"And (David) appointed certain of Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord, and to record, and to thank and praise the Lord God Israel. 5. Asaph the chief, and next to him Zechariah, Jeiel, and Shemariamoth, and Jehiel, and Matithiah, and Eliab, and Benaiah, and Obededom: and Jeiel with psalteries and with harps; but Asaph made a sound with cymbals.”
What is there in this text for us that is worth a few minutes of our time? What I saw here was that David appointed these men to do daily and continually what we should do. These musicians were sent to the tent where the Ark of the Covenant was housed to serve God. They were sent “to minister (serve) before that Ark of the Lord.” They were to use their musical gifts and talents to serve the Lord on a daily basis, just as God has given us gifts to serve Him daily. Jesus saved us and gifted us to serve Him in conjunction with our gifts. What does it mean they were to “record”? A study of the word translated “record” here can also mean to make “petition,” interestingly, however it can also be translated to "celebrate.” If there is one thing that the world needs from us today is to use our gifts to celebrate the Lord as a witness to the world. “Celebration” can many things. It can mean to really celebrate in our worship services. But, more importantly, it can also mean to live joyfully for Jesus before people in our daily lives. We should have attitudes of celebration. They were also to “thank…the Lord God of Israel.” We have also been called to use our Spiritual gifts in a spirit of thanksgiving. In order for us to do this we need to have thankful hearts. I remind myself of this often. Really and truly, when I count the blessings in my life, I have to be thankful. I remind myself of this when I get in a funk – come on you know what I mean – and have a difficult time praying. The old song is true: “Count your many blessings name them one by one and it will surprise you what the Lord has done." They were “to….praise the Lord God Israel.” I don’t know how these musicians sounded, or how their music praised the Lord, but I can imagine Asaph clanging those cymbals in a joyful praise of the God that he served. We don’t have cymbals to clang, at least that I know of, you might have cymbals in your church, but we do have hearts full of love and thanksgiving for the Savior who gave His life for our salvation. I hope that this message of thanksgiving has been a blessing to you and has prepared you for this special time of Thanksgiving. Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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