Let me start by saying that I am no Bible scholar. I’ve been to Bible school and I read my Bible. I love history and archaeology. I love learning. Today I learned something new.

I’ve heard it said and even said myself, that Christians should be at the forefront of science, industry, and creativity. We should be the ones paving the way with new discoveries, inventions, and art. There also seems to be a direct correlation between faithfulness and invention. What does being faithful have to do with any of that? Everything.

When God’s people are close to Him, He blesses them. It’s that simple. If you think about it, it is not difficult to imagine that the closer we are to the Creator of all things, the more creative we will be.

King Uzziah was close to God.

He set himself to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God, and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him prosper.

2 Chronicles 26:5 (ESV)

Do you think he prospered like magic? Or perhaps God gave him ideas on how to more efficiently govern? We know that Solomon was considered to be the wisest man to ever live. He was also the richest. God made him wise. His wisdom made him rich.

In the account of Uzziah in Kings, we don’t see much. He lived. He got leprosy. He died. But in 2 Chronicles, there’s one verse that leaped out at me.

In Jerusalem he made engines, invented by skillful men, to be on the towers and the corners, to shoot arrows and great stones. And his fame spread far, for he was marvelously helped, till he was strong.

2 Chronicles 26:15 (ESV)

He made what? Engines. Some translations say machines. Now, of course I had to check this out. In the Hebrew, the words used to describe these devices is vague. Almost as though the writer wasn’t even sure of what he was describing. Loosely translated, they were inventions made by inventions of inventors. So we can assume that these engines were not common. But what were they? Trebuchets? Catapults? Uzziah reigned several hundred years before catapults became mentioned in history. Some theorise that there were spaces on the tower for archers and people to drop “murder rocks” on unsuspecting foes.

Take what you will from this little history lesson. I choose to believe that, in his faithfulness in serving God, God blessed him with the wisdom to reign and the ideas to reign well – including mechanisms for defence. After all, 2 Chronicles said that Uzziah was marvelously helped, till he was strong.

So what is my point exactly? My point is this: as long as Uzziah sought God, God made him prosper. What revolutionary ideas does God want to give you? How can you change the world you live in? Stop using the excuse that you’re “not a creative person”. God is The Creator and you were made in His image. You’re creative. Seek God. You never know what ideas He may supply you with.

Daily Bible reading: 2 Chronicles 26-28: John 17