God's City of Jerusalem

INTRO

I am excited about the study of Psalm 48 because it is all about Jerusalem. One of the things our team has been able to do is spend time in Jerusalem and pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Many scholars refer to this psalm and others (Psalm 76; 84; 87; 122; and 132) as the “Songs of Zion”¹ because “the emphasis is on the Lord and Mount Zion” (another title for Jerusalem)². What we get to see in Psalm 48 is God delivering Jerusalem from its enemies. Israel is about the size of New Jersey, so why are so many countries in the world concerned about what happens in Israel and Jerusalem? There is an ultimate battle for the city of Jerusalem.

TEACHING

Psalm 48:1-3: Wiersbe describes these verses as, “God and their city.”³ Verse 1 describes Jerusalem as “the holy city of our God.” Someone asked me why I care so much about the city of Jerusalem. The answer is in 1 Kings 14:21, “Jerusalem, the city where Yahweh had chosen from all the tribes of Israel to put His name.” Jeremiah 3:17 says the city will be called “Yahweh’s Throne, and all the nations will be gathered to it.” The nations will not be gathering because the Messiah has returned, but because of the name of Yahweh. It will be a precursor to the second coming of the Messiah. Jerusalem is God’s eternal city. The King of Glory will reside in Jerusalem. In Canaanite poetry, the king always resided on the north slope of the city. Here the psalmist explained the city of God was tangible and was Jerusalem.

David took Jerusalem from the Jebusites (2 Samuel 5:6–9), and made the city his capital. The city sat 2,500 feet above sea level, making it into a natural fortress, and was located near the place where the north-south and east-west trade routes crossed. This was also the place where the ark of the covenant was brought, which made it a holy city. Wiersbe states, “The greatness belongs to the Lord and not to the city, for in His grace, the Lord chose Zion.”⁴ Isaiah 2:2 states the city of Jerusalem is not only important for its past but for its future as well. The King of Glory would reside there. Isaiah 60:1 states the glory of the Lord would shine over Jerusalem.

Psalm 48:4–7: Wiersbe describes these verses as, “God and their enemies.”⁵ The besieging armies could not prevail against God’s stronghold on Jerusalem. God’s presence terrified them. Look specifically at verse 7, “You wrecked the ships of Tarshish with the east wind” and consider the winds from the east, west, north, and south. The east wind “came from the desert and was notoriously violent.”⁶ The east wind is probably what flattened the home of one of Job’s sons as well as the force that parted the Red Sea (Jeremiah 18:17). Other calamities from the east wind included scorched crops, dried up springs, and a plague of locusts. However, the west wind brought “moisture from the Mediterranean Sea between November and February,” blew away the locusts, and ended severe droughts.⁷ The north wind brought cold temperatures and could impact the people’s health. The south wind was gentle and “quiets the earth,” and lasts a single day in the spring.⁸ This is a good picture of Jerusalem—because it is surrounded by all kinds of things and nations that impact the city and the nation of Israel. This is a prophetic picture of what Jerusalem has and will experience.

Psalm 48:8–14: Wiersbe describes verses 8–11 as, “God and their worship.”⁹ God would establish the city of Jerusalem as His city forever. God has the power to establish Jerusalem as His city through the natural and/or the supernatural. God can do it through the battles brought upon Israel by its enemies, or He can intervene with His own angels. A simple example is when God sent His angel to a Syrian camp who killed 185,000 men. Nelson’s Commentaryexplains that in verse 9, the verb for the phrase “we have thought” “refers to making comparisons and looking for similarities, thinking and considering with discrimination. The point is that nothing can be compared to the loyal love of God.”¹⁰ Wiersbe describes verses 12–14 as, “God and their future.”¹¹ Their God would always lead them in Jerusalem.

CLOSING

What happened between Psalm 48 and today? This outline comes from The History Channel:

• Around 1,000 B.C., David established Jerusalem as his capital.
• King Solomon built the first temple there 40 years later.
• In 586 B.C., Babylonians destroyed the temple and took the Jews in exile to Babylon.
• Approximately 50 years later, Persian King Cyrus allowed the Jews to rebuild the temple.
• In 332 B.C., Alexander the Great captured Jerusalem. For several hundred years, control of the city was passed between different groups, such as the Romans, Persians, Arabs, Turks, Crusaders, Egyptians, and Islamists.
• In 37 B.C., Herod built the second temple.
• In A.D. 30, Jesus was crucified.
• In A.D. 70, Romans destroyed the second temple.
• In A.D. 632, the Islamic prophet Muhammad died. Islamists believe Muhammad ascended to heaven from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
• In A.D. 691, the Dome of the Rock, an Islamic shrine, was built on the Temple Mount at the place where Muhammad is believed to have ascended to heaven.
• From A.D. 1099–1187, European Christians took pilgrimages to Jerusalem to retake the city and maintain the city as a religious site.
• From A.D. 1516–1917, Jerusalem and much of the Middle East was ruled by the Ottoman Empire.
• During World War I, Great Britain took control of Jerusalem and the surrounding region, which was part of Palestine at that time.
• In A.D. 1948, Israel declared its independence and took over all the land of Palestine from Great Britain.
• In A.D. 1980, Israel declared the city of Jerusalem was its capital.
• During the first 20 years of the establishment of Israel in 1948, Jerusalem was divided into four areas: Israel had control of the western part of the city and Jordan controlled east Jerusalem. After the bloody 1967 Six-Day War between Israel against the Arab States of Egypt, Syria, and Jordan, Israel took control of the majority of Jerusalem.
• The Temple Mount remains in Palestinian control and is the site of mosques and is the third-holiest place in Islam. It is a holy site as the site of the temple for the Jews, and it is a holy site for Christians because it is the place the Messiah will return.12

Israel gained control of all of Jerusalem except the Temple Mount. Islamic forces guard what happens on the Temple Mount, while Israel maintains security around the Temple Mount. It is easy to see why there’s such conflict over what happens in Jerusalem. Jews are not allowed on the Temple Mount, although former Jewish leader Ariel Sharon’s visit led to the second Palestinian uprising against Israel. Despite the conflict, Jerusalem is God’s city. We must get the people ready for Jesus’ return.