“Let Jerusalem Come Into Your Mind”
Jeremiah 51
47 Therefore, behold, the days come, that I will do judgment upon the graven images of Babylon: and her whole land shall be confounded, and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.
48 Then the heaven and the earth, and all that is therein, shall sing for Babylon: for the spoilers shall come unto her from the north, saith the Lord.
49 As Babylon hath caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the earth.
50 Ye that have escaped the sword, go away, stand not still: remember the Lord afar off, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.
51 We are confounded, because we have heard reproach: shame hath covered our faces: for strangers are come into the sanctuaries of the Lord's house.
52 Wherefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will do judgment upon her graven images: and through all her land the wounded shall groan.
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I have to admit, confess, repent, that I am … ambivalent, complacent, mad, angry about the present condition of the Jerusalem of this earth.
Simply, realistically, honestly: It’s a mess.
God cannot be happy, pleased, rejoicing over Jerusalem. His heart must be broken. I envision it more like Yeshua’s Matthew 23 lament over the Jerusalem that was then:
37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.
39 For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
But …
Yeshua was also angry about the spiritual condition within the Temple of His day. So much so that He went ballistic and turned over a few tables all the while toting a whip. If that was then, He has to be fuming now.
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But there are some other verses that help put a more balanced perspective on my feelings and attitude. Perhaps even a bit more like the heart of God.
Deuteronomy 4
26 I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed.
27 And the Lord shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the Lord shall lead you.
28 And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men's hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.
29 But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
30 When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice;
31 (For the Lord thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.
32 For ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and ask from the one side of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it?
33 Did ever people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live?
34 Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation, by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?
35 Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the Lord he is God; there is none else beside him.
36 Out of heaven he made thee to hear his voice, that he might instruct thee: and upon earth he shewed thee his great fire; and thou heardest his words out of the midst of the fire.
37 And because he loved thy fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them, and brought thee out in his sight with his mighty power out of Egypt;
38 To drive out nations from before thee greater and mightier than thou art, to bring thee in, to give thee their land for an inheritance, as it is this day.
39 Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the Lord he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else.
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Psalm 137
1 By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.
2 We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.
3 For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.
4 How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?
5 If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.
6 If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.
7 Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof.
8 O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us.
9 Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.
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Psalm 122
1 I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord.
2 Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem.
3 Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together:
4 Whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, unto the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the Lord.
5 For there are set thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house of David.
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.
7 Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces.
8 For my brethren and companions' sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee.
9 Because of the house of the Lord our God I will seek thy good.
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Now …
I’m not anticipating that I’m going to be getting the warm fuzzies anytime soon about the Jerusalem that now is, especially because I’ve read and believe the outlook as presented in Revelation.
But …
I am going to try to adopt more of a mindset as presented in the verses I’ve shared. Somehow God still loves that plot of Land and the people presently residing there. He wants them to turn unto Him because for their sake (as well as ours) He sent His Son to that very place to die for them so He could redeem them.
He did the same for me too. I was a disaster much like the Israel that now is before I came to Yeshua for salvation. If He can love me with much longsuffering how can I do less for any and all lost people? And truth be told, I’m still not too much to brag about either. But thankfully I’m clothed in His righteousness and stand justified before my God.
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My take away:
If God could love me and save me, then He loves and wants to save that crazy group of people now occupying His Land.
If Yeshua’s heart could be broken over the Jerusalem of His day, then mine can be too. Instead of seeing them with and through my human eyes I need to see Jerusalem through the eyes of Yeshua.
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Yeshua is coming back soon. It’s not going to be pretty. Actually, it’s going to be quite ugly and horrific.
The time is short. Perhaps I can start to change my heat by simply praying for the Peace of Jerusalem. Their peace now but ultimately for the peace that will speed over that Land and the whole world when Yeshua returns.
Revelation 22:20 —
20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
Let’s …
Let Jerusalem Come Into Our Minds