Hello there,
Just a quick thought.
One of the great things about Zion for the people of Israel in the Old Testament was that God dwelt there, both in his temple historically, with the promise of his fuller presence eschatologically. This is fantastic beyond imagining, of course. I was just reading Psalm 132, however, and I came across these lines: “For the Lord has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his resting place: “This is my resting place forever; here I will dwell, for I have desired it” (Psalm 132-13-14).
My question is, what’s in it for God? The Lord of heaven and earth, for whom Jerusalem is just a footstool, desires to rest there. Surely there are better divine rest stops, as nice as Jerusalem may have been in those days. So why does God care?
I have some ideas, but I did say this was just a quick thought. So I’ll just say that the phrase “according to the purpose of his will” comes to mind.
He wants Zion.
-Daniel