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The company
of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha. (2
Kings 2:3) |
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Elijah might have been
happy to spend the rest of his days in quiet devotion,
but the Lord was thinking of the next generation, and of
sharing with others all the wisdom and hard-won lessons
His servant had learnt. In the decade that followed the
mighty showdown on Mount Carmel, Elijah and Elisha may
have been rarely in the news, but they were far from
idle: they were musing the time wisely to revive the
schools of the prophets.
Elijah might have been happy to spend the rest
of his days in devout seclusion, but the Lord
had other plans. He was thinking of the next
generation, and of sharing with others hard-won
wisdom His servant had acquired in the course of
his rugged training. In the decade that followed
the showdown on Mount Carmel, Elijah and Elisha
may have been rarely in the news, but they were
far from idle: they were using the time wisely
to revive the schools of the prophets.
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These missionary centres in Bethel, Gilgal and
Jericho had once exercised a considerable
influence in the land. It had been Samuel who
had first gathered about him the pious and
studious young men who became known as ‘the sons
of the prophets’. We are permitted on several
occasions to glimpse the spirit and faith that
were at work in these communities, which clearly
sought the spirit, rather than just the letter,
of the law.(1) |
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The emphasis in Elijah’s
schools would have been devotional rather than academic,
with the study of Scripture, prophecy and sacred song
being all important. Praise God for all such centres
that God is raising up today around the world! May His
Spirit recruit the right people to them, then thrust
them out into His vineyard in works of sterling service!
As sanctuary where the spiritually hungry could find
instruction, comfort and peace, these schools provide an
early forerunner of the medieval monastic tradition, and
today’s Spirit–led training colleges. It was the goal of
these communities to understand God’s heart, and it was
from their number the Lord would select certain ones to
be His chosen seers and prophets.(2)
These seminaries stand in stark contrast to certain
seminaries today, where prospective pastors are pushed
through academic courses that have no concept of the
realities of spiritual warfare, and which leave
graduates trained more, one sometimes feels, in business
management skills than in the vital spiritual
preparation for the opportunities and opposition they
will encounter in front line ministry. For us, too,
there is a call to train believers in the spirit and
power of Elijah; to teach people how to listen to the
Lord, what to do with the words we receive from Him, and
to understand the dynamics of corporate prayer. In other
words, to transform our meetings into encounters with
the Risen Lord. The Prophetic Ministry and the Power of Music
Central to these schools was the dimension of sacred
song. In 1 Samuel 10:5 we find a whole company of such
disciples playing instruments and prophesying. This
aspect of providing instruction through psalmody is of
more importance biblically than most of us realise.
Some years later, when
the kings of Israel and Judah embarked on a joint
campaign against Moab, the army ran out of water. When
the king summoned Elisha, his immediate reaction was to
send for a harpist. In the stress of the situation, and
hindered as he was by the presence of an ungodly king,
Elisha urgently needed to quiet his own spirit.
Just as the gift of music
opened the way then for a wonderful deliverance of the
Lord,(3) so we have much to discover about the ways in
which music can aid intimacy, reinforce intercession,
facilitate healing and paved the way for hearing an
authentic word from the Lord.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
described music as ‘the universal language of
mankind.’ Luther held it to be the ‘art of the
prophets, and the only art that can calm the agitations
of the soul . . . it is one of the most magnificent and
delightful presents God has given us.’
There is enormous power when
music combines with the Word of God. If we agree with
the man who said, ‘After theology I give to music the
highest place,’ then we should honour this in our
meetings by affording plenty of time for prayer and
worship. Instead of rigidly compartmentalizing our
services, we should be actively seeking to find ways to
integrate worship, prayer and preaching do that they
flow naturally and powerfully from one to the other in a
true reflection of His longings and desires.
Heaven is full of
music, and our worship should express what God is doing,
as well as who He is.
Ushering in the Prophetic Ministry
There are many today who are called to devote themselves
to the arts, in order to bring a prophetic edge back to
what was once, but no longer is, very largely the
Church’s own domain.
The Lord has ‘redeemed us
from all wickedness, and is purifying for Himself a
people who are His very own, eager to do what is good.’
(4) As we saw in the chapter ‘The Prophetic
Ministry,’ the Lord wants us to catch a glimpse of
the things that He is involved in, and to understand
where it is that we should most direct our efforts.
For each of us this will be
different. Many of us will be called to edify the
Church, but some will be called to work primarily in the
field of politics, or the arts, while still others will
be called to attend natural disasters, either in terms
of practical relief or through intercession. God loves
to create new openings for the gospel, and to develop
strategies way beyond anything we could have thought of
by our own efforts.
Whatever our calling,
however, we cannot accomplish it on our own. Jesus
taught the Kingdom of God, rather than just personal
salvation. Special power is released when members of a
profession or organisation come together to seek God’s
blessing. Who can say how much good has been done by
groups of people gathering to pray for their schools,
workplaces and communities?
When I consider the fruit
my friends have borne in the work of the Musicians’
Christian Fellowship (a mantle now largely taken over by
Epiphany) to name but one of many such ministries) it
seems to me that there are indeed many such modern day
schools of the prophets around. Elijah himself would
have been proud of many of them! This is something to
pray into more and more.
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