Day 109, or April the 19th. Make a joyful noise to the Lord.
Our thoughts today are rooted in 1 Chronicles chapter 25 verse 1.
David, together with the commanders of the army, set apart some of the sons of Asaph,
Heman, and Jeduthun, for the ministry of prophesying, accompanied by harps, liars, and cymbals.
First a big picture surrounding this verse. Towards the end of the book of 1 Chronicles
we are given details about the families of Levites and their duties in the temple. Musical
leaders and the gatekeepers are all detailed as the Chronicle looks back over the way
the temple and its workers were organized, to the glory of God. He knew, of course, that
the temple didn't last that long, and that it would eventually be destroyed, and the
people taken away into exile in present-day Iraq, or Babylonia, as it was then called.
As he wrote about the building of the temple and its rebuilding under Zerubbabel, they
were but distant memories.
And now our action step for today. Music was obviously an important part of temple worship.
During the many years that my wife and I led to as to Israel, one of the highlights for
several of those years was a man who dressed as a Levitical priest and played a harp whilst
singing in Hebrew near the entrance to the checkpoint leading to the Temple Mount in
Jerusalem. This was so evocative and created such a sound picture of what it could have
sounded like in the days of Solomon and Jesus. Music should be a unifying aspect of worship,
but so many churches still have problems getting the balance right. I know a man who kept a
record of how many choruses and how many proper hymns were used each Sunday in his church.
He disliked modern stuff. He disliked it so much that in the end it totally distorted
his worship. I believe there should be a balance. If it's all traditional, that implies the
church is out of date. If it's all modern, that implies the church has no heritage and
is all froth and bubbles with no firm foundation. Ancient and modern. That's about right.