Psalm 132:11-18
For the LORD has chosen Zion; He has desired it as His dwelling place. “This is My resting place forever; Here I will dwell, for I have desired it…” (vv. 13-14) One wonders. Often we Christians ask whether we are to take the Bible literally or figuratively or whatever’ly. Taking these verses literally is difficult. Typically Zion refers to Israel, Mount Zion more specifically to the Temple Mount. These verses say that the Lord has chosen Zion / Israel / Mount Zion as His eternal dwelling place. But as I understand it (I am not an Israeli expert), it’s not the Jews or the Christians worshiping on the Temple Mount, but the Moslems have it under their control. So, did the psalmist get it wrong? Did he hear incorrectly from the Lord? Or has the Lord continued to inhabit Mount Zion, in spite of Israel’s enemies in control? These verses leave me confused. Anyone out there with more wisdom?
Well, first off, no, the psalmist did not get it wrong. But we readers may well get it wrong in our interpretation. When Jesus first came to earth, no one expected a peasant to be the Messiah, and indeed no one expected the Messiah to die on a Roman cross. They were looking for a Messiah who would overthrow foreign domination and establish Israel as the preeminent kingdom on earth — not at all like God’s actual plan. All the Messianic prophecies were right, but the interpretation was wrong.
I am not going to pretend that I have this all figured out, but let’s start with the notion that there is a physical Zion (Jerusalem in the land of Israel here on earth) and a spiritual Zion (the New Jerusalem or the “City of God” in Saint Augustine’s terms). I believe God retains a very special place in His heart (so to speak) for the physical Jerusalem and for the Jews. He has never abandoned either, despite apparent evidence to the contrary. The fact that the Jews continue to exist at all after centuries of persistent persecution, including the Holocaust, and the fact that they recaptured Jerusalem in 1967 is a testament to God’s ongoing faithfulness to them. (Just name any other distinct people group that has faced such opposition for so long that still exists after thousands of years…) So, yes, God is still very much interested in Jerusalem and the Temple Mount, even if the Muslim Dome of the Rock happens to be situated there at the moment.
But even Solomon, who built the Temple, knew that God would not really dwell in the Temple. (II Chronicles 6:18) God is “bigger” than that. And so, Hebrews teaches us that the entire Temple system is just a shadow of a better heavenly Reality. (Hebrews 8:5) And Peter tells us that God has placed Christ as a Cornerstone in Zion and that we ourselves are “like living stones … being built up as a spiritual house“. (I Peter 2:4-7) All of that goes to say that Psalm 132 can be taken both literally and figuratively — and both take eyes of faith. God remains faithful to the physical Jerusalem (though that may be difficult to perceive, needing a very long-term perspective), and He is also preparing the New Jerusalem (which we cannot yet see physically). Regardless, we can be fully assured that God is faithful. He always keeps His promises. And all those promises find their “yes” in Christ. (II Cor. 1:20)
I’m certainly not close to being an expert but maybe the dwelling and resting forever is in the future according to “our time”. Where we live in past, present, future, God lives in forever time.