And David and the captains of the host separated for the service those of the sons of Asaph and of Heman and of Jeduthun who were to prophesy with harps and lutes and cymbals; and the number of the men employed according to their service was
David and the leaders of the service set apart three families — Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun — for a service that Scripture does not call singing but prophesying. That one word raises the questions this chapter turns on. Why does music count as prophecy? Why does organised song appear only now? And what does any of it mean for people who own no harp?
William Kelly ties the word to a change of setting: from the tabernacle, the tent Israel carried through the wilderness, to the temple.
In 1 Chronicles 25 we have the service of song. Scripture calls this service "prophesying" because it brought God in so directly, and bringing in God is the strong meaning of prophesying. There were twenty-four groups of singers. This was another remarkable change. In the tabernacle the main feature was not song but sacrifice. In the temple, in the day of glory, the song of triumph is the new and fitting feature.
The men played and prophesied at the same time. That settles the character of what they sang.
Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun prophesy with sacred instruments under the king's direction. Heman is David's seer in the words of God. They play either to celebrate and praise the Lord, or to exalt His power. This is one proof, among many others, that the Psalms are an inspired collection with a prophetic character.
The chapter goes on to assign these groups by lot. Nobody applied for the post.
Like the priests and the Levites, the singers were divided by lot, and God's free choice marked them out. The will of man decided nothing: that is of all importance. The Lord's Anointed orders and the Lord decides. Here they cast lots for the Levites' duties, "the small as well as the great, the teacher with the pupil" (v. 8).
Heman came from the Kohathite branch of the Levites. His family line explains why he, of all men, stood at the centre of the praise.
The Kohathites had the privilege of carrying on their shoulders the ark, the table of showbread, the golden altar and the golden lampstand. From among them Heman is chosen for the central place of praise to God. He is spoken of as "Heman a singer," and his genealogy is traced through Korah to Levi. As a descendant of Korah, he had good cause to praise God for His rich mercy. Dathan and Abiram died with their children, and Korah shared their fate. Yet Scripture records, "But the sons of Korah did not die" (Num. 26:11). God spared them in His sovereign mercy, so no one was better suited to sing of the goodness and mercy of God.
The care taken over these three men's credentials prompts a question about qualification.
Why such particular care about the singers? Because only those who have the right may sing. And who now have the right to sing? Redemption gives the right. Should there be songs for slaves? Whether a slave is willing or groaning, deliverance must come first, and with that deliverance comes the appointment to sing.
The harps and cymbals fitted the worship of that day. They are not the pattern for Christian meetings now.
The Psalms were written under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. So we may conclude that celebrating the praises of God this way suited the order God had set up at that time. A call like "Praise Him with lute and harp" is perfectly in place in the Psalms. But in the New Testament order it is "singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart."
The king's word stands over the whole arrangement. The next verse says the singers prophesied at his direction.
The sons of Asaph were "under the direction of Asaph, who prophesied at the direction of the king" (1 Chr. 25:2). Asaph's ministry was prophetic. Applied today, it brings building up, encouragement and comfort to the saints, for the one who prophesies builds up the church (1 Cor. 14:3-4). This did not come from Asaph himself. It came under the direction of the king. How blessed when there is prophecy in the assembly of God under the direction of our exalted Head, our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Song brings in God. The verse calls the singing "prophesying" because it set God directly before the people.
- Song is inspired. These men prophesied as they played. So the Psalms stand as an inspired collection with a prophetic character.
- Song is assigned. The courses fell by lot, so the choice was God's and not man's, and the least ranked with the greatest.
- Song follows redemption. Slaves do not sing. Deliverance comes first, and with it comes the appointment to sing — which is why a descendant of Korah's spared children leads the choir.
- Song is still directed. Then the king ordered it. Now our exalted Head, the Lord Jesus Christ, directs it, and the harps give way to melody in the heart.
of the sons of Asaph Zaccur, and Joseph, and Nethaniah, and Asharelah, the sons of Asaph under the direction of Asaph, who prophesied at the direction of the king.
David's arrangement of the singers starts with four sons of Asaph. They are set apart for music in the house of God, and they work under their father's hand and under the king's own order. So why is making music called prophesying? And what does this ordered praise mean for God's people now?
The verse gives the singers' work a striking name. One writer explains why that word fits, and why song becomes the mark of the temple:
It is called "prophesying" because it brought God in so directly, and that is the emphatic meaning of prophesying… There were twenty-four divisions of the singers. Now, this was another remarkable change. In the tabernacle, the characteristic feature was not song but sacrifice. In the temple, in the day of glory, the song of triumph is the new and fitting feature.
These men prophesied while they played. That shapes how one writer reads the Psalms:
Moreover, it is under the king's direction that Asaph; Heman, David's seer in the words of God; and Jeduthun prophesy with sacred instruments — whether it be to celebrate and praise the Lord, or whether it be to exalt His power. This is one proof, among many others, that the Psalms are an inspired collection, whose character is prophetic.
The verse names two layers of authority. The sons serve under their father, and their father serves under the king. One writer follows that order into the present day:
…later, when David came to the throne, he set up the service of song in the house of the LORD, and "the sons of Asaph under the direction of Asaph … prophesied at the direction of the king" (1 Chr. 25:2, 6). Everything was under the chief musicians, but the king controlled them — "the sweet Psalmist of Israel." The service of praise to God today is not with instruments of music, as it was in David's day. But there is the praise in which God delights, and the One who leads that praise is He who says, "In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You" (Heb. 2:12).
One writer describes what Asaph's kind of ministry does for God's people today:
Asaph's ministry was prophetic, and applied today it brings "upbuilding and encouragement and consolation" to the saints, for "the one who prophesies builds up the church" (1 Cor. 14:3-4). This did not come from Asaph; it was under the direction of the king… True prophetic ministry brings the mind of God to the saints and gives them the sense that they are in the presence of the Lord. Where that is found, there will be a special note of praise, like that of the sons of Asaph, who were under his direction.
Later in the chapter, lot settles the order of these singers, as it did for the priests. That method shows whose choice placed each man:
Like the priests and the Levites, the singers were divided by lot, designated by God's free choice. Nothing was left to the will of man: that is of all importance. The Lord's Anointed orders and the Lord decides. As for the Levites, lots decide their duties here, "the small as well as the great, the teacher with the scholar" (v. 8).
The same care reaches the lowest jobs in the house — the gatekeepers:
The Spirit of God stoops to arrange, through David, for the gatekeepers, just as truly as He did for the high priest, or for the different divisions of the priesthood. All has its place, and whatever has to do with the service of God is great in God's eyes. Indeed, it is only we who make so much of the differences between great and small. To God, the smallest thing has a value.
- Order — Praise here is not random noise. The sons sing under their father. The father sings at the king's command. Every voice is under authority.
- Prophecy — The verse calls this singing prophesying because it brought God in so directly. That is the force of the word.
- Inspiration — These men prophesied as they played. So their songs stand as an inspired, prophetic collection, not just religious poetry.
- Election — Lot settled every place, so God chose it, not human preference — "the small as well as the great."
- Leader — In the day of glory, song replaced sacrifice as the mark of the house. And the One who now leads the praise says, "In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You."