Music

Music

1. Music is not an earthly invention, it was created by God.

a. There is music in heaven.

1). Revelation 15:2, 3 And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.

And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.

b. Angels sing and praise God.

1). Job 38:4-7 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.

Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?

Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;

When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

2). Luke 2:8-14 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

2. There are millions of angels, but there are only three that are named in Scripture.

a. Gabriel: messenger angel.

1). Luke 1:19 And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings.

b. Michael: warring angel.

2). Revelation 12:7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

c. Lucifer: anointed covering cherub, minister of music.

3. There are two important passages of Scripture that shed light on Lucifer and his status in heaven. Both of the passages discuss his fall and both involve music.

a. Ezekiel 28:11-19 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

  Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.

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.

Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.

Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.

By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.

Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.

Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.

All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.

1). Although it is addressed to the king of Tyrus, it is clear God is speaking to the being behind the king, a cherub or cherubim.

2). workmanship [4399 * mela’kah] [Strong: from the same as 4397; properly, deputyship, i.e. ministry; generally, employment (never servile) or work (abstractly or concretely); also property (as the result of labor):--business, + cattle, + industrious, occupation, (+ -pied), + officer, thing (made), use, (manner of) work((-man), -manship).]

a). The workmanship could refer to level of artistry used in the creation of these items, or it could refer to its use, ministry and purpose after they were created. I believe it is both.

3). tabrets [8596 * toph] [Strong: from 8608 contracted; a tambourine:--tabret, timbrel.]

4). pipes [5345 * neqeb] [Strong: a bezel (for a gem):--pipe] [Gesenius: a socket for setting a gem, others understand it to be a “pipe” from the root word meaning ‘to bore through’ but this is not suitable to the context.]

5). There are two schools of thought on Ezekiel 28:13. One school of thought leans toward “settings and mountings” in respect to precious stones of Lucifer’s covering. The following translations are cited.

a). Ezekiel 28:13 [NIV] You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz and emerald, chrysolite, onyx and jasper, sapphire,* turquoise and beryl.* Your settings and mountings* were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared.

b). Ezekiel 28:13 [NASB] "You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The ruby, the topaz and the diamond; The beryl, the onyx and the jasper; The lapis lazuli, the turquoise and the emerald; And the gold, the workmanship of your *settings and *sockets, Was in you. On the day that you were created They were prepared.

c). Ezekiel 28:13 [RSV] You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, carnelian, topaz, and jasper, chrysolite, beryl, and onyx, sapphire, carbuncle, and emerald; and wrought in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they were prepared.

6). The other school of thought leans toward “tabrets and pipes”, a musical meaning to the words.

a). Ezekiel 28:13 [ASV] Thou wast in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, the 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 in thee; in the day that thou wast created they were prepared.

b). Ezekiel 28:13 [Young’s Literal Concordance]  In Eden, the garden of God, thou hast been, Every precious stone thy covering, Ruby, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle, and gold, The workmanship of thy tabrets, and of thy pipes, In thee in the day of thy being produced, have been prepared.

c). Ezekiel 28:13 [Darby] thou wast in Eden, the garden of God. Every precious stone was thy covering: the sardius, the topaz, and the diamond, the chrysolite, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the carbuncle, and the emerald, and gold. The workmanship of thy tambours and of thy pipes was in thee: in the day that thou wast created were they prepared.

7). If both schools of thought are revealed in the in Hebrew words than perhaps both are meant, the craftsmanship of the musical instruments and the settings of the stones.

b. Isaiah 14:9-15 Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.

 All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?

 Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.

How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:

I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

1). Isaiah 14:11 not only ties music to Lucifer, it ties music to the fall of Lucifer. The Hebrew definitions reveal this.

a). noise [1998 * hemyah] [Strong: from 1993; sound:--noise.] [Gesenius: sound of musical instruments.]

b). viols [5035 * nebel] [Strong:  from 5034; a skin-bag for liquids (from collapsing when empty); hence, a vase (as similar in shape when full); also a lyre (as having a body of like form):--bottle, pitcher, psaltery, vessel, viol.]

2). In the school of thought that holds the musical instruments, we see all three musical instrument families represented, percussion-tabrets, stringed-viols, and wind-pipes. At least there is no doubt about tabrets and viols as being musical. The conclusion is music was included in Lucifer’s creation and ministry,  and music was involved in Lucifer’s fall.