Shout (part 2): Asaph

A lot of people know about the Sons of Asaph from the famous story of King Jehoshaphat in the Bible; but what about their father? Well what we do know is that he wrote many of the Psalms. Also, he was one of the worship leaders that David put to lead in the Temple worship. But when we take a look into this worshiper, and his sons, we come to understand some deeper things. We find him first, in 1st Chronicles 16 vs. 4-5 which states “David appointed the following Levites to lead the people in worship before the Ark of the Lord—to invoke his blessings, to give thanks, and to praise the Lord, the God of Israel. Asaph, the leader of this group, sounded the cymbals…” But let's look a little deeper into this worship leader.

When we study the etymology (the meaning of words) of the name Asaph we come to learn and understand things about worship. First we know that he is a skilled musician, composer, and leader of David’s choir. But when we look deeper at his name we see that his name in Hebrew, אסף, means a gatherer; or one that gathers. But it can also mean a seer; or one that sees.

So what can we learn from his name? Well, for starters, a worshiper was created by God to gather the people to come and worship. we also learn that a worshiper was created to not just see what the naked eye sees; but the spiritual as well. And we come to see that Asaph, and his children, were not just worshipers but prophets as well; which we get a taste of this with his sons in 2nd Chronicles 20. Us as worshipers today, on or off the stage, we have to remember that we have the same mandate that David gave his worship leaders: to invoke (call down) God’s blessings, to give thanks, and to praise the Lord the God of Israel.The Sons of Asaph were so deep in their worship that they were known for going up to God’s presence and bringing it down to the people. We have that same mandate today!

In conclusion; we come to also see that Asaph and his sons played a huge role in each revival of the nation. What if God’s waiting on the worshipers to get right and start to get deeper into their worship, on and off the altar, can we imagine what would happen to each service, in each congregation, in each state, in the whole country? It's time we start to worship as Jesus said; In spirit AND truth.Because; for what God is about to start doing, He needs and wants people to prepare the atmosphere on and off the stage.