He Sings Over Us

Numbers21:16


From there they continued to Beer, that is the well where the LORD said to Moses, "Assemble the people, that I may give them water." 17 Then Israel sang this song:

"Spring up, O well! Sing to it!
"The well, which the leaders sank,
Which the nobles of the people dug,
With the scepter and with their staffs."


This is such a wonderful reminder of God's intention in our created abilities. Of all of creation only humans, birds and some believe whales sing. We alone make music on instruments. The many purposes of God in this oft taken for granted ability are so diverse. The ones we most often focus on in the fellowship of faith are worship, encouragement and teaching. But there are many more.

Singing can express the deepest longings of the human heart. God hears those longings. He was the one who created song to express them.


Today's scripture points out two that I have seen have so much power - to sing over our need and our labor.

We have a rich tradition in the songs of the slaves in America of both. They sang songs of longing for their freedom and they sang songs to endure in the weary days of ceaseless labor. Much of what we call gospel and country music had its roots in this tradition. Undoubtedly soul, blues and some strains of jazz music was a direct development of it.
 
While the slaves passed to us an incredible art form it did not begin with them. We see here another band of those who had been slaves as well. They are once again desperate for water but something wonderful is happening in their hearts. Their parents should have understood this but did not. They had chosen to give in to their despair and chanted the unsung chorus of, "Why have you brought us out to die in this wilderness." This generation, many who had not seen the mighty acts of of God in Egypt did not despair. With great faith they began to sing over their need and their labor.

God did not have Moses smite or speak to a rock. He did not cast a tree into an oasis. God said He would give them water but this time the had to dig for it. A perhaps unnoticed miracle of transformed hearts was that it was not the common laborers that dug the well - it was the princes and nobles. And as they dug they sang. 

I have always believed that singing is closely related to the prophetic. Here is a perfect melding of the two. They sang prophetically to the well to spring up. It had to have a huge flow of water to quench the thirst of over a million people in the desert.
 
Don't forget that the labor was hard and they were already thirsty. But they sang through the suffering with an expected result of life and not death.
 
Yesterday I was holding my little grandchild who was having some trouble in calming himself. As I held him a song came into my heart to sing over him. It was a song of declaration of who I believe God wants him to be. How perfect that I would read today of how Israel sang over their need and the expectation of their labor. At this point of my life almost all my labor is meant to meet the needs of others like my little grandson.

As I sang over him I reminded myself of the covenant between him, God and me. And I remembered God's covenant with me. Mothers and fathers have been singing over their little ones probably since Cain and Abel were born. And they sang with purpose. But even before Eve sang God sang. If it were not so how could we?
 
Zephaniah 3:17 
The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing."

How wonderful to think that our God sings over us. Like the Israelites sang blessing over the works of their hands God sings blessing over the work of His hands - You and me. And what God blesses is blessed.

As I held my little one in my arms and sang over him I sang what I heard God singing over him. God was singing through me like He has sung through moms, dads and other loved ones throughout the ages. And even when no one else was there to sing He did with the myriad of heaven.  

I have the wonderful opportunity to work with young children. When I first began this particular part of my professional life I was praying how I could point the ones I teach to their destiny. I began to hear the Father's heart for them. I put what I heard into a song....

I am a Star
I am shining bright
I can shine
In the darkest night
lighting my world
I will share my light
I am a star
I was made to shine.

You are a Star
You are shining bright
You can shine
In the darkest night
Lighting your world
You will share your light
You are a star
You were made to shine
 
We are stars
We are shining bright
We can shine
In the darkest night
Lighting our world
We will share our light
We are stars
We were made to shine.
 
It is a simple song but as I sing it to, and eventually with, my students I am singing over them what I believe God's destiny is for them..... and for everyone He has created. I have seen my singing over them this simple song of destiny, like Israel singing over a well to spring up with abundance of water, helps them begin to understand who they and others really are.