| ISRAEL: THE CHOSEN
PEOPLE OF GOD
Section
2a - The Circumcision Covenant
2b - The Kingdom or Territorial Covenant
2a.
The Circumcision Covenant
The fact that Israel had
been earmarked as God's specially chosen people had been indicated very
early in the Covenant of Circumcision that God made with Abraham long before
the nation came into existence as such.
Abram, as he is first known
in Scripture, came from the city of Ur of the Chaldean empire (Gen.11:31).
He must have been of Syrian stock since Jacob, his grandson, is
referred to as such (Deut.26:5). He is also referred to as Abram the
Hebrew
(Gen.14:13)
and even God is identified as ‘Yahweh, the Elohim of the Hebrews’ (Ex.3:18;
5:3; 7:16). God changed Jacob’s name to Israel (Gen.32:28;
35:10) and his descendants are referred to as the children of Israel,
Israelites. Paul identifies himself as a Hebrew, an Israelite, and of the
seed of Abraham (1Cor.11:22, see also Phil.3:5).
By the time of Abram, the
name by which he was first known (Gen.17:5), humanity had become lost in
polytheism and idolatry. Prior to his calling out by God from Ur even he,
his father Terah, as well as his brother Nahor served other elohim
(Josh.24:2).
It was in this environment,
from out of this cauldron of deviant religion, that God, one day, spoke
to Abram, instructing him to move to a far off country where he would be
made a father of many nations (Gen.12:1). Identifying Himself as 'Yahweh'
(Gen.15:7),
God
did not reveal Himself to him as the One and Only God, the true
God! Abram would have felt privileged and honoured to be in contact with
a
deity. At that point Abram would have 'seen' Him as just one of a pantheon
of gods!
What if it had been Satan
who had addressed him? Surely many in those days would have heard 'a voice'
(as many claim they do, today) and gone astray after pseudo-gods, those
who 'by nature are not gods'!
It was, even then, by God's
Own counsel that He chose to speak to Abram and have him believe
His
message and obey His directives!
God chose to make a solemn
covenant with Abraham concerning a plentiful progeny and that He would
be their Elohim and that they would be His people.
To distinguish the line of Abraham which would have this special relationship
with God, from all other people on the earth, the covenant of circumcision
was executed. Only those under this sign would be qualified to benefit
from the other covenants God made with Abraham, and then with Isaac and
Jacob.
Gen.17:9-14
And saying is the Elohim to Abraham,
"And you shall keep My covenant,
you and your seed after you for their generations.
This is My covenant, which
you shall keep
between Me and you and your
seed after you for their generations:
Circumcise to yourselves
every male.
And circumcised shall you
be in the flesh of your foreskin.
And it comes to be for a
sign of the covenant between Me and you.
And a son of eight days
shall be circumcised by you,
every male of your generations,
homeborn
or acquired with money from
any foreigner, he who is not of your seed.
With circumcision shall
be circumcised the homeborn
and the one acquired with
your money.
And My covenant comes to
be in your flesh for a covenant eonian.
And the uncircumcised male,
the flesh of whose foreskin
was not circumcised in the eighth day,
that soul also shall be
cut
off from his people. My covenant he annuls."
Act.7:8
And He gives him the covenant of circumcision.
And thus he begets Isaac,
and circumcised him on the eighth day,
and Isaac Jacob, and Jacob
the twelve patriarchs.
From the time of Abraham until
the present administration of the Secret (under Paul's distinctively different
evangel concerning The Ecclesia which is the Body Of Christ), fellowship
with God was exclusively with the people of Israel, the circumcised
people.
Ex.12:43-48
Yahweh said to Moses and to Aaron:
This is the statute of the
passover:
Any son of a foreigner,
he shall not eat of it.
Yet any man's servant acquired
with silver,
when you have circumcised
him, then he may eat of it.
A settler or a hireling,
he may not eat of it.
In one house shall it be
eaten.
You shall not bring forth
any of the flesh from the house to the outside;
and a bone in it you shall
not break. [Jn.19:33-36]
The whole congregation
of the sons of Israel shall do it.
In case a sojourner is sojourning
with you and makes a passover to Yahweh,
every male of his is to
be circumcised,
and then he may draw
near to make it, and he will become as a native of the land.
Yet anyone uncircumcised,
he shall not eat of it.
Eph.2:11,12
Wherefore, remember that once you, the nations in flesh--
who are termed "Uncircumcision"
by those termed "Circumcision,"
in flesh, made by hands—
that you were, in that
era,
apart
from Christ,
being alienated from the citizenship of Israel,
and guests of the promise covenants,
having no expectation,
and without God in the world.
And circumcision in flesh
will still be a qualifying factor in the fellowship and ceremony
of the New Covenant that God will establish with the nation of Israel in
the Millenium:
Zech.8:22,23
And
many peoples and staunch nations will come
to seek Yahweh of hosts
in Jerusalem, and to beseech the face of Yahweh.
Thus says Yahweh of hosts:
In those days ten mortals,
from all the languages of the nations, will take fast hold.
And they will take fast
hold of the hem of a man, a Jew, saying,
We will go with you,
for we hear that Elohim is with you.
Isa.52:1 Rouse!
Rouse! Clothe yourself with your ornaments, O Zion!
Clothe yourself in your
beautiful cloaks, Jerusalem, the holy city!
For no more shall come into
you any longer the uncircumcised and unclean.
Ezek.44:9
Thus said the Lord Yahweh: No son of a stranger,
uncircumcised of heart,
and
uncircumcised of flesh, comes in unto My sanctuary,
even any son of a stranger,
who [is] in the midst of the sons of Israel,
Deut.10:16
Hence you will circumcise the foreskin of your heart,
and you should no longer
stiffen your neck.
Rom.2:29
but that which is hidden is the Jew,
and circumcision is of
the heart, in spirit, not in letter,
whose applause is not of
men, but of God.
Deut.30:6 Yahweh
your Elohim will circumcise your heart and the heart of your
seed
so as to love Yahweh
your Elohim with all your heart and with all your soul,
that you may stay alive.
2b.
The Kingdom or Territorial Covenant
God created the heavens and
the earth. Everything belongs to Him and they are His to give to whomsoever
it pleases Him to give. He it is Who decides the allocation of terrestrial
territory and the periods of tenancy of each nation.
Act.17:24-26
The God Who makes the world and all that is in it,
He, the Lord inherent of
heaven and earth, is not dwelling in temples made by hands,
neither is He attended by
human hands, as if requiring anything,
since He Himself gives
to all life and breath and all.
Besides, He makes out of
one every nation of mankind,
to be dwelling on all the
surface of the earth,
specifying the
setting of the seasons
and the bounds of their dwelling, …. .
It pleased Him to select, out
of His Own counsel and for His Own reasons, one man out of humanity, after
the flood, through whom and through whose posterity, to work out His plans
for the earth.
Gen.12:1-5 Now
saying is Yahweh to Abram,
"Go you from your land and
from your kindred and from your father's house
to the land which I shall
show you.
….and forth are they faring
to go toward the land of Canaan.
And coming are they to the
land of Canaan.
God made specific covenant-promises
concerning this select tract of land to be the permanent home of
His people, through one, particular, line of descent.
Beginning with Abraham:
Gen.12:7
And appearing is Yahweh to Abram and is saying to him,
"To your seed am I giving
this
land."….
Gen.15:7
And saying is He to him,
"I am Yahweh Elohim Who
brought you forth from Ur of the Chaldeans,
to give to you this
land to tenant it."
God went on to bind Himself
to a contract with Abraham over this expanse of real estate, even to specifying
its boundaries. At that time this area was the home of many other peoples.
Gen.15:18-21
In that day Yahweh contracted a covenant with Abram, saying,
"To your seed I give this
land,
from the stream of
Egypt as far as the great stream, the stream Euphrates,
the Cainite and the Kenizite
and the Kadmonite and the Hittite and the Perizzite
and the Rephaim and the
Amorite and the Canaanite and the Hivite
and the Girgashite and the
Jebusite."
Deut.1:6,7
Yahweh our Elohim, He spoke to us at Horeb saying,…
enter the hill-country of
the Amorite;
go to all his neighbors
in the Aravah,
in the hill-country, in
the low foothills,
in the Negev and on the
sea shore,
the country of the Canaanite
and the Lebanon
as far as the Great
Stream, the stream Euphrates.
Gen.17:1-6
… And appearing is Yahweh to Abram and is saying to him,
"I am the El-Who-Suffices.
Walk before Me and become flawless.
"And giving am I My covenant
between
Me and you,
and increasing am I you
exceedingly exceedingly."
And speaking with him is
the Elohim, saying,
"I, behold! My covenant
is with you.
And you are to become the
forefather of a throng of nations.
And no further shall your
name be called Abram.
Yet your name becomes
Abraham,
for the forefather of a
throng of nations have I made you.
And fruitful I cause
you to be exceedingly exceedingly.
And I make of you
nations,
and kings from you shall
fare forth.
This covenant God made with
Abraham was to be binding on Himself through the generations of his descendants.
Gen.17:7,8
And I set up My covenant between Me and you,
and your seed after you,
for their generations,
for a covenant eonian,
to become your Elohim and your seed's after you.
And I give to you and
to your seed after you the land of your sojournings,
all the land of Canaan,
for a holding eonian.
And I become their
Elohim.
Then through Isaac, rather
than through Ishmael. And through Jacob, rather than through Esau:
Gen.17:18-21
…And saying is the Elohim to Abraham,
"Nevertheless, behold, Sarah,
your wife is bearing you a son,
and you shall call his name
Isaac.
And I set up My covenant
with
him for a covenant eonian,
and with his seed
after him.
And as to Ishmael, behold!
I hear you. Behold! Bless him do I,…
Yet My covenant will I set
up with Isaac,
whom Sarah will bear for
you at this, the appointed time another year."
Gen.26:1-5 …And
appearing to him [Isaac] is Yahweh and saying, …
Sojourn in this land, and
I come to be with you and will bless you.
For to you and to
your
seed will I give all these lands,
and carry out will I the
oath which I swore to Abraham, your father.
And increase will I your
seed
as the stars of the heavens,
and give will I to your
seed all these lands.
And blessed, in your
seed, are all the nations of the earth,
inasmuch as hearken did
Abraham,
your father,
to My voice and kept My
charge, My instructions. My statutes, and My laws."
Gen.35:9-12
And appearing is the Elohim to Jacob again in Luz, …
And saying to him is the
Elohim,
"Your name is Jacob. No
longer is your name to be called Jacob,
but rather Israel is
coming to be your name."
And calling is He his name
Israel.
And saying to him is the
Elohim, "I am the El-Who-Suffices.
Be fruitful and increase.
A nation and an assembly
of nations shall come from you,
and kings from your loins
shall fare forth.
And the land which
I gave to Abraham and to Isaac,
to you am I giving
it. Yours it is;
and to your seed
after you am I giving the land."
In summary, it is declared:
Deut.1:8
See! I have set the land before you.
Enter and tenant the
land about which Yahweh had sworn to your fathers,
to Abraham, to Isaac and
to Jacob,
to give to them and
to their seed after them.
Ps.105:6-11
O seed of Israel, His servants, Sons of Jacob, His chosen ones.
He is Yahweh, our
Elohim; His judgments are in all the earth.
He remembers His covenant
for the eon,
The word He enjoined on
a thousand generations,
That He contracted with
Abraham,
And by His oath to Isaac.
He ratified it to Jacob
as a statute, To Israel as a covenant eonian.
Saying, To you shall I give
the
land of Canaan,
The region of your allotment.
Ex.6:8
I will bring you to the land which I lifted up My hand in swearing
to give it to Abraham, to
Isaac and to Jacob.
I will give it to you
as a tenancy. I am Yahweh
Of course, we know that Israel,
as a nation, has produced a terribly dismal record of her faithfulness
to God. Israel has been unfaithful. But God is faithful (1Cor.1:9; 10:13;
2Cor.1:18)! He reprimands them and chastises them with severe experiences
to teach them the lessons they need to learn for their own good
as well as for His glory.
Ps.89:30-32
If his sons should forsake My law,
And they should not walk
in My ordinances,
If they should profane My
statutes
And should not keep My instructions,
Then I will visit their
transgression with a club,
And their depravity with
contagions.
Ps.89:33-37
Yet I shall not withdraw My benignity from him,
And I shall not be false
in
My faithfulness.
I shall not profane My
covenant,
And I shall not alter the
utterance of My lips.
Once for all have
I sworn by My holiness;
I shall assuredly not lie
to David:
His seed shall continue
for the eon,
And his throne as the sun
in front of Me,
Like the moon, it shall
be established for the eon,
Faithful like that witness
in the sky. .
Jer.30:11
For with you [am] I, An affirmation of Yahweh--to save you,
For I make an end of all
the nations whither I have scattered you,
Only, of you I do
not
make an end,
And I have chastised
you in judgment,
And do not entirely
acquit you.
Jer.46:28
You, you do not fear, My servant Jacob,
An affirmation of Yahweh--for
with you I [am],
For I make an end of all
the nations Whither I have driven you,
And of you I do not
make
an end,
And I have reproved you
in judgment,
And do not entirely
acquit you!'
Lev.26:40-42
If they will confess their depravity
and the depravity of
their fathers in their offense…
if then their uncircumcised
heart should submit,
and if then they should
accept their depravity,
then I will remember My
covenant with Jacob
and also My covenant
with Isaac;
also My covenant with
Abraham shall I remember,
and the land shall
I remember.
Jer.33:25,26 KJV
Thus saith the LORD;
If my covenant [be]
not with day and night,
[and if] I have not
appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth;
Then will I cast
away the seed of Jacob, and David my servant,
[so] that I will not take
[any] of his seed [to be] rulers
over the seed of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob:
for I will cause
their captivity to return, and have mercy on them.
Ps.89:27-29
Indeed, I shall make him [David] the firstborn,
The uppermost of the kings
of the earth.
For the eon shall I keep
My benignity upon him,
And My covenant with
him is faithful.
I will establish his seed
for the future,
And his throne as the
days of the heavens.
Jer.29:11-14
For I have known the thoughts that I am thinking towards you—
an affirmation of Yahweh;
thoughts of peace, and not
of evil, to give to you posterity and hope.
And you have called Me,
and have gone, and have
prayed unto Me, and I have hearkened unto you,
And you have sought Me,
and have found, for you
seek Me with all your heart;
And I have been found of
you--an affirmation of Yahweh;
and I have turned back [to]
your captivity,
and have gathered you out
of all the nations,
and out of all the places
whither I have driven you—
an affirmation of Yahweh—
and I have brought you back
unto
the place whence I removed you.
Amos.9:14,15
And I will reverse the captivity of My people Israel,
and they shall build
the desolated cities and dwell in them.
And they shall plant
vineyards and drink their wine,
and shall make gardens and
eat their fruit.
And I will plant them on
their ground,
and not again shall they
be plucked up off their ground which I give to them.
Says Yahweh, your
Elohim, Him Who-Suffices.
Ezek.28:25,26
Thus said the Lord Yahweh:
In My gathering the house
of Israel,
Out of the peoples among
whom they were scattered,
I have been sanctified in
them, Before the eyes of the nations,
And they have dwelt on their
ground, that I gave to My servant, to Jacob,
And they have dwelt on it
confidently,
And builded houses, and
planted vineyards, And dwelt confidently—
in My doing judgments, On
all those despising them round about,
And they have known
that I, Yahweh, [am] their Elohim!'
Joel.2:18,19
Then Yahweh will be jealous for His land, and He will spare His
people.
And Yahweh will respond
and say to His people,
Behold Me sending
to you grain and grape juice and clarified oil,
and you shall be satisfied
with it.
And I will not make you
a reproach among the nations any more.
Ezek.11:17,18
… Thus said the Lord Yahweh:
Because I put them afar
off among nations,
And because I scattered
them through lands,
I also am to them for a
little sanctuary, In lands whither they have gone in.
Therefore say: Thus said
the Lord Yahweh:
And I have assembled
you from the peoples,
And I have gathered
you from the lands, Into which you have been scattered,
And I have given
to you the ground of Israel.
And they have gone in thither.
And turned aside all its
detestable things,
And all its abominations--out
of it.
Ezek.36:24-30
And I have taken you out of the nations,
And have gathered you out
of all the lands,
And I have brought you
in unto your land,…
And you have dwelt in the
land that I have given to your fathers,
And you have been to Me
for a people, And I--I am to you for Elohim.
And I have saved
you from all your uncleannesses,
And I have called
unto the corn, and multiplied it,
And I have put no
famine upon you.
And I have multiplied
the fruit of the tree, And the increase of the field,
So that you receive not
any more a reproach of famine among nations.
Ezek.39:25-29 Therefore,
thus said the Lord Yahweh:
Now do I bring back the
captivity of Jacob,
And I have pitied all the
house of Israel,
And have been zealous for
My holy name.
And they have forgotten
their shame,
And all their trespass that
they trespassed against Me,
In their dwelling on their
land confidently and none troubling.
In My bringing them
back from the peoples,
I have assembled
them from the lands of their enemies,
And I have been sanctified
in them before the eyes of the many nations,
And they have known
that I [am] Yahweh their Elohim,
In My removing them unto
the nations,
And I have gathered them
unto their land,
And I leave none
of them any more there.
And I hide not any more
My face from them,
In that I have poured out
My spirit on the house of Israel,
An affirmation of the Lord
Yahweh!'
Ezek.36:8-12 And
you, O mountains of Israel,
Your branch you give out,
and your fruits you bear for My people Israel,
For they have drawn near
to come.
For, lo, I [am] for you,
and have turned to you,
And you have been tilled
and sown.
And I have multiplied on
you men, All the house of Israel--all of it,
And the cities have been
inhabited, And the wastes are built.
And I have multiplied on
you man and beast,
And they have multiplied
and been fruitful,
And I have caused you to
dwell according to your former states,
And I have done better
than at your beginnings,
And you have known that
I [am] Yahweh.
And I have caused man to
walk over you,--My people Israel,
And they possess
you, and you have been to them for an inheritance,
And you do add no more to
bereave them.
Jer.30:3 For,
lo, days are coming--an affirmation of Yahweh—
and I have turned
back [to] the captivity of My people Israel and Judah,…
and I have caused
them to turn back unto the land that I gave to their fathers,
and they do possess
it.'
Jer.32:37,38
Lo, I am gathering them out of all the lands
whither I have driven
them in Mine anger, and in My fury, and in great wrath,
and I have brought
them back unto this place,
and have caused them to
dwell confidently;
and they have been to Me
for a people, and I am to them for Elohim;
Deut.30:5
Then Yahweh your Elohim will bring you
to the land that your
fathers tenanted; you will tenant it,
and He will bring you good
and let you increase more than your fathers.
Zech.8:3-8
Thus says Yahweh: I return to Zion,
and I tabernacle in the
midst of Jerusalem,
and Jerusalem is called
the city of truth,
and the mountain of Yahweh
of hosts, the holy mountain….
Behold Me saving My
people
from the land of the sunrise,
and from the land of the setting of the sun.
And I will bring them, and
they shall tabernacle in the midst of Jerusalem,
and they become Mine
for a people,
and I will become theirs
for an Elohim, in truth and in righteousness.
Jer.50:4,5,19
In those days, and at that time, An affirmation of Yahweh,
Come in do sons of Israel,
they and sons of Judah together,
Going on and weeping they
go, And Yahweh their Elohim they seek.
[To] Zion they ask the way,
Thitherward [are] their faces:
Come in, and we are joined
unto Yahweh,
A covenant eonian--not
forgotten ….
And I have brought back
Israel unto his habitation,
And he has fed on Carmel,
and on Bashan.
And in mount Ephraim, and
on Gilead is his soul satisfied.
Jer.50:20
In those days, and at that time, An affirmation of Yahweh,
Sought is the iniquity of
Israel, and it is not,
And the sin of Judah, and
it
is not found,
For I am propitious to those
whom I leave [whom I reserve KJV]!
Rom.11:25-27
For I am not willing for you to be ignorant of this secret, brethren,
lest you may be passing
for prudent among yourselves,
that callousness, in part,
on Israel has come,
until the complement
of the nations may be entering.
And thus all Israel shall
be saved, according as it is written,
Arriving
out of Zion shall be the Rescuer.
He
will
be turning away irreverence from Jacob.
And this
is My covenant with them
Whenever
I
should be eliminating their sins.
Isa.44:21,22
"Remember these things, Jacob and Israel, for My servant are you.
I formed you. A servant
of Mine are you, Israel.
You shall not be oblivious
of Me.
For behold! I wipe out
as a dense haze, your transgressions,
and as a cloud, your
sins.
Return to Me, for I redeemed
you."
Jer.33:7-9
And I have turned back the captivity of Judah, And the captivity of Israel,
And I have built them as
at the first,
And cleansed them from
all their iniquity, that they have sinned against Me,
And I have pardoned all
their iniquities, that they have sinned against Me,
And that they transgressed
against Me.
And it has been to Me for
a
name of joy, For praise, and for beauty,
to all nations of the earth,
Who hear of all the good that I am doing them,
And they have feared, And
they have trembled for all the good,
And for all the peace, that
I am doing to it.
Ezek.36:32-38
…In the day of My cleansing you from all your iniquities,
I have caused the cities
to be inhabited,
And the wastes have been
built,
And the desolate land is
tilled,
Instead of which it was
a desolation before the eyes of every passer by,
And they have said:
This land,
that was desolated, has been as the garden of Eden,
And the cities--the wasted,
And the desolated, and the broken down,
Fenced places have remained.
And known have the nations
who are left round about you,
That I Yahweh
have built the thrown down,
I have planted the
desolated:
I Yahweh have spoken, and
I
have done [it].
Thus said the Lord Yahweh:
Yet this I am required,
By the house of Israel to do to them,
I multiply them as a flock
of men,
As a flock of holy ones,
as a flock of Jerusalem,
In her appointed seasons,
So are the waste cities full of flocks of men,
And they have known that
I [am] Yahweh!' .
Isa.60:21 KJV
Thy people also [shall be] all righteous:
they shall inherit the
land for ever [for the eon],
the branch of My
planting, the work of My hands,
that I may be glorified.
Isa.32:17,18
And it comes that the yield of righteousness shall be welfare,
and the service of righteousness,
quietness and trust till the eon.
And My people shall dwell
in a homestead of welfare,
and in tabernacles of
trust, and in tranquil resting places,
Jer.32:41,42 KJV
Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good,
and I will plant them in
this
land assuredly
with my whole heart and
with my whole soul.
For thus saith the LORD;
Like as I have brought
all this great evil upon this people,
so will I bring upon
them all the good that I have promised them.
Jer.30:9,10
And they have served Yahweh their Elohim,
And David their king whom
I raise up to them.
And you, be not afraid,
My servant Jacob, An affirmation of Yahweh,
Nor be affrighted, O Israel,
For, lo, I am saving you
from afar,
And your seed from the land
of their captivity,
And Jacob has turned back
and rested,
And is quiet, and there
is none troubling.
Hos.3:5
Afterward are the sons of Israel returning,
and they seek Yahweh their
Elohim, and David their king,
and they come in awe to
Yahweh and to His goodness, in the latter days.
Jer.33:14-16
Lo, days are coming, an affirmation of Yahweh,
And I have established the
good word that I spoke
unto the house of Israel,
And concerning the house of Judah.
In those days, and at that
time,
I cause to shoot up to David
a shoot of righteousness,
And he has done judgment
and righteousness in the earth.
In those days is Judah saved,
And Jerusalem does dwell
confidently,
And this [is] he whom Yahweh
proclaims to her: `Our Righteousness.'
Jer.33:17
For thus said Yahweh:
Not cut off to David
is one sitting on the throne of the house of Israel,
Isa.40:9-11
On a mountain lofty ascend; go you, tidings-bearer, to Zion!
Raise high your voice with
vigor, tidings-bearer, to Jerusalem! Raise it high!
You must not fear! Say to
the cities of Judah, "Behold your Elohim!"
Behold! My Lord Yahweh with
steadfastness is coming.
And His arm is ruling for
Him.
Behold! His hire is with
Him. And His wage is before Him.
As a shepherd He is grazing
His drove,
and in His arm He is cuddling
the lambkins,
and in His bosom He is carrying
them.
The pregnant He is comforting.
The unweaned He is conducting.
Psalm 23, more commonly known
as ‘the Shepherd Psalm’, is a favourite passage to which Christians
turn for comfort and solace. But seldom is it realised that this passage
is directed to and is meant for the faithful out of Israel. Through many
passages which refer to Israel we find this same theme.
Ps.23:1-6 KJV
…The LORD [is] my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down
in green pastures:
he leadeth me beside the
still
waters.
He restoreth my soul:
he leadeth me in the paths
of righteousness for his name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through
the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: for
thou [art] with me;
thy rod and thy staff they
comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before
me in the presence of mine enemies:
thou anointest my head with
oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy
shall follow me all the days of my life:
and I will dwell in the
house of the LORD for ever.
Jer.31:9-11
With weeping they come in, and with supplications I bring them,
I cause them to go unto
streams
of waters,
In a right way--they stumble
not in it,
For I have been to Israel
for
a father, and Ephraim--My first-born [is] he.
Hear a word of Yahweh, O
nations,
And declare you among isles
afar off, and say:
He who is scattering
Israel does gather him,
And has kept him as a
shepherd [does] his flock,
For Yahweh has ransomed
Jacob,
And redeemed him from a
hand stronger than he.
Ezek.34:13-16
For thus said the Lord Yahweh:
Lo, I--even I, have required
My
flock, And I have sought it out.
As a shepherd's searching
of his drove,
In the day of his being
in the midst of his scattered flock,
so I do seek My flock,
And have delivered them
out of all places, whither they have been scattered,
In a day of cloud and thick
darkness.
And brought them out from
the peoples,
And have gathered them
from the lands,
And brought them unto
their
own ground,
And have fed them on
mountains of Israel,
By streams, and by
all
dwellings of the land.
With good pasture I do
feed them,
And on mountains of the
high place of Israel is their habitation,
There do they lie down in
a good habitation,
And fat pastures they
enjoy on mountains of Israel.
I feed My flock,
and cause them to lie down,
An affirmation of the Lord
Yahweh.
The lost I seek,
and the driven away bring back,
And the broken I
bind up, and the sick I strengthen,
And the fat and the strong
I destroy, I feed it with judgment.
Ezek.34:17-21
And you, My flock, thus said the Lord Yahweh:
Lo, I am judging between
sheep and sheep, Between rams and he-goats.
Is it a little thing for
you--the good pasture you enjoy,
And the remnant of your
pasture you tread down with your feet,
And a depth of waters you
do drink,
And the remainder with your
feet you trample,
And My flock the
trodden thing of your feet consumes,
And the trampled thing of
your feet drinks?
Therefore, thus said the
Lord Yahweh to them:
Lo, I--even I, have judged
between fat sheep and lean sheep.
Because with side and with
shoulder you thrust away,
And with your horns push
all the diseased,
Till you have scattered
them to the out-place,
Ezek.34:22-31
And I have given safety to My flock,
And they are not any
more for prey,
And I have judged between
sheep and sheep.
And have raised up over
them one shepherd, And he has fed them—
my servant David, He does
feed them, and he is their shepherd,
And I, Yahweh, I am their
Elohim,
And My servant David prince
in their midst,
I, Yahweh, have spoken.
And I have made for them
a
covenant of peace,
And caused evil beasts to
cease out of the land,
And they have dwelt in a
wilderness confidently,
And they have slept in forests.
And I have given them, and
the suburbs of my hill, a blessing,
And caused the shower to
come down in its season,
Showers of blessing they
are.
And given has the tree of
the field its fruit,
And the land does give her
increase,
And they have been on
their land confident,
And they have known that
I [am] Yahweh,
In My breaking the
bands of their yoke,
And I have delivered
them from the hand of those laying service on them.
And they are no more
a prey to nations,
And the beast of the earth
devours them not,
And they have dwelt confidently,
And there is none troubling.
And I have raised for them
a plant for renown,
And they are no more
consumed by hunger in the land,
And they bear no more
the shame of the nations.
And they have known that
I, Yahweh, their Elohim, [am] with them,
And they--the house of
Israel--My people,
An affirmation of the Lord
Yahweh.
And you, My flock,
the
flock of My pasture,
Men you [are]--I [am] your
Elohim, An affirmation of the Lord Yahweh!'
Mt.15:24
Now He, answering, said,
"I was not commissioned
except for the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
Mt.10:5-7 These
twelve Jesus commissions, charging them, saying,
"Into a road of the nations
you may not pass forth,
and into a city of the Samaritans
you may not be entering.
Yet be going rather to the
lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Now going, herald, saying
that `Near is the kingdom of the heavens!'
John.10:11-16
I am the Shepherd ideal [the exemplary]
The ideal shepherd is laying
down his soul for the sake of the sheep.
Yet the hireling, not also
being shepherd, whose own the sheep are not,
is beholding the wolf coming,
and is leaving the sheep and fleeing.
And the wolf is snatching
them and is scattering the sheep.
Yet the hireling is fleeing
for he is a hireling
and he is not caring concerning
the sheep.
I am the Shepherd
ideal, and I know Mine and Mine know Me,
according as the Father
knows Me, and I know the Father.
And My soul am I laying
down for the sake of the sheep.
And other sheep have
I which are not of this fold.
Those also I must be leading,
and they will be hearing My voice,
and there will be one flock,
one
Shepherd.
Lk.15:4,5
What man of you, having a hundred sheep, and losing one of them,
is not leaving the ninety-nine
in the wilderness
and is going after the lost
one, till he may be finding it?
And finding it, he is placing
it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
John.10:27-30 My
sheep are hearing My voice, and I know them,
and they are following Me.
And I am giving them life eonian,
and they should by no means
be perishing for the eon,
and no one shall be snatching
them out of My hand.
My Father, Who has given
them to Me, is greater than all,
and no one is able to
be snatching them out of My Father's hand.
I and the Father, We are
one."
So many passages of Holy Writ
emphasise God's guarantee that His promises concerning the land of Israel
and the kingdom will be fulfilled exactly and as scheduled and become a
satisfying reality for the faithful of Israel. The question we should ask
ourselves is: Do we really believe that God means what He says?
It is when the Kingdom is
established on the earth with Christ present that the apostles will receive
what was promised to them. So, too, with those of faith out of the people
of Israel.
Mt.19:28
Yet Jesus said to them,
"Verily, I am saying to
you, that you who follow Me, in the renascence
whenever the Son of Mankind
should be seated on the throne of His glory,
you also shall
sit on twelve thrones,
judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Heb.11:13,14
In faith died all these, not being requited with the promises,
but perceiving them ahead
and saluting them,
and avowing that they are
strangers and expatriates on the earth.
For those who are saying
such things are disclosing
that they are seeking for
a
country of their own.
Heb.11:39,40
And these all, being testified to through faith,
are not requited with
the promise of God concerning us
(the looking forward is
to something better),
that, apart from us, they
may not be perfected.
But, what of the nations
that survive the tribulation period and come into the Millenium? The relevant
passage in Matthew 5 is usually misread and misunderstood. It is not concerned
with individuals but with the nations as such, each nation as a
whole. Those nations with a record of having been for His people,
Israel, in times of trouble and want and persecution will be rewarded,
whereas those who have not will receive eonian chastisement.
Mt.25:31-33
"Now, whenever the Son of Mankind may be coming in His glory,
and all the holy messengers
with Him,
then shall He be seated
on the throne of His glory,
and in front of Him shall
be gathered all the nations.
And He shall be severing
them
from one another
even as a shepherd is severing
the sheep from the kids.
And He shall be standing
the sheep, indeed, at His right,
yet the kids at the left.
Mt.25:34,36
"Then shall the King be declaring to those at His right,
`Hither, blessed of My Father!
Enjoy the allotment of the kingdom
made ready for you from
the disruption of the world.
For I hunger and you give
Me to eat; I thirst and you give Me drink;
a stranger was I and you
took Me in; naked and you clothed Me;
infirm am I and you visit
Me; in jail was I and you come to Me.'
Mt.25:37-40
Then the just will be answering Him, saying,
`Lord, when did we perceive
Thee hungering and nourish Thee,
or thirsting and we give
Thee drink?
Now when did we perceive
Thee a stranger and took Thee in,
or naked and we clothed
Thee?
Now when did we perceive
Thee infirm, or in jail, and we came to Thee?'
And, answering, the King
shall be declaring to them,
`Verily, I am saying to
you, In as much as you do it to one of these,
the least of My brethren,
you do it to Me.'
Mt.25:41-43
Then shall He be declaring to those also at His left,
`Go from Me, you cursed,
into the fire eonian,
made ready for the Adversary
and his messengers.
For I hunger and you do
not give Me to eat;
I thirst and you do not
give Me drink;
a stranger was I and you
did not take Me in;
naked and you did not clothe
Me; infirm and in jail and you did not visit Me.'
Mt.25:44-46 Then
shall they also be answering, saying,
`Lord, when did we perceive
you hungering or thirsting,
or a stranger, or naked,
or infirm, or in jail, and we did not serve you?'
Then shall He be answering
them, saying, `Verily, I am saying to you,
In as much as you do it
not to one of these, the least, neither do you it to Me.'
And these shall be coming
away into chastening eonian, yet the just into life eonian."
And, how will the nations
fare with the people of Israel at this time of the kingdom?
Zech.14:16-19
And it shall come to be
that everyone left of
all the nations coming against Jerusalem,
shall also go up, a quota,
year by year, to worship the King, Yahweh of hosts,
and to celebrate
the celebration of booths.
And it comes, whoever will
not go up from the families of the earth,
to Jerusalem to worship
the King, Yahweh of hosts,
then the downpour shall
not come on them.
And if a family of Egypt
shall not go up, and shall not come,
then it is not on them;
to it shall come the stroke
with which Yahweh will strike
all
the nations,
which will not go up
to celebrate the celebration of booths.
This shall be the sin of
Egypt, and the sin of all the nations,
that will not go
up to celebrate the celebration of booths.
Isa.66:23,24
And it comes, according to the monthly quota in its month,
and according to the sabbath
quota in its sabbath,
all flesh shall come
to worship before Me in Jerusalem," says Yahweh.
And they fare forth
and see the corpses of the
mortals, the transgressors against Me,
for their worm shall not
die, and their fire shall not be quenched,
and they become a repulsion
to all flesh."
Isa.14:1-3
For Yahweh will have compassion on Jacob,
and He chooses still
in Israel, and He leaves them on their own ground.
And the sojourners are obligated
to them,
and they are adherents to
the house of Jacob.
And many peoples take them,
and they bring them to
their ground and to their place.
And the house of Israel
allots them on the ground of Yahweh
for servants and for maids.
And they come to be captors
of their captors,
and they sway over their
exactors.
And this comes to be in
the day Yahweh gives you rest from your grief,
and from your disturbance,
and from the hard service in which you served.
Isa.60:10-14
And your walls are built by sons of foreigners,
and their kings shall
minister to you.
For, in My wrath,
I smote you,
yet, in My acceptance,
I have compassion on you.
And your gates are open
continually. By day and night they shall not be closed,
or bringing to you the
estate of the nations, with their kings leading.
For the nation and
the kingdom which will not serve you shall perish,
and these nations shall
be deserted, yea deserted. …
And go to you to
prostrate shall all the sons of your humiliators,
and worship at the soles
of your feet shall all your spurners.
And they call you the city
of Yahweh, Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
Isa.49:22,23
For thus says my Lord Yahweh,
"Behold! I will lift My
hand to the nations,
and to the peoples
will I raise My banner high.
And they bring your sons
in a bosom pouch,
and your daughters
on the shoulders shall be borne,
and kings become your foster
fathers,
and their chiefesses your
wet
nurses.
Nostrils to the earth,
shall they prostrate to you,
and the soil at your
feet shall they lick up.
Then you shall know
that I am Yahweh,
and those expecting Me shall
not be ashamed."
Isa.60:2-5
...The darkness is covering the earth, and murkiness the folkstems,
yet, over you, radiant
is Yahweh, and His glory over you is appearing.
And the nations will
go to your light,
and kings to the
brightness of your radiance…..
….The estate of nations
shall come to you.
Isa.61:6 ….The
estate of nations shall you eat,
and with their glory
you shall change yourselves.
July 2001
Back to:
....Main
menu of articles
....Section
1 - Introduction
.........................The
Special Place of Israel
Proceed to:
....Section
2c & 2d - The Sabbath Covenant
...............................
The Sinai or Old Covenant
....Section
3 - Israel's Failure
.........................
Israel
Chastised
....Section
4 - God's Good Name
.........................Still
The People Of God
....Section
5 - Conclusion
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