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Skilled with Tools
In my previous post, I discussed how to encourage your child to design before building. Now, let's discuss some examples from God's word about designing before building.
Hiram’s Tradecraft was used to build the temple, 1 Kings 7:
13 And King Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre.
14 He was a widow's son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass: and he was filled with wisdom, and understanding, and cunning to work all works in brass. And he came to King Solomon, and wrought all his work.
Hiram was arguably one of the most influential craftsmen of the bible. Hiram was contracted by King Solomon to design the temple inside and out and oversaw creation of all the sacred things and decorations. As you look through Hiram’s work you’ll find many different skills at work. Let’s take a look.
15 For he cast two pillars of brass, of eighteen cubits high apiece: and a line of twelve cubits did compass either of them about.
16 And he made two chapiters of molten brass, to set upon the tops of the pillars: the height of the one chapiter was five cubits, and the height of the other chapiter was five cubits:
He worked casting metal.
17 And nets of checker work, and wreaths of chain work, for the chapiters which were upon the top of the pillars; seven for the one chapiter, and seven for the other chapiter.
He worked with chains to make wreaths.
31 And the mouth of it within the chapiter and above was a cubit: but the mouth thereof was round after the work of the base, a cubit and an half: and also upon the mouth of it were gravings with their borders, foursquare, not round.
He engraved the borders.
32 And under the borders were four wheels; and the axletrees of the wheels were joined to the base: and the height of a wheel was a cubit and half a cubit.
33 And the work of the wheels was like the work of a chariot wheel: their axletrees, and their naves, and their felloes, and their spokes, were all molten.
He was a wheelwright.
These are just some of the many different aspects of the temple. The point here is he knew many different trade crafts, which means as he grew up, he’d received training and instructions in many trade crafts.
The best way to apply the lesson of Hiram is to give your child many opportunities to explore.
As a homeschool family, you have a unique opportunity to expose your children to trade crafts and there are local organizations like 4H or many of the trade associations in the area that would love the opportunity to share their skills with your children, everything from carpentry to plumbing.
That said there are also many different crafts your technical child might enjoy around the home like sewing or other handicrafts that have usefulness around your house or could possibly become a cottage industry for your family.
Finally, don’t underestimate the power of digital crafting. Whether it’s 3D printing or paper crafts there are a myriad of things your child can learn how to do that are useful for others.
This brings us to our last example, Dorcas.
39 Then Peter arose and went with them. When he was come, they brought him into the upper chamber: and all the widows stood by him weeping, and shewing the coats and garments which Dorcas made, while she was with them.
40 But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning him to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up.
41 And he gave her his hand, and lifted her up, and when he had called the saints and widows, presented her alive.
42 And it was known throughout all Joppa; and many believed in the Lord.
She is a little-known character from the New Testament, but I feel like she represents a unique aspect of the gift of craftsmanship. The ability to bless others with the gift of your hands. The widows were blessed by Dorca’s handiwork, and it was something of so great import to the widows they took time to share this with Paul. Encourage your child to be like Dorcas and serve others with their gift.
It might be easy to dismiss the skill necessary to make the coats and garments Dorcas made for the women. While clothing in the first century was much simpler than it is today, working with wool and linen was a skill that took time to perfect, especially when you consider that Jewish law required the cloak to have tassels attached to its four corners. Each tassel was made with care because its intended purpose was to help people remember to keep God's Law. The example of her generosity made her stand out among the women of her community and her resurrection spread the faith throughout the area.
In my next blog post, I’ll discuss how to encourage your child to share their gift with others.
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