©Bonnie LaBelle
Chapter 22:5-9 (ESV) - But if you will not obey these words, I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that this house shall become a desolation. For thus says the LORD concerning the house of the king of Judah:
“‘You are like Gilead to me,
like the summit of Lebanon,
yet surely I will make you a desert,
an uninhabited city.
I will prepare destroyers against you,
each with his weapons,
and they shall cut down your choicest cedars
and cast them into the fire.
“‘And many nations will pass by this city, and every man will say to his neighbor, “Why has the LORD dealt thus with this great city?” And they will answer, “Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God and worshiped other gods and served them.”’”
Question to consider: How could the promise of the LORD be fulfilled if the city of David was destroyed?
Yesterday, I focused on the promise of the LORD to David and its fulfillment in Christ because of what the LORD had said through Jeremiah in today’s passage. The original promise was not based on a contingent, but was a statement of fact that the LORD declared would take place. David was a man for whom the LORD took delight. David understood the holiness and greatness of the LORD and his own sinfulness (at least once Nathan confronted him about it). David passionately praised the grace and mercy of God and taught others to do the same.
David looked forward to his greater son and called him Lord, “YHWH says to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.’” (Psalm 110:1). The Psalmist went on to describe this Lord being both a ruler in which people would offer themselves freely in holy garments as well as a “a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” (Hebrews 6:20) He would one day judge the whole world in righteousness.
The LORD’s word in today’s passage was addressed to the lesser sons of David who were made kings of Judah and ruled his city because of their lineage, but they lacked his faith. They were like Gilead and Lebanon in that they were given abundance and privilege, but the LORD would burn it all to the ground because of their wickedness.
The earthly city would become desolate because these wicked kings abandoned the covenant the LORD made with them. After seventy years of captivity, the LORD would allow the remnant of faithful Israel to rebuild the city and temple. It would not have the splendor of the house built by Solomon, but its greatness would come from the Holy Spirit.
Of course, even the rebuilt city and temple would ultimately be cursed by Jesus and destroyed in AD 70. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’” (Matthew 23:37-39)
The final destruction of the Jerusalem temple was the earthly evidence of the heavenly Mount Zion from which Christ reigns. This was beautifully stated by the author of Hebrews, “You have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. See that you do not refuse him who is speaking.” (Hebrews 12:22-25)
Dear heavenly Father, please open our eyes to the heavenly reality of the reign of Christ. May it give us the assurance that everything we face in this world is according to Your good purpose and will one day be something for which we rejoice. Amen.