Appointed by God
We find this truth in both the Old Testament and in the New Testament.

1. God created and anointed Lucifer to minister praise and worship. Lucifer became full of pride and was thrown out of heaven. God originally appointed him to an appointed place with appointed garments and movements. Ezekiel 28:13-19 and also Isaiah 14:11-12

2. David appointed singers, players and dancers based on the pattern he had seen in heaven. This were also confirmed by the prophets Nathan and Gad. 1 Chronicles 28:11-19 and also 2 Chronicles 29:25

3. Heaven is a place where appointed worshippers will minister unto God with singing and praising. Revelation 14: 2-3 ; 4:9-11 ; 15:2-4

Appointed Worshippers.
David learned hard from the lesson that we find in 1 Chronicles 13. He applied this lesson that we find in 1 Chronicles 15 and we see from this that God had specific requirements for appointed worshippers.

1. Loyalty - "None ought to carry the ark but the Levites" . Levi means "joined". In Exodus we see that the Levites demonstrated their loyalty to the Lord by joining themselves to Moses. (Exodus 32:26) Appointed worshippers should be joined in the spirit to the leadership of their local church. It also speaks about commitment which the worshipper must do.

2. Love for God's House - The Levites lived close to the tabernacle and to the temple. They lived closer than any of the other tribes. Numbers 3:15,23,29,35 and 1 Chronicles 6:31-32 Appointed worshippers will demonstrate a special love for God's house through their punctuality and frequency in their local church. We see again a commitment and priority.

3. A Servants Heart - The Levites were willing and able servants of God and for God's people. Numbers 8:1-19; 1Chronicles 16:37 and Numbers 3:7 Appointed worshippers are willing and diligent workers. They often work behind the scenes. From this we see that they move and minister not always in the limelight.

4. A Teachable Spirit - The Levites were to serve under the High Priest and young Levites had to learn their craft by being taught by the older Levites. Numbers 8:19, 23-26 ; 1 Chronicles 25:6-8

5. A Sanctified Lifestyle - Before the Levites can serve they all had to go through a specific cleansing ceremony. Number 8:5-7 This included some specific duties which they had to carry out.

   1. Sprinkling

   2. Shaving their Flesh

   3. Washing their Garments
      These tasks also apply to us, as believers and worshippers. Sprinkling means to study the word of God on a daily basis. Shaving means to apply God's Word to your behaviour and washing the garments means to keep your attitude untainted by renewing your minds on a daily basis. David used only those musicians which went through this sanctification process. 1 Chronicles 15:12-16

Musical Qualifications
After applying all these spiritual qualifications specified already, David then applied musical qualifications.

1. Musical Flexibility - David appointed Asaph as the chief musician. It also included singing. 1 Chronicles 15:19; 16:7, 34-42; 25:1 and Psalms 73-83

2. Musical Excellence - This was a requirement in the Tabernacle of David

   1. Chenaniah was instructed about the song because he was skillful. 1 Chronicles 15:22

   2. The musicians were instructed in the songs of the Lord and were cunning. 1 Chronicles 25

   3. We are exhorted to play unto the Lord Skilfully with cunning. Psalm 33:3 and Psalm 137:5

   4. We are to study to show ourselves approved unto God. 2 Timothy 2:1

3. Musical Literacy - The Levites wrote their songs down and that is how many of the Psalms is recorded today. 1 Chronicles 16:4

Public Ministry
After David sanctified and qualified the Levites he appointed them into public ministry by laying hands on them. It was a requirement that both the leadership and the congregation laid hands on them.

1. The sanctified Levites only entered public ministry after hands were laid on them. Numbers 8:9-11

2. Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun were installed in the public ministry by David, the elders and the people, but they had to complete their assignment of bringing the ark to its place. 1 Chronicles 16:4,5,37-43. From this we see that fulfillment of as assignment comes before an appointment into public ministry. 1 Tim 3:10