"And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he ---builded a city---, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch. And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech.
And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.
And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as ---dwell in tents, and of such as ---have cattle. And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the ---harp and ----organ.
And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an ---instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah. "
- Genesis 4:17-22
"The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing."
- Zephaniah 3:17
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As promised in earlier posts in the past, we are kicking of a new series taking a deeper look at something we all take for granted... something so innate to every human being ----something that affects EVERY human in some way, shape or form -------- the tapping out of a rhythm, or the notes of a melody.
You know it... sounds start coming out of a radio or little box, your feet start tapping in return, soon your hips are twitching, and before you know it -- you are embarrassing yourself and your loved ones by spastically jerking yourself into weird poses and making even weirder faces...!!!
What kind of black magic is this ??? !!!! ?
Please bear in mind, that you do not need a college degree in music to "appreciate it".
Much like art, people "know what they like".... even though one persons music may appear to be noise to the other... hip hop and doo-wop, death metal and jazz, k-pop and trance, classical and hillbilly.... there is no end is there ?....
However, to play music skillfully.... now there is a quest that is never-ending!!!!
Its a lot like understanding the Word .... we understand the basic things easily enough... but understanding the Person the Word represents... lifetimes are not adequate!!!
Music connects with us on a SPIRITUAL level, just like WORDS do, and A SONG is much easier to remember than a sermon....
.... Imagine, Hey Jude, Amazing Grace.... these are sermons delivered from the heart but made so much more powerful with instruments and rhythm, harmonies and embellishments.
One wonders what the melodies and arrangements were for the Psalms.... certainly in the book there are explicit instructions for how the Psalm was to be performed...
Nave's Topical Index gives us these definitions:
--Alamoth, literally virgins. It seems to indicate the rendering of the song by female voices, possibly soprano
--AlTaschith, seems to have been used to indicate the kind of ode, or the kind of melody in which the ode should be sung
-- Maschil. The meaning is obscure, but its signification where it occurs elsewhere than in the titles of Psalms is equivalent to the English word “instruction,” or to become wise by instruction
-- Michtam. Luther interprets as “golden,” that is, precious. Ewald interprets it as signifying a plaintive manner
--- Muthlabben. Authorities, ancient and modern, differ as to the probable signification. Gesenius and De Wette interpret it, “with the voice of virgins, by boys.” Others derive the word from a different Hebrew root, and interpret it as indicating that the Psalm was a funeral ode
-- Neginah and Neginoth. Its use seems to have been to indicate that the song should be accompanied by ---stringed instruments
--Nehiloth. It seems to indicate, according to Gesenius, that when this Psalm was sung it was to be accompanied by --wind instruments
--Selah. Its use is not known. Possibly it signified a pause in the vocal music while an instrumental interlude or finale was rendered
--Sheminith. Translated “eighth,” probably indicates the measure, movement, or pitch
--Shiggaion, and its plural, Shigionoth, are supposed to have been musical terms to guide in rendering the song. The term may suggest the movement in interpreting the music set to it.
--Shoshannim and Shushaneduth, seem to indicate the manner in which these Psalms were to be rendered. Kimchi, Tremellius, and Eichhorn render it “hexachorda,” that is, that in singing these Psalms instruments of six strings were to accompany
That's a lot of detail for a purely "religious" book of songs!
Satan is described in the book of Ezekiel .."Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy ----tabrets and of thy ----pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created." - Ezekiel 28:13
Tabret is "timbrel" or "tambourine", the word "pipe" is more interesting.
Strong's and Brown-Driver-Briggs render this word (the only time it occurs in the KJv is here)... as:
a. STRONG: a bezel (for a gem)
b. BDB - groove, socket, hole, cavity, settings, 1a) technical term relating to jeweller’s work
The Ezekiel text has been interpreted by some as Satan being able to play drums (tabret) and wind instruments (pipes)... we can certainly see that his ---drummer-- qualifications would seem to be valid (tabret/timbrel) , but the pipes could just be referring to the settings surrounding the gems mentioned as his covering....
Also, the fact that it was the offspring of Cain that built cities, developed the skills of rearing livestock, understood how to manage precious metals like brass and iron, and PLAY MUSIC (harp == stringed instruments, organ == wind + reed instruments)... and that their daddy Lamech, was a particularly unsavoury character, have colored the perception of music as being somehow ... "of the devil".
Quite the contrary. As our second text shows, and the book of Psalms demonstrates,... the skilful performance of music is something GOD HIMSELF indulges in and enjoys!
In the book of Revelation we see...
"And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.
And I heard a ---voice from heaven, as the --voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of ----harpers harping with their ----harps:
And they --------sung as it were a new song-------- before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth." - Rev 14:1-3
IN the MIDST OF TRIBULATION .... GOD releases a SINGLE !!!! ?
We do not mean to be irreverent, just exaggerating to draw your attention to so SINGULAR a fulfilment of HIS PROMISE IN ZEPHANIAH!!
Let us praise God for the gift of music that lifts our hearts and spirits!!
HALLELUJAH!!!