Healing music doesn’t come from skilled musicians but anointed, prophetic ones

 

 

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1 Samuel 16:15-18 says: “And [King] Saul’s servants said to him, ‘Behold now, a harmful spirit from God is tormenting you. Let our king now command your servants who are before you to seek out a man who is “yada experientially, relationally knowing” or “eido mentally ‘seeing’ to perceive/know” to psalm (a) the kinnowr/kinura 10-stringed harp, and when the harmful spirit from God is upon you, he (the musician) will psalm it, and you (Saul) will be well.’ So Saul said to his servants, ‘Find me a man who psalms yatab/orthos and bring him to me.’”  The servants had one idea and the king another using 2 different sets of words!  Talk about ‘putting words in someone’s mouth!”  <Notes> a) nagan: touch/play a stringed instrument; psallo:  “hit, twang, pluck, or twitch” out a song with/without singing.

 

The servants used the Hebrew word yada in the Qal form meaning “acquainted with or understands or is wise by learning or experience acquired through the senses.”  This the word used throughout the OT (a) for experientially, relationally knowing God, normally translated into Greek ginosko.  This is absolutely not gnosis info-knowledge that only “puffs you up” (b).  I know too many “heady” musicians that can show you every scale but they just don’t have “feel or soul” when they play, and few really know how to “groove!”  Instead, a different Greek word eido is used here, which instead means “eido mentally ‘seeing’ to perceive/know.”  This not something you get from reading a book either, but how prophets would know God and His will – by God putting it into their minds.  “The servants” were thus suggesting to the king that he get a musician who ‘knows his stuff’ either from direct experience, more than just book knowledge.  <Notes> a) Psalms 46:10; Jeremiah 31:34, b) 1 Corinthians 8:1.

 

However, the king wasn’t going to have his servants put words in his mouth!  He used a different Hebrew word yatab in the Hiphil form as in Psalms 33:3 from Joy – BT6, meaning praiseworthily-gloriously-joyfully-beautifully-harmoniously playing” (a).  Like Psalms 33:3 the context of this verse and every other verse concerning music does not support a translation of “psalms well or skillfully,” as too many translations wrongfully imply, but emphasizes the attitude and focus of the players. The Greek word orthos was used to emphasize that the musician was to literally be: “horizontally level or straight or direct,” or figuratively be: “straight up, erect, or upright in character.”  Again, this has NOTHING to do with the externals of skill but the internals of character!  Both translations focus on internal quality of attitude.   <Notes> a) The Hebrew yatab in the Hiphil form means: “1. literally, to make a thing good, right, beautiful, or glorious, 2. figuratively, to cause to be/make happy, glad, or joyful through rejoicing, 3. figuratively, to do good to, deal well or ethically with a person, 4. figuratively, to make successful or effective by doing thoroughly or well.”

 

The servants naturally cared about externals, but the king was concerned about internals.  Instead, the king wanted an “upright (godly), honorable, beautifully-harmoniously-balanced, joyful, praiseworthy” musician that could meet his deeper needs – healing-restoration from God.  So he needed someone ‘straight’ with God or of a character God that could ‘praise.”  And that was David!  And God did!

 

1 Samuel 16:18 continues:  “One of the young [servant] men answered, ‘Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse [David] the Bethlehemite, who is ‘yada experientially, relationally knowledgeable’ or ‘eido mentally ‘seen’ to perceive/know psalming” and the Greek adds “a sunetos man who has ‘connect-the-dots’ understanding,” then the Hebrew text adds: “and mighty valiant man,” and both texts continue:  “a warrior,” and Hebrew biyn ‘mentally distinguished for understanding, diligently/eloquently instructed’ or Greek sophos ‘wise one’ in dabar or logos messages (a) and a man to’ar/agathos handsome/good-beautiful to the sight, and the Lord is im/meta (b) him.’”  <Notes> a) dabar: of words, message, saying, sentence or section of discourse, report, counsel, charge, reason, a way or manner; logos: message content, b) im: equally beside or with; meta: changed afterward after being with.

 

O yes, one servant understood the king this time!  They said David was “experientially, relationally knowledgable or perceiving to know and “a rationally understanding” and “wise, distinguished for understanding one” for “psalming.”  Now we know from 1 Chronicles 15:16-22 and 25:1-8 that the musicians that David would later assign to be like him as “having sunesis ‘connect-the-dots’ understanding” in their playing, were most likely all prophets who got their skill directly from God – see Music-Prophetic and Skill.  Very wisely, “this servant” brought out to the king David’s other admirable qualities:  “courageous warrior, wise speaker, and handsome man” but he saves the best for last, what I believe they wanted the king to remember:  “God was WITH him!”  That was like being a prophet!  I bet that’s exactly what helped Saul make the final decision!  None of those others things would help with his sickness, but surely that would – see Prophetic and Signs, Wonders, and Healing.

 

It should be noted in 1 Samuel 16:23 that AS SOON AS David played, the harmful spirit left Saul and he was refreshed and made well.  Again, it is very unfortunate that many translations have misled readers to think that King Saul wanted just a knowledgeable, skillfully musician, like the servants suggested who consistently focused on external worldly traits that would impress a king.  It’s a crying shame these translations think that the king was just looking for someone who could play “good, well, excellently, or skillfully.”  If that was the case, why would the king state the obvious – why would he even consider a novice?  It’s a given he would be looking for a skilled musician, so why would he ask for this?  These translators have really diverted the reader from the main point – that the king needed an “upright (godly), honorable, beautifully-harmoniously-balanced, joyful, praiseworthy” musician, and that one servant got it exactly right: “that the Lord is im/meta him” as with a prophet!  The king was looking for a miracle and only 1 servant got it right, but it appears many translators got it wrong!

 

Reflection:

 

 

As Christian musicians, even if we are skilled, knowledgable musicians that plenty of bookers and even churches are looking for, that plenty of worldly musicians are, or even if they happen to be “upright (godly), honorable, beautifully-harmoniously-balanced, joyful, and praiseworthy” as many Christians musicians are, if we aren’t going beyond this, we simply aren’t much different than the world, and thus still in the “might and power” of the flesh and palaios “old, dated, ancient, antiquated, worn-out, weak, worthless, and useless” covenant!  That’s where a lot of Christian music is stuck!  These really are all “stones” that are helping build The Great Wall that is quenching the Holy Spirit in the Church.  We must get to the final qualification that actually bring healing, the very definition of soteria salvation:  “the Lord is WITH us” as with prophets!  With anointed and prophetic, even spontaneous music, we can even drive out demonic spirits and heal people!

 

Prayer:

 

 

Lord, we want to go beyond ‘the same old same old’ that got the Jews nowhere and much of the Church that quenches the Holy Spirit by building The Great Wall between them and You by ‘borrowing stones’ from the palaios “old, dated, ancient, antiquated, worn-out, weak, worthless, and useless” covenant that You replaced by the completely-different-in-kind-superior New Covenant.  We surrender-control of it ALL and not put our trusting-relying-faith solely on Your “by My Spirit” instead of our “by might and power” of external resources and internal abilities like skill.  We know the only difference that will matter when it comes to supernatural healing and enabling-power is have we been really “WITH You” for You to be “WITH us” so that “all things are now possible.”  Help us meno connect and remain connected to You “so that we can indeed bear much fruit.” See A 11-21-2021 Vision about Meno abiding.