Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm. Daniel 6:3.
Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all workmanship, to design artistic works, to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of workmanship. Exodus 31:1-5.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God says:
An excellent spirit. A spirit of excellence. I speak of the spirit of faith, the spirit of wisdom, the spirit of understanding, the spirit of counsel, the spirit of fortitude, the spirit of knowledge, the spirit of the fear of the LORD, and an excellent spirit. I also speak of the spirit of fear, the spirit of infirmity, a lying spirit, and an unclean spirit. I tell you that I did not give you a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control.
Do you see something here? There are different spirits but it is up to you which ones you decide to receive as your own, i.e., which ones you take into your employ. In a way you could liken it to an employer, one running a business that was responsible for hiring those who would be working for his enterprise, making decisions of who would be the best workers to make his business what he wanted it to be and to produce the quality of products he had envisioned. The quality of the workers he hired would determine the productivity and success of his enterprise.
Knowing this you may perceive what David is portraying in Psalm 101 in a new way than you may have looked at it before. David sang, “I will walk within my house in the integrity of my heart. I will set no worthless thing before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me. A perverse heart shall leave me; I will know no evil. Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, him I will silence. I will not endure one who has a haughty look and an arrogant heart. My eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me; one who walks in a way of integrity is one who will serve me. One who practices deceit shall not dwell within my house; one who speaks lies shall not maintain his position before me. Every morning I will silence all the wicked of the land, so as to eliminate from the city of the LORD all those who do injustice.” Psalm 101:2-8.
Do you see? He was keeping careful watch over his inner business, his “house.” He was taking his thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ. No worthless, idle thoughts (employees), no perverse, lying, or evil spirits would be permitted to stay in his employ (thought patterns), no thoughts of evil about others (silence those workers of iniquity), no proud spirit or spirit of arrogance, no spirits of deceit, no lying spirits, no wicked, unclean spirits—all those he would eliminate that he found within himself. Are you watching your inner man? Or are you only looking in the mirror at the outer one? But the outer one is a product of the inner business you are running and it all depends on what spirits you are tolerating and which ones you are avidly seeking.
Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Philippians 4:8-9. These are the thoughts you should employ and dismiss everything to the contrary since they will ruin your productivity. Be wise. Seek wisdom, seek understanding. Call wisdom your sister and call understanding your intimate friend. Proverbs 7:4.
I gave Daniel an excellent spirit. And the pagan rulers, even though they did not know Me, saw it. Listen, “The queen, because of the words of the king and his lords, came to the banquet hall. The queen spoke, saying, “O king, live forever! Do not let your thoughts trouble you, nor let your countenance change. There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the Spirit of the Holy God. And in the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him; and King Nebuchadnezzar your father—your father the king—made him chief of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers. Inasmuch as an excellent spirit, knowledge, understanding, interpreting dreams, solving riddles, and explaining enigmas were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar, now let Daniel be called, and he will give the interpretation.” Daniel 5:10-12.
The same was true of Joseph, the son of Jacob, who walked with Me. Pharaoh acknowledged it and knew it would benefit him, even as Potiphar had. They wanted to tap into the productivity. Listen, “So Joseph’s advice was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants. And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?” Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word; only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you.” And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.” Both Nebuchadnezzar and Pharaoh had dreams but they needed the man with the wisdom and skill to understand it and carry it out.” Genesis 41:37-41.
What did Solomon write in Proverbs? “Do you see a person skilled in his work? He will stand before kings. He will not stand before obscure people.” Proverbs 22:29. And, “A person’s gift makes room for him and brings him before great people.” Proverbs 18:16.
Wisdom, understanding, skill in work—these are all gifts of the Spirit. I speak of each as a spirit but they all come from the One Spirit. “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” 1 Corinthians 12:4-7.
Do you remember what I told Moses when I gave him the plans for the tabernacle—My dwelling place among them in the wilderness on the way to the promised land? “Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘See, I have called by name Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. And I have filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all craftsmanship, to create artistic designs for work in gold, in silver, and in bronze, and in the cutting of stones for settings, and in the carving of wood, so that he may work in all craftsmanship. And behold, I Myself have called with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and in the hearts of all who are skillful I have put skill, so that they may make everything that I have commanded you: the tent of meeting, the ark of testimony, the atoning cover that is on it, and all the furniture of the tent, the table and its utensils, the pure gold lampstand with all its utensils, and the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the basin and its stand, the woven garments as well: the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, with which to carry out their priesthood; the anointing oil also, and the fragrant incense for the Holy Place, they are to make them according to everything that I have commanded you.” Exodus 31:1-11.
I gave each one very particular skills for the particular project. But notice that all the spirits that they received were from One and the same Spirit, “See, I have called by name Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. And I have filled him with the Spirit of God . . .” and then I enumerate in detail which skills he received. You read the same from My prophet Isaiah, “The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And He will delight in the fear of the LORD.” Isaiah 11:2-3. All these spirits from the One Spirit. I call these the seven spirits of God. Revelation 3:1; 4:5; 5:6.
Jesus said the same, “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He anointed Me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” Luke 4:18-19. One Spirit, particular skills and callings. My manifold grace.
Earnestly desire gifts of the Spirit and pursue them, but above all pursue love. 1 Corinthians 12:31; 1 Corinthians 14:1. The beginning of wisdom is: Acquire wisdom; And with all your possessions, acquire understanding. Proverbs 4:7. By wisdom and understanding you have acquired riches for yourself and have acquired gold and silver for your treasuries.
And do not forget the oil of joy and the spirit of peace. You want these in your employ at all times. “For you will go out with joy and be led in peace.” Isaiah 55:12.
The bad news is you can attract and house the evil spirit and when you let him in, he will bring seven others and the last state of the man will be worse than the first, filled with all the darkness of the evil one. A curse without a cause cannot alight. But the good news is that you can do exactly the opposite also. You can attract and house the excellent Spirit and He brings seven others and the last state of the man is better than the first, filled with all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Blessings are on the head and in the house of the righteous.
Which do you want to employ? It all starts by receiving Jesus as your Lord and becoming a new creation in Christ and, as such, a temple of the excellent Spirit. Don’t grieve Him and quench Him by hiring other employees that are not from Me. I did not give you a spirit of fear or of any other evil and unclean work.
I love you. Check out your thoughts, your words and your ways and you will know a lot about who you are employing. You may need to fire a few. Like David, you may need to silence them. Bind up the strong man and then you can plunder his house. Do not allow squatters to remain in your temple. Get rid of every work of evil. Walk in integrity. Excellence shows.