Odes of Solomon Speak
to Jubilee 99 and Wineskins Movement
Musical worship has
always been recognized as the work of human merit.
The Odes of Solomon show that at least one
early preacher understood that the "songs" which came from God were
His revelation which must be repeated to the world.
However, the world was filled with professional "restrainers of the
water" doing everything in their power to "ferment," "filter" or "dam
up" the Word-- For thus it was from the beginning and will be
to the end, that nothing should be His adversary, and nothing should
stand up against Him." Odes of Solomon 6:4 The Lord has multiplied the knowledge of
Himself, and is zealous that these things should be
known, which by His grace have been
given to us. And the praise of His name He gave us: our
spirits
praise His holy Spirit." Odes of Solomon 6:5-6 For there went forth a stream and
became a river great and broad; for it flooded and broke up
everything and it brought (water) to the Temple;
and the restrainers of the
children of men were not able to restrain it, nor the arts of those
whose business it is to
restrain water. For it spread over the face of the whole
earth, and filled everything: and all the thirsty upon earth were
given to drink of it; and thirst was
relieved and quenched: for from the Most High the draught was given."
Odes of Solomon 6:7-11 Jesus agreed with this and warned of the
professionals: For they bind heavy (authority) burdens and
grievous to be borne, and lay them on mens shoulders; but they
themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. Mt 23:4
But all their works (occupation)
they do
for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the
borders of their garments, Mt 23:5 And love the uppermost rooms at
feasts,
and the chief seats in the synagogues, Mt 23:6 And greetings in the markets, and to be called
of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. Mt 23:7 But be not ye called
Rabbi: for one is your Master, even
Christ; and all ye are brethren. Mt 23:8 Jesus wasn't just concerned about malicious
pride among those who lust to get on the lecture circuit or sell that
new book or introduce that new worship gimmick. He knew that in their
well-studied methods they were really taking away the key to the
Word-- Woe unto you, lawyers for
ye have taken away the
key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were
entering in ye hindered. Lu.11:52 While this writer is no more inspired than our
commentaries, he understood the teaching of the Old and perhaps New
Testament. He knew that those who "take away the key to Knowledge"
were the same men who tried to "restrain the waters." Certain people
were given God's Word as ministers of that Word-- Blessed then are the
ministers of that
draught who are entrusted with that
water of
His: They have assuaged the dry
lips, and they that had fainted they
have raised up" Odes of Solomon 6:12-13 He hath filled me with words of truth; that
I may speak the same Odes of Solomon 12:1 and like the flow of waters
flows truth from my
mouth, and my lips show forth His
fruit.
Odes of Solomon 12:2 And He has caused His knowledge to abound in
me, because the mouth of the Lord is the true
Word, and the door of His light; Odes
of Solomon 12:3 and the Most High hath given it to His words, which are the interpreters of His own
beauty, and the repeaters of His praise,
and confessors of His counsel, and the heralds of his thoughts,
and the chasteners of His servants." Odes of Solomon 12: 4 To try to make the "water into wine" may
reveal a Messiah complex but then we know that Messiah didn't add
yeast to the living water to make it into a deadly drug. This early
preacher knew that he was not the Messiah and that God's Word is the
only "interpreter" of Him. If we fall into trying to interpret rather
than just delivering it "without yeast" then we put ourselves in the
place of "propping up a failing god." The common theme runs throughout this early
writing that God knows what He wants to be taught and the Word is the
God-given "harp" or lyre by which one praises God by returning His
Words back to Him. Paul put the teaching task in the hands of the
pastor-teachers of the flock and demanded that-- He must hold firmly to the
trustworthy message as it has been
taught, so that he can encourage
others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.
Tit.1:9 Our Solomon continues: Behold the Lord is our mirror;
open the eyes and see them in Him: and learn the manner of your face:
and tell forth praise to His
spirit: and wipe off the filth from
your face: and love His holiness, and clothe yourselves therewith" ,
Odes of Solomon 13:1-2 Teach me the Psalms of thy
truth,
that I may bring forth fruit in thee: And open
to me the harp of thy Holy
Spirit, that with all its notes I may
praise thee, O Lord." Odes of Solomon 14:7-8 I am a priest of the Lord, and to Him I do
priestly service: and to Him I offer the sacrifice of His thought. For His thought is not like the thought of the world
nor the thought of the flesh, nor like them that serve carnally. The
sacrifice of the Lord is righteousness, and the purity of heart and
lips." Odes of Solomon 20:1-3 This noble writer would not attempt to
construct a "wineskin" for God's truth any more than he would compose
his own songs or invent his own harp because-- "Thou didst set me a lamp at my
right hand and at my left: and in me there shall be nothing that is
not bright: and I was clothed with the covering of thy Spirit, and
thou didst remove from me my raiment of skin" Odes of Solomon 25:7-8
God put the gospel in "earthen vessels" which
would be like new, uncontaminated wineskins. He guaranteed the purity
of the Word by clothing the apostle/prophets with the Holy Spirit and
thereby eliminated any of their attempts to find new "wineskins" of
their own. In parallel stories, the book of Enoch and
other Apocalyptic writings show that in order to deceive the
faithful, Satan "incarnated himself in another man" (or woman when
attacking Adam) through apparitions or other means of deceit. He
looks, for all the world, just like the faithful angel but he used
error to cause the people to come down from God's Holy
Mountain. His method was always literal and musical
intoxication which he knew would take the people's mind away from
God's already-delivered instruction. God, in many old stories,
supplies the "harp" or human lips to sing His odes. Therefore, this
"Solomon" said-- "And I ran no risk, because I
walked with Him; and I did not make an error in anything
because I obeyed the
Truth. For Error flees away from it,
and meets it not: but the Truth proceeds in the right path - Odes of
Solomon 38:7-8 This Solomon did not take any chances because
if he did not know something then God made it clear to him. He did
not consult his own mind. He saw a pattern of the Bridegroom and
bride which is the opposite of that men see of Jesus at the Cana
wedding. Jesus is maligned by saying that He manufactured up to 160
gallons of fermented wine and fed it to an already-drunk
wedding. Isn't it interesting that both the King of
Tyre and the King of Babylon are earthly example of Satan. Both
gained their power through music and both would go into Sheol along
with their instruments. However, Jesus said that the lazy, evil king
would do this and this early "preacher" says that only Satan would do
that. Those who fed out of a wineskin believed that they were really
helping. However: whatever I did not know, it made
clear to me, all the poisons of
error, and the plagues of death
which they
think to be sweetness: Odes of Solomon 38:8 And I saw the destroyer of
destruction, when the bride who is
corrupted is adorned: and the
bridegroom who corrupts and is corrupted. And I asked the Truth, 'Who are
these?'; and He said to me, 'This is the deceiver and the error;
Odes of Solomon 38:9-10 The Wineskin Restrainers of the Water of
the Word I just heard a music promoter declare that the
music market will not be restored until a "messiah" arrives. He
meant that music depends almost totally upon gurus who are
worshipped. The same is true in most new religious schemes. They look
like the bridegroom but some may lead astray and corrupt. In this
early "sermon" the writer provided a model where the false bridegroom
would lead the bride astray with wine-- "and they are alike in the beloved
and in his bride: and they lead astray and corrupt the whole world:
Odes of Solomon 38:11 As Satan invited the Sethites to come down
from the mountain to have a festival he gave them wine, music, and
other excitement to "take away the key to knowledge." Only by
removing the intelligence of the people by obscuring God's Word could
he make them believe that the excitement was worship-- "and they invite many to the
banquet
(to say festival is to say women, song and instrumental music),
and give them to drink of the
wine of their
intoxication, and remove their wisdom and knowledge, and so they make them without intelligence" Odes of
Solomon 38:12-13 This wineskin religion was clearly pagan
worship in which the musical instruments were the actual idol from
which the "god" spoke a new revelation: What profiteth the graven image
that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and a
teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make
dumb idols? Hab 2:18 Woe unto him that saith to the
wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it
shall teach Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and
there is no breath at all in the midst of it. Hab 2:19 But the Lord is in his holy
temple: let all the earth keep silence before him. Hab 2:20
"Yobal made
reed instruments, and harps, and
flutes,
and whistles, and the
devils went and dwelt inside them.
When men blew into the pipes, the devils sang inside them, and sent out sounds from inside them. Tobalkin made
cymbals,
and sistra, and tambourines (or drums).
Click for
the Story. The book of Psalms is a poetic history
covering the same periods as the rest of the Old Testament. We would
not think of adopting the "prose" demands of the people for a secular
king so that they could worship like
the nations. While it is the inspired
history of what was said and done, God's Record of their
usually-destructive practices are not His endorsement. In the same
way, the Psalmists had thoughts like
the nations that they could arouse the
harp and lyre to actually give God praise: Awake up, my glory; awake,
psaltery and harp: I myself will awake
early. Psa 57:8 David praised God with my own glory. This
is the meaning of halal. Using the image of Paul to the Ephesians and
Colossians and also Elihu, the writer was so filled with the "water"
or truth of God that it poured forth without effort-- "As the fountain gushes forth its
waters, so my heart gushes out the praise of the Lord and my lips utter
praise to Him, and my tongues His psalms." Odes of
Solomon 40:5 Ancient and modern schemes to commercialize
"ministries" and institutions can never happen unless the group
becomes addictive to a "wine" religion having rejected the "water of
the Word." However, a wine religion is acceptable with God but not to
produce joy-- "Give beer to those who are
perishing, wine to those who are in
anguish let them drink and
forget their poverty and remember their misery no more. Prov 31:6-7
The same cheering power of pure wine is also
attributed to good news: "As cold water to a thirsty soul,
so is good news from a far country" (Prov. 25:5). The gospel as good news is compared to cold
water which refreshes. It is never compared to wine. Behold, his soul which is
lifted up (swell be elated) is not upright
in him: but the just shall live by his faith. Hab 2:4 Yea also, because he
transgresseth by wine, he is a proud
man, neither keepeth at home, who
enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be
satisfied, but gathereth unto
him all nations, and
heapeth unto
him all people: Hab 2:5 Shall not all these take up a
parable against him, and a taunting
proverb against him, and say, Woe to
him that increaseth
that which is not his how long? and to
him that ladeth himself with thick clay (pawned goods)! Hab 2:6
For the earth
shall be filled with the
knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.
Hab 2:14 Woe unto him that giveth his
neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle (wineskin) to
him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their
nakedness Hab.2:15 Thou art filled with shame
for glory: drink thou
also, and let thy foreskin be
uncovered: the cup of the Lords right hand shall be turned unto thee,
and shameful spewing shall be on thy glory. Hab2:16 One does not have to literally engage in these
practices. However, they are the natural outcome of drinking wine.
Remember Noah? The LORD's anointed, our very life
breath, was caught in their traps. We thought that under his shadow
we would live among the
nations. Lam 4:20 Rejoice and be
glad, O Daughter of Edom, you who live in the land of Uz.
But to you also the cup will be passed; you will be drunk and stripped naked. Lam 4:21 When Israel rejected the rule of God, He gave
them kings. They would lead the people into captivity by adopting the
worship like the
nations. They were stripped naked and
taken into captivity. Kenneth Sublett
