LET JERUSALEM COME INTO YOUR MIND

                LET JERUSALEM COME INTO YOUR MIND
                              Jeremiah 51:50

INTRO: The chapter of our text is a prediction of the destruction
of Babylon (vv. 47-49) at the hands of the Medes and Persians.
Before that happens, Judah will have been in Babylonian exile
for 70 years. While there, they were not to forget God. And so
here, those that had not been slain by the sword of Babylon are
told "let Jerusalem come into your mind." God also told Ezekiel,
"son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem" (21:2)

The captive Jews longingly waited for the time when they could
go back to their beloved city; it was to be in their minds. But the
admonition to "let Jerusalem come into your mind" also has
great implications for God's people today! No - the literal city
of Jerusalem probably means little to us today except for
historical interest. The term "Jerusalem" is used in at least
three ways in the Bible. Let us look at them, and be reminded
that we too should "let Jerusalem come into your mind.

I. LITERAL  CITY OF JERUSALEM 
    A. History. 
        1. Some earliest mention found in the Tell el-Amarna tablets 
            in letters written by its then king Abd-Khiba to Amenhotep IV, 
            Pharaoh of Egypt at that time (circa 1450 BC). 
                i. Here it is called Uru-Salem. "city of Salem ." 
        2. Earliest Biblical appearance is found in Gen. 14:18 where 
            it describes Melchizedek as "king of Salem " as he met Abraham 
            upon the patriarch's returning from the slaughter of the kings. 
                i. It was formerly called Jebus (Josh. ; Jud. ). 
                ii. Inhabited at that time by the Jebusites. 
                iii. First actually mentioned by " Jerusalem " in Joshua 10:1. 
    B. Geographical location. 
        1. In the Judean mountain range, 2500 feet elevation. 
        2. On a plateau intersected by deep valleys, major ones 
            being the Tyropean valley to the south, with the Kidron 
            valley separating the city from the Mount of Olives to the east. 
        3. From earliest days a walled city. 
    C. Meaning to the Jews. 
        1. David anointed king in Hebron , some 30 miles south of 
            Jerusalem (2 Sam. 5:1). 
        2. From Hebron he reigned for 6 ½  years (2 Sam. 5:5). 
        3. Then moves against Jerusalem , taking it from the Jebusites 
            1 Sam.5:6ff). 
                i. Made Jerusalem his capital, reigned from there another 33 
                   years, and all succeeding kings of Judah reigned from Jerusalem . 
        4 Solomon then built the temple there (1 Kgs. 6). 
                i. All their worship and sacrifices to God offered there. 
                ii. And so Jerusalem became the greatest city in the world 
                    to the Jews. 
    D. Later history. 
        1. After the kingdom divided, Jerusalem remained the capital of Judah, 
            while S amaria ultimately became the capital city of the northern kingdom. 
        2. Relate account of Israel and Judah 's idolatry, the cause of their fall. 
        3. Finally, Jerusalem destroyed by the Babylonians (2 Kgs. 25). 
        4. Upon the return from Babylon , the city began to be rebuilt, along 
            with the temple. 
    E. BUT - this is not the Jerusalem we today are to "let come into our mind!"

II. SECOND WAY " JERUSALEM " IS USED IN SCRIPTURE 
    A. Predictions of the prophets - a new, spiritual kingdom under 
        the Messiah, Jesus Christ. 
    B. Note Zechariah's prophecy (2:1-5, his third vision). 
        1. He sees " Jerusalem " about to be measured! 
            i. Not the old, physical city, for if one wanted to know its 
                measurements, he could simply go to the proper authorities; 
                a walled city of very definite proportions. 
        2. This " Jerusalem " would be a city "without walls ..." 
            i. Would not need physical walls, for God would be her 
                protection (v. 5). 
        3. This " Jerusalem " would contain "the multitude of men and 
            cattle within..." (ibid.). 
            i. Symbolic of the all inclusiveness of this " Jerusalem " to come.
            ii. Isaiah said men of "all nations" would come into this kingdom (2:2-4). 
            iii. A universal kingdom, for "sea to sea, from the river even unto 
                  the ends of the earth" (Zech. ). 
            iv. It would be a "strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls 
                and bulwarks" (Isa. 26:1). 
            v. It would be a city whose "walls will be called Salvation, and thy 
                gates Peace" (Isa. 60:18). 
    C. Fulfillment of these (and other) prophecies: 
        1. Found in God's spiritual kingdom, ruled over by God's ideal 
            king, Jesus Christ (Acts ). 
        2. The greatness of this " Jerusalem ." 
               i. Composed of all the saved (Acts ; Eph. ). 
               ii. Displays the great wisdom of God (Eph. ). 
    D. What is your attitude toward it? 
        1. Only time you think about it is on Sunday, or perhaps Wednesday night? 
        2. Wonder during the week how things are going with it? 
        3. Mind so filled with mundane things that no room is there for the 
            kingdom of God . 
        4. We urge all: "Let Jerusalem come into your mind!"

III. A THIRD WAY THE SCRIPTURES SPEAK OF " JERUSALEM " 
    A. See Revelation 3:12. 
        1. "Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, 
            and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of 
            my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new 
            Jerusalem , which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I 
            will write upon him my new name." 
            i. This " Jerusalem " is from heaven! Names of God's faithful are there.
    B. See Revelation 21:1-2. 
        1. "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven 
            and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 
            And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from 
            God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." 
            i. Again, a reference to heaven! 
            ii. Note description of how it will be (Rev. 21:3-4). 
            iii. See also Rev. 21:10. 
    C. What is your mindset toward this great " Jerusalem ?" 
        1. Is it some ethereal, faroff place to merely dream about? 
        2. Do we truly believe such a place exists? 
        3. Or, do we have Abraham's attitude toward it (Heb. )? 
            i. How often do you think about heaven (cf. Phil. 4:8). 
        4. We urge all: "Let Jerusalem come into your mind!"

CONCLUSION: Does "Jerusalem" in which you now live
come often to your mind? How about the “new Jerusalem”
 that John spoke of? Do you think often about it? With
minds so distracted by worldly things, it may well be that
we often fail to "let Jerusalem come into our minds."
May such never be the case. Spiritual people dwell on
spiritual things, and God's spiritual kingdom now, and that
great one after awhile, ought to occupy our minds above all else.