What use was given to musical instruments in the Bible? Is it right to worship God with musical instruments? Does God receive all worship to Him through musical instruments? Here are some verses that shed light on each of these questions.
The first time musical instruments are mentioned in the Bible
Nowadays in many congregations they have the habit of calling musicians “levites”, when in the Bible we find that there were musicians long before the tribe of Levi existed:
And his brother’s name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ.
Genesis 4:21
Rejoicing after crossing the Red Sea
After the great fact of the division of the Red Sea for the people of Israel to pass (Exodus 14), there was great rejoicing in the people to the point that they sang a song (Exodus 15). Then the following happened:
And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances.
Exodus 15:20
There are songs that God does not hear
Before offering songs to God, we must review our hearts and ask forgiveness for our sins, so that our melodies can rise before Him.
Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols.
Amos 5:23
The evil spirit turned away from Saul when David played the harp
David was chosen to play the harp to relieve Saul with the touch of his harp when an evil spirit tormented him.
But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him.
1 Samuel 16:14
Instruments in the temple
In the first year of his reign, King Hezekiah re-established the cult in the temple, gathering priests and Levites, who sanctified themselves, cleaned the temple and all instruments and utensils and then offered a holocaust.
25 And he set the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals, with psalteries, and with harps, according to the commandment of David, and of Gad the king’s seer, and Nathan the prophet: for so was the commandment of the Lord by his prophets.
26 And the Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets.
2 Chronicles 29:25-26
The trumpet: The instrument used to announce
The trumpet was an instrument used to make various types of announcements: war, celebrations, a new king, among others. Here is one of the many examples that appear in the Holy Scriptures:
In what place therefore ye hear the sound of the trumpet, resort ye thither unto us: our God shall fight for us.
Nehemiah 4:20
Praise God with music instruments
When talking about praising God with musical instruments, Psalm 150 is a key psalm that urges us to praise the Lord with musical instruments:
3 Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp.
4 Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.
5 Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.
Psalm 150:3-5
If you want to deepen a little more about praising God with musical instruments, we leave you some articles related to the subject:
Praising God with music instruments
Praise God with music instruments
...