Look to the City

Hebrews 11:9 By faith Abraham made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. & 13-16 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country – a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
 
WHAT is the city prepared for them? The apostle John saw it in Revelation 21:2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. God is preparing your eternal home. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob anticipated the glorious eternal city described in Revelation 21.
     Israel’s three patriarchs were wealthy men. But they did not see God’s promise of a great nation fulfilled in their lifetime. Isaac had two sons. Jacob had 12 sons. And Jacob’s family remained under 80 people through much of his lifetime. Israel did not begin to expand until they settled in Egypt, where God blessed them to multiply for 400 years before their exodus to the Promised Land. God said he would do it, and he did it in his time.
    About 800 BC David conquered Jerusalem, and it became Israel’s home for a time. In 587 BC Babylon destroyed the city. The Jews rebuilt it and the temple on their return in 517 and years following. Then the Romans destroyed Jerusalem completely in 70 AD. Since then Jerusalem has been the center of many wars and political conflict. It is a city today of several religious groups and many who have no faith. Jerusalem hardly seems to be the city where God will reside eternally with his church.
    But this is God’s promise, isn’t it? Abraham and his sons did not see the vast numbers of people God promised. But they knew they were aliens in a strange land. They knew they belonged in the future place God promised, for he has prepared a city for them.
    This is true for us, too,  isn’t it? The earth is not our home. We are aliens here. In faith, the Spirit has set us apart from the world. Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us, so we will be with him. (John 14:2) Many pray for Jerusalem to become God’s city. And so we should. The new city will come from heaven on the Day of the Lord.
    Understand, then, Christian, you are an alien on earth, citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven. Live with joy. You don’t see the promise fulfilled yet. But know the promise is for you. Your God is true to his Word.