Isaiah
24:8
8 The mirth [masows] of tabrets [toph] ceaseth [shabath], the
noise [sha'own] of them that rejoice [`alliyz] endeth [chadal], the joy [masows] of the harp [kinnowr]
ceaseth [shabath]. KJV-Interlinear
8 The mirth of the tambourines is stilled,
the noise of the jubilant has ceased, the mirth of the lyre is stilled. ESV
Mirth, ‘masows,’
refers to the joy or the euphoria feelings one gets from escaping the realities
of life through various pleasures. And
here music is described as one of the pleasures or distractions that people
seek generally at inappropriate times.
Note that this
is still a part of the end times prophecy.
And specifically the final seven year period known as the Tribulation.
During the
Tribulation, the disasters in the world will be horrendous. The population of the world will be falling
drastically. The horrors and atrocities
being committed will be beyond description.
And yet people will be turning to their music rather than God. The music and the false sense of euphoria
that comes with an escapist activity will be a hopeless attempt to remove the
troubles that are at hand, from ones life.
Not everyone
will have access to drugs or alcohol, but certainly that too will be a popular
means of escaping reality. But everyone
can hum to themselves or listen to recorded music or play their own version of
some sort of instrument. The instruments
described here are stringed instruments, but musical instruments are not
limited to only those with strings.
The emphasis
here is on the sounds of the reality escape process, and then the silence that
follows.
On the one hand,
disasters are all around and instead of turning to God, people turn to
distractions. This needless to say
applies to everyone throughout history as people ignore God in favor of various
distrations.
And the results are
total loss and nothing more.
With God there
is a future and heaven and far more, especially greater joy and music and so
forth.
But without God,
the noise of a false sense of euphoria ends in silence, meaning death and
worse.
