1 - Introduction - Living like a real Christian Justice - A People For Others | Page 6

The next two days will be a short overview of the importance of “the city” in the Bible. Read through it and think about how you view the city. Creation and fall God tells Adam and Eve to “rule over” (Genesis 1 v 28) the earth, to bring forth the riches God put in nature (and human nature) at creation. This is a call to engage in the arts, science, enterprise, family life. God intends for Adam and Eve to build a city, but Adam and Eve soon fail their commission to be servants of God and to cultivate creation under his lordship. The occupation of Canaan When God settles the Israelites in Canaan, he commands them to build “cities of refuge, to which a person who has killed someone accidentally may flee. They will be places of refuge from the avenger, so that a person accused of murder may not die before he stands trial before the assembly” (Numbers 35 v 11 – 12). God commands the building of cities, because cities with walls and with a gathered population can protect an accused man and provide a trial for him in a way that rural areas can’t. David’s kingdom David is directed by God to establish his house in the midst of a city — Jerusalem — which becomes a sign and symbol of the future city of God. When Israel makes Jerusalem its capital, God directs that the temple be built on Mount Zion so it will rise above the city as its “skyscraper,” but unlike skyscrapers designed for their builders’ own prosperity (e.g., the skyscraper of Babel built to “make a name for ourselves” in Genesis 11 v 4). God’s city is different: “In the city of our God, his holy mountain…is beautiful in its loftiness, the joy of the whole earth” (Psalm 48 v 1 – 2). Thursday Proverbs 11 v 10 – 11 Matthew 5 v 14 Hebrews 13 v 14 The exile God calls the Jewish exiles to “seek the peace and prosperity” of the pagan city of Babylon, to which they had been taken captive. They are to serve the common good of the city and to pray for it (Jeremiah 29 v 7). The Wisdom Literature Proverbs 11 v 10 – 11 reflects the situation of the people of God living in a pagan city: “When the righteous prosper, the city rejoices; when the wicked perish, there are shouts of