PILGRIM S JOURNEY A Devotional Journey of Trust and Obedience REVISED EDITION

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2 A PILGRIM S JOURNEY C A Devotional Journey of Trust and Obedience REVISED EDITION MARC TURNAGE

3 Copyright 2016 by Marc Turnage ALL RIGHTS RESERVED This is a revised edition. The original work was published in Published by Salubris Resources 1445 N. Boonville Ave. Springfield, Missouri No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Cover and interior design by Prodigy Pixel ( Unless otherwise specified, all Scripture quotations are the author s own translation. Scripture quotations marked niv are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc. ISBN: Printed in the United States of America

4 DAY 1 SETTING YOUR HEART ON PILGRIMAGE Woe is me, that I am an alien in Meshech, that I must live among the tents of Kedar. p s a l m 120:5 The Psalms of Ascent (Ps ) eventually became psalms recited by Jewish pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem to appear before the Lord. Psalm 120 provides an appropriate opening to the Psalms of Ascent because the psalmist uses geographic isolation from Jerusalem to describe his feelings of being removed far from Jerusalem and the God of peace while dwelling among people of violence in a world of chaos. With this recognition, the psalmist decides to free himself from his current state and move toward God and Jerusalem. Meshech most likely refers to a region in the far north of Israel, south of the Black Sea. The inhabitants of the region were a warlike mountain people (Gen. 10:2; Ezek. 32:26). Kedar refers to the nomadic tribes of the Arabian desert far to the southeast of the land of Israel and Jerusalem. Within the ancient Near East, the Kedarenes were regarded as specialists in bowmanship. Riding on their camels, they were feared raiders who attacked villages, murdering and plundering (Isa. 21:13 17; Jer. 49:28 33). 7 DESERT IN THE SPRING TK QUOTE OR SCRIPTURE OR SOMETHING

5 A PILGRIM S JOURNEY The psalmist doesn t use these two geographic locations to describe his concrete physical location but to articulate his emotional perspective of being at the end of his known world, surrounded by warlike peoples and the forces of chaos. While Meshech and Kedar represented the borders of the world of the psalmist, they also embodied locations removed from Jerusalem, the center of the world for Israelites. The psalmist feels surrounded by chaos and violence and removed from Zion and God. Yet he reminds himself of the past, when in his distress he called to the Lord and the Lord answered him (Ps. 120:1). He feels out-of-lockstep with his world, dwelling among those who hate peace, yet he is for peace (vv. 6 7). At the same time, he feels tainted by the chaos and violence that surround him (vv. 2, 6). In verse 6, he expresses a desire to break free from his surroundings and move toward Jerusalem, the city of peace (Ps. 122), and toward God. A pilgrimage isn t merely a trip to a parcel of holy ground; rather, it begins with recognizing how far the world around us removes us from the God of peace. With this realization, we begin the process of freeing ourselves from the oppression of this world and moving toward Jerusalem and God in either a physical or metaphorical sense. In the ancient world, people living outside of Jerusalem generally only made the pilgrimage to Jerusalem once in their lives. Such a journey wasn t something they approached frivolously. They prepared themselves both before embarking and along the way to appear before the God of Israel. The writer of Psalm 120 recognized that often the world we live in and the people around us influence us and create a sense of separation from God. We find ourselves in the midst of chaos, 8

6 DAY ONE feeling like we re at the end of our world. Any pilgrimage begins with a conscious decision to move from where we are to where we cried out to God and He answered us, even from the ends of the earth (Ps. 61:2 3). SCRIPTURE READINGS: Read Psalms 120 and 61. Describe a time when you felt distant from God. What did you do or should you do to draw closer to God? Why do you think the idea of pilgrimage was important in ancient times? How do you think a pilgrimage to the land of the Bible will change you? PRAYER Lord, when I am troubled, hear my cry and answer me. When I am caught up in the worries of this life, deliver me. When I am far from You, draw me close. When I feel there is distance, let me feel Your peaceful embrace. 9

7 DAY ONE ABOUT THE AUTHOR Marc Turnage was born in Springfield, Missouri. After graduating from Evangel University with a BA in Biblical Studies, he moved to Jerusalem, Israel, where he studied at Jerusalem University College and earned an MA in Jewish History and New Testament Backgrounds. During his time in Israel, Marc studied with professors R. Steven Notley, David Flusser, Michael Stone, Hanan and Esther Eshel, Chana Safrai, Michael Sokoloff, and Gabriel Barkay. After completing his MA, Marc began his post-graduate studies at Bar Ilan University in Ramat Gan, Israel, under the supervision of the late Professor Hanan Eshel. He is currently finishing his PhD at Bar Ilan under the supervision of Professor Esther Eshel. During his tenure in Israel and afterward, Marc guided study tours of university students and professors and cross-denominational Christian groups from around the world. He and his family relocated to Springfield, Missouri, where he served on the faculties of Missouri State University, Evangel University, Drury University, and the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary. In December 2009, Marc was appointed by the executive presbytery of the General Council of the Assemblies of God as the director of the Center for Holy Lands Studies (CHLS), a historic endeavor to educate Assemblies of God constituents in the physical, historical, and cultural settings of the Bible. 167

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