What occupies your attention? Isn’t it the things you love? The people who rejoice in God find joy in Jerusalem and choose to maintain this passion. Psalm 137 was a memory of Jewish Exile when Babylonian slave-masters tormented Israelite slaves by asking them to sing merry songs about the magnificent Jerusalem to mock and insult them. Singing under these circumstances for the Jews implied that they had forgotten their beloved city, Jerusalem. These taunts by the Babylonian slave-masters punctured Jewish hearts because their precious Jerusalem was in ruins.
Against this backdrop, the poet expresses his emotions; to play an instrument and sing was connotative of joy, so he prefers to become paralyzed and powerless instead of rejoicing while Jerusalem is shattered. The meaning is clear: Jerusalem’s struggle should affect Christians everywhere because the enthusiasm of God’s house should dominate the highest place in our hearts and rise above all other loyalties. The poet, David, fortifies himself against the sin of apostasy and the danger of denying God. Israel is the apple of God’s eye. To ignore Israel and Jerusalem is to disregard God (Zechariah 2:8). “If I forget Thee, O Jerusalem” is an address to Jahve, the summit of David’s joy, his noblest pride. David’s spiritual satisfaction over the City of God, Jerusalem, soars above all earthly appeals.
There are a few conclusions to be drawn from David’s expressions:
- If I do not promote Jerusalem, I am bereft of absolute happiness
- If Jerusalem’s prosperity and misery do not affect me profoundly, I do not value and desire Jerusalem.
- If I am not concerned with Jerusalem in prayer and conversation, I have overlooked the significance of Jerusalem.
Jerusalem’s Significance
1. Jerusalem is God’s Holy City
Jerusalem is God’s Holy City, “For the Lord has chosen Zion, he has desired it for his dwelling, saying, ‘This is my resting place for ever and ever; here I will sit enthroned, for I have desired it’” (Psalm 137:13-14). Zechariah said that the Lord has chosen Jerusalem (Zechariah 3:2). In Zechariah 1:16, the Lord said, “I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion…” Verse 16 says, “Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘I will return to Jerusalem with mercy, and there my house will be rebuilt. And the measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem,’ declares the LORD Almighty.”
2. Jerusalem is the center of the earth
Jerusalem is divinely situated by God in the center of the earth. In Ezekiel 5:5, the Lord says, “…This is Jerusalem, which I have set in the center of the nations, with countries all around her.” Almighty God will reign from Jerusalem. There is no wonder that nations envy its position, and the enemy will do what he can to acquire its control and thwart God’s plan of salvation for the world.
3. Jerusalem is a light
God appointed Jerusalem as a light to the nations. God says, “…You will do more than restore the people of Israel to me. I will make you a light to the Gentiles, and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth” (Isaiah 49:6). Jerusalem stands on hills at an elevation of 2575 feet. Of this great city, God declared, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden” (Matthew 5:14).
4. Jerusalem is Jesus
Jerusalem appears over 660 times in the Old Testament and over 140 times in the New Testament. It is the city of Jesus’ crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. Jerusalem is the leading symbol of newness expressed in Revelation 3:12, “I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name.” Newness is the core of Christian faith and optimism.
The God of Jerusalem
Psalm 48:8 declares Jerusalem as the City of the Lord, but who is the Lord? The Lord is YHWH, the covenant name that the Most High God revealed to Moses (Exodus 3:15). Psalm 101:8 says, “Every morning I will put to silence all the wicked in the land; I will cut off every evildoer from the city of the LORD.” Jeremiah 38:8 says, “The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when this city will be rebuilt for me from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate.” Isaiah 60:14 says, “The children of your oppressors will come bowing before you; all who despise you will bow down at your feet and will call you the City of the LORD, Zion of the Holy One of Israel.”
God’s name is imprinted in Jerusalem, “…But now I have chosen Jerusalem for my Name to be there…” (2 Chronicles 6:6). God’s declaration is evidence of His Divine favor resting on Jerusalem. God promised the Jewish people, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).
The God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob claimed Jerusalem as His own, and their descendants are the inheritors of the land of Israel. Genesis 17:7 says, “And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.”
The psalmist, David, vindicates his passion for this great city of the Lord. The Israelites were held in captivity, away from Jerusalem, and many of them had never seen this marvelous center. Yet, Jerusalem remained on their minds and governed their hearts, reflecting a robust faith in the promise of its restoration at God’s chosen time.
The Jews opened their windows towards Jerusalem and prayed daily because Jerusalem was of tremendous value to them. What intense love and allegiance!
Jerusalem Matters
The City of Jerusalem matters because it is the consummation of Christian hope.
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
(Revelation 21:1-4).
Jerusalem matters because of its prophetic destiny.
“The nations will see your vindication, and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will bestow. You will be a crown of splendor in the Lord’s hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God.”
(Isaiah 62:2-3)
Jerusalem matters because it is chosen by God for the salvation of the world.
“For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her vindication shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch. The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will bestow.”
(Isaiah 62:1-1)
David’s psalm reveals the Jews’ strong desire for Jerusalem. If they failed Jerusalem, they preferred to die, to be incapacitated, and speechless, “let my right hand forget its skill’ and “let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth” (Psalm 137:5-6). As Christians, if Jerusalem’s prosperity, peace, and safety are not our chief joy, joy should not enter our hearts. We cannot separate these two concepts.
The Bible tells us that Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem (Luke 19:41). How about you? Does Jerusalem have your attention? Today, the grief we feel for the blessed City of God, Jerusalem, should shut out all other earthly comforts.
Be a Watchman!
Isaiah 62:6 says, “I have posted watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the LORD, give yourselves no rest and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth” (Isaiah 62:6-7). God reminds us of our duty to pray, night and day, for Jerusalem until God once again makes it the glorious praise of the earth. The Bible commands us to “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May those who love you be secure…” (Psalm 122:6). This is the first commandment connected to a promise. To be secure means to have peace of mind, peace with God, peace in death and future, peace in conflict, permanent peace!
We are Jerusalem’s watchmen. Do not get tired, do not keep quiet; you have been given a divine charge from the King to stand with Israel. Do not retreat into a backroom but be spokesmen and spokeswomen for God. The Bible encourages us to be instant in season and out of season, which implies during safety and peace and in times of danger and war (2 Timothy 4:2). Will you receive this command? Will you be Jerusalem’s custodian in its time of desolation? May God continue to bless Israel and the Jewish people.
