Thursday Devotion with Marty

Marty’s Devotion Week 17

Are choirs biblical?
Choirs are biblical.
And the Psalms were the hymnal of the New Testament church. This is not to say that choirs are the only valid scriptural model for worship, but to dismiss choirs altogether as archaic and irrelevant means we risk forsaking a rich biblical tradition. Oct 10, 2017

Although the New Testament does not speak to or provide examples of choirs, there is a Biblical basis for choirs in worship. There are many instances of musical instruction in the New Testament but not a word about musical practice. The apostle Paul exhorts the Colossian church to sing together with Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual songs but it doesn’t imply that the clergy will read the psalms, the Praise Team get the new songs and the congregation will sing hymns. The truth is that almost as long as we have been building “church” buildings we have been singing as a church.

The church has been singing ever since it was created and will go on singing until Jesus returns. At that point all of heaven will stop and sing a New Song to the Lamb. (I really hope someone spell checks the overhead first.) The church was the keeper of songs throughout the dark and middle ages. The first written music that included more than one part was in the year 900 A.D. We can assume that the practice of singing in parts occurred before then, that was the time that a rudimentary system of writing music was developing, and someone must have said, “Wow, choir, that sounded great! Give me a moment to write that down so we can sing it the same way this Sunday!” and so, it all began. The choir book was about 3 feet tall and was centered in the middle of the choir. There was literally one book for the entire choir. Lest I digress!

How did humankind begin choirs?
The Bible gives the earliest record of a choir or large group of singers when Moses led the entire nation of Israel in singing a song of deliverance immediately after crossing the Red Sea. The next record is of a mighty chorus of women as they sang and danced the song of Miriam. It was a very concise chorus repeated many times with tambourines and drums. Other great and notable singers in the old testament were Jubal, son of Lamech, father of all who played stringed instruments. Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, or Jeduthun, were assigned the task by David to perform and write music for the gathering of the Nation to worship God.

The name Jeduthun means “lauder” or “praising.” It was an apt name for the Levite named Jeduthun we read about in the Bible, because he was one of David’s chief musicians (1 Chronicles 16:41–42; 35:15; Psalm 39:1). The other choir directors mentioned in the Psalms and 1 Chronicles were Asaph and Heman. Several psalms were designated for each of these three directors, which may indicate that each specialized in a different kind of music. Psalms 39, 62, 71, and 76 are assigned to Jeduthun, indicating that his choir or musicians were to lead the congregation on those songs.

Many scholars consider Jeduthun to be identical to the Ethan mentioned in 1 Chronicles 15:17. First Chronicles 25:3 tells us that Jeduthun’s sons, Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, also joined him in playing the harp, cymbals, and lyre. Second Chronicles 35:15 also calls Jeduthun the “king’s seer,” which implies that he not only led music for David, but he also prophesied God’s words to him.

The study of men like Jeduthun, Asaph, and Heman reminds us that God takes music seriously. He has gifted certain people with musical talent and passion and expects them to invest those gifts in His service. With Jeduthun, the gifts of music and prophecy were closely intertwined, and God used Him in both areas. God still combines music and prophecy when we worship. He can speak to us through music, through the Psalms, and through giving us a “new song” to sing to Him (Psalm 144:9; Isaiah 43:10). He draws, convicts, and inspires us when we offer up musical worship and praise. Whether a psalm was to be led by Asaph, Heman, or Jeduthun, we can still enjoy the beauty and power of those songs and gain insights from the men who wrote and directed them.

David organized the Levites into groups responsible for instrumental and vocal music. One third of the Levites were given the task of leading in temple worship. Solomon fully established this tradition during his reign. The music of the temple seemed directly linked with the leadership of the nation of Judah. When the people had a heart to serve the Lord and when the King was faithful to serve God, music in the temple flourished. When the people and the King sought after the Baals, the temple music languished.

There are few mentions of music in the Bible during the exile period but Psalm 137. By the waters of Babylon, come to mind and reminds us that music in the synagogue continued. After the second temple was built the Talmud records that music was re-established in the temple and in the lives of the people.

Although there are no direct mentions of choirs in the new testament, Paul does exhort us in Ephesians 19, “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; 20Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; 21Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.”

A similar passage in Colossians 3: “16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

Music was a vital part of New Testament worship and relates to unity and giving glory to God in both sections. Choir singing was well established in the Jewish culture as well as the Greek. It is only natural to assume that it existed in the early church as well. There are records of great times of singing in the church at Alexandria in the 2nd and 3rd century with robust singing by men, women and the chorus. Our own church has robust singing and it is only fitting that a group of Christians in our church separate themselves to be fully prepared to lead in worship each week and for special occasions.

My prayer for us is that during this time of isolation we have had an opportunity to observe the things in our worship and church that are meaningful and necessary. It is time to not just say these things are important but to put feet and hands to these things for the Glory of God and for His church.

See you Sunday!
Marty