Tag Archives: reject

Is God Finished With Israel?

Bible Study, , , ,

IS GOD FINISHED WITH ISRAEL?

“I ask then: Did God reject His people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. God did not reject His people whom He foreknew. Don’t you know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah – how he appealed to God against Israel. ‘Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me’? And what was God’s answer to him? ‘I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.’ So, too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.” Romans 11:1-6.

There is a stream of teaching in the church today that says that God has washed His hands of the Jews. If Paul were here, he would vehemently defend the argument of Scripture that God still has a plan for them in spite of their mass rejection of Jesus as their Messiah. ‘If not,’ says Paul, ‘then why is it that I, who am an Israelite and a descendant of Abraham, am also one of his spiritual sons, by faith in Jesus?’

The Bible teaches that there are two “Israels” – natural Israel, those who are the physical descendants of Abraham, and spiritual Israel, those who follow Abraham’s example of faith in Jesus as the Messiah.

Not all natural Israel are God’s children because they have rejected Jesus, set up their own standard of righteousness and fallen short of God’s requirement, perfection. On the other hand, Gentiles who have no claim to Abrahamic descent, have been welcomed into the family of God because they did what Abraham did; they believed God’s promise and received His righteousness as a free gift. And this when they were not even actively seeking Him!

“May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation. Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule – to the Israel of God.” Galatians 6:14-16.

What Paul is clearly teaching is that God has established a new covenant with Israel, not based on the law but based on the one who perfectly fulfilled the law. Only those who receive and participate in this new covenant are the true people of God. Jews and Gentiles are included in the New Covenant, sealed in the blood of Jesus.

This covenant was not an afterthought. It is the central message of the Bible and the fulfilment of God’s covenant with Abraham. The Mosaic covenant was an interim agreement by which God set up His holy standards to show His people what was needed to be accepted and which was intended to show them just how far short they fell and how impossible it was to achieve the righteousness acceptable to God by their own efforts.

No, God did not reject the Jews, but He did show them that they are no different from the Gentiles. They have to come to God in exactly the same way as any non-Jew – through the one whom God appointed to be the mediator – His Son, whom He sent to be the atoning sacrifice for the sin of the whole world.

But, at the same time, does that mean that He has no further use for the Jews as a nation? Does He treat them as He does any other nation on earth? He chose Abraham and promised that He would make of him a great nation and through him all the nations on earth would be blessed. Did God cancel His promise to Abraham? Did He go back on what He had said simply because Israel failed to keep their side of the agreement? Does that make God’s sovereign plans subject to human failure?

Some argue that God is finished with the Jews; that He wiped His hands of them when they crucified their Messiah. That’s why the Romans came in and destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD and scattered the Jews. That’s why Hitler exterminated millions during WW2. That’s why the world is against Israel today and the Arab nations are bent on wiping the Jews from the face of the earth – so they say.

But is that what God’s Word says? We shall have to read on to find out what God has to say about Israel…

Acknowledgement

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Vengeance Day

Christian Life, , , ,

VENGEANCE DAY

“‘When you see soldiers camped all around Jerusalem, then you’ll know that she is about to be devastated. If you’re living in Judea at the time, run for the hills. If you’re in the city, get out quickly. If you’re in the fields, don’t go home to get your coat. This is Vengeance Day — everything written about it will come to a head. Pregnant and nursing mothers will have it especially hard. Incredible misery! Torrential rage! People dropping like flies; people dragged off to prisons; Jerusalem under the boot of barbarians until the nations finish what was given them to do.'” Luke 21:20-24 (The Message).

Why is it that this one city should have experienced more war and destruction than any other city in the world? What does Jerusalem have that makes it the focus of so much conflict? It has no strategic geographical significance, no major economic or industrial function, some historical and archaeological interest, perhaps, but not enough for nations to have fought over it for more than three thousand years.

Once again the issue is a spiritual one. Three major faiths claim Jerusalem as their own. Judaism claims it because Jerusalem was the City of David, their greatest king. It was the capital of their Promised Land and the site of Temple, the symbol of God’s presence among them. Islam claims Abraham as the ancestor of their race; their great Mosque of Omar occupies the place where he offered his son and where the Temple once stood. Christians love Jerusalem because it was the city where Jesus was crucified and rose again.

Jesus’ answer to His disciples’ question,’ Teacher, when is this going to happen?’ takes in two major events, the destruction of Jerusalem under the Roman general, Titus, in 70 AD and the tumultuous events preceding His return. It is not easy to separate these two happenings because, in His predictions, they seem almost to run together. Perhaps He did this on purpose to prevent people from assigning dates to the ‘end of the world’.

When we read about the fall of Jerusalem, it fills us with horror because God appears to be cruel and heartless, subjecting people to terrible suffering out of revenge for not taking Him seriously. But that is not God’s way. From the beginning of their history He made it clear that their protection lay in their trust in Him and obedience to His word. He showed His love for them rescuing them from slavery and by giving them a good land but they chose to reject Him and worship the worthless idols of the surrounding nations.

It was their choice, not God’s, that brought destruction on them. “‘Have you not brought this on yourselves by forsaking the Lord your God when He led you in the way?'” Jeremiah 2:17 (NIV).

The Jews sealed their fate by thoughtlessly calling God’s judgment upon them at Jesus’ trial. “When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd.’ I am innocent of this man’s blood.’ he said, ‘It is your responsibility!’ All the people answered, ‘Let His blood be on us and on our children.'” Matthew 27:24-25 (NIV).

When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey to claim His rightful kingship of His people, the sight of the city reduced Him to tears because He saw the outcome of their rejection of Him. “‘The days will come when your enemies will build an embankment against you and will encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognise the time of God’s coming to you.'” Luke 19:43-44 (NIV).

God’s word makes it clear that whatever fate we suffer is the end result of our own choices. He has given us the option to receive the mercy He offers us because Jesus died in our place. He honours our freedom to choose right up to the choice of our own destiny. For those who honour Him, there is mercy, forgiveness and a new life which never ends; for those who reject His offer, the eternal rubbish heap of wasted opportunity.

Cornerstone!

Christian Life, , ,

CORNERSTONE!

“But Jesus didn’t back down.’ Why, then, do you think this was written?

“That stone the masons threw out —
It’s now the cornerstone!”

‘Anyone falling over that stone will break every bone in his body; if the stone falls on anyone, it will be a total smash-up.’

“The religion scholars and high priests wanted to lynch Him on the spot, but they were intimidated by public opinion. They knew the story was about them.” Luke 20:17-20 (The Message).

“There are two kinds of people in the world…!” Ever heard that statement?

In this incident, the two kinds of people are — those who use criticism wisely and those who want to silence the critic! Jesus’ antagonists fell into the second category. Even destructive and unkind criticism can be beneficial if one eats the meat and spits out the bones.

In this instance, it would have been eternally beneficial for them if they had taken Jesus’ words seriously. His intention was neither destructive nor unkind. He had tried everything to get them to wake up and realise where they were headed, but to no avail. They belonged to the category of unteachable people, those who were too proud to admit they were wrong and to want to know the truth more than to preserve their egos.

The only thing that stopped them from carrying out their murderous intention was their fear of public opinion. Of course, that was right in line with their general attitude anyway. They always played to the crowd, but in this instance, public opinion would only drive them underground until the time was right and they could get the crowd on their side.

In the heat of this furore, once again Jesus kept His cool. He knew He was right because He always stood on the side of truth. But His being right was not an image or an ego thing. It was an earnest plea to heed His words because of the consequences.

He was quoting Psalm 118:22, a fragment from a Messianic prophecy. The religious leaders would have been familiar with the Scripture and the insinuation that Jesus was the cornerstone, which would have riled them even more. Therefore they were enraged on two counts, His outright exposure of their intended plan to kill Him, and His Messianic claim which they interpreted as blasphemy.

The cornerstone of which Jesus spoke, not only supported the entire structure, it was also the test everyone has to pass or fail on their way to eternity. Every person either “falls over” the stone or will be crushed by the stone. This sounds like a heartless statement, and it would be except for one reality — everyone has a choice.

The way we respond to the “cornerstone” is the way we understand and treat the mercy of God. He has provided a way of escape from the inevitable result of our rebellion against Him. He warned the first pair that disobedience would bring death, but they did not believe Him. Because of their rebellion, death came on the whole human race. God sent His own Son, the “cornerstone”, to pay the debt we all owe Him so that we can go free.

That does not mean that we are free to do our own thing because there is no longer a penalty. It means that God will have mercy on those who return to Him and recognise and come under His authority by accepting His offer of forgiveness and entrusting ourselves to His love. When we fall over the cornerstone, we are broken of our stubborn self-will. We submit to Him by choice and we are on a new road to true freedom.

The other option is to be crushed by the cornerstone. For God to be perfectly just, He has no alternative. He must be true to His nature and to His word. Imagine His heartbreak when He has to consign rebels to destruction because they decided to reject His offer when they could have had life!