Asaph was the temple worship leader. And now the choir and choir director have a special message from the Lord… .” When is the last time you heard an announcement like that in church? But that is exactly the role that David assigned Asaph and his descendants for the worship of the Lord at the temple. They were to lead the people in singing and music, but their ministry was also considered prophecy—that is, their words were considered special messages from the Lord.
Asaph was first assigned his new role as worship leader when David was organizing the worship at the new temple to be built by his son Solomon. Asaph and his descendants performed their new roles well, and the temple was filled with the glory of the Lord
All the Levites who were musicians—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun and their sons and relatives—stood on the east side of the altar, dressed in fine linen and playing cymbals, harps and lyres. They were accompanied by 120 priests sounding trumpets. The trumpeters and musicians joined in unison to give praise and thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, the singers raised their voices in praise to the Lord and sang: “He is good; his love endures forever.” Then the temple of the Lord was filled with the cloud,(2 Chronicles 5:12–14).
Over the years that followed, many of the songs that Asaph and his descendants wrote were included in the book of Psalms.
Their words continued to be regarded as special messages from the Lord, as evidenced during the reign of Jehoshaphat. At that time, a coalition of Moabites, Ammonites, and Edomites were threatening to attack Jerusalem, and a descendant of Asaph named Jahaziel received a special message from the Lord that encouraged Jehoshaphat to trust in the Lord. Jahaziel even prophesied that the enemy coalition would be at a certain place the next day and that Jehoshaphat and his men should stand firm against them. As a result, Jehoshaphat was moved to worship the Lord, and they experienced a great victory (2 Chronicles 20:15–18).
Asaph is even referred to in 2 Chronicles 29:30 as a “seer,” a term usually used of prophets such as Samuel or Amos (I Samuel 9:19; I Chronicles 9:22; 26:2; 29:29; Amos 7:12).