Moses – Singing with the Spirit

1, December 20, 20181, January 11, 2019

The Sweetest Hour

There is something about sweets around this time of year that make them hard to resist (and maybe not just ‘this time of year.’) They have a way of pulling you back for, ‘just one more bite…’. Perhaps that mindset should even permeate our lives when it comes to what God has instructed regarding our most precious avenue to Him, prayer.

A blind English preacher, William Walford, in the 19th century wrote a song that well encompasses the precious gift of prayer. “Sweet Hour of Prayer” was written and published over 170 years ago, and very poetically encapsulates the pure sincerity of how beautiful our relationship to God can be. Three verses are well-known within the Lord’s church, (Sweet Hour of Prayer) but this fourth was new to me. Perhaps you’ll find it, as I did, a beautiful comparison to the end of our lives on this earth. But notice the reference to Moses and the end of his life as recorded in Deuteronomy 34.

Read the words from this ‘forgotten’ fourth verse:

“Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of prayer! May I thy consolation share, till, from Mount Pisgah’s lofty height, I view my home and take my flight: This robe of flesh I’ll drop and rise to seize the everlasting prize; And shout, while passing through the air, “Farewell, farewell, sweet hour of prayer!””

If you compare the words of this verse and what we know of the area around Mt. Pisgah, on the East side of the Dead Sea, the surrounding area and landscape matches up the description in Mr. Walford’s hymn. Pair this fourth verse up with the 1st-6th verse of Deuteronomy 34 and you will notice that the poetry aligns well with these verses. God has taken Moses to show him the land that was promised to him and his fathers before him, yet does not allow him to enter the land. (Num. 20:9-11 & Deut. 34:1-12) As these parallel well, we ought not to forget or overlook the meanings behind and within these words. At the end of our lives, we can look back on all the experiences. We can see in our children and grandchildren the legacy that we have left and potentially see glimpses of how it will be when we are gone. Knowing we have an end point in our life, what should be the most meaningful and cherished thing to us? Would it be that we made time (spent time) in the sweet hour of prayer.

But if we’re honest, at times our prayers can seem not so sweet. They may feel sorrowful, bitter, painful, and anything but sweet, but read Psalm 141:2 as King David compares prayer to that of the fragrant smell of incense to the Lord. Regardless, of how we feel when and while we pray, it’s the sheer act of sincerely humbling ourselves and taking our concerns to the Almighty that bring us closer to the sweetness we find in Him.

The sweet treats in life are good in the moment, but they will always leave you craving more. Having a personal relationship with our Savior in prayer, will never leave you empty. As a matter of fact, it should leave us wanting more! But it is a relationship that requires active obedience, holy reverence, sincere humility, and genuine faith. All of which will leave us wanting, ‘just one more bite.’

1, April 27, 20141, April 27, 2014

The Life of Moses…LTC Style

L.T.C. (Leadership Training for Christ) has been a focus for members of the Lord’s church for 25 years. A branch off the Lads to Leaders which began in 1968, L.T.C. has been preparing our young men to speak, lead singing and read scripture. Our young ladies learn how to lead women’s devotionals, sign for the hearing impaired and teach younger children. (Though the boys can do the signing and teaching challenge as well!) And this doesn’t even include chorus, drama, puppets, service challenge and a myriad of other areas for training.

Perhaps the primary focus for those who find L.T.C. (or Lads) a focal point in their year would be the preparation that goes into Bible Bowl. In this ‘event’ students from 3rd -12th grades study a pre-selected section of scripture, then take an oral test to determine their retention of the material covered. Some who dislike tests avoid this event, but to others it is a challenge to see if they can learn, remember and recall the scriptures.

Below are a few of the test questions from L.T.C. 2014, “Called Out”, as we studied the life of Moses (see Exodus, Numbers and Deuteronomy).

1. Where was the blood of the Passover lamb to be placed? (Ex. 12:22)
a. the door frame b. the roof of the house c. the ground d. on the table

2. As long as Moses’ hands were held up, the Israelite army was _________ the battle. (Ex. 17:11)
a. escaping b. losing c. winning d. surviving

3. How many days did the men, sent by Moses, explore Canaan? (Num. 13:25)
a. 4 days b. 12 days c. 40 days d. 60 days

4. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, he was not aware that his face was what? (Ex. 34:29)
a. darkened b. radiant c. pale d. saddened

5. Who was asked to put a curse on Israel? (Num. 22:10-11)
a. Balak b. Baal c. Balaam d. Bashan

6. How many men went to battle against the Midianites? (Num. 31:4)
a. all of them b. 10,000 men of war c. only the Levites d. 1,000 from each tribe

7. What did God have Moses write down and teach to the Israelites? (Deut. 31:19)
a. their history b. a song c. the scroll of law d. words from the stone tablet

8. What plague did Pharaoh’s magicians call ‘the finger of God?’ (Ex. 8:16-19)
a. the water to blood b. the gnats c. the frogs d. the locust

9. Manna tasted like something made from _______ ______? (Num. 11:8)
a. unleavened yeast b. wheat flour c. raisins & figs d. olive oil

10. In Moses’s final blessing, which tribe was referred to as a lion’s cub? (Deut. 33:22)
a. Reuben b. Levi c. Dan d. Benjamin

This is just a sampling of the 100 questions the young men and women were given to answer this year at our local L.T.C. convention in Dallas, Texas. Several performed remarkably well and received high marks. And to be honest, others struggled. But knowing the answers to the questions is only half the battle. When we learn from God’s word that we have been ‘called out,’ we’ll know better how to serve our God and King. Leadership Training for Christ is a great experience, but applying the lessons learned from a study of God’s Word is worth it’s weight in gold, silver and bronze.

1, April 22, 20131, April 15, 2013

Ancient Songs from the Old Testament

For the next few months articles will be shared from the research of my uncle, Richard Dent. He and his wife live in Kansas where he has served in the educational system for more than 40 years. Yet more than educating young people, he serves as a part-time preacher for the Tyrone church of Christ in Tyrone, Oklahoma. This article is one he recently shared with me as we talked about hymn history.

In his book, Then Sings My Soul (book #3), Robert J. Morgan takes his readers back to the very beginnings of music from God’s people…the Israelite nation.

The first reference of music in the Bible is found in Genesis 4:21, when a man named Jubal is described as the ‘father’ of all who play the harp and flute. The first recorded ‘hymn’ in the scriptures can be found in Exodus 15, after God’s people escape the Egyptian army through the parted waters of the Red Sea. Moses and his people drew up the story in the form of a song that could be easily learned and spread among the people. It began with the words, “I will sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted. The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea.” Exodus 15:21 describes the exuberance of the moment saying, “Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her, with tambourines and dancing.” And Miriam answered them, “Sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed in gloriously; the horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea.”

Unfortunately, the next time we see the Israelite nation in song, it’s in a sensuous idolatry around a golden calf. While Moses was on Mt. Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments, Aaron was compelled by the people to craft an idol of gold. The idol was similar to that of the Egyptian worship and far from the expectation of Jehovah God. In their idolatry, the desert erupted with the sound of singing and revelry. Moses heard the strains of music from a distance and realized the sin of the people. The Israelite nation had broken the first commandment, “Thou shalt have no other Gods before me.”

By the time we get to the book of Deuteronomy, the old Law Giver (Moses) is again teaching God’s people the songs of Jehovah. We read in Deuteronomy 31:30 through 32:3, “And Moses recited the words of this song from beginning to end in the hearing of the whole assembly of Israel: ‘Listen, Oh heavens, and I will speak; hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. Let my teachings fall like rain, and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants. I will proclaim the name of the Lord. O praise the greatness of our God!’.”

Ending his song, Moses advised God’s people to take the words to heart. “They are not just idle words for you”, he said. “They are your life…” (Deut. 32:46-47) He was describing not only the nature of God’s Word, but the character of his hymn represented God’s Word as it was crafted for singing.

In the rest of the historical books of the Old Testament, we find a many poems, hymns and ballads sprinkled throughout the text. Examples include Deborah’s song in Judges 5, the worship in song at the restoration of the temple under King Hezekiah’s reign (2 Chronicles 29), as well as David and his illustrious, musical, life-story. David’s early life as a shepherd is where he likely wrote many of the Psalms. David was a valiant shepherd, a talented poet, a great musician and a noble king. He launched and formalized the ministry of music in or around the year 1000 B.C. He employed thousands of musicians and then personally wrote many of the hymns for them to sing and play. Scores of these are preserved in the book of Psalm – the Hebrew hymnal.

Thanks to Richard Dent for his summary of this interesting Old Testament Hymnology.