David and the Valley of Artists
Often, when we describe ReNew York to people, we talk about it primarily as a community of artists. Indeed, the final words of our mission statement mean that is a crucial aspect of all the rest of what we do:
Following God to love artists and create transcendent work in community.
But is this just a nice feeling? A vaguely Christianese application of missionary work to the artist space? A built-in safety so Amy and I (or other artists) don’t get lonely?
None of those things would be bad, but–did you know there’s actually a Biblical basis for creative communities?
David, the “man after God’s own heart,” employed specifically communities of artists of various crafts as he established his rule in Israel; 1 Chronicles 4:11-14 describes “skilled workers/craftsmen”--a translation of a Hebrew word that meant “artist,” placed, because of their work, in a place called “the Valley of Cherashim.”
The whole Valley is referred to again in Nehemiah 11:25 as “the Valley of Craftsmen.”
The Valley of Cherashim was an intentional creative community.
As 1 Chronicles continues, it describes other communities, including a community of potters (1 Chronicles 4:23), or musicians (1 Chronicles 6:41-48) as well. These communities were employed and supported by the King, for “his household,” for “the house of the LORD,” and to craft the culture of Israel.
Why would King David put these communities together?
David understood that art thrives when people are learning from one another. In fact, notably to us Western readers, the artists in this area were known not just for their individual talents, called out of the various tribes; they were entire families, passing down their craft from one generation to the next.
This whole idea is foreign to us Americans! Because we live in a very individualist, self-fulfillment-seeking society–and because art is viewed so often as something almost mystical that someone is born with or not. In truth? Art is a craft; it is learned, practiced, and developed over time, and other people, crucially, play a big role in that.
So David, a man of war who faced many battles and spent most of his life fleeing various enemies, chose to invest his money into artists and establishing arts communities. To most of us, that might sound impractical! Wouldn’t he be more concerned with military needs, and with keeping enough of a “safety net” of resources?
But David understood the value of the arts. You see, he was, himself an artist.
David was both a warrior and a poet; he was a physical laborer and a musician. David penned many of the Psalms in the Bible, and he had, himself, been hired by a king to play music.
1 Samuel 16 records: “Whenever the evil spirit from God came to Saul, David would take the harp and play it with his hand; and Saul would feel relieved and become well, and the evil spirit would leave him.”
David knew the power of the arts.
David the warrior knew that sometimes the arts can win spiritual battles–and other things can’t.
So David, when he was the king, invested resources of the kingdom into arts community.
May we be wise enough to do the same!
What community could help you grow in your craft? What skills do you long to learn from someone else?
How can you invest in artists?
