Year 3, Day 297: 1 Chronicles 25

Organization of the Priests

In chapter 25 we come to the musicians.  However, here is a very interesting point.  Notice the description in verse 1.  The musicians prophesied via the harp and the lyre and other instruments.  The important word there is prophesied.  You see, these aren’t just musicians.  These aren’t just people good at playing music.  These are people who use music to prophesy.

For a moment, let’s stop and remember what the term “to prophesy” means.  Many people think that prophesying means telling the future.  That is not true.  Those who tell the future are called “seers” in the Bible, not prophets.  Prophecy is not foretelling.  Rather, prophecy is forth-telling.  A prophet is not someone who predicts the future but one who speaks truth to their contemporaries.

Coming back to the text in 1 Chronicles, then, we hear that what the chronicler is saying is that these musicians used instruments, rhythm, beat, melody, and harmony in order to proclaim God’s truth to the people around them.  They weren’t just musicians.  They were far more than entertainers.  They made more than just music that was designed to cover the movement of the other priests.  There were musicians who spoke God’s truth into the people through a melodic means.  What a high calling for musicians!

In verse 1 we also see that these prophetic musicians were appointed by David and the “chiefs of service.”  Another way of interpreting that title is “commanders in warfare.”  These might seem like two distinct titles to the modern ear.  However, to the ancient mind this would absolutely make sense.  This phrase shows us the implicit tie between music and warfare and religion.  Armies marched out to war with their musicians.  The drums and other instruments would send messages, give the marching troops a rhythm so that they could stay in line with each other, strike fear into the enemy, and even provide a means of timing battlefield maneuvers.  The military and the musicians were incredibly tied!  {No wonder that high school football games still utilize marching bands!  You can’t go to war without your band, right?}

This would make sense to David.  When the people came to worship, they needed to be moved by music.  When the people went to warfare, they would need to be moved by music.  The more these worlds overlap, the more familiar the people would be with both worlds and successful in both worlds.

Moving on, we can see that there were 24 lots as there were with the other priests.  Each chorus of musicians would serve two weeks.  In this way their duties would rotate around the calendar and the worship year as we learned the prior chapter with the priests.  Just as the high holy days would need music, so would the mundane days of worship.  Every musician would have an opportunity at the high festivals and the mundane days at some point throughout their life.

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