“I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they shall never hold their peace day or night. You who make mention of the LORD, do not keep silent, and give Him no rest till He establishes and till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.”
Isaiah 62:6-7

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they prosper who love you…”
Psalms 122:6

“Comfort, yes, comfort My people!” says your God. “Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins.”
Isaiah 40:1-2

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”
Isaiah 52:7

O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, get thee up on a high mountain; O thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold, your God!
Isaiah 40:9

These are not suggestions. They are not recorded comments. They are not historical statements.

As much as “thou shalt not kill,” “thou shalt not steal” and “thou shalt not commit adultery,” the verses above contain commandments from on high.

And we are expected to keep them.

Notice something else: These commands are not all levelled at Israel. They are directed at:

• the gentile nations
• those who make mention of the LORD
• those who are not His Chosen People Israel
• those who love Jerusalem
• those who bring good tidings to Zion

Despite this, the vast majority of Christians appears unaware that these commandments even exist, let alone that they are directed towards us.

What is He telling us to do?

We are to hear God’s word. What word? That He who scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him as a shepherd does his flock.

Do we believe this – especially in the face of the massive global effort to steal Israel’s land from her and scatter and kill them once more? Are we declaring this to the nations of the world?

Have we heard this word? If not, if we are closing our ears to it in disobedience to the Lord.

Have we declared this word? If not, we are keeping this awesome truth from others; we are disobeying God’s command.

He also commands us to: Not keep silent and give Him no rest. And to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. We are to speak tender words of comfort to the people of this city. We are to tell them that their God reigns, urging them to turn their eyes towards Him.

Are we praying continually and constantly for His peace to come to Jerusalem? Are we comforting Jerusalem – the people of Israel? Are we telling them that their warfare is over? Are we telling them that they have paid double for all their sins? Do we recognize that they have paid double for all their sins, or are we pointing out their sins to them and saying, “How can they still be the Chosen People if they are still such sinners?”

God promises that when He has restored Israel to her land and to Himself, He will cleanse her from all her unrighteousness (Ezekiel 36:25), casting her iniquities into the depths of the sea (Micah 7:19) and remembering her sins no more (Jeremiah 31:34).

If He is determined to forget Israel’s sins, what business do we have of remembering and continuously calling them to mind?

There was a time when because of their sinfulness and unfaithfulness to their God, He watched over them to pluck them up, to break them down, and to destroy them.

And He did a thorough job, watching over His word to perform it to the letter. The once thriving nation of Israel, a world superpower and the people that introduced the rest of mankind to belief in the one true God was decimated, threshed, winnowed and scattered to the four winds of the earth.

There they wandered, tattered remnants of a once great people, unloved, unwanted, uncared for – for 2000 years and more.

Yes, God did a thorough job of plucking them up and breaking them down.

But He will be just as thorough in His regathering of them, replanting of them, and rebuilding of them.

And it shall come to pass, that as I have watched over them to pluck up, to break down, to throw down, to destroy, and to afflict, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, says the LORD. (Jeremiah 31:28-29)

Surely He will do it. Surely He is doing it.

As He does, what part are we to play? We are not called to be spectators and commentators. No, we are commanded to co-labor with Him as watchmen on the walls of Jerusalem – hearing, praying and declaring His Word to the nations afar off:

United Nations listen up! European Union take note! Quartet beware! Christian Church wake up!!

He who gathers Israel will keep her as a shepherd keeps his sheep. Having planted her people in their own land, He will no longer uproot them from the land that He has given them. (Amos 9:15)