©July 19, 2013 Revive Israel Ministries

Weeping Over Jerusalem

By Asher Intrater

I write this article on the 9th of Av, the day of mourning the destruction of Jerusalem (Jeremiah 39:2 – In the 9th day of the 4th month, the city was broken into.) Two people are recorded in the Bible as weeping over Jerusalem:

Jeremiah in Lamentations 2:11, 18; 3:48; and
Yeshua in Luke 19:41 – When He approached and saw the city, He wept over it, saying, "If you only knew today what would make for your peace."

While there is not much detail about Yeshua's feelings, Lamentations has five full chapters about Jeremiah's. Lamentations may be seen as an extended prophetic description of Yeshua's feelings as well. Luke 19:41 capsulizes in one verse the weeping and mourning of the book of Lamentations.

Yeshua and Jeremiah had much in common, and were perceived so by the crowds (Matthew 16:14). One reason is that they both prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple; - Jeremiah before the Babylonian Exile (586 BC) and Yeshua before the Great Exile (70 AD).

Jerusalem is the capital of Yeshua's kingdom and the seat of His earthly government. When Yeshua prophesied of its destruction, He did so with tears of grief and pain.  For Yeshua, the destruction of Jerusalem was the destruction of His own capital. He prophesied this event repeatedly:

Matthew 22:7 – … burned their city with fire
Matthew 23:39; Luke 13:35 – Behold your house is left to you desolate…
Matthew 24:2; Mark 13:2, Luke 19:44 – Not one stone will be left upon a stone…
Luke 19:43 – Your enemies will build an embankment against you… on every side and level you to the ground.
Luke 20:16 – He will destroy the vine keepers and give the vineyard to others.
Luke 21:20 – When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, know that its desolation is near.
Luke 21:24 – They will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles…

This was a central event of biblical history, similar to the exodus from Egypt and the flood of Noah. There is a profound parallel between the destruction of the Temple and the crucifixion of Yeshua. May God grant us grace to understand the significance both of Jerusalem's destruction and its restoration!

The European Union announced this week a boycott against services and goods produced in the Israeli territories over the 1967 "green line." This may actually do damage to many Palestinians who are employed by Israeli companies there.  In Israel there is some shock at the bizarre injustice of punishing Israel for building homes and businesses, while in the neighboring countries of Syria and Egypt, citizens are being slaughtered and driven out of their homes.  

Israeli press described two events this week of Israeli soldiers being persecuted.  The first concerned Christian Arabs from Nazareth, who are loyal citizens and serve in the army.  Their Muslim neighbors attack them for enlisting.  (Persecution of Christians in Islamic nations has brought new awareness among Palestinian\Israeli Arab Christians that they are better off under Israeli authority than under Muslim law.)

Another group is among the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox religious Jews.) Some of them have enlisted in the Israeli army, in spite of the fact that many in the Haredi community are antagonistic to the state and the army of Israel. When these soldiers return home, they are often faced with rejection and violence from their neighbors.

The bizarre parallel of these two types of persecution indicates some of the complexity of spiritual warfare here in the Holy Land.

Paul described a kind of spiritual warfare in which we tear down strongholds of wrong thinking within our own minds. Entrenched patterns of evil thoughts must be dismantled.  "The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but powerful through God for pulling down strongholds; casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" – II Corinthians 10:4-5.

If there are strongholds of evil thoughts, how much more can there be fortresses of good thoughts.  We should not just tear down wrong thinking, but build up new walls of pure and healthy thoughts. We can become established in biblical thought patterns to the point that there is no place for lies, worries, adulteries, hatreds, depression, resentment, greed, etc. We build these good mental strongholds by prayer, Scripture meditation, confession, obedience, integrity, generosity and faithfulness.

Simcha Moore

Please pray for the Katsir (Harvest) conference this week with over 100 teens and young adults meeting in the Galilee, led by our dear friend Eitan Shishkoff.  Since it is difficult to be a believer in Israel, Katsir helps youth establish relationships with others who are going through similar experiences.   They hone their talents for the Lord through worship, dance, art and theatre.  They receive teachings from key pastors in the Land.  It is an extended period of time where they learn how to lean on the Lord and to hear His voice.