Q&A: Are Musical Instruments Wrong?

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=168 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="129a11c3.png"> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Welcome to the Heart4God Website!"><U><B><IMG SRC="4b55a500.png" border=0 width="90" height="80" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Writings of Joseph Herrin"><U><B>Writings by Date</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id212.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Writings of Joseph Herrin Organized "><U><B>Writings by Topic</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.heart4god.ws/Audio/index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.heart4god.ws/Audio/index.htm"><U><B>Audio Files</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id690.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Videos"><U><B>Videos</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id323.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Writings of Others"><U><B>Other Authors</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id324.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U><B>Links</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id339.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Questions and Answers"><U><B>Q&A</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id328.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Heart4God Email List"><U><B>Heart4God E-mail List</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.parablesblog.blogspot.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.parablesblog.blogspot.com"><U><B>Parables Blog</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id306.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="File Downloads"><U><B><IMG SRC="2b264140.png" border=0 width="100" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <bR> <div> <B>Q&A: Are Musical Instruments Wrong?</B></div> <div> <IMG SRC="c2827160.png" border=0 width="807" height="22" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> The Following is in response to an article a young believer asked me to review that condemned the usage of musical instruments in the worship of God.</div> <bR> <div> Dear L., </div> <bR> <div> I would have to conclude that Mr. B. is sounding a major chord in regard to a minor issue <grin>. It seems quite incongruent to me to imagine Yahweh seated in the judgment, examining each saint to see whether they employed musical instruments in the worship of Him. I cannot see Yahweh condemning David (the man whom He declared to be after His own heart, and a man who would accomplish all of His pleasure), for playing a harp and setting his Psalms to instrumental music, which it is abundantly evident from Scriptures that he did. I think rather that Yahweh will praise David for his sincere worship of Him, and his passionate heart that sought to express his sincere worship skilfully in words and with instrument. </div> <bR> <div> We are also given examples of godly prophets calling for a minstrel to play music to set them in the right frame of mind and spirit to hear from God and relate His words to others. If, as Mr. B. states, musical instruments merely arouse the flesh, then we should expect that this prophet would have received a false word and uttered a false prophecy. Yet what he spoke clearly had its origin in God. </div> <bR> <div> II Kings 3:14-24<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Georgia" > </FONT></div> <div> 14 Elisha said, "As Yahweh of hosts lives, before whom I stand, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look at you nor see you. 15 "<I><B>But now bring me a minstrel." And it came about, when the minstrel played, that the hand of Yahweh came upon him. </B></I>16 He said, "Thus says Yahweh, "Make this valley full of trenches.' 17 "For thus says Yahweh, "You shall not see wind nor shall you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, so that you shall drink, both you and your cattle and your beasts. 18 "This is but a slight thing in the sight of Yahweh; He will also give the Moabites into your hand. 19 "Then you shall strike every fortified city and every choice city, and fell every good tree and stop all springs of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones.'" 20 It happened in the morning about the time of offering the sacrifice, that behold, water came by the way of Edom, and the country was filled with water. 21 Now all the Moabites heard that the kings had come up to fight against them. And all who were able to put on armor and older were summoned and stood on the border. 22 They rose early in the morning, and the sun shone on the water, and the Moabites saw the water opposite them as red as blood. 23 Then they said, "This is blood; the kings have surely fought together, and they have slain one another. Now therefore, Moab, to the spoil!" 24 But when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites arose and struck the Moabites, so that they fled before them; and they went forward into the land, slaughtering the Moabites. </div> <bR> <div> Is it not interesting that we read "when the minstrel played, that the hand of Yahweh came upon Elijah"? I think Mr. B. has made much ado about nothing. His entire argument is flawed, and his conclusions are equally erroneous. Where is a single prohibition in Scripture against musical instruments? There is not a single verse. Yet there are multitudes that advocate praising God with instruments. </div> <bR> <div> II Samuel 6:5<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Georgia" > </FONT></div> <div> Meanwhile, David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before Yahweh with all kinds of instruments made of fir wood, and with lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets and cymbals. </div> <bR> <div> I Chronicles 15:16<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Georgia" > </FONT></div> <div> Then David spoke to the chiefs of the Levites to appoint their relatives the singers, with instruments of music, harps, lyres, loud-sounding cymbals, to raise sounds of joy. </div> <bR> <div> I Chronicles 16:4-5<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Georgia" > </FONT></div> <div> He appointed some of the Levites as ministers before the ark of Yahweh, even to celebrate and to thank and praise Yahweh 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, </div> <bR> <div> I Chronicles 16:42<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Georgia" > </FONT></div> <div> And with them were Heman and Jeduthun with trumpets and cymbals for those who should sound aloud, and with instruments for the songs of God, and the sons of Jeduthun for the gate. </div> <bR> <div> I Chronicles 23:5<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Georgia" > </FONT></div> <div> And 4,000 were gatekeepers, and 4,000 were praising Yahweh with the instruments which David made for giving praise. </div> <bR> <div> II Chronicles 7:6<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Georgia" > </FONT></div> <div> The priests stood at their posts, and the Levites also, with the instruments of music to Yahweh, which King David had made for giving praise to Yahweh -- "for His lovingkindness is everlasting" -- whenever he gave praise by their means, while the priests on the other side blew trumpets; and all Israel was standing. </div> <bR> <div> II Chronicles 23:13<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Georgia" > </FONT></div> <div> She looked, and behold, the king was standing by his pillar at the entrance, and the captains and the trumpeters were beside the king. And all the people of the land rejoiced and blew trumpets, the singers with their musical instruments leading the praise. </div> <bR> <div> II Chronicles 29:25-26<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Georgia" > </FONT></div> <div> [Hezekiah] then stationed the Levites in the house of Yahweh with cymbals, with harps and with lyres, according to the command of David and of Gad the king's seer, and of Nathan the prophet; for the command was from Yahweh through His prophets. The Levites stood with the musical instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets. </div> <bR> <div> II Chronicles 30:21<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Georgia" > </FONT></div> <div> The sons of Israel present in Jerusalem celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great joy, and the Levites and the priests praised Yahweh day after day with loud instruments to Yahweh.</div> <bR> <div> II Chronicles 34:12<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Georgia" > </FONT></div> <div> The men did the work faithfully with foremen over them to supervise: Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites of the sons of Merari, Zechariah and Meshullam of the sons of the Kohathites, and the Levites, all who were skillful with musical instruments. </div> <bR> <div> Nehemiah 12:31-42<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Georgia" > </FONT></div> <div> Then I had the leaders of Judah come up on top of the wall, and I appointed two great choirs, the first proceeding to the right on top of the wall toward the Refuse Gate. Hoshaiah and half of the leaders of Judah followed them, with Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam, Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, Jeremiah, and some of the sons of the priests with trumpets; and Zechariah the son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Micaiah, the son of Zaccur, the son of Asaph, and his kinsmen, Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah and Hanani, <I><B>with the musical instruments of David the man of God.</B></I> And Ezra the scribe went before them. At the Fountain Gate they went directly up the steps of the city of David by the stairway of the wall above the house of David to the Water Gate on the east. The second choir proceeded to the left, while I followed them with half of the people on the wall, above the Tower of Furnaces, to the Broad Wall, and above the Gate of Ephraim, by the Old Gate, by the Fish Gate, the Tower of Hananel and the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Sheep Gate; and they stopped at the Gate of the Guard. Then the two choirs took their stand in the house of God. So did I and half of the officials with me; and the priests, Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah and Hananiah, <I><B>with the trumpets;</B></I> and Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam and Ezer. And the singers sang, with Jezrahiah their leader, </div> <bR> <div> Psalms 4:1</div> <div> For the choir director; on stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Georgia" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> [Note the word here translated "on stringed instruments" is the Hebrew negiynah (neg-ee-naw'); or negiynath (Psalms 61:title) (neg-ee-nath'); from OT:5059; properly, instrumental music; by implication, a stringed instrument; by extension, a poem set to music; specifically, an epigram: - Strong's Dictionary]<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Georgia" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> Psalms 150:4-6</div> <div> Praise Him with timbrel and dancing;</div> <div> Praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe. </div> <div> Praise Him with loud cymbals;</div> <div> Praise Him with resounding cymbals. </div> <div> Let everything that has breath praise Yahweh.</div> <div> In Isaiah, we read the following prayer of godly king Hezekiah:<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Georgia" > </FONT></div> <div> Isaiah 38:20</div> <div> "Yahweh will surely save me; So we will play my songs on stringed instruments all the days of our life at the house of Yahweh." </div> <bR> <div> The book of Habakkuk was written as a song to be sung, and it ends with the words: </div> <bR> <div> Habakkuk 3:19<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Georgia" > </FONT></div> <div> For the choir director, on my stringed instruments. </div> <bR> <div> Are we to believe that two of the godliest kings to ever rule Israel and Judah, David and Hezekiah, the two kings who are most associated with righteousness and also most associated with musical instruments and praise, are actually to be interpreted as examples of carnality and fleshly indulgence? The Scriptures do not make such an association. Also, are we to conclude that the prophets Elijah and Habakkuk were in the flesh for using musical instruments in the performance of their ministry? Are we to conclude that Nehemiah and Ezra were in sin when they led those who had returned to Jerusalem in worship with musical instruments? Let the Scriptures speak for themselves. </div> <bR> <div> May you be blessed with peace and understanding in these days, </div> <bR> <div> Joseph </div> <bR> <div> E-mail: </div> <div> website: <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Georgia" ><A HREF="http://heart4god.ws" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://heart4god.ws"><U><U>http://heart4god.ws</U></U></A></FONT></div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>