Is God the Divine Instrumentalist?

March 4, 2017

Through the prophet Zechariah, God has provided vital revelation about the future of the nation Israel and of the world. Reading the book today, I was struck by a statement that appears to reveal a profound truth about God Himself:

Zechariah 9:14 And the LORD shall be seen over them, and his arrow shall go forth as the lightning: and the Lord GOD shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south.

This statement informs us that God Himself will blow the trumpet on this future occasion!

God certainly did not learn to do this from any human beings; this verse, therefore, seems to reveal the stunning truth that God Himself will play this musical instrument! If this is the right understanding of this text, it puts a new light on many related texts:

Exo 19:16 And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled.

19 And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice.

Isa 18:3 All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye.

Isa 27:13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the LORD in the holy mount at Jerusalem.

1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

Is God the divine Instrumentalist?

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

Rajesh

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Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

2 responses to Is God the Divine Instrumentalist?

  1. Seems for rare and special occasions that he is said to sound the trumpet. How is the trump different, is it a whole host of trumpets, or something not known?

    • The word “trump” occurs in only two verses: 1 Thess. 4:16 and 1 Corinthians 15:52.

      1 Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

      1 Corinthians 15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

      The latter verse explains the last trump as the sounding of the trumpet (singular). Allowing Scripture to interpret itself, I would say that the trump of God spoken of in 1 Thess. 4:16 is the sounding of the same trumpet that 1 Corinthians 15:52 speaks of.

      If it is not, we do not seem to have any biblical basis of knowing otherwise.