Archives For Interpretation

Four Key Reasons Why Passages about Meat Offered to Idols Do Not Apply to Disputed Musical Styles

April 14, 2018

Using passages about meat offered to idols to support the use of disputed musical styles in worship is a great misstep for several key reasons. The following treatment briefly explains four of these reasons.

Whenever a human offers an animal in sacrifice to an idol, he sins against God. We must consider carefully what is always true about any animal that an idolater offers in such sacrifices.

Divinely Created

Scripture explicitly states that God created all animals (Gen. 1:20-25), including those animals that idolaters have offered in sacrifices to idols. Scripture provides no such statements about any disputed musical style being created by God.

Divinely Declared to Be Good

Scripture explicitly states that God declared all the animals that He created to be good (Gen. 1:21, 25, 31), which obviously includes the animals that were or are offered in sacrifices to idols. Scripture provides no such teaching about any disputed musical style being good.

Divinely Authorized for a Specific Purpose

Scripture explicitly states that God authorized humans to eat all animals as food (Gen. 9:3), which applies therefore to all those animals that idolaters have offered in sacrifices to idols. Scripture does not anywhere say that God has authorized the use of any disputed musical style for any use.

Divinely Commended for Christian Use

Scripture explicitly states that God has commended Christian eating of the meat of all animals (1 Tim. 4:3-6), so He has commended Christian eating (in a context that does not involve eating in a worship context meat offered to idols) of those animals that idolaters have offered in sacrifices to idols. Scripture never says that God has commended for any Christian use any of the styles of music whose use in worship is widely disputed among God’s people.

Discussion

We have explicit biblical basis for holding that God created as good all animals and authorized their use as food for all humans. Directly from Scripture, we also know that He has commended the use of those animals for food for Christian people who choose to eat them.

We have no explicit biblical basis for holding that God has created as good any disputed musical style or that He has authorized any human use of these styles. Moreover, Scripture does not reveal to us anywhere that God has commended their use by Christians for any purpose, especially for worship.

Because of these essential differences between the biblical data concerning the animals that have been offered in sacrifice to idols and the musical styles that are widely disputed among God’s people, applying passages about meat offered to idols to the issues concerning the use in worship of these styles is a great misstep. In order to apply the passages about meat offered to idols legitimately to the issues concerning disputed musical styles, believers must prove explicitly from Scripture that those musical styles are directly comparable in the ways treated above to the animals that have been offered to idols.

Conclusion

Scripture explicitly provides four key bases for rejecting as faulty the use of passages about meat offered to idols to support the use of disputed musical styles in worship. These passages do not provide any support for using these disputed styles in worship.

See my post Resources That Provide Answers to Key Issues Concerning CCM for much more biblical information about issues concerning what music God accepts in corporate worship.

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

In CCM, Interpretation, Theology
 permalink

Should We Accept Testimonies about Demonic Influences on Human Musicians?

March 28, 2018

Whether we should accept testimonies about demonic influences on human musicians is a disputed matter. Scripture provides several passages that help point us to the correct view about this important issue.

The Servants of Saul

After the Holy Spirit departed from Saul, God sent an evil spirit on Saul to afflict him. Saul’s servants somehow were accurately able to know and testify that an evil spirit was afflicting him:

1Sa 16:15 And Saul’s servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee.

 16 Let our lord now command thy servants, which are before thee, to seek out a man, who is a cunning player on an harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well.

We are not told that these servants were prophets, which would imply that they had special abilities given to them by God that ordinary people did not have. The available data points to ordinary people correctly being able to make the assessment that a demon was afflicting a human being.

Unspecified People

Some unspecified people accurately identified and brought to Jesus many that were demon-possessed:

Mat 8:16 When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick.

On another occasion, some unspecified people brought to Jesus a man who was mute because he was possessed by an evil spirit:

Mat 9:32 As they went out, behold, they brought to him a dumb man possessed with a devil.

 33 And when the devil was cast out, the dumb spake: and the multitudes marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel.

These presumably ordinary people accurately assessed that this man was possessed and afflicted by a demon.

A Canaanite Mother

A Canaanite woman implored Jesus to heal her daughter who was cruelly afflicted by a demon:

Mat 15:21  Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.

 22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.

This Gentile woman who likely was an unbeliever was able to know correctly that her daughter was suffering terribly at the hands of a wicked spirit!

A Distressed Father in a Multitude

Jesus healed a demon-possessed son of a father who came to Him to deliver his son who had been terribly afflicted by the demon from his childhood:

Mar 9:17 And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit;

 18 And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not.

 19 He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me.

 20 And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.

 21 And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child.

 22 And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.

 23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.

 24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

 25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.

 26 And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead.

 27 But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose.

This sorely distressed father accurately knew that his son had been tormented by a demon for years.

Discussion

These five passages plainly attest to humans being accurately able to assess demonic activity in humans. None of the passages gives any indication that the people who did so were prophets or other special people specially gifted by God to be able to do so.

This biblical evidence therefore teaches us that we should not hold the faulty view that ordinary people cannot accurately assess whether demons are afflicting or possessing humans or influencing them in other ways.

Application

The biblical data treated above does not support the notion that humans who testify about demonic influence upon themselves and others that led them to produce rock music and other ungodly music cannot reliably do so because humans cannot reliably know whether demons have influenced humans or not. Given that we have various testimonies that certain people’s rock music was sourced in demonic influence upon them (see the footnotes in this post for some of these testimonies), we should accept such testimony as authentic and reject rock music categorically.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

In CCM, Interpretation, Theology
 permalink

Is Defining Terms Vital in the CCM Debate?

March 17, 2018

Over the past several years, I have participated in numerous, often-heated discussions with people on-line about the propriety of using rock music and CCM in Christian worship. Several people have raised the issue in these discussions of my not defining what CCM, rock music, etc. mean.

To understand whether defining these terms is vital in the CCM debate, it is necessary to consider several lines of biblical reasoning.

The Divine Example in General of Not Defining Terms for Sinful Practices

In many places in Scripture, God instructs His people about sinful practices that they must not engage in. Strikingly, God routinely does not define any of the terms that He uses in such instruction!

For example, consider the following passages of divine instruction concerning sinful practices:

Leviticus 20:27  A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.

God did not provide any definition here of what a wizard was nor did He explain specifically what activities such a person engaged in that were sinful or what made those activities sinful.

Deu 18:9  When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations.

10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,

11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.

12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.

God used many different terms here to denote obviously differing sinful practices of the Canaanites, but He does not define them. He did not explain any specifics about why these things are abominations, and yet He expected His people to understand and obey exactly all that He is saying in these prohibitions.

The Divine Example of Unchanging Use of the Same Undefined Terms for Sinful Practices

Not only does God routinely not define terms denoting sinful practices of corrupt humans, but also He repeatedly uses the same undefined terms to instruct His people on repeated occasions spanning various amounts of intervening time between those occasions.

Exo 22:18  Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.

Deu 18:10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,

1Sa 15:23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.

2Ki 9:22 And it came to pass, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, Is it peace, Jehu? And he answered, What peace, so long as the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many?

2Ch 33:6 And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.

Mic 5:12 And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thine hand; and thou shalt have no more soothsayers:

Nah 3:4 Because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the wellfavoured harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts.

Gal 5:20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

From the time of Moses to Jehu to Micah and Nahum to Paul, God has condemned witchcraft and related sinful practices but never once defined them! This data shows that God used the same undefined terms unchangingly to condemn the same sinful practices of various groups of wicked people over a vast span of time.

Furthermore, this data shows that such unchanging use of these terms was fully legitimate in spite of whatever changes may have happened in the “genres” of these sinful practices over the 1500 or so years spanned by the periods that these verses cover.

The Divine Example of Using Undefined Terms concerning Sinful Musical Practices

Of specific relevance to the issue of defining terms in the CCM debate are Scriptural statements about music that similarly do not define the terms used.

Isa 23:15 And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot.

16 Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered.

God speaks in this passage about singing as a harlot but does not explain at all what such singing is like. Obviously, He expected every reader of these words to be able to know what such singing was like without His having to define the terms or explain what makes such singing sinful.

Ezekiel 33:32 And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song [Heb. sensual song] of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not.

In this passage, God related that Ezekiel’s ministry to His sinful people was like as a sensual song, but He does not explain what comprised such a song or what specific elements of it made it sensual.

These two passages show that Scripture speaks twice about sensual music but does not define either time what such music is or why that music was sensual. God expected His people to understand what such music is like without His having to define it or explain at all what it was like.

Conclusion

The Scriptural data treated above clearly shows that God does not think that terms denoting the sinful practices of people have to be carefully defined in order to prohibit them and that those practices have to be explained thoroughly concerning what specific things about them make them sinful. Nor does God think it is invalid to use such undefined terms to refer to the same sinful practices in spite of any supposedly necessary changes in their “genres” over a vast period.

Concerning the CCM debate, the biblical data about God’s not defining terms denoting sinful practices, both in general and specifically about music, teaches us that it is not vital to define terms such as CCM, rock music, sensual music, etc. to be able to speak about the unchanging sinfulness of such practices over extended periods. Scripture does not support the contention that we cannot condemn rock music, CCM, etc. unless we first define them carefully and do so accounting for changes in the genres of these sinful musical practices.

See also this post: The Biblical Importance of Undefined or Unspecified Terminology

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

In CCM, Discipleship, Interpretation, Theology
 permalink

The Use of The Vocative “O” to Address Deity in the Psalms

February 14, 2018

The Psalmists address God with the vocative form “O” in at least 100 of the Psalms (>66%):

Ps. 3:3, 7; 4:1; 5:1, 3, 8, 10; 6:1ff; 7:1, 3, 6, 8; 8:1, 9; 9:1f, 13, 19f; [7]

10:1, 12; 12:7; 13:1, 3; 16:1; 17:1, 6f, 13f; 18:1, 15, 49; 19:14; [7]

21:1; 22:3, 19; 25:1, 4, 6f, 11, 22; 26:1f, 6; 27:7, 9, 11; 28:1; [6]

30:1ff, 8, 10, 12; 31:1, 5, 9, 14, 17; 33:22; 35:1, 22, 24; 36:5ff; 38:1, 15, 21f; 39:12; [7]

40:5, 9, 11, 13; 41:10; 42:1; 43:1, 4; 44:1, 4, 23; 45:6; 48:9f; [7]

51:1, 10, 14f, 17; 54:1f, 6; 55:1, 9, 23; 56:1f, 7, 12; 57:1, 5, 7, 9, 11; 58:6; 59:3, 5, 8, 11; [7]

60:1, 10; 61:1, 5; 62:12; 63:1; 64:1; 65:1f, 5; 66:10; 67:3, 5; 68:7, 9f, 24, 28, 35; 69:1, 5f, 13, 16, 29; [10]

70:1, 5; 71:1, 5, 12, 17ff, 22; 72:1; 73:20; 74:1, 10, 18, 22; 75:1; 76:6; 77:13, 16; 79:1, 9, 12; [9]

80:3f, 7, 14, 19; 82:8; 83:1, 16; 84:1, 3, 8f, 12; 85:4, 7; 86:1ff, 6, 8f, 11f, 14f; 88:1, 13; 89:5, 8, 15, 51; [8]

90:13; 92:5, 9; 93:3, 5; 94:1, 5, 12, 18; 97:8; 99:8; [6]

101:1; 102:1, 12; 104:1, 24; 106:4, 47; 108:1, 3, 5, 11; 109:1, 21, 26; [6]

115:1; 116:4, 16; 118:25; 119:12, 31, 33, 41, 52, 55, 57, 64f, 75, 89, 107f, 137, 145, 149, 151, 156, 159, 169, 174; [4]

120:2; 123:1, 3; 125:4; 126:4; [4]

130:1, 3; 132:8; 135:13; 137:7; 138:4, 8; 139:1, 4, 17, 19, 21, 23; [6]

140:1, 4, 6ff; 141:3, 8; 142:5; 143:1, 7, 9, 11; 144:5, 9; 145:10 [6]

These Psalms have 277 verses in which the Psalmist addresses God by saying, “O . . .” These vocatives for deity occur at least 295 times in the Psalms.

This data instructs us that Christian music used to worship God should regularly use the vocative form “O” to address God.

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

In Interpretation, Music
 permalink

Learning from Six Prepositions of Praise!

January 27, 2018

Psalms 148-150 profoundly emphasize the importance of praising God by commanding us to praise Him numerous times. Examining these statements reveals that six prepositions (color coded below) help us understand various aspects of these commands:

Psa 148:1 Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the LORD from the heavens: praise him in the heights.

Psa 148:7 Praise the LORD from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps:

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

Psa 149:3 Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp.

Psa 150:1 Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power.

 2 Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.

 3 Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp.

 4 Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.

 5 Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.

 6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.

Among other things, these six prepositions teach us the following truths about our giving praise to God:

(1) the commanded places/locations/settings (“from the heavens”; “from the earth”; “in the heights”; “in the congregation of the saints”; “in the dance”; “in his sanctuary”; “in the firmament of his power”);

(2) the reason (“for his mighty acts”);

(3) the standard (“according to his excellent greatness”); and

(4) the means (“with the timbrel and harp”; “with the sound of the trumpet”; “with the psaltery and harp”; with the timbrel and dance”; with stringed instruments and organs”; “upon the loud cymbals”; “upon the high sounding cymbals”)!

 

 

 

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

In Interpretation, Theology
 permalink

Hebrews 11 and the Eternal Destiny of Solomon

January 14, 2018

Whether Solomon perished eternally is a question that has spurred more interest in my blog than any other subject that I have written about, which is something that I would never have expected. Until recently, an aspect of that question that I had not previously considered is the relevance of Hebrews 11 to one’s view about his eternal destiny.

Solomon is Not Mentioned in Hebrews 11

Hebrews 11 mentions many great saints of God and sets them forth as believers whose faith was exemplary. Although Hebrews 11 mentions David, who was a man of superlative faith and character (aside from his great sinful failures with Uriah and Bathsheba), it only does so in a brief listing of names that the author says that he did not have enough time to talk about:

Heb 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:

Solomon, however, is not mentioned at all in this verse or elsewhere in the chapter. To assess properly whether this omission is relevant to our understanding of his eternal destiny, we need to consider other people that Hebrews 11 also does not mention.

Job, Hezekiah, and Josiah Are Not Mentioned in Hebrews 11

Job was the godliest man alive in his day (Job 1:8; 2:3), yet he is not mentioned in Hebrews 11. When we also take into account both his godliness and the genuineness of his faith that were displayed in the midst of horrific sufferings that he endured, it is even more striking and perplexing that Hebrews 11 does not speak of Job.

Like Job, Hezekiah and Josiah are extolled in Scripture for their stellar character and walk with God:

2Ki 18:5 He [Hezekiah] trusted in the LORD God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him.

2Ki 23:25 And like unto him [Josiah] was there no king before him, that turned to the LORD with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him.

Despite the unparalleled excellence of these two kings, however, neither one is mentioned in Hebrews 11! Hebrews 11 thus does not speak of Job, Hezekiah, and Josiah—three of the premier men of God spoken of in Scripture.

Discussion

Given the greatness of Solomon, one might argue that the lack of his being mentioned in Hebrews 11 implies that he perished eternally because he never repented of his great sinfulness late in his life. This reasoning, however, is faulty because Hebrews 11 also does not mention Job, Hezekiah, and Josiah, who were all exceedingly godly men about whom we can be certain that they did not perish eternally.

Conclusion

The lack of mention of Solomon in Hebrews 11 does not prove that he perished eternally. In fact, many other considerations show that Solomon did not perish eternally and that we will see him in heaven one day.

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

In Interpretation, Theology
 permalink

Burial versus Cremation: Another Important Consideration

November 25, 2017

A godly minister and his godly wife believe very strongly that everyone should be buried. They think that cremation is wrong in the sight of God. The minister and his wife both die before their three children do.

The surviving son of the minister is an ungodly man who actively promotes evil in the sight of God. A year later, he is killed in a car accident.

His two sisters and other family must decide whether to have him cremated or buried. What should they do?

Knowing the strong convictions of his parents, should they have him buried even though he was not a believer? Since his parents are already dead, does it make any difference what their beliefs were?

In 2 Chronicles 22, Scripture provides an instructive passage that reveals another important consideration about the importance of burial that pertains directly to what these family members should do.

Jehoshaphat, Ahaziah, and Jehu

Jehoshaphat was a godly king of Judah (2 Chron. 17:3-6). When he died, his son Jehoram became king (2 Chron. 21:1). Jehoram was a wicked king (2 Chron. 21:6).

When Jehoram died, his youngest son Ahaziah became king (2 Chron. 22:1). Like his father, Ahaziah was a wicked king (2 Chron. 22:3-4).

While Jehu was rendering God’s judgment upon Ahab, a very wicked king of Israel, Jehu had Ahaziah killed (2 Kings 9:27; 2 Chron. 22:9). His doing so was from God (2 Chron. 22:7).

In a striking statement about the aftermath of the death of Ahaziah, Scripture reveals that Ahaziah was buried for an instructive reason:

2Ch 22:9 And he sought Ahaziah: and they caught him, (for he was hid in Samaria,) and brought him to Jehu: and when they had slain him, they buried him: Because, said they, he is the son of Jehoshaphat, who sought the LORD with all his heart. So the house of Ahaziah had no power to keep still the kingdom.

Those who slew Ahaziah at the direction of Jehu buried Ahaziah because he was the son (grandson) of godly king Jehoshaphat who sought God wholeheartedly. Out of consideration for the godliness of Ahaziah’s grandfather, Ahaziah was buried when he died even though he himself was a wicked king.

Application

Just as Ahaziah was buried out of consideration for the godliness of his predecessor, the sisters and family of the wicked son who died in the accident related above should choose to bury him out of consideration for the godliness of his parents and their strong beliefs that burial is the only right thing to do. Even though this minister’s son was a wicked man himself, his surviving relatives should not choose to cremate him because his parents, even though they have already died, would not have approved at all of having their son cremated, were they still living.

Choosing to bury people who are from godly Christian families but themselves are not godly is supported by what Scripture reveals was done in the case of Ahaziah after he had been killed. The surviving relatives of such people should not choose to cremate them.

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

In Discipleship, Interpretation, Theology
 permalink

A Profound Insight about Music from Comparing 1 Kings 8 and 2 Chronicles 5: Part I

November 20, 2017

First Kings 8 and 2 Chronicles 5 both record one of the most important events in world history. A close comparison of those two inspired records of that event provides a profound insight about the importance of music.

The following table provides a verse-by-verse comparison of the passages. It is clear from that comparison that the author of 2 Chronicles provides information about musical ministry that took place on this occasion about which the author of 1 Kings 8 makes no mention.

1Ki 7:51 ¶ So was ended all the work that king Solomon made for the house of the LORD. And Solomon brought in the things which David his father had dedicated; even the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, did he put among the treasures of the house of the LORD. 2Ch 5:1 ¶ Thus all the work that Solomon made for the house of the LORD was finished: and Solomon brought in all the things that David his father had dedicated; and the silver, and the gold, and all the instruments, put he among the treasures of the house of God.
1Ki 8:1 ¶ Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto king Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion.  2 ¶ Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion.
2 And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month. 3 Wherefore all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto the king in the feast which was in the seventh month.
 3 And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark. 4 And all the elders of Israel came; and the Levites took up the ark.
 4 And they brought up the ark of the LORD, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, even those did the priests and the Levites bring up. 5 And they brought up the ark, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, these did the priests and the Levites bring up.
 5 And king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel, that were assembled unto him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen, that could not be told nor numbered for multitude. 6 Also king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel that were assembled unto him before the ark, sacrificed sheep and oxen, which could not be told nor numbered for multitude.
 6 And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD unto his place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims. 7 And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD unto his place, to the oracle of the house, into the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims:
 7 For the cherubims spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above. 8 For the cherubims spread forth their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above.
 8 And they drew out the staves, that the ends of the staves were seen out in the holy place before the oracle, and they were not seen without: and there they are unto this day. 9 And they drew out the staves of the ark, that the ends of the staves were seen from the ark before the oracle; but they were not seen without. And there it is unto this day.
9 There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. 10 There was nothing in the ark save the two tables which Moses put therein at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of Egypt.
10 And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

that the cloud filled the house of the LORD,

 11 And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place:

 

(for all the priests that were present were sanctified, and did not then wait by course:

  12 Also the Levites which were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets:)

  13 It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever:

that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD;
11 So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD. 14 So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God.
 12 ¶ Then spake Solomon, The LORD said that he would dwell in the thick darkness. 2Ch 6:1 ¶ Then said Solomon, The LORD hath said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.
13 I have surely built thee an house to dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide in for ever. 2 But I have built an house of habitation for thee, and a place for thy dwelling for ever.

I’m confident that probing why this information is provided in the one account and not in the other will provide valuable insights about what the Bible teaches about music. I’m going to save my thoughts on the significance of this comparison for a later post.

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

In Exposition, Interpretation, Theology
 permalink

Three Things that American Presidents Need to Learn from God’s Dealings with Nebuchadnezzar

October 26, 2017

God’s dealings with king Nebuchadnezzar when he reigned over ancient Babylon reveal some profound demands that God makes over all governmental leaders of every nation, including American presidents. These demands profoundly refute a grave error that American presidents must not make in their thinking.

The Divine Demand for Social Justice

Daniel poignantly appealed to king Nebuchadnezzar to turn from his sinfulness, including his failures to deal properly with the poor in his kingdom:

Dan 4:27 Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity.

Although he was the king over the most powerful empire in the world in his day, Nebuchadnezzar needed to learn that his position of power did not mean that he could do whatever he wanted to poor people—he had to show mercy to them!

Similarly, American presidents must learn from God’s dealings with Nebuchadnezzar that they must show mercy to the poor. Every American president must make addressing social justice issues in his country a top priority, especially in doing what he can to show mercy to the poor.

The Divine Demand for Humility

When king Nebuchadnezzar became proud in his heart in thinking that the greatness of his city that he had built for his kingdom was the result of his exerting the might of his own power and that he had done so for the sake of glorifying his own majesty (Dan. 4:30), God abased him profoundly (Dan. 4:31-33). After God had humbled him and then restored him, he openly testified that God is able to abase those who walk in pride (Dan. 4:37).

Every president of the US needs to learn from what God did to abase Nebuchadnezzar that any greatness that he enjoys in his presidency is ultimately not because of his own resourcefulness and abilities to conduct an effective campaign and run the country well. Instead, as president, he has been put in that position of immense power by God and allowed to prosper in it so that he would humbly glorify God and govern in His fear.

The Divine Demand for Declaring the Truth about Who Reigns Over All

Nebuchadnezzar was the king of an idolatrous empire that had exalted itself greatly against the God of heaven (cf. Dan. 3). God revealed to him His demand that he had to recognize that God is the One Who reigns over all and exalts whomever He wishes to whatever positions of authority they have (Dan. 4:25).

By dealing with Nebuchadnezzar openly in a profound humiliating manner, God brought him to testify the truth about God as the One who reigns over all (Dan. 4:34-35). Every American president needs to learn from Nebuchadnezzar that God wants him to acknowledge that God is the One who reigns over all and is the One who has exalted him to his position of top authority in our nation.

Conclusion

American presidents must not make the grave error of thinking that because they govern a secular country, they are free from any obligations toward God. In spite of their exalted position over the American people, the divine demands on them remain the same as they were on Nebuchadnezzar.

Every American president must learn from God’s dealings with king Nebuchadnezzar that he must govern in the fear of God by meetings God’s demands upon him.

 

 

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

In Interpretation, Theology
 permalink

What The Bible Teaches That Civil Governments Should Do about Adultery

October 11, 2017

Job was a married man who was neither a Christian nor a Jew. God testified on two occasions that he was the most righteous man of his day (Job 1:8; 2:3).

Job did not live in a Christian or Jewish country, and we have no evidence that Job lived under a theocracy. What Job therefore tells us should be the role of civil authorities is profoundly important for a biblical understanding of what civil governments should and should not do.

In Job 31:9-11, Job speaks of what he believed would be the case had he as a married man committed adultery with another woman:

Job 31:9 If mine heart have been deceived by a woman, or if I have laid wait at my neighbour’s door;

 10 Then let my wife grind unto another, and let others bow down upon her.

 11 For this is an heinous crime; yea, it is an iniquity to be punished by the judges.

12 For it is a fire that consumeth to destruction, and would root out all mine increase.

Job specified that his having relations with a woman other than his wife, including his neighbor’s wife, would have been a heinous crime. As a righteous man, Job believed and taught that adultery was a horrific crime.

Job also made known that he believed that adultery was an iniquity that was “to be punished by the judges,” which shows that Job believed that civil authorities would rightly punish any such adulterous relations that he would have had. Because Job did not live in a Jewish country and as far as we know, he did not live under a theocracy, his giving this teaching provides vital revelation for what righteous people are to believe that civil authorities in any nation should do with those who commit adultery.

Based on this revelation that preceded the giving of the Mosaic Law by many hundreds of years, we learn that the Bible teaches that adultery is a heinous crime that civil governments are to punish. The Bible does not teach that adultery is a sin but not a crime.

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

In Discipleship, Interpretation, Theology
 permalink