“But Jehoshaphat said, ‘Is there not a prophet of the LORD here, that we may inquire of the LORD by him?’ And one of the king of Israel’s servants answered and said, ‘Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who used to pour water on the hands of Elijah.’ … Elisha said, ‘As the LORD of hosts lives, before whom I stand, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look at you nor see you. But now bring me a minstrel.’ And it came about, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him” (2 Kings 3:11, 14-15).
This passage reveals a close relationship between prophets and music, a relationship which often goes unappreciated by lovers of Scripture. Elisha demands a player of a stringed instrument (i.e., a minstrel) to speak (or perhaps sing) his words of prophecy. Remarkably, other passages highlight the vital connection between prophecy and music/musical instruments (Exod 15:20-21; Deut 31:29-30; 1 Sam 10:5-6; 18:10; 2 Sam 23:1-2). This connection may explain the poetic genre familiar to Israel’s writing prophets (i.e., Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, etc.). These books are poetic because the oracles in them were originally spoken or sung by the prophets while accompanied by musical instruments.
And this leads us to a crucial hermeneutical conclusion regarding the book of Psalms. While we typically treat the book of Psalms as a siddur (a prayer book) or a songbook, its poetic genre and many references to choir directors, songs, music, and musical instruments strongly suggest the book of Psalms was primarily intended to be understood as a book of prophecy. The only difference between Psalms and the book of Isaiah, for example, is not the genre, but the anthological nature of the book. In other words, the book of Isaiah is a collection of prophecies by one prophet. In contrast, the book of Psalms is a collection (i.e., anthology) of prophecies by multiple prophets (David, Asaph, the sons of Korah, Ethan, Solomon, etc.). It is only when we see the book of Psalms for what it truly is, for what God intended it to be, that we begin to understand why the New Testament authors interpret the book of Psalms primarily as a prophetic book that points to the deeds and words of Yeshua the Messiah!
“Moreover, David and the commanders of the army set apart for the service some of the sons of Asaph and of Heman and of Jeduthun, who were to prophesy with lyres, harps and cymbals; and the number of those who performed their service was: Of the sons of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah and Asharelah; the sons of Asaph were under the direction of Asaph, who prophesied under the direction of the king. Of Jeduthun, the sons of Jeduthun: Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei, Hashabiah and Mattithiah, six, under the direction of their father Jeduthun with the harp, who prophesied in giving thanks and praising the LORD” (1 Chron 25:1-3).
