Lent Devotional

This is Mike Congrove. Ali and I first attended Fellowship in December 2008. We're in a Life Group, I serve as a Life Group Coach, Ali enjoys MomCo, and I get to work with John Monychol, our South Sudanese missions partner.

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Three times a year, faithful Jewish followers of God went "up" to Jerusalem to celebrate feasts to God (Exodus 23:14-17). In Exodus 23 and 34, God actually commanded every male to participate in all three feasts. On their way up, they would sing Psalms 120 through 134; we call these the Psalms of Ascent.

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The first feast was of Unleavened Bread, connected to Passover. The second was the Feast of the Harvest, and the third was the Feast of Ingathering, also known as the Feast of Booths. Three times each year, as they came up to celebrate God's faithfulness, they would sing Psalm 132. In the first half of the Psalm, their song would remind them of David bringing the Ark of the Covenant from Ephrathah and Jaar to its rightful place in Jerusalem. They would sing a line about exactly what they were doing: "Let's go to the shrine dedication! Let's worship at God's own footstool!" They celebrated God's provision for His people in the wilderness, and they recalled David's heart for keeping God central in his life and the lives of all God's people.

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Then, they looked forward in their song: "always a son to sit on your throne." "I'll shower blessings on the pilgrims who come here, and give supper to those who arrive hungry... I'll make the place radiant for David! I'll fill it with light for my anointed! ... I'll make his crown sparkle with splendor." Like Abraham, they sang of their faith in the coming Messiah.

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In what ways do I see Christ in this passage? Ephrathah is an ancient name for Bethlehem. David's act of bringing the Ark to Jerusalem parallels Christ's birth in Bethlehem and His own ascent to Jerusalem. From the line of David, the Messiah would come. God has kept, and is keeping, His promises and Covenant. Another version reads, "I will satisfy her need with bread. Her priests also I will clothe with salvation." John 6:35 says, "Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger.'" Who has the authority to clothe one with salvation? Only Jesus. As 1 Peter 2:9 says, "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession."

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Finally, the last verse says, "His enemies I will clothe with shame, but upon himself his crown shall shine." He bore our shame; however, Jesus is the King of Kings whose crown shall shine forever.

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How does this passage impact my heart's desire to repent and worship Jesus? The historical layers of God's faithfulness through millennia are overwhelming. It's great having set times to remember and reflect, like this Lenten season. We join the Jewish families who sang this Psalm while ascending to Jerusalem to celebrate God's faithfulness. This calls us to repent and worship Jesus.

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How has He shown faithfulness to you and me? What do we need to remember in our lives or in Scripture? What do we need to look forward to? How might this passage lead us to honor God and bless others? Let's keep this Psalm connected to the three celebrations: Unleavened Bread, the Feast of the Harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering. Let's reflect on God's perfect provision for us and honor and worship Him — even, and especially, if we're in the desert. Let's be like David; if we need to find God in our own Ephrathah/Bethlehem and bring Him to the center of our hearts (Jerusalem), let's do it. And let's sing for joy because we are with Christ in His "resting place forever."