This principle deals with the natural matters of providing luxury items for those who have money to pay for it. It is a specialty or niche type of business that is in a separate class by itself because it is not part of the laboring class nor the governing class or a business owner who creates employment for his people. A novelty business is largely self-run and creates specialty products for a few wealthy clients.

Innovation

The header image above shows a knife that is a work of art with intricate engraving and metal casing and exotic wood and possibly precious metals as well. This might be something sold in a store selling high-end collectors’ items or exotic relics that might have once belonged to royalty (like a former member of the Czar royal family in Russia). This image could be used to represent delicacies fit for a king or high-end luxury items of great quality and precious value.

Principle Asher can have a wide application to many topics but in this lesson I would like to focus on the natural side of the things as related to the principle of innovation.

Genesis 49:20 (NIV)

²⁰ "Asher's food will be rich; he will provide delicacies fit for a king.

Principle Asher can relate to being an innovator and creating something advanced or something of a work of art or beauty which is fit for royalty. The scripture above speaks of his food being rich and in fact a skilled chief is a creator who does things with food that no ordinary person can do. Providing delicacies fit for a king can speak of innovators making something that is advanced or high tech or artistic or a work of beauty.

God Anointed Innovators

Exodus 31:1-11 (NIV)

¹ Then the LORD said to Moses,

² "See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah,

³ and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts--

⁴ to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze,

⁵ to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship.

⁶ Moreover, I have appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, to help him. Also I have given skill to all the craftsmen to make everything I have commanded you:

⁷ the Tent of Meeting, the ark of the Testimony with the atonement cover on it, and all the other furnishings of the tent--

⁸ the table and its articles, the pure gold lampstand and all its accessories, the altar of incense,

⁹ the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, the basin with its stand--

¹⁰ and also the woven garments, both the sacred garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons when they serve as priests,

¹¹ and the anointing oil and fragrant incense for the Holy Place. They are to make them just as I commanded you."

God specifically called Bezalel of the tribe of Judah and appointed Oholiab of the tribe of Dan to help him. These men were given great and advanced skills and God-given ability in craftsmanship to make everything that Moses was commanded by God to make for the tabernacle.

These men were filled with the Spirit of God for skill and ability and knowledge of all kinds of crafts to make artistic designs in all types of metals, to cut and engrave stones, to work in wood and in all kinds of craftsmanship and weaving and embroidery to make the items of the temple and the sacred clothing for Aaron and his sons the Priests.

These men were empowered by the Spirit of God to make all that God commanded Moses to make for the Tabernacle worship system. These items were used to worship the King of all kings so these were done with exceptional quality and artistic beauty that was fit for royalty!

Exodus 36:1-2 (NIV)

¹ So Bezalel, Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the LORD has given skill and ability to know how to carry out all the work of constructing the sanctuary are to do the work just as the LORD has commanded."

² Then Moses summoned Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the LORD had given ability and who was willing to come and do the work.

Bezalel and Oholiab served in the role of lead artisans and others of skill (those gifted by God) also joined them and together they had a team of skilled men who performed all of the work of constructing the tabernacle and its furnishings and equipment and instruments and the sacred garments for the priests.

There are certain men who are born with God-given ability and skill as craftsman and artists and can do any type of work of creation with excellence and skill to render high quality works of art and beauty which are fit for royalty!

Exodus 35:30-35 (NIV)

³⁰ Then Moses said to the Israelites, "See, the LORD has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah,

³¹ and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts--

³² to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze,

³³ to cut and set stones, to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of artistic craftsmanship.

³⁴ And he has given both him and Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach others.

³⁵ He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as craftsmen, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and weavers--all of them master craftsmen and designers.

Repeatedly God mentioned these two head craftsman as having been gifted by the Spirit of God for all wisdom to do all kinds of craftsmanship to design and create and to do embroidery and weaving and to take all of the donated materials given for the tabernacle by the people and make them into something of quality and outstanding beauty in perfection that is fit for the Kings of kings!

There was no rough or sloppy or crude work being done in making the things related to the tabernacle of God on earth which represented the true tabernacle in heaven.

Gifted Craftsman Built the Temple

1 Kings 7:13-14 (NIV)

¹³ King Solomon sent to Tyre and brought Huram,

¹⁴ whose mother was a widow from the tribe of Naphtali and whose father was a man of Tyre and a craftsman in bronze. Huram was highly skilled and experienced in all kinds of bronze work. He came to King Solomon and did all the work assigned to him.

King Solomon sent to Tyre and brought back a craftsman named Huram whose Jewish mother was from Naphtali and whose father was a skilled craftsman in bronze. Huram learned the basic trade skills by being mentored by his father who was also a skilled craftsman. Huram was anointed by God to do all kinds of work in bronze and metal casting.

Craftsmanship of Outstanding Quality and Beauty

1 Kings 7:15-47 (NLT2)

¹⁵ Huram cast two bronze pillars, each 27 feet tall and 18 feet in circumference.

¹⁶ For the tops of the pillars he cast bronze capitals, each 7¹/₂ feet tall.

¹⁷ Each capital was decorated with seven sets of latticework and interwoven chains.

¹⁸ He also encircled the latticework with two rows of pomegranates to decorate the capitals over the pillars.

¹⁹ The capitals on the columns inside the entry room were shaped like water lilies, and they were six feet tall.

²⁰ The capitals on the two pillars had 200 pomegranates in two rows around them, beside the rounded surface next to the latticework.

²¹ Huram set the pillars at the entrance of the Temple, one toward the south and one toward the north. He named the one on the south Jakin, and the one on the north Boaz.

²² The capitals on the pillars were shaped like water lilies. And so the work on the pillars was finished.

²³ Then Huram cast a great round basin, 15 feet across from rim to rim, called the Sea. It was 7¹/₂ feet deep and about 45 feet in circumference.

²⁴ It was encircled just below its rim by two rows of decorative gourds. There were about six gourds per foot all the way around, and they were cast as part of the basin.

²⁵ The Sea was placed on a base of twelve bronze oxen, all facing outward. Three faced north, three faced west, three faced south, and three faced east, and the Sea rested on them.

²⁶ The walls of the Sea were about three inches thick, and its rim flared out like a cup and resembled a water lily blossom. It could hold about 11,000 gallons of water.

²⁷ Huram also made ten bronze water carts, each 6 feet long, 6 feet wide, and 4¹/₂ feet tall.

²⁸ They were constructed with side panels braced with crossbars.

²⁹ Both the panels and the crossbars were decorated with carved lions, oxen, and cherubim. Above and below the lions and oxen were wreath decorations.

³⁰ Each of these carts had four bronze wheels and bronze axles. There were supporting posts for the bronze basins at the corners of the carts; these supports were decorated on each side with carvings of wreaths.

³¹ The top of each cart had a rounded frame for the basin. It projected 1¹/₂ feet above the cart’s top like a round pedestal, and its opening was 2¹/₄ feet across; it was decorated on the outside with carvings of wreaths. The panels of the carts were square, not round.

³² Under the panels were four wheels that were connected to axles that had been cast as one unit with the cart. The wheels were 2¹/₄ feet in diameter

³³ and were similar to chariot wheels. The axles, spokes, rims, and hubs were all cast from molten bronze.

³⁴ There were handles at each of the four corners of the carts, and these, too, were cast as one unit with the cart.

³⁵ Around the top of each cart was a rim nine inches wide. The corner supports and side panels were cast as one unit with the cart.

³⁶ Carvings of cherubim, lions, and palm trees decorated the panels and corner supports wherever there was room, and there were wreaths all around.

³⁷ All ten water carts were the same size and were made alike, for each was cast from the same mold.

³⁸ Huram also made ten smaller bronze basins, one for each cart. Each basin was six feet across and could hold 220 gallons of water.

³⁹ He set five water carts on the south side of the Temple and five on the north side. The great bronze basin called the Sea was placed near the southeast corner of the Temple.

⁴⁰ He also made the necessary washbasins, shovels, and bowls. So at last Huram completed everything King Solomon had assigned him to make for the Temple of the LORD:

⁴¹ the two pillars; the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars; the two networks of interwoven chains that decorated the capitals;

⁴² the 400 pomegranates that hung from the chains on the capitals (two rows of pomegranates for each of the chain networks that decorated the capitals on top of the pillars);

⁴³ the ten water carts holding the ten basins;

⁴⁴ the Sea and the twelve oxen under it;

⁴⁵ the ash buckets, the shovels, and the bowls. Huram made all these things of burnished bronze for the Temple of the LORD, just as King Solomon had directed.

⁴⁶ The king had them cast in clay molds in the Jordan Valley between Succoth and Zarethan.

⁴⁷ Solomon did not weigh all these things because there were so many; the weight of the bronze could not be measured.

The bronze pillars cast by Huram were 27 feet high and 18 feet in circumference! On top of these pillars set two capitals of intricate design which were another 7.5 feet tall! All of these were done with outstanding intricate and artistic beauty!

Again, these items were built for the King of kings and the temple and all of its related furnishings were unequaled by anything ever made upon the earth by humans! Secular godless atheists hold a false presumption that humans are evolved from primates so the farther back in time one goes the closer humans will be to apes! Thus, they assume that during the time and era of King Solomon when the temple was begun in 966 B.C. that the workmanship of the temple would be as crude as if built by a chimp! But nothing could be farther from the truth! In fact, there were technologies employed in the ancient past which modern science cannot duplicate today. In many ways these ancient cultures were more advanced than humans are now and this is supported by the biblical narrative that the first man Adam was given great intelligence and wisdom and was created in the image of God. This means humans were not evolved from primates but were born with intelligence and gifted by God in wisdom that was advanced in its era.

Only when humans worship idols do they become diminished and ignorant and poor and oppressed and miserable like caveman (chimp-type) primitive humans as depicted by secular archaeologists. Such crude men destroy everything advanced and artistic they find just as the temple of Solomon was later completely destroyed and plundered by pagans because of God's people falling into the sin of idol worship. But just because there is no trace of the advanced artistic beauty left this does not mean it never existed.

Modern technology today would have a difficult time to replicate the bronze castings made by Huram in 966 B.C.

Huram also cast a bronze reservoir that was 15-feet across, 7.5 feet in depth and 45 feet in circumference and had a thickness of three inches. This massive bronze cast reservoir had a capacity of 11,000 gallons and it rested upon the backs of 12-cast bronze oxen (three per set) facing in four directions! The intricacy and size and artistic beauty of what was cast in bronze has never been replicated on earth and even using today's modern technology these items would be difficult if not impossible to reproduce!

Again, these craftsmen were advanced in skills and it should never be assumed that they were like "primitive cavemen" because they were gifted by God and empowered by the Holy Spirit to be craftsman to make things of great beauty and quality and scope that are fit for the King of all kings! Nothing crude or primitive or roughly-made is ever good enough to be acceptable for a temple built for the God of Israel who is the Creator of the entire universe!

Delicacies Fit for a King

Principle Asher deals with craftsman of outstanding ability such as Bezalel and Oholiab who served as lead craftsman for making the tabernacle of Moses. Also, Huram who served as the lead craftsman to make the temple of Solomon! Men of such ability were gifted by God and were born and created for the time they lived to do a great work for the Lord in building the things of the tabernacle and the temple on earth.

Spiritual Application

This is similar also to the Fivefold Ministry which are gifted to build the spiritual temple on earth made of living stones of believers.

1 Peter 2:5 (NIV)

⁵ you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

This scripture speaks of believers as being living stones which are built up into a spiritual house for the Lord. Believers are the building material and the Fivefold Ministry are gifted builders to build them up into a spiritual house or temple of God made of believers who have the Holy Spirit dwelling within them!

1 Corinthians 3:9-10 (NASB)

⁹ For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.

¹⁰ According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it.

Paul was born as an Apostle and as such he was gifted as a wise mater builder to lay a foundation of Jesus Christ within the hearts of the believers as he taught God's revelation.

Natural Application

But for a natural application there are craftsman who are born with ability and talent to make luxury items of great quality and beauty and technology that are fit for a king! These are specialty people who can generate self-employment for themselves simply by the skill level that they possess in making intricate luxury items of outstanding quality fit for royalty.

Proverbs 18:16 (NASB)

¹⁶ A man's gift makes room for him And brings him before great men.

A man who is a gifted craftsman will be brought before great men just as King Solomon (the richest king on earth) sought out the skills and ability of Huram of Tyre to come and make the things related to building the greatest temple ever made upon the earth!

There are men who have had only a basic education level but possessed great skill and wisdom from God to create things that no one else has ever made before. R. G. Letourneau had only a basic education but he made earth moving machines far more advanced that any engineers ever made prior to his inventions. His inventions are foundational to all of earth moving equipment in operation in present times. Many of the great industrialists who caused the United States to rise up to become a world power in technology were God-fearing men who were empowered with wisdom of the Holy Spirit just as Bezalel and Oholiab and Huram were anointed to build the things related to the tabernacle and temple of God on earth.

See the link "Gift of Businessman-Giver" for more details.

There have been men in past generations who were both givers to God and innovators and God blessed them and prospered them and gave them outstanding innovations whose products are still household brands used today.

Principle Asher can relate to men born to be innovators and creators who make inventions and works of art and things of beauty and advanced technology that are fit for royalty. They make the world a better place to live in and are a blessing to all humanity. They stand apart by having gifts and ability given to them by God to create specialty items of great value fit for a king!