Psalm 84
This Psalm is unique in the fact that it was written by the sons of Korah, the sons of Korah were part of the tribe of Levi who was set apart to be priests and ministers in the Tabernacle. If you were born into the tribe of Levi you had no choice but to do what the Lord had commanded them to do. From the age of 20 years to the age of 50years they did what the Lord had commanded them to do. Today among certain Christian people there are controversies about what the government can tell what to do, they believe they believe that they have rights and no one can tell them what to do. If the same attitude had been found in the tribe of Levi then there would only be a few priests and the tabernacle could not function. This is why I was taken by surprise by the title of this psalm “The blessings of dwelling in the house of God “, while the sons of Korah could have felt that life was not fair because they had no choice, they discovered the blessings of obedience. This also applies to our life, there is also a great reward for obedience even if it is not what I want to do. This psalm is so special, now look at Verse 1 which says “How lovely is Your Tabernacle O Lord of Hosts! The sons of Korah saw it as a privilege to be in the Tabernacle, they saw how it was made and its reason for being there and found it to be a beautiful experience. Interestingly, the word lovely could be translated to the word ‘Loved’, this places a different understanding of the psalm for it is saying not just talking about the temple’s physical appearance even though that was outstanding, it is talking about how the tabernacle affected those who ministered in it. Those people had an appreciation of what God was providing for them. There is a danger that we can only be impacted by superficial things when we come to church instead of our spirits being changed. Verse 2 reinforces the wonder of the psalmist: “My soul longs, yes even faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God”. The word could be translated to ‘My whole being’ or ‘My innermost being’ which describes that part of us that determines the outcome of how we live? This is why we cannot be too passionate about the presence of the Lord. The verse goes on to say ‘My soul faints’ this is a very challenging statement because in the natural we can faint because of the lack of sustenance or we can faint because of overexertion, I suspect the psalmist is talking about the latter for he is passionate for the presence of the Lord. The verse goes on to say ‘My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God ’. He wanted a live experience with the Lord and I can say that has sustained me over the years – by having a daily experience with the living Lord.