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[Wednesday Evening Bible Study Lecture, Dr. TJ Betts (SBTS), Ninth & O Baptist Church, Louisville, KY: Psalm 132, 9/11/2024]

  • hallsmanilow
  • Jan 10
  • 4 min read


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1. Scripture 


2a. Question: Why is it important for the believers to proclaim their trust in God's promises? Possible answers: to seek & embrace 'em, so that others would know too, to hold us accountable; simply following His commands, etc. 


2b. Question: What does a commitment look like? Possible answers: an action (speaks louder than words), consistency, through good times and bad times, unconditional, loyalty, etc. 


3. The Skinny on Psalm 132


1) Unknown author


2) Bible is one grand narrative starting with Genesis creation account, humanity's fall from grace, downward spiral of humankind, the darkness: Abram (later Abraham) called to bless all the nations in Gen. 12; a promise made to Abraham that his seed will be a blessing to all the nations. The Messiah is coming! The original Greek word Christos means "the Messiah/the Anointed One of God" (Not a last name); the seed of woman-->Abraham-->David--->the Messiah to bring salvation to His people



3) "A song of ascents": three occasions on which the ancient  Israelites "ascended" to Jersusalem-- the Passover, Shavuot (Feast of Weeks), and Sukkot (Festival of Booths); always referred to as "ascending/going up" in reference to doing a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. This is a song, with a different focus than from many others, which they sang as they jovially went up to Jersualem. 


4) V. 1: David endured many hardships throughout his life, e.g., at the hands of Saul/ Absalom/his enemies, et al. V.2: what did David swear to the Lord? Let's remember Bethel, which Jacob built marking with the stone pillow, which means God's house. David promised to the Lord that he would build God's house. And a psalmist is making this connection here. Does God need a house on earth?


( Cf. Isaiah 66:1: 


No; we all know that but the tabernacle or a temple where His presence is felt and can be visually seen is the purpose of construction. 


5) 2 Samuel 6:1-11 & 1 Chrinicles 13:9-12 are closely tied to this Psalm passage in which Uzzah gets killed by God. And David becomes very displeased and becomes afraid of the Lord:



6) Normally, an ancient king would gather, accumulate wealth for himself, but not David; he poured out all his efforts into preparing and gathering the necessary materials for God's house believing God's house should be better than his own (palace). 


7) David's son Solomon built it, and the Solomon's temple was known for his immaculate beauty and opulence, with all its adorned gold and silver. Actually, the builders of the second temple who were old enough to remember the 1st temple wept bitterly because the former fell way short of the glory and grandeur of the latter. 


8) "Giving all of us," "Committing all that we are," -- that is what David actualized in action by fulfilling the promise he made to the Lord. He indeed didn't rest until he completed the task. 

 

9) A Hebrew word for an ark, as in the case of the Ark of the Covenant, literally means a box or a chest; what did it contain? Two stone tablets of Ten Commandments, Aaron's rod, bowl of manna. On the day of atonement (once a year) a high priest would enter the Holy of the Holies, and sprinkle the blood of the animal sacrifice on the mercy seat of the Ark. (God  is omnipresent and yet He is transcendent; however, He is present to forgive sins when the repentance and the blood sacrifice are offered to Him.)


10) V. 8: and the people of Israel lost a track of the Ark once it was captured and taken away by the Philistines (how could they have?!). Then, all sorts of plagues broke out among the Philistines and tormented them,  and as a result they developed a greater fear of the Lord than did the Israelites themselves, ironically. :) The Ark was eventually returned to the Israleites after seven months, and it remained in Kirjath-jearim during the reign of Saul..


11) Our relationship to God: to know Him is to love Him; the longer the more we know Him, the more the better we love Him. And the more we want to live for Him: 


(1) Cf. Hosea 4:6-7


(2) Hosea 6:4 


(3) Cf. Hosea 6:6 


(4) Hosea 13:5-6 


12) In the NT era according to Peter and John, we are the new royal high priests of God having received a high calling in place of the ancient Jews: 



Yes, JC is our righteousness. Amen. 


13) V. 11: the Lord has sworn to David..The Lord never turns back on His promises; He is eternally faithful. David (to prophet Nathan): "I will build a house for the Lord."Nathan: "the Lord will build you an eternal house (through your seed)."; a covenant was made to David. 


14a) VV. 13-18: Zion is the choice of God ("I desired it") as His  dwelling place..A horn represented the strength; the bigger the better/stronger.


14b) V. 17: "there I will make a horn to sprout for David; I have prepared a lamp for my anointed." 



15) V. 18: "His enemies I will clothe with shame, but on Him His crown will shine": Cf. See what archangel Gabriel proclaimed in Luke 1:30-33 



See what Daniel saw in Daniel 7:27:

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