Psalm
87 is about the City of Jerusalem. Remember I said the yesterday that the first mention of Jerusalem
in the Bible is in Genesis 14 when Abraham meets up with Melchizedek who was
the king-priest of Salem which is Jerusalem, the “City of Peace”.
The
second mention of Jerusalem is found in Genesis 22 where God tested Abraham and
asks him, “…Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to
the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the
mountains of which I shall tell you." (Genesis 22:2) We believe that
Mount Moriah is the same place where later the city of Jerusalem would be
built. It is interesting to note that in the first 14 verses of Genesis 22, the
phrase “the place” is used no less than four times. This is the place
where we are introduced to God as Jehovah-Jireh, which means, “The LORD Will
Provide”, as it said to this day, “In the Mount of the LORD it shall be
provided”. (Gen. 22:14). The Old King James Version uses the word “seen”
instead of “provided”.
I
would personally say that the most special “Place” in all the world is Mt.
Moriah, which is in the center of the present-day city of Jerusalem! This is
the “Place” where God provided His perfect sinless Lamb, His only Son Jesus
Christ as the sacrifice for the sins of the whole world! Yes, it is in this “place” that we can
see the Christ, the Lamb of God, the provision of God, the sacrifice that gives
our eternal salvation!
The
Holy City of God, Jerusalem was not only chosen and loved by God (vv. 1-2), it
is also the City that is inhabited by His children (Psa. 87:4-6). In these verses the Lord is described as a
king taking a royal census and registering individual names ("this
one... that one..."), but the remarkable thing is that these people
are Gentiles, and that God is making them His own children and citizens of His Holy
City! Even more, the nations named are the avowed enemies of the Jews!
The
emphasis in all three verses is on birth, indicating that the people who enter
the future glorious kingdom will experience a "new birth" and belong
to the family of God. Like Paul, they will be citizens by birth (Acts 22:25-29)
and not by purchase. The phrase "those that know me" (v. 4),
indicates more than an intellectual appreciation of the Lord. It describes a
personal intimate relationship with Him, like that of husband and wife (Gen.
4:1; 19:8; 1 Sam. 2:12; 3:7).
"Rahab"
refers to Egypt (Ps. 89:10; Isa. 51:9), Israel's enemy in the south, and the
word means "arrogant, boisterous." Egypt enslaved the Jews and yet
will share with them citizenship in the city of God and membership in the
family of God! (Isa. 19:18-25). Israel's northern enemy, Babylon, would one day
destroy Jerusalem and ravage the kingdom of Judah, and the Jews would vow to
pay her back (Ps. 137:1, 8-9), but she, too, will be part of the glorious
kingdom! Philistia and Tyre on the west were always a threat to Israel, but
they will be included. Ethiopia is "Cush," a nation in Africa.
Of
course, of all these nations, only Egypt is still on the map, but the message
is clear: when the Lord establishes His glorious kingdom, and Messiah reigns
from Jerusalem, Israel's enemies will be transformed into fellow citizens.
Through the preaching of the Gospel today, this miracle is happening in His
church (Eph. 2:11-22; Gal. 3:26-29). The Old Testament prophets promised that
believers from all the nations of the earth would be included in Messiah's reign
(Isa. 2:1-5; Mic. 4:1-5; Zech. 8:23; 14:16-20), and so did the psalmists (Psalms
22:27; 46:10; 47:9; 57:5, 11; 98:2-3; 99:2-3). Habakkuk prophesied, “For the
earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters
cover the sea" (Hab. 2:14).
Have
you experienced this “new birth” (John 3:1-8), which gives you eternal entrance
into this Holy City?
God
bless!
