Desiring Heaven
- Sherry Amor
- May 21
- 3 min read
Bible Study by Sherry Amor
We all want things. A home, a car, a husband/wife, a new job, etc. But when was the last time you desired something? The word desire in Hebrew is a word called chesheq (pronounced kay-shek) which means "a longing, or to cling to". So to desire something is to want it so badly that it is all you can think of. During His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us to "seek His kingdom first" (Matthew 6:33). But well before Jesus gave us this command, King David proclaimed the same: a desire to dwell in God's temple. (Psalm 27:4). Let's dive in and see how this verse calls us to God in more ways than one.
Psalm 27:4
"One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the lord, and to inquire in His temple."
This verse begins with "one thing I have desired...that I will seek". This means that the only thing we should ever want or need, is to be with God. Yes, we need food and water, and housing and clothing, of course. But at the end of the day, the one thing we must always desire first should be God. The word seek is "baqash" (pronounced baw-kash), which means to search or strive after with intent or purpose. It is one thing to look for something, or want something. But it is another thing to look with a reason for looking. Why are we seeking God in Psalm 27? To "behold the beauty of the lord, and to inquire in His temple". Simply put: We are seeking God to be with God.
Dwell is a word called "yashab" (pronounced yaw-shab), and it means to "inhabit, to settle, or remain". We must live in God's presence always. Often when I pray, I imagine myself literally in the temple of the Lord, and it brings me such peace. Dwelling is to live somewhere, and to just...be. We can be relaxed and at peace, especially when we are somewhere safe. So seeking God, to be with God, where we can just be ourselves, is also what this Psalm is calling for.
The term behold is "chazah" (pronounced khaw-zaw). This means to "perceive, gaze, or prophesy". This specific word is used often to describe the prophetic experiences of Isaiah, Ezekiel, Amos, Micah, and even Balaam! (Numbers 24). In the context of Psalm 27, this word is perfect because it encapsulates the whole verse once more. To experience God is something that happens constantly in the Bible, and Psalm 27 reminds us that being in God's presence is transformative, and will leave us changed from what we once were.
The word inquire is "baqar" (pronounced baw-kar). This word means to "inspect, admire, investigate, or break forth". Breaking forth in this context would mean to gain an understanding of something, and I think that ties perfectly into this verse. We learn more about God and ourselves when we take the time to be with Him and His Word. We are able to see things the way God does, and that helps us to grow in our faith hand spirituality. Inquiring of the Lord is to ask and learn more about the Lord.
*For a cross-reference:
In Ezekiel 48:35, the city of New Jerusalem is described as "El-Shammah" which means "The Lord is there." El-Shammah is where we should want to go, not out of obligation, but of genuine humility and recognition that we need something bigger than us to give us what we need and or desire. While Psalm 27 tells us what to do, Ezekiel tells us where to be. To be in the temple of the Lord is to be with the Lord. Psalm 27 tells us that it should be our only desire and goal to go to Jesus, and learn of Him, so that we can be better versions of ourselves, and experience Heaven on earth until we can experience it for all eternity.
-Sherry Amor
Words and definitions provided by Bible Hub!
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