We are the Daughter of Zion

The hearts of the people
   cry out to the Lord.
You walls of Daughter Zion,
   let your tears flow like a river
   day and night;
give yourself no relief,
   your eyes no rest. Lamentations 1:18

Over and over again in the Old Testament, God refers to His people as the Daughter of Zion. What does this mean?

First let me say that I fully realize that God is referring to the Hebrew nation at this point. But after studying Genesis recently I realized that God's choice is for ALL of us to know Him, not just the Jewish people. He didn't choose one group of people for eternal reward and condemn another group to eternal punishment, in some kind of random game for His favor. And He sure didn't "choose" for some to know Him and others to not. We are ALL chosen, in that we are created, formed, knit together.

Second, while the Hebrews were His nation, we are all called to be His people. One day we will all, Jew and Gentile, be united into one nation of God. There are twelve gates in the city of heaven, each gate inscribed with the name of one of the tribes of Israel. I believe as we walk through those gates, God's chosen people will be complete.

Third, while Mount Zion was an actual place (see wikipedia for more information), the term Daughter of Zion is a personification of the Jewish people.

Interesting, isn't it, that God refers to His people as a daughter, not a son. Some have said that women in biblical times were not esteemed or valued at all, and that this is an indication of God's feelings on women. This name is proof of the untruth of that! If God did not value females, why would He continually refer to His chosen people as a whole as Daughter of Zion, or Daughter of Jerusalem?

I've always thought that the daddy/daughter relationship seems so tender, especially when those daughters are little girls. It's even sweeter when that tenderness carries over into adulthood. My father died when I was just 22, and I've always marveled at that relationship when I see it.

How wonderful, how joyous, is the knowledge that my eternal Daddy has such tenderness for me!

If you do a search on the term Daughter of Zion, you'll see that it's used More than 150 times in the Old Testament. Yet it's not always used in what we consider a lovey-dovey way. Sometimes God is angry with His daughter; sometimes He is disciplining her; sometimes He is outright punishing her!

But it is always done with love. God continually urges His daughter to return to Him. Such a loving Father.