Today’s reading is Psalm 48.
Clearly, Psalm 48 is written in a time of Judean prosperity or victory. The author is confident in God and confident Jerusalem will remain forever under the watchful eye of God. Or so it seems on the surface. However, did you catch the psalm ends by telling the pilgrims to tour the city and walk around it so they can tell the next generation about it? Why would they need to tell the next generation? If the city is going to stand like this forever, wouldn’t the next generation just see it in their pilgrimages?
Then we read Lamentation 2:15:
All who pass along the way clap their hands at you; they hiss and wag their heads at the daughter of Jerusalem: “Is this the city that was called the perfection of beauty, the joy of all the earth?”
We have the perspective of time. Whatever time of victory the son of Korah was commemorating, wasn’t going to last. Jerusalem was destroyed. It was later rebuilt. But then it was destroyed again. In fact, instead of housing a temple to Yahweh, it now houses the Dome of the Rock, a Muslim holy site.
What is up with that? Did God fail?
No. He didn’t. Rather, the people failed. Back in Psalm 44, when they were upset about whatever defeat they had faced, they were able to say they had kept God’s covenant. Their continued faithfulness leads to the victory of Psalms 46-48. But they did not stay faithful for long. Remember what we learned on Monday. Jerusalem wasn’t special because of anything about itself. It was special because Yahweh had made Jerusalem His home. But when the people quit welcoming Him by disobeying His will, He abandoned the city. He left them to their own devices. He left them to their own power, strength, beauty, talent. He removed His protecting hand and watchful eye. The city was lost.
How sad! It had been the joy of all the earth. It was a jewel in the crown of God’s hand. But it has become nothing. It has lost its significance. It is no longer the city of God. It is no longer the place where God’s name dwells. It no longer measures up to this psalm.
May this be an object lesson to us. May we hang on to God. May we love Him with all our heart, soul, strength, and might, and our neighbor as ourselves. May we keep His covenant lest we too kick God out of His dwelling place among us. I promise you, that will bring consequences we do not want to face.
Tomorrow’s reading is Psalm 48.
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Discuss the Following Questions with Your Family
- What are your initial reactions to the psalm and the written devo above?
- Does it sadden you to see that Jerusalem had been so special, but to know that in abandoning God it is no longer the joy of the earth? Why or why not?
- Why do you think some become complacent in their relationship with God and abandon Him?
- Will you stay faithful to the Lord throughout your life? Why or why not?
- What do you think we should pray for and about in light of this psalm and our discussion today?
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