11/20/2010 8:45:15 AM
SPIRITUAL DIARY
My Worship Time Focus: The musicians
Bible Reading
& Meditation Reference: 1Chron. 25:1-31
Message of the verses: “1 ¶
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. Here is a list of their names and their work: 2 From the sons of Asaph, there were Zaccur,
Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asarelah. They worked under the direction of their
father, Asaph, who proclaimed God’s messages by the king’s orders. 3 From the sons of Jeduthun, there were
Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, six in all. They
worked under the direction of their father, Jeduthun, who proclaimed God’s
messages to the accompaniment of the lyre, offering thanks and praise to the
LORD. 4 From the sons of Heman, there
were Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shubael, Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah,
Giddalti, Romamti-ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth. 5 All these were the sons of Heman, the king’s
seer, for God had honored him with fourteen sons and three daughters. 6 All these men were under the direction of
their fathers as they made music at the house of the LORD. Their responsibilities
included the playing of cymbals, harps, and lyres at the house of God. Asaph,
Jeduthun, and Heman reported directly to the king. 7 They and their families were all trained in
making music before the LORD, and each of them-288 in all-was an accomplished
musician.
“8 ¶ The musicians were appointed
to their term of service by means of sacred lots, without regard to whether
they were young or old, teacher or student. 9
The first lot fell to Joseph of the Asaph clan and twelve of his sons
and relatives. The second lot fell to
Gedaliah and twelve of his sons and relatives. 10 The third lot fell to Zaccur and twelve of
his sons and relatives. 11 The fourth
lot fell to Zeri and twelve of his sons and relatives. 12 The fifth lot fell to Nethaniah and twelve of
his sons and relatives. 13 The sixth lot
fell to Bukkiah and twelve of his sons and relatives. 14 The seventh lot fell to Asarelah and twelve
of his sons and relatives. 15 The eighth
lot fell to Jeshaiah and twelve of his sons and relatives. 16 The ninth lot fell to Mattaniah and twelve of
his sons and relatives. 17 The tenth lot
fell to Shimei and twelve of his sons and relatives. 18 The eleventh lot fell to Uzziel and twelve of
his sons and relatives. 19 The twelfth
lot fell to Hashabiah and twelve of his sons and relatives. 20 The thirteenth lot fell to Shubael and twelve
of his sons and relatives. 21 The
fourteenth lot fell to Mattithiah and twelve of his sons and relatives. 22 The fifteenth lot fell to Jerimoth and twelve
of his sons and relatives. 23 The
sixteenth lot fell to Hananiah and twelve of his sons and relatives. 24 The seventeenth lot fell to Joshbekashah and
twelve of his sons and relatives. 25 The
eighteenth lot fell to Hanani and twelve of his sons and relatives. 26 The nineteenth lot fell to Mallothi and
twelve of his sons and relatives. 27 The
twentieth lot fell to Eliathah and twelve of his sons and relatives. 28 The twenty-first lot fell to Hothir and
twelve of his sons and relatives. 29 The
twenty-second lot fell to Giddalti and twelve of his sons and relatives.
30 The twenty-third lot fell to
Mahazioth and twelve of his sons and relatives. 31 The twenty-fourth lot fell to Romamti-ezer
and twelve of his sons and relatives.”
The
things that were going on here were not necessarily written in the Law of
Moses, however these musicians, including the choir members, who were all
Levites, were set up by David who was much more than a man who won wars for
Israel, but He was a writer of many, many Psalms, and also one whom actually
made musical instruments to be used in this praising of the Lord. 2Chronicles 29:25 seems to indicate that
David surely got direction from the Lord to accomplish this musical praise of
the Lord: “He then stationed the Levites
in the house of the LORD with cymbals, with harps and with lyres, according to
the command of David and of Gad the king’s seer, and of Nathan the prophet; for the command was from the
LORD through His prophets.”
In
the KJV and the NAS95 version the word prophecy is used in the first three
verses of this chapter, and in the NLT, which is what is above, the word
messages is used in place of the word prophecy.
This is mentioned because of the songs that were played and sung as
being messages from the Lord. Dr.
Wiersbe writes these words concerning these prophecies or messages: “The point is that men who led Israel’s
sanctuary worship were not necessarily prophets in the technical sense, but
they and their singers declared the Word )God’s Message) with enthusiasm and
joy.” Music is an important part of the
worship of the Lord in the church today, and it is also one of the most
controversial parts of worship in the church for many, many years, in fact for
centuries.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: It seems that there are times when I get a
handle on the issue of music for the worship of the Lord and then my mind
changes about it. I have always loved
music, and there are many new contemporary “Christian” songs that I like, and
some I don’t like, but the younger generation does like. I like good meaningful Gospel music, and of
course the old favorites that have been around for centuries. Music has helped to split the church that I
love, but it was not the main thing that split it. In conclusion I think that it is all of a
matter of how my heart is when it comes to musical worship of the Lord.
My Steps of
Faith for Today:
1.
Continue to battle the enemy through the power of
the Lord, doing it with faith in the Lord that He can surely deliver me and
give me the victory, or better yet to cause me to stand firm.
2.
Put on the spiritual armor of God to aid me in the
struggle that is not with flesh and blood that I face each and every day.
11/20/2010 9:14:50 AM
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