This was the moment—the end of Israel, the end of Judah. The end of one evil king followed by another evil king. Jerusalem, the holy city of David built by Solomon, had been burned by the enemy and left in ruins, even the outer wall destroyed. Its people were killed or brought to Babylon as exiles. They would be given new Babylonian names and expected to serve that kingdom. Only the very poorest people were left in Israel—those who had nothing—and they would receive no help from any government.
The Creator God who had been ignored, dishonored, and rejected by Israel’s previous kings would ultimately be remembered, written about, mourned, sung to, prayed to—with no result for a long time. The psalmist was compelled to write these words:
By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept
when we remembered Zion.
There on the poplars we hung our harps,
for there our captors asked us for songs,
our tormentors demanded songs of joy;
They said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
How can we sing the songs of the Lord
while in a foreign land?
Psalm 137:1-4
“If we are not in Jerusalem, then God is not with us.” The Israelites truly thought that their holy city was the dwelling place of God on earth; losing their place of heritage meant that they had been abandoned by God. In truth, those same people whom God loved had abandoned him long before, and these were the consequences.
What of us today? Does 3434 Roswell Road matter more than the justice and righteousness that God longs for? Here’s what I see: because of the heritage of Peachtree, our people have learned to trust God and reach out in His name with courage. We are a people who can take the Word of God everywhere, offering grace and compassion in our small places of the world and answering God’s call across the globe. We are committed to “joining Christ daily in the restoration of all things.” Today, let’s renew our zeal for daily restoration.