Good Morning Yamon Ki Yesepar;
Psalms 137:3b-4: “Sing us one of the songs of Zion. How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land.”
Someone recently asked me the question as to why Jerusalem is sometimes called Zion. I hate when someone asks me a question for which I have no answer.
Zion has been a word used for not only Jerusalem, but the land of Israel as well. Generally the term Zion came to designate the area of Jerusalem where the fortress of the Jebusites stood on the Mt. of Zion. After David conquered the fortress it was named the City of David but also took the name after the mountain, Zion. The site and the name Zion later became a metonym for Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem. Later the city of Jerusalem was called Zion and soon the entire Promise Land was called Zion.
In the 1800’s a man named Theodore Hertzel had this crazy idea that the Jews should have their own land and country. Everyone told Hertzel he was crazy. Before long Hertzel became convinced that having such an idea really meant he was crazy so he went to see a psychologist. He said: “Doc, I think I am going crazy because I just can’t get this idea of the Jews having their own land and country out of my head.” The psychologist put his notebook down and said: “Theodore, I don’t think you’re crazy, once more I think it is a great idea and I want to help you.” So started, a movement that became known as the Zionist movement or Zionism. Simply, it is a movement and an ideology that supports a homeland for the Jewish people in the Land of Israel.
The Jewish longing for Zion, starting with the deportation and enslavement of Jews during the Babylonian captivity, was adopted as a metaphor by Christianized Black slaves. Thus, Zion symbolizes a longing by wandering peoples for a safe homeland.
For others, it has taken on a more spiritual meaning – a safe spiritual homeland, like heaven, or a kind of peace of mind in one’s present life.
The Septuagint attributes Psalm 137 as a Psalm of David, but that can not be as David was never in Exile to Babylon. The Talmud attributes this Psalm to Jeremiah and that would fit nicely for the “weeping prophet.” The writer is asked to sing a song “siru lanu misiur” “Sir” is a joyful song sung with a musical instrument. Most likely the people were asking the writer to sing a Psalm of David, a joyful song in praise and worship of God, celebrating His protection and deliverance. But the write replies: “How shall we sing a song of Jehovah on foreign soil.” It is significant to understand that the writer is asked to sing a song of Zion and he responds by calling it a song of Jehovah. Then in the next verse he refers to the land as Jerusalem and not Zion. It is apparent that when the writer uses Zion here he is referring to the temple where the Ark of the Covenant had once rested and it was the Ark of the Covenant where the presence of God rested.
How can one sing a joyful song when in exile, far from the presence of God? Ever feel like that. You lose your job, a relationship goes South, you receive a phone call with bad news and suddenly you feel like you are in exile from the presence of God. You can not sing a joyful song when you are removed from the presence of God. Yet, for us today, the presence of God does not rest on the Ark of the Covenant or in Zion, but it is within us. We are Zion.
Our pastor showed us a brief clip from the movie “Get Smart” this morning in church. Maxwell Smart fell out of a plane without a parachute. Agent 99 put on a parachute and jumped out after him and caught him. As they were descending Maxwell Smart kept shouting, “Aim for the haystack, we need a soft landing.” And then he chided Agent 99: “You missed the haystack.” Our pastor pointed out how, rather than be thankful Agent 99 rescued him, Maxwell Smart was just focused on his landing. So often when we get that bad news and feel like we are in exile, and when we got through a tribulation we tend to stay focused on our landing, rather than expressing gratitude toward the Father who is rescuing us. We forget to be thankful that Zion is within us and we can sing a song of Jehovah, even in a foreign land.
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