Today's Scripture Reading (October 15, 2023): Zechariah 14
Adolph Hitler had plans to turn Berlin into Germania, a city
that would be the world's capital. Instead, as the Second World War dragged on,
enemy forces repeatedly bombed the city. By the time the Soviet soldiers
entered the city at the end of the war, eighty percent of the city was gone. Many
of the buildings left standing in Berlin were pockmarked by bullets that had
struck the surfaces. Not only was it not the beautiful Germania, it was no
longer even Berlin.
But the city was painstakingly rebuilt. Although years into
the process, there were still strange empty spaces in downtown areas where the
rebuilding had not been completed. Still, I wonder if the Soviet and Allied
soldiers who had entered Berlin at the end of the war could see the city today
if they would believe the city could have been rebuilt to the extent that it
has been. The dream of Germania is dead, but Berlin is very much alive.
The history of Jerusalem is of a city that has been
repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt. When Israel first entered the land,
Jerusalem, more commonly referred to then as Jebus, was a fortified city amid
the territory promised to Israel. It stayed as a foreign city in Israel for
hundreds of years, throughout the days of Joshua and the Judges, and was still
unconquered through the time that Saul, the first King of Israel, sat on the
throne.
It wasn't until David ascended to Israel's throne that Jebus
was defeated. David did not destroy the city, but there must have been damage
done as he took the city, and then David remodeled Jebus into his Jerusalem,
the city of David, and, to many, the Holy City.
The Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem, and Zechariah was among
the remnant that had returned to rebuild David's city and Solmon's Temple. But
as Zechariah gives his final prophecy, he seems to remind the remnant that as
hard as they will work to rebuild the city, the day will come when the city
will fall again. Their enemies would gather the plunder and divide it up while
they were still inside the city walls. But Zechariah argues that only "Half
of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken
from the city" (Zechariah 14:2). This is a time of defeat, but not a time
of complete destruction.
It is tempting to say that this prophecy was fulfilled in 70
C.E. when the Romans destroyed the city. But there is also a problem: the
Romans destroyed the city, and Israel as a nation disappeared for almost 1900
years. The Roman destruction of the city doesn't fit with Zechariah's prophecy.
The destruction was total, and no remnant was left, which means that this
prophecy of Zechariah still hasn't been fulfilled. But in the final days of
this world, the city will fall one more time and be left in the hands of the
remnant to be rebuilt one more time.
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 55
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