Daily Lesson for Monday 11th of March 2024

Psalms 122:1-9 expresses the pilgrims’ excitement upon their arrival at Jerusalem.

Image © Jim Howard at Goodsalt.com

The pilgrimages to Jerusalem were joyful occasions when God’s people joined together three times during the year to commemorate God’s goodness toward them in the past and present (Deuteronomy 16:16). Jerusalem was the center of the nation’s life because it contained “the Testimony of Israel” (Psalms 122:4, NKJV) and the thrones for judgment (Psalms 122:5). “The Testimony of Israel” refers to the sanctuary that was at times called “the tabernacle of the Testimony” (Numbers 1:50, NKJV) and contained the “ark of the Testimony” (Exodus 25:22, NKJV). The thrones set for judgment depict the judicial system in Jerusalem (2 Samuel 8:15). Pilgrimage was thus the time when one could seek and obtain justice. Faithfulness to God and administering justice to people were never to be separated.

Praying for the peace of Jerusalem invokes God’s blessings upon the city and its inhabitants, and it unites the worshipers, causing peace to spread among them (Psalms 122:8). Jerusalem could be the city of peace only if peace existed between God and His people, and among God’s children themselves. Thus, prayer for the peace of Jerusalem conveys an appeal to God’s people to live in peace with God and one another. In Jerusalem’s peace, the people will prosper (Psalms 147:12-14).

The psalm teaches us that the prayer for the well-being of the community of faith should be the main subject of the prayers of God’s children because only the strong and united people of God can proclaim the good tidings of God’s peace and salvation to the world (John 13:34-35).

Praying for the peace of Jerusalem is still a privilege and responsibility of the believers because it keeps alive the hope in the end-time coming of God’s kingdom of peace, which will embrace not only the city of Jerusalem but the whole world (Isaiah 52:7; Isaiah 66:12-13; Revelation 21:1-27; Revelation 22:1-21).

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/24a-11-pray-for-the-peace-of-jerusalem/

Daily Lesson for Sunday 10th of March 2024

The psalmist “longs” and “faints” to make the sanctuary his permanent abode so that he can be near God forever (Psalms 84:1-2). God’s living presence (Psalms 84:2) makes the sanctuary a unique place. In the sanctuary, worshipers can “behold the beauty of the Lord” (Psalms 27:4, NKJV; also, see Psalms 63:2) and be “satisfied with the goodness of [His] house” (Psalms 65:4, NKJV).

Image © Lars Justinen at Goodsalt.com

In Psalms 84:1-12, unparalleled happiness is achieved in relationship with God, which consists of praising Him (Psalms 84:4), finding strength in Him (Psalms 84:5), and trusting Him (Psalms 84:12). The sanctuary is the place where such a relationship is nourished through worship and fellowship with fellow believers. The living presence of God in the sanctuary gives the worshipers a glimpse of God’s glorious kingdom and a taste of eternal life.

God’s blessings are described as radiating from the sanctuary, bestowed first on those who serve in the sanctuary (Psalms 84:4), then on the pilgrims on their way to the sanctuary (Psalms 84:5–10), and finally reaching as far as the ends of the earth. The expectation of meeting God in the sanctuary strengthens the faith of the pilgrims (Psalms 84:7). Whereas the strength of the ordinary traveler weakens under the burden of the tiresome journey, with the pilgrims to the sanctuary, their strength increases the nearer they come to the sanctuary.

Even when physically removed from the sanctuary, God’s children continue to bear a stamp of God’s sanctuary by living a worthy life (Psalms 84:11), which characterizes the righteous who enter the Lord’s sanctuary (Psalms 15:1-2). The Lord is called “a sun,” showing that the blessings from the sanctuary, like the sunrays, extend to the ends of the earth (Psalms 84:11). Thus, those who abide with God through faith receive His grace, regardless of the place where they are.

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/24a-11-a-day-in-your-courts-is-better-than-a-thousand/