Mount Moriah

 

Gen 22:2

Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”

God has for centuries had a plan regarding Jerusalem, a plan that will culminate in the return of the Lord to the Mount of Olives (Zech 14:4) and the thousand year long reign of Jesus here on earth from this very city. This plan started unfolding when God called Abraham to Mount Moriah to sacrifice his son Isaac.

There He provided a substitute lamb to die in Isaac’s place. The Hebrew word for provide is yireh, and Abraham called this place The Lord will Provide, or Jahwe Yireh. This is the prophetic act which pointed to the Lamb of God being sacrificed as the substitute for us, for on Mount Moriah we find Golgotha where Jesus was crucified, where God offered His only Son to die in our place.

About a thousand years after this incident, King David - who had conquered the city from the Jebusites - halted the plague that had already killed 70 000 men of Israel, by buying the threshing floor (and oxen) of Araunah the Jebusite, building an altar to the Lord and offering the oxen as burnt offerings there (2 Sam 24:24). It is important to realize that David bought this piece of land fair and square, because on this site Solomon built the first temple in Jerusalem. (2 Chron 3:1 Then Solomon began to build the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to his father David. It was on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, the place provided by David.) The title deed in heaven for this property is registered in the name of David, King of the Jews, to this day. Even though the Babylonians invaded the land, followed by the Medo-Persians, then the Greeks, and the Romans after that; even though the Jews were scattered over the earth and Jerusalem suffered multiple changeovers of rulers throughout the subsequent centuries.

Jerusalem has always belonged to God, no matter who laid siege to it, conquered it, and ruled over it during history. He Himself has said that His name will always be in Jerusalem (2 Chron 33:4 …… “My Name will remain in Jerusalem forever.”)

Pearls to Ponder:

Jews face many accusations that they are only occupiers of the land called Israel. We need to delve into the Bible to search out the truth of the matter, not get side-tracked by arguments of men. Biblically, God promised the land to Abraham and his descendants forever. Historically, the League of Nations decided that Israel will be a Jewish state, and this was later backed up by the United Nations charter. We would do well to investigate the facts for ourselves and take our stand on this issue, for we need to stem the tide of lies thrown about by the enemy and keep praying for the peace of Jerusalem. For the Bride of Christ, this also involves praying for all innocent victims on both sides of the ongoing conflict.

Jerusalem