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Day 109, or April the 19th. Make a joyful noise to the Lord.

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Our thoughts today are rooted in 1 Chronicles chapter 25 verse 1.

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David, together with the commanders of the army, set apart some of the sons of Asaph,

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Heman, and Jeduthun, for the ministry of prophesying, accompanied by harps, liars, and cymbals.

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First a big picture surrounding this verse. Towards the end of the book of 1 Chronicles

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we are given details about the families of Levites and their duties in the temple. Musical

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leaders and the gatekeepers are all detailed as the Chronicle looks back over the way

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the temple and its workers were organized, to the glory of God. He knew, of course, that

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the temple didn't last that long, and that it would eventually be destroyed, and the

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people taken away into exile in present-day Iraq, or Babylonia, as it was then called.

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As he wrote about the building of the temple and its rebuilding under Zerubbabel, they

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were but distant memories.

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And now our action step for today. Music was obviously an important part of temple worship.

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During the many years that my wife and I led to as to Israel, one of the highlights for

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several of those years was a man who dressed as a Levitical priest and played a harp whilst

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singing in Hebrew near the entrance to the checkpoint leading to the Temple Mount in

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Jerusalem. This was so evocative and created such a sound picture of what it could have

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sounded like in the days of Solomon and Jesus. Music should be a unifying aspect of worship,

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but so many churches still have problems getting the balance right. I know a man who kept a

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record of how many choruses and how many proper hymns were used each Sunday in his church.

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He disliked modern stuff. He disliked it so much that in the end it totally distorted

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his worship. I believe there should be a balance. If it's all traditional, that implies the

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church is out of date. If it's all modern, that implies the church has no heritage and

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is all froth and bubbles with no firm foundation. Ancient and modern. That's about right.