This Psalm's Not For Us

Psalm 87 is about Zion, the “city of God.” About how it’s such a great city, God’s favorite city, and isn’t it such a great thing to say someone was born there.

Right.

So I was born in the northeast United States, and I’ve never been anywhere near Zion/Jerusalem.

Not pictured: God's favorite city. Image source.

I bet the psalmist had no idea that someday the bible would be translated into every language, and people all over the world would read it, the overwhelming majority of which would never go anywhere near “God’s favorite city.”

What can I say? This psalm’s not for us.

Of course you could interpret “Zion” as a symbol for something all Christians have access to, like heaven or being “born again” or whatever. I think that’s a valid interpretation, given our current ideas about God loving everyone in the world. But I don’t think that’s what the psalmist had in mind.

Here’s the thing. Nowadays, Christians believe that God “accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.” But back then, in the time of the Old Testament, it was “us vs them.” The other nations were BAD, and sometimes God told the Israelites to fight them and kill them- or at the very least, not to interact with them too much. Because they would just be a bad influence.

Ah, but now you’re saying “Hey but what about Rehab? What about Ruth? They were foreigners and they were accepted by God/Israel.” Right. Individual people who chose to leave behind their homes and their own cultures and assimilate into Israel were totally accepted.

But what about keeping one’s own culture and following God? Nope, that wasn’t possible in the Old Testament. That started somewhere around Acts 10 and it blew everyone’s mind. And nowadays, Christian missionaries take the gospel to the ends of the earth by learning about the culture of others and finding aspects that reflect God’s character, finding ways that God is already working, and adapting Christianity to that culture. And I believe God lives and works in every culture and every language in the world. And I believe that’s the heart of Christianity.

So something changed, somewhere between Psalm 86 and now. The religion changed, and I’m glad it did or else I wouldn’t be able to be a Christian. Did God change? Was this change somehow brought about by Jesus’ life and death? How? Why?

Because... what if I read the Old Testament, and every time it mentions “foreigners,” I understand that it’s talking about me? You know, because I’m not Jewish.

For example:

Kill everyone who lives in the land God is giving you. 

Do not marry foreigners.

Unless they were captured in war- then it’s fine. 

For those foreigners who live among you- treat them well.

God rewards foreigners who believe in him and serve him. 

What would God have thought about me if I lived back then?

Fortunately, something changed. 

It really hit me when I first started reading the bible in Chinese: Christianity is not a religion primarily for English-speaking Americans. It’s for everyone, every language, every culture- and it continues to blow my mind as I experience Chinese Christianity and how it’s the same and how it’s different.

Image source.

Something changed. Thank God thank God thank God.

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This post is part of a link-up on the topic of Psalm 87. To read other people's posts, click here: The Inclusivity of God’s Love in the Old Testament.