In First Corinthians, Paul emphasized that the Corinthians must not be idolaters by playing idolatrously as the Israelites did in the Golden Calf Incident (1 Cor. 10:7), which including their producing demonically influenced music on that occasion (1 Cor. 10:18-20 applied to Exod. 32:17-18).1 In addition, the Pauline emphasis in this passage included a command to flee idolatry (1 Cor. 10:14).
Moreover, we find this emphasis reiterated in Second Corinthians when he again instructed them that they must not have anything in common with the unrighteousness and darkness of idolatrous unbelievers:
A Reiterated Pauline Emphasis
2 Corinthians 6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.
18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
Because Paul reiterated this vital emphasis, we must heed what he emphasized to the Corinthians by properly applying it to our music!
Application to Our Music
Like the Corinthians, we must reject all the unclean things (2 Cor. 6:17) that reprobate idolaters as inventors of evil things (Rom. 1:30) have made, including musical forms sourced in demonic influence upon them in their idolatrous worship (Exod. 32:17-18; cf. 1 Cor. 10:7). We must not have any fellowship with such unfruitful works of darkness (Eph. 5:11).
- “An inspired record of demonically influenced music:
Based on how 1 Corinthians 10:18-20 illumines 1 Cor. 10:7 and Exodus 32, we must consider thoroughly what Exodus 32 reveals about the activities of the people who came into fellowship with demons through their eating and drinking in a worship context what was sacrificed to an idol.
Exodus 32:6 (part of which is quoted in 1 Cor. 10:7) records that the people rose up to play after they had sat down to eat and drink what had been offered to the idol.
Everything that Exodus 32 records that these people did after they had partaken of those sacrifices is a record of the actions of people who came into fellowship with demons and thereby were influenced by them.
After Exodus 32:6, the next information in Exodus 32 about the activities of these demonically influenced people is recorded in what transpired between Moses and Joshua as they were coming down to the camp:
Exodus 32:17 And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp. 18 And he said, It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome: but the noise of them that sing do I hear.
From this passage, we know that these people shouted (32:17) in producing a very loud sound that Moses discerned to be the noise of their singing (32:18). We know, therefore, that these demonically influenced people were producing music.
Exodus 32:17-18 is an inspired record of demonically influenced music! God wants us to know that there is such a thing as demonically influenced music produced by human beings.” ↩︎
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