I would like to thank the Director of Black Forest Academy and the Principal for making possible the time in my assignment to research and write this history. I would also thank Harding Braaten and many others in Janz Team Ministries for assisting in finding the people who had the information needed.
Doing historical research involves going to the original sources as much as possible. Some of these provided written documentation of events, people involved, locations, and in some cases, anecdotes that spiced up the information. I have included probably more than enough citations from these documents, mainly because I believe that the people themselves should be heard. They were the people that laid the foundation for the present school. Please bear with any repetitions that might occur because of this, and the story might flow more evenly, were it not for these quotations, but I believe they are valuable in themselves.
Korah was a grandson of Levi, the priestly tribe of Israel (I Chronicles 6:22). He is remembered as the instigator of the rebellion against Moses, which cost him and his accomplices, Dathan, Abiram and On, and 250 others, their lives. This resulted in many in Israel taking a stand against Moses, which resulted in heavenly fire destroying many more (Numbers 16). It is recorded, however, that the family line of Korah, unlike those of the others involved in the rebellion, was not deleted from the register of Israel (Numbers 26:11), so their family could continue to serve, even though their father lost his life in the rebellion. These sons of Korah became dedicated tabernacle servants, several of whom became authors of psalms...
The first psalm of Moses is not in the Book of Psalms, but in Exodus 15, where Moses leads the Israelites in the celebratory song, once they have successfully crossed the Red Sea and witnessed the drowning of the Egyptian army. It opens:
Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord:
I will sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted.
The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea.
The Lord is my strength my song; and he has become by salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
Ethan the Ezrahite, (firmness) (I Kings 4:31) is credited in the title of Psalm 89. He was one of the musicians appointed by David to officiate in the worship of the tabernacle (I Chronicles 6:44), and his line continued to officiate in the Temple of Solomon. He was of the line of Merari, son of Levi.
Another line of reasoning equates him in I Chronicles 2:6 as the son of Zerah (could be Ezrah), of the tribe of Judah.
Another line of thinking has him being the same as Jeduthun, though that is less authoritative. It was not uncommon, however, for people in the Old Testament to receive new names at their appointment to godly office...
Asaph is introduced to us first (I Chronicles 6:39-46) as one of three chief musicians in God’s House in Jerusalem, appointed by David the King to that office, because he was an elder in the Levitical clan of Gershon, son of Levi, along with Heman of the clan of Kohath, and Ethan of the clan of Merari, who was also referred to as Jeduthun and to Ethan the Ezrahite in other passages. In II Chronicles 5:12, these three musical leaders lead in the worship, as the Ark of the Covenant is brought into the newly-finished temple of Solomon. The sound of multiple instruments and percussion, along with chanting choirs, filled the air as the precious relic was brought to its resting place in the Holy of Holies in the innermost part of the Temple of God...