Welcomed at God’s table
Many people think God’s primary concern for us is rule-keeping when it’s really our personal character: the kind of values we live by and the kind of people we’re becoming.
A David psalm.
1 What kind of person do you welcome
to stay in your tent, YHWH?
Who may live on your holy hill?
2 A person of integrity
who does what’s right
and speaks truth from the heart.
3 Who doesn’t slander
harm their neighbor
or hurt their reputation.
4 Who loathes depraved people
and honors God-fearers.
Who keeps their oaths—no matter what—
refusing to go back on their word.
5 Who lends to the poor
without charging interest
and refuses to rob the innocent of justice
for a bribe.
The person who lives like this
will never be shaken.
In the ancient world, entrance liturgies listed the external rites required for admission to the god’s sanctuary and ended with a threat if the conditions weren’t met. By contrast, David focuses entirely on the moral character and behavior needed for inclusion in God’s household. And David closes with a promise, not a threat.
The tabernacle wasn’t just the tent devoted to God’s worship. It was also God’s royal residence. Every Israelite was called to be God’s servant, and kings in the ancient world included their most devoted servants in their household, as Saul included David in his. Inclusion in a royal household promised face-to-face encounters with the king, whose munificence could be life changing. So, asking what kind of servant God looks for is vital.
Broadly, God looks for people who seek his favor and, implicitly, seek his forgiveness when they fall short. The tabernacle, after all, is where God forgives sins. While his standards are high, he doesn’t demand perfection and knows we can’t love our neighbor in our own strength.
What specific qualities does God look for? David alternates between positive and negative characteristics, being equally important. Positively, God welcomes those who have integrity, do what’s right, speak honestly, loathe the loathsome, honor the God-fearing, and keep their word. Negatively, they don’t slander, harm others, gossip, take advantage of the vulnerable, or take bribes to pervert justice.
David’s underlying point is that we can know what to expect of YHWH, who never cuts deals with evildoers or withdraws his welcome to those who, by his grace, live as the psalm describes. Because of his own brokenness, Saul withdrew his welcome to David, making David flee for his life. Canaan’s gods were similarly capricious. But not YHWH, says David: his people can be confident that whoever loves him and their neighbor like this will never fall from his favor.[1]
Prayer:
Lord, you ask me to present myself a living sacrifice, even as Jesus did. Help me to see as he saw, love what he loved, hate what he hated, and please you in all I do. Make me holy as you are holy, so I may know the joy of serving in your kingdom and feasting at your table. Amen.
In your free moments today, meditate on these words:
The person who lives like this
will never be shaken.
[1] David’s promise completes the Psalter’s progression from the threat of being shaken in Psalm 13:6 and the observation that God sides with those who seek him in Psalm 14:5.
