Hi there! Have you been searching for a blog that combines your passion for music with interesting insight? Have your Tuesday's lacked pizazz? Do you find yourself headbobbing to your favorite music wondering how high in the charts it went? If the answer to any of these questions is "YES", have we got a deal for you! Welcome to Tuesdays' Musical Notes where we attempt each week to provide thought-provoking conversation with a good beat! This is the place where your favorite music is elaborated and expounded upon at just over 130 beats per minute. But wait, there's more! Tuesday's Musical Notes also provides an interesting side note each week that can potentially be life-altering! All of this wrapped up in a blog just for you. You may be asking yourself, "Self, where can I read such musical life-altering phenomena?" Right here, right now and right away. Let's get started in the place where we promise you that the song never remains the same...
Written in one day (as was Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Stairway to Heaven") by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, "The Song Remains the Same" was intended to be a lead-in instrumental to "The Rain Song" on the Houses of the Holy album. Robert Plant added lyrics and voila! another great song from the legendary band, Led Zeppelin Both songs received mixed reviews from critics, some who were wanting more "classic" Zeppelin fare like Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Immigrant Song", Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Thank You", and the aforementioned "Stairway to Heaven ". while others were enamored with the different feel of the entire Houses of the Holy album. The songs were performed back to back in concert settings through 1980 when they were dropped from the set lists.
The Houses of the Holy album performed well, eventually receiving Diamond status (over 10 million sold). While the album only had 2 singles that reached the Billboard Hot 100, "D'yer Maker" (#20) and "Over the Hills and Far Away" (#50), it continues to be found on various Greatest Albums of All Time lists. It was also the band's final studio album release with Atlantic Records prior to forming their own Swan Song label.
The theme of "The Song Remains the Same" is that no matter what and no matter where, people and things tend to be very similar from place to place and time to time. Take for example Genesis 19:30-38 New American Standard Bible/The Message paraphrase of the Bible/King James Version of the Bible parallel and Genesis 20 NASB/The Message/KJV.
Here, we continue the narrative of Abraham's nephew Lot after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah with Lot and his daughters hiding in a cave outside of the city of Zoar. Having children to continue the family legacy was important to this culture. This pressure to sustain the bloodline led Lot's daughters to take matters into their own hands. I guess the grief at the loss of their mom and the shock of seeing her turned into a pillar of salt had subsided. Regardless, Lot's daughters continue the fine tradition of leaning on their own devices instead of leaning on God's provision. This seems strange given God is the one who had saved them miraculously from being turned into ash. Yet, as we saw in the Garden of Eden, mankind has a tendency to go his own way and not depend on God.
The result of the episode between Lot and his daughters results in the birth of two children who would be the leaders of the nations, Moab and Ammon. Remember these guys. These nations will be a part of the narrative and history that surrounds the nation that God promised Abraham his descendants would become. They are a prime example of the consequences of men (or in this case, women) determining that they know better than God about a situation and forcing the issue. The song remains the same...and history repeats itself.
We now return you to the story of Abraham and Sarah already in progress.
Abraham's nomadic instincts kick in once again and he packs up everything and heads out to Gerar a town under the rule of Abimelech. "She's my sister"..." cool! I'll take her to my harem"..."Don't touch that woman!!!"..."Yikes, you didn't tell me she's your wife!"... "She's my sister, same daddy, different mommy"..."Here, take her and all of this loot, before God kills me!"... "Ok"..."Oh, and by the way, hang out in any part of the kingdom you wish...name the place and it's yours!!!"... "Groovy!"
That is probably not exactly how Abraham's encounter with Abimelech went down. In fact, God had caused all of the women in Abimelech's kingdom to be unable to have children until the situation was rectified. Doesn't this all seem a little Deja vuish? Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Would I Lie to You?" History repeats itself because man trends toward not learning the lessons of the past and the song remains the same...
Abraham once again attempts to circumvent God's plan by passing off Sarah as his sister. It doesn't work out any better this time as another king figures out very quickly that Abraham and Sarah were being protected by the God of everything. Abraham, much like Lot's daughters, tries to take matters into his own hands instead of relying on God's providence for their safety and security. The song remains the same...
So, you probably haven't tried to pass off your wife as your sister, nor have you attempted to sustain your family's legacy by...well, let's not go there. But perhaps there have been times in your life where you have attempted to deal with scenarios through your own volition. How did that turn out for you? If that scenario wasn't in line with God's ideal for your life, there believably was tension involved in the outcome.
Maybe this isn't the first time you have felt that tension? that pressure? Take a moment and read this passage: Isaiah 55:6-9 NASB/The Message/KJV This passage explains why we should really align ourselves with God. His way is perfect, ours is not.
But how do we get this alignment correct and ensure that our song doesn't remain the same? We must first believe that our restoration to God was bought by the sacrifice of Jesus, God's Son, for the wrong we do. We ask for forgiveness from that wrongdoing and accept that we are forgiven by God. We then begin living a life that is emblematic of Jesus, knowing that with His help we can face anything that may be a tension causer. We attempt to make every day of our lives more like the life that Jesus lived, becoming more like Him in the process. Will we make mistakes? Will we repeat "songs" in our lives. Yes. Will we be able to obtain perfection? No, but through studying God's Word, the Bible, we are promised by God that we will be transformed more and more into His likeness. And through His transformation, our song will never ever again remain the same.
'Til Tuesday,
Serving HIM by serving You,
randy
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