The Purpose Of Man Is To Overcome Fear

August 8, 2017

The Purpose Of Man Is To Overcome Fear

For the Lord has chosen Jerusalem;

    he has desired it for his home.

This is my resting place forever,” he said.

    “I will live here, for this is the home I desired.

Psalm 132:13-14

Psalm 132 remembers King David establishing Jerusalem as the spiritual home of Israel. As the psalmist recalls the promise of God to King David that, “your royal line will continue forever and ever” (v.12) we recognize that Psalm 132 is a Messianic Psalm, because it’s ultimate fulfillment is in Christ Jesus, our Lord.

Recently, I read two books about the state of Israel’s fight for survival through four wars: the War of Independence in 1948; the war for the Sinai Peninsula in 1956; the Six-day War in 1967; and the 1973 Yom Kippur War. I was deeply inspired by the self-sacrificing commitment of the people to re-establish Jerusalem as the center of their homeland. Verses 8-10 of Psalm 132 are taken from 2 Chronicles 6:41-42, the prayer of King Solomon upon the dedication of the Temple of God in Jerusalem, an event that occurred almost three thousand years ago in 960 B.C. The inspiration of the Jews fighting for their freedom in 1948, 1954, 1967 and 1973 was as passionate as the American patriots fighting for freedom within days of our Declaration of Independence.

As the followers of Jesus, “we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior” (Philippians 3:20). We long for the time when the holy city, the New Jerusalem, will come down from God out of heaven. We look forward to when “God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” We look forward to when there is “no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple” (Revelation 21:2-4, 22).

When I read Psalm 132, and think of the passion of David to establish Jerusalem, the passion of Solomon to build God’s Temple, the passion of the psalmist in recalling his history, and the incredible passion of the sons and daughters of Israel sacrificing for her freedom, I am stunned by my comparative lack of passion to strive for the building of God’s Kingdom, today, in my time.

One of the patriots of Israel was asked why he was willing to sacrifice all he had in his, "David verses Goliath" fight for freedom. He responded that the purpose of man is to overcome fear.

Maybe so. Maybe so.

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

Copyright © 2017 by Alex M. Knight

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.