By the Rivers of BabylonSample

Remembering Home

The faithful exiles vowed to never forget Jerusalem! Though the city of David lay in desolate ruins, it stood gloriously in the hearts of God’s people. Jerusalem stood for the entirety of the faith. The covenant, the temple, the sacrifices, the worship, the atonement, the forgiveness of sins, the presence of God, and the promise of God’s Kingdom all converged upon this one city! Thus, when the people vowed to never forget Jerusalem, they were trusting the promise of God to redeem them and restore them to the City of David. In their misery, they yearned for a better and greater city than pagan Babylon. They longed for a heavenly city as their father Abraham had done wandering in the dusty arid sands of Canaan (Hebrews 11:16). 

This homesickness for Jerusalem is such that the children of Israel vow to let their right hand forget its skill and let their tongue stick to the roof of their mouth if they forget Jerusalem and do not set the holy city above their highest joy. They would rather never play the lyre or sing a song than be robbed of the promises of God. Their defiant hope to not sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land arises from their remembrance of Jerusalem. Without this memory of God’s faithfulness, they had no future worthy to anticipate. Thus, it was vital for the community of faith to never forget God’s grace unto them. In remembering, they looked forward to the time of coming deliverance to the celestial city of Jerusalem. Even though they lived in Babylonia, they were always citizens of Zion. Jerusalem was their home where they belonged. 

We like the Jewish exiles, are far from our home in this world. We seek a better city – the Jerusalem of above – the free city of God (Galatians 4:26). If we forget this reality, we will soon assimilate with this world that will soon fade away. But, if we recall God’s grace and what Jesus has done on the cross on our behalf, we will then live faithfully in earnest expectation of our final deliverance to that city of God. May we never forget our true home is not this world but heavenly Jerusalem. We were created for a place we have never known, yet that is our home where we truly belong.