City of God

Every year magazines like Money, Kiplinger, and U.S. News & World Report publish lists of the best places to live. They make their choices based on a variety of factors, including income rates, crime, taxes, and even the number of days of sunshine per year!

If such a list were made during the thousand-year reign of Christ, one city would always make it to the top. Today’s reading describes the exaltation of Jerusalem over all the other cities on earth. This will literally be true as the topography of the region surrounding Jerusalem changes (v. 10). Mountainous regions will become a plain like the Arabah, which is the lowest spot on earth. Jerusalem will be “raised up high” and secured permanently (vv. 10–11). Jerusalem will attract worshipers from all over the world. Indeed, they will be compelled to go up to Jerusalem (v. 16). In vv. 12–15 Zechariah returns to the scene of the last battle as he describes the consequences of defeat for Jerusalem’s enemies. Their fate will parallel that of the Egyptians when Pharaoh opposed Moses or Sennecharib when his army besieged Jerusalem (Ex. 7–12; 2 Kings 19:35). This description of punishment is a sobering reminder of how dangerous it is to reject God. We now live in an age where God graciously invites those who have rejected Him to repent and turn to Christ. We should not misinterpret God’s patient waiting as disinterest or indulgence when it comes to our sin. As the prophet Isaiah says, “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon” (Isa. 55:6–7).

Pray with Us

Please include in your prayers our Theology professors: David Finkbeiner, John Clark, Marcus Johnson, Michael McDuffee, and Sanjay Merchant. Ask for God’s hand on their work of equipping students to serve Christ and His

BY Dr. John Koessler

John Koessler is Professor Emeritus of Applied Theology and Church Ministries at Moody Bible Institute. John authors the “Practical Theology” column for Today in the Word of which he is also a contributing writer and theological editor. An award-winning author, John’s newest title is When God is Silent: Let the Bible Teach You to Pray (Kirkdale). Prior to joining the Moody faculty, he served as a pastor of Valley Chapel in Green Valley, Illinois, for nine years. He and his wife, Jane, now enjoy living in a lakeside town in Michigan.