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At
the centre of this question lies one issue, the sovereignty
of the Almighty God.
Man
tends to believe he is the master of his own destiny
and that it is he who orders the affairs of this earth
so the Lord in His infinite wisdom has placed His seal
of ownership upon a tiny piece of real estate, a stiff
necked minority group (1% of the world's population
is Jewish) and a dusty city with no strategic value
at all.
Consequently
this people, this land and this city have been thorns
in the side of an unbelieving world from the beginning
of time as they are inseparable from the Lordship of
the Almighty over this earth, its cities and its people.
It's
Roots:
Jerusalem
is first heard of in scripture some 4,000 years ago
as the city of Salem, home of Melchizidek, Priest of
the Most High God and King of this city whose name means
peace. (Genesis 14).
The
story is mentioned again in the book of Hebrews - chapter
7. We are told that Melchizedek resembles the Son of
God as he continues to be a priest without successor
or interruption. We are also told his name means King
of Righteousness
That
we find Jerusalem mentioned in the first book of the
Bible with the King of Righteousness reigning there
and also in the last where the Apostle John describes
the glory and majesty of the heavenly Jerusalem with
the Lamb of God on the throne must give us some clues
as to the importance of this city.
Jerusalem
is referred to 811 times in scripture!
It
was originally a Jebusite city situated on Mount Ophel
just outside the present Old City walls which were built
by Suleiman the Magnificent in 1536.
The
Arab village of Silwan is there today along with the
City of David Archaeological Gardens which contain wonderful
excavations from the time of King David.
It
remained impregnable to the tribes of Israel until David
took it in about 1000 BC and made it his capital.
From
that time it became the spiritual home for the Jewish
people.
Jewish
sages have said that when the Almighty created the world
He poured out ten measures of suffering and Jerusalem
received nine of them!
One
can almost sense the tragedies that have been played
out there down the centuries in a city that has undergone
some 27 sieges and has been destroyed so many times
that today there is an accumulation of between 30 and
80 feet of rubble underneath the city.
After
David's death, his son Solomon built the Temple there
on Mount Moriah, the site of Abraham's binding of Isaac
(Genesis 22).
Its
Place in Jewish Hearts:
It
has been said that the city of Jerusalem is the soul
of the nation of Israel. Even during the long years
of the exile the Passover Seder and the Yom Kippur service
always ended with the words
L'Shana
Ha Ba Ha B Yerushalyim
The
poignant words of Psalm 137 have echoed down through
the ages reflecting as they do the heartcry of the Jewish
people.
"If
I forget you O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her
skill.
Let
my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth if I remember
you not, If I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy."
Jerusalem
is joined to the Jewish people in the same way that
the land and people are bound and because of this she
degenerated from the magnificent city David and Solomon
had built to a poverty stricken village during the long
years of the exile.
Contrary
to the PLO propaganda, she has never been a capital
city of any state but a Jewish One.
In
Luke 21 Jesus spoke of Jerusalem being trodden down
by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles were
fulfilled.
That
these "times of the Gentiles" were drawing to a close
became obvious in December 1917 when General Allenby
of the British Army marched into Jerusalem and freed
it from 400 years of Turkish rule.
Allenby
was a devout Christian and had spent the previous day
praying and the city was liberated without one shot
being fired
The
city remained under British rule until May 14, 1948
when the State of Israel was proclaimed. The following
day five Arab armies invaded the new/old nation and
by the end of the war, Jerusalem was a divided city.
For
a detailed study of this amazing period of history read
"O Jerusalem" by Larry Collins and Dominique La Pierre
(Panther Books).
The
Old City and East Jerusalem were under Jordanian control
and the new city to the west remained in Israel's hands.
During this time the Jewish people were unable to worship
at their most holy site - the Western Wall which had
been a retaining wall for the Temple on Mount Moriah.
This
state of affairs changed dramatically during the Six
Day War of June 1967. The Israeli Defence Forces broke
through into the Old City and the "Times of the Gentiles"
were over as Jerusalem became a unified city in Israeli
hands.
Moshe
Dayan, Israel's Minister for Defence said at that time,
"we earnestly stretch out our hands to our Arab brethren
in peace, but we have returned to Jerusalem never to
part from her again."
The
Israeli Parliament, the Knesset, has since declared
Jerusalem the eternal capital of Israel.
It
should be noted here that the Arabs showed no interest
whatsoever in Jerusalem until the Jews began to return
to it.
"The
God of heaven will prosper us, therefore we
His servants will arise and build; but you have no
portion or right or memorial in Jerusalem"
Nehemiah 2:20
These
are Nehemiah's words to Israel's enemies after the return
from the First Exile.
What
relevance do they have for those who would try to
thwart the rebuilding of Jerusalem as the Second
Exile
draws to a close?
How
can we as believers stand with and support this city
where the Lord has chosen to place His Name?
"On
the holy hill stands the City (of Jerusalem and the
Temple)
God founded. The Lord loves the Gates of Zion more than
all the dwellings of Jacob." (Psalm 87:1-2)
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