Praying for Peace and Justice in Jerusalem

With the exception of the Likud Party in Israel and the neo-cons and "Christian Zionists" here in America, it seems to me that most everyone in the world agrees that the Palestinians should be given a state, and that the Palestinians have a right to make east Jerusalem it's capital. This is really a simple matter of justice, and until it happens there is no realistic chance for peace in the Middle East.

Yesterday the new Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, reaffirmed his insistence that "United Jerusalem is Israel's capital," and that "Jerusalem was always ours and will always be ours. It will never again be partitioned and divided."

The notion that Jerusalem has always been the property of Israel is false, biblically and historically. The first mention is "Salem" (assuming that is a shortened form of Jerusalem) in Scripture is in Genesis 14, and its king was the enigmatic Melchizedek, who ruled the city long before there was an Israel. Centuries later, in the days of the conquest described in Joshua 1, the tribes of Judah and Benjamin tried to drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem, which mixed results. In fact, it was not until the time of David (around 1010 BC) that Jerusalem was finally conquered and designated the capital of the nation (2 Samuel 5). In recent history, Jerusalem was divided between Israel and Jordan until the Six Days War in 1967, when Israel annexed the eastern section of the city.

In an ideal world, a new Palestinian state would share east Jerusalem with Israel, and extremists on both sides of the question would be silenced. Sadly, it is difficult to imagine this will ever be the case. There are Israelis like Netanyahu who refuse to acknowledge the need for a genuine two-state solution, and of course there are many Arab extremists who will not be satisfied until Israel is driven into the sea.

BUT - if history has proven anything it is that the unexpected can happen. And I don't think Christians should lose faith that God in His providence can bring about a just solution. So please pray for peace and justice in a region roiled with violence, hatred and injustice.