Upon reading 1 Chronicles 23-25, many people do not realize that the establishment and organization of the worship and music of the tabernacle and temple was not done so at the whim of King David, but rather because it had been ordained and instituted by God. In his book The Lord’s Song: The Basis, Function and Significance of Choral Music in Chronicles, the renowned Australian Lutheran theologian Dr. John Kleinig points this out and then demonstrates how important choral music was to the proclamation of God’s Word in the Old Testament.
For me as a singer and choral director, these insights are quite profound and have huge implications. Based on this it would seem that the entire history of sacred choral music is therefore, by extension, part of God’s plan for the proclamation of His Word. It is therefore a heritage to treasure and promote and nourish and pass along to a new generation so that God’s song of deliverance and salvation can be proclaimed with power, joy, and beauty until He returns.
So……….singers, keep on singing! Composers, keep on composing! Directors, keep on organizing and directing choirs and planning and presenting concerts and passing along your skill and knowledge to a new generation! Organizers and boards, keep on organizing and raising money and promoting your groups! Your message is so very important. And to everyone else, support,listen to, and enjoy your choirs because their proclamation is the Word of the Lord.
Now here is another amazing thing! Dr. John Kleinig was the chaplain at the school I attended in Australia for two of the four years that I was there and I recently discovered that he had completed this huge study of choral music in the Old Testament! Now that really blew my mind when I made that connection.
Soli Deo Gloria!
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