I understand. Israel today is not the saved people of God. They are far from it. They will be someday for the Bible says, All Israel shall be saved. But then again, in OT times all Israel was not saved. When the Psalmist wrote Ps. 48 they were not a saved people. Always there was a remnant. But they were not the saved nation.
NEVERTHELESS Jerusalem was the city of God’s choosing (Psalm 76), the place where He chose to put His name! In terms of a not-saved-nation it means the privilege is greater, the judgment and chastisement is greater. And because it is God we are speaking of, He will be faithful to complete the work, to fulfill His word. FOR HIS NAME’S SAKE.
So we are in Jerusalem. I think this is an incredibly special place to be. It has a deep meaning, more than any city in the world. The Sons of Korah tell us to examine Jerusalem, check out it’s gates, meditate on the glories of the city that bears the name of God. That is the literal interpretation of Psalm 48.
Now let me encourage you, a believer in Jesus Christ, that you should meditate on the glories of the Body that bears His name, the Church, the Body of Christ, the Bride of the Lamb. The earthly city of Jerusalem was a glorious blessing to the people of Israel. The Body of Christ is a glorious blessing to the people He has redeemed to be His very own (Titus 2:14). We are His. We bear His name to the crooked generation in which we live and work and play. We are such a valuable refuge for each other, a setting in which the weak can be strengthened, the grieving can be comforted, and all can find satisfaction for the soul. Formality, contention and hypocrisy are the enemy of the fellowship of Christ. We are called to be a holy people, a loving people, a people walking in the light of Christ. We are glorious trophies of God’s grace, not called because of our greatness but because of His graciousness. I plead with you to highly value what God in Christ has created for our edification and for the exaltation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Our Thursday was special, and in some ways powerful. We first went to Yad Vashem, the holocaust museum. Two hours is not enough to see it all; it is enough to open one’s eyes to the deep sinfulness of man. There, but by the grace of God, go I.
At the Israel Museum we had what is so often one of the major high points for people who come to Israel: the model city of Jerusalem in Jesus' day. One of the comments from our group was the reality of how the temple mount dominated the city of Jerusalem. We also went through the Shrine of the Book which highlights the Dead Sea Scrolls that are there. What an amazing testimony to the sovereign work of God in making sure that the generations of history had an accurate record of His words to all humanity.
In the afternoon we took the bus to the top of the Mt. of Olives and then descended to the Kidron before climbing out to go to our dinner place. It is amazing in Jerusalem and all over the country how steep the hills and valleys are. And yet, for example, during His passion week (week before the cross) Jesus crossed that valley daily, travelling between Bethany and Jerusalem. Wow! What a Lord we have in Jesus!
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