“Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God will shine forth.
Our God shall come, and shall not keep silent;
A fire shall devour before Him,
And it shall be very tempestuous all around Him.”
Psalm 50:2-3
Good things come out of Zion. Beautiful things. For example, Psalm 50 tells us that “God will shine forth” from out of Zion.
Let’s reflect for a moment on some of the treasures from God’s Word that remind us of what comes “out of Zion”:
“the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion” – Psalm 14 & 53
“For out of Zion the law shall go forth, And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” – Micah 4:2
“The Lord shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion.” – Psalm 110
“The Lord bless you out of Zion, And may you see the good of Jerusalem All the days of your life.” – Psalm 128
“Blessed be the Lord out of Zion, Who dwells in Jerusalem! Praise the Lord!” – Psalm 135
Like many Biblical truths, the word Zion has been twisted to mean something almost unmentionable. There are those who refuse to be described as “Zionist” because they have bought into the lie that opposes God’s purpose for His land and His people. And there are others that rather not describe themselves as “Zionist” in order to avoid being viewed as being political or contentious. As opposition to Zionism mounts, this is perhaps understandable, but we must take courage to challenge these lies and stand for Biblical truth.
We must not be ashamed that our hope comes from “out of Zion”. Zionism isn’t political – unless we make it such – instead it is a Biblical issue. The Jewish people’s connection to Zion is undeniable, whilst also being central to Christian belief.
According to Psalm 87, the word “Zion” is a place that God loves:
“The Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the other dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are spoken of you, city of God.” (Psalm 87:2–3)
In the New Testament, Jesus Christ is referred to as the Cornerstone of Zion:
“See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame” (1 Peter 2:6).
For Christians, Zion is not only held dear for being part of the Christian story, but is the focus of a Christian understanding of God’s future plans including the promise that Jesus will return to Zion as Messiah.
Zion is a beautiful word for Jews and Christians. We don’t have to be ashamed to call ourselves Zionist. Those that hate Israel place themselves in opposition to God, but for those that hold Zion dear, it remains a place of unparalleled hope.
To read more about the importance of “Zion” to Christians, please see our new article, “Reclaiming the definition of Zionism – and why it should matter to Christians.” Click here
The following prayer points are to assist you as you pray. For the stories behind these prayer points, please view the CUFI Weekly News Round-up, by clicking here.
- Pray for the Jewish people as they enter a New Year. Pray for blessing and protection especially during the next few days.
- Pray for Israel and her borders, leaders, people and military.
- Praise the Lord that after months of campaigning by CUFI, the Archbishop of Canterbury has signalled that the Church of England needs to adopt the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism. Pray that this will be carried through and that other church denominations will do likewise.
- Praise the Lord that over 10,000 Christians in the UK have now signed the Christians Against Antisemitism Declaration. Pray that support from Christians for the Jewish community will strengthen even further.
- With a poll revealing this week that one in four Jews will seriously consider leaving if Corbyn becomes PM, pray for the safety and security of the UK Jewish community and that the hard-left anti-Semitism prominent in Labour today will be pushed back to the point of failure.
