Bread from the Basket: Your Daily Slice

Tammuz 6

Residence

“Who does dwell in Your set-apart mountain?” (Ps 15:1 ISR)

Immigration is most likely the hottest and most controversial subject in our nation today, escalating in a parallel with the numbers of illegal immigrants being caught and returned to their country of origin. I have no problem with legal immigration – I myself am a first generation American, born to Danish immigrants. I still have a copy of my mother’s immigration application, stamped from Ellis Island, New York. However, trying to enter our country illegally, trying to circumvent the process, is not only wrong, it is not Scriptural.

There are no illegal immigrants in the kingdom of our Elohim. Bottom line, no exceptions. The necessary immigration application is found within the verses of Torah, and approval is gained by living a life in adherence to the divine instructions in moral and righteous living. It is the same in the United States; for those pursuing legal citizenship in our nation, there are mandatory classes that must be taken (covering our Constitution and Bill of Rights), followed by an oath that must be given, swearing to uphold the laws of our country. There is nothing new under the sun, is there? (see Ecc 1:9)

We find that it was King David who was ultimately responsible for appointing the first gatekeepers, as well as other Levites designated for specific functions (see 1Chro 28:11-13; 23:2-6). Mentioned are 24,000 concerned with the Temple proper, 6000 judges and officers, 4000 gatekeepers, and 4000 singers and musicians. For those who thought it was possible to ‘gate-crash’ the Temple grounds, entering illegally, they ultimately had to deal with Elohim’s “Border Patrol”, the assigned priests whose duty it was to process those attempting to enter in. The position of ‘gatekeeper’ into the Temple area was an important one, and for those individuals who did manage to gain entrance illegally, death was the reward.[1]

And so we look at the question in our opening verse: “Who does dwell in Your set-apart mountain?” The qualifications required are found in the verses of Psalm 15, and as we study them closely, we find that the entire Psalm is all about our relationships with other people. I hope you will join me as we take each attribute apart, and examine it closely. I believe this study promises to be an interesting one.