Rajesh

Four Problems with the Common Interpretation of Ezekiel 26:13

October 6, 2018

I recently read through Ezekiel and was again struck by what God said that He would do when He would judge Tyre:

Ezekiel 26:13 And I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease; and the sound of thy harps shall be no more heard.

Based on conversations that I have had online with some other believers, it seems that the common interpretation of this text is that it is not revealing that there was anything bad or sinful about the music of Tyre; rather, the text communicates that God would bring to an end the enjoyment of music in Tyre.

I have never found this interpretation tenable. I think that there are at least the following four problems with it:

1. If the point of verse were that God would bring an end to their enjoyment of music when He would destroy them, why does the text elaborate by speaking of both their vocal music and their instrumental music instead of just saying that He would cause their music to end?

2. When a nation becomes wicked to the extent that God determines to destroy it, we do not have any good reason to think that their wickedness would not also express itself in what they sing, how they sing what they sing, what they play on musical instruments, and how they play what they play on those instruments.

3. In the immediately surrounding context of this statement, God’s judgment on many other nations surrounding His people is related, but none of the passages that relate His judgment of all those other nations speaks of His bringing their enjoyment of music to an end:

Ammonites (25:1-7); Moab & Seir (25:8-11); Edom (25:12-14); Philistines (25:15-17); Tyre (26:1-28:19); Sidon (28:20-26); Egypt (29:1-32:32)

Why is the cessation of music only said about the people of Tyre and not about any of the other nations that God was going to destroy at that time?

4. If the point is that destroying them will bring about the denial of their enjoyment of all good things, why does the passage mention explicitly both their vocal and instrumental musical activities instead of their art, dancing, literature, drama, sports, etc.? To put it differently, according to the denial-of-enjoyment-of-good-things view, how do you explain that the cessation of their music is specifically mentioned but there is no mention of the cessation of their enjoyment of any of these other cultural activities that people also enjoy?

In Interpretation, Music, Theology

How Does God Want Us to Profit from Ezekiel 26:13?

September 22, 2018

Ezekiel 26:13 And I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease; and the sound of thy harps shall be no more heard.

Because God revealed that He would do this and inscripturated it, we can be certain that we are to consider what this statement reveals to us.

How does God want us to profit from this statement about what He would do to the sound of the harps of Tyre?

Here are some possibilities to consider:

God decreed that He would bring an end to the sound of their harps because . . .

1. The people of Tyre were ungodly people.

2. The people who were playing the harps were ungodly people.

3. The setting, purpose, motivation, etc. of the people who were playing the harps was ungodly.

4. The actual sounds of the music that was being produced by the harps were themselves ungodly.

What exegetical and theological principles do we use to determine whether God wants us to understand that one or more or all of these were true about His bringing the sound of the harps of Tyre to an end?

In Interpretation, Music, Theology

Are Secular Testimonies about the Perverseness of Rock Music Inherently Unreliable?

September 13, 2018

Many Christians today are quite dismissive of testimonies from secular rock musicians and music authorities who have said that rock music is perverse music that should be rejected, especially by Christians in their ministries. These believers argue that unbelieving musicians and music authorities are unable to judge spiritual truth accurately concerning whether rock music is fit for use in ministry.

I have previously presented evidence from two passages that counters this dismissiveness by pointing out that lost people were reliably able to give testimonies about spiritual realities. Judges 7 provides additional evidence to hold that unbelieving people can accurately assess spiritual realities.

Judges 7:13-14

During the period of the judges who ruled over Israel, the Lord directed Gideon to be His deliverer of the Israelites from the Midianites (Judg. 7:7). To alleviate possible fearfulness on Gideon’s part to carry out this mission (Judg. 7:10), the Lord directed him and his servant to go and hear what certain men in the host of Midian would say (Judg. 7:10-11).

The record of this incident reveals that an unsaved man in the camp of the enemies of Israel remarkably interpreted the spiritual significance of a dream with striking accuracy:

Judges 7:13 And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man that told a dream unto his fellow, and said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it, that the tent lay along. 14 And his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel: for into his hand hath God delivered Midian, and all the host.

Observing what transpired, Gideon was moved to worship God for the testimony that he had received through these two lost people:

Judges 7:15 And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he worshipped, and returned into the host of Israel, and said, Arise; for the LORD hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian.

The biblical record of this incident is yet another passage that shows that lost people have given accurate testimonies to spiritual realities in spite of their being unbelievers. Just because people are unbelievers does not automatically invalidate anything that they say about the spiritual significance of any event or the spiritual fitness of any practice.

Conclusion

Christians should not dismiss the validity of testimonies by secular rock musicians and music authorities about the perverseness of rock music and its unfitness for use in Christian ministry simply because these authorities on music are unbelievers. Judges 7:13-14 and other passages provide evidence that doing so is not a right approach to such information.

In CCM, Interpretation, Theology

What Would Truly Make America the Greatest Nation in the World?

August 31, 2018

I have often heard some people say that the US is the greatest nation in the world. While reading in Deuteronomy this morning, it occurred to me that Deuteronomy 4 provides revelation that answers the question, “What would truly make America the greatest nation in the world?”

According to Deuteronomy 4:6-8, it would be that America were a nation of people for whom the following would be true:

(1) A people who obey divine revelation as their wisdom and understanding:

Deuteronomy 4:6 Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.

(2) A people who have God nearer to them than any other nation:

7 For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for?

(3) A people whose laws are the most righteous of all because they accord with God’s law:

8 And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?

In Theology

A Sobering Warning for True Believers

August 21, 2018

Scripture warns true believers in many passages that they must not associate themselves closely with those who hate God. One of the most sobering warnings is found in the following account from the life of king Jehoshaphat:

2 Chronicles 19:1 And Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned to his house in peace to Jerusalem. 2 And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to king Jehoshaphat, Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the LORD? therefore is wrath upon thee from before the LORD. 3 Nevertheless there are good things found in thee, in that thou hast taken away the groves out of the land, and hast prepared thine heart to seek God.

Jehoshaphat was a true believer in the Lord, yet a prophet of God said to him that there was wrath on him from the Lord because he had helped the ungodly and loved those who hate the Lord.

The prophet also made known that at the same time as there was wrath on him from the Lord, there were yet good things found in him. This revelation warns us that true believers can have good things about them and yet be at the same time a source of great provocation to God.

In Discipleship, Interpretation, Theology

Poll Results and Analysis: What Caused Eve to Transgress Against God?

August 9, 2018

I recently polled my friends on Facebook about what caused Eve to transgress against God. Here is the exact way that I stated the poll:

Friends, I would like to do a poll about a theological question with *no discussion* about the answers. Please, no comments about the answers.

Did Eve transgress against God because of a wrong heart, wrong knowledge, or both?

To make it simple, please use the following to indicate your answer:

Like = wrong heart

Sad face = wrong knowledge

Angry face = both

Poll Results

Eighteen friends participated in the poll. I am surprised by the results:

Wrong heart – 10

Wrong knowledge – 4

Both a wrong heart and wrong knowledge – 4

Analysis

Given the choices in this poll, it is noteworthy that 10 out of 18 respondents chose a wrong heart over the two other choices, which addressed wrong knowledge as the cause or a contributing cause for Eve’s transgression.

The NT authoritatively interprets the OT account of Eve’s transgression in two passages:

2 Corinthians 11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

1 Timothy 2:14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.

Both passages explicitly speak of Eve’s being deceived, which highlights that she was presented with false information from an external source. Additionally, in the first passage, by how Paul applies to believers what happened to Eve, we learn that he stresses that her mind was corrupted.

I believe, therefore, that it is untenable to say that Eve transgressed because of a wrong heart in distinction from saying that she transgressed because of wrong knowledge.

Conclusion

Given the choices that were in this poll, the right choice for explaining her transgression was that both a wrong heart and wrong knowledge caused her to transgress against God.

In Interpretation, Theology

The Biblical Importance of Music

July 26, 2018

I had the privilege of preaching a message this past Sunday that treats extensively a glorious subject: The Biblical Importance of Music. I am very grateful for much positive feedback from brethren that God used the message to encourage and edify them greatly.

In Discipleship, Music, Preaching

A Comparison Worth Studying!

July 12, 2018

While reading the Psalms tonight, I discovered a comparison that is worth studying: 1 Chronicles 16:8-22 and Psalm 105:1-15 are very similar in wording, but they are not exactly the same! The potential ramifications of this comparison are something that I look forward to studying for some time to come!

⁸ Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people.

⁹ Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him, talk ye of all his wondrous works.

¹⁰ Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD.

¹¹ Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually.

¹² Remember his marvellous works that he hath done, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth;

¹³ O ye seed of Israel his servant, ye children of Jacob, his chosen ones.

¹⁴ He is the LORD our God; his judgments are in all the earth.

¹⁵ Be ye mindful always of his covenant; the word which he commanded to a thousand generations;

¹⁶ Even of the covenant which he made with Abraham, and of his oath unto Isaac;

¹⁷ And hath confirmed the same to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant,

¹⁸ Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance;

¹⁹ When ye were but few, even a few, and strangers in it.

²⁰ And when they went from nation to nation, and from one kingdom to another people;

²¹ He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes,

²² Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.

Psa 105:1 O give thanks unto the LORD; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people.

² Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of all his wondrous works.

³ Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD.

⁴ Seek the LORD, and his strength: seek his face evermore.

⁵ Remember his marvellous works that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth;

⁶ O ye seed of Abraham his servant, ye children of Jacob his chosen.

⁷ He is the LORD our God: his judgments are in all the earth.

⁸ He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations.

⁹ Which covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac;

¹⁰ And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant:

¹¹ Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance:

¹² When they were but a few men in number; yea, very few, and strangers in it.

¹³ When they went from one nation to another, from one kingdom to another people;

¹⁴ He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes;

¹⁵ Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.

In Music, Theology

Is Your Heart Right with God?

July 8, 2018

A right heart instinctively and continually praises God.

Psalm 34:1 I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

Psalm 52:9 I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it: and I will wait on thy name; for it is good before thy saints.

Psalm 57:7 My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise. 8 Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early. 9 I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing unto thee among the nations. 10 For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds.

Is your heart right with God?

In Discipleship

Leer la Biblia

June 25, 2018

Leer la Biblia es una disciplina esencial en la vida de cada creyente. Muchos creyentes no leen sus Biblias suficientemente. Estas personas deben arrepentirse y comenzar a leer sus biblias cada día.

Dios quiere que todos los cristianos lean la Biblia fielmente. Me gusta mucho más leer mi Biblia. He leído la Biblia entera por lo menos una vez en cada año de mi vida cristiana.

Leer la Biblia es más importante que leer cualquier otro libro. Es necesario que te resuelvas leer tu Biblia todos los días de tu vida.

In Bible reading, Discipleship, Spanish

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