Interpretation | A People for His Name

Learning from Supernaturally Directed Creation and Soundings of Musical Instruments

November 11, 2024 — Leave a comment

God directed the Israelites to make two trumpets—this, therefore, was not independent cultural musical activity. Furthermore, God determined what the trumpets would be made of (silver) and how they were to be made (“of a whole piece shalt thou make them”):

Numbers 10:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2 Make thee two trumpets of silver; of a whole piece shalt thou make them: that thou mayest use them for the calling of the assembly, and for the journeying of the camps.

God also specified how the trumpets were to be used through distinctively different soundings of them:

Blowing both trumpets but not sounding an alarm to assemble all the assembly:

Numbers 10:3 And when they shall blow with them, all the assembly shall assemble themselves to thee at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

Numbers 10:7 But when the congregation is to be gathered together, ye shall blow, but ye shall not sound an alarm. 8 And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow with the trumpets; and they shall be to you for an ordinance for ever throughout your generations.

Blowing only one trumpet to gather only the princes:

Numbers 10:4 And if they blow but with one trumpet, then the princes, which are heads of the thousands of Israel, shall gather themselves unto thee.

Blowing an alarm to direct the camps to move in specified ways:

Numbers 10:5 When ye blow an alarm, then the camps that lie on the east parts shall go forward. 6 When ye blow an alarm the second time, then the camps that lie on the south side shall take their journey: they shall blow an alarm for their journeys.

Blowing an alarm when going to war:

Numbers 10:9 And if ye go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before the LORD your God, and ye shall be saved from your enemies.

Blowing the trumpets over certain sacrifices on certain days:

Numbers 10:10 Also in the day of your gladness, and in your solemn days, and in the beginnings of your months, ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; that they may be to you for a memorial before your God: I am the LORD your God.

Discussion

This passage plainly teaches us that certain human beings (the Israelites) made two musical instruments (two silver trumpets) and engaged in certain musical activities (the soundings of the silver trumpets) such that all their activities with those instruments were supernaturally directed—this was not independent human musical activity that was culturally based.

Moreover, their heeding that entirely supernatural direction included at least two distinctively different soundings of those instruments: blowing an alarm versus blowing that was not the blowing of an alarm.

Conclusion

We, therefore, can say with certainty that the Bible does not teach that all musical activities of all people of all time have all been culturally determined. Rather, some of those musical activities have been supernaturally directed in both the making of the instrument or instruments used and the soundings of the instrument or instruments.

In Exposition, Interpretation, Music, Theology

Profiting Fully from the Doctrinal Importance of Narratives: Hebrews 11:1-12:1

October 16, 2024

To profit fully from Scripture, we must understand correctly the doctrinal importance of narratives. To that end, we must remember that the chapter divisions and verse divisions in Scripture are not inspired by God.

Hebrews 11:1-12:1 is an important example of this truth. If we do not connect Hebrews 12:1 to all that is in Hebrews 11, we will miss vital truth that God has given us for our profit.

To understand why this is true, note especially how Hebrews 12:1 connects with 11:32-40 (and all that precedes it in Hebrews 11) through the word “wherefore” at the beginning of 12:1:

Hebrews 11:32 And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: 33 Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: 36 And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: 37 They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; 38 (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. 39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: 40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect. 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

Here, the inspired writer of the book of Hebrews issues two prescriptive mutual exhortations that instruct us that we must profit in our own lives from what God has given us in all of Hebrews 11.

To the extent that we do not profit from the vital connection between Hebrews 12:1 and Hebrews 11:1-40, we will not be fully the holy brethren that we should be.

It is a great mistake to take the position that only what is explicitly stated in the NT (or even in the rest of Scripture) is what matters for us. Rather, this passage vitally teaches us that we must profit from the numerous narrative passages in the OT that God has given us in Scripture, especially all the passages about the prophets who spoke and lived faithfully for God (Heb. 11:32).

What’s more, the writer of Hebrews explicitly tells us that he had much more to say than what he did explicitly talk about in Hebrews 11:

Hebrews 11:32 And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets.

Because he said this, we have full biblical warrant to give close attention to the biblical accounts of all those who are mentioned in Hebrews 11:32 to learn what more the writer of Hebrews would have taught us about faith and other closely related truths had he had the time to talk about those truths in Hebrews 11.

Conclusion

We must not allow unsound doctrine about the doctrinal importance of narratives to deprive us of the full profit that the Spirit wants us to receive from them!

In Exposition, Interpretation, Theology

Christian Obligation to Approve Excellent Instrumental Music

October 7, 2024

Philippians 1:9 And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; 10 That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; 11 Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.

God has plainly instructed us that we have a Christian obligation to discerningly approve things that are excellent. Without any biblical warrant, some hold that this teaching does not apply to the instrumental music choices of God’s people.

The Bible does not in any way support this faulty teaching that excludes instrumental music choices from the scope of our necessary obligation to approve things that are excellent.

In Discipleship, Interpretation, Music

What “A New Song” Does Not Mean in Scripture

September 25, 2024

Scripture speaks of “a new song” in 9 verses:

Ps. 33:3 Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise.

Ps. 40:3 And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.

Ps. 96:1 O sing unto the LORD a new song: sing unto the LORD, all the earth.

Ps. 98:1 <A Psalm.> O sing unto the LORD a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory.

Ps. 144:9 I will sing a new song unto thee, O God: upon a psaltery and an instrument of ten strings will I sing praises unto thee.

Ps. 149:1 Praise ye the LORD. Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints.

Isa. 42:10 Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof.

Rev. 5:9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;

Rev. 14:3 And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.

A careful examination of these verses reveals the following points, which may be truths from the passages that many believers have not understood:

1. In all 9 passages, “song” is a noun modified by the adjective “new.” That adjective is not modifying anything else other than song in any of the passages.

2. Moreover, in 8 of the 9 passages, “song” is the direct object of forms of the verb “sing.”

3, “Song” is never the object of a verb signifying the playing of an instrument, and “new” in the 2 passages where instruments are explicitly mentioned is never an adverb modifying another word that has to do with the playing of an instrument.

4. Yes, 2 of the passages mention the use of musical instruments, but holding that the adjective “new” in those passages extends to the playing of those instruments as well as the song is not what the passages say.

5. None of the 9 passages says anything directly about the use of new kinds of instrumental music, the use of new instruments, etc. None of those passages requires us to hold that there must be a continual newness to our playing of musical instruments.

Conclusion

When the Bible speaks of “a new song,” the adjective “new” does not itself directly speak about anything to do with the use of musical instruments or instrumental music in ways that are continually new.

In Interpretation, Music, Theology

Habakkuk 3:19 and The Primacy of Stringed Instruments in Scripture

September 14, 2024

Habakkuk 3:17 Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: 18 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. 19 The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.

The Spirit ended this inspired book of the Bible with explicit direction from a prophet to the chief singer that directs the chief singer only about the use of stringed instruments! No other kinds of instruments ever receive this kind of divine emphasis in Scripture through an exclusive mention of them in a book of the Bible!

Habakkuk 3:19 is yet another passage in Scripture that teaches us about the primacy of stringed instruments!

In Interpretation, Music

On God’s Having Mercy in Healing Those Who Are Seriously Ill

August 12, 2024

When God heals us or a loved one from a life-threatening physical illness, we should properly represent what God has done:

Philippians 2:25 Yet I supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, and companion in labour, and fellowsoldier, but your messenger, and he that ministered to my wants. 26 For he longed after you all, and was full of heaviness, because that ye had heard that he had been sick. 27 For indeed he was sick nigh unto death: but God *had mercy* on him; and not on him only, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.

The apostle Paul teaches us here that we are to relate to others that God *has had mercy* on the one who was “sick nigh unto death” and on those who love him by not allowing that loved one to die.

It is right and biblical for us to speak of God as being *merciful* whenever He graciously chooses to grant healing from life-threatening conditions!

Moreover, it is right and biblical for us to pray that God would be *merciful* to those who are seriously ill.

In Health, Interpretation, Prayer

What ἕκαστος Teaches Us about the Harps in Revelation 5:8

August 10, 2024

Revelation 5 is the first of three passages in the final book of Scripture that reveal to us the only musical information in Scripture that the Spirit has inspired for our profit about heavenly worship music. A careful handling of the Greek word ἕκαστος [Eng. “each”] in Revelation 5:8 teaches us a key truth about the harps that are mentioned in that passage.

Revelation 5:8 καὶ ὅτε ἔλαβε τὸ βιβλίον, τὰ τέσσαρα ζῶα καὶ οἱ εἰκοσιτέσσαρες πρεσβύτεροι ἔπεσον ἐνώπιον τοῦ ἀρνίου, ἔχοντες ἕκαστος κιθάρας, καὶ φιάλας χρυσᾶς γεμούσας θυμιαμάτων, αἵ εἰσιν αἱ προσευχαὶ τῶν ἁγίων.

Revelation 5:8 And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.

The Spirit’s use of this word shows us that all of the elders in this scene had the exact same thing–harps. Whatever harps signify in this verse therefore has to be the same thing for each elder.

Those who take harps in this verse to be symbolic of praise offered on all kinds of musical instruments do not have any basis to do so in the text. The text does not allow for or support in any way holding that some of the elders had one musical instrument, others had a different musical instrument, and so on.

All 24 elders in Revelation 5:8 had harps–they did not have differing musical instruments among themselves. Revelation 5:8 does not in any way support the view that harps in the passage signify praise on all kinds of musical instruments.

In Exposition, Interpretation, Music, Theology

Do What is Right Even If Your Heart Is Not Fully in It!

July 22, 2024

Have you ever heard someone say something like this: “It’s not what you do that matters—it is the heart that matters”?

Take care that you are not misled by such statements. The heart certainly matters, but what you do also matters.

In fact, God teaches us that He cares about people’s doing what is right in His sight even if they do not do it with a perfect heart!

2 Chronicles 25:1 Amaziah was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. 2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, but not with a perfect heart.

For our profit, the Spirit inspired this passage to teach us that God took note that Amaziah did what was right in His sight, but not with a perfect heart.

Even if your heart is not fully in it, always do what is right in the sight of God!

In Discipleship, Exhortation, Interpretation, Theology

Turn the Volume Down!

July 19, 2024

Romans 13:10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

The playing of music in corporate worship at volume levels known to damage human hearing is to work ill to the people who are present in those services. Knowingly causing physical harm to people is unloving and therefore unrighteous conduct that violates what God explicitly teaches us in Scripture in Romans 13:10.

It does not matter what your preference is concerning the volume levels of worship music. If the volume level is at or above a level known to damage hearing, you are obligated to deny yourself your preference and love others more than yourself.

Turn the volume down in your worship services so that you are not damaging anyone’s hearing!

In Exhortation, Interpretation, Music

Isaiah 38:20 and the Importance of Stringed Instruments

July 15, 2024

Isaiah 38:20 The LORD was ready to save me: therefore we will sing my songs to the stringed instruments all the days of our life in the house of the LORD.

Hezekiah was one of the godliest kings ever to rule over a nation. In this verse, he communicates that his response to God’s sparing him from dying from what was originally divinely declared to be an illness that would lead to his death was to extol God musically all the days of his life in the house of God!

What’s particularly noteworthy in this statement is that he specifies that the instruments to which they would sing his songs in the temple of God were stringed instruments. This is one of several such statements in Scripture that lead me to hold that stringed instruments were the most important instruments that were used in acceptable corporate worship of God in His temple.

In Interpretation, Music, Theology

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