Renungan, Senin 30 Mei 2022 (Ezra 3:11)

Christian Faith is a Singing Faith

Ezra 3:11:

“With praise and thanks, they sang this song to the lord: “He is so good! His faithful love for Israel endures forever!” Then all the people gave a great shout, praising the lord because the foundation of the lord’s Temple had been laid.”

“Secara berbalas-balasan mereka menyanyikan bagi Tuhan nyanyian pujian dan syukur: Sebab Ia baik! Bahwasanya untuk selama-lamanya kasih setia-Nya kepada Israel!” Dan seluruh umat bersorak-sorai dengan nyaring sambil memuji-muji Tuhan, oleh karena dasar rumah Tuhan telah diletakkan.”

Of course, everyone has sung, even though their voices are not like the voices of the artists who are so good and deserve to be shown in front of the public. The purpose of people singing is to express their hearts both when they are happy and when they are sad. The book of Ezra 3:11 states that the Israelites sang. Their purpose in singing was to express their gratitude to God because their prayers and hopes had been fulfilled. God allowed them to rebuild the house of God that had fallen down, because of the Babylonian colonization of their sins and detained for 70 years in Babylon.

Through the Persian king Cyrus, God fulfilled his mission. The Lord moved his heart to allow the Israelites to return and rebuild the temple of God in Jerusalem. This was what the Israelites were very grateful for, so that in verse 11 says “With praise and thanks, they sang this song to the lord: “He is so good! His faithful love for Israel endures forever!” Then all the people gave a great shout, praising the lord because the foundation of the lord’s Temple had been laid.”

In the Old Testament, singing and music were important in worship. In 1 Chronicles 23:5 King David prepared four thousand people to praise God with musical instruments and sing praises.” In 1 Chronicles 25:7 they were specially trained to sing to God. Likewise in the New Testament Jesus also sang at supper with his disciples (Matthew 26:30). History shows that singing is an important part of Christian life.

In our Christianity, singing is an important activity that has been attached to Christians as an identity. The Christian faith is a singing faith. Singing is a reflection of our spiritual vitality and is a response to the grace given by God. Therefore, singing in worship cannot be replaced because it is a form of expression of praise.

The songs of God’s people express their readiness to face God and welcome his presence in their lives and in worship, so that singing is not a means of entertainment but a reflection of personal and communal faith in responding to the revelation of God’s love. Therefore as Christians we must love to sing, sing from the heart and must give the best of our voices. Because through singing, not only we will be strengthened but other people too. When they hear us sing, they are also invited to thank God and be blessed. Through singing we can convey the task of evangelism because through singing people will know more deeply who our God is and his deeds in our lives because our songs will reveal His greatness, power, blessing and love.

Then the question is whether you sing with your heart to God or not? If we don’t sing from the heart, it’s because we don’t know God our creator, we don’t really understand that our lives exist only because of His love. As Christians, we must sing, because singing is an important part of our worship. By singing, we show that we really know our God and we are grateful for all that God has done in our lives. Singing is an expression of praise to God as the Israelites did to God, they shouted with song because the greatness of God.

Therefore sing not carelessly but sing correctly according to the tone. Especially Bibelvrouw students, you are trained in this place to sing properly to God, so you have to be really serious because singing is praise to God. In the current context you are invited to sing with cheers because the exam will end today. We should be grateful because God gave an extraordinary time so that you are healthy during the exam and go on without a hitch. Be a people who sing to God because He is good. Amen

Oleh: Bvr. Tiarma, M.Th.