By Jeremy Bell
I am going to share my personal study on Psalm 110 using groupings from my motif analysis. I have taken these groupings of the Psalm and put them together. So, the entirety of the Psalm will be posted, but these groupings will present the text in a different order. Groupings of my motif findings are in my book, Psalms in Motif Visualization.
A day is coming, a moment. It will begin with a call, a shout, a blast. God Himself is going to descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God. In Christ, the dead will rise, then those who are not dead, but in Christ, will go.
Horns in the Bible
In the Bible, there are actually two types of horns used as instruments. Many translations simply call them trumpets, so it is not obvious. The Chatsotsrah was made of metal, resembling a type of the trumpet we hear today. The shofar is the horn of a ram and most of us likely have seen its use in fantasy movies like The Lord of the Rings. Both instruments could be used to sound alarms and announce the beginning of celebrations.
The shofar was typically also used more musically. It can mimic sobbing and wailing sounds, and like the Bugle, different pitches can be produced using different embouchure positions. The shofar was used in battle, to warn of a coming battle, in celebration and a general call and warning.
Jericho
Israel went to conquer Jericho. Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the children of Israel. No one went out, and no one came in. Yahweh said to Joshua, “Behold, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and the mighty men of valor. All of your men of war shall march around the city, going around the city once.
You shall do this six days. Seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. On the seventh day, you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. It shall be that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the city wall will fall down flat, and the people shall go up, every man straight in front of him.” – Joshua 6: 1-5.
A Warning
Later, Yahweh’s word came to Ezekiel, saying, “Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and tell them, ‘When I bring the sword on a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and set him for their watchman; if, when he sees the sword come on the land, he blows the trumpet, and warns the people; then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet, and doesn’t heed the warning, if the sword comes, and takes him away, his blood will be on his own head.
He heard the sound of the trumpet and didn’t take warning. His blood will be on him; whereas if he had heeded the warning, he would have delivered his soul. But if the watchman sees the sword come, and doesn’t blow the trumpet, and the people aren’t warned, and the sword comes, and takes any person from among them; he is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.’ — Ezekiel 33: 1-6
Anointing
The shofar was used to anoint kings. David decides how his son will be anointed. King David said, “Call to me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada.” They came before the king. The king said to them, “Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride on my own mule, and bring him down to Gihon. Let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel. Blow the trumpet, and say, ‘Long live king Solomon!’ Then come up after him, and he shall come and sit on my throne; for he shall be king in my place. I have appointed him to be prince over Israel and over Judah.” — 1 Kings 1: 32-35
Celebration
The shofar is used in celebration. Asaph writes in another Psalm, ‘Sing aloud to God, our strength! Make a joyful shout to the God of Jacob! Raise a song, and bring here the tambourine, the pleasant lyre with the harp. Blow the trumpet at the New Moon, at the full moon, on our feast day. For it is a statute for Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob.’ — Psalm 81: 1-4
Jesus
God is one yet He sends His son. A son is an inheritor, a separate person from one family. There are many mysteries. God has an inheritor though He will never die. He is distinctly known as Father, Spirit, Son, yet He is one. There is one God. God’s son will descend from heaven, yet His essence can never be tainted by sin or unholiness. God’s son is King and Priest. We know Jesus descended from the line of David, not the line of Levi. So, He is king. Here, we will see that Levi does not determine priesthood. God does, and it was established before Abraham. So, Jesus can be both king and priest.
Jesus was the coming conqueror to the battle of sin and righteousness that ended in death. He was anointed as king. He is celebrated as the firstborn of all creation. The shofar has sounded, the ramshorn has sung, the trumpet has announced, and a new day has dawned. Let’s get to Psalm 110.
I see this as a versearrow motif pattern. A verse is one idea that still has a breakdown of pattern, but those patterns are contained in one idea. In this form, the motif rises and falls from a center point, or center idea all inside a verse. Look for it. I have identified 3 distinct sections, or elements. These sections are much like the sections of a piece of music, each related, but distributed in a pattern throughout the Psalm. When I post for Audio Visualization, my goal is to highlight the patterns and intent over strict translation. I hope it gives fresh encouragement, but I strongly recommend the Psalm to be read as is for proper understanding. Psalm 110, in motif audio visualization:
[ Psalm 110 ]
Grouping A
Yahweh says to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand,
until I make your enemies your footstool for your feet.”
The Lord is at your right hand.
He will crush kings in the day of his wrath.
He will judge among the nations.
He will heap up dead bodies.
He will crush the ruler of the whole earth.
He will drink of the brook on the way;
therefore he will lift up his head.
Grouping B
Yahweh will send out the rod of your strength out of Zion.
Rule among your enemies.
Yahweh has sworn, and will not change his mind:
“You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”
Grouping C
Your people offer themselves willingly in the day of your power, in holy array.
Out of the womb of the morning, you have the dew of your youth.
Biology
One more fact unique to the shofar is that it is a biological instrument. This is an instrument not made with human hands like the trumpet. It reminds me of the first sin committed in Eden. Adam and Eve made clothes out of fig leaves. God later makes them clothes from animal skins. What we make for ourselves fades away, like leaves. Self-righteousness takes us away from God, like the wind takes away dead leaves. We need God to clothe us in what he provides. We need His robe, His garment of righteousness. Hear what Isaiah had to say about it.
For we have all become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteousness is like a polluted garment.
We all fade like a leaf;
and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
— Isaiah 64:6
I will greatly rejoice in Yahweh!
My soul will be joyful in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation.
He has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
— Isaiah 61:10
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15: 51-58
Behold, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed. For this perishable body must become imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable body will have become imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then what is written will happen: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “Death, where is your sting? Hades, where is your victory?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
Awakening
Jesus conquered death by dying and coming back to life and then ascending to heaven. He lived a perfect, sinless life and wants to give that to people. Jesus died, paying the price for sin against God, and He wants to give that to people. He went to heaven to be with the Father, and He wants to bring people with Him. Anyone under any circumstance who believes in Him will not perish, but they will be clothed with righteousness and given eternal life. They will fall asleep and when they hear the shofar and the sound of the trumpet, they will awake with incorruptible and imperishable bodies and life. They will pass from the nature of death to The Nature of Joy.
Resources and Notes
All scripture in this article is from the WORLD ENGLISH BIBLE (WEB). The World English Bible (WEB) is a Public Domain (no copyright) Modern English translation of the Holy Bible. The World English Bible is based on the American Standard Version of the Holy Bible first published in 1901, the Biblia Hebraica Stutgartensa Old Testament, and the Greek Majority Text New Testament.
For more related to this blog, check out my post on Practical Steps to Worship God in Spirit and in Truth.
This is a reliable translation, but it is always good to read other translations as well. Biblegateway.com has a multitude of translations to read from. It is a great resource.
Another great resource is Biblehub.com. There are multiple translations, commentaries, and so much more. Great research can be done on this platform.
One more I use regularly is Gotquestions.org. This is a great site to answer questions and find threads of related questions.
There are many resources. The key is that God wants relationship directly with you, the individual. His primary source for revealing who He is and growing in intimacy is His word, the scriptures. Don’t just read for instruction. Analyze and read for understanding. Explore, ask questions, and be transformed in Jesus every moment you possibly can. There is no dispute this is a key desire of God. People are brough to the Father, in the Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit. This… This is the Nature of Joy.
Jeremy is an author, musician, and business intelligence manager. His mission is to equip and encourage those in Christ, to equip and encourage others in Christ. Jesus, Christ, is the Nature of Joy and melody of the heart. Jeremy unites business analytics (business intelligence), songs, and Scripture for Christian living in the power of the Holy Spirit.