Psalm 125:2: Re-Creation – Mountains and Hills
Thursday, April 18, 2024
Throughout sacred scripture we see the importance of high places in our human search for connection and intimacy with God.
I look to the mountains;
where will my help come from? (Psalm 121:1)
The eternal human cry for help is as old as the mountains themselves.
So my sheep wandered over the high hills and the mountains. They were scattered over the face of the earth, and no one looked for them or tried to find them. (Ezekiel 34:6)
God sees the abandoned flock and gathers his sheep when their leaders take them astray.
How wonderful it is to see
a messenger coming across the mountains,
bringing good news, the news of peace!
He announces victory and says to Zion,
“Your God is king!” (Isaiah 52:7)
Still, our human eyes remain on the mountain tops, awaiting the messenger we are promised.
Six days later Jesus took with him Peter and the brothers James and John and led them up a high mountain where they were alone. (Matthew 17:1-8)
Jesus himself climbs to a high place when he visits with Moses and Elijah as a precursor to his own exodus. He takes with him, Peter, James and John to witness his Transfiguration.
They took Jesus to a place called Golgotha, which means “The Place of the Skull.” (Mark 15:22)
As Jesus himself climbs a hill outside Jerusalem to surrender himself to crucifixion, he carries the weight of our fears and anxieties with him.
As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so the Lord surrounds God’s people,
now and forever. (Psalm 125:2)
Just as Jerusalem rests in the circle of God’s mountains, so do we humans rest in the eternal refuge of God’s enormous and endless arms.
Images from: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/829014243887579369/ and https://www.pinterest.com/pin/827536500257900453/
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