The historical record of the life and times of Jeremiah was not confined to the book holding his name. In fact, the book we call "Lamentations" was from the beginning published along with the "book" of Jeremiah.
In five acrostic poems, Jeremiah pours out his heart for his hometown--the place God had chosen since King David's time to call His own--the city of Jerusalem. As he and others had predicted and warned, the city of Jerusalem was destroyed, and Jeremiah was there while it was happening. This poetry is perhaps the best in the Old Testament, even including metered lines in a form that became known as the Lamentation form.
God had warned that this would happen as far back as his revealed will to the people in the Exodus. Disobedience has consequences, and the people of Judah had found out the hard way. The wrath of God--manifested in the armies of Babylon--served as a vivid illustration of the coming judgment of mankind in general.
However, there was hope in the future. The wrath of God would be poured out upon Jesus the Messiah about 450 years later. In this act of love, the Son of God would take the full punishment due to all his true people, wherever and whenever they may be. When the final days of mankind on this old earth come, the judgment poured out on it will be a magnification of the fall of Jerusalem to an unimaginable level. The only hope any of us have is to be covered by the sacrifice Jesus made.
Showing posts with label salvation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label salvation. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 26, 2018
Tuesday, May 22, 2018
Route 66:7 Judges: A Cautionary Tale
Four hundred years ago, brave, or foolhearty, adventurers struggled against local tribes in America. They often made mistakes, but believed God had put them here.
For the Israelites, it seemed like the God of the Exodus had abandoned them. In turn, the majority began to follow false worship much like that of unbelievers around them.
The vicious circle began. The more they lived like the pagans, the further they seemed to be from God. They were either becoming pagans or hiding from them.
A number of unremarkable men, and one woman, were raised up by God to become saviors for a time. But the system of judges failed in the long run, even leading to fatricide and civil war.
The children of Israel learned the hard way that you can't run your life "from the heart.
Thursday, May 02, 2013
Truth - Part 3
0571 tma ‘emeth eh’- meth
Firmness, faithfulness, truth.
Contracted from
0539 Nma ‘aman aw-man’
To support, to confirm, to be faithful
To be established, to make firm
To stand firm, to trust, to be certain, to believe in.
The most personal thoughts of all are the Psalms, the song book of the Bible. In these 150 songs we find both praise and prayer, with an occasional lament. The writers range from unknown Levites to King David. Many were collected by Levites and were perhaps written by them. They put much value on the truth, though they at times wonder "aloud" what the meaning of it all might be.
The first mention of truth is in Psalm 15. David asks who is worthy to stand before God in worship, and then answers his own question:
2 He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.
The essence of a righteous man is what he is "in his heart." When he is honest with himself, the believer before in God's presense confesses his unworthiness though he has done all the right things outwardly. The truth is that only God is good, though he has lain down his Law (which is true) as a guideline to those who seek to be near to him.
In Psalm 19 David extols the evidence of God's truth - both in the world and in the Word. At verse 5 he begins to describe the Word of God:
7 ¶ The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
11 Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.
The Word of God; called the Law, the testimony, the statutes, the judgments and the judgments of Yahweh; reflects His nature. These verses contain so much, but verses 7 and 9 contain the words of this study "amen" and "emeth." The Law is said to be perfect, that is to say, wholesome. This word denotes soundness and integrity. The evidence is in, supporting the Law as "amen" - totally trustworthy. Then we see that "reverencial awe" in Yahweh's attribute will be with us forever because what He has decided -- including our eternal destiny -- can be no different. His judgments are both true and "just right." Verse 11 praises God that His Word both warns and promises those who believe.
In Psalm 25 David seeks an audience with Yahweh, declaring his confidence ("betach" = trust) that he will be heard and asks that God show him what to do:
2 O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me.
3 Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without cause.
4 Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths.
5 Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.
6 Remember, O LORD, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old.
Yahweh's attributes are worthy of praise, but so are His Words. David prays that he will not sin, but instead will be shown God's will clearly so that he will be safe in God's presense. He prays that Yahweh will display His compassion and acts of faithfulness to His Word. He goes on to acknowledge God's goodness in patiently teaching those who humble themselves. In the end the paths of God constitute the foundation upon which a believers faith rests: "mercy and truth" -- God's faithfulness to his covenant.
8 ¶ Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he teach sinners in the way.
9 The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.
10 All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.
In Psalm 26, David justifies himself first, but acknowledges that he avoids sinners because his trust is in Yahweh. He asks Yahweh to test him so he can be know that the path he treads is firmly in God's will.
1 ¶ Judge me, O LORD; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the LORD; therefore I shall not slide.
2 Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.
3 For thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes: and I have walked in thy truth.
The Psalms are rich in extolling the truth found in God and His Word, so one more Davidic Psalm will close this post. Psalm 31 presents truth up against "lying vanities." David loves the truth, but can't stand the empty lies of his enemies.
4 Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily for me: for thou art my strength.
5 Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O LORD God of truth.
6 I have hated them that regard lying vanities: but I trust in the LORD.
Yahweh El Emeth -- a glorious name of God, indeed! When compared to rebellious mankind, there can be no other conclusion but to trust the Redeemer.
Truth - Part 2
0571 tma ‘emeth eh’-meth
Firmness, faithfulness, truth.
0571 tma ‘emeth eh’- meth
Firmness, faithfulness, truth.
Contracted from
0539 Nma ‘aman aw-man’
To support, to confirm, to be faithful
To be established, to make firm
To stand firm, to trust, to be certain, to believe in.
And so, the Law establishes that Truth is that which is firm, established, and therefore can be trusted. The 10 commandments establish the soundness of God as Creator, Savior and Preserver; as well as the validity of familial and societal institutions. We therefore know that God and man exist to live at peace. But we also know that mankind is undependable on its part. In the historical books of the Bible, we find this seen in the chosen and appointed leaders of God's people.
In the book of Joshua (Josh. 2:12), the prostitute Rachab displays her trust in the true God while asking for a promise from men who have told her that they serve Yahweh. She wants to trust them, so she asked for a "true sign," that is, an oath by Yahweh that she and her family would be saved. Having secured this, she saved them. This is the first case of a Gentile showing faith in Yahweh based on verifiable wonders that He had done.
Later, in Joshua 24:14, Joshua called on all of Israel to trust God, based on the very same evidence that Rachab had believed true. He calls on them to "serve him in sincerity and in truth." This is to say, with a whole-hearted faith in what has been shown to be reliable. In the next verse, their civil leader holds himself up as an example. He would serve Yahweh along with his family. He could not make that choice for others, but he could lead by example.
In the book of Judges "truth" only shows up in a parable. In chapter 9, a parable is told of various plants looking to choose a leader. It came down to who wanted to lead rather than who was suitable. The occasion of the parable was the rise of Abimelech, son of the reluctant judge Gideon, to rule as a "king." To do this, though, he had gathered a band of hoodlums to kill his own brothers whom he saw as a threat to his authority. His youngest brother, though, escaped and told the parable of the bramble bush becoming ruler over all the worthy trees of the land. In order to server "in sincerity and in truth" (as Joshua had said), trust had to be put in that which was worthless.
The people had chosen to follow other gods, and not the truth. The examples of this folly are throughout this book, for they "did what was right in their own eyes." There was no abosolute truth upon which to stand.
Finally, a true prophet and priest arose to rule over the people. But they asked this man, Samuel, to give them a king. It was to them that Samuel warned that this king was not their savior in whom to put their trust. That kind of faith could only be put in the true God - Yahweh - who had proven Himself in history (even among the judges, though they had been mostly evil men). In 1 Samuel 12:
24 Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you.
25 But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king.
The requirements had not changed. Without trust in Yahweh, no earthly ruler would prevail among men. Saul would prove to be just as much a disappointment as had Abimelech.
After the reign of the first godly king (David), the subject of the truth once again arises. David wants to honor Yahweh with a beautiful temple rather than the mobile home in the form of a tent (the tabernacle) which had been designed by God Himself. The prophet Nathan received a vision from Yahweh pointing out that the tabernacle was just fine, fitting the purpose for which He had designed it. Instead, God told the prophet that He would "build a house" for David -- a family and a nation founded in the truth of His unchangeable nature. But David was persistent, going to God in prayer, bringing God's promise of a permanent family and nation back to a permanent temple in which to worship. In that prayer David says:
2 Samuel 7:
26 And let thy name be magnified for ever, saying, The LORD of hosts is the God over Israel: and let the house of thy servant David be established before thee.
27 For thou, O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, hast revealed to thy servant, saying, I will build thee an house: therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer unto thee.
28 And now, O Lord GOD, thou art that God, and thy words be true, and thou hast promised this goodness unto thy servant:
29 Therefore now let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue for ever before thee: for thou, O Lord GOD, hast spoken it: and with thy blessing let the house of thy servant be blessed for ever.
Not only are the acts of God to be trusted, but also His Word. We know God answered this prayer with plans for the temple apparently via Nathan or Gad, his prophets, because David so informs his son Solomon (1 Kings 28):
11 ¶ Then David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of the porch, and of the houses thereof, and of the treasuries thereof, and of the upper chambers thereof, and of the inner parlours thereof, and of the place of the mercy seat,
12 And the pattern of all that he had by the spirit ...
19 All this, said David, the LORD made me understand in writing by his hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern.
20 And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the LORD God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD.
The building of the temple was left to Solomon whom David entrusted to Yahweh to fulfill the promise of a perpetual dynasty. Solomon finds himself before God in a dream (1 Kings 3):
5 ¶ In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.
6 And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.
7 And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.
8 And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude.
9 Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?
Solomon had seen how God was real to his father David, and he wanted the same relationship. He raises up God's covenant loyalty (chesed) and David's trust in God (walking in truth) in a prayer for wisdom. Yahweh answers that prayer, along with so much more, as the Queen of Sheba would declare (1 Kings 10):
6 And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom. [also 2 Chron. 9:5]
Here truth is just straight reporting of the facts -- what IS. The rumors were squelched when she saw the proof for herself. She had had her doubts, but evidence banished them. So it is with truth: the measurable facts outweigh mere mortal speculation. Generations later, the nation had split due to Solomon's apostasy to such a point that the kings of the northern kingdom (which kept the name "Israel") had got so bad that the prophet Elijah had to seek support among Gentiles. There a widow saw the work of God and was convinced that anything Yahweh said was the truth (1 Kings 17):
24 And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in thy mouth is truth.
It took calamity in the southern kingdom for the godly king Hezekiah to pray to God for relief (2 Kings 20):
3 I beseech thee, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. [see also, 2 Chron. 20 and Isaiah 38]
Truth is synomous with that which is good in God's sight. To walk with God is to do what is right, that is to be righteous. That is an impossible task for fallen mankind, but it remains a goal. God's creation, in its original state was good - that is, beautiful or pleasant. How could it have been otherwise, since it was the work of his Word and his hands. God healed Hezekiah but brought the delayed curse on the land through his yet to be born son Manassah.
Years later, returning to Jerusalem after years in captivity, Nehemiah would recall in prayer the works and words of Yahweh:
Neh. 9:
13 Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments:
14 And madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant:
15 And gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and promisedst them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them.
16 But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments,
17 And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not. ...
33 Howbeit thou art just in all that is brought upon us; for thou hast done right ["emeth" = that which is true], but we have done wickedly:
34 Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers, kept thy law, nor hearkened unto thy commandments and thy testimonies, wherewith thou didst testify against them.
Indeed, even when the authorities in the land did not believe in Yahweh, the letters of believers ended with "Peace and Truth" (Esther 9:30). This same combination was used by Hezekiah (2 Kings 20:19; Isaiah 39:9) and by Jeremiah when the time had come for both to end. Jeremiah confirmed that a time would come when both peace and truth would return (Jer. 33:6) in a period after God had made a ''new covenant" with his people (Jer. 31:31).
God is the ultimate source of all that is true. He created the world -- as confirmed throughout history and by simply observing what he has done. That which is observed is true because it is verifiable evidence. God also saves his people, no matter how bad they seem to be. This is an observed phenomenon as well, for the evidence has been there since recorded history began. These two undeniable truths are clear from the Old Testament.
In the next post, we will look to the songs of worship -- the Psalms -- to see what the concept of "truth" means on a personal level.
Firmness, faithfulness, truth.
Contracted from
0539 Nma ‘aman aw-man’
To support, to confirm, to be faithful
To be established, to make firm
To stand firm, to trust, to be certain, to believe in.
0571 tma ‘emeth eh’- meth
Firmness, faithfulness, truth.
Contracted from
0539 Nma ‘aman aw-man’
To support, to confirm, to be faithful
To be established, to make firm
To stand firm, to trust, to be certain, to believe in.
And so, the Law establishes that Truth is that which is firm, established, and therefore can be trusted. The 10 commandments establish the soundness of God as Creator, Savior and Preserver; as well as the validity of familial and societal institutions. We therefore know that God and man exist to live at peace. But we also know that mankind is undependable on its part. In the historical books of the Bible, we find this seen in the chosen and appointed leaders of God's people.
In the book of Joshua (Josh. 2:12), the prostitute Rachab displays her trust in the true God while asking for a promise from men who have told her that they serve Yahweh. She wants to trust them, so she asked for a "true sign," that is, an oath by Yahweh that she and her family would be saved. Having secured this, she saved them. This is the first case of a Gentile showing faith in Yahweh based on verifiable wonders that He had done.
Later, in Joshua 24:14, Joshua called on all of Israel to trust God, based on the very same evidence that Rachab had believed true. He calls on them to "serve him in sincerity and in truth." This is to say, with a whole-hearted faith in what has been shown to be reliable. In the next verse, their civil leader holds himself up as an example. He would serve Yahweh along with his family. He could not make that choice for others, but he could lead by example.
In the book of Judges "truth" only shows up in a parable. In chapter 9, a parable is told of various plants looking to choose a leader. It came down to who wanted to lead rather than who was suitable. The occasion of the parable was the rise of Abimelech, son of the reluctant judge Gideon, to rule as a "king." To do this, though, he had gathered a band of hoodlums to kill his own brothers whom he saw as a threat to his authority. His youngest brother, though, escaped and told the parable of the bramble bush becoming ruler over all the worthy trees of the land. In order to server "in sincerity and in truth" (as Joshua had said), trust had to be put in that which was worthless.
The people had chosen to follow other gods, and not the truth. The examples of this folly are throughout this book, for they "did what was right in their own eyes." There was no abosolute truth upon which to stand.
Finally, a true prophet and priest arose to rule over the people. But they asked this man, Samuel, to give them a king. It was to them that Samuel warned that this king was not their savior in whom to put their trust. That kind of faith could only be put in the true God - Yahweh - who had proven Himself in history (even among the judges, though they had been mostly evil men). In 1 Samuel 12:
24 Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you.
25 But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king.
The requirements had not changed. Without trust in Yahweh, no earthly ruler would prevail among men. Saul would prove to be just as much a disappointment as had Abimelech.
After the reign of the first godly king (David), the subject of the truth once again arises. David wants to honor Yahweh with a beautiful temple rather than the mobile home in the form of a tent (the tabernacle) which had been designed by God Himself. The prophet Nathan received a vision from Yahweh pointing out that the tabernacle was just fine, fitting the purpose for which He had designed it. Instead, God told the prophet that He would "build a house" for David -- a family and a nation founded in the truth of His unchangeable nature. But David was persistent, going to God in prayer, bringing God's promise of a permanent family and nation back to a permanent temple in which to worship. In that prayer David says:
2 Samuel 7:
26 And let thy name be magnified for ever, saying, The LORD of hosts is the God over Israel: and let the house of thy servant David be established before thee.
27 For thou, O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, hast revealed to thy servant, saying, I will build thee an house: therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer unto thee.
28 And now, O Lord GOD, thou art that God, and thy words be true, and thou hast promised this goodness unto thy servant:
29 Therefore now let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue for ever before thee: for thou, O Lord GOD, hast spoken it: and with thy blessing let the house of thy servant be blessed for ever.
Not only are the acts of God to be trusted, but also His Word. We know God answered this prayer with plans for the temple apparently via Nathan or Gad, his prophets, because David so informs his son Solomon (1 Kings 28):
11 ¶ Then David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of the porch, and of the houses thereof, and of the treasuries thereof, and of the upper chambers thereof, and of the inner parlours thereof, and of the place of the mercy seat,
12 And the pattern of all that he had by the spirit ...
19 All this, said David, the LORD made me understand in writing by his hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern.
20 And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the LORD God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD.
The building of the temple was left to Solomon whom David entrusted to Yahweh to fulfill the promise of a perpetual dynasty. Solomon finds himself before God in a dream (1 Kings 3):
5 ¶ In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.
6 And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.
7 And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.
8 And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude.
9 Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?
Solomon had seen how God was real to his father David, and he wanted the same relationship. He raises up God's covenant loyalty (chesed) and David's trust in God (walking in truth) in a prayer for wisdom. Yahweh answers that prayer, along with so much more, as the Queen of Sheba would declare (1 Kings 10):
6 And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom. [also 2 Chron. 9:5]
Here truth is just straight reporting of the facts -- what IS. The rumors were squelched when she saw the proof for herself. She had had her doubts, but evidence banished them. So it is with truth: the measurable facts outweigh mere mortal speculation. Generations later, the nation had split due to Solomon's apostasy to such a point that the kings of the northern kingdom (which kept the name "Israel") had got so bad that the prophet Elijah had to seek support among Gentiles. There a widow saw the work of God and was convinced that anything Yahweh said was the truth (1 Kings 17):
24 And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in thy mouth is truth.
It took calamity in the southern kingdom for the godly king Hezekiah to pray to God for relief (2 Kings 20):
3 I beseech thee, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. [see also, 2 Chron. 20 and Isaiah 38]
Truth is synomous with that which is good in God's sight. To walk with God is to do what is right, that is to be righteous. That is an impossible task for fallen mankind, but it remains a goal. God's creation, in its original state was good - that is, beautiful or pleasant. How could it have been otherwise, since it was the work of his Word and his hands. God healed Hezekiah but brought the delayed curse on the land through his yet to be born son Manassah.
Years later, returning to Jerusalem after years in captivity, Nehemiah would recall in prayer the works and words of Yahweh:
Neh. 9:
13 Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments:
14 And madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant:
15 And gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and promisedst them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them.
16 But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments,
17 And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not. ...
33 Howbeit thou art just in all that is brought upon us; for thou hast done right ["emeth" = that which is true], but we have done wickedly:
34 Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers, kept thy law, nor hearkened unto thy commandments and thy testimonies, wherewith thou didst testify against them.
Indeed, even when the authorities in the land did not believe in Yahweh, the letters of believers ended with "Peace and Truth" (Esther 9:30). This same combination was used by Hezekiah (2 Kings 20:19; Isaiah 39:9) and by Jeremiah when the time had come for both to end. Jeremiah confirmed that a time would come when both peace and truth would return (Jer. 33:6) in a period after God had made a ''new covenant" with his people (Jer. 31:31).
God is the ultimate source of all that is true. He created the world -- as confirmed throughout history and by simply observing what he has done. That which is observed is true because it is verifiable evidence. God also saves his people, no matter how bad they seem to be. This is an observed phenomenon as well, for the evidence has been there since recorded history began. These two undeniable truths are clear from the Old Testament.
In the next post, we will look to the songs of worship -- the Psalms -- to see what the concept of "truth" means on a personal level.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
A Wall of Separation
Who would have thought that traffic engineers would be "peace keepers." But that seems to be the case in Israel. With all the talk about a separate Palestinian (that is, Philistine) state within the Biblical bounds of Israel, the present government seems to have come up with a solution for "separate, but equal" access through lands claimed by the separate peoples. Two parallel roads, divided by a concrete, fake stone wall, will bypass Jerusalem. Only verified Israeli or authorized Palestinians will have access to the road with exits into town. Palestinians can pass by town but not enter (routed under or over access roads).
Israel is willing to give up some of its land for peaceful "co-existence," but it will not allow Jerusalem to be used as a capital for its ancient enemies. From King David's time on, this city has been considered holy. In Solomon's time it became not only the capital, but the "home" of YHWH! How can the home of God be sold out from under Him?! Of course, we know that He owns it all. Not only that, His temple is not His home. God's home is with and IN His people! This is why I believe that the literal interpretation of all the "eternal" promises to Jerusalem are so misguided.
The city is not meant to be an eternal point in space that God considers sacred. The terrestrial city has served its purpose, being replaced by a temporal spiritual city (the church) that points to the eternal "New Jerusalem" which will be the "center of worship" in a new heavens-and-earth. This center of the new universe is described as a cube twelve thousand stadia (approx. 1380 miles) to a side. The only other cube in scripture is the "Holy of holies" - the inner sanctuary where the ark of the covenant was (1 Kings 6:16-20). It was there that God "dwelt." The symbolism is perfect, as the account in Revelation seems to make quite clear (Rev. 21:1-2, 10-27). That city will be the ultimate in "separation" as the eternally blessed will forever be with God while those outside (Rev. 22:15, see also Rev. 21:8) will forever be apart from His love and protection!
Unfortunately, many who consider themselves "God's people" driving on the Israeli side of these new roads in Israel are "heading in the wrong direction" while there is a large contingency of Christians (probably larger than all the Christian Jews in the land) in the population relegated to the other side of the wall. Such irony.
Read about the wall and the roads at the article at the New York Times.
Israel is willing to give up some of its land for peaceful "co-existence," but it will not allow Jerusalem to be used as a capital for its ancient enemies. From King David's time on, this city has been considered holy. In Solomon's time it became not only the capital, but the "home" of YHWH! How can the home of God be sold out from under Him?! Of course, we know that He owns it all. Not only that, His temple is not His home. God's home is with and IN His people! This is why I believe that the literal interpretation of all the "eternal" promises to Jerusalem are so misguided.
The city is not meant to be an eternal point in space that God considers sacred. The terrestrial city has served its purpose, being replaced by a temporal spiritual city (the church) that points to the eternal "New Jerusalem" which will be the "center of worship" in a new heavens-and-earth. This center of the new universe is described as a cube twelve thousand stadia (approx. 1380 miles) to a side. The only other cube in scripture is the "Holy of holies" - the inner sanctuary where the ark of the covenant was (1 Kings 6:16-20). It was there that God "dwelt." The symbolism is perfect, as the account in Revelation seems to make quite clear (Rev. 21:1-2, 10-27). That city will be the ultimate in "separation" as the eternally blessed will forever be with God while those outside (Rev. 22:15, see also Rev. 21:8) will forever be apart from His love and protection!
Unfortunately, many who consider themselves "God's people" driving on the Israeli side of these new roads in Israel are "heading in the wrong direction" while there is a large contingency of Christians (probably larger than all the Christian Jews in the land) in the population relegated to the other side of the wall. Such irony.
Read about the wall and the roads at the article at the New York Times.
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