As tension mounts between Israelis and Palestinians, a Southern Baptist prayer center in Jerusalem becomes even more important, said Alabamian Herbby Geer.
The center stands between east and west Jerusalem and is dedicated to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, said Geer, a Baptist representative with the International Mission Board.
“It is dedicated to pray Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the outermost parts of the earth,” he said, noting Christ’s challenge to His disciples to take the gospel to the nations (Acts 1:8).
Controversy currently exists over a wall being built to protect Jerusalem, he said.
“Israel claims they are protecting themselves while Palestinians claim that Israel is using the wall to create a land grab,” he said.
But researching Israel’s history finds that controversy has always accompanied the walls in Israel, Geer noted.
Controversy came over the southern wall of the Temple Mount in recent years, Geer noted. “There appeared to be a great bulge in the wall that put the wall in danger of collapsing,” he said. The Muslim authorities were accused of endangering the wall with its construction activities. The Israelis were accused of endangering the wall because of archaeological activities. No solution was reached, so the Jordanians repaired the wall as a compromise.
In the time of Nehemiah, the walls around Jerusalem did come down, Geer added. Nehemiah 4 describes the tensions that existed when half of the people wanted to rebuild the wall and the other half wanted to stand guard.
Another wall existed in the temple — a wall that prohibited the Gentiles from getting close to God. That wall has now come down, Geer said. Ephesians 2:14: “For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall.”
Geer asks Alabama Baptists to join him in praying for the peace of Jerusalem. (TAB)
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