Zion





We know that Zion has to do with God's people, and His Kingdom.
If we study the word meaning of Zion, we discover a whole story of what Zion was, is, is becoming, and always will be.
The first mention of Zion in scripture pertains to its capture from the Jebusites (root meaning-tread, trample to pieces, polluted, loathe, reject, desecrate, trodden under foot as used regarding a corpse, who spoke to David, saying:
"You shall not come in here; but the blind and the lame will repel you," thinking, "David cannot come in here." Nevertheless, David took the stronghold (meaning- net, prey, snare, hunted, capture, siege works, hunting implement, chase, lie in wait for),  of Zion, that is, The City of David...Then David dwelt in the stronghold, and called it the City of David (meaning "Beloved, well-beloved, lover, friend"). And David built all around from the Millo (root meaning- to fill, be full, complete, abundance, consecrate, confirm, replenish, overflow, satisfy, to be accomplished, be ended) and inward (meaning- house, dwelling habitation, temple, household, family, descendants as an organized body). So David went on and became great, and the LORD God of hosts was with him."   2 Sam. 5:6-10 (excerpt)
Until David, the beloved, came and captured it, the place known as Zion was an enemy stronghold, a place of desecration and death, according to the meaning of the words used above. From the moment of its capture, David began a re-building of the city from the outward to the inward, becoming a consecrated place of overflowing satisfaction, a place of a holy household, a completed work.
We can see the same wonderful transformation process in the meaning of the word Zion, itself:
"dryness, desert, barren, parched", but also: "to be bright, to shine, enduring, preeminent, perpetual, superintendent or chief, to conquer, a clear voice, the virgin voice, pure, chaste, sincere, faithful, to be perfect, complete, perpetual, to lead in music, and in the service of the temple".
Zion is our story. Zion is the Gospel. We were entrapped, snared prey, spiritually blind and lame, desecrated by sin to be food for devils. We were as dead as corpses trampled under foot, until our Champion, our Deliverer, our Savior, the Beloved, Jesus Christ, stormed the stronghold of the enemy, and began to rebuild and replenish us, with Himself as the chief cornerstone (Mt. 21:42, Acts 4:11, 1 Pet. 2:7) of that rebuilding, until we became the temple service and the family of God. Songs of deliverance became our voice. We who were barren and parched became fruitful (Ps. 113:9, Lk. 1:36, 2 Pet. 1:8), shining and bright, called to be the light of the world, just as He is the Light of the world.
Even the pictographic Hebrew letters used to form the word Zion צִיּוֹן bring its meaning to us:
Tsadhe- hook, something inescapable, trouble, to hunt but can also mean to pull toward, desire, a harvest, righteous. As sin held us inescapable in death, Christ desired us and drew us to Himself, calling us a harvest of the righteous by His blood.
yod- hand closing upon, but also a finished work, a deed done, as Christ's work of atonement was finished on the cross, and we are finished or completed in Him.
vaw- a nail, a hook, becoming bound, can also mean joining and making secure together, as when Christ, nailed to the cross, joined us to Himself and to His Father as one.
nun- a fish (to be caught as food?), to continue, offspring, descendants also includes heir to the throne, and faithfulness. We were descendants of fallen man, to be hooked continually, but now, we are offspring, even joint heirs, with the Heir to the Throne of God, Jesus. Now, instead of fish as prey, our faith is symbolized by the fish that nourishes, and reminds us of Christ's miracles of multiplication. The fish reminds us that we have become "fishers of men" (Mt. 4:19).
We see in the above illustrated that what the enemy meant for evil, our Father turned for good by His Beloved Son. It is the transformation of Zion, from death to life.
Zion's purpose, according to the meaning of the word in Hebrew, is to be "a monumental guiding pillar, a marker, a sign post, a waymark in the sense of conspicuousness". We, as the inhabitants of Zion, constitute a living monument and signpost, by which all who see us are led to that City of David the Beloved, whose Builder and Maker is God (Heb. 11:8-10). Are we truly being Zion, as we are purposed to be: the waymark, for all others to come to the City of God?
The Book of Hebrews describes Zion, and ourselves this way:
"But you have come to Mt. Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel. See that you do not refuse Him who speaks..."  Heb. 12:22-25
Zion is the place of glory where we dwell. It is who we are. It is the place where, in the Name and Person of the Beloved to Whom we belong, those devils that hunt and take others as prey now have become prey themselves. It is the place where the desecrated is rebuilt into the consecrated. It is the place where replenishment, satisfaction, and overflowing abundance now exists where previously the dead had been trampled under foot. Those who were barren and parched, now bloom and bear fruit. We are the waymarkers for others to this place.
This time of year, especially the Christmas season, is calling us to Zion. As the song says, "Zion Is Calling Me". We must answer the call.