Jerusalem Day is coming up in Israel. Some people might ask, “So what? What’s so important about Jerusalem and what’s Jerusalem Day anyway?”
What is Jerusalem Day?
When the modern State of Israel was born in 1948, Jerusalem was divided. Israel possessed only the western portion, and East Jerusalem, which includes the Temple Mount, was under Jordan’s rule. Jerusalem Day commemorates the day in 1967 when Israel emerged victorious from the Six-Day War, having won possession of East Jerusalem from Jordan. It was the first time in 2,000 years that Israel controlled an undivided Jerusalem.
What’s So Important about Jerusalem?
Here are some reasons why the city of Jerusalem is such a vital part of Jewish faith and history:
- Jerusalem is the holiest site of Judaism and Christianity
- Jewish tradition holds that Jerusalem is the site of the ancient Garden of Eden, where God first began His relationship with mankind
- Mount Moriah is within Jerusalem and is where Abraham bound his son Isaac for sacrifice before the Lord intervened, providing His own sacrifice of a ram caught in a thicket
- David made Jerusalem the capital of Israel’s united kingdom, and it remained the capital of Judah after the kingdom was divided in two
- Jerusalem is where the First and Second Temples were built, making it the epicenter of Jewish religious life
- The Jewish people were commanded to observe three of the annual feasts by making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem
- Jesus taught and healed in Jerusalem
Jerusalem is also where:
- Yeshua (Jesus) sacrificed His life as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world
- Jesus was buried, rose from the dead, and ascended to Heaven
- The Holy Spirit was given to Believers at Shavuot
- The Third Temple will be built
- Yeshua will return when He stands on the Mount of Olives
- Yeshua will rule and reign in the Age to Come
- The center of life will be in the Age to Come, when God Himself will wipe away every tear from our eyes, and we will live with Him in completeness and peace forever
- And Jerusalem is where God has chosen to put His name
God Has Put His Name in Jerusalem
Of Jerusalem in particular, the Lord speaks repeatedly of it being the specific place where He has “put His name.”
“But you are to seek the place the Lord your God will choose from among all your tribes to put his Name there for His dwelling. To that place you must go” (Deuteronomy 12:5).
“…Jerusalem, the city the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel in which to put his Name….” (1 Kings 14:21).
Did you know that God’s name is physically in Jerusalem as well as spiritually and symbolically? Jerusalem sits amid hills and valleys that, when seen from above, resemble the Hebrew letter Shin, which resembles a W. A Shin has long been representative of God because it is part of the Hebrew spelling of one of His names, God Almighty, or in Hebrew, El Shaddai. God has placed a symbol of His name — a Shin — in the very topography of Jerusalem. His name dwells in Jerusalem, just as He said in Scripture.
Special to God
The Bible tells us that the Jewish people, the Land He gave them, and Jerusalem are all special to God. In the book of Deuteronomy, He calls Israel — the Jewish people — His “treasured possession” and his “inheritance.”
“For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be His people, His treasured possession” (Deuteronomy 7:6, emphasis added).
“For the Lord’s portion is His people, Jacob His allotted inheritance” (Deuteronomy 32:9, emphasis added).
Deuteronomy reveals that the Land of Israel is important to God as well, describing it as “a land for which the Lord your God cares; the eyes of the Lord your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year.” (Deuteronomy 11:12 NKJV, emphasis added).
Yerushalayim
The Hebrew word for Jerusalem is Yerushalayim. It’s created by combining aspects of two other words. Yerush means “inheritance or possession,” and Shalem means “whole, complete, or peace.” Jerusalem is the centerpiece of God’s inheritance and possession — Israel, and it is the epicenter of the completion of God’s redemption plan for mankind and the fulfillment of His promised peace in the Age to Come. Jerusalem is special to the Lord. Jerusalem belongs to Him and to His treasured inheritance of a people. So, it’s fitting that we as Believers in Yeshua — Jewish and Gentile alike — share in the joy of the day commemorating the day in 1967 when a united Jerusalem came under Jewish rule after such a long, long history of being governed by so many foreign nations.
Jerusalem Day 2025
Jerusalem Day this year begins at sunset on May 25 and ends at sunset on May 26. It gives us a special occasion to praise God for returning to His people the city where He has put His name. It’s a highlighted opportunity to pray for the Jewish people and the State of Israel. Join us in praying for:
- Peace in Jerusalem and all of Israel, according to Psalm 122:6
- Jewish people in Israel and worldwide to recognize Yeshua as the promised Messiah prophesied about in Isaiah 55 and throughout the Hebrew Scriptures
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: ‘May those who love you be secure’” (Psalm 122:6).
If you want to learn more about the Six-Day War, how it started, and an eyewitness account of it by the wife of Jewish Voice founder Louis Kaplan, here is some additional reading for you:
