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Defensive Music Thread
- Thread starter subllibrm
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I pastor in the inner-city. I had occasional trouble with unseemly characters hanging out on my church front steps. I put up an exterior speaker (well secured) and piped it to an MP3 player with 1000 old-fashioned Gospel songs. Don't have that problem much anymore...
That's what you call a defensive use of music. As the infamous Rick Warren said, 'The kind of music you choose determines which kind of people you attract and which kind of people you lose.'
That's what you call a defensive use of music. As the infamous Rick Warren said, 'The kind of music you choose determines which kind of people you attract and which kind of people you lose.'
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Tom Brennan said:I pastor in the inner-city. I had occasional trouble with unseemly characters hanging out on my church front steps. I put up an exterior speaker (well secured) and piped it to an MP3 player with 1000 old-fashioned Gospel songs. Don't have that problem much anymore...
That's what you call a defensive use of music. As the infamous Rick Warren said, 'The kind of music you choose determines which kind of people you attract and which kind of people you lose.'
Lol
T
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subllibrm said:
2 Chronicles 20:1–25
After this the Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the Meunites, came against Jehoshaphat for battle. Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, "A great multitude is coming against you from Edom, from beyond the sea; and, behold, they are in Hazazontamar" (that is, Engedi). Then Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. And Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.
And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, and said , "O Lord, God of our fathers, art thou not God in heaven? Dost thou not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? In thy hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee. Didst thou not, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and give it for ever to the descendants of Abraham thy friend? And they have dwelt in it, and have built thee in it a sanctuary for thy name, saying, 'If evil comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house, and before thee, for thy name is in this house, and cry to thee in our affliction, and thou wilt hear and save.' And now behold, the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom thou wouldst not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not destroy—behold, they reward us by coming to drive us out of thy possession, which thou has given us to inherit. O our God, wilt thou not execute judgment upon them? For we are powerless against this great multitude that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon thee."
Meanwhile all the men of Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. And the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. And he said, "Hearken, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you, 'Fear not, and be not dismayed at this great multitude; for the battle is not yours but God's. Tomorrow go down against them; behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz; you will find them at the end of the valley, east of the wilderness of Jeruel. You will not need to fight in this battle; only take your position, stand still, and see the victory of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.' Fear not, and be not dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you."
Then Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. And the Levites, of the Kohathites and the Korahites, stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.
And they rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets, and you will succeed." And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him in holy array, as they went before the army, and say,
"Give thanks to the Lord, for his steadfast love endures forever."
And when they began to sing and praise, the Lord set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed. For the men of Ammon and Moab rose against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, destroying them utterly, and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they all helped to destroy one another.When Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; and behold, they were dead bodies lying on the ground; none had escaped. When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take the spoil from them, they found cattle in great numbers, goods, clothing, and precious things, which they took for themselves until they could carry no more. They were three days in taking the spoil, it was so much.
There are three ways that God protects his people from danger.
1.Sometimes he prevents danger from even arising on the horizon of our lives.
2.Other times he allows the danger to attack, and gives us the victory so that we live on and serve him in gladness.
3.But in the end one enemy is never driven off, the enemy of death. We will all die if the Lord does not return in our lifetime. But here, too, God protects. He protects us from unbelief, and preserves us for his heavenly kingdom.
.......
Worship and Song
Jehoshaphat's response to this word of promise is to fall on his face to the ground and worship. Verse 18: "Then Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord."
Then something different happens. While everyone is bowed down low on their faces before the Lord, a group of people stand up. And together they begin to praise the Lord. Verse 19: "And the Levites, of the Kohathites and the Korahites, stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice." Was this a spontaneous eruption of song from a few free spirits? Who were these people?
Turn with me back to 1 Chronicles 6:31. Here the writer is listing the families of the tribe of Levi. In verse 31 he says, "These are the men whom David put in charge of the service of song in the house of the Lord, after the ark rested there. They ministered with song before the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, until Solomon had built the house of the Lord in Jerusalem; and they performed their service in due order. These are the men who served and their sons. Of the sons of the Kohathites . . . " And then the descendants of Kohath the son of Levi are given.
In other words this group who stood up to praise the Lord in 2 Chronicles 20:19 are not merely a group of charismatic free spirits. They are the Choir of Israel. They are the group who ever since the time of David had been appointed to do the ministry of song in Israel. So they stood up while everybody else was bowed before God and they led the people and helped the people praise the Lord for his promised victory....
Warfare and Worship Through Singing
From this story I would draw out the following exhortation: Spiritual worship and spiritual warfare should be carried out with singing. In verse 19 when all the people fell down to worship, the choir stood up to sing. And in verse 21 when the people went out to meet the enemy, the choir went before them with songs of victory.
And even more than that, I think that the writer wants us to learn from verse 22 that the enemies of God are thrown into confusion by the songs of God's people. Or to put it another way, God has appointed the use of spiritual songs as an effective weapon against his archenemy Satan.
Borrowed with permission.