“Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? And who may stand in His holy place? … Lift up your heads, O gates, and be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in! Who is the King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O gates, and lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in! Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah” (Psa 24:3, 7-10).
David asks two important questions in Psalm 24: “Who can go up?” and “Who is coming in?” To appreciate these questions, we must first see that David describes the world as God’s temple. The use of the verb “to found” in Psalm 24:2 carries strong connotations of temple construction in the Hebrew Bible (see 1 Kings 5:17 [31]; 6:37; 7:10; Isa 44:28; Ezek 41:8; Zech 4:9; 8:9; Psa 78:69; 2 Chr. 3:3; 24:27). David’s description of God’s holy place, that is, the Holy of Holies on a mountain (Psa 24:3), also draws on images of Eden and Mount Sinai.
With this temple imagery as the backdrop, we begin to feel the full force of David’s questions. He first asks, “Who in this world is able to go up to this Sinai-like mountain?” Before we answer too quickly, let us consider his second question. Who is the King of Glory who is about to come through the ancient gates to dwell in His temple? It is the LORD Himself.
Only now does the weight of the question settle in. Who can ascend that cloud-covered, glory-filled, perfectly holy mountain? Only one with “clean hands,” a “pure heart,” and one who always speaks the truth (Psa 24:4). It is no wonder that the people of Israel feared to go up and begged Moses to go up on their behalf (Exod 20:18-21). This psalm leads us to long for a high priest who will not only go up for us, but also make it possible for us to go up, to transform a people called “Jacob” (a name associated with grasping and deception) into a people called “Jeshurun” (a name that evokes uprightness and integrity; see Deut 32:15; 33:5, 26; Isa 44:2). And this priest’s name is Yeshua, for he will “save his people from their sins.”
Where is the Promise of His Coming?
Join us on Friday, June 12, and Saturday, June 13, at Brookhaven Church in McKinney, Texas, for our Lamb & Lion Ministries annual Bible prophecy conference!
Details and Registration: https://t.co/fd5z1U2fgA