The Almug tree is mentioned 1 Kings 10:11-12 as being from a place called Ophir. It is not definitively known known just where the Biblical Ophir was geographically located, but modern authorities place it in either Arabia, India, or in Africa near Mozambique.

The Hebrew words used in the Scriptures are "almuggiym" or "alguwmmiym", and are likely of foreign origin.

The Almug Tree (pterocarpus santalinus) is a large leguminous tree indigenous to India and Ceylon (see photo of the foliage of the Almug tree to the right). Its wood is hard and very heavy and is of a red or garnet color. The common name for this wood is red saunders-wood, or red sandalwood. As mentioned in 1 Kings 10:11-12 the King had lyres made from Almug wood. This wood is still in use today for the manufacture of lyres and other musical instruments.

David is probably the best known player of the lyre in the Scriptures. In 1 Samuel 16:23 it says, "And whenever the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him." To the left is a photo of a Greek coin minted in approximately 500BC in Calymna that shows what a lyre of the time of David may have looked like.

David was very expressive in his worship and also expressed his worship to God through dance. In 2 Samuel 6:16 we read that when the ark of the Lord returned back to Jerusalem, King David was observed by Michal leaping and dancing before the Lord.

As a psalmist David expresses his thoughts on worship and calls us to clap our hands and shout to the Lord (Psalm 47:1-2), to make a joyful noise unto the Lord, to rejoice and to sing praises (Psalm 98:4). He further reminds us that we are ones who are blessed when we worship the Lord (Psalm 89:15).

While David was the most notable worship leader in the Old Testament, the New Testament also has numerous references to Davidic style worship including singing, praising, upraised voices, lifted hands, kneeling, offerings, and reading of the Scriptures are all mentioned (Luke 24:50, Acts 2:46-47, 4:24, 20:36, 1 Corinthians 14:15, 1 Timothy 2:8).

Paul was in fact quite explicit to his call to us in Romans 12:1 to express ourselves physically, saying "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship."

I heard a question one time that related to congregational worship, "Are you a participant or are you an observer?" Let us all be the participants, and let only the Lord be our audience, our audience of One.

In His service,

¹¹Moreover, the fleet of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, brought from Ophir a very great amount of almug wood and precious stones. ¹²And the king made of the almug wood supports for the house of the LORD and for the king's house, also lyres and harps for the singers. No such almug wood has come or been seen to this day.