My previous blog posting spoke about the hills or mountains surrounding the City of Jerusalem. Today’s Scripture for this first week of Advent talks about the city itself. Jerusalem is one of the most famous cities in the world. Photos from different vantage points are almost immediately recognized. Several million people each year travel to Jerusalem, as it is a holy city for Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Let’s look into today’s psalm, Psalm 122, and see what God might tell us today.
Psalm 122 is one of the Songs of Ascent, which are a collection of fifteen psalms (Psalms 120-134), which pilgrims coming to Jerusalem for the religious festivals in Biblical days would often recite or sing. This particular one, along with three others, was written by King David, and we can feel the love that he had for the city he chose to be his capital. When David first became king over just the tribe of Judah, his capital was in Hebron. Later, when he became king over the whole nation, he moved the capital to Jerusalem. Later he moved the Tabernacle with the Ark of the Covenant into the city, and made his plans for the Temple to be built there. Prior to that time, Jerusalem had been a Jebusite stronghold.
Jerusalem was the setting for many important events in the Bible. Though it was not a city at the time, it was near where Jerusalem would later be that Abraham was called to sacrifice his son Isaac and where God provided the sacrifice to spare him. It was where David brought the Ark of the Covenant back from the Philistines, and later where Solomon would build the Temple. Most importantly, it was where Jesus was crucified, buried, and rose again, and where the Holy Spirit came down upon the disciples at Pentecost.
For King David, going to God’s Tabernacle (this was before the Temple was built) was a delight, not a burden or a chore. This is unfortunately unlike how many Christians feel about attending church today. If one is physically able, and if there is a good, Bible-preaching church in the area, believers really ought to be going to church on a regular basis. David proclaimed that he was glad when friends or family invited him to come to God’s house to worship! (vs. 1). If we have unconfessed sin, or our love for God has grown cold, we may not desire times of worship. However, we can remedy that by confessing and repenting of any known sin, and stir up our love for the Lord through prayer and Bible reading.
As our psalm continues, we read that God’s Word says to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and to seek its good (vs. 6-9). The name “Jerusalem” means “city of peace”. That is a very ironic name, as Jerusalem has been fought over throughout history, more than probably any other city in the world. David fought the Jebusites to gain control of Jerusalem. His son Absalom sought to wrest control of the capital when he attempted a coup against his father. Throughout the Bible we read of various empires fighting for control over the area, from the Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans. Since that time, various Muslim empires, along with the Christian crusaders, and the British empire have sought and held control. The Jewish people regained control over Israel in 1948, yet there has continued to be fighting since then. True peace will not come to Jerusalem until Jesus returns to set up His Millennial Kingdom, and all people acknowledge Him as Messiah and Savior.
The world cannot provide real peace. All of the peace movements in the last century have really failed in their efforts, as there has not been any period of time where there wasn’t war or fighting somewhere in the world. Real peace comes from faith in Jesus, because He, alone, embodies all of the characteristics of peace (John 14:27; John 16:33). To find peace of mind and peace with others, we must find peace with God. When the people of Jerusalem acknowledge Jesus Christ, and call upon Him as their Savior and Messiah, then they will have peace. In the meantime, until that day, let us do as verse 6 says, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem”.
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