God empowers you to create

I love Pentecost. What an incredible moment in time! God pours out His Holy Spirit on a bunch of terrified, disappointed, and confused people, filling them with divine power, courage, and new languages. Amazing. (Acts 2:1-21). Since that time, the unimaginable gift of God’s Holy Spirit has been available to all people, everywhere.

I used to think that Pentecost was the first time the Spirit of God was given to us.

Did you?

It seems so New Testament-ish, doesn’t it?

Actually, the Holy Spirit is mentioned throughout the Old Testament, too. The first reference to the Spirit of God is in Genesis 1 when ‘the Spirit of God’ hovered over the water. The Spirit of God is intimately linked with the act of creation. Everything that God makes is ‘good’ (quite a massive understatement, I think.)

The first time the Bible mentions a person being 'filled' with God's Spirit is in relation to creativity.

There are a number of people upon whom the Holy Spirit fell in the Old Testament. At that time the Holy Spirit was only available to certain people, for a certain time or for a specific task. For example, the Holy Spirit “fell on” Israel’s judges to give them wisdom or to enable them to defeat their enemies, such as Gideon in Judges 6:34 and Samson in Judges 15:14. The Spirit of God entered King David ‘like a rush of wind’ when he was anointed as king in 1 Samuel 16:13 and ‘empowered him for the rest of his life.’

I was amazed to learn that the very first time the Bible mentions anyone being “filled” with the Holy Spirit, those people are artists. Not warriors, not kings, not priests, but artists. The Holy Spirit empowers Bezalel and Oholiab with the creative skills required to craft the Ark of the Covenant, the Tabernacle and everything in it (not to mention empowering them with the teaching and project management skills they needed to lead their teams!)

In your own life, are there big tasks ahead of you or a calling in your life that scares you? Do you believe God can empower you with the wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and skills you need to get the job done for His glory?

Creative Exercise

Close your eyes and try to picture what it must have been and felt like for Bezalel & Oholiab to be called to do this mighty work for God.

Prayer

Thank You, Lord, for the beauty and majesty of Your creation! Thank You for all the rich lessons we have to learn from Your scriptures. Thank You that You filled Bezalel and Oholiab with Your Spirit, giving them ‘wisdom, understanding, knowledge and skill’ to do Your work. Thank You that You fill us too in this way to create for Your glory. Please be with us as we learn about the power of our creative intelligence and guide us in where we should apply it. Amen.