# 370 A journey through the Psalms. Psalm 132. Some challenging questions (1)

Psalm 132 raises some very interesting and challenging questions and Broyles mentions these in his commentary. They are:

1. “Does God need a human to find him a place, especially one for rest?” (# 4) The psalmist says:

⁶ We heard it in Ephrathah,
    we came upon it in the fields of Jaar:
⁷ “Let us go to his dwelling place,
    let us worship at his footstool, saying,
⁸ ‘Arise, Lord, and come to your resting place,
    you and the ark of your might.
⁹ May your priests be clothed with your righteousness;
    may your faithful people sing for joy.’”

2. Does God show favouritism when he aligns “himself with a particular place, a particular people, and a particular political figure. At the same time, God also aligns himself against this monarch’s enemies. Should he show such favouritism? Should he not be the God of all peoples?” (# 4) The psalmist says:

¹³ For the Lord has chosen Zion,
    he has desired it for his dwelling, saying,
¹⁴ “This is my resting place for ever and ever;
    here I will sit enthroned, for I have desired it.
¹⁵ I will bless her with abundant provisions;
    her poor I will satisfy with food.
¹⁶ I will clothe her priests with salvation,
    and her faithful people will ever sing for joy.

Interesting! Let us consider the first one and, in fact, God answers the question himself to David at the time when he vows to provide such a place for God:

⁵ “Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? ⁶ I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling. ⁷ Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”’    (2 Samuel 7:5-7)

Even Solomon, who at the dedication of the temple said, I have built the temple for the Name of the Lord, the God of Israel. ²¹ I have provided a place there for the ark, in which is the covenant of the Lord that he made with our ancestors when he brought them out of Egypt.” (1 Kings 8:20-21)

Then later, in his prayer of dedication says, But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! (1 Kings 8:27)

Then when preaching in Athens, the Apostle Paul clarifies this truth when he said:

²⁴ “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. ²⁵ And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. (Acts 17:24-25)

So, obviously, God does not need a human to provide for him a place for him to rest, but the interesting thing is that God does actually accept the offer! As we see in 1 Kings 8:10-11 when all was ready at the dedication of the temple we read:

 ¹⁰ When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the Lord. ¹¹ And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled his temple.

The wonderful truth is that God does not need a magnificent temple (1 Kings 8:13) such as was built by Solomon. In fact, he desires to dwell with those who honour and love him wherever they may be as Paul said in his sermon to the Athenians with the words:

²⁶ From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. ²⁷ God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ²⁸ ‘For in him we live and move and have our being. (Acts 17:26-28)

Which leads us nicely into the second question concerning God choosing a particular people, place, leader to accomplish his purposes. And this we shall consider next time.