The peace of Jerusalem

 

When they said, “Let’s go to the house of God,” my heart leaped for joy.

And now we’re here, O Jerusalem, inside Jerusalem’s walls!

Jerusalem, well-built city, built as a place for worship!

The city to which the tribes ascend, all God’s tribes go up to worship,

To give thanks to the name of God – this is what it means to be Israel.

Thrones for righteous judgment are set there, famous David-thrones.

Pray for Jerusalem’s peace! Prosperity to all you Jerusalem-lovers!

Friendly insiders, get along! Hostile outsiders, keep your distance!

For the sake of my family and friends, I say it again: live in peace!

For the sake of the house of our God, God, I’ll do my very best for you.

Psalm 122:1-9 The Message

 

It is a song of David.

 

It is a song for Israel to sing every time they travel to the holy city to celebrate the feasts of God.

 

It is a call to prayer for all who love God and his chosen people.

 

God inspired his servant-king, David, to write a song reminding his people that the capital city of Jerusalem is a place of worship.

 

Three times a year, the people of Israel were to ascend to Jerusalem to worship God and celebrate his goodness over them.

 

In a postmodern world, it is easy to forget God’s things, including his plans and purposes for humanity.

 

“The city to which the tribes ascend, all God’s tribes go up to worship,

To give thanks to the name of God – this is what it means to be Israel.”

 

The tribes ascend

 

At first, there was one, Abram, who later became Abraham. God chose him to be the earthly father of a people chosen by God.

 

You must not forget that God chose Israel. It was an act of his will to set this people apart from the rest of humanity.

 

God did this as part of his plan to redeem fallen humanity. He chose Abraham as the earthly representative to bring the savior, Messiah, and redeemer into the world.

 

God chose Isaac, Abraham’s son, to carry the promise of Messiah. He then chose Jacob, whom he later renamed Israel, to carry the promise of Messiah.

 

Jacob had 12 sons, and God chose each to carry the promise of Messiah.

 

The sons became tribes who became a nation called Israel.

 

The tribes are to ascend or go up to Jerusalem because it is in one of the highest locations on the Judean plateau.

 

To give thanks

 

As an act of worship, you are to ascend to the presence of God, where you thank him for blessing your life.

 

In a postmodern world, it is easy to forget that God blesses his children. It is easy to think your money or your effort afforded you the good things you have.

 

While your effort may have provided the money to purchase something, you must forget that God created you, allowing you to utilize your effort to earn an income to buy something.

 

In other words, be thankful.

 

 

This is what it means to be Israel

 

 

Israel is a people who are thankful and worship God. According to God, that is who his chosen people are.

 

As a former sports writer, this analogy of Israel made much sense.

 

Israel would be the dirt under the goalpost if the world were a football field.

 

Remember that this is not the span of the uprights that the football is kicked through. This is the tiny amount of dirt where the goalpost is positioned in the ground.

 

In other words, it is a minutely small part of the global landscape, yet it carries the distinction of being chosen by God.

 

As small as it is geographically, Israel is a world player.

 

For this reason, things in Israel make the headlines.

 

For this reason, God’s adversary hates Israel.

 

For this reason, the people of God must pray for Israel.

 

David’s song speaks about “thrones for righteous judgment.”

 

According to God, Israel is a place for righteous decisions.

 

Judgment speaks of rendering a verdict, which is caused when two or more parties cannot reach an agreement.

 

The verdict is a righteous one, which means it is based on what is right instead of what is popular, paid, or persuaded.

 

This is another reason Israel is attacked because an unrighteous people want nothing to do with righteousness.

 

Notice how David’s song concludes.

 

• Pray for Jerusalem’s peace

 

• Prosperity to all Jerusalem-lovers

 

• Friendly insiders, get along

 

• Hostile outsiders, keep your distance

 

 

Beyond praying for Jerusalem, God tells those who are hostile to Israel to keep their distance.

 

I find this interesting in light of the current conflict. Israel was attacked, and now her attackers are in hiding.

 

God will protect his chosen people, so pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

 

A close personal relationship with the Godhead is needed now more than ever.

 

A close personal relationship with the Godhead is a journey. I invite you to follow along. I will pass it along as I learn so you can understand. I hope that as you learn, you can pass it along so that I (and others) might learn.