Bible Cities: Jerusalem

Jerusalem means “habitation of peace”; but it has not yet been a peace­ful city. It is the chosen city of God, which He chose to dwell in:

“The LORD bath chosen Zion; he bath desired it for his habitation. This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it” (Ps.132:13,14).

It is first mentioned in the Bible in Genesis 14:18 as Salem, where Melchizedek was king. Since then it has been known as Jebus, Jerusalem and Zion.

After the flood some of the descendants of Canaan, the Jebusites, occu­pied Jerusalem. Jerusalem was called Jebus at this time. God’s people, the child­ren of Israel, did not come into the land of Canaan to occupy it until after their years of bondage in Egypt. Then not long after Joshua died, they came to Jeru­salem:

“Now the children of Judah had fought against Jerusalem, and had taken it, and smitten it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire” (Jud.1:8).

Though Jerusalem was taken, the Jebusites were not all destroyed, nor thrown out. They remained with the Israelites and even kept the stronghold of Jerusalem

David’s city

Seven years into David’s reign as king over Judah in Hebron he moved against Jerusalem. The Jebusites there teased him, saying that if Jerusalem was filled with blind men and cripples, then he still would not be able to take it. The city was well-positioned for defence. However, David sent soldiers, led by Joab, through a water duct under the ground in which a traitor may have provided a rope for them to climb up by:

“And the king and his men went to Jerusalem unto the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land: which spake unto David, saying, Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither: thinking, David cannot come in hither. Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion: the same is the city of David. And David said on that day, Whosoever getteth up to the gutter, and smiteth the Jebusites, and the lame and the blind, that are hated of David’s soul, he shall be chief and captain” (2 Sam.5:6-8).

Jerusalem was then very rightly called “City of David”, and was the capital of Israel from then onwards. Yet again the Jebusites were not utterly destroyed, but probably lived in the outskirts of the city.

Judgment

A succession of kings reigned from Jerusalem; many of them turned their heads away from God, and so did the people. So God sent Jeremiah the prophet to tell them what was to happen to them for punishment:

“Then the LORD said unto me, Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land” (Jer.1:14).

The army came from the north in the form of the Assyrians led by Sennacherib in about 715 BC. Jerusalem looked doomed; but God saved them, and sent an angel through the Assyrian camp during the night to kill them (2 Kings 19:35).

The men of Judah did not learn their lesson, but again turned away from God; so God sent another army down against them. This is described in 2 Chroni­cles 36:15-20. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came down on Jerusalem and bes­ieged it. He took it, taking many captive and destroying the city. God was still merciful and sent Jeremiah to them once again to tell them they would be deli­vered:

“Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, as I have punished the king of Assyria. And I will bring Israel again to his habitation, and he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan, and his soul shall be satisfied upon mount Ephraim and Gilead” (Jer.50:18,19).

Jesus’ prophecy

After 70 years the Babylonian Empire fell, and the Israelites returned to their land and rebuilt Jerusalem. Many years later, around BC 63, Pompey, com­mander-in-chief of the Roman army, besieged Jerusalem for three months. Eventu­ally Jerusalem gave way, and Israel came under Roman rule.

Jesus during his ministry warned Jerusalem that it would be destroyed shortly:

“There shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nat­ions: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled” (Luke 21:23,24).

Indeed, in about AD 70 Jerusalem was trodden down by Gentiles, when the Romans came down upon it and razed it to the ground, leaving just a pile of rubble. The Jews were scattered over all the earth. Jerusalem has been occupied by many nat­ions since then, until early this century, when the Jews began to return to their land, as prophesied in the Bible. Finally, on May 14th 1948, a State of Israel was declared in the land of Palestine.

However, Jerusalem was still under Gentile rule. In 1967 the Israelis fought for 6 days and won Jerusalem from the Arabs. This was the start of the fulfilment of Jesus’ prophecy quoted above, “Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the TIMES OF THE GENTILES BE FULFILLED”.

Jerusalem in the future

God has plans for Jerusalem in the future, which He shows us in Zecha­riah 14:1,2:

“Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.”

But God will fight for His people again: “Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle” (v.3). It is at this time that Jesus will return: “And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east” (v.4).Jesus will sit on the throne of David, and will reign for ever:

“He (Jesus) shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end” (Luke 1:32,33).

Jerusalem will be the “city of the great King” (Ps.48:2), and all people will flock to Jerusalem to worship God:

“And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles” (Zech.14:16).

Although Jerusalem has not been a city of peace in the past, it will be in the future:

“And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” (Is.2:2-4).

Jerusalem will then be called a “habitation of peace”, and “the LORD shall be king over all the earth” (Zech.14:9).

Psalm 122 tells us to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem”(v.6); indeed, we should pray for the Kingdom to come on the earth, when “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away” (Rev.21:4).