Mount Zion: The Mountain of God

Psalm 48:1-3: Great is the Lord, and most worthy of praise, in the city of our God, his holy mountain. Beautiful in its loftiness, the joy of the whole earth, like the heights of Zaphon[b] is Mount Zion, the city of the Great King. God is in her citadels; he has shown himself to be her fortress.

In my devotional reading today, I meditated on Psalm 48. It is a beautiful passage that describes God abiding with His people in Mount Zion. As I did more background research, I learned that unlike many other "mountains of gods" like Olympus, Zaphon, or Kythnos. Mount Zion in comparison seems how should I best say it...unspectacular. All the other "mountains of gods" are thousands upon thousands of feet tall with snowy summits and craggy peaks. They are mysterious and majestic and dangerous to climb. However, Mount Zion is not really that impressive compared to other mountains. In fact, its more like a hilltop inside of Jerusalem. In fact, its only about 2,000 feet above sea level and not nearly as grandiose as the giant "mountains of gods" that were previously mentioned. So what is special about Mount Zion then?

The word "Zion" in the Bible is almost always a symbolic metaphor to describe the "kingdom of God coming soon". Zion was the symbol and picture of God's dominion and kingship over the whole earth. The presence of God in a human city of Jerusalem was proof of God's covenant between God and Israel as well as the rest of the world. Thus, in many ways, I am thankful that God did not choose a Mount Olmpus or Zaphon as His Holy place. Rather than remain a remote and mysterious, God chose to be "Immanuel" who is "God with us". God chose to be born in a humble manger, live with us, walk with us, and show us the way to spend eternity with Him if we choose to do so!

Psalm 48:9-15: Within your temple, O God, we meditate on your unfailing love. Like your name, O God, your praise reaches to the ends of the earth; your right hand is filled with righteousness. Mount Zion rejoices, the villages of Judah are glad because of your judgments. Walk about Zion, go around her, count her towers, consider well her ramparts, view her citadels, that you may tell of them to the next generation. For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end.