In this message we will explore the history of music in the Old Testament, particularly those aspects which relate to what God has promised to bring forth today.
In Isaiah 26:18–20, the prophet speaks of the travail of the end time and the worship that will accompany the breakthrough into resurrection life. We were pregnant, we writhed in labor, we gave birth, as it were, only to wind. We could not accomplish deliverance for the earth nor were inhabitants of the world born. Your dead will live; their corpses will rise. You who lie in the dust, awake and shout for joy, for your dew is as the dew of the dawn, and the earth will give birth to the departed spirits. Come, my people, enter into your rooms, and close your doors behind you; hide for a little while, until indignation runs its course.
Instead of “awake and shout for joy,” the King James Version reads, “Awake and sing,” as though the resurrection will include the worshipful participation of the spirits that reach into resurrection life. They will join the hosts of heaven, referred to often in the book of Revelation as those who sing and worship around the throne of God. What are all the creatures doing in the book of Revelation? The twenty-four elders, the multitudes, and the 144,000 all have one thing in common—they are totally occupied with the worship of the Lord. They sing songs such as the song of the Lamb and the song of Moses, which will be revived out of the book of Exodus and sung in the end-time worship (Revelation 15:3–4). Throughout the Scriptures, we see a continuous thread which speaks of the fantastic music that will come.
There are some churches which traditionally have not favored the use of musical instruments. It would be interesting to study, not only the instruments that were created by the great prophets of God and used in the singing, but to note also the inspiration to create them. I believe that some of the best musical instruments are yet to be invented, instruments which will bring forth songs that are richly anointed by the Spirit.
If you are like most people, when you read a mystery story you want to know how things will turn out. (“Did the butler do it, or was it someone else?”) Once you read the last chapter so that you know the outcome, you can heave a sigh of relief. This is true also of the Scriptures. When you read the last book of the Bible, you know that the end result of the battle of the ages will be the singing and rejoicing of the great hosts of heaven.
We know that we can speak a Word from the Lord by prophecy; however, from the emphasis of the Scriptures, we see that prophetic singing is actually the highest level of prophecy. The Old Testament contains descriptions of the various instruments which were used as the people prophesied. In the New Testament, we read of the relationship between the prophetic Word and the worship of the Lord: Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Colossians 3:16. We see the process: the Word of Christ dwells in us richly, and then an outflow of that prophetic Word comes forth in the singing of psalms, and other musical expressions in our wonderful worship of the Lord.
Isn’t music wonderful? However, we could also say, “Isn’t music terrible?” Some years ago, I read an article which impressed me deeply. The author said that for the most part, great music is no longer being composed. In the fifties, music went into rock and roll; and in the sixties, many musicians were involved with various psychedelic drugs. Musicians who gave themselves over to the spirits that dominated the music realm often became direct channels of demonic power; they could convey demonic power through their singing.
This fact opens the door to another consideration. There are several chapters in the Bible which seem to indicate that Lucifer, at one time, was the great musical archangel who led the choirs of angels in singing. A chapter in Isaiah and one in Ezekiel seem to verify that. The prophet Isaiah refers to Satan’s pomp and the music of his harps being brought down to Sheol (Isaiah 14:11). Ezekiel, taking up a lamentation against the King of Tyre (who was a type of Satan), refers to the workmanship of his tambourines and flutes (Ezekiel 28:13), and how his iniquity brought him into judgment. These references need not be regarded as absolute statements of doctrine, but they are of interest in establishing one point: the satanic hosts are very interested in controlling the music realm.
Within seven generations from Adam, Satan made a strong effort to dominate music; and for a number of centuries, he did so. The organ sound actually came forth from both the Hebrews and the Greeks at practically the same time. The Hebrews were looking for the musical sound that would best convey the anointing; and the Greeks were seeking the demonic inspiration in music.
In this study, we are attempting to create a scriptural foundation to establish this one fact: we are going to reach into the realms of music that are higher than have ever been known in the history of the world. Many prophecies have led us to believe for this breakthrough and have indicated that it is within our grasp. It is not in vain that God has brought several fine musicians and people of vision from the musical field into this present walk with God. All of them dropped out of the world’s musical scene because they could not bear it, despite the fact that they were gifted with real talent, often on the genius level, as well as a great inspiration. Something within their spirits seemed to be striving to rise to a place where they could hear the anointed music that will come. However, even though they wanted to rise to it, they were unable, and so they dropped out; they refused to be a part of the system any longer.
The same trend is true of many people in the field of education. There are many teachers who have a real desire to teach, but they have found that teaching in the public school system is often like taking police action on rebels who refuse to be taught. Teachers today sometimes find themselves simply trying to steer the students through the day, considering themselves fortunate if they do not get ripped up with a knife in the process. Consequently, many teachers have given up and said, “I won’t teach,” despite the fact that they have degrees and qualifications that enable them to be top-level educators.
The same trend can be found in the field of religion. The denominations are having difficulty finding enough pastors. There is a great shortage of ministers coming out of denominational seminaries to replace the retiring ministers. More and more religious schools are closing down because they cannot get teachers. Why? People are disillusioned. The objectives and the vision are stalemated, as though the whole earth is ready for the travail to bring forth anointed teachers, to bring forth Timothys, to bring forth Davids to sing the songs of the Lord. Something is ready to be born in the earth; and because we are a people of vision, who know what God wants, we should seek the Lord and cry out for these changes to come. We should start fasting and praying about them.
If we examine the history of Cain and his family, we will see how the demonic line of music originated. In the fourth chapter of Genesis, we read that Cain was expelled from the presence of the Lord for killing his brother Abel. Verses 9–15: Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” And he said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” And He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground. And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you cultivate the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you; you shall be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth.”
And Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is too great to bear! Behold, Thou hast driven me this day from the face of the ground; and from Thy face I shall be hidden, and I shall be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth, and it will come about that whoever finds me will kill me.” So the Lord said to him, “Therefore whoever kills Cain, vengeance will be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord appointed a sign for Cain, lest anyone finding him should slay him.
Does this mean that God relented toward Cain? No, God did not relent; He wanted Cain to live to suffer. He did not want Cain to be mercifully executed. Therefore He appointed a sign for Cain, lest anyone finding him should slay him.
Then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. And Cain had relations with his wife and she conceived, and gave birth to Enoch; and he built a city, and called the name of the city Enoch, after the name of his son. Now to Enoch was born Irad; and Irad became the father of Mehujael; and Mehujael became the father of Methushael; and Methushael became the father of Lamech. And Lamech took to himself two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other, Zillah.
And Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. And his brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe. As for Zillah, she also gave birth to Tubal-cain, the forger of all implements of bronze and iron… Genesis 4:16–22. We see that from the descendants of Cain, the murderer—in fact, from the very same family—came forth both the instruments of war and the instruments of music. Do you see the significance of this?
And Lamech said to his wives, “Adah and Zillah, listen to my voice, you wives of Lamech, give heed to my speech, for I have killed a man for wounding me; and a boy for striking me; if Cain is avenged sevenfold, then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.” Genesis 4:23–24. Cain had been granted a sevenfold measure of divine protection. Now Lamech was demanding, not divine protection, but demonic protection, eleven times greater than Cain’s. The demonic line had so increased in strength that there would be a seventy-sevenfold demonic assault against anyone who attacked it. That principle of immunity is one of the most significant truths we could study about the music realm. The field of demonic music seems to have almost a satanic immunity and protection. It seems to be protected, so that there is no way to get to it, except when the judgments of the Lord begin to come.
We know that no matter what the devil produces, God has something better. God will bring forth a level of music which will combat the demonic music; it will have a great effect upon the demon world. As it was with David’s music, the anointed singing will drive away evil spirits. It will be a powerful force to overwhelm evil. It will create a wide sphere of influence so that the people who come within the scope of it will be unable to fulfill the evil purposes and passions in their hearts.
An example of the effectiveness of anointed utterance can be seen in the incident where Saul sent three groups of messengers down to Ramah to capture David. As each group came to the school of prophets, who were prophesying, they were overwhelmed and began prophesying. Saul did the same thing, and he too was overwhelmed and began to prophesy with them! No one could resist the spirit of the school of prophets as they prophesied or sang their songs (I Samuel 19:18–24).
Today, too, there is a close relationship between the school of prophets and the creative music that is coming forth. The school of prophets in Shiloh, for example, are bringing forth many songs of faith which combat the confusion that rests upon the people. It may not be the greatest music you will ever hear, but the songs of faith drive away the evil spirits which create a cloud of restraint over the people.
Does this mean that we should continue to sing these same songs forever? No, not at all. The whole purpose of deliverance is to enable us to stand in the presence of the Lord. We overcome evil because we want to progress into the most majestic, wonderful worship possible, as we stand before the Lord. The negative side of warfare is necessary, but the victory we share together will be wonderful.
David was a worshiper. In II Samuel 6:14–15 we read: And David was dancing before the Lord with all his might, and David was wearing a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouting, and the sound of the trumpet.
The psalms and songs that David sang have an amazing versatility, and this should be true of our expressions of worship too. The Scriptures indicate that we are to sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. We sing songs of praise, songs of worship, and songs of testimony. In our psalms we may praise God for a glorious thing He has done. We may sing a spiritual song in which we rejoice in what God has done for us, or we encourage others into an experience with Him. We have many expressions in our worship, and there is a place for all of them. There is a time for us to sing gloriously of what the Lord has done, as the Israelites did on the shores of the Red Sea. Their song was somewhat antiphonal in nature. The Israelites sang for a while, and then Miriam shouted, “The horse and his rider hath He thrown into the sea!” (Exodus 15:21.) We should search out the antiphonal psalms in the Scriptures and sing them. A psalmist could sing a few verses and then the rest of the worshipers could sing or shout their responses.
Our worship needs more versatility. We ought to return to some of the old expressions of worship from Bible days, and we should also look into the book of Revelation and discover the beautiful worship that is yet to come. We can incorporate all of this into our worship today. We must refuse to be time-bound. Soon we will tap into the music which the Lord wants, and then things will happen miraculously. The spirit of prophecy will come forth in the music in such a way that people will be transformed by it.
When the ark of God was brought into the city of David with great rejoicing, David danced before the Lord with all of his might. The ark was then brought into the tent which David had pitched for it (known as the Tabernacle of David) and the priests offered up burnt offerings and peace offerings (Acts 15:15–18; Amos 9:11–12).
The Tabernacle of David is mentioned in three major passages in the Bible: I Chronicles 16, Amos 9, and Acts 15.
Even though David had pitched the booth as a temporary tabernacle, God spoke that He would restore it again. Amos prophesied of this restoration: “In that day I will raise up the fallen booth of David, and wall up its breaches; I will also raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old.” Amos 9:11.
This prophecy is quoted in Acts 15:16–18, where it speaks of the Gentiles as well as the Jewish Christians worshiping God. There was to be no bondage upon them because Amos had prophesied that the Tabernacle of David would be restored, “in order that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by My name.” Acts 15:17.
In the Tabernacle of David, the people did not follow the ritualism of the old Tabernacle. Instead, there was much singing, praising, worshiping, and offering of sacrifices day and night. They also ate, for we read that David distributed to everyone a loaf of bread, a portion of meat, and a raisin cake when the ark was returned to Jerusalem (I Chronicles 16:3).
At that time, David also defined the role of the priesthood: And he appointed some of the Levites as ministers before the ark of the Lord, even to celebrate (every day was a day of celebration in the Tabernacle of David!) and to thank and praise the Lord God of Israel: Asaph the chief, and second to him Zechariah, then Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel, with musical instruments, harps, lyres; also Asaph played loud-sounding cymbals, and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests blew trumpets continually before the ark of the covenant of God. Then on that day David first assigned Asaph and his relatives to give thanks to the Lord. I Chronicles 16:4–7. Does it encourage you to know that the Tabernacle of David will be established again?
The book of Chronicles are two of many historical books in the Old Testament. The others are Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, I and II Samuel, I and II Kings, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther. There is an overlapping of material covered in Chronicles, Kings, and Samuel. However, the books of Chronicles are unique because they were written by the priests; as a result they provide an excellent spiritual interpretation of history.
In this day, our Kingdom schools should use history books that have been written by prophets who could interpret what God was doing in history. Most so-called scholars today do not even believe in God; yet they try to analyze the trends and factors which caused certain things to happen. How much better it would be to examine how God causes things to happen by the faith of His people! We know that the best books are yet to be written. The best songs are yet to be composed. The clearest interpretations of Scripture and history are yet to be revealed.
In I Chronicles 25, there is a detailed listing of the worshipers who served under David. Verse 1: Moreover, David and the commanders of the army set apart for the service some of the sons of Asaph and of Heman and of Jeduthun, who were to prophesy with lyres, harps, and cymbals… Notice the close relationship between the military, represented by the army, and the worship, represented by the sons of Asaph and others. Warfare and music are very closely related. When King Jehoshaphat appointed singers to go out before the army to praise the Lord and to sing, there was a great victory.
Verse 7 indicates that there were 288 skillful people who could prophesy with a harp or lyre or cymbal. This was an expression that they tuned into. They tuned into the power of prophecy, linked with the musical flow and the inspiration of the Spirit. All these were under the direction of their father to sing in the house of the Lord, with cymbals, harps and lyres, for the service of the house of God. Asaph, Jeduthun and Heman were under the direction of the king. I Chronicles 25:6. Notice that David, the king, took a personal interest in worship.
When the ark was brought into Solomon’s Temple at its dedication, the anointing of the Spirit came and filled the Temple. At that time, there were 120 priests blowing trumpets. In II Chronicles 5:12 we read of all the Levitical singers, Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their sons and kinsmen, clothed in fine linen, with cymbals, harps, and lyres, standing east of the altar, and with them one hundred and twenty priests blowing trumpets.
The fact that there were 120 priests blowing trumpets is significant. In the upper room of the Temple on the day of Pentecost, there were also 120 people. They did not blow trumpets, but they received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and they spoke with the different languages and tongues of the people who were there. The Lord has a way of repeating Himself. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to see 120 people breaking into that same outpouring in this day? In fact, why should we limit it to 120? It might be more accurate to regard the number 120 as only a symbolic figure, such as the 144,000 who follow the Lamb wherever He goes (Revelation 14:1). In most cases, the numerology of the Bible is symbolic.
At the dedication of Solomon’s Temple, the 120 priests blew their trumpets in unison when the trumpeters and the singers were to make themselves heard with one voice to praise and to glorify the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice to praise and to glorify the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice accompanied by trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and when they praised the Lord saying, “He indeed is good for His lovingkindness is everlasting,” then the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God. II Chronicles 5:13–14. On the day of Pentecost, too, the disciples were all in one accord and in one place. They were moving in a unity similar to that of the priests and singers in Solomon’s day.
There must be a simple way for us to move into prophetic music, just as we were encouraged at one time to simply open our mouth and speak in tongues. The first time I spoke in tongues I wondered, “Is this me or is this God?” Did you ever have that feeling? Nevertheless, as we give ourselves over to speaking in tongues, we yield to a flow of the Spirit. We have problems when we expect God to force our mouth to move; it does not happen that way. The 120 in the upper room were all filled with the Holy Spirit and they began to speak “as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:4). It came as a natural and easy flow. Every new step in God is like that. Prophecy is that way. Moving in a gift of the Spirit is never dependent upon human effort and intelligence; instead, it is dependent upon faith, which embraces a gift from God. That is the key to moving in God.
You cannot receive a Word from the Lord by saying, “I’m going to study all afternoon and cook up a prophecy.” It will not work! But if you wait on the Lord and a Word comes to your heart from Him, then you will have a Word to speak. To speak God’s Word requires more than the ability to study and write a sermon. Instead, wonderful things will come forth as you wait on the Lord and He gives you a Word to speak.
The same thing is true regarding the prophetic music that we are anticipating. It is not that complicated. We need only to yield to the flow and accept the fact that God wants to give us a gift. God is not afflicted with a “spirit of Washington, D.C.”—there are no bureaucratic procedures or red tape required to receive His provision. His provision has always been available to us. If we were able to tune into it today, we could begin to hear this new level of prophetic music.
Paul said that there are many different sounds (voices) and none of them without significance. However, he warned, “If the trumpet gives an uncertain sound, who will prepare himself for battle?” (I Corinthians 14:10, 8.) He was saying that the tongue should give way to the prophetic flow of revelation. Today the Lord is saying that if we can give thanks well, in tongues and in prophecy, then we can break through into prophetic worship that is on the same level as the praises of the angels and the hosts of heaven. We can come into this music. It is not difficult. We choose to believe that it is not difficult. We do not believe that God has now suddenly chosen to make His gifts difficult to attain. The ability to move into this music is a gift from God which can be appropriated by faith. Our faith can insist, “I will have it!”
This lesson is important for the school of prophets, because it deals with the prophetic aspect of our music. We have learned a great deal in studying the scriptural background of music, but we ought to take one more step. Where this music is concerned, we ought to repent of any remaining trace of the ego trip, where the influence of Jubal, the seventh from Adam, has afflicted too many of us. The music that has come forth from that satanic influence has been depressive. Even though no one wants any part of music that is satanic, yet anyone involved in the ministry of music can still get on an ego trip; it can be an artist’s performance. It is one of the remaining fields in the service of the Lord where people expect recognition for their discipline and talent. They want praise for it.
In every other field, we have gone through one thing after another that has more or less disenchanted us. The educated man realizes that his knowledge is still very limited; he recognizes his great need for the wisdom from God. We preach the Word and yet we realize that we are only prophesying in part; so we look to the Lord and say, “O Lord, help us to break through. We have to appropriate more.” However, when it comes to a talent, the ego and the human temperament enter in. It is difficult to find a musician with such an excellent spirit that he can truly “prophesy with the harp.” That is what God wants. A young man may be a musical genius and possess great abilities. Yet, if he desires to feed his ego because of his talents and abilities, he will have great difficulty in entering into the prophecies over his life. It will be wonderful when the Body of Christ really begins to function correctly, so that everything in the Body is done with the utmost humility and dedication to the Lord.
If you have a talent, come before the Lord and lay it at His feet, saying, “Let no flesh be praised. Let the end of flesh come. Let the Lord be praised; let the Lord be glorified.” All of us should have this attitude. What is the first step? Start repenting for the Adamic nature that still remains in your abilities and talents. Then appropriate the anointing of the Lord to move with His attributes. Our goal must not be to cultivate human abilities; we must move into God’s attributes.
Harold Horton, the author of The Gifts of the Spirit, also wrote a book on expository preaching in which he quoted from Peter’s first Epistle: “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God” (I Peter 4:11). He contended that the books on homiletics and preaching are absolutely wrong because they approach the Scriptures with a reliance upon human wisdom and human ability. This is the major weakness of today’s seminaries and Bible schools. Harold Horton came up with an outstanding statement. He said, “Beware of the man who has great musical talent, who can sing, or who speaks with a gift of gab. Instead, look for a man like Moses, slow of speech, unable to persuade anybody. Look for someone like Paul, who comes with no enticing words of man’s wisdom, but who stands in your midst with fear and trembling. That man will speak a Word from God.”
There are many people who can speak with great fluency and proclaim, “Oh, hear ye the Word of the Lord!” and yet they speak empty words, devoid of the Spirit. But a simple little soul, who stumbles and stutters around, can lay his hand on your head and speak a Word from God that changes your whole life. The race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong (Ecclesiastes 9:11); neither will the greatest psalms necessarily come from the gifted and talented ones. They will come from those who have received their abilities as a gift from God.
Does this mean that we have to discard everything we have learned? No, we have to repent of leaning on the arm of flesh. We must take whatever God has given us and lay it humbly at His feet, saying, “Lord, You anoint it. You bring it forth. It will not be a product of any creative genius that I have. A flow of the Spirit will bring it forth, just as it has always been in the Scriptures.”
God is trying to show us that the end of flesh has come, and thus there must be a measure of repentance. When the Lord brings a new revelation, the first thing you should do is repent for where you are not in relationship to it. Repentance begins with the understanding, “I’m missing God’s perfect will, and this is where I should be.” I have never had a revelation from the Lord that did not lead me to get down before Him and repent. Can you do the same thing in your heart? A new field of music will open up to us—the music of Zion. We will hear it. It will be beautiful.
Another worship frontier is being opened, a new step in the restoration. How quickly can we break through? Will it take six months or six years? Or can we break through in six hours? How long must we tarry or wait? “Lord, make us to hear songs in the night.”