1 Chronicles 6:31
“Now these are the men whom David appointed over the service of song in the house of the Lord, after the ark came to rest.”
What an interesting phrase, “the service of song.” The word service is a translation of the Hebrew word “Yad”, meaning hand. The idea implies they were putting their hands to the task of serving the Lord with music. When I think of service, I usually think of some sort of labor. Lifting, carrying, working, and sweating are all words that come to mind when I consider service. However, here we are reminded, service can be as simple and as sweet as offering a song.
Acts 13 is one of the pivotal moments in human history. As a small group of leaders gathered at the church in Antioch of Syria, two of them heard the call of God to take the Gospel to the unreached people of the Roman empire. It was this meeting that opened the door for the Gospel to reach Europe for the first time, and to change the face of Western culture. It was when these leaders were ministering to the Lord in song, that they heard His call.
Instead of treating worship as a concert or the preview to the sermon, we should consider it a way to serve the Lord. As we fix our eyes upon the Lord in worship, we will find He often responds by giving us direction in our lives.
Pastor Jim
This passage reminds us that, in ministry, it is not our natural ability, but the enabling of God that is required for service in the kingdom. In the verses leading up to this, we find the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Mannasseh combined to form an army of nearly forty-five thousand men, but it was not their size that gave them success. These men are described as valiant and capable, but it was not their bravery, ingenuity, creativity or vision that led to their victory. Instead, we find they were victorious because they cried out to God in battle,and they trusted in Him.
Tucked away in a sea of names, we find the brief story of a man named Jabez. From the bits of data recorded about him, we learn he was an honorable man who left a mark upon his world. His name reveals much regarding his upbringing. Jabez meant “to cause pain.” He received that name because of the difficulties surrounding his birth. It seems as though his mother never got over that trauma, because Jabez grew up thinking his life would cause continual pain to others. Instead of growing up in a home where he was nurtured and encouraged to become all God had designed him to be, Jabez grew up being reminded that his life would only cause pain in others.
As we seek to follow Christ, we often fall along the way. Sometimes, we may only slightly stumble, while at other times, we may take quite a hard fall. It is not uncommon after failing, falling, or having a set back, that we may feel as though we can no longer follow or serve Christ. Without even knowing it, we have turned our relationship with the Lord into something reward based. We think we are blessed when we do what is right, and once we fail, we are no longer worthy of His love, favor or calling. Without a doubt, the low point in David’s life was when he fell into sin with Bathsheba. How remarkable to find that the next king of Israel would be her son, Solomon. The grace of God is an ocean so deep we could never fathom its depth or stop its flow. No matter how far we have fallen, He is able to redeem us completely.
Reading through all these names can be somewhat tedious. We know very little about many of the characters, and some of the names are quite difficult to pronounce. That being said, I am encouraged by many of those whose names are listed. The records include the likes of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Caleb, David and many others. These names should flood our minds with memories of great, even heroic acts of faith and faithfulness. These men were used by God to turn the world upside down. Their simple lives, lived out in faith and obedience, have forever changed to history of humanity.
Jim Gallagher 