Singers to Sing

1Chronicles 15:1-16:6

Key Verse 1 Chronicles 15:16  

David told the leaders of the Levites to appoint their brothers as singers to sing joyful songs, accompanied by musical instruments: lyres, harps and cymbals.

In the movie Singing In the Rain, Gene Kelly finally falls in love with someone and sings a joyful song, saying, "Doo-doo-doo-doo, Doo-doo-doo-doo, I am singing in the rain, just singing in the rain. What a glorious feeling, I am happy again... the sun is in my heart and I am ready for love." He then finishes the song, saying, "Why am I smiling and why do I sing? Why do I get up each morning and start happy and head up with joy in my heart?  Why is each new task a trifle to do? Because I am living a life full of you." In the passage for today we meet a man who also sang and danced like crazy, not in the rain but in the Spirit of the Lord. His name is David. Let us meet him and ask him why he had to sing and dance. Let us think about the passage in two parts: 

Part I, Why did David sing and dance? 

According to 1 Chronicles 15:29, as people were singing in choirs together with musical instruments [in a grand orchestral setting], David danced and celebrated. 2 Samuel 6:14 is more expressive on the way David danced: "David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the LORD with all his might." I do not know how David performed in singing and dancing. Most likely David danced and sang like Gene Kelly. Or David must have danced like Mr.Tevye in the movie Fiddler on the Roof. Why did David sing and dance so joyfully? 

We know the answer: the ark of the Lord was entering the City of David. In the passage the word “ark” is repeated 18 times. Surely it was thanks to the ark coming in that he joyfully danced. It is to celebrate the ark entering the city that David organized a musical worship for the Lord. What then is so special about the ark? In what respect did the event constitute such a joyful occasion? We find answers to these questions from the way in which the Bible describes the ark as to its origin, design, and functions. 

(1) The ark’s origin.

The Bible calls the ark “the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel” (1Ch 15:12-14). The phrase, “of the Lord, the God of Israel” (especially the word “of”), indicates that the ark came from the Lord, not men; it originated from the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. The ideals built into the ark were first conceived in God’s mind, then at God’s right time the Lord God called Moses to himself, and commanded him to make the ark according to the plan shown on the mountain. As the Bible says, it is this God, the God of Israel, who sent Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world. 

(2) The ark’s design.

We can think about the ark’s design in two ways: its internal design and its external design. [At this moment we are not going to delve into the dimensions and the materials used to make the ark; we do not have time to do so. We will only focus on what the Lord commanded Moses to put inside and what are going to be the external components.] What did the ark contain inside? Hebrew 9:4b says, "This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron's staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant." These three items point to three components that are essential for man to have life and have it to the full. So let us think about them in order. 

(i) The gold jar of manna

As used in the Bible “manna” refers to the living Word that comes from the mouth of God. God’s Word is essential to man's life because Jesus said, "Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mount of God” (Mat 4:4).

(ii) Aaron’s staff

Aaron's staff that had budded represents God's power of resurrection. Numbers 17:1-11 describe the event where Aaron’s staff budded. Would someone stand and read this passage aloud? Imagine twelve dry staffs with the name of a leader on each of them. All of them had dried up. According to the Lord’s command, Moses put the twelve dry staffs in the tent. Then what happened the next morning? Nothing happened, except what happened to Aaron’s staff. Eleven staffs remained dry; they all remained dead, with no hint of life. But Aaron’s staff was different! What happened to it? Overnight Aaron's staff not only sprouted but had budded, blossomed and produced almonds! Why did it produce almonds? The answer is obvious. Aaron’s staff was made from an almond tree! So let us stop for a moment and think about Aaron’s which was from an almond tree. What is so special about almonds? In Hebrew “almond” means "the awakening one" (or “the one that is wakeful” or “the one who hastens”). Almond trees bear its blossoms in the midst of winter, on a naked, leafless stem, and the color of the flowers is pinkish white. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! Almonds also represent God’s faithfulness in fulfilling the words of his promise. Whatever God promises to do, he will fulfill.  

(iii) The stone tablets of the covenant (or Testimony)

The stone tablets of the covenant stand for the blessed relationship that gives life to man and then sustains and nurtures life so that man would have life and have it to the full. Written on the two stone tablets are Moses' Ten Commandments which consist of two parts: the commandments that deal with relationship with God and the commandments that deal with our relationship with our neighbors. In essence the first four commandments talk about our love for God and the next six about our love for our neighbors. In summary the stone tablets of the covenant define the life-giving, life-sustaining, and life-fulfilling relationship based on love. At the Spring Conference we had the 2007 UBF Olympics. One of the exciting games was Scripture Egg Hunt. I belonged to the White Team. During the Egg Hunt, I was given a scripture to memorize, and guess what I received: 1Corinthians 13:8. I was overjoyed. I fully memorized. I was ready to recite. I waited and waited for my turn to come. But alas! Jason never asked anyone who got the 1Corinthians 13:8 egg. I was disappointed. But now I have the opportunity to recite it for you: "Love never fails." Say, aloud, "Love never fails!" In Jesus, we have this love, for Jesus who died on a tree demonstrated the kind of love God has for all of us! And this is the reason among all reasons to celebrate our life in the Lord! 

What is on the outside of the ark? What are external components of the Ark of the Covenant? There are two components: an atonement-cover of pure gold; and two cherubim made out of hammered gold. 

(i) The atonement cover (Exodus 25:17; Lev 16:13-14) 

The atonement cover (which is also known as “the mercy seat”) refers to the golden plate that went to the top of the Ark of the Testimony. This “cover” denotes God’s mercy to “cover” sinners based on the atoning sacrifices of innocent animals, like a year old male lamb, bull, or ram, which is symbolic of Christ’s sacrifice.  

(ii) Two Cherubim

The place where the two cherubim are located denotes the presence of God. Would someone rise and read for us Exodus 25:18-22? Note that in Exodus 25:22 the Lord said, "There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites."  

(3) The ark’s functions

1 Chronicles 16:4 reads, “He appointed some of the Levites to minister before the ark of the LORD, to make petition, to give thanks, and to praise the LORD, the God of Israel.” This verse indicates that the Ark of the Lord served as the Lord’s sanctuary where the Lord chose to dwell among his children. In verse 16:4, we see the phrase, “before the ark of the Lord.” It was before the ark that the Lord’s servants were to minister, to make petition, to give thanks, and to praise the Lord. We can sum up these expressions in one word: worship. It was before the ark of the Lord that the Levites were to conduct worship services. In this way the Ark of the Covenant served as the place of worship. 

The entire schemes built into the ark of the Lord draw for us a picture of the blessed way for us to come to the Father though Jesus, the Savior. Through Jesus' death and resurrection, and through sending the Holy Spirit to his children, the Lord God opened up a new and living way.  

In summary the Ark of the Covenant refers to the blessed way for us to have a blessed life in the blessed presence of the blessed God through the blessed Lord Jesus Christ. This is the reason above all reasons for us to celebrate the life in the Lord. As we secure the blessed worship in the blessed relationship with the blessed Lord, then, the blessings will overflow into our life. 

Testifying to the blessed life in the Lord, 1 Chronicles 13:14 reads, "The ark of God remained with the family of Obed-Edom in his house for three months, and the LORD blessed his household and everything he had." Say, "The Lord blessed his household." Say, "The Lord blessed everything he had." The practical message for us here is to bring Jesus Christ into our household and daily rejoice in Him as David brought the ark into his city and rejoiced before Him. 

Part II, How did David organize the joyful worship in the Lord? 

In view of the blessedness of the life in the Lord, what should we do? In the passage David set the example by which we should worship the Lord: by making joyful music to the Lord. Prominent among the Bible passages on David's practice of worship in song is the key verse for today: 1 Chronicles 15:16, “David told the leaders of the Levites to appoint their brothers as singers to sing joyful songs, accompanied by musical instruments: lyres, harps and cymbals.”

Now let us think about the practical aspects of the worship. For the musical worship David secured the pool of human resources – four thousand musicians dedicated to serving the Lord with musical instruments (1Ch 23:5b); he appointed 288 music directors all of whom were trained and skilled in music for the Lord (1Ch 25:7). David appointed singers to sing joyful songs, accompanied by musical instruments; the musicians were to sound bronze cymbals, to play the lyre and to play harps. Kenania was in charge of the singing, for that was his responsibility because he was skillful at it. At the Lord’s temple the singers of the choirs were organized to sing songs according to the pre-arranged orders. Then as they brought the ark to the city of David all Israel made joyful sounds with shouts of joy, with the sounding of ram’s horns and trumpets, and of cymbal, and the playing of lyres and harps. Thereafter as the ark stayed at the place David had provided in Jerusalem, David appointed ministers consisting of Levites and priests that they would conduct worship services before the Lord by playing lyres and harps, by sounding the cymbals, with priests blowing trumpets regularly.  After Solomon built the temple and brought the ark inside of the holy of holies, the priests and Levites conducted the joyful worship according to the patterns set up by King David all in accordance with the priestly divisions. 

Look at the key verse again. “David told the leaders of the Levites to appoint their brothers as singers to sing joyful songs, accompanied by musical instruments: lyres, harps and cymbals.” By this time a question or questions might have arisen in your mind: “Why did David choose to worship the Lord musically? Where did he get the idea? Isn’t the worship service meant to be quite, tranquil, and serene?” Yes, it is. Then why do we have to worship with joyful songs? Why with musical instruments? Why even with joyful dance?

We can easily answer these questions when we think about the very nature of God, that is, God is the God of joyful harmony. When we look at the way God created the universe and everything in it, we can see God’s harmony every where. For example the rainbow comes with seven colors and seven is a perfect number. As we look at a rainbow appearing in the sky, joy erupts in our hearts. The same is true with musical notes which are seven: Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti. As we sing joyful songs sung in beautiful harmony, our hearts become joyful: the joyful melody breaks down the thick clouds of sadness, and fills our hearts with heavenly joy. 

When we do this, we can experience the presence of God who in turn blesses us with the blessings he has for us. As we secure his presence in a joyful mood and spirit, God’s miracles will become commonplace. Healings will be immediate, revelations will abound, spirit will be lifted up, and bones will become strong. The Prophet Nehemiah also understood that God is a joyful God and said in Nehemiah 8:10, “The joy of the Lord is your strength.” No wonder that even when the prophets were coming down from the mountain with lyres, tambourines, flutes, and harps being played before them, they were prophesying. (1 Samuel 10:5) Do not forget that it was when Paul and Silas started singing joyful songs to praise the Lord around midnight while they were in prison that even the prison doors flew open and the chains came loose. (Acts 16:25)

The other side of the coin is also true: if we become sullen, gloomy, moody, by ourselves indulging in these negative emotions, we are already misrepresenting God. Of course the Scripture says, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise” (Proverbs 51:17). But this does mean that God wants you to be broken all the time. In the first place, it is due to man forgetting that God is the source of true entertainment that even a man like David committed the sin of adultery and murder, that he lost all the joy of life. So he had to cry out to God to restore to him the “joy” of salvation. So God’s will for his children is to be joyful. If you are not joyful, “Weep and wail!” Why? As you indulge yourself in  negative emotions, remaining sullen, complaining to God, you go farther away from God and he cannot bless you with his blessings, nor can you expect to experience God bringing about His healing. 

At this moment then I would like to encourage everyone to read 2 Chronicles 29:25, because this passage directly testifies that God is a joyful God and he “commanded” his children to worship Him with joyful music: “He stationed the Levites in the temple of the LORD with cymbals, harps and lyres in the way prescribed by David and Gad the king's seer and Nathan the prophet; this was commanded by the LORD through his prophets.” This passage indicates that God commanded his children to worship the Lord with joyful music, not just because of him but because of us, so that as we worship the Lord with joyful songs, the Lord can bless us with all the blessings he has for us.   

One word: singers to sing

 In 627 B.C. Jeremiah received God's calling to a prophetic ministry at the age of 20. Upon receiving God's calling Jeremiah was at quite a loss and said, "Ah, Sovereign Lord, I do not know how to speak. I am only a child." Then [in a dream] the Lord showed him a branch and said, "What do you see, Jeremiah?" Jeremiah said, "I see the branch of an almond tree." The Lord said, "You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled." So Aaron's staff that had budded denotes God's faithfulness to fulfill the words of his promises. A couple named Bill and Margaret were enthusiastic about the Bible promises, so they counted all the promises in the Bible. They found 1,260 promises. Of the 1,260 promises, perhaps the most exciting one (and probably most difficult to believe, for it is too good to believe) is the promise for God to give each believer a resurrected body. Yet this promise is so important and critical to us having life to the full that Jesus repeated the same promise in one chapter of John’s gospel, not just once or twice but four times. John 6:39 says, “And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.” John 6:40 says, “[M]y Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” John 6:44 says, “ No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.” John 6:45 says, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” 

 For the details on the way to atone for the sins of the sinners, please read the Scriptures such as Leviticus Chapter 16, especially 16:13-14.]  The Bible says that the laws (set forth in the Book of Moses) are only a shadow of the good things that are coming, and the reality is found in Christ Jesus. (cf. Hebrews 10:1; Colossians 2:17) Indeed the atoning sacrifice which is represented by the atonement cover looks to the blessing made available in Jesus Christ, that is, the blessedness of having all of our debts (or sins, if you will) cancelled (or forgiven). At the Spring Bible Conference Shepherd Jay Irwin served a message entitled, “Father Forgive Them.” In his message he testified that thanks to the blood sacrifice of our Lord Jesus, those who believe in Jesus receive the grace of sin-forgiveness and will not have to suffer loss. 

 One may wonder "Why did God choose to meet his people between the two cherubim?" We can find an answer to this question when we think about the tasks the Lord assigned to cherubs. A cherub is an angelic being. It is a living creature created by God. The Lord God gave it special tasks, that is, to guard the way to the presence of God and the mission to serve as the Lord’s vehicle to carry the Lord’s glory. [For this reason Hebrew 9:5 calls the cherubim “the cherubim of the Glory”.]  We see this truth first in Genesis and then in Ezekiel. In Genesis 3:24, upon Adam sinning, the Lord drove the man out of his presence. Then the Lord placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim [and a flaming sword flashing back and forth] to guard the way to the tree of life. In Ezekiel it is seen that the living creatures (cherubim) serve the Lord as a vehicle carrying the glory of God (cf. Eze 1; 9:3; 10:4,19; 11:22; Heb 9:5). 

 Speaking of this truth Jesus declared: "I am the way and the truth and the life" (John 14:6). Later the Risen Jesus revealed this truth to the Apostle Paul who in turn said in 2 Corinthians 3:18, "And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." 

 The Bible also abounds with evidences that God is the God of joy. In 1 Timothy 1:11, for example, the Apostle Paul calls God the “blessed God.” Here the word “blessed” means “happy.” This indicates that God is the God of joy. 

Because God is a joyful God, it is very important for us to serve the Lord with joyful songs, by making joyful music. In fact it is in a joyful mode that we can reach God most directly. There is one Jewish saying that goes, “Music is the most direct means to reach God.”