Family Population Explosion
Psalm 122
Verse 4 That is where the tribes go up—the tribes of the Lord—to praise the name of the Lord according to the statute given to Israel.
With the thought of everyone wanting to belong fresh in our minds, we take another look at who we worship with.
David reminds us in today’s verse that these people that God had commanded to come to worship Him in His chosen city, are for the most part family. God was in essence calling a family reunion of the family of covenant. These people were descendants of Abraham. They represented the grains of sand on the seashore or the stars of heaven which God had promised Abraham would be his family through the future. This family was special in God’s eyes.
The thing that was most special about this family was the One who was their God. God had called them to this land. He had allowed them to live there and then had saved them from distinction by sending Joseph to Egypt ahead of a severe famine so that God’s chosen people would have a place to live and flourish. While in Egypt for 430 years God increased their numbers from 70 (Genesis 46:26-27) to at least 600,000 men (Numbers 1:17-46). That is quite the population explosion in a little over 14 generations!
God is in the business of growing His family. Just think, each time they sang this song on their way to a festival there would be more people heading to the city. God was growing His chorus of praise and He didn’t stop then. On the day of Pentecost, one of the festivals that they had to travel to Jerusalem for, Peter talked about how God had brought His family through the years to the point where they were, having experienced the resurrection of Christ. And on that day God added 3000 to the family (Acts 2:41).
God hasn’t stopped working at growing His family and He isn’t commanding us to go to Jerusalem 3 times a year. But we are required to worship Him with every point of our life. He has commissioned us to join Him on this journey. We are called to reveal Him to those we come in contact with and let His Spirit make the connection to salvation. We serve the almighty God, Father of the Church.
Making It Personal
What does being adopted into God’s family mean to you? Do you take the responsibility of being in the family of God seriously? In what ways are you allowing God to use you for the growth of His family?
Making It Personal Kids
What do you think about being adopted into Jesus’ family? Why is being in Jesus’ family important? Has Jesus made you in a special way to help grow the Christian family?
Closing Prayer
Father, thank You for calling us Your children. Thank You for building Your family to include those of us who are Gentile. Help us follow Your leading to know the truth of building Your kingdom. In Jesus’ name, amen.