The Return of the Warrior God - Psalm 24

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Psalm 24

A Psalm of David.

1 The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof,
    the world and those who dwell therein,
2 for he has founded it upon the seas
    and established it upon the rivers.
3 Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
    And who shall stand in his holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
    who does not lift up his soul to what is false
    and does not swear deceitfully.
5 He will receive blessing from the Lord
    and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
6 Such is the generation of those who seek him,
    who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah
7 Lift up your heads, O gates!
    And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
    that the King of glory may come in.
8 Who is this King of glory?
    The Lord, strong and mighty,
    the Lord, mighty in battle!
9 Lift up your heads, O gates!
    And lift them up, O ancient doors,
    that the King of glory may come in.
10 Who is this King of glory?
    The Lord of hosts,
    he is the King of glory! Selah

 
 

Remember Raiders of the Lost Ark? The Nazis want to get their hands on the Ark of the Covenant so that they will be victorious in battle, and only Indiana Jones stands in their way.

In real life, however, the Israelites did march into battle behind the Ark of the Covenant, and it seems that Psalm Twenty-Four was used as the victorious armies of Israel brought the Ark back up Mount Zion to the Temple—it is an entrance liturgy.

It’s a great psalm!

Of David. A psalm.

Like most of the psalms, Psalm 24 was used for hundreds of years in Israelite worship. So, though it comes from the time of David (before the Temple was built), it also clearly references the physical building of the Temple on Mount Zion in Jerusalem. A later poet must have adapted David’s original poem for use in Temple worship.

1 The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof,
    the world and those who dwell therein,
2 for he has founded it upon the seas
    and established it upon the rivers.

The claim is total: every square inch belongs to the Lord, because he made it all.

The Dutch theologian Abraham Kuyper put it this way: “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, ‘Mine!’”

Remember that the Israelites pictured Creation beginning with the waters of chaos, out of which the Lord brings order and life, which is what the psalmist is talking about in verse 2.

3 Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
    And who shall stand in his holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
    who does not lift up his soul to what is false
    and does not swear deceitfully.
5 He will receive blessing from the Lord
    and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
6 Such is the generation of those who seek him,
    who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah

 If this Lord—who made everything—is present in the Temple on Mount Zion in Jerusalem (“the hill of the Lord”), then how could anyone possibly come close to him? The psalmist says that the people who should approach the Temple are ones who are morally upright.

7 Lift up your heads, O gates!
    And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
    that the King of glory may come in.
8 Who is this King of glory?
    The Lord, strong and mighty,
    the Lord, mighty in battle!
9 Lift up your heads, O gates!
    And lift them up, O ancient doors,
    that the King of glory may come in.
10 Who is this King of glory?
    The Lord of hosts,
    he is the King of glory! Selah

Now the perspective shifts to a procession entering the Temple gates.

The priest at the head of the procession shouts: “You gates, lift up your heads and be proud!”

The priest who is inside the Temple gates replies: “Who is the King that’s entering?”

The call and response continues until we know the answer:

“The Lord of hosts!”

(Remember, “hosts” is just an old-fashioned word for “armies.”)

 

P.S. There is a great hymn based on this psalm: “Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates.” [Hymn starts at the 1:00 minute mark.]

 

 

Solomon's Portico

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Our scripture passage for today (Acts 5:12-16) mentions “Solomon’s Portico” (“Solomon’s Porch” in some translations).

In the image above, you can see an historical recreation of the Temple Mount, with the columned porticos running around the perimeter. Solomon’s Portico is the one that cannot be seen at the bottom of the image, along the Eastern Wall.

(By the way, the Greek word for porch or portico is spelled stoa in English, which is the word from which we get our term Stoic. The Stoics got their name from teaching on a portico in Athens.)

Apocalypse Now

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Today, we begin to read and study the last book of the bible, Revelation.

We’ll read through it over the next 6 weeks, with readings assigned Monday-Friday; we’ll finish on the Friday before Thanksgiving.

Feel free to share with anyone who might be interested. As always, the daily article will go live at 3:30 AM and will be emailed to anyone on my email list at 4:00 AM.

(If you haven’t yet picked up your Revelation book and bookmark, there are available for free at Munger; if you don’t live in Dallas, you can also order one for yourself here.)

 
 

Apocalypse is a Greek word that means “uncovering” or “disclosure” or “revealing” (from which we get our English word revelation). John is on the Mediterranean island of Patmos on a Sunday when he receives an apocalyptic vision which he later writes down and circulates among the churches of the wealthy Roman province of Asia Minor (the western part of modern-day Turkey).

The book of Revelation is that letter.

 
 

The difficulty of Revelation comes from the fact that John is writing as a Jewish-Christian prophet and sees his vision as the culmination of the entire tradition of biblical prophecy; this means his vision is replete with allusions to and images from the Old Testament, allusions and images with which we are not familiar.

The good news is that once you see that the key to John’s letter lies in understanding how he connects his vision to the Old Testament, it begins to actually make sense!

 
 

Today’s reading (day 01 of 30): Revelation 1.

 

John hears a voice, turns, and this is what he sees as his vision begins:

12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, 15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.

17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. 19 Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. 20 As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

The lampstands are the clue. Lampstands were meant to be used in the Temple; the lampstands here tell us that John’s vision has taken him to a version of the Temple, where heaven and earth meet. He sees Jesus in a robe—like a priest—but he is majestic and transfigured, so majestic and transfigured that John falls down upon seeing him as though dead!

Jesus graciously puts his hand on John’s shoulder and tells him not to be afraid and that his task is to write down the content of the vision and share it with the seven churches in Asia. Since seven is the number of completeness, the letter is actually for every church, and not just for the seven historical churches mentioned.

 
 

What All This Means

The churches are symbolized by the seven lampstands that Jesus is holding in his hand.

  1. The lampstand is imagery from the Old Testament Temple (which had been completely destroyed by the Romans in AD 70 by the time John has his vision). The Temple was supposed to be where heaven and earth came together; the Temple was supposed to be a new Eden. This means that, just as with the physical Temple before it was destroyed, the church is now the place where heaven and earth come together. Every church is meant to be Eden! What can you do to help make your church more like a Paradise for anyone who comes in contact with it?

  2. The lampstands are in the hand of the Lord! This means that, despite historical persecution or other challenges, the church can be confident that we are exactly where Jesus wants us to be today.

 
 

P.S. Bonus Content

The more familiar we are with the Old Testament, the more John’s vision will make sense. Here’s one quick example.

The prophet Zechariah was active in Jerusalem at the time that the first wave of exiles (led by Zerubabbel) returned in 538 BC from Babylonian captivity. Zechariah had his own apocalyptic vision, and this is part of it:

4 And the angel who talked with me came again and woke me, like a man who is awakened out of his sleep. 2 And he said to me, “What do you see?” I said, “I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on the top of it, and seven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on the top of it. 3 And there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.” 4 And I said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?” 5 Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.” 6 Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. 7 Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’”

Zechariah 4:1-7

Sound familiar? It’s the background for the initial part of John’s vision, above.

As we will see, this part of Zechariah’s vision is very important to John because of what the angel tells Zechariah: it is not human power but the Spirit of God that will win the victory. More to come on this fourth chapter of Zechariah later, especially when we get to Revelation 11.

The Return of the Warrior God [Psalm 24]

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Remember Raiders of the Lost Ark? The Nazis want to get their hands on the Ark of the Covenant so that they will be victorious in battle, and only Indiana Jones stands in their way.

In real life, however, the Israelites did march into battle behind the Ark of the Covenant, and it seems that Psalm Twenty-Four was used as the victorious armies of Israel brought the Ark back up Mount Zion to the Temple—it is an entrance liturgy.

It’s a great psalm!

 
 
 

Of David. A psalm.

Like most of the psalms, Psalm 24 was used for hundreds of years in Israelite worship. So, though it comes from the time of David (before the Temple was built), it also clearly references the physical building of the Temple on Mount Zion in Jerusalem. A later poet must have adapted David’s original poem for use in Temple worship.

 
 

1 The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof,
    the world and those who dwell therein,
2 for he has founded it upon the seas
    and established it upon the rivers.

The claim is total: every square inch belongs to the Lord, because he made it all.

The Dutch theologian Abraham Kuyper put it this way: “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!”

Remember that the Israelites pictured Creation beginning with the waters of chaos, out of which the Lord brings order and life, which is what the psalmist is talking about in verse 2.

 
 

3 Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
    And who shall stand in his holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
    who does not lift up his soul to what is false
    and does not swear deceitfully.
5 He will receive blessing from the Lord
    and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
6 Such is the generation of those who seek him,
    who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah

If this Lord—who made everything—is present in the Temple on Mount Zion in Jerusalem (“the hill of the Lord”), then how could anyone possibly come close to him? The psalmist says that the people who should approach the Temple are ones who are morally upright.

 
 

7 Lift up your heads, O gates!
    And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
    that the King of glory may come in.
8 Who is this King of glory?
    The Lord, strong and mighty,
    the Lord, mighty in battle!
9 Lift up your heads, O gates!
    And lift them up, O ancient doors,
    that the King of glory may come in.
10 Who is this King of glory?
    The Lord of hosts,
    he is the King of glory! Selah

Now the perspective shifts to a procession entering the Temple gates.

The priest at the head of the procession shouts: “You gates, lift up your heads and be proud!”

The priest who is inside the Temple gates replies: “Who is the King that’s entering?”

The call and response continues until we know the answer:

“The Lord of hosts!”

(Remember, “hosts” is just an old-fashioned word for “armies.”)

 
 

P.S. There is a great hymn based on this psalm: “Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates.” [Hymn starts at the 1:00 minute mark.]

 

Lift Up Your Heads Ye Mighty Gates Sanctuary Choir Dr. Terry Morris, Director of Traditional Music John Gearhart, organist Jonathan Saint-Thomas, pianist Fir...

Overturning the Tables

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In the ancient world, a temple was a place where heaven and earth overlapped. And, though the Jews knew that the Lord was not literally confined to the Temple in Jerusalem, at the time of Jesus they certainly saw the Temple as that kind of place: where God dwelt.

But in the day of Jesus the Temple had become a corrupt institution that preyed on the poor and vulnerable and kept the rich and powerful in power. So, Jesus here stages a spectacular protest in which he overturns the tables of the moneylenders and drives out the animals.

Then, he goes even further and implies that his body is now the Temple.

In other words, Jesus is telling those present that heaven and earth meet in him.

John tells us that though his disciples didn’t understand at the time, after the Resurrection they looked back on that moment and it all made sense:

“After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.”

John 2:22

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Today’s Scripture

John 2:13-22

Jesus's Sorrow Over Jerusalem

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Jesus is here predicting both Israel's rejection of him in Jerusalem and the subsequent destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. He implies that if the Jews had received him as Messiah, then the Temple would not have been destroyed. As it was, Jesus was crucified around AD 30, and the Romans destroyed the Temple in AD 70. I've seen the ruins of the Temple with my own eyes.

Today’s Scripture:

Luke 13:31-35

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Because They Were Poor

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Luke tells us that Mary and Joseph presented Jesus in the Temple as a newborn and made a sacrifice of 2 birds. Why is this significant? Because as explained in Leviticus 12:6-8, if you can afford it, the appropriate sacrifice after the birth of a firstborn child is a lamb. But, if you can't afford a lamb, then 2 doves or pigeons is acceptable.

What does it mean that when the Savior came, he came to a poor family?

Today’s Scripture:

Luke 2:22-40

***Sign Up to Receive My Weekday Updates***

Subscribe here to receive a weekday update as we read through the Gospel of Luke.

In addition to my weekday blogging on the Gospels, I also write occasionally about other topics. Subscribe here to be notified when I publish a new post.

P.S. All Subscribers Will Get My Free Whitepaper!

If you sign up for my Andrew Forrest newsletter, I’ll send you a white paper I’ve written called “The Simple Technique Anyone Can Immediately Use to Become a Better Communicator”.