Some nations think they are above their neighbours, beyond examination but Isaiah’s God told him otherwise.   Isaiah is riveting and unforgettable in his evaluations of his own nation  from the very first chapter of his prophecy.  All the rosy talk about national treasures, grand civic institutions, and massive  strides in executing justice is simply a lot of hot air.  Perish the  thought that I am being negative: negative is the dynamic in the so-called Judeo-Christian worldview and general morality across the globe.  That defence force or armed forces complex that the nations depend on is – not will be – trash, pure and simple.  If you have ever seen a few minutes of rain cripple a major city you know it is not an idle threat when the armies of all the nations are threatened with utter destruction.

Your armies are trash

1) Draw near, O nations, to hear; and listen, O peoples! Let the earth and all it contains hear, and the world and all that springs from it. 2) For the Lord’s indignation is against all the nations, And His wrath against all their armies; He has utterly destroyed them, He has given them over to slaughter.

Isaiah 34:1-2

Why the destruction of armies is a thing

“Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He has cast into the sea; And the choicest of his officers are drowned in the Red Sea. 

Exodus 15:4

Nuclear backfires are the blind of event that make Murphy’s Law reliable and Goliath’s weapons and armour ridiculous.

Slingshot accuracy and decisiveness

Nations use their armies to oppress, harass and maintain their hold on the lives of their own citizens and it is therefore not surprising that they use them against heterogeneous populations. From the Pacific to the Atlantic we see evil’s ugly head rising in the name of security and self-defence,  and it is often way more selfishness than any common virtue.  Law and order is the rubbish that vicious and ruthless criminals propose as their nation’s guiding light instead of actually building stable lifestyles and equal opportunities for their people.

The David and Goliath story is comfort enough without invoking miraculous intervention.  We had better get ready for the felling of big trees by snall axes.

Isaiah 34:8 assures us that Yahweh has a day of vengeanc, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion. It is that simple!

Birds and lilies are the pioneers of switching between strength and weakness. The ease with which they forage or depend on the Ultimate Provider is noteworthy.

Remember! Telling ourselves and our children concocted community stories, even over centuries, does not change our responsibility to take our places individually with courage or faith in the Unseen.

24) Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds! 25) And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life’s span? 26) If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters? 27) Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.

Luke 12:24-27

Most observers of life in Israel today are likely to be familiar with only the popular soundbytes and icons of historic events and locations.  The facts of history and destiny are regularly passed over in favour of support for the Jewish people in their current adversities, while the Zionism central to the modern state becomes, in plain sight,  an apathetic and immoral program of theft and corruption.  Zion’s king however  has a view of the holy mountain that makes the ventures in East Jerusalem unrecognizable. 

Zion has no temple

When the state of Israel came into being there was no temple in the nationbuilders’ plan.  There was a mosque where the temple used to stand.  It eludes me how a people, knowing their history, could neglect returning the nation’s capital to its former glory.  The place where God put his name and the seat of the kings are both critical to the nation’s integrity.

Zion is not Jerusalem.

Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto king Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is Zion.

1 Kings 8:1

Geography proves the point.

Zion is valued above Jerusalem, according to David (Psalm 87:1).  It is home to the peoples of Rahab (Egypt),  Babylon, Philistia, Tyre, “along with” Ethiopia.   Abuse of the sacred texts is no laughing matter. There is no speculation about temple mount that rises to deserve the attention of people familiar with the prophetic tradition.

The Lord loves the gates of Zion More than all the other dwelling places of Jacob. 2) Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God. Selah. 3) “I shall mention Rahab and Babylon among those who know Me; Behold, Philistia and Tyre with Ethiopia: ‘This one was born there.’” 4)  But of Zion it shall be said, “This one and that one were born in her”; And the Most High Himself will establish her. 5)

Psalms 87:2-5

Of all the things an Israelite should remember there is the deliverance from bondage with a view to sympathy for foreigners. Observance of the Sabbath is glued to the remembrance of the Exodus. Xenophobia in the name of ethnic purity does massive disservice to the sovereign majesty of Israel’s  God and draws a line between delighting oneself in the Lord’s law and sitting in a scornful seat.

Crimes in the city pales in comparison to the criminal enterprise located in the temple.  Everything that makes it attractive to many observers is coated with avarnish of lies.

You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to observe the sabbath day.

Deuteronomy 5:15

Zionism has surely gone off the rails and our support and love for the Jewish people does not obscure our love for mercy, justice and humility. Israelites

There is something special in East Jerusalem that many do not want to admit, yet they want to call it home and sully its dignity with their owner mentality.  That thing is not a temple.  It is people who have every right to be there apart from Israel’s primary covenant mediated by Moses.

Holy Residence vs Rubbish

As far as the sacredness of God’s name is concerned it is certain to be located in one of two places: the temple built by Solomon or the human body.  While the state of Israel pioneers friendly relations with Arab nations a house of prayer belonging to a religion that is openly hostile to all Jews adorns the site where Solomon’s temple stood.  So let nothing distract us from Zion’s destiny as the city of the great king. If it is not a person of David’s dynasty and himself a priest outside the levitical order the crimes get compounded by more inventions like the Arab peace accords and the continuing broadcasts of the fables of the oral tradition.