Creatives
Bezalel and Oholiab (Exodus 31:1-11, Exodus 35:30-35) were the first people explicitly filled with the Spirit of God in the Bible. They were master craftsmen and creatives tasked with building and beautifying the ark and the temple.
The very first people said to be filled with the Holy Spirit had creative jobs, jobs that were deemed important because they made beautiful, useful things.
It wasn’t lawyers and accountants, merchants or even doctors – no shade – that were said to be filled with God’s spirit- it was the creatives.
Purposeful Attack
Now, when I think of creatives a few things come to mind. Their genius is sometimes clouded by a tortured mind. What if that is exactly what the devil wants. What if the reason creative people are attacked by Satan is because they have been so blessed by God? What if his plan is to distract them from the Holy Spirit and their holy purpose by attacking them with intrusive thoughts and struggles. What if the plan is to keep them from creating beauty for the Lord God Of Hosts?
The Bible says that God inhabits the praises of His people. 2 Chronicles 20:21-23 shows how powerful that praise is – strong enough to defeat three armies. If creativity and the act of creating beauty is an act of praise then it makes perfect sense that Satan would fight to bring people with such amazing gifts down with him.
If Satan can turn such an amazing blessing on its head and instead of using it to praise God- use it to praise the world – use it to praise him – that would certainly pain God.
What About…?
The implications are tremendous and far reaching.
What about people who God created in His image, beautiful human beings who abuse or defile their bodies?
What about nature that people defile with toxins and trash?
The beauty in the world is a testament to the power and wonder of God. Of course that’s where Satan would attack. It says in Luke 19:40 that the very rocks will cry out the existence of God.
Imagine how diabolical it would be to confuse people into thinking something beautiful is ugly(self worth), or use their skills and talents to amplify evil and ugly things instead of beauty.
But the devil is a liar. Yahweh is the God of clarity and discernment. So I will look for beauty and praise HIM! I will create something beautiful to praise HIM. I will appreciate the beauty that is in me to Praise him.
The Greatest Trick
So what if the devil wants to distract and destroy us – our God is bigger. The battle was already won 2000 years ago. Satan’s defeat was nailed to cross and stayed there long after Christ had already risen. The devil is a liar and the biggest lie he tells is that he has won when God’s victory was a blowout.
So, Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Don’t let him distract you from your purpose. Remind him that the battle is over and he already lost. Why would you join the team that already lost? If your body is a temple of the Lord and these two men, Oholiab and Belazel, were filled with the Holy Spirit so that they could beautify and built the ark and the temple, then we are commanded to care for the beauty that God created in us all.
My favorite line in the film “The Usual Suspects” is, “The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he doesn’t exist.” And for a long time I thought that was true. I don’t anymore, I think the greatest deception of the devil is convincing the world that he won or is winning the battle against the Lord, when in fact, it’s not even close. It’s already over.