But now bring me a harpist.” While the harpist was playing, the hand of the LORD came on Elisha … - 2 Kings 3:15

Today’s Scripture Reading (December 9, 2019): 2 Kings 3

In an episode of the Television Series “Evil,” the trio of church questioners are sent to interview a modern-day prophet to discover whether or not she is genuinely a messenger from God. They question the Prophet in a room filled with active children who are playing in a daycare setting. And they ask her what God is telling her. Her response is to grab a beach ball and begin to blow it up. The members of the inquisition are confused. Why blow up a beach ball? The response from the would-be Prophet is that the act of blowing up the beach ball helps her to block out the busy world around her and focus on the voice of God. Unusual? Definitely. But is it proof that she is not a prophet. That is the question that the inquisitors must struggle to answer.

Is it possible that the fictional television series has a biblical basis? Maybe. Elisha is called to prophesy to the Kings of Israel, Judah, and Edom. The Kings need to know that God is with them. But Elisha is not pleased to be brought into the process. He is not a fan of his king, the King of Israel, Joram (or Jehoram). Joram is a bit better than his father Ahab was, but the improvement is not enough to make him a “good King.” God still disapproves of the actions of the King of Israel, and so he is not on Elisha’s good list either. In fact, Elisha makes it clear that the only reason why he even bothers to talk to the three kings is the presence of Jehoshaphat, the King of Judah (2 Kings 3:14). Elisha respects Jehoshaphat, and so, for his sake alone, the prophet will inquire of God.

The problem is that Elisha is still upset. He is disturbed enough by the presence of Joram that he can’t focus on the voice of God. And so he sends for his beach ball; in this case a harpist. The music of the harp helps him to disengage from the struggle that surrounds him and focus on God. It helps him hear the voice of God.

Music has always served this purpose in the church. When we enter into a place of worship, we are seldom able to leave the mundane things of our lives outside the doors of the building. These distractions enter with us. We want to hear from God, but house payments and the fights that we had with our spouse and our children distract us from our holy purpose. It is the music that attempts to focus our thoughts and our ears on God.

Of course, we are also all different. In the church that I attend, we follow a “Friendly Giant” worship structure where we hope that there is something for everyone; contemporary and traditional, loud and soft, Tomlin and Gaither. And our hope is that we can break our focus on our preferences and focus on God, understanding that while this song might not be for me, someone worshipping here needs to hear it so they can focus on the words that come from the throne of God. It is just another way of blowing up a beach ball.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 2 Kings 4