WHO IS THE ‘HARPIST’?

Proverbs 15:2
The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright:
But the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness.

The Hebrew text in this verse offers a beautiful poetry. The Hebraic word used for ‘useth’ is the word ‘etiv’, which means ‘to strikes the harp well’. We consequently understand that the tongue of the wise has the ability to ‘play’ ‘wisdom’, harmoniously; to use it in way that inspires people towards the Almighty, just as a man who elegantly plays the harp. Let us not forget that the father of our author, King David, was himself a harpist who was employed at the Israeli court to sooth King’s Saul tormented spirit.

On the other hand, (and sad to say, there is always another hand), the wisdom which has been made available for mankind’s own good is not always ‘played’ wisely. Satan, our archenemy, was the right-hand man of the Almighty. Ezekiel prophesied about him, By thy wisdom and by thy traffick hast thou increased thy riches, and thine heart is lifted up because of thy riches: Ezekiel 28:5

The same wisdom used to lead people to their Creator, can be used to lead them towards false leadership. The same wisdom we employ to impart the knowledge of the Father can also be used to proclaim heresies. The same wisdom that will teach a man the ways of God, can also be used to teach him the foolishness of ungodliness and of life without His Instruction.

When we hear the music, before we dance to it, we need to learn to recognize who plays the ‘fiddler’, or to continue the poetic analogy of this proverb, who is the ‘harpist’. Our Rabbi and Master Yeshua has taught us how to recognize the prophetic harpists that fill this world. He said, ‘by their fruits ye shall know them’.

Let us remember that the word use for foolishness tells us of someone who is devoid of desire to follow in then ways of his Creator. He is his own ‘self-made’ man, if there can be such a thing.

In this day when the world seems to titter back and forth like a drunken man trying to find its place in a history that seems to repeat the same foolishness of its past, let us not be mused by the tender words of smooth tongue preachers, politicians, motivators or to-good-to-be-true financial deals. Let us not allow our God-given desire for peace and tranquility to make us settle for the heresies of untruth and the glitter of false peace and security. Let us always learn to unveil the ‘harpist’.