covenant mediators

The Role of the King in Old Testament Worship

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Despite the predominant function of the king as a military leader, the Bible records many occasions when the kings of Israel and Judah fulfilled a significant role in the leadership of the nation’s worship.

The King As Warrior

In the ancient world, kings were primarily military leaders, commanding their armies in warfare (Gen. 14:8–9:2; Josh. 12; 1 Sam. 11:1; 2 Sam. 8:1–6; Job 15:24; Prov. 30:29–31). The kings of Israel and Judah were no exceptions; their major preoccupation was the defense of their nation or the conquest of neighboring kingdoms. Their association with warfare, as well as their lack of priestly status, normally precluded their involvement in the leadership of worship. Saul, fresh from victory over the Philistines, felt the wrath of Samuel because he had offered a burnt offering himself when Samuel’s arrival at Gilgal was delayed (1 Sam. 13:8–14). David was told not to build the temple because he was a man of war who had shed much blood (1 Chron. 22:8; 28:3). Uzziah was successful in warfare and strengthened Judah’s defenses; when he presumed to burn incense to the Lord in the temple, however, he was opposed by the priests and became leprous (2 Chron. 26:16–21).

The King As Covenant Mediator

The religious problem of the Israelite monarchies was that, in terms of the covenant, Yahweh himself was king. Indeed, the covenant structure of Israelite worship was modeled after that of the ancient Near Eastern treaty between a “great king” and his vassals, a pattern that placed the Lord in the position of the king. Worship focused on the kingship of Yahweh, as in the “enthronement psalms” (Pss. 29; 47; 93; 95–99). The ark itself was a visible symbol of Yahweh’s kingship. Moreover, the treaty-covenant structure also placed his worshipers in the position not of slaves but of vassals or subkings—a “kingdom of priests,” among whom the earthly king was one worshiper among many, subject like all others to the covenant laws. Thus the covenant theology of divine kingship acted as a corrective to any spiritual pretense on the part of the ruler and served as a platform on which the prophets, especially, might stand in rebuking and correcting an errant monarch. Thus, Elijah could throw back in Ahab’s face the epithet “troubler of Israel” (1 Kings 18:17–18); and Isaiah could accuse Ahaz of trying the patience of God (Isa. 7:13).

The theological “problem” with the preeminent kingship of Yahweh was partially resolved in Judah by the theological solution of royal sonship, in which the earthly ruler was seen as the adopted son of Yahweh, and as his vice-regent in government. In Psalm 2, for example, the king speaks prophetically, repeating the Lord’s decree of adoption: “You are my Son; today I have become your Father” (Ps. 2:7). Possibly such materials were composed for the coronation ceremonies, when the Lord would declare, “I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill” (Ps. 2:6). Psalms 72, 101, and 110 also may relate to the same occasion, as might other passages, such as Isaiah’s oracle, “to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders” (Isa. 9:6). The identification of king and priest is clear in the prophetic declaration, “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek” (Ps. 110:4). Here the psalmist relates the Judean monarch to the Canaanite Melchizedek, who had ruled at the same site in Jerusalem as “king of Salem” and “priest of God Most High” (’El ‘elyon) and to whom Abraham had offered a tithe (Gen. 14:18–20).

As the anointed representative of the Lord, the Judean king was seen by Old Testament writers as a mediator of the covenant between the Lord and his people. The prophet Nathan announced a special covenant relationship between the Lord and the dynasty of David (2 Sam. 7:5–17), proclaiming that his house and kingdom would endure before the Lord. This covenant, however, was made with David as “ruler over my people Israel” (2 Sam. 7:8). David understood “that the Lord had established him as king over Israel and had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel” (2 Sam. 5:12). Thus the Davidic covenant was a localized manifestation of the basic covenant between Yahweh and his worshipers, with the king serving in the role of mediator. This role was most adequately filled by David himself, but the theology of the Davidic covenant continued to undergird the Judean monarchy and was foundational to the work of the major Judean prophets in their vision of the maintenance and restoration of the covenant (cf. Isa. 9:6–7; Jer. 30:8–9; 33:14–26; Ezek. 34:23–24; 37:24–28) so that the postexilic prophet Zechariah could proclaim that “the house of David will be like God, like the Angel of the Lord going before them” (Zech. 12:8).

Accordingly, despite the restrictions placed on the king as an officiant in sacrifice, the biblical history records occasions when the Judean king legitimately exercised personal leadership in the worship of the Lord. David is most remarkable for his intimate devotion to Yahweh, expressed in his dancing before the ark (2 Sam. 6:14) as it was being brought, at his direction, to Zion, or in his composition of worship materials as the “sweet psalmist of Israel” (2 Sam. 23:1 NASB ). David instituted and organized the Levitical, prophetic worship of the “tent of David” and had the vision for the erection of the house of the Lord (2 Sam. 7:2; 1 Chron. 22). It was left to Solomon, his son, to carry out the actual construction of the temple (1 Kings 5–7; 2 Chron. 2–4). As a priestly king, Solomon personally officiated at the dedication of the sanctuary (1 Kings 8:12–21; 2 Chron. 5), offering extended prayer (1 Kings 8:22–61; 2 Chron. 6) and sacrifices (1 Kings 8:62–66; 2 Chron. 7:1–11).

Kings As Reformers of Worship

Later kings functioned as organizers or reformers of worship and played a secondary role as officiants. Asa carried through a reform instigated by prophecy and led the people in a renewal of the covenant (2 Chron. 15:8–15). Faced with an enemy invasion, Jehoshaphat led the people in penitential worship and instructed the Levitical musicians to lead the army into battle singing praise to the Lord (2 Chron. 20:18–21). Hezekiah, the first king since the time of David to receive the biblical historian’s unqualified commendation (2 Kings 18:1–6), purged the worship of Yahweh of some of its Ba’alistic accretions. Later in the history of Judah, Josiah led the people in a renewal of the covenant, reading aloud the Mosaic Law and covenant (2 Kings 23:1–3). He also purified Israelite worship of its pagan and occult flavor and reinstituted the celebration of the Passover (2 Kings 23:21–23). Sadly, the reforming kings of Judah were in the minority. Most Judean rulers did little to protect the integrity of the covenant of Yahweh. The situation was even worse in the northern kingdom of Israel, where Jeroboam I and Ahab with his consort Jezebel took the lead in the falsification and perversion of worship.

Prophetic Leadership in Old Testament Worship

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A careful survey of scriptural evidence discloses that the worship of the Lord is most significantly influenced, and often expressly led, by persons functioning in a prophetic role (as opposed to a priestly role). Prophets served as mediators of the covenant; they were closely associated with the sanctuary and vitally concerned with the integrity of worship; they functioned as directors and musicians.

Prophets As Covenant Mediators

The prophets of Israel, as God’s spokesmen (the probable meaning of the Hebrew term navi’), were mediators of the covenant and advocates of the covenant tradition. They called on the people to return to their loyalty to Yahweh, and they proclaimed the judgment of the Lord on an unfaithful people when the provisions of the covenant had been violated through idolatry and injustice. Since the enactment, renewal, and celebration of the covenant were a worship form, the prophets fulfilled a function as leaders in worship.

Moses, Israel’s prophet par excellence, mediated the Sinai covenant (Exod. 19:1–24:8), which had a worship structure incorporating the appearance of the Lord, the review of his historic act of deliverance of his people, the proclamation of his Word or covenant stipulations, the people’s pledge to obey the terms of the covenant, the giving of offerings to the Lord, and the eating of a covenant meal. Moses also presided at a renewal of the covenant, which had a similar structure, just prior to Israel’s entrance into Canaan. The entire book of Deuteronomy is devoted to a description of this ceremony in the form of a farewell address by Moses. Of special note here is the liturgical pronouncement of the covenant sanctions: blessing if the covenant is kept, curse if it is violated (Deut. 27–29). The people were summoned to choose the way of obedience that leads to life (Deut. 30:15–20), and witnesses to the agreement were invoked (Deut. 4:26; 30:19). The ceremony concluded with two songs, the first of which returned to the theme of the judgment inherent in the curse of the covenant (Deut. 32:1–43).

Joshua, though not called a prophet, inherited the mantle of Moses as the spokesman of the Lord’s covenant and presided over the curse liturgy for which Moses had given directions in his farewell address (Josh. 8:30–35). After the conquest of the land of Canaan, he officiated at another ceremony of renewal of the covenant at Shechem (Josh. 24:1–28). This ceremony recapitulated the same treaty-covenant structure familiar from earlier examples: the recitation of the relationship between God and people, the summons to choose between the Lord and other gods, the pledge of the people to serve Yahweh, the invocation of witnesses, and the presentation of the terms of the covenant, its “words,” or statutes.

Prophets and the Sanctuary

Samuel, who was to become Israel’s prophetic leader, was brought up in the sanctuary and “was ministering before the Lord” (1 Sam. 2:18); later his presence was required to “bless the sacrifice” of the feasts of the people (1 Sam. 9:12–13). Bands of prophets were apparently attached to the high places or local sanctuaries; Saul, after being anointed king by Samuel, also encountered such a group and prophesied with them (1 Sam. 10:1–13).

The prophetic association with the sanctuary continued into the period of the Israelite kingdoms; evidently, the festal gatherings of the people provided an audience for the prophet’s utterances, which were usually in the form of poetic compositions. Amos prophesied at the “sanctuary of the king” at Bethel and was ordered by the officiating priest, Amaziah, to return to his own country, Judah, and prophesy there instead (Amos 7:10–17). Isaiah received his prophetic vocation while attending a festival at the temple in Jerusalem (Isa. 6). He apparently was close to the king, a respected adviser to the royal house (Isa. 7:1–17; 37:1–38:22). It has been suggested that Isaiah served as the nation’s “poet laureate,” composing liturgical materials for public worship; the famous prophecy of the “child” who is to take the government upon his shoulder, reigning “on David’s throne and over his kingdom” (Isa. 9:1–7), may have been an oracle for the coronation of a Judean king such as Hezekiah. Jeremiah delivered his indictment of the people’s violation of the covenant while standing “at the gate of the Lord’s house,” addressing the Judeans who came there to worship (Jer. 7:1–2).

The integrity of the worship of the Lord was itself a major concern of the prophets of Israel, all the way from Samuel, who insisted that “to obey is better than sacrifice” (1 Sam. 15:22), to Malachi, who proclaimed that the “messenger of the covenant” would come to his temple, refining the priesthood so they might “bring offerings in righteousness” (Mal. 3:1–4). Elijah officiated at a sacrifice that demonstrated to the people, who had been enticed to worship the Canaanite god Ba‘al, that Yahweh, “he is God” (1 Kings 18:36–39 RSV). The prophet Amaziah encouraged Asa, king of Judah, to undertake a restoration of the sanctuary, accompanied by the renewal of the covenant oath (2 Chron. 15:1–15). During the reign of Josiah, king of Judah, the prophetess Huldah was consulted in connection with the rediscovery of the Book of the Law by the priests; she declared the Lord’s judgment against the temple as a consequence of the violation of the covenant (2 Kings 22:12–20).

Amos declared, in the Lord’s name, “I hate, I despise your religious feasts; I cannot stand your assemblies” (Amos 5:21) because they mask injustice and the violation of the Lord’s covenant with his people. similarly, Isaiah declared that the appointed feasts had become a burden to the Lord (Isa. 1:14) because of the dissolution of the wealthy and their indifference to the plight of the poor, their fellow members of the covenant community.

Jeremiah and Ezekiel, prophets of the early exilic period, were both of priestly families (Jer. 1:1; Ezek. 1:3), and each in his own way was concerned with the integrity of worship. Jeremiah believed that trust in religious institutions, without an inward bond to the Lord, was deceptive (Jer. 7:3–11). Instead, he proclaimed the coming of a “new covenant” written on the heart (Jer. 31:31–34). Ezekiel was more institutionally oriented; his passion was the restoration of the ruined temple, filled once again with the glory of the Lord (Ezek. 40–43), a source of life and healing (Ezek. 47:1–12). In the postexilic period, the prophet Haggai urged Zerubbabel the governor and Joshua the high priest to rebuild the house of the Lord (Hag. 1:1–11).

Prophetic Musicians in Worship

In ancient Israel, prophecy and music were closely associated. (A hint of this association, found in other cultures as well, appears in our English word music, which betrays its derivation from the ancient Greek concept of the muse, the spirit that inspires poets and musicians.) During the Exodus, Miriam the prophetess, sister of Moses and Aaron, took tambourine in hand and led the women in song and dance, celebrating the Lord’s triumph over the Egyptian pursuers (Exod. 15:20–21). As we have seen, Moses concluded his farewell address, an extended reenactment of the covenant ceremony, with a song of judgment and warning. The prophetess Deborah (Judg. 4:4) composed a song celebrating Israel’s victory over a Canaanite army (Judg. 5:1–31). The prophets that Saul encountered coming down from the high place were prophesying to the accompaniment of musical instruments (1 Sam. 10:5).

The prophets of the period of the Israelite kingdoms continued the same alignment between spoken word and music. Second Kings 3:15 records that Elisha called for a “minstrel” (mƒnaggen, a player on a stringed instrument) in order to prophesy to the kings of Israel, Judah, and Edom, assembled for battle against Moab. The prophets who produced the prophetic books of the Hebrew Bible composed lyric oracles, which they probably sang to their hearers—at least to their disciples, if not always to the public. Isaiah’s “song of the vineyard” (Isa. 5:1–7) expresses the Lord’s disappointment with his unfaithful people. Another song in Isaiah 26:1–6, celebrating the Lord’s deliverance of those who trust in him, perhaps was composed as part of a liturgy of entrance into the sanctuary (Isa. 26:2). Jeremiah composed a chant of lament upon the death of King Josiah (2 Chron. 35:25), and his book of Lamentations is a song. Most of the material in the prophetic books is, in fact, poetic song, and some material in the later Prophets, now preserved in prose form, was probably originally written as song. Indeed, prophecy was so closely associated with music that Ezekiel complained that to the public he was simply a musical entertainer (Ezek. 33:32).

It is David the king, however, whose name is most closely linked with prophetic song and musical leadership in the liturgy of the sanctuary. In connection with his bringing the ark of the covenant up to Zion, David instructed the Levites to provide singers and musicians to celebrate the event (1 Chron. 15:16–24). Once the ark had been placed in its tent, he appointed Asaph as chief musician in charge of continual thanksgiving and praise before the ark (1 Chron. 16:1–7). The Levites were priests, but later we learn that David had appointed them to “prophesy”—to give thanks and praise to the Lord (1 Chron. 25:1–7). The description of their activity suggests that these musicians led in a spontaneous and overwhelming outpouring of worship, especially on high occasions such as the dedication of the temple of Solomon (2 Chron. 5:11–14).

David is associated with about half the Psalms, for which he is called a “prophet” in the New Testament (Acts 2:29–31). Many of the Psalms must have originated in the prophetic worship he instituted before the ark on Zion during the period prior to the erection of the temple, when the Mosaic sanctuary with its priestly sacrifices remained at Gibeon (1 Chron. 21:29). This explains the prophetic voice in which God himself speaks in a number of the Psalms (e.g., Pss. 2; 46; 50; 81–82; 89; 91; 95; 105; 108; 110; 132), many of which are attributed to David or to the Levitical musicians.

Certain of the sanctuary musicians were appointed to direct the performance of the music (1 Chron. 15:21), and the superscriptions to fifty-five of the Psalms refer to the choirmaster, or “director” (mƒnatztze‡ḥ), often with instructions for performance (Pss. 4–6; 8–9; 12; 22; 45–46; 52–62; 67; 69; 75–77; 80–81; 84; 88). Of these Psalms, thirty-nine are associated with David, nine with the sons of Korah, and five with Asaph. (A similar designation appears in Hab. 3:19.) The director of music evidently played an important leadership role in the worship of the sanctuary from the time of David onward, as the vocal and instrumental praise of the Lord assumed greater importance. The book of Chronicles especially highlights the prominence of the prophetic sanctuary musicians as leaders of corporate worship. A well-known example of their activity occurs in the account of the invasion of Judah during the reign of Jehoshaphat, when Jahaziel, a Levitical musician, prophesied encouragement and victory to the beleaguered king and nation. The musicians then went before the army into battle, praising the Lord in full vesture, and led in celebration of the ensuing victory (2 Chron. 20:14–30). In the restoration of worship after the Exile, Ezra made a point of recruiting more than two hundred Levites for the service of the sanctuary (Ezra 8:18–20).

In Israelite worship, prophetic and musical activity offered virtually the only outlet for leadership in worship on the part of women. The prophetesses Miriam, Deborah, and Huldah have been mentioned. The enumeration of members of the assembly who returned to Jerusalem after the Exile includes 245 male and female singers (Neh. 7:67). Moses expressed the desire that all the Lord’s people might be prophets (Num. 11:29). Indeed, in Psalm 105 the Lord calls all the covenant descendants of Abraham “my prophets” (Ps. 105:8–15). The spirit of prophecy, then, is the rightful heritage of all who are bound to the Lord in covenant.