SINGING CAN BE A BATTLE WITHOUT SWORDS

When King Jehoshaphat, the ruler of Judah, stood facing the prospect of advanced forces of Ammonites, Moabites and Edomites there was no doubt that his country was under existential threat. The path forward seemed completely unclear – until Jahaziel the Levite and King Jehoshaphat realized that they still had one unconventional tactic at their disposal…

In the face of fierce enemy armies, King Jehoshaphat chose a seemingly suicidal response: sending Levite singers into battle ahead of his warriors. The amazing thing is that this tactic worked above and beyond any normal military response: “As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set an ambush against the Ammonites, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed” (2 Chronicles 20:22). 

Here's a bit about what transpired that remarkable day: When the people started out to the battle, the king again encouraged them to believe in God. Then he appointed certain ones as singers to go out in front of the soldiers. This is the song they should sing, “Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever.”

The people of Judah did not have to do any fighting; the singers sang and praised the Lord. Soon it was learned that the enemy had a battle among themselves, and had killed one another. The Lord had caused the enemy army to be destroyed before God’s people reached them.

The king and his army went down to the battlefield and found so many jewels and so much money that it took three days to gather it all up and carry it home. They rejoiced and gave thanks for the un-fought victory over enemies that worshiped idols.

The Amazing Double Meaning: “Out of the mouths of babes and infants you have founded a bulwark because of your foes, to silence the enemy and the avenger” (Psalm 8:2). This verse, quoted later by Jesus, contains a fascinating play on words. The word עֹז (ʽOz) – translated as “bulwark” here – has the primary meaning of strength and valor, with a secondary meaning of praise. This one Hebrew word captures the essence of the entire story of the army that won by singing.

Sometimes understanding one word is like reading an entire story. Discovering the meanings of Hebrew words in their context can unearth surprising and inspiring insights to stories related in the Christian Bible.

Now to the reason for this post: Famed hymnwriter Robert Lowry wrote this well-known refrain: “No storm can shake my inmost calm while to that Rock I’m clinging. Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth, how can I keep from singing?” In more recent times, Salvationist pop star Joy Webb sang, “I want to sing it, I want to shout it, I want to tell you all about it.” Singing is one of the ways that we engage with the gospel message and it allows us to reaffirm and share our faith and belief in God with one another. Unfortunately, in these days of the COVID-19 pandemic, singing has been deemed a high-risk activity. In fact, congregational singing may be absent from our corporate worship for the immediate future.

While we hope that this is a short hiatus, many meaningful alternatives can awaken our spirits the way raising our voices in song does. It is not going to be the same, we know this. There is no replacement for singing, but there are certainly ways we can both augment our personal devotional time while allowing a different expression of worship to emerge.

We can’t underestimate the importance of singing in our own homes. This is the one place where you can really let loose and have a sing-along within your family bubble. I do it all the time and happily, there is no one to suggest that I not give up my day job. LOL

There has been much written about the decline of singing in churches. Perhaps this moment of pause is our time to reflect, reassess and renew our commitment to singing our faith. Singing hasn’t stopped. Music hasn’t disappeared. Take this time to make your singing personal, which in turn will make it more meaningful. When we all do sing in harmony once again, the sound of our worship will undoubtedly be more powerful, fresh and new.