Psalm 84, quoted in part on yesterday's post, has inspired me. I felt compelled to mediate on it this morning during my time in God's Presence, and I was in awe over God's lesson for me!
Think back to those moments when you have such an intense longing to commune with God, to worship Him, and to taste His goodness that it creates a physiological response within you. In those moments, I feel like my words are so inadequate to express my love for my Savior. The echoes of my heart have to suffice. I tend to think that is how the Sons of Korah felt when penning Psalm 84. Their thoughts to God are deeply intimate and personal, but we get the privilege of "over-hearing" them.
I would like to re-quote verses 1-2 and 10 here: "How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God. For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness."
It's time for a biblical history adventure to unravel a mystery! The Sons of Korah. Who are they, and what inspired the deep emotions of this Psalm (and at least 25 others by them)? The clue lies in I Chronicles 9 (I feel like I am in the movie National Treasure--or should I say Kingdom Treasure--Bible style!). :) The Sons of Korah "were in charge of the work of the service, keepers of the thresholds of the tent, as their fathers had been in charge of the camp of the Lord, keepers of the entrance" (I Chron. 9:19). They also were "over the chambers and the treasures of the house of God. And they lodged around the house of God, for on them lay the duty of watching, and they had charge of opening it every morning" (I Chron. 9:26-27).
Let's interpret the answer to our clue. The Sons of Korah stood outside of the tent; they were gatekeepers. Day after day they showed up to work, opened the house of God, and then stood there...watching. Travel back in time. What do you think this job would have been like? I'll return to that in a minute.
Hop on our time machine again. This time were going back another generation to their fathers. As far as I can figure it in my research, Korah descended from the Kohath. What was the Kohathites' job? The answer is revealed in Numbers 4, our second clue. They were in charge of the holy vessels of the tabernacle, including the ark, and carried these items (though forbidden to touch them or even look upon them). In other words, they were in contact with the items where God chose to make His dwelling. Can you imagine that? I'm sure they were saying, "This is AWESOME! God was just here! And now we're in charge of the vessels that represent His Presence!"
Well at least you would think that would be their reaction. Hop aboard the time machine again. We're going forward to Numbers 16. The green eye of jealousy creeps onto the scene, and it is ugly! The Kohathites take their gaze off of the glory of God and look at Moses and Aaron. They start thinking, "What makes Moses and Aaron so special? Why do they act holier than thou?" "All in the congregation are holy," they cry (Num. 16:3). Moses tries to bring their gaze back to God, saying, "In the morning the Lord will show who is His, and who is holy, and will bring him near to Him" (v. 5). But they refused to show up. They had an opportunity to be in the Presence of God, and they said no! (And wasn't that the issue in the first place?)
This is an amazing story. Immerse yourself in it. Can you feel Moses' heart break as he sees where the Kohathites are headed? The great tragedy is reflected in Moses' plea (I can almost visualize the expression of sorrow and earnestness on his face), "Is it too small a thing for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to Himself, to do service in the tabernacle of the Lord and to stand before the congregation to minister to them, and that He has brought you near Him, and all your brothers the sons of Levi with you? And would you seek the priesthood also?" (vv. 9-10). Let's turn our eyes away from the scene unfolding before us as the ground opens its mouth and swallows them alive (vv. 27-35). The song of mourning begins.
But the mourning ceases, for Numbers 26:11, as short as it is, sweetly sings the song of redemption. "The sons of Korah did not die." Do you hear THAT?!? That is a song of second chances and the redeeming of the next generation--a remnant for God's glory!
Hop back in the time machine one last time. We're ready to discover one of the gold nuggets of Scripture! Back to my question a few paragraphs back, "What would it have been like to be a gatekeeper for the House of the Lord?" The Sons of Korah refused to repeat history! They worshipped. And I mean WORSHIPPED! Now would be a good time to re-read Psalm 84! A gatekeeper? Yes, a gatekeeper!!! They're working for GOD!!
Friends, and I write this with deep emotion, we don't have to see veiled tabernacle objects, look at the stars, and dream about what it would be like to be holy enough to be chosen to enter the Presence of God. We don't have to stand as gatekeepers, looking at the High Priest enter and exit, and find our joy in that as an end in itself. WE GET TO ENTER GOD'S PRESENCE--THE MOST HOLY OF HOLIES--EVERY MOMENT OF EVERY DAY! (Yes, that required all caps.) Why am I, and I am speaking to myself here, not writing sentiments that are overflowing with even more love and devotion and passion for God than a gatekeeper?!? Why do I find more entertainment in "fill in the blank" than knowing and loving and treasuring Jesus Christ for now and all of eternity? He chose me. He chose ME! And in this moment, I want to publicly celebrate. I have found the gold! Mystery solved!
3 comments:
Hi Jen, I just saw this post after I had commented on yesterday's, so you'll have to read that one! But I wanted you to know I've been reading these and appreciate you so much! How beautiful to see Christ in you. Aunt Marlene
Where to i begin? I LOVE IT! I'm such a Bible nerd it's ridiculous! Of course you have to use caps, this is amazing! Tieing different parts of Scripture together is one of my favorite things in the world to do. I'm always amazed how it fits together but i shouldn't be surprised since it all came from the mouth of God.
I didn't even put 2 and 2 together about the sons of Korah surviving. Of course i'm going to have to go back and read my Bible now but it is a very, very interesting fact i'd never realized. Because obviously i thought that all of Korah's descendents had been swallowed up in the earth but never realized his sons later were serving at the temple. This was extremely naive of me since i know that many times "all" in the Bible is conditional and doesn't actually mean every last individual on earth.
I agree that we should be joyful/praising God/extremely excited that we can enter His presence in prayer at any moment of the day. That the Holy Spirit, the same Spirit that dwells with the Father, is with us. Why, oh why, do we get excited about College Football, the Bachelor or a nice dinner downtown but we are not literally clicking our heels in response to God's Love?!?!
That can sound a little extreme but i really don't think it is (in theory, i need someone to bounce this off of and i need to think and study about it more). Living the Christian life is a RADICAL thing, not a safe thing, not a comfortable thing, not a dumb thing, not for the faint of heart.
I really don't have anything good to say, i just wanted to thank you for the great post Jenny and say i am in 100% agreement! Praise God!
What a good kind of nerd to be! I'm right there with you. :)
Check out Numbers 16:27. It says, "So they got away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. And Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the door of their tents, together with their wives, their sons, and their little ones." Notice that in the first sentence, all three groups were about to experience the wrath of God. In the second sentence, it only mentions that Dathan and Abiram's wives/sons/little ones joined them at the door. Scripture doesn't mention Korah's offspring.
As far as the joy in being in God's presence and not attributing that joy to lesser things, I certainly agree! I think that we can "beat ourselves up" about this issue in an unhealthy way too, though. There is something to be said at appreciating God's gifts, and in so doing delighting in God. For instance, we can look at a beautiful sunset, rejoice in it's beauty, and praise the One who created it.
Nature is too easy of an example, though, since it bears the fingerprints of God and man cannot copy or recreate it. Let's look at another example: relationships. I think humans also delight in God when they delight in each other (a husband for his wife, a mother for her child, a brother for his sister, a Christian for another Christian, etc.). That is, as long as the object does NOT become the end of affection in itself, but God receives the glory and praise and adoration.
It becomes even more tricky in situations like you mention--college football, The Bachelor, a nice dinner. God gives athletes their ability, screenwriters their creativity (though obviously the Bachelor is not God-glorifying!), and man the financial blessing to provide for a nice dinner.
All that to say that I think it is okay to appreciate lesser objects if (and ONLY if) the ultimate glory and praise and adoration goes to Christ.
Okay, now I'm the one bouncing these thoughts off! :) I need to think through them further so they don't sound heretical and don't express the antithesis of what I believe! Sorry this is so long. If you ever want to bounce thoughts off of a fellow Bible nerd, you can always contact me further. My e-mail address is fulfilledinChrist@yahoo.com.
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