20150216 Monday, February 16 2015
Psalm 086: What Did King David Really Say About Zion?

by Wayne Blank
See also 1 Year Holy Bible Reading Plan

"All nations whom Thou hast made shall come and worship before Thee, O Lord; and shall glorify Thy Name"

Jerusalem has had a long history. It also has an Eternal future (see the study series for Jerusalem in the Fact Finder question below).

Amazingly however, Jerusalem was not an Israelite city through the entire eras of Joshua (see Israel In History and Prophecy: Joshua) and the Judges (see Israel In History and Prophecy: The Judges and Why Did The Jews Burn Jerusalem?) when the Israelites took possession of the Promised Land. Nor was it an Israelite city during the Civil War when the Israelite monarchy was established at the end of the Judges era - Saul's capital was north or Jerusalem, while David's capital was south of Jerusalem, at Hebron (see Why Didn't David And Saul Fight For Jerusalem?).

Jerusalem only became an Israelite city when David captured it from the Jebusites at the time that he became the king of the united kingdom of Israel (see How Long Was Jerusalem The Capital Of Israel?). David later purchased the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite - the site known today as the Temple Mount (see Why Did King David Purchase The Temple Mount?).

"5:1 Then came all the tribes of Israel to David unto Hebron, and spake, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh. 5:2 Also in time past, when Saul was king over us, thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel: and the LORD said to thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be a captain over Israel.

5:3 So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron; and king David made a league with them in Hebron before the LORD: and they anointed David king over Israel.

5:4 David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. 5:5 In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months: and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years over all Israel and Judah.

5:6 And the king and his men went to Jerusalem unto the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land: which spake unto David, saying, Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither: thinking, David cannot come in hither. 5:7 Nevertheless David took the strong hold of Zion: the same is the city of David.

5:8 And David said on that day, Whosoever getteth up to the gutter, and smiteth the Jebusites, and the lame and the blind, that are hated of David's soul, he shall be chief and captain. Wherefore they said, The blind and the lame shall not come into the house. 5:9 So David dwelt in the fort, and called it the city of David. And David built round about from Millo and inward." (2 Samuel 5:1-9 KJV)

"Zion" is a translation of the Hebrew word, pronounced tsee-yone, which originally meant an elevated place, or height, with an applied meaning to be bright. Elevated places are naturally more exposed to sunlight and therefore are often seen "shining" from lower elevations, but the meaning is also perceived in its ultimate purpose in such verses as:

"50:2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined" (Psalm 50:2 KJV).

"Zion" was the name given to one of the highest hills in Jerusalem. Mount Zion is slightly higher than Mount Moriah (the "Temple Mount"), while the nearby Mount of Olives is slightly higher still. It was, literally, a natural place for a ruler to be sited - just was, and is, the nearby four-winds "threshing floor" that became the Temple Mount.

It is from "Zion" that the Messiah will rule the world after His return. The "city of peace" (see Salem In History And Prophecy) will become the Capital of the Planet of Peace, "for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem" from which "he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more."

"4:1 But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. 4:2 And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 4:3 And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." (Micah 4:1-3 KJV)

King David very-well understood the meaning of Zion and how it has always been about the Messiah's coming rule (see The Prophecy Of King David's Messianic Throne). As stated by the other true prophets, "All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name."

"86:1 A Prayer of David.

Bow down thine ear, O LORD, hear me: for I am poor and needy. 86:2 Preserve my soul; for I am holy: O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee. 86:3 Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily. 86:4 Rejoice the soul of thy servant: for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.

86:5 For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee. 86:6 Give ear, O LORD, unto my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications. 86:7 In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me.

86:8 Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy works. 86:9 All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name. 86:10 For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone.

86:11 Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name. 86:12 I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore. 86:13 For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell. 86:14 O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul; and have not set thee before them.

86:15 But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth. 86:16 O turn unto me, and have mercy upon me; give thy strength unto thy servant, and save the son of thine handmaid. 86:17 Shew me a token for good; that they which hate me may see it, and be ashamed: because thou, LORD, hast holpen me, and comforted me." (Psalm 86:1-17 KJV)

Fact Finder: For a complete study series for Jerusalem (the links to all of the studies are listed in each study), see the study below.
See A History Of Jerusalem: In The Beginning