Which Bible Character Was Creative?

This blog is part of a larger exploration of Christian Innovation and Design. It fits within the section concerning creative woman in the Bible, and will answer the question “which female Bible character was creative?“

In many ways, this question hearkens back to an earlier query in our paper on Christian Innovation and Design, namely “Which Bible character was creative?” So, again, which female Bible character was creative?

Rahab, who in the Bible was creative enough to engineer a novel solution that aided Israel’s spies in their clandestine escape from Jericho (cf. Joshua 2). Though often overlooked as “creative”, Rahab’s cleverness is nevertheless one of the great Bible stories about creativity. She definitely put her mind to work, coming up with means to a new end (the best definition of innovation), lowering the spies out of the window and past the city guards and their great wall.

One of the reasons why people overlook Rahab’s creativity, cleverness, and innovative tactics is because we’ve inadvertently narrowed our understanding of creativity to the arts. However, when we ask, critically ”What is creativity?” we must acknowledge it is simply the materialization of something new—either an object (like a painting) or a solution (like a bridge or a cistern) or an expression (like a rhetorical strategy, poem, or parable). Creativity exists in two forms in the scripture: innovation, which is putting creativity to work, and aesthetics, putting creativity toward appreciation. 

To help flesh this out, here are my top 7 bible verses about creativity: 

“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

– Genesis 1.27

”Do you see someone skilled in their work? They will serve before kings; they will not serve before officials of low rank.”

– Proverbs 22.29

”[God] has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as engravers, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and weavers—all of them skilled workers and designers.”

– Exodus 35.35 

“Let every skillful craftsman among you come and make all that the LORD has commanded” 

– Exodus 35:10

“You have a large number of skilled stonemasons and carpenters and craftsmen of every kind. You have expert goldsmiths and silversmiths and workers of bronze and iron. Now begin the work, and may the LORD be with you!” 

– 1 Chronicles 22:15–16

“David and the army commanders then appointed men from the families of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun to proclaim God’s messages to the accompaniment of lyres, harps, and cymbals.”

– 1 Chronicles 25.1

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters

– Colossians 3.23

And, just for fun, here’s my absolute favorite Bible verse about art and creativity:

 “Tell all the skilled workers to whom I have given wisdom in such matters that they are to make garments for Aaron, for his consecration, so he may serve me as priest.” 

– Exodus 28:3 NIV

Whenever we begin exploring these topics—as we often do at the Fossores Chapter House (www.fossoreschapterhouse.com) we must always remember to ask why is creativity important to God? 

The answer, simply, is that God is first revealed to us as a Creator. Creativity is the primary revelation of God, and God tasks us with picking up where the divine hand left off in the ongoing creation of the world (cf. Genesis 1.28).

Creativity, then, is one of the major ways we honor God and emulate God’s handiwork.

We are godly because we are creative.