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Guard Against Unwholesome Music!The Watchtower—1993 | April 15
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1. Why can music be called “a divine gift”?
“MUSIC . . . is a divine gift.” So wrote Lulu Rumsey Wiley in her book Bible Music. From earliest times, God-fearing men and women have recognized this sentiment. Through music, man has expressed his deepest emotions—joy, sorrow, outrage, and love. Music thus played an important role in Bible times, being mentioned throughout that sacred book.—Genesis 4:21; Revelation 18:22.
2. How was music used to praise Jehovah in Bible times?
2 It was in the worship of Jehovah that music found its noblest expression. Some of the loftiest expressions of praise ever made to Jehovah God were originally set to music. “I will praise the name of God with song,” wrote the psalmist David. (Psalm 69:30) Music was used in solitude as an accompaniment to prayerful reflection. “I will remember my string music in the night; with my heart I will show concern, and my spirit will carefully search,” wrote Asaph. (Psalm 77:6) In Jehovah’s temple, music was organized on a grand scale. (1 Chronicles 23:1-5; 2 Chronicles 29:25, 26) At times, massive musical forces were marshaled, such as at the temple dedication, when 120 trumpeters were employed. (2 Chronicles 5:12, 13) We have no record of how this majestic music sounded, but the book The Music of the Bible observes: “It will not be difficult to form an opinion of the general effect of Temple music on solemn occasions . . . If one of us could now be transported into the midst of such a scene, an overpowering sense of awe and sublimity would be inevitable.”a
The Abuse of Music
3, 4. In what way was the gift of music abused by God’s people and their pagan neighbors?
3 Music was not always put to such a lofty use, however. At Mount Sinai, music was used to spur on the idolatrous worship of a golden calf. (Exodus 32:18) Music was also on occasion linked with drunken behavior and even prostitution. (Psalm 69:12; Isaiah 23:15) Israel’s pagan neighbors were no less guilty of abusing this divine gift. “In Phoenicia and Syria,” says The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, “almost all popular music reflected the worship of Ishtar, the goddess of fertility. Thus, popular song was usually a prelude to sexual orgies.” The ancient Greeks likewise used music to accompany popular “erotic dances.”
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Guard Against Unwholesome Music!The Watchtower—1993 | April 15
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a The nation of Israel apparently excelled in the art of music. An Assyrian relief reveals that King Sennacherib demanded Israelite musicians as tribute from King Hezekiah. Notes Grove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians: “To demand musicians as tribute . . . was unusual indeed.”
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