"And from thence they went to Beer: that is the well whereof the LORD spake unto Moses, 'Gather the people together, and I will give them water. '
Then Israel sang this song,' Spring up, O well; --sing ye unto it: '
The princes digged the well, the nobles of the people digged it, by the direction of the lawgiver, with their staves."
- Numbers 21:16-18
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What is the longest song in the Bible? .... take a minute, look away, chew things over...Here it is in "Who wants to be a millionaire" format...
Q. The longest Song in the Bible is:
A. The Song of Moses
B. The Song of the Lamb
C. Psalm 119
D: The Song of Solomon
Well....?
If you picked answer C, you are correct. It is indeed the longest song recorded in the Word, 22 stanzas (one for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet), with 8 verses per stanza for a total of 176 verses, the Song of Solomon (a whole separate book) weighing in at 117 verses.
The subject of the Longest Song, is the wonder of the ---Word of God---, the subject of the Song of Songs (Song of Solomon) is the ---Love between God and His people, symbolized by the relationship between a man and woman. Wonderful !!!
OK, now, what is the SHORTEST SONG?
We will not ask you to find it, but there are two or three candidates.
A. "For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever:" - 2 Chronicles 5:13
We looked at this verse earlier in the series, Music & Unity.
B. "Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever." - 2 Chronicles 20:21
Here, singing moves the Hand of the LORD to overcome an ARMY!!! ( You might also recall that the walls of Jericho were brought down by trumpets and shouting )
"Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.
And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed --singers-- unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say,'Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever'.
And ---when they began--- to sing and to praise---, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten."
- 2 Chronicles 20:20-22
A & B are great verses to sing when you are going through difficult times!!!
C. "Then Israel sang this song, Spring up, O well; sing ye unto it:" - Our text this week
In English, C narrowly edges out A, B coming in at 8 words, as opposed to 10 for A, 9 for B. In Hebrew, it is just 3 words ...' alah beer anah' ... Arise/Ascend, Well, Testify/Speak/Announce.
What a strange song!!
It occurs at a strange time too, right after Moses erects the brazen serpent on the pole to heal the people from the venom of snakebites.
The Bible records that the Israelites picked up and moved after the pole event, passing through several places, (Numbers 21:10--- ) , before finally coming to what we know as Beersheba, where they ------RE-DUG---- a well that --Abraham, --Isaac, & --Israel had dug much earlier, recorded for us in Genesis.
Here is what the International Standard Standard Bible Encyclopedia has to say about BeerSheba...
1. The Meaning of the Name
The most probable meaning of Beersheba is the “well of seven.” “Seven wells” is improbable on etymological grounds; the numeral should in that case be first. In Gen_21:31 Abraham and Abimelech took an oath of witness that the former had dug the well and seven ewe lambs were offered in sacrifice, “Wherefore he called that place Beer-sheba; because there they sware both of them.” Here the name is ascribed to the Hebrew root שׁבע, shābha‛, “to swear,” but this same root is connected with the idea of seven, seven victims being offered and to take an oath, meaning “to come under the influence of seven.”
Another account is given (Gen_26:23-33), where Isaac takes an oath and just afterward, “the same day Isaac's servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged (dug), and said unto him, We have found water. And he called it Shibah: therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba unto this day.”
2. A Sacred Shrine
Beersheba was a sacred shrine. “Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of Yahweh, the Everlasting God” Gen (Gen_21:33). Theophanies occurred there to Hagar (Gen_21:17), to Isaac (Gen_26:24), to Jacob (Gen_46:2), and to Elijah (1Ki_19:5). By Amos (Amo_5:5) it is classed with Bethel and Gilgal as one of the rival shrines to the pure worship of Yahweh, and in another place (Amo_8:14) he writes “They shall fall, and never rise up again,” who sware, “As the way (i.e. cult) of Beersheba liveth.” The two unworthy sons of Samuel were Judges in Beersheba (1Sa_8:2) and Zibiah, mother of King Jehoash, was born there (2Ki_12:1; 2Ch_24:1).
3. Its Position
Geographically Beersheba marked the southern limit of Judah, though theoretically this extended to the “river of Egypt” (Gen_15:18) - the modern Wady el‛Avı̄sȟ - 60 miles farther south. It was the extreme border of the cultivated land. From Dan to Beersheba (2Sa_17:11, etc.) or from Beersheba to Dan (1Ch_21:2; 2Ch_30:5) were the proverbial expressions, though necessarily altered through the changed conditions in later years to “from Geba to Beer-sheba” (2Ki_23:8) or “from Beer-sheba to the hill-country of Ephraim” (2Ch_19:4).
Interesting, but what does this have to do with Singing??
The juxtaposition of the Brazen Serpent, a Well of Seven connected all the way back to Abrahams wandering in Canaan, and life-giving water springing up due to a covenant... !!
Israel is singing to the Holy Spirit to flow forth and give life and victory to his children.
What a picture of the work of the spirit and the Church we find, where it is the work of the noblemen and princes to get in the mud and dirt, and dig with whatever they have, and bring life giving water to the people, under the direction of the Lawgiver!
Let the church sing of victory today because of the enduring mercy and greatness of God.
Let the church sing to the Spirit to rise up and overflow in the hearts of all those that Love the Lord with the love the Shunammite woman has for her spouse in the Song of Songs.
Let the pure water of the Word wash His people clean, as every word in Psalm 119 resounds in every heart.
Pray that the well in your spirit is flowing with life-giving water, and has not dried up or been choked with the cares and refuse of this world.
If it has, you need to dig ... under the direction of the Spirit! Yes, it is work, but the rewards are out of this world!
Hallelujah!