Music in the Temple

by Rev. Jim Jester

December 30, 2024

SCRIPTURE READING: Ephesians 5:14-20 RSV

Therefore it is said, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light.” 15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, 16 making the most of the time, because the days are evil.

17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart, 20 always and for everything giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.

INTRODUCTION

I have a riddle for you — now, you should know that I do not think jokes should be used once the church service begins, unless it directly relates in some way to the message at hand. This is the first time in my three years bringing sermons that I have ever used a joke. My question is: “Why wouldn’t the music play?” … (some will get it, others not, depending…) “Because it was Baroque.” (Sounds much like “broke.”) So, “What is that?" someone might ask. From the dictionary:

ba·roque

adjective

Relating to or denoting a style of European architecture, music, and art of the 17th and 18th centuries that followed mannerism and is characterized by ornate detail. In architecture the period is exemplified by the palace of Versailles and by the work of Bernini in Italy. Major composers include Vivaldi, Bach, and Handel; Caravaggio and Rubens are important baroque artists.

If you were not already familiar with European classical tradition in music, then that’s why you didn’t get the riddle.

There are many kinds of music in the world, and each kind has its purpose for which it was created: Music for drama in movies, music for dancing and entertainment, music for exercise, music for relaxation, and music for the Temple, or Church. Should the Church use any or all of these styles of music?

The Bible speaks much about music. The word “sing” and “singing” appear in the Bible 148 times. The most used Hebrew word for “song” is shiyrah, found 90 times, and the second most used Hebrew word is shiyr, found 82 times. Music is addressed regularly in the Old and New Testaments: 63 times in the Old and 5 times in the New, the specific direction is given, “Sing to the Lord.”

There is also an interesting omission: Nowhere in the Bible is there a command to sing to the heathen, or to mankind in general. This fact alone ought to set straight those evangelicals who are attempting to “win others to Christ” with their music; many going so far as to use Rock music for their “worship” services. Rather, the only purpose of sacred music in light of Scripture is to direct praise to God.

I chose the Revised version for the Scripture reading for a number of reasons: The grammar is better, and I wanted to give the full context of the passage. Most of the time when this passage is used to speak about music, only verse 19 is quoted, “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.” (KJV)However, when viewed in context (as shown in the RSV), we readily see the differences; that of light, understanding, and all of your heart.

We want to discuss two questions regarding music in the Temple, and what it means for us today in the Church:

1. What lessons can we take from the Scriptural revelation of music in the Temple of God? And,
2. Why take the Traditionalist View of Church music?

By examining the music of the Temple, we can discover criteria we can use as a guide for the music we choose for worship and prayer to God.

HERITAGE OF MUSIC

There are early references to music in the Bible, most of them of a secular nature, but our topic here is music as found in the Temple.

The period of Samuel, David, and Solomon was the golden age of Hebrew music, as well as poetry. This period of music was for the first time systematically cultivated and was an essential part of training in the schools of the prophets. For example, First Samuel chapter 10,

“After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them, and they shall prophesy.” (I Sam. 10:5)

While this is true, the Temple was actually the great school of music, and it was consecrated to its highest service in worship of God. But before the elaborate arrangements had been made by David for the Temple choir, there must have been a rather large body of musicians throughout the country. In the procession which accompanied the Ark from the house of Obed-edom, the Levites, who had acquired skill from previous training, played on psalteries, harps, and pipes, to the words of the Psalm of Thanksgiving, which David had composed for the occasion (see I Chr. 15-16). It is likely that the Levites all along had practiced music, and that some musical service was part of the worship in the tabernacle. Unless this supposition is true, it is inconceivable that a body of trained singers and musicians should be found ready for an occasion like this (of moving the Ark) on which they would make their first appearance! The position that the tribe of Levi held among the other tribes, naturally favored the cultivation of an art that was characteristic of a leisurely and peaceful life. They were free from the hardships of the struggle for conquest, and afterwards for their very existence, which the nation maintained later with the tax (or tithe).

THE ADMINISTRATION OF MUSIC (I Chr. 23)

“So when David was old and full of days, he made Solomon his son king over Israel. And he gathered together all the princes of Israel, with the priests and the Levites. Now the Levites were numbered from the age of thirty years and upward: and their number by their polls, man by man, was thirty and eight thousand. Of which, twenty and four thousand were to set forward the work of the house of the Lord; and six thousand were officers and judges: Moreover four thousand were porters[gatekeepers]; and four thousand praised the Lord with the instruments ‘which I made,’ said David, ‘to praise therewith’” (I Chr. 23:1-5).

King David appointed 4,000 musicians for the temple worship! Did you notice, this was the same number of gatekeepers? Could that imply that musicians are as important as gatekeepers? Could it also mean that music is like a spiritual “gatekeeper” to the church? I think we can assume so.

These musicians were divided, like the priests and Levites, into 24 groups, and each group served 15 days a year in the temple. These 4,000 divided into 24 groups gives us a music ensemble of about 167 people. That would make quite an orchestra! Most churches could not afford such an extravagance, but of course King David could.

On the occasion of the dedication of the house of God in II Chronicles 7:4-6, we see that “the priests waited on their offices” and that “the Levites also with instruments of music of the Lord.” At this dedication, “David praised by their ministry.” (II Chr. 7:6) Whose ministry? The ministry of the instruments that David had made to praise the Lord.

THE ORGANIZATION OF MUSIC (I Chr. 25)

I Chronicles chapter 25 begins by telling us that King David organized, from the Levites, certain men for temple service; “David and the chiefs [captains]of the service also set apart for the service certain of the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with lyres, with harps, and with cymbals…”(I Chr. 25:1) Then follows a list of who they were and their duties, and concludes:

“All these were under the hands of their father for song in the house of the Lord, with cymbals, psalteries, and harps, for the service of the house of God, according to the king’s order to Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman. So the number of them, with their brethren that were instructed in the songs of the Lord, even all that were cunning, was two hundred fourscore and eight.” (I Chr. 25:6-7).

This was King David ’s organization of the singers for the temple. These 288 singers were instructed in the “songs of the Lord” by their teacher. In verse 8, “…They cast lots for their duties, small and great, teacher and pupil alike.” Then the rest of the chapter lists the order to whom these lots fell. Notice, they were “cunning” or skillful in their singing. If they were cunning, it stands to reason they had some extensive training in the art of music and particularly singing. This was a full-time job of a 288 member choral organization consisting of teachers and students.

Notice, King David chooses the singers together with the “captains” of the army (I Chr. 25:1). This implies that there is a connection between singing and war. We have an example of this in the history of Jehoshaphat in II Chronicles 20. The king receives special encouragement from a prophet, who tells him to “go out against them.” Then the Levites praise the Lord with a loud voice. Then the singers go out before the armies and the moment they sing and praise the enemy is defeated (II Chr. 20:21-22). Aren’t we in a war today? At critical moments, believers (“Levites” in principle) may sing and praise. When Paul and Silas were captured because of their struggle in the gospel, they sang hymns of praise in prison (Acts 16:25). They too were delivered.

What impressive choirs these were to accompany the orchestra of the king! These choirs answered each other in responsive(antiphonal) singing; thus the Temple music must have been grand and inspiring beyond anything known before that time. The well-known composer and church musician, Johann Sebastian Bach, said of this passage, “This chapter is the true foundation of all God-pleasing music.” Bach noted chapter 25 in his Luther translation of the German Bible.

THE EXCELLENCE OF MUSIC (I Chr. 15)

“And Chenaniah, chief of the Levites, was for song: he instructed about the song, because he was skillful.” (I Chr. 15:22)

We see here that Chenaniah, the leader of the Levites, was in charge of the music because he was “skillful,” that is, he was a “virtuoso.” Verse 27 of this chapter refers to Chenaniah as “the master of the song.” Likewise, all the previous passages indicate or strongly imply that the musicians and singers were skillful. This aspect is seen wherever we find temple worship in the Bible.

There has been some confusion over this passage. The Hebrew word here for “song” happens to be one rarely translated as such in the KJV. It is the word massa, which is usually translated as “burden.” Some have thought that this was in reference to the carrying of the Ark into Jerusalem on this occasion, and not speaking of a song. Certainly, we should never neglect the context of a Scripture account, for sometimes it is the only solution to a dilemma in solving a translation problem. But in this case, we should ask, what could the passage be trying to tell us? Could it be that the “burden” spoken of here was a spiritual burden, not a physical one? I think so.

The minister of music should have a spiritual burden for the music he is to present for worship. Shouldn’t the pastor have a spiritual burden for the sermon he is to present? Don’t all Christians, at times, have burdens they carry in prayer to God? Yes!

It is true that Chenaniah may have literally carried a Kinnor or a Cymbal in the procession to Jerusalem, but more importantly he carried the song in his heart and mind with the anointing of the Holy Spirit upon him. He conducted what he felt was appropriate for this great occasion.

Mankind is constructed in such a way that he is always reaching out for the spectacular. Those lacking such power of the Spirit, tend to reach for something new, or exciting, something flashy, something to draw a crowd — how about a Rock band? They are unaware that Jesus is saying to them, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing…” (Jn. 6:63)

This word massa, “burden,” found in Isaiah 13:1, Nahum 1:1, and Habakkuk 1:1; is used in this manner, “The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz did see.” (Isa. 13:1) This is the same Hebrew word used of the prophets that is used for the chief musician, Chenaniah. In other words, Chenaniah’s burden for song was given him from the Lord in the same way the message of God was given to the prophet. It was not just his skill or his perfect pitch that made him great, it was his spiritual burden for the song of the Lord that made him prominent. He is recorded in Scripture for all time as one who had a great burden for music ministry.

SUMMARY

The books of I Chronicles chapters 23, 25, 15, have given us a glimpse of the administration, organization, and excellence of the Levite musicians. Professor, Garen Wolf, in his work, Music in the Bible, says:

“I Chronicles 23:5 mentions 4,000 instrumentalists in the royal orchestra of King David. One would wonder just how an orchestra of 4,000 would amuse themselves with second-rate music. On the contrary, the music must have been of a sophisticated nature. Chenaniah instructed about the song and was skillful (I Chr. 15:22). If he was skillful, it stands to reason that the music must have been difficult enough to demand some skill in performing it. In I Samuel 16:16, the advisors of King Saul wanted to seek out a man who was a cunning player on the harp. II Chronicles 23:13 speaks of voice teachers. Further, the singers who were chief of the Levites were said to be ‘employed in that work day and night’ (I Chr. 9:33). If the music was not highly developed, what did all these leaders and performers do day and night?”

When we study these and other passages, we are forced to the conclusion that there is a biblical standard for music in the Temple.

OUR TWO QUESTIONS

In review of question #1, what lessons can we take from the Scriptural revelation of music in the Temple?

1. Musical instruments were not forbidden
2. Musicians were professional, well-trained, and paid
3. The teachers and students were skilled
4. Music of the temple was distinct from secular music
5. Temple musicians should have a burden for song

When King Hezekiah restored temple worship we find a prime example of a solemn worship occasion, not a celebration party:

“And all the congregation worshipped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded: all this continued until the burnt offering was finished. 29 And when they had made an end of offering, the king and all that were present with him bowed themselves and worshipped. 30 Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the Lord with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness and they bowed their heads and worshipped.” (II Chr. 29:28-30)

Today we no longer offer blood sacrifices; instead, we are “living sacrifices” to our Lord (Rom. 12:1-2) in service to Him. Concerning this revival under Hezekiah, one commentary said:

“…Every reformation of religion brought with it a reconstruction of the temple chorus and orchestra, and a resumption of their duties. Thus when Hezekiah purged the state and church of the heathenism patronized by Ahaz, ‘he set the Levites in the house of God with cymbals, with psalteries, and with harps’ (II Chr. 29:25). The same thing took place under Josiah (II Chr. 34). After the restoration — at the dedication of the Temple (Ezra 3:10) and of the walls of Jerusalem (Neh. 12:17) — music played a great part. In Nehemiah’s time the descendants of the ancient choral guilds drew together, and their maintenance was secured to them out of the public funds in return for their services.” (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia)

Regarding question #2, why take the Traditionalist View of Church music?

The Scriptures we have studied are God’s revelation of music for the Temple and are applicable for us today. So, what kind of music should be used in the Church?

1) Music that is of the highest and best character

2) Music that manifests the majesty and awe of God

3) Music that is an acceptable offering to a holy God

4) Music that is appropriate for public worship

Let us examine and elaborate on each criterion:

1) What do I mean by music of highest character? “High” means above all the rest, greater than normal, eminent, notable, or excellent. What genre of music comes to mind when we think along this line? It may not be your favorite music — but what? It has to be Classical music! It must be the great composers! What else could it be? This does not mean that the church is limited to this kind of music only, but it does mean we should not stray too far from the best in music.

History has provided us with volumes of great music and hymn writers. Without this tradition, there is no limit to where we could end up. For example, some churches have ended up with popular bands and contemporary worship songs. Just what is the danger of using Contemporary Christian Music and having the “anything goes” attitude?

1. CCM reflects current trends in genre — it could be anything: Jazz,  Blues, Rock, Rap, Country/Western, Folk.
2. CCM lyrics usually tend toward humanism/universalism — it is intertwined with Christian values, but has very little true doctrine.
3. CCM can cross over to the popular field without any objection from the world since the text is subordinate to the musical genre.

There’s a lot of incongruity and confusion in this. The purpose of church music is not to communicate some sort of message, but rather to present the Word of God accurately and beautifully. Then the Holy Spirit will apply it to the heart. Simply following popular trends will cause us to forget our heritage, and at the same time, pervert our art forms.

Speaking of what is “high” in character, a mountain is literally high. In Scripture a mountain often symbolizes the presence of God: “Ye shall have a song, as in the night when a holy solemnity [or feast] is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come into the mountain of the LORD, to the mighty One of Israel.”(Isa. 30:29; Ref. De. 4:11; Ps. 48:1) Is there an implication here? The “pipe” here is not for the plumber, but for the musician. It expresses the “gladness of heart” when one comes to “the mountain of the Lord.”

2) What do I mean by music that manifests the majesty of God? By this I mean music that lifts us to heavenly places in Christ. Our God, the King, is high like the mountain. The highest form of music can be found in the European classical tradition; specifically, the Baroque period (1600-1750).

3) What do I mean by music that is an acceptable offering to God? By this I mean that singing coming from the whole heart in gratitude for what our Savior did for his people. Our offering of praise is acceptable. What is not acceptable to a holy God is the style of music found in the secular environ, or “low places,” such as, bar rooms and dance floors. Jesus said to a certain group of jews, “Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.” (Jn. 8:23) So, holiness is separateness.

4) What do I mean by music that is appropriate for worship? By this I mean that our style of music ought to hint or allude to spiritual things, rather than things of the world. The reason for coming to church is to be spiritually renewed for the week. If the music has dance rhythms, it could remind someone of their past sinful way of life, which might distract them from seeking spiritual guidance. To sound like the world simply sends the wrong message. Music itself is a message far beyond the lyrics. Appropriateness in church music will not distract anyone from that purpose. This brings us back to point #1, of having high character. To “keep up with the times” in music will only lead down the wrong pathway.

The popularity trap is a plague to the church. In this trap Christians deprive themselves of the sound doctrine found in the hymns of the past. The forefathers of the faith have left us a valuable and dependable source of sacred music in the hymns they wrote and the music they composed. So why should we cast aside centuries of prayerful and sacrificial work in the name of popularity? We shouldn’t.

CONCLUSION

Someone might ask, “Brother Jester, are you implying that we use more classical music in church?” Yes and no (I shall explain): Classical music adheres to Classicism, which generally pertains to the highest order of excellence in literature and art, and specifically pertains to the culture of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Since Classical music conforms to certain standards, and since Christians also conform to certain standards (as in the Bible), shouldn’t Classical music be considered “Christian” (if Christian means good)? Definitely a yes! Now, most of our hymns are not overly complicated, but if some were too complex, then the answer would be no. We don’t want to confuse anyone.

Keep in mind, the popular music of the 20th century has no direct link with Classicism; it was designed for other than noble purposes. It is not of the highest order. This is why the Traditionalist View of church music is valid. The European classical tradition acts as an anchor on a ship preventing it from being tossed to and fro in the storm of popular music trends. The biblical evidence reveals that the criteria I have shown here was used in composing the music for the Temple. Therefore, the same approach should be used in the Church today. We should always bring our best to God.

There is a joke among musicians in Croatia. I apologize if it sounds sacrilegious, but it’s just a joke. When Mozart died, St. Peter welcomed him into Heaven and took him to meet God. As they slowly made their way, Mozart was thrilled to hear the heavenly sounds of what he thought was the most beautiful music one could imagine. It was Heaven’s choir and orchestra. Thinking this, he met the Lord and the Lord said to him: “Oh Mozart! I am very pleased you’re here. You will be in charge of the ensemble.” And Mozart, a little bit confused, responded: “I would be most honored, oh Lord. But... do I deserve such a position? I mean, isn’t Bach around somewhere?” And God looked at him calmly and said: “I’m Bach.”

Of course, Bach is not God — but his music is heavenly! He was mortal like us, but used the talent God gave him, and he used it to the unrivaled ultimate end. Johann Sebastian Bach, a Lutheran believer, began most of his compositions with the initials “J. J.” for Jesu Juva: “Help, Jesus!” inscribed in the upper left corner of the page. He closed his greatest musical works with “S.D.G.” for Soli Deo Gloria: “To God alone, the glory.”

If you ever feel mentally stressed with the responsibilities and uncertainties of life, I encourage you to search online (YouTube) and listen to Bach’s “Sheep May Safely Graze,” the opening Chorus of his “Christmas Oratorio,” or his “B minor Mass;” or, Pergolesi’s “Stabat Mater;” or, Mozart’s “Lacrimosa” from his Requiem. And not to forget Handel’s “Messiah,” with which many are already familiar, and other sacred works of the period. Another benefit: This is the cure for boring Christmas music that surrounds us during this season. I hope that my suggestion will help you to sound off on a better “note” (pun intended) and get “Bach” in gear. If nothing else, it can be a means of escape. After all, Jesus said, “Come away by yourselves to an isolated place and rest a while.” (Mk. 6:31, UASV)

Soli Deo Gloria.

End