Yes, you may be asking yourselves, "What just happened? I thought we were reading the Bible in 90 days? What's the deal with 96?"
The deal is that I am either math or attention deficited and either or both of those things means I am off a bit! Never to fear, we will journey on! I know that many of you are following the challenge and am hoping you will hang in there as we enter the last half of the Bible!
For today I want to focus a moment on Psalm 121. This is a prayer for one on a journey to Jerusalem. The hills surrounding Jerusalem would hold particular concern for the weary traveler (think Sand People from Star Wars). So an eye towards the hills from one on a journey begs the question, "where would my help come from if something or someone were to get after me?"
The prayer is truly a parable of one's entire life. The Hebrew word for "keep" is "shamar", the word appears 5 times in 8 verses. The amazing thing about how the word is used is how it moves from being used corporately (The Lord keeps Israel) to being used individually (He will keep you from all evil). This is a function that our liturgical worship service attempts to reflect. From the corporateness of a congregation at worship to the individual "This is my body given for you" God who keeps watch over us all as his children is also watching out over you, his child.
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