Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 132:1-10
Ps 132:1-10
O LORD, remember David and all the hardships he endured. He swore an oath to the LORD and made a vow to the Mighty one of Jacob: "I will not enter my house or go to my bed--I will allow no sleep to my eyes, no slumber to my eyelids, till I find a place for the LORD, a dwelling for the Mighty one of Jacob." We heard it in Ephrathah, we came upon it in the fields of Jaar: "Let us go to his dwelling place; let us worship at his footstool--arise, O LORD, and come to your resting place, you and the ark of your might. May your priests be clothed with righteousness; may your saints sing for joy." For the sake of David your servant, do not reject your anointed one.
John 4:21-24
Jesus declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."
Why was David so intent on finding a place to build a temple to the Lord? He lived in a fine palace but the ark of God was kept in a tent. This just did not seem right to David, so he wanted to build a house (temple) that had far more splendor than did his own house. His motives were good, but God told him not to build it.
In the later part of this Psalm, we find that God did want the house built, it was just not going to be David who did it. Because he had been a man of war, God wanted to wait and let his son, Solomon, build the temple. Solomon was a man of peace and he did indeed build the beautiful temple, with unimaginable splendor, in Jerusalem. The Jews worshipped God and his presence was known here.
Today, our body is the temple of God because he lives in us. His church is also his temple, because he lives in his people, both collectively and individually. Our worship is from the heart and is not just following rituals or formalities. We are told to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice and the fruit of our lips to God.
Heavenly Father I am so thankful for your love and your compassion shown to me in more ways than I can even understand. Thank you for my family and for the many friends you have put into my life. Be with our nation and the leaders of our nation. Guide them to make laws and to rule in such a way that we can live quiet and peaceable lives in godliness. Give your comfort to those who are distressed and those who are grieving. Give your healing to the sick, to those getting over surgery and to those taking treatments. I pray in the name of Jesus.
Robert
