Zion Theology

The Zion tradition or Zion theology is a development in redemptive-history that casts the hope of God’s blessing upon the place of Mt. Zion.  The tradition is based on the storyline of David as he progresses as king of Israel.  David is anointed king of Judah in 2 Samuel 2 as a king of God’s own choosing.  He eventually conquers his enemies and brings the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem (2 Sam 6).  The Lord establishes his covenant with David (2 Sam 7)  and provides rest for him – though not as he will for Solomon.

As a result David desires to build a house for YHWH, and seeks to establish YHWH’s reign from Zion as his own reign was established and made firm.  David makes preparations for the temple – purchasing the land of its location and its amenities, laying out plans, organizing the priests and musicians, and eventually charging Solomon to carry the work out (1 Chron 22:6ff).

Zion theology was not always a strong conception among God’s people.  It grew throughout the prophets and psalms as the nation’s eschatological hopes were solidified and recorded (cf Ps 2; Isa 2; Mic 4).  This theology of expectation is even carried into the New Testament and is depicted in the present reign of believers in the heavenlies (Heb 12) as well as the hope of a new heaven and earth (Rev 20-22).  Our hopes are set on Mt. Zion, where we will worship our Lord face to face.  But these hopes rest on an historical development and progressive revelation of God’s Spirit to his people.

Camden Bucey is the president of Reformed Forum. He graduated with an MDiv in 2011 and is currently a PhD student at Westminster Theological Seminary. Camden is a member of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and a licentiate of the presbytery of Philadelphia. You can follow Camden on Twitter at @camdenbucey. This entry was posted on Saturday, July 3rd, 2010 at 8:58 am and is filed under Biblical Theology, Old Testament. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.