By: Dale Weckbacher
Psalm 132:13
For the Lord has
chosen Zion;
he has desired it for his home:
he has desired it for his home:
(CSB)
Prior to the finished work of Christ on the cross, God’s
people had to go to the Temple to experience the presence of God. In addition, not everyone could enter the
Most Holy Place and those that could, could only do it once a year and not
without blood (Hebrews
9:1-7). It was this need for
atonement, only possible through a blood sacrifice for sins that prompted the
annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem, with the Psalms of the ascents recited along
the way as a reminder of why the pilgrimage was necessary. Thankfully, however, God has a better plan
that enables everyone to enter the Most Holy Place at any time covered by the
blood of Jesus.
Psalm
132:1-5 serves to remind us of the desire of King David to build a dwelling
place for God. While God did not allow
David to build the Temple, passing it on to Solomon, this desire demonstrates a
heart that yearns to be with God. It is
therefore not surprising that God refers to David as a man after his own heart (1
Samuel 13:14). The question everyone
reading this must ask is does my heart have a similar desire to be in the
stronghold of God’s presence.
Psalm
132:6-10 provides a glimpse into the anticipation felt by those making the
pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Bare in mind,
these people were not traveling in the comfort of an air-conditioned car but were
walking in the heat of the desert sun.
Having visited Israel, I can attest to the heat of the desert sun being like
the heat of the Arizona sun where I live.
This context makes the anticipation of those making the pilgrimage even
more incredible. This leads to another
question those reading this must ask. Do
I have a similar anticipation at entering God’s presence in prayer, worship, or
study of the Bible?
While David was not granted the privilege of building the
Temple, God gave him an even greater promise and privilege, an eternal kingdom
(Psalm
132:11-12). What makes this kingdom
eternal is that it is not presided over by an earthly high priest that enters a
tabernacle or temple made by human hands but Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It is also not based upon the symbolic blood
of goats and calves, but the Blood of the Son of God (Hebrews
9:11-12). In essence, David did
build a Temple for God to dwell in as one of his descendants, Jesus, would provide
salvation from sin with God now able to dwell in the temple of the hearts of
those that believe.
Because of the shed blood of Jesus, the stronghold of God’s
presence now lives in anyone that confesses Jesus as Lord of his or her life (Romans
10:9-10). The Zion of God’s home
mentioned in Psalm
132:13-18 is no longer a building one must make a trek to annually through
the heat of the dessert sun for now God can live in our hearts. I invite anyone reading this that has not
prayed to accept Jesus as his or her savior to pause and pray with me now.
Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans
3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans
6:23). I ask you to forgive
me of my sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1
John 1:9). I believe you
died, was buried, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord of my
life.
The stronghold of God’s presence now lives with you,
providing protection, strength, and most importantly salvation. This salvation from sin through the blood of
Jesus Christ means you have reconciliation and a relationship with God as He created
you to have. I encourage you to become
better acquainted with God your creator through study of the Bible, the Word of
God. I also encourage you to pray regularly
which is how we communicate with God and to also find a church teaching the Bible,
so you can learn more and find others who believe like you do. May God bless everyone reading this.
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