eschatology, God's Dwelling Place (Ps.132)

This psalm ends with a tiny description of the Millennium, and begins with a description of how much king David wanted to provide a temple for the Lord...

(Psalm 132:1-5)  Remember, O Lord, on David’s behalf,
All his affliction;
2 How he swore to the Lord
And vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,
3 “Surely I will not enter my house,
Nor lie on my bed;
4 I will not give sleep to my eyes
Or slumber to my eyelids,
5 Until I find a place for the Lord,
A dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”

About building a temple, God sent David a message which he passed along to the people...


(1 Chronicles 28:2-8)  Then King David rose to his feet and said, “Listen to me, my brethren and my people; I had intended to build a permanent home for the ark of the covenant of the Lord and for the footstool of our God. So I had made preparations to build it. 3 But God said to me, ‘You shall not build a house for My name because you are a man of war and have shed blood.’ 4 Yet, the Lord, the God of Israel, chose me from all the house of my father to be king over Israel forever.  For He has chosen Judah to be a leader; and in the house of Judah, my father’s house, and among the sons of my father He took pleasure in me to make me king over all Israel. 5 Of all my sons (for the Lord has given me many sons), He has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel. 6 He said to me, ‘Your son Solomon is the one who shall build My house and My courts; for I have chosen him to be a son to Me, and I will be a father to him. 7 I will establish his kingdom forever if he resolutely performs My commandments and My ordinances, as is done now.’ 8 So now, in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the Lord, and in the hearing of our God, observe and seek after all the commandments of the Lord your God so that you may possess the good land and bequeath it to your sons after you forever. 

Just as David reminds everyone of the Davidic covenant in the scripture above, a reminder of the Davidic covenant is found in this psalm starting in verse 11...

 (Psalm 132:10-12)  For the sake of David Your servant,
Do not turn away the face of Your anointed.
11 The Lord has sworn to David
A truth from which He will not turn back:
“Of the fruit of your body I will set upon your throne.
12 “If your sons will keep My covenant
And My testimony which I will teach them,
Their sons also shall sit upon your throne forever.”

As we've been seeing (and the Bible is VERY consistent in all things) - it will take a perfectly obedient king in order to fulfill the Davidic covenant, and that King - is Jesus - the Son of God, as well as a legitimate descendant of king David.  Because the Israelites rejected Jesus as their King, they crucified Him.  This was to accomplish His work on the cross which provided a new covenant - everlasting salvation - to all those who believe (past, present, future).   Unbelieving Israelites in the Tribulation will see the signs (the judgments), then believe and cry out for their Messiah's return.  Jesus will come again at the end of the Tribulation to sit on the throne to establish the Millennial kingdom and fulfill all covenants...

 (Psalm 132:13-17)  For the Lord has chosen Zion;
He has desired it for His habitation.
14 “This is My resting place forever;
Here I will dwell, for I have desired it.
15 “I will abundantly bless her provision;
I will satisfy her needy with bread.
16 “Her priests also I will clothe with salvation,
And her godly ones will sing aloud for joy.
17 “There I will cause the horn of David to spring forth;
I have prepared a lamp for Mine anointed...”

Today's takeaway:  bear with me as my mind is being blown away by how huge and awesome God is!  The main idea is this - that as we give just as much as we are able, it is pitiful in comparison to what God is able to do through us when we really listen and follow His directions.  But ultimately - so very pitiful in comparison to what God is able to do and WANTS to do for us.

I'm going to use the temple as an example.  We recently read through the scriptures where the temple is rebuilt.  This is how it went when the people tried as best possible...

(Ezra 3:8a, 9-10a, 12)  Now in the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem in the second month... 9 ...Jeshua with his sons and brothers stood united with Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah and the sons of Henadad with their sons and brothers the Levites, to oversee the workmen in the temple of God.  10 Now when the builders had laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord... 12 ...many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ households, the old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, while many shouted aloud for joy...

Obviously the second temple was not as glorious as the first one, which Solomon built using the incredible wealth that God had blessed him with.  Or the very first "temple" which was in a tent.  when God gave specific directions and filled the workers with the Holy Spirit...


(Exodus 36:1)  “Now Bezalel and Oholiab, and every skillful person in whom the Lord has put skill and understanding to know how to perform all the work in the construction of the sanctuary, shall perform in accordance with all that the Lord has commanded.”

And yet nothing involving us and our talents could ever compare to what God can do.  God created the universe, after all.  In the Millennium, Jesus will replenish the earth and rebuild the temple.  HEAVEN - is just going to be something we cannot even imagine!

Meanwhile, because of Jesus' work on the cross, when we become Christians...

(1 Corinthians 6:19-20)  ...do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.

Even more mind-blowing - is God's grace!  David understood this...

(Psalm 51:10-12)  Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.  11 Do not cast me away from Your presence  And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.  12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation And sustain me with a willing spirit.

It is NOT our works, but HIS works that save us.  And it is us allowing HIM to WORK IN US which will produce the best, most powerful life-changing results ever...

(2 Corinthians 4:7-18)  But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; 8 we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing;  9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;  10 always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. 11 For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So death works in us, but life in you.  13 But having the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed, therefore I spoke,” we also believe, therefore we also speak,  14 knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and will present us with you. 15 For all things are for your sakes, so that the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God.  16 Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. 17 For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, 18 while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.