Psalms 24 - Are you ready to climb the Hill ?

Everyone knows Psalm 23, the LORD is my shepherd. But how much do you know the next one ?
Let’s dive a bit into it ? To not lose you over long texts, I’ve divided this study into 3 sections taking inspiration from here - Declaration, Ascension and Celebration.

1. Declaration: The Earth and the World belong to the Lord

The chapter starts like this:

1 The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it,
    the world, and those who live in it,
2 for he has founded it on the seas
    and established it on the rivers. - Psalms 24:1,2

The earth belongs to the LORD, the world and all those who live in it. One starts to wonder why it is written “earth” and “world”. Aren’t they the same? If they are the same thing, Ruach Elohim (Holy Spirit) could have repeated one of these terms. But no, they are different !

Today we use these two words in different contexts. When an athlete does a record at the olympic games it’s ‘world record’ not ‘earth record’, every news channel tells you the ‘world news’ not earth news’. There’s ‘current world state’, ‘world cup’, ‘world war’, ‘world market’, ‘world bank’, ‘world health organization’, ‘world leaders’, ‘world map’ etc. In Hebrew, the word used for world is תֵּבֵל (tēḇēl) which appears 36 times in the old testament.

How about earth ? We use it in a completely different context, for e.g. ‘core of the earth’, ‘earth crust’, ‘earth day’, ‘earth evolution’, ‘gravity of earth’, ‘layers of earth’, ‘magnetic field of earth’, ‘earth orbit’, ‘earthquake’, ‘earth rotation’, ‘earth water percentage’ etc. The word for earth in Hebrew is אֶרֶץ (erets) which appears a staggering 2504 times in the old testament.

Strongs dictionary puts it this way: Earth refers to the land that god created. God named the land Earth even before the first human was created.

And God called the dry land Earth - Genesis 1:10

The world on the other hand is something that God setup on top of earth. This is evident from the first time the word ‘WORLD’ ever appears in the bible.

For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,
    and on them he has set the world. - 1 Samuel 2:8

That’s why terms like world news, world cup often refer to people, the state and the nations that inherit this land. The holy spirit distinguishes world and earth clearly. Everything changes over time - kings die and new kings arise, presidents and prime ministers change, nations split, merge and disappear. It’s called world order. But the earth stands still.

Let’s focus on the part where the Bible says that God has setup the world on top of the pillars of the earth. What does that mean ? If we combine the two verses into an image it looks like this:

So who are these pillars? The Holy Spirit has left clues all over the Bible on who these pillars are.

The 12 tribes of Israel are the pillars.

And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. - Exodus 24:4

Jesus’s disciples were the pillars of God and whoever they gave the right hand (in this case Paul) became a pillar.

and when James and Cephas and John, who were acknowledged pillars, recognized the grace that had been given to me, they gave to Barnabas and me the right hand of fellowship, - Galatians 2:9

The church which gives support and truth to the a generation who seeks after Christ is a pillar.

you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth. - 1 Timothy 3:15

You who are reading this, who has been washed by the blood of the lamb are a pillar on which the world is standing.

I am coming soon; hold fast to what you have, so that no one takes away your crown. If you conquer, I will make you a pillar in the temple of my God; - Revelations 3:11,12

It might be strange to think how come you be a pillar that holds the world ! But the words written by the holy spirit are true. We just have to take it as it is.

To summarize this section, the Earth and it’s fullness, the world and all its people belong to the LORD. You and I are the pillars upon which God has established this world. Not only that, but also because of you, he hasn’t destroyed it yet. Without you and me the sons and daughters of the living God, the world simply wouldn’t be what it is today.

2. Ascending the Holy Hill: The Requirements of Holiness

verse 3 begins like this:

Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
    And who shall stand in his holy place? - verse 3

What is this hill that David is talking about ? There’s only one hill that Jews all across the world talk, dream, aspire and yearn for all the time. It’s the hill in which the city of Jerusalem stands. On the city of Jerusalem, there’s another special hill called Mount Zion or Mount Moriah upon which the Holy Temple once stood. Climbing the hill is a pilgrimage, a ritual, a cleansing act for any Israelite and it’s called Aliyah. It is traditionally described as “the act of going up”. Today Israel has a whole immigration process setup with the same name where jews who live in any part of the world can claim their jewish heritage and perform the Aliyah to go to Israel and become a citizen .

In the early days, when people go up the hills of Jerusalem, they are going towards holiness, seeking the face of the LORD of HOSTS which means when they stand on the holy hill, i.e. Mount Moriah i.e. the hill of the LORD, they are required to be holy.

Those who have clean hands and pure hearts,
    who do not lift up their souls to what is false
    and do not swear deceitfully. - verse 4

When David was writing this psalm, he had just gone through a traumatic event. David after he became the king of Israel wanted to bring the Ark of the LORD i.e. the mercy seat where the LORD dwells to Jerusalem. He starts his mission in the best manner:

David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. David and all the people with him set out and went from Baale-judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord of hosts who is enthroned on the cherubim. They carried the ark of God on a new cart and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart  with the ark of God, and Ahio went in front of the ark. David and all the house of Israel were dancing before the Lord with all their might, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals. - 2 Samuel 6:1-5

So David prepared thirty thousand man, a great worship session with the best instruments, the best dancers and everything he could get his hands on to start the Aliyah to Jerusalem accompanied with the Ark of the LORD.

When they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen lurched. The anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him there, and he died there beside the ark of God. - 2 Samuel 6: 6,7

But God stuck this man Uzzah who reach out to save the ark of God from falling because the Oxen stumbled. And David was angry.

David was angry because Yahweh had punished Uzzah - 2 Samuel 6:8

So whose fault was it ? Was it Uzzah ? Was it David ? Was it The LORD Yahweh’s fault?

At times like this when things don’t go according to your plan, even though you have put in prayer, fasting and submitted it completely to the LORD, are you getting angry just like David did here? I certainly do. While David was angry, he also felt something else…

David was also afraid of what else Yahweh would do to punish them, so he said, “How can I take the sacred chest with me to Jerusalem? /I am afraid to take the sacred chest with me to Jerusalem.” - 2 Samuel 6:9

David was also afraid of what else can happen. He decides to abandon the Aliyah and leaves the Ark nearby.

So he did not want to take the sacred chest to Jerusalem. Instead, they took it to another place; they took it to the house of Obed-Edom, from Gath city. They left the sacred chest in the house of Obed-Edom for three months, and during that time Yahweh blessed Obed-Edom and his family. - 2 Samuel 6:10

And that’s why David is writing this section in Psalm 24 from verse 3 till 6

3 Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
    And who shall stand in his holy place?
4 Those who have clean hands and pure hearts,
    who do not lift up their souls to what is false
    and do not swear deceitfully.
5 They will receive blessing from the Lord
    and vindication from the God of their salvation.
6 Such is the company of those who seek him,
    who seek the face of the God of Jacob.

But David simply doesn’t stop there. In our spiritual lives, when we journey towards the heavenly Jerusalem, there might be setbacks. There might be days where the LORD’s anger is kindled against us, though he is all merciful and all loving. Our will to go climb the hill accompanied by worship and praises might not be god’s will. Do we abandon our Aliyah ? Do we just say ‘I quit’? I won’t for sure and certainly David didn’t.

Later, people told David, “Yahweh has blessed Obed-Edom and his family because he is taking care of the sacred chest!” When David heard that, he and some other men went to Obed-Edom’s house, and very joyfully brought the sacred chest from there to Jerusalem. - 2 Samuel 6:12

So how did David do it right this time?

David realized that the Ark of covenant i.e. the Ark where the LORD dwells, since the time it was built can only be carried by hands and only by the levites no matter the distance. David learnt this. We see the events unfolding in 1 Chronicles 15

David said, “Only the descendants of Levi are permitted to carry God’s Sacred Chest, because they are the ones whom God chose to carry it and to serve him forever.” - 1 Chronicles 15:2

After he learnt this, he immediately summons whole Israel, the descendants of the first high priest Aaron and the levites

David summoned all the people of Israel to come to Jerusalem. He wanted the Sacred Chest of Yahweh to be put in the place that he had made for it. He summoned the descendants of Aaron, who was the first Supreme Priest, and the other descendants of Levi. - 1 Chronicles 15:3,4

Christian life is always about making things right with God’s help and David did just that. He wanted the ark in Jerusalem very fast and had opted for the oxen but God requires clean hands and pure heart more than shouts of praises and the priest being cleansed with offerings of animals and with their white linen robe were the only people who could do that at that time.

David said to them, “You are the leaders of the clans descended from Levi. You and the other descendants of Levi must purify yourselves, in order to be able to do this special work for Yahweh. You must bring the Sacred Chest of Yahweh, the God of us Israelis, up to the place that I have made for it here in Jerusalem. The first time that we tried to bring it, we did not ask Yahweh how it should be carried. You descendants of Levi were not the ones who carried it, so Yahweh our God punished us.” - 1 Chronicles 15:12,13

But today, God has sacrificed his own Jesus on the altar for us and has sprinkled his blood upon us making us priests with clean hands and a pure heart.

and he has made us to be priests who serve God his Father - Revelations 1:6

So we can perform the Aliyah and we no longer require any priest because our Jesus is the great high priest himself

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God - Hebrews 4:14

3. Celebration: The Triumphal Entry of the King of Glory

And finally when David’s Aliyah reaches Jerusalem, the gates of the city open and David declares this wonderful closing section:

7 Lift up your heads, O gates!
    and be lifted up, O ancient doors,
    that the King of glory may come in!
8 Who is the King of glory?
    The Lord, strong and mighty,
    the Lord, mighty in battle.
9 Lift up your heads, O gates!
    and be lifted up, O ancient doors,
    that the King of glory may come in!
10 Who is this King of glory?
    The Lord of hosts,
    he is the King of glory.

It’s a dream fulfilled right there for David. It’s his heart’s desire fulfilled. That man saw the LORD’s anger, the LORD’s wrath, death and all his plans spoiled and it made him look like a fool in front of the whole nation. But he didn’t not stop. He persisted. He persevered. He studied the Bible and sought the LORD to understand where he went wrong. He went back to the LORD’s will instead of his own will. He did according to way the LORD wanted and not what he desired. Thats why the LORD said this about David:

the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart - 1 Samuel 13:14

The T4T translation puts it even better

Yahweh is seeking for a man to be king who will be just the kind of person that he wants him to be - 1 Samuel 13:14 (T4T)

A man after God’s own heart. A man who will adopt what God wants to be his life plan. A man who put’s God’s will above his. A man who will never quit but persevere even when he’s ashamed or when armies or after his head. A man who will not bow down to anyone. A lone wolf !!

And how does God reward him ? He decides to be born in his bloodline.

When you persevere and persist, when you don’t give up, the King of Glory will come into your heart. When you search for the truth, when you dwell upon the word, he will restore your soul and you will declare - “Open up the gates, my soul, for the king of glory wants to come in”. He is the “LORD of HOSTS” which translates to the LORD of armies, the LORD of heaven, the LORD of sun, moon and the stars, the LORD of an organized army and when he opens the gates of your soul and come in, can anything survive? Can your enemies stand? Can your sin stand ? Seek him, climb up the hill to to him and when setbacks come, pause and seek him again, climb again and go find him. Repeat it again and again for your God is worth it !!