The Sons of Korah
Psalm 84:2-7, 10-11
For the director of music. According to gittith. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.
Psalm eighty-four is written by the sons of Korah. There is something about Korah's disgraced family which could not keep them from their divine destiny. They not only led the choir, but they prophesied over the people. Once they had renewed a right relationship with God, there were no limits on their closeness with him.
My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
Might I add that the sons of Korah were in his very presence; "God inhabits the [praises] of his people" according to Psalm 22:3. This means that he comes and makes his home among them. There are multiple recorded effects of God's presence in the Gospels; it is vital to understand these are not due to the lack of his presence but rather the presence of himself. The angel of the Lord rolled away the stone and sat upon it at his resurrection; all the guards became as dead men in Matthew 28:4. The priests went hunting for him in the garden of Gathsemene and asked where Jesus was; when he said, it is I, they all fell over backwards in John 18:6. We should be very careful when we label something supernatural as of God or not when we do not understand. The Spirit himself searches all things according to 1 Corinthians 2:10. There is a tremendous danger in denying the power of God. Even though the sons of Korah ministered in the earthly courts of God, they recognized these as only shadows of the Heavenly. While they understood his presence, they realized it was a shadow of the glory revealed in the fulfillment of Christ. The supernatural can only be revealed in the natural by faith in Hebrews 11:6. You may not see him in the flesh for as Job said his presence cannot be disputed. Now that we see the presence of God, we see the place of the long-suffering. Verse three describes a place near his altar. Psalm 43:4 cross references that with those dwelling at the altar of God who have been through some things.
Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young—a place near your altar, Lord Almighty, my King and my God.
"Even the sparrow" and the swallow have "found a home." These pictures display the innocent and the guilty alike who have found refuge in Christ. Sparrows in that day were sold for nothing; God intends here to keep them forever. Matthew 10:29 makes it clear not even a sparrow falls to the ground that he does not see or care about. The swallow builds nests which resemble giant bee hives; given this, you can see why the swallow may appear to be dangerous. The swallow found a nest which was already built by God Almighty indicating there was nothing harmful about it. The swallow and the sparrow here are guilty of nothing but depending on Christ as they flap through the air, chirping, and waiting for his provision as in Matthew 6:26. The place near the altar of the Lord is a place of shelter, safety, and solitude. From this place those martyred for Christ during the tribulation will cry out for justice according to Revelation 6:10. From this same place Christ will judge the world using the incense of the prayers of the saints offered upon it in Revelation 8:3.
Still, there remains that place up there at the altar of God for his people. The names of God listed here should provide a clue that even in the midst of great adversity God is almighty. The only place found for the birds to nest and raise their young is at the altar of God; even when faced with great injustice and atrocity, God alone is mighty. Look how personal God is. He has not gone on vacation and forgotten about us. He is not like a former politician, who took a golfing vacation every time there was something happening. The Lord my God is almighty. The word almighty means all powerful and in control of everything. Not a thing happens that God has not planned for, that he does not know about, and will not repay for the evil done. "Vengeance is mine" says the Lord in Romans 12:19, "I will repay." Even in the middle of all of this, you can still praise God, in Psalm 16:11. In the presence of the Lord "is the fullness of joy."
Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
The dwelling place of Christ is a place of restoration. It is not the end, but rather the beginning of what should have been a wonderful life. Remember the sparrow who had a nest before the altar of God and a place to raise her young. Who said that even death or the presence of God was an ending? God himself is so good that we cannot help but praise him. There is always a choice between those whose heart is set on pilgrimage and those who chose to follow Christ's divine assignment. When it comes to death, we believers always have a choice; dwelling in his presence and carrying out our divine assignment are not mutually exclusive according to Hebrews 11:15-16. Hebrews 11:10 makes it clear that those who hold this pilgrimage are as those who are strangers; we dwell in this world seeking a city whose founder and builder is God.
As they pass through the Valley of Baka, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
The Valley of Baka is a place of great trouble, hardship, and perhaps even in the shadow of death. Here you can find the bitterness that the children of Israel went through when they had no drinkable water in Exodus 15:23. Yet this is a place where God's grace fills. Because of the cross thrown into the bitter water in that valley, the waters of the situation turned from bitter to sweet. This is how you can say it is made "a place of springs" filled with pools from "the autumn rains." The grace of God can turn barrenness, nothing, and bitterness into a place of plenty and blessing. Not only that, but as you go through God will use you to bless others as well who are going through a similar thing. If you thought this experience was bad, wait until you read the next verse. Such people are described as "going from strength to strength;" it is not our own strength but rather the Lord's. "They that wait upon the Lord" in Isaiah 40:31 will mount up on wings as eagles, they will walk and not be weary they will run and not faint. I do not know about you, but I have a hard time getting from place to place in my own strength. For this reason, any glory in this life is not ours but rather the Lord's. See, this is the power of God. It is not waiting on the Lord alone; rather, in the power of God you rebuke the situation to turn around in his name. For as his children we share in his divine power and nature. My husband loves to call deer onto the road at night while we travel the back ways at unsafe speeds and around blind curves; these creatures actually listen to him when they have never done such to me before. I keep rebuking him in the name of Jesus because such things are dangerous for me. You might laugh but rebuking the devil, the situation, and the people was practiced by the Lord during his earthly ministry according to Matthew 16:23. The power and wisdom of Christ shows us the way even in a valley without much light there and no visible way out.
They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion. Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
Each has an appointed time to appear "before God in Zion." This is not the same for everyone nor is it the business of every person. When the disciples asked God if they could sit on his right and his left in Mark 10:37, Christ said, if they "tarry till I come what is that to" you as in John 21:22. Those places and times were appointed by the Father. Verse ten speaks of the "doorkeeper in the house of" the Lord that would rather not "dwell in the tents of the wicked." There is humor here; yes, God has a sense of humor. Korah's sons were doorkeepers in the house of God prior to their elevation. There is a spiritual principle here of cast down but not forsaken in Psalm 37:24. Whether in or out of God's favor for our own or the actions of others, God does not utterly forsake his people. There is never an outside or an away from God's presence. Make sure it is his place you are in and not one occupied by the enemy or the devil. Given that his Spirit dwells within the believers, there is no place where you can get away from the presence of God as in Psalm 139:7. So no matter what place or position you are in, that thing becomes God's house; this is due to the authority of God on your life because you are there. This is a spiritual principle of inhabitation followed by exaltation in Psalm 22:3.
For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.
Those who trust in him are shielded. How would your life change if you believed that everything was his will, his place, his purpose, and his assignment? How would your circumstances change if you knew the power and authority of God placed in you? You can have power without authority, but you cannot have authority without power. Christ has given you all power and authority in Heaven and earth in Matthew 28:18-20; go therefore as in the great commission. See, the first Adam had power and authority over the earth as in Genesis 2:15. The last Adam has power over men, the supernatural, and the redeemed Adamic mandate to dress the earth and keep it according to 1 Corinthians 15:22. The great commission is about so much more than telling you to win souls. The devil is so wiley he would have you believe that you are so much less in Christ than you really are. Korah's sons are proof of the redeemed power and authority of Christ worked out in their circumstances. The other side of refusing this mandate is seen in Romans 1:21-26 where we see truth exchanged for a lie. Because such people did not want to retain the knowledge of God in their imaginations, their hearts were darkened. They were given over to unnatural desires. So their situations began much as Korah found when he exchanged the truth of God for himself as the leader of the people.