📖 Kitabu cha Zaburi — Sehemu ya 3: Zaburi 24, Mfalme wa Utukufu📖 The Book of Psalms — Unit 3: Psalm 24, The King of Glory

1. Daudi Analileta Sanduku Yerusalemu1. David Brings the Ark to Jerusalem

Hadithi iliyo nyuma ya zaburi hii tunapewa katika 2 Samweli sura ya 6 — hadithi ya Mfalme Daudi akilipandisha Sanduku la Agano hadi mji wa Yerusalemu. Tangu siku za Musa, sanduku hilo lilikuwa likiwakilisha uwepo wa Mungu katikati ya watu wake. Wakati wa vita na Wafilisti lilitekwa, kisha likarudishwa, na kwa takriban miaka ishirini lilikuwa limehifadhiwa katika nyumba ya mtu mmoja aitwaye Abinadabu. Sasa Daudi alikuwa amefanywa mfalme juu ya Israeli yote, alikuwa ameuteka mji wa Wayebusi tunaouita Yerusalemu, naye alitaka mji wake mkuu mpya usiwe tu kitovu cha kisiasa cha ufalme bali pia kitovu chake cha ibada. Kwa hiyo akaanza safari ya kulirudisha sanduku nyumbani.The story behind this psalm is given to us in 2 Samuel chapter 6 — the story of King David bringing the Ark of the Covenant up to the city of Jerusalem. Ever since Moses, the ark had represented the presence of God in the midst of His people. During the wars with the Philistines it had been captured, then returned, and for some twenty years it had been kept in the house of a man named Abinadab. Now David had been made king over all Israel, had captured the Jebusite town we call Jerusalem, and wanted his new capital to be not only the political center of the kingdom but its worship center as well. So he set out to bring the ark home.

Hadithi hii ni ya kujaribu na kukosea. Jaribio la kwanza lilishindwa. Sanduku lilikuwa likivutwa juu ya gari la ng'ombe ng'ombe walipojikwaa, na mtu mmoja aitwaye Uza akanyosha mkono kulishika lisianguke, akafa papo hapo. Daudi alikasirika na pia akaogopa, na safari ikasimama hapo hapo; sanduku likapelekwa nyumbani kwa Obed-edomu, ambapo BWANA alimbariki kwa miezi mitatu. Jaribio la pili lilifaulu. Wakati huu Daudi na nyumba yote ya Israeli walilipandisha sanduku kwa makelele ya furaha na sauti ya tarumbeta, naye Daudi, akiwa amevaa naivera ya kitani, alicheza mbele za BWANA kwa nguvu zake zote. Kwa tukio hilo Daudi aliandika wimbo wa kuimbwa wakati sanduku likipandishwa — Zaburi 24.The story is one of trial and error. The first attempt failed. The ark was being hauled on an ox cart when the oxen stumbled, and a man named Uzzah reached out to steady it and died on the spot. David was both angry and afraid, and the mission stopped right there; the ark was taken to the house of Obed-Edom, where the LORD blessed him for three months. The second attempt succeeded. This time David and the whole house of Israel brought the ark up with shouts and trumpets, and David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the LORD with all his might. For this occasion David wrote a hymn to be sung as the ark came up — Psalm 24.

2. Swali Moja Kuu2. The One Great Question

Ndani ya mistari hii kumi mifupi kuna maswali mawili muhimu, na lililo muhimu zaidi ni hili, linaloulizwa mara mbili: "Ni nani huyu Mfalme wa utukufu?" Zaburi inalijibu kwa njia tatu — Yeye ndiye Mmiliki wa nchi, Yeye ndiye Hakimu anayeamua ni nani atakayesimama katika patakatifu pake, naye ndiye "BWANA mwenye nguvu, hodari." Daudi analijibu swali lake mwenyewe kwa kutuonyesha Ulimwengu wa Mfalme, Ibada ya Mfalme, na Makaribisho ya Mfalme. Tukimfuata katika yote matatu, tutajifunza jinsi ya kumkaribisha Mfalme wetu.Within these short ten verses there are two important questions, and the most important of them is this one, asked twice: "Who is this King of glory?" The psalm answers it three ways — He is the Owner of the earth, He is the Judge who decides who may stand in His holy place, and He is "the LORD strong and mighty." David answers his own question by showing us the King's World, the King's Worship, and the King's Welcome. If we will follow him through all three, we will learn how to welcome our King.

3. Ulimwengu wa Mfalme3. The King's World

Jibu la kwanza ni kwamba Mfalme huyu anamiliki kila kitu. "Nchi ni mali ya BWANA, na vyote viijazavyo." Mungu si hirizi ya bahati njema tunayoibeba mfukoni ili kufukuza taabu na kuhakikisha mafanikio. Yeye ndiye Mmiliki wa vitu vyote na watu wote. Aliiumba nchi, akazikusanya bahari, akaifanya nchi kavu, na kama Muumba wake anajua ni baraka zipi anazotaka kutoa, na jinsi na wakati anaotaka kuzitoa. Wakati mwingine watu hupata wazo kwamba wanadamu wamekabidhiwa nchi ili waifanyie lolote wapendalo. Lakini sisi si wamiliki wa nchi; sisi ni wakulima wapangaji tu, tunaotunza shamba kwa ajili ya Mmiliki. Lolote tufanyalo, sisi ni kama watumishi wanaowajibika kwa Bwana wao kwa jinsi tunavyoitendea mali yake. Yusufu alikuwa msimamizi wa nyumba ya Potifa, naye alikuwa mwaminifu ndani yake.The first answer is that this King owns everything. "The earth is the LORD's, and all its fullness." God is not some good-luck charm we carry in our pocket to ward off trouble and guarantee success. He is the Owner of all things and all people. He created the earth, gathered the seas, formed the dry land, and as its Creator He knows what blessings He wants to give and how and when He wants to give them. Sometimes people get the idea that mankind has been handed the earth to do with as we please. But we are not the owners of the earth; we are only the tenant farmers, caring for the land for the Owner. Whatever we do, we are like servants who are accountable to the Master for how we treat His property. Joseph was a steward of Potiphar's house, and he was faithful in it.

Yesu alisimulia habari ya mwenye nyumba aliyepanda shamba la mizabibu, akajenga ukuta na mnara wa kulilinda, akachimba shinikizo, kisha akawapangisha wakulima (Mathayo 21:33). Bill Carlson aliandika kitabu kizima, The Sharecropper (Mkulima wa Kugawana Mavuno), juu ya wazo hili. Mkulima wa kugawana mavuno ni mpangaji anayelima ardhi asiyoimiliki; mwenye shamba hununua mbegu, zana na mifugo, naye mfanyakazi hupata sehemu ya mavuno. Ndivyo tulivyo mbele za Mungu. Yeye anamiliki kila kitu na anatutunza. Kama Paulo asemavyo katika 1 Timotheo 6:7, "hatukuja na kitu duniani, wala hatuwezi kutoka na kitu." Tunapohitaji chochote, tunamgeukia Mungu tu, aliyekuwako hapa muda mrefu kabla hatujaja na atakayekuwako muda mrefu baada ya sisi kuondoka.Jesus told of an owner who planted a vineyard, built a wall and a watchtower to guard it, and dug a winepress, then rented it out to tenant farmers (Matthew 21:33). Bill Carlson wrote a whole book, The Sharecropper, on this idea. A sharecropper is a tenant who works land he does not own; the landowner buys the seed, the tools, the stock, and the worker gets a share of the crop. We are like that before God. He owns everything and cares for us. As Paul says in 1 Timothy 6:7, "we brought nothing into the world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out." When we need anything, we simply turn to God, who was here long before we came and will be here long after we are gone.

4. Kuiba Kilicho Mali ya Mungu4. Stealing What Belongs to God

Wajibu wetu wa kwanza kama wakulima wapangaji wake ni kuwaambia watu wengine habari za Bwana. Lakini kuna onyo zito linalohusiana na kusahau ulimwengu huu ni mali ya nani. Je, unaikumbuka hadithi ya Akani? Kuta za Yeriko zilipoanguka, Akani aliona katika magofu vazi zuri la Kibabeli, shekeli mia mbili za fedha, na kabari ya dhahabu, akavitamani, akavichukua, na kuvificha ardhini chini ya hema lake (Yoshua 7). Kisha Israeli walishindwa katika vita vilivyofuata, kwa sababu mtu fulani alikuwa amechukua kilicho mali ya Mungu. Bwana alimwambia Yoshua kwamba Israeli wamefanya dhambi, na mwenye hatia akagunduliwa, kabila kwa kabila na jamaa kwa jamaa, hadi Akani akatwaliwa. Akakiri, naye pamoja na nyumba yake wakapigwa kwa mawe hadi kufa.Our number-one responsibility as His tenant farmers is to tell other people about the Lord. But there is a sober warning attached to forgetting whose world this is. Do you remember the story of Achan? When the walls of Jericho came tumbling down, Achan saw in the ruins a beautiful robe from Babylon, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold, and he coveted them, took them, and hid them in the ground under his tent (Joshua 7). Israel then lost the next battle, because someone had taken what belonged to God. The Lord told Joshua that Israel had sinned, and the guilty party was found out, tribe by tribe and family by family, until Achan was taken. He confessed, and he and his household were stoned to death.

Kwa nini adhabu kali namna hiyo? Kwa sababu vitu alivyovichukua Akani vilikuwa mali ya Mungu. Alikuwa amemwibia Mungu Mwenyewe. Ikiwa ulimwengu ni mali ya Bwana, basi kuunyakua kwa ajili yetu wenyewe kana kwamba sisi ndio wamiliki si jambo dogo. Na funzo hili lina upande wa pili pia: ikiwa ulimwengu ni mali ya Bwana, basi Yeye anastahili ibada yetu. Hilo linatufikisha kwenye jibu la pili.Why such a harsh penalty? Because the things Achan took belonged to God. He had stolen from God Himself. If the world is the Lord's, then to grasp it for ourselves as though we were the owners is no small thing. And the lesson runs the other way too: if the world is the Lord's, then He is worthy of our worship. That brings us to the second answer.

5. Ibada ya Mfalme5. The King's Worship

Mungu ni mtakatifu, naye anatutarajia tumkaribie kwa utakatifu. Inaonekana Daudi alikuwa amewaandaa Walawi kwa kazi ya kulibeba sanduku, lakini alikuwa amejifunza wakati wa jaribio lile la kwanza lililoshindwa kwamba utakatifu hauwezi kuchukuliwa kwa wepesi — hiyo ilikuwa sehemu ya maelezo ya kifo cha Uza. Mikono safi na moyo mweupe ndiyo neno la siri mlangoni. Mamajusi walipoiona nyota yake upande wa mashariki, walikuja kumsujudia. Mwanamke mmoja aliyeishi maisha ya dhambi alipojua kwamba Yesu alikuwa akila nyumbani mwa Farisayo, alikuja na chupa ya marhamu, akasimama nyuma yake akilia, akaanza kumlowesha miguu kwa machozi yake, akaipangusa kwa nywele zake, akamimina marhamu juu yake. Mwanamke huyo alikuja kumwabudu Yesu. Ibada ni mwitikio wa moyo safi kwa Mfalme mtakatifu.God is holy, and He expects us to approach Him in holiness. David had apparently prepared the Levites for the task of carrying the ark, but he had learned during that first, failed attempt that holiness could not be taken lightly — that was part of the explanation for Uzzah's death. Clean hands and a pure heart are the password at the door. When the wise men saw His star in the east, they came to worship Him. When a woman who had lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, she came with an alabaster jar of perfume, stood behind Him weeping, wet His feet with her tears, wiped them with her hair, and poured the perfume on Him. That woman came to worship Jesus. Worship is the response of a clean heart to a holy King.

6. Ibada ya Mfalme: Uamsho katika Visiwa vya Hebrides6. The King's Worship: Revival in the Hebrides

Katika Visiwa vya Hebrides vya Uskoti, dada wawili wazee, mmoja mwenye umri wa miaka themanini na minne na mwingine themanini na miwili, walikuwa wameutafuta uso wa Mungu kwa ajili ya uamsho kwa miaka mingi. Imani ilikuwa imefika kiwango cha chini sana katika nchi yao. Walishikilia ahadi ya Mungu, "Maana nitamimina maji juu yake aliye na kiu, na mito ya maji juu ya nchi kavu" (Isaya 44:3), na wakamshawishi mchungaji wao kwamba watu wanapaswa kumwomba Mungu aihuishe mioyo yao. Yeye pamoja na kikundi kidogo cha wanaume walikusanyika ghalani kuomba, usiku tatu kila wiki, mwezi baada ya mwezi, bila matokeo yoyote. Kisha usiku mmoja shemasi kijana aliinuka kutoka magotini akasoma Zaburi 24: "Ni nani atakayepanda katika mlima wa BWANA? … Ni yeye aliye na mikono safi, na moyo mweupe." Akasema, "Ndugu zangu, tumekuwa tukiomba kwa miezi mingi kwa ajili ya uamsho, lakini ningependa kuuliza: je, mioyo yetu ni safi? Je, moyo ni mweupe?" Kwa kuitikia walianguka kifudifudi wakiungama na kujiweka wakfu upya, wakaanza kuomba kwa bidii zaidi. Kufikia saa kumi na moja alfajiri uamsho ulikuwa umekuja; ghala lilijaa utukufu wa Mungu, na nguvu iliyoachiliwa ikaitikisa jumuiya nzima. Bwana aliwaletea mtu yule hasa ambaye angemtumia — Mch. Duncan Campbell. Ndani ya wiki chache kisiwa chote kilijaa ufahamu wa uwepo wa Mungu; makanisa yalijaa kupita kiasi; watu waliokosa usingizi walikuja kanisani katikati ya usiku ili kupatana na Mungu. Katika jumuiya ile ya Uskoti, hakuna nyumba iliyobaki bila mtu fulani kumjia Kristo.In the Hebrides Islands of Scotland, two elderly sisters, one eighty-four and the other eighty-two, had sought the face of God for revival for many years. Faith had reached a low point in their country. They claimed God's promise, "I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground" (Isaiah 44:3), and convinced their pastor that the people should ask God to quicken their hearts. He and a handful of men gathered in a barn to pray, three nights a week, month after month, with no results. Then one night a young deacon rose from his knees and read Psalm 24: "Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? … He who has clean hands and a pure heart." He said, "Brethren, we have been praying for months for revival, but I would like to ask: are our hearts clean? Is the heart pure?" In response they fell on their faces in confession and rededication and began to pray even more earnestly. By five o'clock that morning revival had come; the barn was filled with the glory of God, and the power that was let loose shook the whole community. The Lord brought to them the very man He was going to use — the Rev. Duncan Campbell. Within weeks the whole island was filled with a God-consciousness; churches overflowed; people who could not sleep came to church in the middle of the night to get right with God. In that Scottish community, not a home was left without someone coming to Christ.

7. Makaribisho ya Mfalme7. The King's Welcome

Mwishoni mwa zaburi, Mungu anaelezwa kuwa Mfalme wa utukufu, "BWANA mwenye nguvu, hodari." Ndani ya Sanduku la Agano zilihifadhiwa Amri Kumi — ambazo zote watu wa Mungu walikuwa wamezivunja. Lakini juu ya mbao zile za mawe Mungu aliweka kifuniko, kilichoitwa Kiti cha Rehema. Kila mwaka, katika Siku Kuu ya Upatanisho, Kuhani Mkuu alimchinja mbuzi na kuinyunyiza damu yake juu ya Kiti kile cha Rehema. Kwa njia ya damu hiyo, dhambi za watu zilifichwa machoni pa Mungu; Bwana hakuziona amri zilizovunjwa. Fikiria ilikuwa na maana gani kuwa na sanduku lile lile likiwatangulia katika kila vita — Bwana wa neema ya bure na ya uaminifu, asiyewahesabia dhambi zao, akitembea upande wao. Utukufu mkuu wa Mungu ulionekana vizuri zaidi katika jinsi alivyotumia uweza wake kwa ajili ya wenye dhambi. Daudi alipokuwa akiliongoza sanduku kuingia Yerusalemu, alitaka malango ya mji yafunguliwe juu na kwa upana kadiri iwezekanavyo, ili kupokea kila chembe ya utukufu wa Mungu.At the end of the psalm, God is described as the King of glory, "the LORD strong and mighty." Inside the Ark of the Covenant were kept the Ten Commandments — all of which God's people had broken. But over those tablets of stone God had placed a cover, called the Mercy Seat. Every year, on the Great Day of Atonement, the High Priest would sacrifice a goat and sprinkle its blood upon that Mercy Seat. By means of that blood, the people's sins were hidden from God's eyes; the Lord did not see the broken commandments. Imagine what it meant to have that same ark go ahead of them into every battle — the Lord of free and faithful grace, who did not count their sins against them, marching on their side. God's great glory was best seen in the way He used His might on behalf of sinners. As David led the ark into Jerusalem, he wanted the city's gates opened as high and wide as they could possibly go, to take in every bit of God's glory.

8. Hakuna Nafasi kwa Mfalme8. No Room for the King

Jambo la kusikitisha ni kwamba Mfalme huyu mtukufu mara nyingi hukataliwa. Hapakuwa na nafasi kwa Yesu wakati wa kuzaliwa kwake. Mwenye nyumba ya wageni wa Bethlehemu hakuwa na uadui wala upinzani; nyumba yake ya wageni ilikuwa imejaa tu na akili yake ilikuwa imeshughulika. Hilo ndilo jibu ambalo mamilioni hutoa leo. Mwitikio wao kwa Kristo si ukanaji wa Mungu wala ukaidi; ni kushughulishwa na mambo mengine — hisia ya kuweza kuendelea vizuri kwa kiasi bila Yeye, kila chumba cha moyo kikiwa tayari kimejazwa na mambo mengine yanayosongamana. Hapakuwa na nafasi kwa Yesu kwa jamaa yake wala kwa taifa lake pia; Yeye alisema, "Mbweha wana pango, na ndege wa angani wana viota; lakini Mwana wa Adamu hana pa kujilaza kichwa chake" (Mathayo 8:20). Mahali pamoja palimkaribisha daima — nyumbani Bethania ambapo Mariamu, Martha na Lazaro waliishi.The tragedy is that this glorious King is so often turned away. There was no room for Jesus at His birth. The Bethlehem innkeeper was not hostile and not opposed; his inn was simply crowded and his mind preoccupied. That is the answer millions give today. Their response to Christ is not atheism and not defiance; it is preoccupation — the feeling of being able to get on reasonably well without Him, every room in the heart already taken up by other crowding interests. There was no room for Jesus by His family or His nation either; He said, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head" (Matthew 8:20). One place always welcomed Him — the home in Bethany where Mary, Martha, and Lazarus lived.

Kwa hiyo zaburi ya Daudi inatusihi sote: mkaribishe Mfalme wako. Tafuta baraka yake na uuone utukufu wake. Inua malango ya moyo wako juu na kwa upana kadiri yanavyoweza kwenda, umruhusu Mfalme wa utukufu aingie.So David's psalm urges all of us: welcome your King. Seek His blessing and see His glory. Lift up the gates of your heart as high and wide as they will go, and let the King of glory come in.

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