Skip to main content

Day 20 - My Help For the Journey

The Psalms of Ascent were written because faithful Jews returned to Jerusalem for the various festivals every year, and as they journeyed, they had to "walk up" to Jerusalem...no matter what the direction they came from.  They "ascended" to the city where the Temple stood and made their pilgrimage in stages.

These Psalms marked their progress. Little by little as they walked along they prepared their hearts and souls for the reason they were going to Jerusalem. It was here that they would meet with God...offer their sacrifices...worship and pray...even though they did all of those things in their hometowns anyway. Jerusalem was the treasured city, the holy city, the city of David, the city of God.

Imagine the journey, the pilgrim walk and let’s walk along with them on our Lenten journey.  As they walked through the land, they saw the beauty of God’s creation and it created within them a realization:
One of the early Psalms, 121 says so beautifully:

Psalm 121:1-8
1  I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?
2  My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.
3  He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber.
4  Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
5  The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand.
6  The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.
7  The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.
8  The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.

It sounds so beautiful, and yet it creates a question:  What does he mean when he says, “I lift my eyes to the hills.  From where does my help come?”  Mountains invoke grandeur, beauty, majesty, and awe.  Their immensity of size and loftiness can be a source of worshipful “Wow, God, look what you have done”, or it can be a source of “I worship nature.” 

The mountains in Israel became a stumbling block to many Jews. It was on the mountain tops that altars were set up in hopes of currying favor with one of the many pagan so-called gods - Baal, Ashtoreh, Ishtar, Molech, Rimmon, Ramman, to name a few. Most of these "gods" were worshiped for what they supposedly provided: rain, crops, sunlight, etc...but the temptation was always present for someone to "incorporate", “add to”,  a local god alongside as if to supplement that with their faith in Yahweh. 

This, biblically, is called apostasy because in the end within Israel, the "god" became more real to them than Yahweh himself.
To the Israelites God had spoken so clearly:

Exodus 20:2-4 2  “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
3  “You shall have no other gods before me.
4  “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

But, on mountain tops across all of Israel altars of incense, sacrifice and worship appeared. The Psalmist doesn't hide it, he acknowledges the fact:

Psalm 121:1
 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?

It was a question...one in which the faithful who refused the temptation of idolatry asked out loud.
"Is my help from the mountain...the gods...the gods who claimed to be God?"
Is my help in prosperity?
Is my help in politics?
Is my help in my addictions?
Is my help in what I can control?
The answer is always "NO". The Psalmist answers in vs 2:

Psalm 121:2  My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

It is a worshipful, good reminder to us, that God alone is what we need. There is no substitute in life...all other "gods" are not really God.

History is replete with “substitutions” for the real God.  The rise and fall of nations is a good reminder that there is only one true God, and our attempts at substitutes always create future problems. 

The Psalmist’s quiet voice keeps telling us there is a way to go, and all other ways are destined to fail.  Why do they fail? 
Walking along, we slip on the rocks, we tire in the journey, we become faint in the heat.

3  He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber.
4  Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
5  The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand.
6  The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night

What does it mean?  It means that without warning, “stuff happens”.  The list of dangers to our self, in our society…the tragedies and pain-filled “what just happened” hit us everyday.
In Boston, during a Marathon
In a plane, flying towards China
One day all is well, and the next day, a diagnosis is made that changes everything.
An accident…on a machine, in a car, on a step ladder, or on the sports field, or court.  We never know.  We take precautions, read the instructions, learn the rules, fasten our seatbelts and wear our sun screen…but still “Stuff happens”.

How do we approach life then?  We’re walking along, and part of us is thinking about all that could happen, because of all that has happened…and then faith takes over:

Psalm 121:5  The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand.
Psalm 121:7-8 7  The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.
8  The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.

We lift our eyes up…the hills with all their majesty and awe cannot protect us and keep us safe.  Our help comes from the Lord.  He is our confidence, He is our Hope.

Martin Luther who knew that well reminds us in this amazing Hymn:

A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
            Our helper he amid the flood of mortal ills prevaling. 
            For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great, and armed with cruel hate,
on earth is not his equal.

          Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing,
          Were not the right man on our side, 
           the man of God's own choosing.
          Dost ask who that may be?  
          Christ Jesus, it is he; Lord Sabaoth, his name,
          From age to age the same, and he must win the battle.

          And though this world, with devils filled,  
          should threaten to undo us,
          We will not fear,  
           for God hath willed his truth to triumph through us. 
          The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
          His rage we can endure, for lo, 
           his doom is sure; one little word shall fell him.


Peace

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hands Full of Parcels

"A Man whose hands are full of parcels can't receive a gift."   - C. S. Lewis Romans 4:13-16 (ESV) 13  For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14  For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15  For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression. 16  That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all... The last four days have been best described by the word "fatigue".  It's not an uncommon word in our vocabulary.  Listless, tired, sore.  1300 miles of car travel, being sick, not sleeping well, and eating poorly all add up to the word - fatigue.   Someone onc...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Tabernacle

The readings today are Exodus 36, 37, 38 I wanted to post some pictures of what these various parts of the Tabernacle looked like. It's not the easiest read in the world, but if you persevere through it, you can get a picture of all the different pieces that made up the tabernacle. It is a replica of the various parts of the Tabernacle in the Wilderness: First thing in the chapter listed is the outside of the tabernacle which consisted of curtains tied together and put on cross bars through loops. Next at the beginning of 37 is the table and lampstand: Also, the altar of incense: And, the altar for the burnt offering which was in the courtyard: Finally, the courtyard which made it all come together: Hope that helps with what it might have all looked like. Most importantly, this was their "place" of worship they were building. I hope you have a great day of worship. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
1 comment
Read more

The difference between defending and explaining

The news of recent has focused the suffering of Christians in the middle east who have been martyred for their faith in Christ at the hands of Islamic Terrorists. Through the centuries many Christians have lost their lives as a result of their faith. For us, who live in America, there is little chance that we would have this happen here - but it's entirely possibly that terrorism will strike out at Christians sometime.  But, for many Christians in the western world - especially here in the U.S. - being a Christians who believes God's word there is a form of persecution that is defined by words like "ostracized", "passed over", "ridiculed", and more. What do we do in the face of opposition to faith? When the Apostle Peter writes to the early believers who are undergoing great pressure, even persecution for their faith in Jesus, he gives them this charge. 1 Peter 3:8-18 8  Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly lov...
1 comment
Read more