God's Choice Of Zion

by Bishop, A. C. | Category: Meditations In The Psalms | Oct 1990

God is sovereign. His choice is unassailable, whether it be of an action, a person, a people, or a place, for "none can stay His hand, or say unto Him, What doest Thou?" (Dan. 4:35). The wonder of and delight in God's selection of Zion are recurring themes in the psalms and serve to deepen our appreciation of Him whose ways are "past tracing out" (Rom. 11:33).

Zion in history

Zion is first mentioned in Scripture in 2 Samuel 5:6-8. When Israel entered Canaan they took Jerusalem (Judg. 1:8) but not the well defended fortress of Jebus that remained in the hands of the Jebusites (Judg.1:21), while Benjamin occupied the surrounding area. This fortress is called "the strong hold of Zion" in 2 Samuel 5:7 and its capture by David is there described. It occupied the south eastern hill of Jerusalem and it became known also as "the city of David". 1 Kings 8:1, 2 Chronicles 5:2, and 1 Kings 3:1 indicate that, at least initially, Zion was not synonymous with Jerusalem though, after the building of the Temple on the Site of Oman's threshing floor somewhat to the north of the fortress of Jebus, and the removal thence of the Ark of the Covenant, the name Zion came to refer to the place where God dwelt among His people. It is no surprise, therefore, that Zion and Jerusalem are often used interchangeably.

Zion: chosen of God

God's choice of Zion is as striking as His choice of Abram, of David, and of the Jews. The hill of Zion is insignificant in comparison to Mount Hermon (Ps. 133:3) or to the hills of Bashan (Ps. 68:15-16) yet only because it, is God's choice for His dwelling is it strong and of any consequence (Ps. 46:4-7). It may appear to be insignificant, but those who would despise and belittle are told "Why look ye askance, ye high mountains, at the mountain which God hath desired for His abode? Yea, the LORD will dwell in it for ever" (Ps. 68:16). Whatever in His divine purpose is selected by God becomes immeasurably enriched thereby. "God chose the foolish things of the world, that He might put to shame them that are wise; and God chose the weak things of the world, that He might put to shame the things that are strong; and the base things of the world, and the things that are despised, did God choose, yea and the things that are not, that He might bring to nought the things that are: that no flesh should glory before God" (1 Cor. 1:27-29).

Zion: the dwelling place of God

Having chosen Israel as His people and David as an executor of His purpose with regard to a settled place for His Name, God now selects Zion, and Psalms 68 and 132 expand upon the exuberant joy that filled the people when the Ark of God was first taken there. This was the final stage of a journey begun at Sinai several centuries earlier (see 1 Kings 6:1) and that took the Ark through the wilderness and thence to Bethel (Judg. 20:26-28), Shiloh, and Kiriath-jearim. God forsook Shiloh (Ps. 78:60) and in poetic form Psalms 68 and 132 trace the final stages of this long, interrupted journey as the Ark is taken in procession by David and the people from Kiriath-jearim to the newly captured fortress, chosen by God and now the city of David - Mount Zion. The sheer exhilaration felt by David and the people as the Ark of God entered Zion, the city of His choice, is expressed in these psalms which should be read in conjunction with 2 Samuel 6 and 1 Chronicles 15 and 16 that describe the same events.

First, David's resolve to secure a place for the Lord is described (Ps. 132:1-5) with a poignant account in the following verses of the search for the forgotten Ark - neglected in Saul's time (1 Chron. 13:3) - and its discovery "in the field of the wood" (v.7) which, from 1 Chronicles 13:5, is Kiriath-jearim, the "city of woodlands" (see also 1 Sam. 7:1-2). The same events are described, though with a longer historical view, in Psalm 68.

Psalm 68:1 and Psalm 132:8 take up Moses' words when first the people and the Ark set out from Sinai "Rise up, 0 LORD, and let Thine enemies be scattered" (Num. 10:35) and the words of Psalm 47:5 "God is gone up with a shout ... with the sound of a trumpet" are identical in Hebrew to those of 2 Samuel 6:15: this last, six mile journey was just the continuation of that begun so long before, and the last few miles were as significant to God as the first, for they were to end in the place where He had chosen to place His Name and that would be central to the divine purposes long into the future.

David's resolve towards God has a divine response in Psalm 132:11-18 that reaches far beyond the immediate occupation of a hilltop in Judah. It encompasses the Messianic hope and glory that is inseparably associated with God's presence. "Here will I dwell; for I have desired it" (v.14) sets the divine seal on His choice. It permits no questions, brooks no argument: where God dwells there is blessing in abundance.

Zion and the purposes of God

The glory of God that accompanies His presence in the place of His choice and the purposes of God that are associated with that choice are the themes of Psalm 87. This psalm is a prophetic expansion of Psalm 86:9 and envisages the time, not realized as yet, when the city of God's choice will be the centre of world-wide dominion. The pure joy of the realization that God has chosen Zion as His holy hill in preference to all others, to their consternation, suffuses this psalm. God is here simply because He loves the place. Its glory, stability and blessing derive from this. In a very few words (vv. 4-6) the author, led by the Spirit, writes of a time when the nations that were Israel's enemies will be reborn as citizens of Zion and the concept moves from a place to a people. Rahab (RVM - Egypt) and Babylon, two of the greatest persecutors of Israel, are eventually reconciled together with Philistia, a constant enemy, the trading centre of Tyre, and even distant Ethiopia. This ultimate purpose is seen in prophetic form in Psalm 99:1-3: "The LORD is great in Zion; and He is high above all the peoples".

Zion and the judgement of God

Just as God is sovereign in creation, redemption and revelation, so is He also in matters of judgement, and Psalm 50 explores this in relation to Zion. Zion is, rightly, the perfection of beauty ~s. 50:2), but it is also the place of judgement for His covenant people, Israel. The theme echoes the burden of the prophets and is relevant also to the people of God today.

The psalm begins by presenting God as Judge (v.6) and recalls Mount Sinai and the covenant made there between God and His people that had obedience at its core. The judgement of Psalm 50 is of Israel (v.4) and the other nations appear to be called to witness. God first addresses Israel (vv.7-15) in order to expose the formalism of their religious observance that lacked a meaningful experience of God and was devoid of feeling towards Him. Further cutting words follow in verses 16-21 and are directed at the hypocritical and the devious; those prepared to continue in sin and yet to participate in worship; prepared also to cultivate dubious friendships and to indulge in malicious gossip. These acts contravene God's commandments given at Sinai, yet He remained silent (v.21), allowing men to reveal their deceit until they are finally called to account.

The present application is obvious. Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:10 indicates that all believers will appear before the judgement seat of Christ but, as in the Old Covenant, so in the New, judgement begins at the house of God (1 Pet. 4:17). The greater the privilege, the greater the responsibility to obey God, and Peter's challenge "what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy living and godliness" (2 Pet. 3:11) strikes as unerringly at the present day hypocrite as the Lord Jesus Christ did when He was here.

Spiritual Zion

The vision of Zion given to the writers of the psalms extends beyond the earthly city of God's choice to encompass His future and eternal purposes. It was seen above that God's purpose with Israel as a nation began at Sinai and held the prospect and intention of His settlement among them in Zion; the glory that was shared by David and the people when the Ark was taken there in triumph is indicative of God's blessing. The writer to the Hebrews, referring to the Tabernacle and its service as a "copy and shadow of the heavenly things" (Heb. 8:5), in chapter 12:22 speaks of "Mount Zion ... the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem". From Sinai, events led to God's choice of Zion as the place of His Name. His purposes with regard to Zion have never wavered despite human failure, and Jerusalem will again be the centre of divine government and service

when the Lord Jesus Christ reigns. Hebrews 12 looks above even this to Mount Zion and the heavenly Jerusalem. It is to this place, not Sinai, that believers come' at present for there is laid "... in Zion a chief corner stone, elect, precious" (1 Pet. 2:6), namely the Lord Jesus Christ. Rejected and crucified outside Jerusalem, He is now "the head of the corner" (v.7). The present spiritual house of God takes its alignment from this stone set eternally in the heavens where God is served by "innumerable hosts of angels" and "the general assembly and church of the firstborn" (Heb. 12:22-23). Yet, in love and grace, we are invited to approach with boldness to serve Him in the beauty of holiness. Now, as in the past, the unchallengeable reason for such overwhelming mercy is "Here will I dwell; for I have desired it" (Ps. 132:14).

Bishop, A. C. | Oct 1990
Meditations In The Psalms