Bible Reading: Third Half of Part 7. From Olive Tree

“Jerusalem was allotted to the tribe of Benjamin (Josh. 18:28). The Israelites took over the city in the time of the judges but did not eliminate the Jebusites (Judg. 1:8, 21; 19:11-12). David finally drove out the Jebusites from the city and built his palace on the Jebusite hilltop fortress called Zion, which he also christened “the city of David” (2 Sam. 5:9, 11). David was made King of Israel and established Jerusalem as the center of his kingdom (2 Sam. 5:9-12). At one point during David’s reign an angel almost destroyed Jerusalem because of an illegal census but was commanded by God to stop (2 Sam. 24:16). David’s son Solomon built up the city considerably, his greatest contribution being the construction of its temple (1 Kings 3:1). At the end of Solomon’s reign the country was racked by civil war and split into two separate kingdoms: the tribes of Judah and Benjamin in the south kept Jerusalem as their capital while the remaining northern tribes were ruled by a different king in Samaria. Jerusalem was threatened by Assyria during King Hezekiah’s reign (2 Kings 18:17) but remained unharmed until Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Jerusalem, captured the city, sent its inhabitants into exile in Babylon, and set fire to its houses, palace, and – worst of all –temple (2 Kings 24:10,14; 25:9). After seven decades in a foreign land, the Jewish people were allowed to return home to rebuild their temple under the Persian King Cyrus (Ezra 1:2-3), despite local opposition (Ezra 6:14). The books of Ezra and Nehemiah record the Jewish people’s rebuilding efforts and Nehemiah mentions many of Jerusalem’s gates and city structures. As the “dwelling place” of God (Ps 76:2), the city of Jerusalem also maintains an important role in the Bible’s non-historic literature. Psalms 120 through 134, known as the Psalm of Ascents, were written for Jews on their way to Jerusalem for festival celebrations. The writings of Ecclesiastes are set in Jerusalem (Eccles. 1:1, 12) and Song of Songs is also presumably set in the city (Song of Songs 2:7; 3:2). The entire book of Lamentations is a mournful account of Jerusalem’s destruction at the hands of the Babylonians. The Old Testament prophets form a unified voice in their prophecies concerning Jerusalem and Isaiah in particular has much to say about the city, occasionally calling it “Ariel” (Isa. 29:1, 2, 7). The prophets consistently predict Jerusalem’s destruction at the hand of the Babylonians because of its unfaithfulness to God, but they also anticipate its restoration by God as the city where he would establish his kingdom and forever enjoy his people (Micah 4:10; Zeph. 3:14-17).” Sent from Bible Study