Zion

Berean Baptist on May 14, 2018

Psalm 132

Psalm 132 is most interesting as it relates to the temple built by Solomon and the placing of the ark of the covenant in the most holy place. For the previous five hundred years, Israel worshiped at the Tabernacle which at this time was located at Gibeon. When David was anointed king, he vowed to build a house for the Lord God but was prevented because scripture says he was a man of war. Instead, the building of the new magnificent sanctuary that would hold the most holy ark of the covenant was left to David’s son, Solomon.

Solomon’s reign was one of peace as no major wars occurred during his lifetime. At the same time, Israel increased in power and influence throughout the world. Solomon’s days were the most prosperous for Israel leading his reign to be known by successive generations as the Golden Age. In the New Testament, it was Solomon Jesus appealed to for His example of prosperity and notoriety telling the people He was greater than Solomon (Mt. 12:42) and comparing Solomon’s beauty to the loveliest of God’s creation (Mt. 6:29).

In the 13th verse of the psalm, the psalmist speaks of Zion as God’s choice for His holy habitation. Zion is Jerusalem and is synonymous with the city of God. The area was originally the hill on which David built his fortress, but later was expanded to include the temple mount. In the Old Testament when people spoke of going to Zion, they were referring specifically to making the trip to the temple.

Jerusalem is the only place God allowed a temple to be built. In the ancient world, temples for pagan gods were built in various locations such as Paul saw in Athens and Ephesus. However, the one true living God had only one place of worship and one place of sacrifice. In Paul’s time, the ark was long since gone but there was a stone in its place in the Holy of Holies on which the priest put a censor on the Day of Atonement. There were no images allowed and no representation of the ark. Any Israelite that wanted to observe the solemn feast days had only one place to go—he must go to Jerusalem.

Zion’s was further expanded to mean the holy city of the New Jerusalem (Heb. 12:22). This is the brilliant city of light in Revelation 21. It is the home of the bride of Christ, the Lord’s church. The New Jerusalem is a city that comes out of heaven and descends to rest above the new earth, possibly touching it at some point. Although all of heaven belongs to God and His presence fills it all, His special manifestation is in the New Jerusalem whose entirety is His temple. Essentially, God’s people dwell within His temple. We are in Christ so that scripture says Christ Himself is the temple.

The beauty of worship in Solomon’s time was unparalleled by any other period of Israel’s history. It most closely models the worship of heaven. When the Queen of Sheba visited Solomon, she was stunned with the magnificence of what she saw. And yet, Jesus, the one who was a lowly carpenter, said He was greater than Solomon. The real beauty of Jesus is not seen on the outside. It is to be inside Christ to be able to understand how glorious He is. You can see His beauty by faith. Trusting Jesus is to have a glimpse of Zion, the holy city of God.

 

Pastor V. Mark Smith

God’s Presence and Power

Berean Baptist on January 9, 2015

Since April of 2013, our scripture reading on Sunday mornings has been from the Psalms. Sometimes choosing a topic for a brief article is difficult and I struggle until I find something to discuss. This psalm is not a problem. My real problem is how can I not write multiple articles on the vivid themes expressed in this psalm? There are many to choose from and before I could get out of the first verse the decision was made. In less than five seconds, my eyes were riveted to this phrase, “thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth.”

Those of you that know me well understand why I gravitated towards this phrase. It is a tabernacle or temple reference which has long been one of my favorite subjects. What is the stunning beauty of this statement? It is the promise God made to dwell in fellowship with His people in tabernacle worship. The special place of God’s presence was in the Holy of Holies where the Ark of the Covenant stood. The Ark was a small rectangular box made of wood overlaid with pure gold. Though very small, a little less than four feet long and a little less than two feet wide and tall, the Ark was a powerful symbol of the presence of God.

On top of the Ark forming a lid, was the mercy seat which is the place of the sprinkling of blood by the high priest on the Day of Atonement. Above it stood two cherubs with wings outstretched and touching at the wing tips. It was a beautifully constructed box, but nothing could match the beauty of the intangible between those two cherubs. This is the reference in Psalms 80 verse 1. “Thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth.” The intangible was a bright shining light of the glory of God that showed He was in residence.

An interesting point in this psalm is the absence of the temple, the absence of the Holy of Holies, the absence of the Ark of the Covenant, and thus the absence of the bright shining light known as the Shekinah Glory. The temple and all of its furnishings had been destroyed as the result of Israel’s sin. The psalmist is in the midst of a sad bitter wail asking God to return. Three times he prayed, ”Turn us again, O LORD God of hosts, cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.”

Again, interestingly, the figure switches from the physical light of God’s glory in verse one to the spiritual expression of His presence displayed in blessing Israel again. I believe this is what is sorely needed in our churches today. We have never had manifestations of God’s glory in shining lights, but there have been plenty of them in demonstrations of the Holy Spirit’s power. The power today is not present in old time gifts of the Spirit such as tongues, prophecy, and healing. The presence of God is manifested in the power of His word spoken from pulpits by His preachers.

We need more power in the pulpit. I do not mean shouting, screaming and pounding—I mean sermons with depth that feed the souls of God’s people. We ask God to keep supplying messages that pierce the heart and pique the understanding. It is not the preacher’s work—it is the presence and power of the Holy Spirit that make it happen. “Please God—cause your face to shine in the preaching of the word. Hide your preachers behind the cross that your glory may be seen.”

 

Pastor V. Mark Smith