TAM Initiative

Created by God and given to humankind, music is a powerful vehicle for “conversing” with the Lord, and for us to proclaim His message. Its potential is expressed in the Scriptures through various statements and events. In our personal experience, we also notice that music demonstrates the power to transport us mentally to other places, or to create and re-create emotions we have experienced, some of which we had already forgotten. Precepts and propositions about this phenomenon arose and were recorded as far back as the ancient world. From Plato to the present, musicians, philosophers, and other thinkers interested in the subject have contributed to this theme.

In the coming articles, we will take an excursion through the ages and examine human perception of music through time. Grounding our entire understanding on what God has revealed to us in His Word, our first stop — and the most important — will now be divine revelation itself. We cannot explore everything the Word of God tells us on this subject extensively, but we will explore a few points that identify the purposes and the divine conviction regarding the power of music to carry a message.

The book of Genesis records that Jubal, a descendant of Cain, was “the father of all who play the harp and flute,” thus establishing the fact that, in addition to the human voice, musical instruments were part of the context of human existence from early in our history, even though we do not know the details of the creation of those first instruments.

In Exodus 15, after crossing the Red Sea, Moses and all the people recounted the event that had just occurred through a song. It served as praise to God and as inspiration for generations to this day. In Numbers 21, when the people of Israel were in the wilderness, they sang a prayer in expectation that the well would provide them water as God had promised. Years later, in Deuteronomy 31 and 32, we read that God commanded Moses to write a song that apparently contained portions of the law, promises, and exhortations, for the purpose of leaving it as a witness.

Joshua 6 tells us that God instructed the priests to blow trumpets and indicate the moment when the people would shout and the walls of Jericho would fall. In Judges 5 we read the story of the prophetess Deborah, who, in view of the victory achieved, sang and called kings and peoples to hear the praise she offered to the Lord. Without a doubt, the classic Old Testament reference concerning the power of music over human beings is found in 1 Samuel 16:23: “And whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed from him.”

The inference we draw from these few instances mentioned above is that God Himself prompts the composition of songs to fulfill His purposes. He records the name of the person who apparently created and promoted the use of instruments, which became vehicles of His praise (see Psalm 150, for example), and uses them to direct battles; the Lord commands the writing of songs in various situations to serve as memorials of His power and His glory; God shows that He hears and answers prayers offered through songs. We are also struck by the fact that songs were carriers of the revelation of the divine Word, and that instruments were part of His plan. All of this suggests that, in musical form, His already-revealed message can and should be proclaimed effectively and enduringly.

To be continued . . .