New: Lipscomb University Conference on Preaching 2008: from the IMAGINATION of denominational preachers.

Lynn Anderson  Psallo justifies Instrumental Music and sowing of Discord. REVISED 9.13.08 to organize rough thoughts.

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Elisha's Harpist (Minstrel): 2 Kings 3:15

When the wars were over, David the king and the commanders of the army assigned the prophesying Levites to the temple which would become the headquarters for the new state organized under a king "like the nations" so that they could worship like the nations.  This continued the two threads: the Civil-Priestly-Clergy thread and the Prophetic thread guided by the Spirit of Christ (1 Peter 1:11; Rev 19:10 etc.).

In the Elisha event you will note that as a man of God He used the harpist as the mark of grave damabe to the King-Priestly class. Jehoram is of the hated Ahab-Jezebal thread and was hated by Elisha as a spiritual opponent. When Elisha seemed to be forced into "prophesying" he used a harpist to accompany the "sermon" which would surely destroy all of the sources of tribute Jehoram wanted to fleece.  This is enacted when the preacher takes the role of king and clergy: God sends the music which in almost all cases destroys the source of illegal tithes and offerings from the OWNERS who are driven out by the music.

You should also read the concept of music as PLAY which is not a pretty sight.

When Elisha had to prophesy against his will the musical instruments were the marks of God's judgment upon the king. This is the total basis of INSTRUMENTS to be used as a MARK of God's judgment:

David, together with the commanders of the army, set apart some of the sons of Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun for the ministry of prophesying, accompanied by harps, lyres and cymbals. Here is the list of the men who performed this service: 1 Chron 25:1NIV

They were still military "musicians" even in the temple to keep the common people away from the animal sacrifices. However, here is one example of how they were used:

And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, 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. 2 Chron 20:20

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. 2 Chron 20: 21

The "church" or ekklesia in the wilderness was the Tabernacle in the wilderness. God commanded the silver trumpets to signal marches and to create panic in the enemy warriors. In Numbers 10:7:

But when the congregation is to be gathered together, ye shall blow, but ye shall not sound an alarm. Num 10:7

The alarm is:

Ruwa (h7321) roo-ah'; a prim. root; to mar (espec. by breaking); fig. to split the ears (with sound), i. e. shout (for alarm or joy): - blow an alarm, cry (alarm, aloud, out), destroy, make a joyful noise, smart, shout (for joy), sound an alarm, triumph.

"Music" or noise was prohibited when the people were to assemble or synagogue. This was always for instructions and not worship.

Psalm 41 prophesies that Judas will NOT triumph Jesus musically because before the time comes Judas will be dead. He was chased from the institution of the Lord's Supper when Jesus hand fed him SOP. Sop is directly related to the SPIRITUAL RUBBING caused by the word PSALLO which is translated as melody. The base meaning was WARFARE or twanging one to death with a bow (a type of zither) and arrow. It derives directly from Apollo, Abaddon or Apollyon who is just now resurrecting the LOCUSTS which are his MUSES or musical performers with STINGS in their tails.

Then and now music was used to panic the enemy. By the playing of instruments and singing a boast song you tried to convince the enemy to turn coward and surrender or run for their lives. Imagine a troup led by bagpipers approaching your lines and you can get the "high" feeling which is not spiritual:

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 Chron 20: 22

Rinnah (h7440) rin-naw'; from 7442; prop. a creaking (or shrill sound), i. e. shout (of joy or grief): - cry, gladness, joy, proclamation, rejoicing, shouting, sing (-ing), triumph.

Ranah (h7439) raw-naw'; a prim. root; to whiz: - rattle.

He mocketh at fear, and is not affrighted; neither turneth he back from the sword. Job 39:22

The quiver rattleth against him, the glittering spear and the shield. Job 39:23

This is the original meaning of Melody in Greek. It is derived from "grinding into a fine powder" or the "twanging of a bow string" or the whizzing "musical" cound of an arrow just sticking into your heart. The "rattling" of the arrows in the quiver sent a "drum-like" message that you were prepared to kill the enemy.

The description of the trumpets: Dead Sea Scrolls

[The Rule of the Trumpets: the trumpets] of alarm for all their service for the [ . . . ] for their commissioned men, 17[by tens of thousands and thousands and hundreds and fifties] and tens. Upon the t[rumpets . . . ]

[ . . . ] )8[ . . . ] 19[ . . . which ] 20 [,, . they shall write . . . the trumpets of Col. 3 the battle formations, and the trumpets for assembling them when the gates of the war are opened so that the infantry might advance, the trumpets for the signal of the slain, the trumpets of 2 the ambush, the trumpets of pursuit when the enemy is defeated, and the trumpets of reassembly when the battle returns.

7 0n the trumpets for assembling the infantry when the gates of war open that they might go out against the battle line of the enemy, they shall write, "A remembrance of requital at the appointed time 8 0f God."

On the trumpets of the slain they shall write, "The hand of the might of God in battle so as to bring down all the slain because of unfaithfulness."."

On the trumpets of ambush they shall write, 9 "Mysteries of God to wipe out wickedness."

On the trumpets of pursuit they shall write,"God has struck all Sons of Darkness, He shall not abate His anger until they are annihilated." °When they return from battle to enter the formation, they shall write on the trumpets of retreat, "God has gathered."

On the trumpets for the way of return from battle with the enemy to enter the congregation in Jerusalem, they shall write,"Rejoicings of God in a peaceful return."

See Numbers 10:7

The total message of music is that it is a mind control device to shatter the nerves of the enemy (making them feel excited but not spiritual) in order to take away their riches. When a church, for instance, is attacked by musicians you can bet that there are "spies in the camp" spying out your liberty and calculating how to take over your flock and buildings and grounds:

For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another. 2 Chron 20: 23

And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped. 2 Chron 20: 24

And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much. 2 Chron 20: 25

Now, let us look at how God used Elisha and the musicians to take away the spoils from Jehorah.

---

Second Kings, Chapter 3.  You will notice that this was not "worship" but the reluctant Elisha event proves that musical prophesying is a sign of great judgment.  Nor, would God use the harp to come to the aid of the son of Ahab.

We know that Canaanite prophets were organized in guilds centered on the larger sanctuaries, as, for example, 'the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the Asherah four hundred,' with whom Elijah had memorable dealings on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18). Similarly, Israelite cultic prophets were to be found in and around the sanctuaries, roving about in rowdy troops, working themselves up into frenzies by dancing and music, and uttering semi-coherent oracles which the credulous accepted as divinely inspired." (Heaton, E. W., Everyday Life in the Old Testament, p. 221, Scribners)

The Canaanite Baalism which had been practiced since Israel came into the land now had an official sponsor at the highest levels of power. Jezebel was not content to worship in her private temple but imported hundreds of prophets and put them on the public payroll just as God had warned. She went further to kill the prophets and tear down the altars for the worship of God. She was typical of the foreign wives who brought ecstatic worship into the nation of Israel and Judah. Of her it is said--

"But Jezebel was not content with maintaing a private shrine where she herself might practice her own religion; she appears to have organized the worship of Melqart on a fairly large scale and maintained a large staff of cultic officials, who enjoyed positions of influence at court. The worship of Melqart was essentially Canaanite in character, and its introduction into Israel led to a great revival of Canaanite worship of Baal and Asherah." (Bruce, F. F., Israel, p. 44).

"All these texts point, explicitly or implicitly, to the fact that the dance had a musical accompaniment. Even though the Bible makes no mention of it we must assume that the movements of the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel were made with an accompaniment on certain musical instruments... There is an obvious satirical intent in the biblical story and we could find no better illustration of a similar attitude than a rather curious bas-relief in the Museo delle Terme in Rome which

derides a ceremony of Isis. In front of a row of images of the gods, men and women are dancing with grotesque contortions; their knees are all bent their heads thrown back and their arms upraised; they are holding castanets or the double flute.

An aged choirmaster and a group of spectators mark time by clapping their hands." ( de Vaux, Roland, The Bible and the Ancient Near East, Doubleday, p. 242).

Elijah turned this madness against the king devoted to Asherah and Baal: not a good sign.

Rather, this even drove everyone mad and they destroyed the "goose that laid the golden egg."

"In Elisha's day the evil Moabites rebelled against Israel. They had a problem. The kings of Israel, Judah and Edom combined their armies and took a sneaky route to attack their enemy, the Moabites. In the hot desert they ran out of water. Now you don't want to run out of water in the hot desert. When they were dying of thirst they called on the prophet Elisha, and he told them to dig ditches. God sent water and filled those ditches. In the morning those ditches were full of water! They were refreshed.

But the enemy looked out there and saw all those ditches with the water and thought the water was blood,
and that these three forces had argued during the night and killed each other.
So they rushed in to take the spoils & were overwhelmed in a devastating battle. They got slaughtered. " Don J. Gettys

NOW Jehoram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years. 2 Kings 3:1

Jehoram was the son of Ahab and Jezebel. He had grown up with the hundreds of "prophets of Asherah and of Baal." Their practice had been to play music, sing, dance by bending the knee and even wounding themselves.

However, their effort was not a sign of spirituality but was a method by which God brought them to destruction even as Elijah accomplished God's will by quiet words.

And he wrought evil in the sight of the Lord; but not like his father, and like his mother:

for he put away the image of Baal that his father had made. 2 Kings 3: 2

Nevertheless he cleaved unto the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom. 2 Kings 3: 3

This was the worship of the same bull which destroyed Israel at Mount Sinai. Amos specificially attributes wine, women and song as the cause of Israel hungering and thirsting for the Word and never being able to find it.

"II Kings 3:4- "Now Mesha, king of Moab raised sheep. He was like a modern Arab Sheik.

This wealthy, powerful sheepmaster revolted because he detested the Israelites.
He hated to pay this heavy annual tax of 100,000 live lambs and the wool from 100,000 rams.
The death of Ahab became the ideal time to be independent.

"When Mesha got wind of Ahab's death he rounded up his strong men and... In the Bible it doesn't really say this, it just says they had a bad problem. He revolted and they rebelled. But according to the Moabite stone that the archaeologists dug up, these Moabites went out and killed over 7000 men, women, and children were killed. He murdered them. And so they had to do something.

And Mesha king of Moab was a sheepmaster,
..........and rendered unto the king of Israel an hundred thousand lambs, and an hundred thousand rams, with the wool. 2 Kings 3: 4

But it came to pass, when Ahab was dead, that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. 2 Kings 3: 5

Now, remember that the goal is to get the tribute paid by Moab. To get this many animals it would be necessary to restore control but not to destroy the resources.

Jehoram will go after the goodies without consulting God. God, in turn, had Elisha and the minstrel "sing a prophetic song." Sure enough, God would give them more water in the desert than they could consume, would provoke Moab into destruction and human sacrifice, and command Jehoram to destroy even Moab's ability to produce lambs, rams and wool.

And king Jehoram went out of Samaria the same time,
and numbered all Israel. 2 Kings 3: 6

And he went and sent to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, saying,

The king of Moab hath rebelled against me: wilt thou go with me against Moab to battle?

Remember that the Levitical Warrior Musicians were by the command of David and under the King and Commanders of the army. They helped in the national sacrifices but these were added after God virtually abandoned the nation to worship the starry host at Mount Sinai (Acts 7) and after they demanded a human king. God permitted this and regulated it but the kings were promised by God to drive the people into slavery and death.

And he said, I will go up: I am as thou art, my people as thy people, and my horses as thy horses. 2 Kings 3: 7

And he said, Which way shall we go up? And he answered, The way through the wilderness of Edom. 2 Kings 3: 8

You will notice that they didn't ask God but the king of Judah for advice.

So the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom: and they fetched a compass of seven days journey: and there was no water for the host, and for the cattle that followed them. 2 Kings 3: 9

And the king of Israel said,

Alas that the Lord hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab 2 Kings 3: 10

But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the Lord, that we may enquire of the Lord by him? And one of the king of Israels servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah. 2 Kings 3: 11

And Jehoshaphat said, The word of the Lord is with him. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him. 2 Kings 3: 12

And Elisha said unto the king of Israel,

What have I to do with thee?
get thee to the prophets of thy father,
and to the prophets of thy mother.

Elisha told them to consult the prophets of Asherah and of Baal imposed by Jezebel:

And the king of Israel said unto him, Nay: for the Lord hath called these three kings together,
to deliver them into the hand of Moab. 2 Kings 3: 13

That's what he said but we know that the Lord was not involved and Elisha knew it:

And Elisha said, As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whom I stand,

surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah,
I would not look toward thee, nor see thee. 2 Kings 3: 14

But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him. 2 Kings 3: 15

A minstrel is not a prophet. Rather the word is:

Nagan (g5059) naw-gan'; a prim. root; prop. to thrum, i. e. beat a tune with the fingers; espec. to play on a stringed instrument; hence (gen.) to make music: - player on instruments, sing to the stringed instruments, melody, ministrel, play (-er, -ing..

A word used for the same act is:

Chalal (h2490) khaw-lal'; a prim. root [comp. 2470]; prop. to bore, i. e. (by impl.) to wound, to dissolve; fig. to profane (a person, place or thing), to break (one's word), to begin (as if by an "opening wedge"); denom. (from 2485) to play (the flute): - begin (* men began), defile, * break, defile, * eat (as common things), * first, * gather the grape thereof, * take inheritance, pipe, player on instruments, pollute, (cast as) profane (self), prostitute, slay (slain), sorrow, stain, wound.

Therefore, the minstrel is not a prophet but a vile person who is used to define or take one's inheritance. That was the result of the "music."

Only the priests were to blow the trumpets and the Levits play the instruments. These were signals and a way to panic the enemy into flight. However, Elisha didn't call one of the two authorized military musicians.

If you back up a chapter Elisha gained the spirit of Elijah as a prophet. That is, he was an inspired person but not a priest or a clergyman. Rather, the prophets were sent to sound judgement against both Israel and Judah. Elijah had also shown the futility of musical worship by Jezebel's prophets.

Initially, God sent the musical prophets from the Philistine high place as a supernatural sign to Saul. Saul joined in with their prophesying and was "turned into another man." This means that his spirit was "perverted." This was necessary because God had promised as punishment that the kings would destroy the nation.

When Saul turned from a shy farmer into a boasting warrior who errected a monument in his own honor, God deserted him. Saul sought out David who played the harp. Saul was afflicted with what seems like schizophrenia. At one moment he was depressed and dangerous but music mediated this mental illness as we now know by producing several morphine-like drugs. However, this shot of "drugs" works momentarily and the backlash would have Saul try to pin David to the wall with a spear when he was playing. Saul had been prejudged by God for his sin and finally David the musician and his music drove him into a frenzy of "prophesying" which was a charismatic fit.

Now, Jehoram, son of Ahab does not believe in God and has concluded that he has been led out to be destroyed by Moab. What happens next is a visual aid common to the true prophets.

However, before we adopt the practices of the prophets on a wholesale basis, it is important to see that they--like the Law--were given primarily to convey God's warning to the people. In this warning we are taught what God truly wants of His people but in delivering their message they often acted out God's message as well as teach it. Therefore, we are to listen intently upon the prophetic message and not be detoured by their actions.

Some of the activities of prophets as signs were: they poured water on the hands of Elisha 2 Ki. 3:11; horses and chariots appeared around Elisha ( 2 Ki. 6:17; the heavens were opened Ezek. 1:1; Ezekiel was transported Ezek. 11:1; he lay down on his side Ezek. 4:5;1-4; he bound his hands Acts 21:11; he fell into a trance (Num. 24:4) and many other things. It would not occur to most people to try to mimic these symbols as acts of worship.

Rather than the musician soothing Elisha's spirit to "enable" him to prophecy, Elisha's spirit pronounced judgment upon the people of Moab even when both Israel and Judah didn't know which way to go through the wilderness.

You may want to go to Isaiah 30 and see how God's people had sinned. Note the rough sketch at the top of the page. While sparing them to some extent, God shows how Assyrian whom Israel imitated in burning babies would be destoyed to the beat of musical instruments. The image is very similar. We have also added the story of the king of Babylon and of Tyre to show that those who conquor with musical worship to deceive are defined as "harp-playing prostitutes" and will be destroyed.

Here, Elisha is, consistent with many prophecies, singing a song. You will notice that the prophecy is given and the refrain is what actually happened:

And he said, Thus saith the Lord, Make this valley full of ditches. 2 Kings 3: 16
For thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain;

yet that valley shall be filled with water, that ye may drink, both ye, and your cattle, and your beasts. 2 Kings 3: 17

And this is but a light thing in the sight of the Lord: he will deliver the Moabites also into your hand. 2 Kings 3: 18

And ye shall smite every fenced city, and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree, and stop all wells of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones. 2 Kings 3: 19

But, Whoa! It seems that the musical prophesying of Elisha caused the Moabites to DESTROY that which the Hebrews were trying to RECOVER!

And it came to pass in the morning, when the meat offering was offered, that, behold, there came water by the way of Edom, and the country was filled with water. 2 Kings 3: 20

And when all the Moabites heard that the kings were come up to fight against them, they gathered all that were able to put on armour, and upward, and stood in the border. 2 Kings 3: 21

And they rose up early in the morning,

and the sun shone upon the water, and the Moabites saw the water on the other side as red as blood: 2 Kings 3: 22

And they said, This is blood: the kings are surely slain, and they have smitten one another: now therefore, Moab, to the spoil. 2 Kings 3: 23

And when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and smote the Moabites, so that they fled before them: but they went forward smiting the Moabites, even in their country. 2 Kings 3: 24

And they beat down the cities, and on every good piece of land cast every man his stone, and filled it; and they stopped all the wells of water, and felled all the good trees: only in Kir-haraseth left they the stones thereof; howbeit the slingers went about it, and smote it. 2 Kings 3: 25

And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too sore for him, he took with him seven hundred men that drew swords, to break through even unto the king of Edom: but they could not. 2 Kings 3: 26

Then he took his eldest son that should have reigned in his stead,

and offered him for a burnt offering upon the wall.
And there was great indignation against Israel:
and they departed from him, and returned to their own land. 2 Kings 3: 27

This also points back to Isaiah 30 where the sin of Jerusalem was burning children in the red hot arms of the iron image of Molech to the beat of all kinds of musical instruments. Molech was the god of Moab.

In Isaiah 30 God defines how He will destroy the Assyrians to the beat of instruments but those of Israel who do not take the warning and repent.

Indeed, the end of Jerusalem was to the blast of Roman trumpets and many other instruments as they drove the people into panic, burned the city and the mothers ate their own children. In the end, perhaps a million Jews were burned at Topheth in the valley of Hinnom. This had once been king Solomon's "music grove." In Second Kings, we next hear of Moab:

The king also desecrated the high places that were east of Jerusalem on the south of the Hill of Corruption--the ones Solomon king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the vile goddess of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the vile god of Moab, and for Molech (Milcom) the detestable god of the people of Ammon. 2K.23:13

So, the moral of the story is that when you provoke God and demand an answer, don't be surprised that the huge income which you tried to force out of Moab is destroyed by your own army. Consistent with the story of Elijah and the prophets of Jehoram's mother, perhaps if Elisha had been consulted he could have gone to Moab and restored the tribute.

The king was also led to destroy the high places built by Solomon for Ashtoreth who was the TYPE of the harp-playing and perverted prostitute. She was also Inanna and this poem is the only reference we have to the GATES OF HELL which the church will prevail over as SHE has aroused herself as the Babylon Whore or the Mother of the Gods. See Revelation 18;22 etc.

So maybe if you number the people and try to extort tithes and offerings, God will send you a prophet holding a harp as a sign of self destruction?

See also Isa 30 define God beating the nations (Assyria, Egypt, Judah) to death to the BEAT OF MUSICAL instruments.

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