Tag: Asaph

The Legacy of Asaph

1 Chronicles 16-17

Psalm 73

Ephesians 1

~ Devotion by Cayce Fletcher (SC)

Cayce Fletcher is a wife and homeschool mom of three. She writes and podcasts at amorebeautifullifecollective.com where she helps women grow in grace, build with purpose, and live beautifully. Read the latest post in the Systematic Theology series here. 

We’ve talked about legacy this week as the sum total of our life and our work. Another way we describe legacy is the way that work, skills, and even ministry are passed down through generations. 

My family was not a sports family (I don’t think I can emphasize that enough). Even though my dad was about 6’3” and played basketball in high school, none of my siblings really inherited the sports gene. My husband, however, is a football (and golf) fan, and I have learned more than I ever really wanted to know watching Sunday Ticket on lazy fall afternoons. 

Football and sports are a skill legacy passed down, with the Mannings a notable example. In the world of Golf, I remember watching one pre-Masters tournament when Jack Nicklaus’ grandson shot a hole-in-one during the pre-tournament ‘family’ round. It’s a legacy.

I did not inherit the ‘sports’ gene from my father, but I did inherit – and was encouraged to pursue – the music gene. We took piano lessons from a young age from Miss Alma Carter, who served up Cokes in the bottle and let us watch SpongeBob in her sun porch as we waited for the lessons to start. We were in every church program and cantata. And, we learned the VBS songs before anyone else so that our mom could lead the music when it started each summer. 

The legacy that started with my grandmother singing folksy Appalachian hymns on the local radio has continued to me singing harmony on Sunday mornings during worship. 

We often think of spiritual disciplines in terms of words. We read the Bible, we pray, and we journal. But a crucial spiritual discipline is worship. Worship gets us out of our heads and gets us focused on God. It is something that we do on our own, but we love to do in a group. There is such a special moment when you pause and listen to everyone singing in a song. The sound is a picture of the church – individual notes combined together to meld into something beautiful and transcendent. 

Music has always been a central part of how we interact with God. When we learn more about God, we are moved to worship him. When the ark returned to Jerusalem, David was immediately moved to celebrate. He offered sacrifices and then called some Levites “to be ministers before the ark of the Lord, to celebrate the Lord God of Israel, and to give thanks and praise to him” (1 Chronicles 16:4). 

The chief minister of musicians was named Asaph. He was a Levite who was a skilled musician and also described as a seer (or prophet) (2 Chron. 29:30). 1 Chronicles 9:33-34 describes how these musicians “stayed in the temple chambers and were exempt from other tasks because they were on duty day and night.” 

What may seem like a trivial detail about the daily routines of temple life actually speaks to something incredibly important: Worship was so important to the Jewish people that they had a dedicated team of people whose only duty was to sing to God. It wasn’t just something tacked onto a worship service to ‘spice it up.’ It was crucial. Someone was on duty day and night, worshipping before God. 

GotQuestions makes an important point: “The church musicians of our day can be considered spiritual ‘children of Asaph.’” Anyone who sings psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs (which should be all of us) is part of the legacy of Asaph. We walk in his footsteps as we minister before the Lord. Worship is not just ‘filler’ to add to a service; it is how we glorify God and testify to who he is. 

As you read through Psalm 73, you are walking in the footsteps of your spiritual great(+)-grandfather worshipping our great God and singing of the good he has done for us. 

Reflection Questions

  1. Have you ever thought about how important worship is for our spiritual life? Why is it important? How does worship change our hearts? 
  2. Why do you think one of David’s first acts when the ark arrived was to worship with singing? 
  3. Some of us may not feel musically inclined. Why should we still make a point to participate in worship? 

Prayer

Lord, 

Thank you for the gift of worship. Thank you for the gift of music, songs, and harmony. Lord, we praise you!

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

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Remember – and Share

Psalms 73, 77-78

1 Chronicles 6

Another Psalm, another author!  Asaph was a Levitical musician appointed by David.  As a musician, it makes sense why the Psalms in his name invoke quite a bit of feeling!

In each of these Psalms we see components of the author’s experience that we have likely felt in our own lives.  For example, Psalm 73:12-14 highlights the feeling that it seems the wicked seem to prosper while the pure in heart still experience suffering!  Has anyone else had that thought cross their mind?  I know I have. Or from Psalms 77:7-9, the feeling that God has withheld His love and compassion from you? Or, in recounting the Israelite experience in Psalm 78, have we been in moments of testing God, and ignoring His redemption from our enemies?

Throughout these chapters, we see a theme of remembrance.  Whether this is people finally remembering God’s awesome power, generations being reminded of God’s miracles, or God ‘remembering’ that people are only people, remembrance is a prominent component to these musical psalms.  

When people remember God, it is after they have experienced hardship, caused by the complexities of life, or God’s wrath towards their sin.  It comes with recognition of God’s mighty works and requires humility.  Remembering God then brings about a change from a destructive path, back to a path of righteousness and holy pursuit of God’s presence.  Forgetting God and His wonders results in separation from Him for as long as someone forgets.  Remembering Him correctly as the omnipotent Creator is what brings us back to His gracious and compassionate presence. 

However, when God ‘remembers’ His people, it is not because He at some point forgot the way people forget, but rather He re-extends His grace yet again after His people have sinned; He acknowledges them (us!) in their sinfulness.  God’s remembrance is not for His benefit, but for the benefit of His people.  And without it, it wouldn’t be possible for people to experience redemption.  

Remembering God, and His remembrance or compassion towards people is something worth sharing!  Psalm 78:1-8 describes how important it is to tell others, future generations, about God’s works and power.  Whether or not you have children of your own, you do have the opportunity to impact the next generation of believers.  You can do this by reminding believers of our awesome God – reminding them of the importance of following His commands and pursuing His presence in their own lives.  No matter your age, you may feel like your generation has forgotten God.  But you, yes YOU, have the ability to start remembering Him today, to impact yourself and those around you, tomorrow.

-Sarah Johnson

Reflection Questions

  1. Are there seasons in your life that you have really remembered God?  What stood out to you during that time? How could you carry that over to all seasons of life, especially ones where you may be more likely to forget Him?
  2. What could you share about God’s works in your life with people in your circle that would help you or them remember Him today?
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