STRANGE MUSIC IN AMOS 5 & 6

We know that God requires that we add not nor take away from His commandments. "What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it" (Deuteronomy 12:32).

Debating on Amos 5 and 6, a pro-instrumentalist accused his opponent as having God demonize musical instruments. While God is reacting to Jeroboam's (northern) kingdom of Israel's feast days, assemblying, sacrifices, and music, would God be just demonizing the same activities which He had commanded in the Law of Moses and His prophets? We shall look at how God had not just commanded those activities as acts of worship but also specified how, when and where they were to be performed and Jeroboam's northern Israel's acts were not as God commanded.

Strange Fire. At the beginning of the Law, God commanded fire for incense worship but He killed Nadab and Abihu for substituting their choice of fire for the incense (Numbers 3:4; 26:61). Their fire was strangeⁱ; i.e., "alien" (Greek); in other words, the fire they chose was illegal per the Law and was "other" than what God had specified; i.e., "which He commanded them not" (Leviticus 10:1). The fire was not demonized; the trespass was.

Strange Sacrifices. God had commanded sacrifices in the Law but He rejected King Saul from being king because he had disobeyed God's command to destroy all the animals of the Amalekites (1 Samuel 15:21, 22). He rather thought he and the army would sacrifice the rescued best animals to God [notice: sacrifices offered would have been shared among all during the accompanied sacrificial feast].ⁱⁱ Sacrificing per se was not demonized. It was in this case illegal since it was "which He commanded them not."

Strange Priest. Later, King Uzziah of the tribe of Judah worshipped by offering incense contrary to the Law. The priests withstood him, saying, "It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the LORD, but to the priests the sons of Aaron" (2 Chronicles 26:18). Consequently, Uzziah was strickened by God with leprosy "in the house of the LORD" beside the incense altar. Strange "priest." Why? Illegal. "Which God commanded not."

Strange Hands. God commanded the Levites to transport the ark of the covenant but God killed the non-Levite Uzzah who steadied the ark while transporting it in a cart (Deuteronomy 10:8; 2 Samuel 6:1-5). David said: "None ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites, for them has Jehovah chosen to carry the ark." Illegal transporter. Strange hands which God commanded not.

Strange Places. When the northern kingdom of Israel was formed, their new king Jeroboam without God's authority substituted "in Bethel [not Jerusalem], sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made" (1 Kings 12:32).ⁱⁱⁱ God would therefore have this kingdom destroyed. This was the thrust of the book of Amos. Not only did Jeroboam make calves to represent God but he authorized [strange, gw] worship in Bethel both which God commanded not.

What was legal worship under the Law? The Law specified where, who, how and what acts of worship were to be employed.

"Where" is relevant to the book of Amos. When the nation had finished with conquest and was at rest from threats then God would place His name at a specific place (Deuteronomy 12). This turned out to be Jerusalem. After Solomon's Temple was built, there was only one place allowed for all to offer sacrifices. It was to be done specifically at^iv the Temple at Jerusalem.

Previous Places of Sacrifice and Worship in music. Prior to this there were "(high) places" to worship that God authorized by such prophets as Samuel. For example, God's prophet and priest Samuel authorized musicians and prophetic teachings and sacrifices to be done at his "high place" (1 Kings 9:12; 10:5). "Only the people sacrificed in high places, because there was no house built unto the name of the LORD, until those days" (1 Kings 3:2). After the temple was built, the "high places" were discontinued; hence, outlawed. One of the sins of Solomon was he continued to sacrifice and offer burnt incense in high places (1 Kings 3:3, 4). It remained for King Josiah years later to completely destroy the remaining high places (2 Kings 23:19-20) including those in northern Israel.

Who and How? The Levites were the only ones to serve the tabernacle/Temple. The Levitical priests officiated with the offerings and sacrifices. Burnt-offerings sent the whole sacrifice to the Lord by smoke^v; fellowship (peace) sacrifices^vi were shared with one another -- "inward parts" were burned for the Lord and the rest were feasted upon by either the priests or both them and worshippers and guests. Hence, sacrifices were enjoyed by the people as a feast. Singers^vii and musicians were designated to be Levites (1 Chronicles 6, listed). "And David spake to the chief of the Levites to appoint their brethren to be the singers with instruments of musick, psalteries and harps and cymbals, sounding, by lifting up the voice with joy" (1 Chronicles 15:16). Note: David not only was king, but God made him a prophet who wrote several inspired psalms (2 Chronicles 29:25).

The words of the prophet Amos is giving the Lord's "roar from Zion" and "His voice from Jerusalem" (1:2) concerning the house of [northern] Israel (5:1).

"Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light" (5:8). Why? Indeed, it was Israel's daily living of "not seeking good" (5:14). But it included their "strange worship." The prophet commenses to list their "strange" worship that God commanded not.

They were not seeking God according to the Law of Jerusalem (5:8; 6:1). Their justice was perverted (5:7, 10); they were treading upon the poor (5:11, 12). They were particularly serving Jeroboam's "strange" worship at Bethel, Gilgal, and Beersheba (5:5)^viii that imitated that that the Law had placed in Judah^ix. Their worship included feasts and songs with viols that imitated those in Judah which God commanded not for Israel. God mocked them. "Come to Bethel, and transgress [sin]; at Gilgal multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, and your tithes after three years:" (Amos 4:4). The Levites were ignored and cheated our of their tithes. "I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell [the smell of the sacrifice] in your solemn assemblies. Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols" (Amos 5:21-23). Did God demonize what He had commanded to be performed in Judah's Jerusalem or was it what Jeroboam had commanded? Their consequence was that they were to be destroyed. "Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith the LORD, whose name is The God of hosts" (Amos 5:27).

The first verse of chapter 6 in the KJV condemns both Zion and the mountains of Samaria, the northern kingdom of Israel. The Greek LXX condemns only Jeroboam's Israel in this verse but has Samaria treating Zion [from whence God speaks and "roars"(Amos 1:2)] "with contempt."^x This rendering is more consistent, I think, with the context of the two chapters.

Lying upon beds or couches to eat was not sinful (demonized) in and of itself. Jesus so ate with the Pharisees in the New Testament without condemning it.^xi No, this had to violate the principles by stealing the choice offerings for themselves like the case with King Saul. The "invent to themselves instruments of music, like David" identifies the designing^xii ("invent") or imitating the Law's Levitical musicians authorized in Judah's temple worship.

"And the priests waited on their offices: the Levites also with instruments of musick of the LORD, which David the king had made^xiii to praise the LORD... And the Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets ... And when the burnt offering began, the song of the LORD began also with the trumpets, and with the instruments ordained by David king of Israel" (2 Chronicles 7:6; 29:26, 27b).

In my youth, I was taught that David added the instruments on his own. This of course would have been the same as the sin of King Saul. The Truth is David was one of God's prophets who legitimately commanded the Levites to use musical instruments in the Temple during the worship of offering sacrifices (2 Chronicles 29:25). No, Jeroboam's Israel added it and made it "strange music" in Israel which God had not commanded (my label).

APPLICATION. We are not under the Law of Moses (of the Lord) but under Christ (2 Corinthians 3). We go to the New Testament for God's commands for our worship. We are not commanded to go to Jerusalem; we do not sacrifice animals; we do not have sacrificial feasts; we do not have Levites to officiate in our assemblies; we do not have commands to play instruments with our singing. Our commands are to sing with understanding to one another (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16; 1 Corinthians 14:15). Therefore, would not playing an instrument in worship today in the assembly be like offering strange fire? Are we who would play and sing any different than those condemned in Amos 5 and 6?

ii Sacrifice of well-being/fellowship offering (Hebrew, zevah shelamim; Lev 3, Lev 7:11-35) could be a herd or flock animal. Innards (fat, kidneys, and part of the liver) were burned in the altar fire. Most of the animal was eaten, divided between the priests and the offerer and guests. This sacrifice was associated with feasting.

iii Originally, the ark of the covenant and the prophet/priest Samuel was at Shiloh; sacrifices were offered there. A school of prophets was at Bethel who used psaltery, tabret, pipe, harp with their teaching (1 Samuel 10:3-5). Under David and Solomon God's name was placed at Jerusalem thus fulfilling the Law of Moses in Deuteronomy 12.

iv Deuteronomy 12:5-11 God eventually places His name at Jerusalem and requires worship in sacrifices, etc., to be done there. Deut. 12:5, 6a, "Instead you shall seek out the place that Jehovah your God will choose out of all you tribes to put His name there to make it dwell, and go there. Bring there your burnt offerings and your sacrifices"

vii The children of Korah of Levi were outstanding singers and poets among the Levites. They are the authors of a number of Psalms which have remained with the Jewish people, along with others have given us the Book of Psalms (1 Chronicles 6:16, 22, 31-33).

viii Jeroboam's sin: "And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made" (1 Kings 12:32).

x The LXX is the older extant version of the original Hebrew and therefore may be the correct version of this passage.. The oldest Hebrew version that exists and which KJV uses is the modern Hebrew Masoretic compilation (1000 AD). Gill's Commentary: "The Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions, render it, 'who despise Zion', or 'neglect' her; and the word is sometimes used of insolent persons, and to express their insolence; see ( Isaiah 37:29 ) ; and so may be understood, not of the Jews in Jerusalem, but of the ten tribes ..." The difference in original Hebrew for "despise" and "at ease" [I have read] is just something like a dot which may have been missing in the 1000 AD Masoretic Hebrew version. See Benson Commentary: Amos 6:1, "Because the word [Hebrew word], which our translation renders "at ease", signifies also "to be insolent", therefore the LXX..." https://biblehub.com/commentaries/amos/6-1.htm

xi "When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table" (Luke 7:36, NIV).

xii "invent." Strong's: "châshab^H2803 (literally) to weave or (generally) to fabricate; figuratively to plot or contrive (usually in a malicious sense)".

xiii Some think that David designed the instruments used but since instruments were used in worship before David, it obviously means that David devised how and which instruments would accompany the trumpets, etc. Hence, the northern kingdom would have sought to copy David's worship with the instruments.