Stoned-Campbell Disciple

In today’s meditation, I am breaking with my tradition of offering stuff from my prayer time, and instead sharing some exegetical and personal growth thoughts from this mornings Psalm readings.

I confess, the Hebrew Bible played almost no foundational role in my understanding of what it meant to be a disciple of King Jesus as I grew into (supposed) maturity. My (massive) misunderstanding of the “OT,” (as I see now) was a function of my misunderstanding the NT as well.

Though I grew up among a people that claimed to be a “people of the Book,” I was ill-equipped to read the Bible itself. I conceived of the NT as sort of a jumbled box of puzzle pieces of isolated bits of data (commands/inferences) on the rules that must be obeyed precisely if I even wanted a snowballs chance to go to heaven. My usual encounter with the Bible was in sort of a hop-scotch manner.

I had charts. Graphs. I had “fill in the blank” Bible study. I had verse numbers of specific verses memorized. But truthfully I had very little contextual understanding of those verses and I had even less understanding of the “flow” of the biblical narrative as a whole. And I certainly did not know when the “New Testament” was actually using the “Old Testament” to teach and preach. I had imagined that the “New Testament” as the opposite of the “Old Testament.”

Since that is how I conceived the NT, you can imagine how I viewed the “OT” (it was a rabid amalgamation of burdensome laws, devoid of anything like hope, blessedness, grace and peace with God). Of course, I had none of those as a Christian either, so I knew they did not in the “Old Testament.”

So I read the OT in a disjointed manner. Yes, there were a couple of cool stories but most of it was best forgotten … which is why everyone in my family had pocket New Testaments.

The of Songs of Ascents, Psalms 120-134, of which we read in today’s lection, however exude everything that I lacked as a Christian in my walk with God.

The Songs of Ascents ooze everything that I thought the Hebrew Bible (I stopped using “Old Testament” years ago) was devoid. These Songs show the intimate and deeply interconnected personal relationship that Israelites had with God. They show how the faith of Israel is all about blessing:

– God keeping them (grace!),
– Graciousness on our part (!),
– Divine fellowship/Presence (!)
– Peace/shalom (!).

In short, the Songs of Ascents are awash in what we call grace and faith.

These psalms are pilgrim psalms but they are far more than that. They are, as a collection, the expression of the Divine Priestly blessing of Numbers 6.22-24, the promise that God has embraced us.

Growing up I knew no more about Priestly Blessing in Numbers 6.24-26 than I did the Psalms of Ascent (nor Exodus 34.6, the God Creed). The priestly blessing has only fifteen words in Hebrew. Not so ironically there are fifteen Songs of Ascents. This is not an accident. Numbers 6.24-26 reads,

“Yahweh bless you and keep you;
Yahweh make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
Yahweh turn his face/lift up his eyes and give you peace.”

This blessing actually shows up repeatedly in the Bible but I never had “ears to hear” it. Themes, and exact words, from the blessing show up in twelve of the fifteen Songs of Ascents. In the Second Temple (Herod’s) there were fifteen steps that pilgrims “ascended” to go from the Court of Women to the Court of Israel, and these Psalms were used there. Once the pilgrims (like Jesus!) are standing on the top step they are gazing at the entrance of the Holy of Holies with is gold plated vine draped around it. This collection antedates that significantly. So a few specific examples of the Priestly Blessing in the Psalms of Ascents.

“May Yahweh bless you” (Num 6.24)

The exact wording of the blessing occur twice in the collection and echoes another. “Yahweh bless you” (128.5; 134.3) and “Yahweh ordained his blessing” (133.3). The idea pervades the whole and culminates the with the blessing of being in God’s very Presence.

“Keep you” (Num 6.24)

Psalm 121 states six times in five verse that Yahweh keeps the people using the same words from Numbers 6.24. Yahweh keeps Israel, keeps us from harm, keeps our soul/life, etc. Yahweh is the “Keeper” of Israel. Being “kept” is a powerful and beautiful image.

“Be Gracious” (Num 6.25)

The root for gracious is the key concept in two of the psalms of Ascents, Psalms 123 and 130. “until he is gracious to them” (123.2 -3), “be gracious” (130.2). The entirety of Psalm 130 explores the theme of graciousness. So confident is Israel/Psalmist (under inspiration) of God’s forgiveness that they declare that while Yahweh does “keep” Israel (Ps 121) he does not “keep” or mark or search for our Sin (the Hebrew term is the same, 130.3-4) again playing on the Priestly Blessing.

“And give you Shalom” (Num 6.26)

Shalom occurs seven times through the Songs of Ascents. The Songs open in Psalm 120 recognizing how rare shalom is in God’s vandalized creation. The world is for war but God’s genuine people hunger for shalom (v.7). We pray for the shalom of Jerusalem (122.6-7). Shalom is the divine gift on Jerusalem in 125.5. And note how “blessing” begins 128.5 and “shalom” ends 128.6.

This shalom and blessedness is graphically illustrated in Psalm 133 where the world is just as it should be when God’s children, together in worship, show no signs of the fallen world as they bask in the glorious presence of God.

Everything that we have longed for is given to the Israelite on the basis of Yahweh’s amazing Hesed/grace. As we come to God in the “sanctuary” of the Psalter we too are given this ancient priestly blessing. Jesus our High Priest of the Most High God blesses us:

1) Blesses us with every “Spiritual blessing” (Eph 1.3, this is not a contrast with physical/material but the adjective simply means “of the [Holy] Spirit” “from the [Holy] Spirit”).

2) He “keeps us from falling” (Jude 1.24-25)

3) He “justifies us by his grace” (Titus 3.7, etc)

4) He roots us deeply in shalom (Rom 5.1-2; Eph 2.14; etc)

The Gospel of Luke begins in the Temple of Yahweh. It ends in the Temple of Yahweh. Acts begins in the Temple of Yahweh. The Tamid (daily sacrifice), where the Priestly Blessing is uttered, frames the life of Jesus in Luke’s Story. Luke opens with Zechariah going to offer the sacrifice. It would be his task to offer the Priestly Blessing at its conclusion to the myriads of gathered people waiting in eager expectation. But instead Zechariah is struck silent by the angel. Rather Luke ends his Gospel where he began and it is Jesus who offers the Priestly Blessing to all hearers. This is no accident and I missed it for years because I did not know my Bible (that lack of contextual understanding confessed above). Luke “delays” the blessing until the resurrection and ascension of Jesus. But Luke emphasizes the blessing and in fact mentions it two times. Jesus, he says,

“[Jesus] RAISED HIS HANDS,
and BLESSED THEM.
And as he BLESSED them,
he ascended …” (Luke 24.50-52).

The Priestly Blessing is woven into the fabric of the NT.

I do not know about you, but I have craved to be blessed, longed to be “kept” (when you have been rejected this may take on new meaning!), hungered to be “graced” in the graceless world, and simply to live in shalom. The Messianic life is one that is awash in the very “Old Testament” notion of the Priestly Blessing.

The Songs of Ascents bring Israel – us (Gentiles are grafted into Israel) – into the holy atmosphere of what life is like in the presence of God. Living in the “shadow of God’s wings.”

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 2nd, 2024 at 1:39 pm and is filed under Christian hope, Grace, Jesus, Luke, Psalms, Worship. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.