Nehemiah 2:17-18 – Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.” I also told them about the gracious hand of my God upon me and what the king had said to me. They replied, “Let us start rebuilding.”  So they began this good work.

After 70 years of Babylonian captivity, the nation of Israel was returning from exile. The gates and walls of Jerusalem lay in ruins. Nehemiah was among those who returned to start rebuilding. These gates prophetically describe aspects of Jesus’ work, and stages in our walk with Him.

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Jerusalem A Heavy Stone

Zechariah 12:3 (NIV) – “On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves.”

Jerusalem is one of the most well known cities in the Bible.  It is mentioned many times in both the Old and New Testaments.  Before the Israelites entered the Promised Land, the city was under the control of the Jebusites (a tribe of Canaanites) who called it “Jebus” rather than “Jerusalem.”  The Jebusites were one of the seven nations that God drove out of the Promised Land before the Israelites.  This was all part of the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham.

It was near here that Abraham received a substitute to sacrifice to save his son Isaac.  It was from here that the mysterious figure Melchizedek brought spiritual blessings to Abraham, with bread and wine.  It was here that God had always planned for his Temple to be built, and for His Son Jesus to reign in majesty.

Throughout history Jerusalem has been the site of many famous battles.  In general Israel has been placed in the middle of a lot of global events throughout history,  Israel has passed through the hands of many famous, now fallen, empires.  At one point it was under the control of the Babylonians, later the Perisans, Greeks, and Romans.  In the case of the Romans, the prophetic words of Jesus proved true when He said “not one stone will be left upon another” (Matthew 24:2).  This happened in 70 AD when the Romans destroyed the city.  After that time, until 1948, Israel was without a homeland of their own, scattered abroad.

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Luke 2:44-49 – …Supposing Him to have been in the company, they went a day’s journey, and sought Him among their relatives and acquaintances.  So when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him.  Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions.  And all who heard him were astonished at His understanding and answers.  So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have you done this to us?  Look, your father and I have sought you anxiously.”   And He said to them, “Why did you seek me?  Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?”

This is a familiar story about Jesus going to Jerusalem when he was twelve years old.  His parents took him there every year for the Passover.  They traveled with a large caravan of friends and relatives from Nazareth.  Jesus was left behind.  In the text about their search for him, we see interesting parallels to the ways – and reasons – that many people search for Jesus today.   continue

2 Samuel 6:3-7 - “They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart with the ark of God on it, and Ahio was walking in front of it. David and the whole house of Israel were celebrating with all their might before the Lord, with songs  and with harps, lyres, tambourines, sistrums and cymbals.  When they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled.  The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down and he died there beside the ark of God.”

David wanted to have the ark of the covenant close to him in Jerusalem, because it representation the manifestation of God’s presence in a special way, and was a location from which the Lord often spoke. David’s desire was good, and he understood the need to obey the revelation, but he made a critical mistake in this process.

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