In the first post (Ancient Prophecies Being Fulfilled), we looked at Israel, a modern nation that was resurrected after thousands of years. As we noted, this was a fulfillment of the prophet’s words of long ago and a major sign that the time of the end is on the horizon. In this post, we start to unpack the origins of Israel’s rebirth, in light of the chosen city.
They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
Luke 21:24
How We Got Here
After the tragic events detailed in the early chapters of Genesis, God called a man, Abram (hereafter referred to as Abraham), to begin the story of redemption. The restored family of God would need a home, as Adam and Eve had in the garden. In this segment, I want to introduce Abraham’s connection to that homeland, especially God’s chosen city.
It should not surprise us that Abraham’s call was twofold. It consisted of a relationship between him and God (including his descendants) and, of course, a homeland. God followed the same pattern established back in Eden. He created a human family and provided a place (physical geography) for them to live. Let’s see how this played out in the Abraham story.
One of the earliest recorded events of his life was the rescue of his nephew, Lot. Lot fell captive to four invading kings and their armies. Abraham, after being informed of the army’s attack and plunder, gathered 318 of his men and set out on a search-and-rescue mission for his nephew and the others. Returning from a successful expedition, the enigmatic Melchizedek, who was king of Salem and priest of God Most High, met him.
Salem, City of Mystery
This is where the story gets interesting. The Bible uses many literary forms in telling its stories; one is foreshadowing by the use of “types and shadows.” There are elements in this brief encounter between Abraham and Melchizedek that link us to a very important gospel story. This is how Mark tells the story.
And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it, broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.
Mark 14:22-24
A similar story is related in Genesis.
And Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine. (He was a priest of God Most High). And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
Genesis 14:18-20
By this point, you’re certain I’ve lost all sense; these stories are completely different. But please indulge me for a moment. You might ask, how does the Genesis story foreshadow the gospel story? What common elements do we find in both?
- Bread and wine – both Melchizedek and Jesus served the bread and wine.
- Blessing – both Melchizedek and Jesus speak a blessing
- Melchizedek – is a type of Christ. Certainly, Jesus is the one serving in Mark’s account. Psalm 110 and Hebrews almost make the comparison between Christ and Melchizedek.
Two other subtle elements are important for establishing Abraham’s connection to the land and city.
- According to the Genesis account, Abraham returned after he defeated his enemies and rescued Lot, plus the others who had been enslaved. Like Abraham, Jesus also rescued his disciples from sin and its consequences. And now he is defeating our enemy so we can live with him in our coming homeland.
- The last element of similarity is covenant. Covenant was being established. Mark calls it the “blood of the covenant,” which we know brings us salvation. For Abraham, the covenant being established was for the land. Melchizedek, as a priest of God, the “possessor of heaven and earth,” was establishing Abraham’s right and authority in the land to which he was called. If God is the “possessor,” then it is his right to give the land to whom he chooses. In other words, the invaders had usurped Abraham’s authority over the land of his calling. God sent Melchizedek out to confirm Abraham’s possession and authority in that land. The following chapters of Genesis spell out the land covenant for Abraham and his descendants in much greater detail.
Without my getting too far off topic, God is working on two parallel tracks. One track is calling people into his family through a covenant relationship. The other track is establishing a homeland for his family, also through a covenant relationship. Most Christians have a good understanding of being part of God’s family, but little understanding of the homeland aspect.
The Jews would not gain control of Salem for centuries; nevertheless, the seed had been planted by Melchizedek and received by Abraham. Many scholars trace the Jebusites as the original Canaanite inhabitants of Jerusalem. Even during the time of the Judges, Jerusalem was considered a city of foreigners. For convenience, the inhabitants used “Salem” as an abbreviated form of “Jerusalem.”
Jerusalem–Awaiting the Ark of His Presence
In this section, I want the reader to understand the connection between Melchizedek’s Salem and Jerusalem. We should also know that what makes Jerusalem special is that it is the location on earth where God has chosen to dwell, placing his name there. In the Old Testament, that was the intended destination for the Ark of the Covenant, and in the coming kingdom, that will be where the Messiah sits on the throne of David.
Things get messy after Abraham. Eventually, his descendants migrated to Egypt because of famine, ultimately finding themselves in slavery for hundreds of years. But during the intervening years of slavery and the wilderness experience, God never forgot his promise to create a people, a homeland, and a city. In fact, in Deuteronomy 12, God told Moses that when the people entered the land, they were to seek out the place of His choosing, and He would show them the chosen city. It would be the place where He would dwell, where He would put His name, and where they were to bring their sacrifices and offerings for worship–a city of His choosing!
But you shall seek the place that the LORD your God will choose out of all your tribes to put his name and make his habitation there. There you shall go, and there you shall bring your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the contribution that you present, your vow offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock. And there you shall eat before the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your households, in all that you undertake, in which the LORD your God has blessed you.
Deuteronomy 12:5-7, see also vs 11, 14, 18, 21, 26
The chosen place for His name and presence to rest would remain largely unknown until the era of King David and Solomon. Before this, his presence traveled with the people in the ark. The ark, located in the holiest place of the tabernacle, was the meeting place with God. The ark journeyed to Shiloh, the Philistines then captured it and moved it from Ashdod to Gath, and finally to Ekron. Fearing death from Yahweh, the Philistines sent the ark back to the Israelite city of Beth Shemesh. The ark would make two more stops before finally arriving in Jerusalem after David captured the city from the Jebusites.
The city’s capture by David is described in 2 Samuel 5. In the brief excerpt below, notice the connections between Salem, Jerusalem, Zion, and the city of David, all referring to the same location.
And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who said to David, “You will not come in here, but the blind and the lame will ward you off”–thinking, “David cannot come in here.”
Nevertheless, David took the stronghold of Zion, that is, the city of David.
2 Samuel 5:6-7
Once David had captured the stronghold of Zion, he desired to bring the Ark of the Covenant (presence of God) into the place of God’s choosing, the place God had promised to reveal (Deut. 12). But because of the ox stumbling while transporting the Ark of the Covenant (costing the life of Uzzah), David feared the Lord and redirected the Ark to the house of Obed-Edom for 3 months. It was eventually brought into the City of David (Old City1) with much rejoicing and placed in the tent set up by David for this purpose. Later in David’s son Solomon’s lifetime, the ark was finally brought to rest in Jerusalem, within the temple that Solomon had constructed.
Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers’ houses of the people of Israel, before King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion.
…
And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark. And they brought up the ark of the LORD, the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent; the priests and the Levites brought them up. And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who had assembled before him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered. Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the Most Holy Place, underneath the wings of the cherubim. For the cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles.
…
And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, a cloud filled the house of the LORD,
so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD.
1 Kings 8:2-11
Zion – His Presence in Jerusalem
Originally, Zion was a Jebusite fortress above the Kidron Valley, which David captured. Over time, Zion was used as a Synecdoche (a part to describe the larger whole). The larger whole was “stronghold of Zion,” which was shortened to Zion. Zion also carries richer meaning poetically, prophetically, and mystically to describe God’s passionate desire for Jerusalem and the surrounding territory.
We have walked through the development of Jerusalem (city of his choosing), beginning with Abraham’s encounter with the King of Salem. It is the place God desired for his name and presence to dwell, the city from which the “Son of David” will reign, and the eternal capital of the land to which Abraham was called.
God has a progressive story he is working out in the earth. The essence of that story is that he is building a family and will provide a place for us to live together with him. There are many details beneath that umbrella, but it is important to keep the big picture in view.
We should now be able to discern the relationship between these names: Salem, Jerusalem, the city of David, and Zion. There are so many scriptures about Zion and God’s passion for Zion and Jerusalem. I would suggest doing a word search for Zion in your favorite Bible app. Note especially how God speaks of Zion in the Psalms, Isaiah, and the Prophets. I will highlight a few of them below.
His abode has been established in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion.
Psalm 76:2
The LORD roars from Zion, and utters his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth quake. But the LORD is a refuge to his people, a stronghold to the people of Israel.
Joel 3:16
Awake, awake, put on your strength, O Zion;
put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; for there shall no more come into you the uncircumcised and the unclean.
Isaiah 52:1
The LORD loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob. Glorious things of you are spoken, O city of God. Selah …
And of Zion it shall be said, “This one and that one were born in her”; for the Most High himself will establish her. The LORD records as he registers the peoples, “This one was born there.” Selah Singers and dancers alike say, “All my springs are in you.”
Psalm 87
A Song of Ascents. Remember, O LORD, in David’s favor, all the hardships he endured, how he swore to the LORD and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob, “I will not enter my house or get into my bed, I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids, until I find a place for the LORD, a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.” …
Arise, O LORD, and go to your resting place, you and the ark of your might. …
The LORD swore to David a sure oath from which he will not turn back: “One of the sons of your body I will set on your throne. …
For the LORD has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his dwelling place: “This is my resting place forever; here I will dwell, for I have desired it.
Psalm 132
Certainly, God’s passion for Zion burns hot. As we see above, Zion embodies the idea of God dwelling on David’s throne in Jerusalem (the stronghold of Zion), surrounded by his redeemed people from Israel and all the nations and tribes of the earth. If God is this passionate about Zion, should we not share his passion and vision? In the last two posts, we have considered “Israel – the land.” In the next installment, we will look at “Israel – the patriarch,” better known as Jacob.