Back in Old Testament times, the Spirit would “visit” someone or “come upon” them, in few cases did the Spirit “dwell” in someone. In contrast, Jesus promised the disciples and other followers that we could be “baptized in,” “filled with” and continually “walk in” the Holy Spirit. So what can we learn from the Old covenant moments when a person interacted with the presence of God? Especially when the man was otherwise not following the ways of the Lord, how does the Spirit interact with him? Today, we see a significant repeatable moment in the life of Saul that has present-day implications.
Samuel the prophet had anointed Saul as king of Israel, although it was against the counsel of God for Israel to request a king in the first place. Samuel tells the new king what the near future will bring to him, and it comes true.
And there, as soon as you come to the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre before them, prophesying. Then the Spirit of the LORD will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man. Now when these signs meet you, do what your hand finds to do, for God is with you. 1 Samuel 10:5-7
Several things stand out to me. First, there is a group of prophets coming down from “the high place.” What were they doing there? Were they priests? Were they prophets of the LORD? If so, why were they going up to the high place, which elsewhere in Scripture seems to be a site for idol worship?
Second, notice all the musical instruments coming down the hill with the prophets: strings, percussion and wind instruments going “before them.” There is something about music that can stir a heart to be lifted up, ennobled, and even to hear from God. It is a mystery. Music can be merely psychological window dressing or manipulation of emotions, OR, if can be used by God to bring people to Himself. There are many other instances of the power and influence of music, but this is one of the more powerful examples.
Third, they were “prophesying.” Of course they were; they were prophets. But think for a moment, for this is crucial: how does a prophet prophesy while music is playing? Either the prophet speaks with musical background, or the prophet actually sings the prophecy. Later, Elisha prophesies this way: “‘But now bring me a musician.’ And when the musician played, the hand of the LORD came upon him.” (2 Kings 3:15)
Things that make you go, “Hmm.” Or, “Hymn.”
Fourth, Samuel tells him that “the Spirit of the LORD will rush upon you.” This was a sweeping, overwhelming experience, not just a warm fuzzy feeling. But more than that, this became life-altering for Saul. He was “turned into another man.” This sounds very similar to Jesus’ word to Nicodemus that a man must be ‘born again’ to enter the kingdom.
Last, Samuel says that from that moment, Saul is to “do what your hand finds to do, for God is with you.” Once God is with him, with His Spirit in him, Saul is simply to do whatever seems right to him. He is now operating on God’s wavelength, and God’s Holy Spirit is giving him the words to say. People generally did not get this kind of blessing from God, and it apparently didn’t last for Saul, either. But the description seems like something that all born-again believers today can do: Don’t stop, don’t pray, don’t wait for a miraculous sign, just do whatever you hand find to do, because of Emmanuel, God is with us.
And when all who knew him previously saw how he prophesied with the prophets, the people said to one another, "What has come over the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?" 1 Samuel 10:11
Before we go any further, we need to have a mutual understanding of what it means to prophesy. For me, it seemed to be the equivalent to fortune telling, foretelling things that are yet to come. I had what you might call a “hard” definition of prophecy as being a supernatural gift of the Holy Spirit, implying that what a prophet said could be taken on the level of the words written in Scripture.
To be sure, that is part of the meaning, but the word “prophesy” is better translated “forth-telling” than solely “foretelling.” As such, it is related to “declare” “testify” “preach” “instruction” “confess.” However, there is a certain supernatural element to prophesying, just as there is with “revelation.” God revealed truth to a prophet, whose job was to faithfully declare, or tell forth, what he or she heard. This understanding of the word “prophesy” is what you might call a “soft” definition of the word. It allows for bold declaration that does not need to be considered on the level of direct revelation. All this will be important in a minute, so hold on.
After this time, Saul had several failings, including what today we might call a psychotic break. In any case, Saul was certainly not acting like a prophet who was on God’s wavelength anymore. The Bible says, “Now the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the LORD tormented him.” (1 Samuel 16:14)
And Saul's servants said to him, "Behold now, a harmful spirit from God is tormenting you. Let our lord now command your servants who are before you to seek out a man who is skillful in playing the lyre, and when the harmful spirit from God is upon you, he will play it, and you will be well." (V.15-16)
You perhaps know that the shepherd, David, who would later become Saul’s enemy and successor as king, was the musician they found. He was “skillful in playing,” and a man of character, “and the LORD is with him." (V.17-18) And do you know, it worked? You might call this the first account of music therapy, except that it involves the spiritual realm in some mysterious way.
And whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed from him. 1 Samuel 16:23
Music and prophecy. Prophetic music ministry. There is something to all this.
But, wait! It gets even more convincing just a few chapters later! By now, Saul is very much out of step with God, chasing down David to kill him because of his deep jealousy of him. And unexpectedly, he comes upon a group of musical prophets again.
Then Saul sent messengers to take David, and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as head over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied. When it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they also prophesied.
This reminds me of something that happened with Jesus, as recorded in the Gospel of John (7:40-46). The Jewish leaders sent officers to arrest Jesus, but no one laid hands on Him, because, as the officers reported, “No one ever spoke like this man!” When exposed to authoritative prophecy, the hardened soldiers were frozen in their tracks, mesmerized by the prophecy they heard.
Back to the account with Saul:
Then he himself went . . . And the Spirit of God came upon him also, and as he went he prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah. And he too stripped off his clothes, and he too prophesied before Samuel and lay naked all that day and all that night. Thus it is said, "Is Saul also among the prophets?" 1 Samuel 19:19-24
Something overcame even Saul, once again, unexpectedly and overwhelmingly, to knock him down (today, some call this being slain in the Spirit) and speak what declares God’s truth.
YOUR ENCOUNTER
If this were a one-time event, I might shrug my shoulders and wonder what kind of application it might have. But there is a very clear New Testament passage that seems to say that such things as happened to Saul should be regularly happening at church; which is to say that unbelievers are brought to conviction when exposed to prophecy. Paul writes to the mostly-Gentile church in Corinth:
“...if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you.” 1 Corinthians 14:23-25
Wouldn’t that be a powerful experience? Everyone in the church is prophesying, and the unbeliever is overwhelmed by the Spirit, as Saul was, as the officers were, and he worships God and declares that God is really among us!
Hold on! EVERYONE prophesies? Didn’t Paul say in that same chapter that only two or three should prophesy? Yes. On the other hand, he began by saying we are to earnestly desire that we may prophesy, for prophecy is the greatest gift, for it leads to the strengthening, encouragement and comfort of the saints. He also says that when the church comes together, each person has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. On Pentecost, the whole group of 120 believers, both men and women, were declaring God’s praise in other languages, in fulfillment of the great promise in Joel. Moses had been willing for everyone in Israel to prophesy. I guess God can pour Himself out on whomever He chooses.
So, this may be confusing. I mean, is there one prophet who delivers a sermon? Does everyone come with a word given by the Spirit? Are only two or three of them permitted to speak? Why desire to prophesy, if you don’t actually give the prophecy?
Here’s where it all comes together for me: WHEN does everyone in the church “prophesy?” (Pause.) During congregational singing! Each one comes with a hymn (the word is actually a psalm), and all the other sing with strong, declarative voice, believing every word of what they proclaim. The unbeliever in the midst of it may not understand, but like Saul when David played, the music drives out the unclean spirit from him, and the truth being declared convicts his heart. So, he falls down and he does what? He worships! Because he is joining in the worship with the rest of the congregation. He can’t help it! It is obvious that God is among us all!
As a musician and a worship leader, today’s topic is enough to inspire me to give my best attention to congregational worship for the rest of my life! If what we say and what we sing are filled with God’s hard-hitting truths, we have all become worshiping evangelists, cutting straight to the center of a person with the Word of God.
May your church learn to worship prophetically!
Reflect on moments when you have seen evidence of this phenomenon of worship evangelism, share it with someone, and write about it in your journal.