Page 18 - TORCH #18 - May 2021

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“If I forget you O Jerusalem... if I do not remember you.” Despite being hundreds of miles away from a city he
had never even visited, Nehemiah’s head was in Persia but his heart was in Jerusalem. And it is with this deep burden that he remembered Jerusalem and the welfare of her people.
Friends, we too should have this heart for Jerusalem. In fact, the Lord will give
us this burden when we read God’s Word and obey it. That’s why we make it
our cause to inquire of the things concerning Jerusalem. As Christians who love Israel, we have a burden for the gates of Jerusalem; for Jerusalem’s protection, for Israel’s defence, for secure gates and safe walls, for
the welfare of her people; that those who dwell there will not be simply known
as ‘survivors’ but ‘thrivers’. Praise the Lord that today despite enemies, Am Yisrael Chai, the people of Israel live.
The Bible tells us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Psalm 122:6-9 says,
May the Lord instil in us a desire to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
Now Nehemiah’s reaction was compelling. Losing strength in his legs he sat down and began to weep and mourn. This wasn’t simply him feeling bad for Jerusalem or feeling sorry for the Jews there. I believe God touched his heart and moved upon him in a way that convicted him of his burden.
It says Nehemiah wept for Jerusalem and so he prayed and fasted. This weeping of Nehemiah over Jerusalem is also a reflection of the heart of our Lord.
As Christians we will be familiar with someone else who wept over Jerusalem – Jesus. In fact, the Gospels record three occasions that Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem. Let’s read one of these accounts from Luke 19:41-44:
Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace!
But now they are hidden from your eyes. For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”
This prophetic word
was fulfilled in AD 70
when the Roman Emperor Titus besieged Jerusalem destroying both the city and the Temple. To this day its broken stones on the floor of this ancient city
are evidence of this tragic event and a reminder that the Bible is true and that
all things prophesised in the Gospels will be fulfilled. Jesus lamented with tears over Jerusalem foreknowing of its future attack, but note it wasn’t just the city’s physical destruction that Jesus mourned, but in the words of Jesus, “the things that make for your peace.” He was burdened for the
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May they prosper who love you. Peace be within your walls,
Prosperity within your palaces.”
For the sake of
my brethren and companions,
I will now say, “Peace be within you.”
Because of the house of the Lord our God
I will seek your good.