Sa’ar hosts Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Đurić
Israel hosted Serbia's Foreign Minister in Jerusalem for a first-ever strategic dialogue, continuing the pattern of nations turning their eyes toward Jerusalem — a city Scripture declares will stand at the center of international attention in the last days.
Zechariah 2:8
Covenant Promise“For thus said the LORD of hosts, after his glory sent me to the nations who plundered you, for he who touches you touches the apple of his eye.”
Why this passage
Zechariah 2:8 is part of the LORD's covenant declaration over restored Israel — that the nation is the 'apple of his eye,' uniquely precious and under divine protection. The original context addresses the post-exilic community returning to Zion, but the covenant principle is covenantal and enduring: God's posture toward those who engage Israel is governed by this promise.
The verse establishes that Israel's diplomatic relationships carry theological weight. Nations that draw near to Israel in good faith stand in a different posture before God than those who oppose or threaten her.
The prophet Zechariah declared that Jerusalem would become "a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples" — a city no nation can ignore, drawn into its orbit whether it wills it or not.
That even a small bilateral meeting between Israel and Serbia takes place in Jerusalem, and not in any neutral capital, testifies quietly to what Scripture long ago announced: the eyes of the nations are fixed on that city, and history bends toward it.
Today's Prayer
Pray that the leaders gathering in Jerusalem would encounter the God of Israel, whose purposes for that city no diplomatic agenda can override.
Further Scripture
Additional passages that illuminate this event, each grounded in a distinct interpretive lens.
“Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the LORD.”
Why this passage
Zechariah 8 is a prophecy of Jerusalem's future glory in which nations stream to the city not merely for commerce or politics, but drawn by the name of the LORD. The immediate context is eschatological encouragement to the post-exilic remnant, but the far horizon is the gathering of all nations toward Jerusalem as the spiritual and geopolitical center of the earth.
While no single bilateral meeting constitutes fulfillment of this prophecy, the pattern of nations conducting their highest diplomatic functions in Jerusalem — rather than Tel Aviv or a neutral venue — incrementally echoes the directional movement this prophecy describes.
How it applies
The choice to hold the first Israel-Serbia strategic dialogue in Jerusalem is not incidental. Jerusalem is increasingly the seat of Israel's diplomatic identity, and nations come to it.
Each such meeting adds one more thread to the tapestry Zechariah foresaw — the nations orienting themselves toward the city God has chosen. The herald's task is to note the direction of travel, not to announce arrival at the destination.
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! May they be secure who love you!”
Why this passage
Psalm 122, a Psalm of Ascent attributed to David, calls all who love Jerusalem — and by extension all who enter her — to seek her peace. The command is not merely liturgical; it is a declaration that Jerusalem's wellbeing is tied to the faithfulness of those who engage her.
The wisdom principle embedded here is that those nations and leaders who approach Jerusalem with integrity and goodwill participate in something ordered by God — while those who approach with treachery or exploitation invite the reverse.
How it applies
As Serbian and Israeli diplomats sit together in Jerusalem to frame a strategic partnership, the oldest prayer in Israel's hymnbook is still the most fitting response from the watching Church.
The congregation of believers is called to intercede for Jerusalem and for the nations that draw near to her — that their intentions be just, their agreements durable, and their leaders open to the God whose city Jerusalem ultimately is.
Related by Scripture
Other events we've interpreted through the same passage or hermeneutical lens.
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Israel & JerusalemShares Zechariah 2:8
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Source: israelnationalnews— we link to the original for full context.