The Music Tool

With hooks they pulled him into a cage
    and brought him to the king of Babylon.
They put him in prison,
    so his roar was heard no longer
    on the mountains of Israel.
Ezekiel 19:9 (NIV)

A year or so ago, my friend Mitch Matthews posted on social media about his “Reset” playlist. He had a playlist made up of songs meant to help him “reset” his mental and emotional attitude. The rules were that the songs had to be upbeat and you had to be able to dance to them. Actually, they had to be the kind of songs that when you hear them you just can’t help but start movin’.

It was a silly little post, but it motivated me to start my own “Reset” playlist of mood altering grooves on Spotify. And, wouldn’t you know it? I find myself pulling that playlist up when I’m in a mental funk and need a little musical funk to lift my spirit.

Music has been used throughout history for very specific reasons. I typically have Gregorian chants playing as I read, meditate, and write in the morning. Wendy and I typically have quiet, peaceful music playing softly in the house during the day just to soothe the mind and soul. Armies marched to music of a certain cadence to keep them moving and in step. Likewise, sea-shanties kept sailors pulling at the rigging or the oars, and work songs were popular in the fields or on the chain-gang.

Today’s chapter is handicapped for the modern reader because it lacks the musical context that gave it metaphorical power back in Ezekiel’s day. The words are lyrics to a funeral dirge specifically meant for lamenting the death of a king and they were meant to be sung or chanted to a specific genre of music that everyone would recognize as such.

The lyrics mourn the fall of not one, but two kings of Judah. The first is Jehoahaz who reigned only three months before being led into captivity by Pharaoh Necho of Egypt. The second is likely Zedekiah and was probably intended as a prophetic warning to the reigning king in Jerusalem of his fate. Just as Jehoahaz was led of to Egypt, Zed’s children will be slaughtered before his own eyes and he will be taken captive to Babylon. Thus, the funeral dirge to predict and mourn his fall.

In the quiet this morning, I find myself simply reminded of the power of music as a tool. Music communicates such a range of thoughts and emotions. Ezekiel leveraged that reality to metaphorically make a prophetic point for his audience. I can leverage it to express an entire range of emotions or to soothe or lift my spirit.

Oh, and here’s a preview of my “Reset” playlist on Spotify. If you have Spotify you can see the list and listen here. Have a groovin’ weekend, friend.

FYI: I will be traveling next week and taking the week off from this chapter-a-day journey. If you need a fix, don’t forget that you can click on the “Index of Books” link below. There’s an entire archive of old posts out there for you!