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Ascension definition bible12/15/2023 ![]() ![]() The temple exists so that the dwelling place of God could, at least in some fashion, be with humanity again. But even the second temple was not the main goal. Yet the temple was never an end in itself. How do you encourage people to “go up” when the temple is no longer present? Are they now called to a pilgrimage unto emptiness? Will God be angry at us forever? Is God’s covenant with David still in force? Has the Davidic covenant failed because of our sin? These questions and many more would have permeated the post-exilic community. The temple has been destroyed, the walls of your city are nothing but ruins, the rebuilding process has begun, but questions still linger. Imagine that you have been years in exile, booted out of your land because of your disobedience. If the psalms are structured intentionally, and it would be hard to argue they are not, then we must ask why an editor would have compiled these psalms in such a way? Why are these particular psalms set apart from the others? What story do they tell? This may give us a clue as to the story they tell. The first seven have two Davidic Psalms and five new ones which are anonymous, then the psalm authored by Solomon, and then another grouping of seven with two more Davidic psalms and five more anonymous psalms. Several decades ago, Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg noticed a pattern in the authorship of these psalms. ![]() King David wrote four of them, ten of them are anonymous, and the one written by Solomon ( Psalm 127) holds the central position in these psalms. The various authors may also give the reader a clue as to the intention of those who compiled these psalms. An exilic and postexilic editing of the ‘pilgrim’ songs seems evident in view of the inclusion in Book V of psalms clearly composed both during and after the exile ( Ps. One psalm specifically refers to the “going up” to Jerusalem ( Ps. “There seems to be no good reason not to understand the phrase as arising out of both the annual pilgrimages to Jerusalem and the return to Jerusalem from the exile. Palmer Robertson is likely correct in seeing a combination of these options: Others also see this as an ascent back to Jerusalem from exile. Jerusalem, positioned on a hill, meant that any surrounding villagers would have to be “going up” in order to worship at the temple. Most scholars, though, believe that the ascent is referring to the Israelites pilgrimage during the three annual feasts (see Deuteronomy 16:16). This has led some to believe that the fifteen psalms are representative of the fifteen steps leading up to the temple in Jerusalem. What does ascent refer to? The word itself can refer to steps as well as to a pilgrimage ascent. The Hebrew term is maʿalot which means “going up.” ![]() Each is called “a song of ascent” at the beginning of the psalm. They are named this because of the phrase appearing before each psalm in Psalms 120-134. ![]() The Psalms of Ascent(s) have also been called the Song of Degrees, the Pilgrim Songs, as well as the Gradual Psalms. These psalms hold an important place within the story of God’s redemption. These psalms (120-134) are all about getting back home-they are about dwelling with God. Along this journey from displaced to finally dwelling with God we find a group of fifteen psalms known as the Psalms of Ascent. ![]()
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