“All these men were under the direction of their fathers as they made music at the house of the Lord. Their responsibilities included the playing of cymbals, harps, and lyres at the house of God. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman reported directly to the king. They and their families were all trained in making music before the Lord, and each of them—288 in all—was an accomplished musician. The musicians were appointed to their term of service by means of sacred lots, without regard to whether they were young or old, teacher or student.”
‭‭

1 Chronicles‬ ‭25‬:‭6‬-‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

One of the fascinating aspects of temple life is the edict that worship ought to be a form of discipline. It is both given a high place of honor and of respect among temple workers. It is a priestly duty in a highly liturgical sense in the same way that any other service for the temple would carry. No doubt this could be a precursor to the idea of a modern worship pastor whose role is to lead people in worship. However, one thing that ought to be noted is that it was in fact a priestly duty. Whereas a modern worship pastor does lead people in worship, they tend not to be interceding as a priest would do. Instead, they tend to be representing. This is not the priestly function in the triad of roles that Christ plays. He is priest, prophet, and king, and representation of the people is more a kingly role. Perhaps this is why it is tempting to elevate a gifted worship leader into a status symbol. Nonetheless, the original function was that of intercession, as a priest would do. He was serving this role and function the way a military man or any other disciplined person would. He was not purely emotive and guided by his own passionate style of reverence. Perhaps we ought to add more rigor to our regiments of musicians?

Worship as Discipline: Temple life emphasizes worship as a disciplined practice, similar to a priestly duty.

Priestly Intercession: The primary role of temple worship was priestly intercession, distinct from the representative role of modern worship leaders.

Rigor in Worship: Temple worship emphasized disciplined reverence, suggesting a need for greater rigor in modern worship music.