37"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! 38See! Your house is left to you desolate; 39for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!"'
This text really shows how much God cares for the people of Jerusalem, the people who kill the prophets and attack those who are sent to them. They are the ones who will crucify Jesus. God knows they are the ones who will attack Jesus, and still as a loving parent, He had so often wanted to gather them together in His protection. But they were unwilling. Their unwillingness to gather to God and their stubbornness to do their own thing is leaving them desolate.
But is this a threat that Jesus is making that they shall be left in their desolation till they repent? When He quotes scripture of “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD”, He is once again referring back to Psalm 118, the Psalm of God’s everlasting mercy. The Psalm ends with:
| 22The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. 23This was the LORD's doing; It is marvelous in our eyes. 24This is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it. 25Save now, I pray, O LORD; O LORD, I pray, send now prosperity. 26Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We have blessed you from the house of the LORD. 27God is the LORD, And He has given us light; Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar. 28You are my God, and I will praise You; You are my God, I will exalt You. |
Yes, they are the ones who will reject the chief cornerstone. This was God’s doing. Yes, they must repent and ask for mercy and praise God. But this is not a threat. Rather it is a promise of God’s mercy.
As a mother hen gathers her chicks under her wing, God never desires anything less of His people. Even those who killed His prophets and who attacked those He sent are ones He wants to gather in. His mercy is everlasting. But we must be willing. Otherwise we will be left feeling desolate.