Psalms 82-84

"A Psalm with a Christmas Twist" - Psalms 82-84

Any way you slice it, Christmas is connected with travel, and for many that travel means going "home". It was Mary and Joseph going back to the his tribal home in Bethlehem. Predictions for 2022 say that 47% of people will travel over the Christmas season.

What is the feeling you get when you think about going home? Are the thoughts of home connected to feeling welcome, loved, safe, and peaceful? Or are the thoughts of going home connected to, well.....other feelings. Maybe the last place on earth you want to go is "home".

Psalm 83 has a great deal of interest for the prophetically and geo-politically minded, but we will not spend too much of our attention on that. Psalm 84 will be some familiar territory, especially if you listen to Christian music. This Psalm has lent itself to many spiritual songs.

If you have had to travel extensively, or live away from family you love, you have experienced homesickness on some level. It's not just the place, but the people and the feeling. Psalm 84 is filled with gut-level longing for the house of God. But not just the house of God, but the God of the house!

While there is no specific context offered, some assume it was written by David while in exile during the rebellion of his son Absalom. What did he miss most? the falafel? His own bed? He missed being in the house of God. This Psalm extends then to those who would make the festival pilgrimage to Jerusalem, with all the anticipation of finding a home and being loved in God's family.

Whether home is a place you love or hate, you can experience a new place of belonging and safety and peace that your heart just longs for -- in the presence of the living and loving God. If you want to know more.....

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