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ARTS AND CRAFTSMANSHIP

God is the Master Designer and used His craftsmanship to create you and me and the whole universe. The Lord does speak through the arts and the power of His design speaks of His glory (Ps. 91:1). God is a Creator, Designer, Builder, and Father. He wears many hats, so to speak. As believers and children of God He has given us delegated authority in the earth over the works of His hands. What God created in Genesis was approved with a declaration that it was “very good.” God signed off on what He had created and needed no one to approve, verify, and confirm.

Hearing the voice of God through artistry is remarkable in itself. God uses the pen of His Word to create such life, which is beautiful and supernatural. In Exodus 31, God was very particular about who He wanted to be His interior decorator. He chosen Bezalel and Aholiab to be skillful, anointed, and wise artisans who knows how to create things by hand. God speaks through arts and crafts. When you create or design something it takes skill. God is the Master Artisan because He created and formed us by His word and gave us charge over the works of His hand. The Lord will give skill to the skillful. In Exodus 31:6 NASB, The Lord said, “In the hearts of all who are skillful I have put skill.” We can see that it is God who gives people the ability to do something well and gives them a skill set that is unique.

God loves beautiful things that represent His purity, holiness, and creativity. He desires that those who are gifted in this area express it through the arts. God speaks through the arts to bring glory to His name and deliver a message. I have seen amazing murals on city walls, statues, and even graffiti done that is unique to see. God will speak through the arts and what He builds. When I go to large cities, the many different types of skyscrapers are breathtaking. I wonder how they are masterfully engineered and built by man. God has gifted us with these powerful gifts and abilities. But to see them in full manifestation is a wonder of God.

Look at Exodus 31 again: “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills” (Exod. 31:2-3). Bezalel was chosen by God to oversee the work of the Tabernacle. He was the chief superintendent over the whole project that God employed him for. God knew who He wanted and put special abilities and skills within him to do the work. God filled him with His Spirit, skill, wisdom, knowledge, and understanding in all the workmanship. In addition, Bezalel was innovative, creative, genius, and master in the artisan field. God anointed him for the job and he needed to hear the voice of God to build what God wanted. Moreover, Bezalel and Aholiab both were used to design and build the ark and mercy seat in the tabernacle among other things (Exod. 31:1-11). Their creativity spoke of what God wanted to see as it pertains to every detail of articles of furniture and items in the tent of meetings.

Hearing the voice of God is through what you create, paint, write, sing, sculpt, and act. When God tells me to write a book He knows that I have the ability to finish and to become an author. Through the creative arts God will communicate what we see through the lens of it. Whenever I see a portrait, painting, statue, or building it conveys a message to the eyes of the beholder. God will inspire us through the Spirit of God to write, sing, build, etc. God is the one who allows gifts and skills to be placed upon those He will use. Furthermore, He will use the means of arts and craftsmanship to build and showcase His beauty, holiness, message, and love.

Without skillful builders, artists, and craftsmanship we wouldn’t have homes to live in and clothes to wear. In addition, music is a form of art, and King David was a skillful musician himself to establish the order of worship. “David also commanded the chiefs of the Levites to appoint their brothers as the singers who should play loudly on musical instruments, on harps and lyres and cymbals, to raise sounds of joy” (1 Chron. 15:16 ESV). There is nothing like the Spirit of God upon you when you draw, paint, build, sing, play, and create something from concept to reality.

In First Kings 6, we see Solomon creating a temple for the Lord. In verse 4, “artistic frames” were made for the house. We can see that God is not just concerned about the house being established but the beauty of it as well. He is a master interior decorator just as He is a master architect. The Lord likes to be surrounded by beauty, glory, and power. God is glorified by beauty! I can only imagine what Heaven looks like because it’s full of glory and His presence.