Nor At Jerusalem

Jeremiah 7:34 KJV

Then will I cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride: for the land shall be desolate.

I watched a seventy-five minute long National Geographic documentary on modern Jerusalem today. The program said that Jerusalem is a very unnatural place for a major city and that the only industry that Jerusalem had to sell was "the holiness industry." Three major religions all share Jerusalem as a holy place:

• Judaism
• Christianity and
• Islam

 The Jerusalem I saw in the program struck me in two ways:

It appeared to be a desolate place

I am sure that the people who live there love the city. But I saw very little vegetation, almost no greenery - very plain, very dry, very weather beaten.

It appeared to be an unhappy place

I realize that many of the people who live there love their home.

• Some of them love it because they were born and raised there and know no other place
• Some of them love it for the religious implications the land has

But it is a hard place to live, with walls and fences and checkpoints creating barriers throughout the land. The Palestinians must be protected from the Jews; the Jews must be protected from the Palestinians. Each group fights for the right of access to the same places, considered to be holy to each.

·         One Palestinian woman complained that the Israeli authorities would not let her husband, who is a Palestinian, but not from Jerusalem, live there in her family's traditional home. But she refused to move from Jerusalem because she would then lose that family home. She and her husband live in separate homes and only see each other weekly. He would not attempt to visit her for fear of being someday arrested as he traveled.

·         One Jewish man said the reason he lived in Jerusalem (rather than England, where he grew up) is because there he believes he will always be able to defend himself with a weapon if need be.

·         Another Jewish man said that God was obviously not in Jerusalem any more. Why else would He allow the Palestinians to occupy the Temple Mount without killing them all?

·         A Catholic priest, whose brother was murdered some years ago said that every day he wakes up to work at forgiving the killer (who has never been caught) but has never been able to do it.

The problem with all of them is that the focus is on the wrong things.

·         They kiss old walls and tombs

·         They fight for places to kneel that they believe are closest to God

But they miss that the living God is worshipped in Spirit and in truth and not at some sacred spot in a so called holy city.[1]

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[1] John 4:21-24 KJV

Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.

Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.

But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.