covenant, the robes for the 
priests, the breast plate, the 
Tabernacle and all the furniture 
therein, etc.
The instructions were lengthy, but
 God had a plan for the execution: 
He gave Moses a workman to carry 
out these tasks: Bezaleel the son of Uri. 
He was a skilled worker, “he had wisdom, 
knowledge and understanding in all 
manner of workmanship”, as the 
scriptures submit. 
He was given the task to execute the 
assignment given to Moses. 
But God went a step further: 
He gave Bezaleel an ASSISTANT to 
work with him, Aholiab the son of 
Ahisamach.
Both were skilled workmen. 
But one was to ASSIST the other. 
There were other workers who were 
added to the team, but the buck 
stopped at Bezaleel’s table. 
So, there was a hierarchy:
 Bezaleel-Aholiab-Others. 
That was God’s organogram for 
the assignment given.
The challenge with humanity is, 
we sometimes want to change 
the organogram. 
We feel Bezaleel is not knowledgeable 
enough to be the Boss. 
You are Aholiab, but you feel you 
know better. 
You want to either take over the seat 
or leave to go launch your own outfit. 
You feel servitude is beneath you. 
The irony is, you may be more qualified 
than Bezaleel! 
He has a B.Sc degree from one 
mushroom University, you have a 
Ph.D from Princeton, Harvard or Oxford. 
You question his competence. 
“I’m better qualified than this guy”, 
you reason. But the positioning is how 
God wants it.
 Bezaleel is the Oga at the Top. 
That is his DIVINE CALLING, 
the divine order. 
You are to ASSIST him: that is YOUR 
Divine Calling. Bezaleel had fulfillment 
leading the pack. 
Aholiab had fulfillment assisting. 
There was no rancour, there was no 
division. They both had common focus, 
both men were comfortable in their 
positions, neither was intimidated by 
the other.
Today, we have loads of “Motivational 
Speakers” who teach otherwise.
They will tell you, “You have what it 
takes to be your own man! Servitude
is not forever! You are an entrepreneur! 
Quit your job! Start your own outfit! 
Perspire to acquire!”
And you buy into their submissions 
and goading: “Yeah! I have what it 
takes to be Boss! 
Servitude is not forever!” 
And they motivate you into disaster. 
You resign your position and launch out. 
2 years into your business, you go 
bankrupt. This thing is not always by 
educational qualification or competence: 
It’s about DIVINE CALLING.
Be careful who you listen to: don’t let 
anyone motivate you into foolishness.
I have seen loads of Pastors leave
 thriving ministries as assistants to 
go set up their own ministries, only 
for them to crash out after a few years. 
I know people who leave businesses
 to go set up a rival outfit, only to 
crash out after a while. 
We are not all called to be Aliko. 
We are not all called to be Bishop.
 Some of us are called to work for 
them, not compete with them- and 
we get our fulfillment in life working 
for them. 
At the end of the day, what matters is 
the divine stamp of approval on our efforts. 
When/if you decide to resign your
 commission and launch out on your 
own, you must be SURE you know what 
you are doing. 
You must KNOW in your “KNOWER” you 
heard from Heaven, not inspired to 
acquire by one roadside Motivational 
Speaker.
Moses was called to lead Israel. 
Aaron did not argue. Hur accepted 
his leadership. Joshua accepted to 
be his servant. 
Mariam challenged him. 
She became a leper (Numbers 12). 
Others who also challenged his 
authority (Korah and his co-conspirators)
died a horrible death (Numbers 16).
Leaders are chosen on DIVINE CALLS, 
not necessarily HERITAGE. 
I know Churches where the Sent Man 
appoints his son to take over from him. 
I also know organizations where the 
son of the founder/chairman is also 
appointed leader. 
That you are my son does not mean 
you are Bezaleel: you may be Aholiab, 
whose calling is to assist whoever is 
chosen as Bezaleel.
There is a very popular Nigerian Bank 
whose Founder/Chairman appointed 
a young man as MD/CEO. 
The bank’s fortunes soared! 
The bank became one of the best 
in the country. 
Apparently, the MD/CEO was Bezaleel. 
He succeeded in the assignment given 
to him. After a while, the 
Founder/Chairman appointed his son 
as MD/CEO. 
The son was no Bezaleel, but daddy 
was not aware. 
The son was Aholiab who should have 
been behind the scene, assisting Bezaleel. 
But like many of us who start a big 
organization or ministry, daddy wanted 
his son to be the “Oga at the Top”. 
The son took over the Bank and in a 
few years, the Bank crashed. It was 
bought over by another Bank.
I wonder how daddy feels about it today? 
If daddy had not brought his son in, 
who knows if that bank would still be 
healthy today? If daddy knew his son
 was no Bezaleel, who knows how 
the bank would be today?
If you are Aholiab, please maintain 
your position. “Dey your dey”, as we 
say in Nigeria.
If you are Bezaleel, God placed you 
there- don’t be intimidated by anyone. 
The God who called you to lead will 
protect, guide and guard you.
May we all find fulfillment in our 
positions in life, whether we are 
Bezaleel or Aholiab. 
May we succeed in our Divine Assignments 
and may we allow inordinate ambition 
push us out to where His grace cannot 
keep us.

Shalom!
Haruna Daniels.