The Lord chose Jerusalem as his special City, and he didn’t
choose it only for a certain amount of time, but forever! The Word says that
the Lord will return and live there, on the Temple Mount, the place where He
put His Name. God will still choose Jerusalem and will still comfort Zion…
(Zechariah 1:14-17) So the angel
who talked with me said to me, ‘Cry out, Thus says the LORD of hosts:
I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem
and for Zion. (15) And I am exceedingly angry with the nations that
are at ease; for while I was angry but a little, they furthered the
disaster. (16) Therefore, thus says the LORD, I have returned to
Jerusalem with mercy; my house shall be
built in it, declares the LORD of hosts, and the measuring line shall
be stretched out over Jerusalem. (17) Cry out again, Thus says
the LORD of hosts: My cities shall again overflow with prosperity,
and the LORD will again
comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.’
God hasn’t forgotten about Israel, and he never will…
(Isaiah 49:14-19) But Zion said,
“The LORD has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me.” (15) “Can a
woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son
of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I
will not forget you. (16) Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my
hands; your walls are continually before me. (17) Your builders make haste;
your destroyers and those who laid you waste go out from you. (18) Lift up your
eyes around and see; they all gather, they come to you. As I live, declares
the LORD, you shall put them all on as an ornament; you shall bind them on
as a bride does. (19) “Surely your waste and your desolate places and your
devastated land— surely now you will be too narrow for your inhabitants, and
those who swallowed you up will be far away.
Instead of destruction there will be rebuilding. Jerusalem
will be lifted up again. Not only that, but his sons will inhabit it again… the
sons of Israel (even those who were thought to be lost and assimilated to the
nations).
(Isaiah 49:20-23) The children of
your bereavement will yet say in your ears: ‘The place is too narrow for me; make
room for me to dwell in.’ (21) Then you will say in your heart: ‘Who has borne
me these? I was bereaved and barren, exiled and put away, but who has brought
up these? Behold, I was left alone; from where have these come?’” (22) Thus
says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations, and raise my
signal to the peoples; and they shall bring your sons in their arms, and your
daughters shall be carried on their shoulders. (23) Kings shall be your foster
fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. With their faces to the ground
they shall bow down to you, and lick the dust of your feet. Then you will know
that I am the LORD; those who wait for me shall not be put to shame.”
The Lord has allowed for the enemies to occupy the Temple
Mount for a while, but this will not be forever. Jerusalem is the City chosen
by God, and He will take his Holy Mount back. Zechariah the prophet says that
he will do it with great jealousy…
(Zechariah 8:1-3) And the word of
the LORD of hosts came, saying, (2) “Thus says
the LORD of hosts: I am
jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great
wrath. (3) Thus says the LORD: I have returned to Zion and will dwell
in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, and the mountain of
the LORD of hosts, the holy mountain.
God has not forgotten Jerusalem. The Lord will take back the
place which He chose to place His Name on.
(Psalms 132:13-14) For
the LORD has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his dwelling place:
(14) “This is my resting place forever;
here I will dwell, for I have desired it.
When the Messiah comes, that will be the time to restore Jerusalem…
(Joel 3:16-17) The LORD roars
from Zion, and utters his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth
quake. But the LORD is a refuge to his people, a stronghold to the
people of Israel. (17) “So you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who dwells in Zion, my
holy mountain. And Jerusalem shall
be holy, and strangers shall never again pass through it.
The Bible says that there will be a time of mercy for Zion…
(Psalms 102:12-22) But you,
O LORD, are enthroned forever; you are remembered throughout all
generations. (13) You will arise and have pity on Zion; it is the time to favor her; the
appointed time has come. (14) For your servants hold her stones dear and
have pity on her dust. (15) Nations will fear the name of the LORD, and
all the kings of the earth will fear your glory. (16) For
the LORD builds up Zion; he appears in his glory; (17) he regards the
prayer of the destitute and does not despise their prayer. (18) Let this be
recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet to be created may
praise the LORD: (19) that he looked down from his holy height; from
heaven the LORD looked at the earth, (20) to hear the groans of the
prisoners, to set free those who were doomed to die, (21) that they may declare in Zion the name of the LORD, and in
Jerusalem his praise, (22) when peoples gather together, and kingdoms, to
worship the LORD.
God will not only restore the City of Jerusalem, but he will also restore His people. Although they were
dispersed, the Lord will bring the people of Israel back to the Land which he
promised them. We will cover this on the next post…
More articles on the
Promised Land, on the page: Israel
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