DAVID'S EMAIL BIBLE STUDY:
The END!!!
A. BACKGROUND
is this: we studied all or highlights of over 50 Psalms since September. Praise, thanksgiving, lament, confession, worship, instruction, wisdom. They’ve addressed what is God? What is a good person? What is a good leader? Ultimately, the good we seek in ourselves or others is most known in God.
C.
SUMMARY.
Both Psalms are pretty straightforward. Psalm 122 asks us to “pray for Jerusalem”. Remember what Jerusalem stands for as a symbol and in reality. Make its peace and security and survival a priority in your own spiritual life. Psalm 127 tells us God needs to be at the center of home and community or else all other efforts at living happily and harmoniously will fail. Given that Jerusalem was/is the homeplace of God, both Psalms are similar.
D.
KEY POINTS
1.
Why the heck care about Jerusalem? Why, of all the cities of the world, ancient and modern, does Jerusalem stand out as an object of urgent prayer? Religiously, Jerusalem is the heartbeat of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It was the capital of ancient Israel and home to it’s most sacred Temple. When you pray for Jerusalem you are remembering Israel, Judaism, the Prophets, the 10 Commandments, the Biblical heroes of long ago – anything, anyone connected with Judaism. Despite Jesus spending little time in Jerusalem, it still represents the religion and teaching that he stood up for. All the drama of Jesus’ Holy week happens there – from happy Palm Sunday to victorious Easter, and all the horrors in between. Islam, which sees itself as the successor to Judaism and Christianity, reveres Jerusalem and counts it as their second holiest religious place. During the past 2,000 years it has become the major “holy land” for pilgrimages and revisiting ancient sites. The Crusades and endless wars have been fought to control that holiness. Geo-politically, Jerusalem is the heartbeat of Israel/Palestinian conflict, wide Middle East tensions, US-Iran, Lebanon-Israel, Arab-Jew. Lots of terrorism started there or was motivated by there.
To “pray for the peace of Jerusalem” (a 2,500-year-old prayer request!!) is to imagine what if Israel was at peace? No need for Hezbollah funded by Iran. Or Gaza/West Bank refugee camps and intifadas. No threats from Syria. No Israeli settlements infuriating Palestinians. No rock throwing, rocket launching, tunnel digging. No boycott of Israel, sanctions or Iran. Peace dividends. Seems worth praying for.
2.
A House is NOT a Home, not exactly an original thought. Ps. 127 is a reminder that 2x4s, and a lush carpet, and modern kitchen, and a big family room and luxurious bathrooms, and high ceilings, etc. don’t make for a happy home. In my years with Habitat for Humanity we always read this verse at the dedication of houses we built. Alida and I use it when we bless a house. It’s a reminder that even the best work of carpenters and masons and fine woodworking is a lost cause without God’s love reigning supreme. Practical steps include Jews putting “mezuzahs” on the door frame, Christians hanging a cross or Biblical verses on the wall, saying grace at mealtime, allowing faith to be present in homelife by conversation and participation. Prayer and active compassion are keys to fulfilling both Psalms.
