Today’s reading is Revelation 21.
The Cities of Men
In Genesis 4, Cain killed Abel. God declared he would be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth (Genesis 4:12). Cain begged for mercy and God extended it to him. Then we are surprised to read “When he built a city, he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch” (Genesis 4:17, ESV). Somehow the sinful, wandering fugitive built a city. And in such a way the ongoing competition with God began. Man wanted cities. And man wanted cities to make a name for man instead of God.
In Genesis 10:10-12, we meet a descendant of Ham named Nimrod. He was a mighty man and mighty hunter before the LORD. “The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. From that land he went into Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city” (ESV). Those new to the Bible won’t see a big issue in these verses. However, if you been blessed with time reading through Scripture, some big issues jump out at you: Babel, Shinar, Assyria, and Nineveh. These are big enemies of God’s people in the future. But right off the bat, Babel and Shinar.
In Genesis 11, Noah’s descendants, instead of fruitfully multiplying and spreading out across the earth as God commanded, settled together on the plain of Shinar (Genesis 11:2). They hatched a plan:
Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the whole earth (ESV).
In this plan, we see the spiritual battle between the cities of men and the rule of God. Like Cain and Enoch, these men wanted to establish their own name and reputation. They would do so by building their own city instead of submitting to God. God thwarted their plan by dividing the languages. Instead of making a name for themselves, they were scattered in various people groups around the earth. Of course, everywhere they went, they built cities, established kingdoms, and made names for themselves.
Looking for a City
In Genesis 12, out of the descendants of those scattered people, God called out one man and changed the course of his life. At first, he essentially called Abram to do what He had told Noah’s descendants to do. They were told to scatter over the earth. He told Abram to scatter from, that is, to leave his family and go to a land God had chosen for him.
When Abram got to Canaan, instead of settling down and building a city, he wandered through the land, growing his flocks and herds. His nephew Lot, who came with him, ended up settling among the cities of the Jordan valley (Genesis 13:11-12). The cities offered Lot no protection. Ultimately, God destroyed the cities of the valley in a cataclysmic judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19).
I tell this story because in Hebrews 11:8-10, the preacher of Hebrews explained what was really happening with Abram, who by the time of that book was called Abraham:
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God (ESV).
Though he had not received it before he died, the author goes on to say in Hebrews 11:14-16:
For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city (ESV).
In Hebrews 12:22, we learn we have received the city for which Abraham looked:
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem… (ESV).
Abraham was looking for a city. We’ve found it.
Finding a City
This is precisely what Revelation 21 presents to us. Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, Leah, Rachel, and the twelve tribes were looking for a city. Yes, they were given a homeland. They were given cities they didn’t build. But ultimately, they were looking to be part of the exact same city we are part of.
He carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God…It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates…and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel…And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb…The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, like clear glass. The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel…And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass (Revelation 21:10-21, ESV).
This is the city with foundations. This is the city whose builder and designer is God. This is the city for which Abraham looked and longed. We are in it now. If we remain faithful, we will be in it with Abraham and all the faithful for all eternity. And, by the way, in the great cosmic battle between the two cities–the city of men and the city of God, God’s city wins.
Praise the Lord!
Tomorrow’s reading is Revelation 21.
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PATHS:
Discuss Today’s Meditation with Your Family
How does Revelation 21 prompt or improve your trust in God?
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