May 3

Psalm 122
I learned something about Israel last week that I guess I already knew, but I had just never heard that comparison before. “The modern state of Israel is about the geographic size of the panhandle of Oklahoma.” Like the panhandle, a good portion of it is dry. Hmm. . . How could such a little state be the focus so many world events? It wouldn’t seem that such a little country would matter in the affairs of the world. How many times has its capital, Jerusalem been destroyed and rebuilt? How many nations have surrounded its walls? Since David captured Jerusalem around 1000 B.C. these nations have sought to control its gates: Egypt, Ethiopia, Edom, Moab, Ammon, Syria, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, the Seleucids, Rome. That was only the first thousand years. From the time of the Muslim conquest to the present it has been the recipient of waves of conquerors, Muslim and/or so-called Christian. Why is it the site of so much upheaval? Simple, it represents everything that Satan detests—the rule and reign of God.
The Psalmist states it in a positive way in the last verse, “I will now say, ‘Peace be within you.’ Because of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your good.” For whatever reason, God has chosen Jerusalem to be the focus place of His redemptive plan. It would seem to me therefore that to act in aggression against Jerusalem, without the direct instruction of God, would be to act in aggression against God’s redemptive plan. Jerusalem was the place that God set to place His presence in order to redeem the human race. To act in aggression against Jerusalem without the direct instruction of God would be to act in aggression against God’s presence. Jerusalem was the place where God chose to set His name. To act in aggression against Jerusalem without the direct instruction of God would be to act in aggression against God’s Name. Jerusalem was the place where God chose to set His glory. To act in aggression against Jerusalem without the direct instruction of God would be to act in aggression against God’s glory.
For these reasons we must pray for the peace of Jerusalem, all the while realizing that true peace will never come until the Prince of Peace reigns upon His throne there. If I really understand praying for the peace of Jerusalem, my prayers go beyond physical peace. It is a prayer asking for the return of the Prince of Peace. He said that the end would not come until the Gospel of the Kingdom was preached as a witness to all nations (ethnic groups). I am convinced that praying for the peace of Jerusalem includes praying for the completion of the Great Commission. Yes, it includes praying for physical peace right now, but ultimately physical peace will never come until Jesus returns physically and comes to destroy those who destroy the earth. Then His glory will shine like the sun, and all shall see it. Then the nations will stream to Jerusalem to worship Him and bring the glory He so richly deserves. Then the nations will see and experience His glory. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john