God's City - Man's City

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“But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for He hath prepared for them a city” (Heb. 11:1616But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city. (Hebrews 11:16)).
“For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come” (Heb. 13:1414For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come. (Hebrews 13:14)).
The writer of Hebrews is seeking to lift the Jewish believers’ view from those earthly things that they had in Judaism. They gloried in the earthly city Jerusalem, where God had placed His name. But the Apostle seeks to lift them from anything they might look at on this earth (even the city of Jerusalem) to heaven where, as believers, all their blessings exist. As seen in Deuteronomy 28:2-132And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God. 3Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. 4Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. 5Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. 6Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out. 7The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways. 8The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. 9The Lord shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways. 10And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord; and they shall be afraid of thee. 11And the Lord shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers to give thee. 12The Lord shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. 13And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them: (Deuteronomy 28:2‑13), God promised earthly, temporal blessings to Israel if they were obedient to Him. But in the present dispensation (the “day of grace”), believers’ blessings are spiritual and heavenly and are contrasted with those material blessings promised to Israel.
What is the thought of the city? It is a place where man has concentrated all the business, education, entertainment, sports, cultural arts and sciences and everything else that he has produced. It is all concentrated in the “city.” You don’t find that kind of thing in the “country” you must go to the city. There you find the place where at night the lights are glittering, bright and inviting. And contained there in man’s city is something for everyone.
God has prepared for us (believers) a city. It too is concentrated with “things” but these things are all the blessings, the glories and the joys that He has for us. However, it is a city that is out of this world—a heavenly city. Abraham was promised this earthly land, but he went through it as a stranger and a pilgrim. By faith he looked for something far better than this earthly scene could give. “He looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.”
So we get heavenly blessings all through Hebrews—a heavenly calling (ch. 3:1), a heavenly gift (ch. 6:4), heavenly things (ch. 9:23), heavenly substance (ch. 10:34), heavenly country (ch. 11:13-16), heavenly Jerusalem (ch. 12:22), heavenly message (ch. 12:25), and the heavenly city (ch. 13:14). We belong to a heavenly city. It’s not a specific place. It refers to the general character of Christianity as contrasted with Judaism. And all the concentrated blessings, which God has spoken of, are found there in that heavenly city.
All too often believers, by our own actions, teach our children that there are some parts of man’s city which are all right to dwell in. Believers have put a value on some of those elements which are contained in man’s city. When this happens it tells our children, “That’s OK that’s all right. I’ve put my stamp of approval on that thing and so it’s all right for you too.” Well, we can see what’s happened because of our unfaithfulness and because, in so many ways, we have promoted the city that man has built. Let each of us search our hearts and see what we are sowing, by promoting that which is contained in man’s city. What kind of magazines do we read what kinds of activities interest us? All this projects a message to our children that’s all right, that’s acceptable. I’m not pointing fingers. We know we have all failed in these things. Let’s ask ourselves: “Why has Johnny or Susie turned out like that?” Maybe by looking in the mirror we’ll get the answer. \
C. Hendricks